20 Organization Survival Stragies for difficult economic occasions

Is there room for business failure? Failing as a business manager is not a one day event. This means that you need to know where the business is going or otherwise the business vision.

Dealing With Business Failure

The definition of a small business will obviously vary by industry and, more importantly, it may depend on the business owner’s personal assessment. Regardless, you can find out the classification of your business as defined by the Small Business Association (SBA) by going to www.sba.gov20 Business Survival Strategies1. Schedule Weekly Budget Meetings. Are the employees (especially Senior Managers) objectives aligned with company goals (i.e. increase sales, reduce expenses, improve customer service)? Even taking an extra 5 days per month on a base of business valued at $1 million annually can earn your business extra interest of over $3,000, after taxes. That’s real money!

If you are on a weekly payroll cycle, consider moving to bi-weekly. If you are paying bi-weekly, consider moving to semi-monthly (15th and 30th). You can reduce payroll processing costs which can be significant especially if you have a fairly large employee base.

Discuss things like…putting extra cash in Money Market accounts, CD’s etc. See if you can move your operating account to an interest bearing checking account. Pay bills electronically and offer direct deposit for your employees to reduce any check writing fees. Trim your travel budget (if you still have one). Renegotiate contracts. Take advantage of the economic downturn. Tax strategies. If you invest a lot in equipment and are incurring high business equipment taxes Explore states with business-friendly tax codes. Business losses and write-offs may also result in your business qualifying for various tax breaks and deductions. Budget for “reserves”. Incorporating the “reserve” account as an “expense” item is simply good business policy.

If you haven’t spoken to your Insurance Rep in a while, now would be a good time. Incentivize your employees when they discover these errors. For example, if they recover monies, split it with them. Again, get ideas from your employees.

People remember this stuff. Those people are potential customers or good referral sources. Even if you are a “Mom and Pop” type businesses, consider paying one of your tech savvy employees 15 or 20 cents extra a week to post updates and monitor these sites for you if you do not have the “know how.”

Part-time and Independent Contractors. Finally…be honest with employees. If you do have to resort to laying them off, they will understand even if it hurts.