Go Find Your Plan B

You can’t turn on the TV these days without hearing about the economy, health care and some other not-so-right state of the nation. As a business owner, let me tell you – that’s music to my ears. OK, I’m lying.

Wait. No, I’m not.

I’m a business owner building a business in a down economy. So what does that mean for me? It means I get to write blogs like these at 3am when my wife’s asleep, the kids are in bed and my brain is on “go go go.” The bottom line of it is this:

My business could fail at any time if I don’t treat it like it could.

I’m not invincible and I’m responsible for several employees’ livelihood. I wanted to hammer out a two ideas I’ve had that keep Solany running (and turning a profit) in an economy when people say it’s hard to thrive. If you can thrive here, you can thrive anywhere, under any economic condition. You just have to stop making excuses.

Vulnerabilities – Where can we fail? How are we most exposed? If we lose this ONE client, will we tank? It’s the eggs/basket mentality. Don’t design a business built like the Titanic. Build one meant to run in ten well designed, efficient boats. Identify, offset, move forward. Cover your backside to ensure the longevity on the front end.

Contingencies – It’s the whole collection of what ifs that help you identify your vulnerabilities. Take each “what if” and find out the real answer. There’s strength in contingency plans – good chance they’ll show you a side of your business you never considered. Every time a business of mine has ventured into an expansion, it’s borne from a contingency. Just think – your Plan B might become part of your Plan A.

There’s no magic bullet to business success, but there are two certain to bring failure: lack of planning and strategy. I hate to sound like a downer, but you’re not invincible (hey, even Apple is taking flack these days!). If you can find a way to prosper when others say it’s tough going, just think about the opportunities waiting when we’re on the up and up again.

Posted by: John Cushman on July 27th, 2010 // View Comments
Posted in: News
Tags: Business, Business Productivity, Business Tips, Leadership, Management
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mmangen

John ~ when I started my business in late 2008 everyone boo hoo'd my choice to go out on my own when the “economy is so awful”. Admittedly, there were things I had not planned for…the what if's you mention above. Luckily in my case my previous employer was also my “first” client and having them helped me “float” while I was working to get others.

Now with over a year and a half behind me ~ despite all the times I freaked out at being able to provide for myself and son ~ I can say without a doubt; If I can make it through when the economy sucks…just imagine what I'll be able to do when it doesn't suck anymore!

That being said….I still need to work on my “Contingencies ….I avoid them because it can be somewhat unpleasant to think about.
JohnCushman

Hey there…..sorry for the delay and thanks for the comments. Getting the “First” client is the hardest, so your story is fantastic.

I think we always need to be careful when we think about “Contingencies”. You never want them so ingrained in your head that they become your reality / destiny. Negative self-talk has no place in my vocabulary, nor should it an any business owners….so you can't dwell on them.

One thing that helps is putting together some Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) that help you manage your business. With a good set of leading indicators, you'll be able to see trouble long before it arrives, thus giving you the ability to make a quick change.

KPIs can be anything that helps you manage your business. Obviously, the P&L, balance sheet, etc. are typical. But I like to look deeper into my business at items that really let me know how I am doing (and continue to evaluate their effectiveness). This may be # of new clients per month, number of speaking engagements per quarter, etc. For example, if you know you typically get one new client everytime you speak publicly at a conference (and you book the business typically 3 months after the conference), then this is a great KPI for your projected revenue growth.

So have a contingency plan, you need to have options. But spend your time proactively and positively measuring your business…..so you can make the right change quickly, and never worry about the contingency!

I wish you continued success.
http://www.solany.com/blog/news/idea-farming-101/ Idea Farming 101 | Solany Document Management

[...] exactly the way we have been. It’s important to keep new ideas flowing into any business, both as a back-up strategy for the worst-case scenario, and as a way to keep the company growing steadily in spite of the [...]

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