If you want to survive the credit crunch, Nick James, proprietor of an online UK entrepreneur support site insists if you follow his sensible tips you won’t go far wrong.
According to his article “Cutting costs in the credit crunch” the best thing you can do is to ensure your business insurance is in order. He insists, the last thing you should do is to place your business at risk in an attempt to save money, so before anything else, now is a good time to get your business insurance in order.
Think things over carefully before making decisions; never act on rash decisions.
Strengthen your position by concentrating on providing an excellent customer service and looking at ways to reduce marginal costs. He insists we should avoid being tempted by short term solutions for they can often lead to nightmare in the long term.
With everybody feeling the pressure of higher prices and wanting to hold on to their money, it is up to small businesses especially to ensure they are not ignored when invoices are due for paying. Attention needs to be paid to cash flow in particular and if customers are struggling to pay their bills at least agree when they can pay you and put in place a late payment surcharge. Lack of cash flow is one of the chief causes for 60% of businesses failing in its first three years of operation.
The millionaire business adviser rules out the necessity of taking out a short term loan secured on your house in order to survive the crunch. He insists this is a risky solution especially at the present time and should be avoided if at all possible. If you do need assistance to tide you over, it would be better to take a small loan on the business rather than turning to the good old credit card to bail you out.
Saving money wherever possible is essential throughout these demanding times. One easy way to save money is to look at your internet and phone line provision. These companies are highly competitive with one another and will do their best to beat any other deals you are currently getting.
The message overall is to focus on running an efficient operation in order to live through the credit crunch.