There are literally hundred of thousands small business owners asking themselves that very question now, due to the global slowdown of the economy.
Most of them are even losing money these days, finding it hard just to cover their overhead. And it is truly heart breaking when your business starts costing you money, when your resources are melting away, when you are actually spending more than you earn. It can be very disappointing knowing that you’ve put so much effort into building a business, year after year, step-by-step, with so much passion and willingness. And now, due to the slowdown of the economy, it seems like all your efforts are not getting the same profitable results.
It’s not all bad news as it might appear, some businesses are still doing great... They really are. They don’t seem to struggle at all like the rest. Could it be that they are doing something different? What is their secret then? Do they have what some would call a ‘Secret Weapon’? The answer is YES. A thousand time YES!
So, how can YOU get out of this ... before it’s too late?
It’s surely not easy to get out of such an affliction, the so called recession. Sadly, some businesses will not make it, and might still not be there by end of this year 2010. So now ... what about you? What are your predictions for the end of this year? Will you make it with all your resources/savings in one piece?
Fortunately there is a way out! Hooray... So what is it you may wonder? Well, it might seem a bit obvious, but your only way out is to generate new sales! But wait ... Let me go a little bit more into details ...
Against a sluggish economy the best remedy is action! A business cannot survive if left too long in a slow economy, a business needs financial movement. If you want to get out of troubles in your business now, all you need is Action... That means sell as much as possible, in the shortest period of time. By doing so, you will boost your cash-flow, collect and circulate amounts of fresh money and most importantly re-vitalise your staff and yourself. It’s all pure benefits for you and your business.
The System That Never Fails
For you to generate new sales you need to get out of your current pattern and move on to a totally different level. Businesses that are successful during a recession are those who planned in advance, those who have put into place a selling system! You will never see any McDonalds’ manager complaining about no selling enough for instance. Even worse than that, it’s like they plotted not to be part of the recession at all. The CEO of Walmart even said during an interview “We don’t plan to participate”, when asked what he thought about the recession. Because they know exactly that their selling system is as smooth as a swiss mechanism, and that it will never fail!
How to design your own selling system then?
First you need to strengthen your weaknesses. All of your weaknesses! Then you can start implementing what is called the “Parthenon Theory”.
A good analogy is to compare that System to the Parthenon, the Greek temple that was built in 450BC. That temple is still standing today, 2500 years later. What is the secret of the Parthenon, why is that edifice still intact? Because it has been built on 52 pillars.
There are two kinds of business model: The diving board theory of business and the Parthenon theory of business.
Almost every business operates using the diving board model. It has one primary method which is generating 90 or 100% of the revenue. And this is the main reason why business owners struggle so much during a recession, because the main stream of sales is also cut off.
The Parthenon method, on the other hand, has different pillars each of which is a revenue generating activity – all profitable!
If you can move your business from the diving board model to the Parthenon model, you will no longer be dependent on that one primary activity. Even better than that, the one activity will actually improve as all the other activities will reach out and impact that activity.
If each pillar adds a mere 10% to your business, the overall effect will be exponential. Imagine the final result!
If you can make each pillar more profitable (that are enduring and sustainable), then you will have grown your network a multiple of ten or even twenty times that increased profits.
This is the secret of Great business during tough times!
