Return from the Fold – 6 Tips for Bringing a Business Back From the Brink

Are you worried that your business has turned a corner for the worse?

Are you feeling like your profits are on the operating table and you’re frantically scrambling to make a steady heartbeat out of an alarming flat-line?

Well, the cash-flow cardiologist is on call, and they are here to provide 6 tips for bringing a business back from the brink.

1. A business loan

When it comes to your fading enterprise, business loans are the jaws of life. Things have really picked up in recent times (since the recession) and now it’s much easier than it used to be to get a loan. A cash injection into your company coffers can really save the day. When you pull things back together the loan is more than justified. Top tip: look for a business loan that allows for cash flow friendly repayments.

2. Revamp your marketing efforts

Be honest with yourself. Where exactly are you at with your marketing efforts? Could you be putting in that little bit extra to attract as many customers as you possibly can? Are you maximising all marketing avenues? Consider your social media and mobile optimisation. Keeping on top of new trends, technologies and methods in marketing is a great way to breathe life back into your business. After all, marketing is a key growth-driver in any business.

3. Get customer feedback

Ask your customers just exactly where you are failing. Some business owners may be a little scared to take this approach (they might fear that they would put their operation under undue scrutiny). But, corporate transparency can be such a great thing. It tells your people that you value what they think. More than this, it gives you the opportunity to address their pain points and actually solve them. Customer surveys (try a worthy carrot to ensure participation) are a great way to get the feedback you need in order to put things right.

4. Look at the currency of your business model

It’s 2017. Are you moving with the times? It might be wise to have a look at your business model as it stands and assess if it still has currency. ‘Adapt or die’ is the truth that many modern businesses face. Whether it’s through innovation, disrupting the way things are commonly done and/or being proactive (not reactive) you’ll need to find a way to switch things up to survive in an evolving economy.

5. Reduce running costs

Give your business a running chance and cut back on unnecessary expenditure. It might be eliminating paper and print as much as possible and switching to purely digital formats. It could involve energy savings initiatives like solar panels that would reduce your bill significantly over the long run. The question to ask yourself is: ‘where can I cut back?’

6. Think positive

Even when you feel like your business might be on its last legs, they key is not to panic. It’s all about powering through. Keep your emotions stabilised. Worrying is only ever a waste of time and energy. Instead stay calm, keep positive, and focus on your strategy. It’s just a fact of life that success and failure are alternating ‘constants’ and you need to learn ride the wave. No successful business person in history has avoided their fair share of trials and tribulations throughout their career. Picking yourself back up is all that matters.

A near death experience

Do you fear your business is on the brink? The cash flow cardiologist says ‘take control of the situation’. It certainly won’t appear this way on the outset, but realising your business is at risk might actually be a blessing in disguise. It could cause you to take stock and shift focus. It could potentially result in your profits bouncing back a billion times better than before.

Just like those who go through a near-death experience and come back with a lust for every single moment in life, you might just find your approach to your business wholeheartedly renewed. You could find yourself suddenly understanding how to maximise each and every facet of its operation. Whatever the case, it’s your experiences (both good and bad) that shape your stamina. So, give your business a kickstart and get started on bringing it back from the brink, STAT.