What to Do When Your Business is in Trouble

All business fail – time to time.

Some businesses fall into a downward mode and never recover and are forced to close themselves-down or become bankrupt.

Some businesses fail in their existing fields - yet manage to pivot into totally new products, services or offerings and scale heights again [these are the rare ones].

Some businesses lose their earlier profitable levels – but manage to stay afloat.

Some businesses survive – by sucking the profitability from other units.

Often, when an organization is in trouble – there are always signs, signals and indications of their being in trouble – much before the organization or its CEO realizes it.

Paradoxically - most of the organizations also have the answers, solutions and know how to fix what is wrong.

Off-course Sometimes technological advancement can bring you into obsolesce from being a cutting-aged one - But this won't happen overnight.

The 21 Tell-tale signs that your organization is in big-trouble OR heading for one

• 1.Top talented people are leaving in big numbers – this is a very easy sign to notice. Otherwise too - Employee turnover rate has become all time high
• 2.No new clients
• 3.Existing clients are reducing or stopping to buy from you/use your services
• 4.Outstanding's are increasing in the markets – you customers are not paying in time. You're regularly on the receiving end of late payments
• 5.You find that every month – you have increasingly difficult time to manage cash-flow and expenses. You're unable to pay bills on time
• 6.When you find that you can't pay salaries on time – probably you have already reached the bottom
• 7.You have reached your borrowing limits
• 8.Meetings become blame-point-finger exercises
• 9.Sales are falling
• 10.You're holding too much inventory
• 11.Everyone is stressed
• 12.You have become a MeToo - No Differentiation, No niche
• 13.You are the only one – people come to – for all the decisions
• 14.Unstable leadership – too many changes happening too fast – as part of knee jerk reactions
• 15.You are into big cost-cutting mode – even though it is also compromising on the essentials
• 16.Your business has not introduced any changes in product, services and in your message to the client
• 17.Employee have stopped asking for raise or bonus or promotion
• 18.You have expanded too much – too fast, without consolidating any
• 19.Your organization has gotten into Late filing of accounts
• 20. Increase in customer complaints to alarming levels
• 21.You have lost few of your Key accounts/key customers

Causes of business failures – the most common ones are given – you can add your own

• 1.A new entrant/competitor* – who is not only aggressive BUT also is giving the customers what they never thought possible
• 2.Market Saturation [too much supply-very less demand]
• 3.Changes* in Customer* preference/buying-habits
• 4.Economic* Slowdown
• 5.Leadership* failures* and Poor Management *
• 6.Not changing in spite of observing* emerging trends*
• 7.Bad Product
• 8.Bad Customer* Engagement
• 9.Poor employee* engagement*
• 10.Overexpansion
• 11.Lack of capability* development – equipping employees with future skills*
• 12.Lack of corporate vision* and clarity

How to turn-around your failing business

Like always all the *marked ones have detailed Do-it-Yourself Blogs on that topic in Success Unlimited Mantra

• 1.Understand why business* fail*
• 2.Understand why Business* succeed*
• 3.Identifying – why your business is falling
• 4.Understand whether your business needs to stop operating AND taking decision WHY should it continue or stop trading
• 5.Listening to
• I.Your Employees
• II.Your Clients
• III.Your Competitors
• IV.Your Business Partners
• V.Your Vendors
• VI.Happenings in other Industries and businesses globally
• 6.Identifying the gaps and revamping what are needed
• I.Sharpening Your Leadership Capability
• II.The Talent which can help you pivot, face the challenges and grow
• III.The Customer Value Proposition
• IV.The Employee Value Proposition
• V.Changes in Product/Services
• VI.The Business Model
• VII.The Revenue Model
• VIII.The Marketing Channel
• IX.The Promotion Methods
• X.The Technology Upgradation
• XI.Getting rid of bad customers
• XII.Letting the unproductive employees with poor talents and attitude leave
• 7.Doubling the collection efforts
• 8.Identifying – how WE CAN BE THE DISRUPTION – by changing the playing-field
• 9.Get professional guidance — for free ONLINE only – from us
• 10.Make a cost-optimization plan against cost-cutting
• 11.Ask Existing Vendors for Discounts
• 12.Switch Vendors
• 13.Seek Lower Credit Card Transaction Rates
• 14.Ask Your Landlord To Lower the Rent
• 15.Reduce Employee Hours
• 16.Eliminate Advertising – Go for Innovative Low-Cost Marketing Techniques
• 17.Find what crazy-risks* you can take vis-à-vis playing safe
• 18.Use only what you need - Return unwanted leased property
• 19.Make your employees partner in decision making
• 20. Reduce cost centers and increase profit centers
• 21.Make each function an independent profit-center
• 22. Overhaul and trash your existing process, procedures, perceptions and practices – recreate the ones which will appeal to larger and different client base
• 23. Go for Crisis stabilization - track the situation, monitor it well and try to control it from going out of hand
• 24. Look for ways to simplify*
• 25. Focus on the basics* - that which made you successful
• 26. Get in touch with your customers – big-time. Listen to their stories - Make it easy for your customers
• 27.Create a new enthralling story of yours to share with your employees and customers
• 28. Reinvent your business* by making it Leaner*, Fitter and handsome
• 29. Boost your marketing and selling base as well as the channels you sell through - Contact Competitors of Present or Former Customers, Call Former Prospects
• 30. Sell Additional Products and Services to Existing Customers
• 31.Develop Multiple Revenue Streams
• 32. Team Up with Other Vendors for Joint Sales
• 33. Worst Case Scenario, Sell The Business
• 34. Offer your new product/services to beta test customers at a discount, or for free.
• 35. Target a different market
• 36. Act Fast But Don't Act Stupid
• 37.Remember you as a CEO Should Calm Nerves - Not cause Anxiety
• 38. Stop being Driven By Pride Or Fear
• 39. Empower* Your Employees Chance To Turn the organization
• 40. Build up new alliances and collaborations*
• 41.Never use the economy as an excuse for not taking action
• 42. Search for alternatives
• 43. Understand the Forces Influencing and Leading to Disruption and Recognize which New Value Drivers Will Lead to Success
• 44. Find Where Disruption Might Be Coming to Your Industry
• 45. Identify the current Innovations and Technological Advances That Are Likely to impact Your Business
• 46. Anticipate New Desires of Customers and Potential Competitive Developments That Could Disrupt Your Work
• 47.Be the disruptor* yourself Within an Established Organization and Test Your Ideas in Real Time
  Identify the Characteristics of Adaptable Organizations
• 48. Become an intelligent learning organization*
• 49. Evaluate Your Own Current Capacity to Lead Within a Disruptive Environment
• 50. Understand that THE TIME for Leading the Charge for Disruptive Innovation IS NOW
• 51.CREATE AN INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE*