For any new business, the early stages are also the most exciting. Big dreams, grand schemes, high energy, natural (and caffeinated) adrenaline are all in the mix. Of course, there’s also the variable of the unknown that lends to the anxiety and excitement, but it’s new and fresh, and so are you.
But once the honeymoon is over, and the day-to-day sets in, you start to feel the anxiety of crunch time. What was once a daily grind, is now at a halt, and you’re taking the hits from different directions:
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Difficulty with cash flow
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Customers not paying (on time or at all)
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Shallow customer base
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Difficulty making payroll,
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And much more…
With all that’s going on, the pressure sets in and you concede: you’ve hit a wall. Now what do you do? Call it a day? Fold? Call it quits? Not just yet. Instead of waving the white flag of surrender, cinch up your laces, rally your team and take a stand. What may be difficult is not necessarily impossible or insurmountable; and sometimes, that mole hill only looks like Mount Everest from afar.
For those that have actually built your own businesses, I encourage you to read Daymond John's "The Power of Broke" book and start making better business decisions. In the meantime, here are a few tips to help get that startup wagon wheel out of the mud.
Back to the basics
As cliché as it sounds, now is the perfect time to go back to the beginning and revisit the idea(s) that got you started. Maybe it was the apple that fell from the tree, bumped you on the head and stirred a great epiphany. Or perhaps it was the culmination of gallons of coffee consumed with your friends and future partners that served as the catalyst. Or maybe it was just a genuine desire to fill a niche and provide a superior product (or service) from which everyone could benefit.
Whatever the case, go back to the starting point and give yourself and your business, an honest, objective assessment. Are your goals still the same? Does your business still embody the same goals and principles? Has your product (or service) changed or evolved to a point where you’re serving a different market and filling a different niche? Or, have you stayed the same?
This is the perfect time to see where you stand, and see what’s working and what’s not. This is also the time to solidify and galvanize your objective(s).
Renegotiate
While you’re implementing this self-imposed scrutiny, this is also the perfect time to evaluate and renegotiate contracts that are no longer favorable. What might have been tolerable or even necessary, may not be any longer. This is the time to negotiate better prices and more flexible payment terms to spread out the payment bottleneck. What was once Net 30 may now be Net 60. If you’re not sure that vendors and customers will consider renegotiation of anything, remember that you’re all connected. Your ability to deliver affects their metrics and bottom line as well. For those vendors who were willing to sharpen their pencils, great! You’ve taken a step forward and forged a closer business relationship. For those who were not, they’ll be remembered as well, when it’s time to revisit your vendor list next year.
Dive deep into your operations
As a startup, what might have worked to get you up and running is not always the most efficient and cost effective. Now is the time to examine everything from job descriptions to accounting solutions. This operational assessment may lead you to see that certain roles need to be realigned, while others are great where they are, and still, others may need to be eliminated. Or, that entry level accounting solution that was so convenient in the beginning is now slow and unaccommodating. Reports take longer and customer data tracking is difficult at best. If your entry level accounting solution hinders more than it helps, it might be a good time to upgrade to a solid cloud-based solution.
When it comes to a cloud-based solution, consider Gravity Software® (Gravity). Built on the Microsoft Power Platform (aka Dynamics 365). Gravity is structured to help manage and efficiently operate your business. By implementing a cloud-based solution, you’ll reduce those dreaded overhead costs while increasing operational efficiencies across the board. What a way to save and grow at the same time! Learn more and schedule your online demo today. Just say GO!
Gravity Software
Better. Smarter. Accounting.
