How to Turn Your Small Business Around

If your business is struggling at the moment, you’re not alone. Although there have been many notable successes in recent years in the small business community, some other small business owners have found themselves facing falling profits that make the effort of keeping their enterprises going too difficult a challenge.

Looking at it optimistically, there are always going to be businesses that don’t work out. Sometimes because of external factors that business owners can’t do much about, but in other cases failures are due to business owners lacking the knowledge and skills they need, or not being able to adapt their offering or make hard decisions when things aren’t going too well.

It’s always easier to blame external influences than look to your own shortcomings, and there are times when businesses genuinely have done everything they could, but still run into trouble. Before you throw in the towel where your own business is concerned, try appraising your situation honestly; there could well be actions you can take to turn your business around.

Examine your figures.

If you’re not an expert with numbers, you may not be able to spot what your figures are telling you. You could, for instance,be missing an opportunity because you haven’t spotted what is earning you a healthy profit and haven’t therefore been able to act on it. Get some help from someone who understands business accounts, whether that’s someone you know or a professional because there could be hidden treasure in your accounts.

As well as untapped sources of revenue, your figures will also highlight areas where you could economise. Have your buying costs increased significantly over the last year for example, and if so, maybe you need to look at alternative sources; or if it’s industry-wide, are your prices keeping up with the increased costs? It’s also worth going through all your overheads to identify where you could cut costs. Have you checked that you’re paying the best gas rates for businesses, for instance? Or do you need to take a look at your staffing costs? You could make significant savings by using freelance workers or employing casual staff rather than full-timers.

Look at your offer again

There has to be a reason why customers are falling off, and if you can identify what it is as accurately as possible, you have more chance of coping with it. If the market has shifted, what can you do to move with the times and reinvigorate your offer? If you have a bookshop, for example, no doubt you’ve been affected by the rise of online book sales and possibly the use of e-readers, although they haven’t taken over from print books in the way that some people predicted. If book sales are falling, can you offer a different range, or add other lines to your stores such as games and toys?

You’ll need to do some work and put the effort in, but if it means you could turn your business around and get back on track, it’s a more than worthwhile investment to make.