You’ve probably know what you should do to make your business a success but do you know what you shouldn’t do? No one wants their business to fail or fall into financial difficulty so it’s important to ensure you avoid the traps before it’s too late. Following the five pointers below is a sure-fire way to put your company out of business.
1. Never change
If you’re unfamiliar with the term ‘change’, then you’re heading for trouble. With technology and consumer markets changing all the time, it’s crucial to keep up so you know exactly what your target market wants. This helps you stay one step ahead of competitors and ensures you plan for the future. Stay focused by keeping in mind business goals and strategies to ensure your business evolves. Ever heard of that saying, ‘failing to prepare is preparing to fail’?
Don’t forget to regularly update the company’s website, blogs, social media channels and overall design. If your website still looks like it did in 1999, then to many visitors, it will look outdated and off-putting, regardless of how great your products or services are.
2. Stick with only one customer
Basically, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. If your one customer decides to up and leave, where will you get your custom from?
3. Ignore cash flow and accounts
If you don’t keep a close eye on cash flow and financial accounts, who will? Managing income and outgoings is an excellent way to separate the essential costs from the non-essential costs. Saving money by cutting out the things you don’t need can only be a good thing, right? Employ a financial manager or a reputable accountant to help with the daily finances.
4. Don’t collect debts
You may have sold your product or service to a lot of customers but if they haven’t paid you yet, this could cause a problem. Stay on top of debtor collection and don’t be afraid to ask for advance payments if you need to.
5. Don’t take any advice
It can be easy to just focus on the day-to-day running of the company, without taking a step back and asking for some advice and getting a different perspective. While relying on your own knowledge and gut instinct is important, you should always ask for advice and feedback, be it from friends, family, company contacts or customers.
Why would you want to miss out on valuable insights which could indeed improve sales, profits and even traffic to your website?
Is your company struggling financially?
Going through this situation is kind of like driving when you’re lost. You know you’re completely lost but decide to keep going, hoping you’ll get to your destination. It can be hard to admit it and sometimes it feels easier to just carry on and hope for the best.
If your business is struggling financially, the best thing you can do is seek advice and weigh up all the options available to you. Failing to do so may make the situation worse, leaving any possibility of a turnaround too late. Act quickly and your company will have a fighting chance of turning back into a success.
Author profile
Keith Steven of KSA Group Ltd has been rescuing and turning around companies since 1994; he has worked for insolvency firms, turnaround funds and venture capital investors. He formed his own turnaround practice, KSA Group Ltd in 2001, and he is acknowledged as an expert in the delivery of company voluntary arrangements for small companies faced with financial difficulties. He is the author of the site www.companyrescue.co.uk.