Even though you may not have planned to take a vacation, circumstances might force you into a semi-vacation when everyone else seems to be away and you find your business slowing to a crawl.
I’ve found the lull in business between late summer and Labor Day is a good time for entrepreneurs and small business owners to reflect on what they have done during the past year and what they should be doing to be proactive when the lull ends, probably in September.
Since your business probably was started on a shoestring – most are – you can take a look at how you are doing money-wise. Really take a hard look.
What expenses have you had this past year that you didn’t have before and why? How have your costs changed and why? Has your income drastically changed and why?
Can you really afford to buy that new machine or hire someone to help get you out of the office or shop to get new customers?
What can you do to change the way the company’s money is being spent?
Should you lay off someone who is already working for you? What can you do to increase revenues?
Fuel costs have risen dramatically here in the northeast and I’ve read about the power shortages and high prices for fuel and power in California. Those increased costs would have to be seriously looked at in terms of how to save power.
These increased costs would also have an effect on your company’s bottom line. If you are operating on a very small profit margin you could be making no money even though you have the same or even increased revenues! If your costs go up 50 percent and your revenue stays the same, you will lose money.
At the time you sign contracts you often can’t foresee that expenses will go up as dramatically as has happened to most of us this past year.
Try to get your company operating lean and mean. Often small business owners will keep spending money thinking that it will help the business later on. There are times when that is true…for instance, if you were to purchase a machine that you have proven will pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time.
An example of poor spending is to continue paying an employee who is not doing the job you want done. You have recurring expenses with that employee such as insurance, taxes and pensions and the time you have spent trying to turn a poor employee into a good one.
Now might be the time to let those employees go – even if it means you will have to work harder.
Chances are if you think about it you probably have been doing the work of two and hoping the poor employee would make the cut.
Take pride in how far you have come and even if you have to take a half step backwards once in awhile, keep moving forward.
(c) 2001 Copyright Stanley I. Mason. Syndicated by Paradigm News, Inc.
