Recently I attended a network club with other business owners. There was a guest speaker who asked everyone ‘How’s things?’ and most people answered ‘very tough’. I can’t say I was surprised but I was grateful not to be in the same situation.
The truth is, two years ago we hit a brick wall. In April 2009, our revenue nose dived. We lost 65% of turnover that month and it didn’t really recover for almost a year. Looking back, 2009 was probably the toughest year of my entire life. We expected some reduction in demand but we never anticipated such a big hit. Companies closed down, some stopped travelling and others didn’t pay on time.
For the first time ever, our business used credit and our relationship with the bank became very important. The hours I worked ON the business increased and the hours I worked IN the business decreased. I adopted a different management style and dealt with situations with a text book, almost academic approach. My attention focussed on cash flow and bank balances before anything else. I even asked bad customers to find alternative suppliers.
Slowly things returned to normal. Each month of 2010 was profitable (although very volatile) and today we are busy and growing. We have lots of new ideas and we are preparing to spend and invest if this April proves reliable. I wonder how many other businesses can currently say the same?
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