Working Through the Crisis

In the spirit of focus on a solution, rather than the problem:

Here are my top five things a small business should prioritize in the coming week default or no.

• Know where you stand on important metrics.  (If you’re a QuickBooks User here are some thoughts on how to implement this advice.) When times are tough, it’s critical to understand how you are doing compared to plan.
  • Focus on collections, cash on hand and expenses. 

•  Know where your employees stand.  There’s been a lot of talk about how tough things are for small business owners, but it hasn’t been a picnic for employees either.  A new study by Met Life shows  44% of small business employees feel loyal to their employer – that’s down from 62% in 2008.  More than half of employers (54%) think their employees have a strong sense of loyalty to the firm.  A little more than a third of small business employees report they would rather be working somewhere else right now.

• What would you do if a critical person walked out the door? 

• Cash has been king for a while, but clearly it’s even more relevant than ever this week.  For capital intensive business it’s time to make sure you’re on top of either inventory or the lease / buy question.  Professional services want to monetize time.
  • If you don’t have a set of tasks that keep you apprised of key cash flow metrics (see #1) make sure that gets on your calendar ASAP.

•  Find out what other businesses are doing to cope.  There is no play book for this level of lingering economic stress combined with dynamic marketplace change.  If you have a circle of trusted advisors, continue to utilize that resource.  I’d also find out what you can about competitors, and consider giving some time to “hate-surfing”. 

• The whole idea is to find out perspectives that won’t naturally occur to you. 

•  Make sure your record keeping is where it should be.  If this year isn’t going to go as planned, knowing when you went off course is a big help.  If you think you don’t have time now, think how much less time you’ll have if you’re dealing with (insert name of unexpected crisis).