Holidays. Sickness. Late payments. Tax rises. Supply costs increasing.
All are big challenges to your business.
All can derail the calm ocean that your operation floats on.
But all don't need to be feared, if you have a plan in place.
Yes, you might not be able to forecast for every eventuality, but you can be prepared.
Too many business owners that we talk to suffer from the "unknown." (no, not a 1980's grunge metal band from Seattle).
Not having a plan for something that happens to them, that makes them react, takes them off course and undoubtedly costs them money in increased costs to them, or lost sales from them.
But you can fix this by just thinking of the top 10 things that could go wrong in your business and having some ideas on how you could react to resolve these issues.
If you are unsure about what they could be, here's a few things to think about having a plan for:
- You are sick (or a key member of your team is) - too sick to work and they hold some of the keys to activity or decision making.
- A client who was meant to pay by a certain deadline is now a week overdue and this is not the first time.
- Your biggest supplier has told you that they are going to have to close their business with immediate effect due to financial issues.
- Your bank account is frozen (no reason why) or you cannot access it because of a "technical glitch" - and payroll is due.
- Your data system has been hacked by cyber criminals (more common than you think) and there is potential loss of customer data.
I don't want to scaremonger or be melodramatic but rather than be reactive - be just like one of Baden-Powell's followers, and "BE PREPARED!"
Speak soon!
James