Showing posts with label cashflow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cashflow. Show all posts

Sunday, 25 January 2009

Entrepreneurs vs Marketers

Yep, I could go into every single business out there and establish my critique of what they're doing right and wrong. Businesses are ALWAYS suboptimised.

The trickier bit is to help them actually implement the necessary changes - while still fighting all the battles that represent 'being an entrepreneur'.

The old analogy of how do you drain the swamp when you're up to your neck in crocodiles... Sales falling, cashflow issues biting, bank managers threatening, motivation dropping, mortgage repossession looming. These are the realities of entrepreneurship c2009.

What these entrepreneurs need is not a heap of marketing theory and pointy criticism - it's practical & easy-to-implement advice on HOW TO GET IT DONE.

But then, as they say, those who can, do, those who can't, preach.

Sunday, 4 January 2009

38% of small businesses say they won't survive 2009

An incredible 38% of small businesses predict that they will not survive through to the end of 2009, according to an article in today's Financial Mail on Sunday.

Given that there are something like 4 million small businesses in Britain, that's something like 1.5 million businesses which may go under - with the knock on effect of redundancies and creditors being left unpaid.

As I've said elsewhere on this Blog, this country's economy is in serious trouble.

What the above does mean is that there is also tremendous opportunity - in the small business sector - either to help those ailing businesses or to assist the failed entrepreneurs phoenix themselves into new ventures.

Meantime, back to basics business rules now apply. Be careful who you give credit to. Defend cashflow. Adapt your offering to ensure it is still what customers want. And become as flexible as possible so you can move quickly to cut costs if you need to.

Time to batten down the hatches methinks - it's going to be a tough year, but also one of great opportunity for those well prepared to weather the storm.