Small Business Advice for Weathering the Economy
Last month, I had a featured question on Linked In asking what small businesses should do to weather the economy. I blogged about this a couple weeks ago. Thomas Tan and Christopher Han of SAP, a sponsor of the corresponding “Weathering the Economy” Forum along with myventurepad.com, read through a whopping 1,063 e-mailed responses. The following is a summary of the top 10 recommendations:
- Cut operating expenses and discretionary spending
- Tightly and diligently manage cash flow
- Improve liquidity, tighten working capital
- Streamline inefficient processes with technology
- Keep your number one focus on existing customers
- Increase marketing and advertising efforts
- Go after markets that are less affected by the downturn
- Diversify and expand product and service offerings
- Retain your best staff and recruit top talents
- Be transparent with employees and keep them motivated
In addition, my intern Rachel Grant in the SBA Office of Advocacy also went through these responses and summarized them for me. She concluded her remarks with the following comment, which is always a good reminder: “In the end, the multitude of responses shows that there are numerous ways for small business owners to cope with the recent economic turmoil. Yet, every company and every employer is different, and some ideas may work better in certain situations.”
#10 is an excellent tip. Being honest with your employees helps make them feel more like they are a bigger part of the company and more willing to work through tough times.