10 Strategies for Competing in a Tough Economy
Why I’m writing this article: this is a tough economy right now, and my hope is these ideas are both an encouragement and source of inspiration in your business.
No more. No less.
Ready? Let’s roll.
Create a prioritized list of expenses. Highest ROI to lowest ROI.
Let’s start with a down the middle one…
Tough economies usually mean it’s harder to bring in new sales.
And, sadly, this means we need to tighten our belt on our costs.
BUT, with this said, it’s also important to make sure we cut thoughtfully.
One helpful activity can be creating a “top to bottom” list of all of our major expenses…
Prioritized based on our best understanding of ROI (sometimes intangible).
Sadly, some of the stuff on the bottom will need to go. Use the language of “pausing” instead of “cancelling” to soften the blow to your vendors. You can always come back!
Keep spending on sales and marketing.
One area that should be relatively “off limits” to our cost cutting is sales and marketing.
It’s critical when revenue is going down that we continue to invest in building it up…
And our marketing dollars will often go further in a downturn.
Of course, be smart. But stay aggressive in this area.
Break bread with your team. A lot.
Stressful times will test any team.
And changes tend to take a pretty big toll on most cultures.
One good offset is more “team bonding” time, to foster personal relationships that go beyond work.
Start with offsite meals. A lot of them.
Make sure everyone has ONE number to work on.
This is one of the core tenets of EOS (see Gino Wickman), and I think it’s a great one.
Focus each of your people on one key number that they can track and focus on.
Ideally, this should be a leading indicator that they have near 100% control over.
(Ex. for a salesperson, it might be prospecting dials).
Gain perspective from reading history.
Perspective is a powerful thing. Often really powerful.
Reading about some of the harder times in human history can be a great perspective reset for dealing with our own trials.
When you read about the Civil War, or Normandy, or what it would have been like to live in the 1420s…
It’s a whole lot easier to feel grateful for your modern life, even if it features some less than ideal business numbers.
Get enough sleep. And eat healthy.
These are two easy ones.
Make sure you are sleeping enough…
And try to minimize junk food in your diet.
The game is hard enough before you start dealing with mood swings related to not taking care of your body.
It’s pretty amazing what a difference 8 hours of sleep and a consistent low sugar/low caffeine diet can make.
Find a business accountability buddy.
Much like it’s easier to keep pushing at the gym when we see the person next to us cruising…
Business accountability buddies are really helpful, too.
Find a friend (or multiple) with a similar business to yours…
And lean on them for both daily discipline and creative ideation.
Great buddies won’t let you quit. Even when you’re struggling.
Take it easy on yourself. Really!
This probably goes without saying…but it’s worth mentioning.
Nobody is “so good” at entrepreneurship that they are completely immune to down times.
Tough quarters happen. To all of us.
So, we can’t beat ourselves up and act like we’re a completely failure, just because we’re struggling.
Take it easy on yourself.
Find hobbies outside of work.
This is probably the most fun of the 10…
But I think it’s a good one.
In short, find a hobby (outside of work) that you can invest your time and energy into.
Put in consistent time. Get excited about your improvement.
This type of “unplug” can be really helpful.
Read “The Gap and The Gain” by Dan Sullivan.
Compared to the first nine, this one is a bit more specific. But this is a great book!
The TL;DR?
Take stock in how much you’ve already accomplished, that you can be grateful for.
And stop feeling stressed and down that you don’t have “more” yet.
Dan will remind you of this in a persuasive way.
In conclusion:
Get smart on your money.
Infuse your culture with energy.
Get perspective.
Take care of yourself.
And read a short book by a gifted entrepreneurship author.
Thank you for reading. And please just let me know if I can be serving you.