Warning Signs in Your Business

Many people, for better or worse, avoid going to the doctor. No news is good news or if they feel fine all must be fine. But often there will at least be some kind of warning sign to nudge you to seek help. It may not be serious or life threatening, but it’s enough to get your attention.

This happens in business as well. In this article we will talk about a few of these that should make you pay attention.

Missing Revenue Targets

All businesses have bills to pay and if you don’t hit your revenue targets you may be in a more and more compromised financial position. You may start to rely on credit card debt or some of the higher priced alternative financing options out there. This can lead to a challenging situation if managed from a position of stress without foresight. Instead of limiting your liability to your corporate obligations, you may be putting your personal assets at risk as well.
Why are you missing your projections and what can you do to fix the situation?

Health Problems

Sometimes we have health problems because of genetic dispositions or because of choices we have made outside of the business. But on many occasions we’ve heard stories about health problems directly related to a business. The stress you are dealing with has to go somewhere, and sometimes it’s inflicted on your body, with devastating results.
If your business is causing you health problems, what are you going to change?

Loss of Passion

Many of us get into a particular business not just because we are good at it, but because we happen to enjoy it and find meaning in it. But sometimes, for various reasons, we lose our mojo. Very often it’s because of burnout.
If you’ve lost your passion for your business, can you keep it going?

Loss of Mission

While it’s true that businesses pivot to deliver something slightly (or greatly) different from where they may have first started, sometimes in the excitement to build and extend, a mission can get lost or muddled. These effects are felt throughout the business: from customers who aren’t sure exactly what you do, to staff who are confused about the change in direction, to you, who repeat what you think the mission of the company is but which has no basis in the reality of what your company is doing day to day.
If your company isn’t mission-focused, how will you correct that?

Key Staff are Leaving

If you don’t see the writing on the wall, sometimes your staff will. And when it’s key staff that leave, it’s the hardest to take, as they are the hardest to replace. They leave with institutional knowledge that is hard to pass on, and worse, they are probably leaving for preventable reasons.
If you’re losing key staff, are you willing to take a hard look at who the problem may be? (Is it you?)

If any of these are an issue for you, that’s cause for concern. If you have more than one, you’re in a crisis and need some help. If you want to rebuild and keep going, it’s possible, but it’s going to take a lot of work. But it may also be a good turnaround opportunity for one of our opportunistic buyers and can offer you a light at the end of the tunnel instead of just a longer tunnel. Give us a call to see if we can help.