HAVE YOU RECESSION PROOFED YOUR BUSINESS YET?
I'm not an expert on the stock market, but I do watch its goings on and I am not happy with what I see on the economic horizon. Looming Recession If you're like me, you might be sick and tired of this Boom and Bust economy and just like an elevator, this one is coming down. You might ask, why is he talking about this, he's a filmmaker, he's immune to it. No I'm not. My business depends on a strong economy on both the business and consumer sides.
You, Mr. Joe Business use my services to promote and draw attention to your business. Consumers buy my products as well as yours and I make money. I'm not going to sugar coat this, based on what I see, this one's going to be long and bad. It will start with the banks and end with a lot of businesses going out of business again. But this is about creating an economic life boat that if deployed early enough, might help you weather the storm.
First, try to pay down your credit debt as much as you can, do not wait until things go south and money gets too tight to keep up. While having credit is a great thing in good times, it stinks in bad. It's like a million paper cuts, each one leaking money and killing your profits. During good times you don't notice it because customer purchases keep filling in the well. It's when things slow down or worse dries up you start to panic. The more debt you can pay off, the lower your chances are of crashing. Right now, your priority should be to close as many leaks (bills) as possible so when you land it will be as shallow an angle as possible (soft landing). The opposite is a lot of debt and hitting the ground at a near 90 degree angle and you called it, crash landing.
Second, speak with your accountant to form a strategic budget plan to get those debts paid quickly. Ask what suggestions he has that will work best for your situation.
Third, this suggestion is and might be the oddest of all the things I've said, you may want to consolidated your resources with other companies. Think about it, I think 90 percent of us have a building with stock and supplies we keep. Well in bad times, having to maintain this expense will drain your limited funds. This is not a time to be prideful, but is a time to be smart. Why have ten stores selling the same services or products when you can have 10 kiosk and one main distribution warehouse. Talk with other like minded businesses and share one building where you can split the cost of up keep and keep more money in your account. When the economy is strong again you can always go back to your old ways.
Fourth, if sharing isn't your thing, then you might consider making a part of your home an office. Obviously not every business can do that, but if you can, think of the strategic advantage your home business will have. Taxes comes to mind (for more accurate info consult you accountant or tax attorney), fuel and auto expenses are lower, your utilities might increase, but that can be off set by installing solar panels. This is the one I've chosen to do and my business is doing just fine.
I say all these things because I care about our country a lot (I am a disabled veteran after all) and I care about your business and I don't want to see a single business go away (the more businesses that make it through, the faster our economy will come back). We are a global neighborhood and we will need to depended on each of us more than ever before to get through the coming storm. Good luck!