I won't succeed in business. Latest requests for help. Can't quantify management decisions

All life has a wave-like character, and it is not strange that even the global economy, not to mention the national economies of individual countries, obey one simple and not tricky rule: today you are on the rise, and tomorrow you are going down. You may ask, what do global trends in human development and economics have to do with the topic of the blog?

The answer is quite simple, the rule is not exceptional and applies directly to the person himself, that is, even this morning you write with optimism and are “eager to fight,” and by the evening, under the influence of external factors, you fall into a stupor and begin to calculate your options. An interesting observation: all calculations made under the influence of negativity predict complete negativity. And the question immediately arises, what to do?

Really, what should you do if problems suddenly pile up and, on top of that, you fall into a slight depression (although, of course, not one real man will admit to this; it’s easier for the fair sex in this regard) and the clump of problems grows, and of course the depression intensifies. And if you add a little “pepper” and imagine that your first business project turned out to be a dummy and for some reason did not work, then the situation becomes even more difficult.

Actually, there can be a lot of options for why a certain “recession” occurs, from the most banal to quite objective, for example, fatigue. Let's just try to consider several options for the development of events and answer a number of questions, what to do if...

First and most importantly, try not to think about problems, there are many options for this:

• - go to the forest to pick mushrooms
• – read a book
• - watch a couple of films
• – go and organize a beer (or maybe not just beer) party with a friend or friends. By the way, this method will first allow you to be distracted as the party itself gains momentum, and in the morning your head will be occupied with completely different problems. So you won’t have to think about problems for at least two days.
• – go to a social network and chat with friends or just look at photos; as a rule, time flies quickly in such cases.
• – well, or another option that is closer to you.

The main thing to do is to completely throw all problems out of your head and for a certain time simply not think about the problems themselves and work. Moreover, this needs to be done in any situation, that is, reschedule meetings, postpone things. Why is it important?

The formed negative potential will put pressure on you and will not give you the opportunity to make correct and reasonable decisions, and problems will accumulate like a snowball. And the more problems there are, the less opportunity there is to adequately assess the situation and make correct and, most importantly, rational decisions.

What will such a break give? It will allow you to throw off negativity from your subconscious and, after a short rest, tackle the problem with renewed vigor; practice shows that with a positive approach and “fresh” views, most issues are resolved 3-4 times faster and, most importantly, more effectively.

That is, a paradox arises: being in a state of “when everything falls out of your hands,” you solve problems longer than if in a situation where you “rested and relaxed” for half a day or a day and took on the issue with fresh strength.

What to do if your business idea doesn't work?

First and most importantly, review the strategy and essence of the business idea; you need to try to understand the reason why the business idea itself did not work. If the business line exists in the region, then be sure to take a closer look at your competitors, what you do differently from them. If the idea is new and there is simply no one to draw analogies with, then you need to try to find information about successful projects in other regions. And again, compare how your business works and how their business works and highlight the main differences. Actually, this advice is not something new and many people talk about it, however, very often it is very difficult and even unrealistic to actually compare your own business model with a successful business model.

Then the second question arises: what to do if there is no one to compare with or it’s impossible?

The best option in this case would be your own analysis of all processes and, most importantly, look not only for shortcomings in the operation of your business model, but also try to find opportunities to modernize the entire business idea.

As a simple example of what to do if.

You decided to organize a workshop for the production of foam plastic, it seems like you did everything right and the price for the finished product is normal, but there is no profit in sight. What do we do in this case?

Of course, the thought immediately comes to mind about working with customers and expanding sales, that is, we go shopping and look for buyers, and so on. Yes, in fact, the train of thought is correct, but let’s think about it, because the business is really seasonal and it may well be that right now the season has started to decline and sales volumes have fallen. So what to do next?

The answer lies in the opportunities to expand the range of products produced; for example, construction foam plastic is not available, but foam plastic products can sell with a bang. For example, on the eve of the New Year, the demand for small New Year's toys made of foam plastic, such as snowmen, increases. It remains to study the question of how to produce such products and how much it will cost the business. There may be many answers here, but the main thing is that it is quite possible to start such a business and expand the range of products without significantly changing the production cycle. There is no need to say what this will give, a larger assortment and, as a result, an increase in sales and the entire business project reaching break-even.

This is just an example. Such changes and modernizations are possible in almost all types of small businesses, including those with minimal financial investments, for example.

It is worth noting that it is possible to find an option to expand your business in almost any area of ​​production or services, the main thing is to approach the issue with creativity and some creativity.

As a simple example, in the following articles I will describe how in two years we managed to jointly transform one business project from a small part-time job to a real small business. Moreover, I can note that the business idea itself was suggested to me here on the Internet. Don't forget to subscribe to the blog

For the last two years I have not been living, but surviving. Throws it like a leaf in different directions, doesn’t stick to anything. Whatever I take on, nothing works out, like some kind of rock. Something is going on, everything is fine, but at the last moment things fall apart. Partly because of the slander, partly because of my mistakes and inability to understand people, I ended up under criminal charges, and it’s unclear how this whole story will end. I haven’t had a relationship with my parents for five years now - my stepfather set me up in business and saddled me with debts - 3.5 million rubles. Mother said that they have their own family, I’m smart and I’ll get out of it. You say you always knew how to get out. I don’t contact anyone for business, they take advantage of me and cheat me. I rent an apartment, my car was confiscated long ago for my stepfather’s debts. In my personal life, I only have a very good girl, and this is my only joy. She and a Bengal cat. The last two weeks everything has just been like a snowball, one thing, then another... Nothing is working out, projects are collapsing, I’ve been living in debt for the last two months. Not long ago I came to faith, I read the rule in the morning and evening, I go to church. I know that suicide is a great sin, but... I feel more and more alone. Every day I want to live less and less. If I had been alone, I would probably have killed myself. I can't do it anymore. I don't have the strength to cope with everything. Don't breathe. I visited Mother Ksenia, but it was a long time ago. The Monk Alexander of Svirsky also visited. Last year I helped him build a temple in Orzhitsy, the man who allegedly organized its construction stole a fairly large amount of money from me. This is the one who always boasted that he was Orthodox. I'm completely stunned. I try not to show it outwardly, so as not to upset the bride or anyone else. I'm just crying. I’m crying like I never thought I’d cry at 30 years old. No forces. I understand that suicide is not Christian, and that then something will probably change and it will be better, but I don’t have the strength. It's very difficult to hold on. I feel like I'm already on the edge. I understand that the Lord measured out to everyone their share of sorrows, and I understand that I probably deserved many of them, but not the same amount. No forces. I just don't have the strength.
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Dream Catcher, age: 30 / 04/15/2013

Responses:

My friend, I read your story - it’s as if it’s about my father. Everything happened - scams in business, debts, creditors, threats... It was in the 90s, I was a young girl then, I remember everything well. My father said then that the only thing holding him back from taking a desperate step was his responsibility for my mother and me. And then the Lord gave - things gradually improved, some of the debts were paid off, and some were recognized as the result of force majeure circumstances. Now his situation is not easy either, but he holds on, fights and will endure, and we are helping him - at least morally. But he is already 60.
How many people are there who have money and success, but no love? Or rather, they may have wives, mistresses - relationships implicated in sex and self-interest, which disappear when a person begins to have difficulties (and who has not had difficulties in their entire life?) Living life is not a field to cross. You have been given great happiness - real love, this girl who did not abandon you in difficulties, did not exchange you for the rich and prosperous - remind yourself of this more often. And pay more attention to her and appreciate her.
The most important thing is that you have youth and health, everything else is transitory. Difficulties and failures can be overcome if you do not give in to them through an effort of will. I understand that it is always easy to give advice, but still stick with it. Alas, we live in such a time and in such a country - many of your problems are familiar firsthand.
Take care of yourself and your loved one.

Isabella, age: 35 / 04/15/2013

Doing business requires talent. In our country, there is an idea that anyone can do business. For example, if I have no hearing, I don’t make music and I don’t bang my head against a concrete wall, because I understand that this is a utopian idea. It’s the same in business - well, it’s none of your business, reorient yourself and don’t bang your head against a closed door. This does not mean that you are bad or untalented, you just have a different path. Some people know how to draw, some have perfect pitch, and some have the art of making money. I, too, at one time thought that I was a king, until I got into trouble and realized that I was not given the art of making money. Slowly pay off your debts, don’t get involved in new business plans, look for a job with a stable salary, change your attitude towards the situation. Well, it’s not worth it to kill yourself because you didn’t turn out to be a Rockefeller. Lower the bar, moderate your pride.

Tatyana, age: 39 / 04/15/2013

Hold on, dear! This is all for a reason, it’s about some important rethinking of life and big changes. Start your morning with prayer. My life, you know, is also not going well, I have cancer. And the best thing I came up with to stay afloat without going under water for a minute was to fall asleep and wake up with the prayer: “Thank God for everything - and for this!” Feeling yourself in God’s Hands, doing everything you can yourself, while surrendering entirely to His will, is the most important thing. Try it, maybe it will help you too?

And if your “girl” is really good, then tell her frankly about your difficulties and propose your hand and heart. Please your and her Guardian Angels.
Hold on!

Agnia Lvovna, age: 72 / 04/15/2013

You need to go to church more often. Don't lose faith in God, it will give you strength. I know this from myself. And there are no hopeless situations. If one door closes in front of you, don’t cry, but look around. Probably, somewhere nearby there is another door, open. You just need to go up and open it yourself. I am writing this to the fact that you should not despair, even if it seems that in front of you the whole earth will collapse and you are all in a quagmire. Well, that’s how I put it figuratively. Believe in yourself, in your strengths, in a bright future and in God! God will help you!

Aigel, age: 36 / 04/15/2013

Now the most valuable thing you have is the person who is next to you and, of course, the Lord, who wants your life to change, I think so... If you experience sincere feelings and believe, just be patient, the Lord will manage everything. I am sure the Lord will save you through a person close to you and through the temple. Guardian Angel!!!
p/s/The fact that you don’t show anyone a very good look, I learned from myself that you can’t do it any other way

Andrey, age: 39 / 04/16/2013

Every person gets tired someday. It seems that you have reached the edge, there is no more strength, that’s it..., but a second, third wind appears, and you cope, if, of course, you are human.

Bab Yag, age: They don’t live that long / 04/17/2013

Anna, age: 33 / 04/17/2013

Good afternoon. I understand and sympathize with you. As a compliment - you behave like a man, i.e. you take responsibility, look for unconventional ways to make money, and don’t work “for your uncle.” In short, you are constantly organizing your own business. And they constantly throw you there. It follows that? And the fact that you can dramatically change the well-worn path. Get a job in some company. On staff, as an ordinary employee. I know you want to argue that you have an independent character and are used to deciding everything yourself. To this I will answer you that in any field there is the opportunity to make decisions. For example, military or politicians. They “work for their uncle,” but no one will call them “pawns.” By and large, an individual entrepreneur also depends on someone. You write that you have no strength... Take off the burden that has become heavy. Shift some of the responsibility to your future boss, and for this he will regularly pay you a salary. Not like your business partners!

Yuna, age: 45 / 04/18/2013

Don’t worry, I also had a business and I also didn’t pull it off, I’m also still paying off my debts, and I have a child. My husband bet me on money and milked me for a long time. Almost divorced. I solved the problem this way (of course it’s too early to talk about a complete solution to the problem): but I got a salary in the capital from the periphery. I am paying off my loans little by little. There is sometimes enough in my wallet for bread and milk. But it’s okay, I’m holding on. I forgot about the vacation. The repairs on the car are crying, falling apart, and there is no money for repairs.. But still, going back to a couple of times less salary BUT to a stable salary was the right decision. If everything is really bad, pack a bag of things and go to Africa as a volunteer. You will live there and decide what to do. It will not be worse.

Former cool, age: 31 / 04/18/2013

You are not succeeding in all this at the moment only because you are doing everything in
despair. Start everything, but with a cool head. And those who are owed will wait in their
It is in their interests that you rise up, otherwise you will not repay the debt to them.
Or go abroad and start over from scratch.
If your woman loves you, then I hope she will follow you.
And suicide is the choice of weaklings, which in my opinion you are not. Life is one and
she is beautiful and it doesn’t matter whether she is good or bad.
Don’t let people enjoy your defeat, fight and everything will work out.
I sincerely wish you good luck!

16.10.2018

Business is not going well, things are not going well

Often in the Temple, people seek spiritual consolation in their difficulties, seek God’s truth, God’s help, someone asks questions to the priest. Very few businessmen see the need to ask for a spiritual view of the current situation, but it is precisely this small part that basically floats out of the funnel, because such people begin to see the situation differently after the conversation, and for this, of course, there must be a constructive conversation with a competent a priest ready to listen and perceive.

Business, commerce is a very interesting direction for every leader, only for some things are going well, while for others they are sagging before they even begin. In every matter, God’s blessing is important, in the world they say: “whatever you call a ship, so it will sail,” but in a person’s life everything is much more complicated than in the life of a ship.

What does God's Blessing depend on?

The business is organized by a specific person, so a lot depends on him, on his way of thinking and life, relationship with God. What is the intention of this business, what is the benefit of it to society, what motivates the person who organizes this business, what intentions does the person have for a hypothetical profit, and much more...

Often there are failures in business, when a person builds his business on laziness, he wants to earn money, but at the same time do nothing, such a business is instantly destroyed, even no business plan helps.

Some business, with good intentions and fruits, starts to work, but is destroyed by the way this business actually works, for example, due to mediocre quality, direct or indirect deception.

In order for a business to start working, it needs to be properly organized in all directions, starting from the scope of activity, a competent business plan, the composition of the founders, avoiding, for example, in this composition, crafty people, as well as those with whom you cannot have nothing in common (a sorcerer cannot, for example, deal with an Orthodox person), and there should be no compromise in such matters. It’s good when the manager has gone through all stages of growth; if this is not the case, then there should be a specialist with relevant experience who would always be nearby. A small business, in my personal opinion, should be built only on what the manager himself is perfectly versed in and what, if necessary, he can teach people, replace someone, do the work independently at any time, in this situation there is no financial crisis for an individual entrepreneur not scary.

In general, it is important to understand that professionalism is made up of little things and that in business there are no such little things - neither in the organization, nor in the structure, nor in the management of affairs and the team. It is important to make the right decisions and take the right actions at every stage. Time is fleeting, but some decisions must be made first, and some left for later. To do this, you need to have a rational view and adequately assess the situation.

Many people believe that in order to start working, you only need initial capital. This is wrong! Initial capital is needed, but it must be distributed correctly, otherwise it will turn into depreciated real estate and will not bring any benefit, such a business will end before it even begins.

In business you have to deal with the tight interconnection of various links in your direction - both at the time of organization and in the process of work. Somewhere the first link is working, but the second is slowing down. But we, for example, know from a physics course that a serial connection completely turns off further links if the intermediate ones do not work - in business everything works the same way. Therefore, it is important to choose the right suppliers, but that’s not all, it is important to look at the developing situation: it seems like you are trying your best, doing everything, but various links at all stages are failing, and this blocking is also not without reason, you need to think and analyze why you are doing something wrong, going in the wrong direction? For example, because of pride.

Pride

Sometimes competent managers and successful entrepreneurs are so confident in themselves that they destroy not only an additional business, but also blow up the main one. Some quickly, others gradually achieve this destructive effect. From the point of view of management, everything is correct, you look, there are minor mistakes, but there cannot be a catastrophe because of them... The answer is simple: a person is so proud that he acted, relying only on himself, his skills and efforts, he lost all values, a failure the result was not long in coming. Then God's providence comes into play, which shows a person the value of life, family, love, and, if everything is done correctly, economic life will rise, if not, it will continue to collapse until an understanding appears... Why and for what.

Failures and temporary difficulties in business must also be correctly perceived and used for positive purposes. After all, stagnation is given for a reason: this is a wonderful time to clean up your desk, think, relax, go to Temple, engage in additional education, this is a time to reassess what we underestimated, and the time that breaks our bustle.

Summing up, we can say with confidence that a person and the things he does are interconnected, what a person does and how he does it, with what mood - leaves an imprint on the final result of the work. It is important to relate correctly to God, to yourself, to people, to choose the right performers, to select the right personnel.

Every business disaster is a personal disaster for a particular person. I am working with many people now, restoring the Temple. So, 99% of performers don’t even give discounts, they work “at a high price”, and initially declare a lot. But people don’t know that where the Church is, there a person shows himself 100% as he is; this cannot be hidden behind all the masks. All discords are revealed, all the nuances of a particular company are visible, and these nuances are far from the best... All problems lie in the mistakes of management, the organization of the process and, in the end, in a leader who has no order in himself...

Therefore, things need to be started with God’s help, with a spiritual outlook, and, first of all, you need to put things in order in yourself.

The material was created in preparation for the launch of the “Business Project”

Priest Nikolai Osipov g.o. Samara rector of the Temple in honor of martyr. Tryphon

If your business constantly requires more and more new investments to stay afloat, know that this is not normal and the situation needs to be corrected. In my two years of working in financial consulting, I have talked to a bunch of entrepreneurs who suffer from this problem. I myself came out of such a problematic business in 2015 with a debt of 1.5 million rubles.

Businesses are different, but the problems are the same - and they are not always that the product is bad. I’ll tell you about the three most common mistakes that prevent your business from making money.

Frequent mistakes of entrepreneurs

1. You believe that all the money in the business is yours

Entrepreneurs often live with the attitude “I = business, company cash desk = my wallet.” If they want to go on vacation, they take it from the cash register. You need to fill up the car - they go to the cash register again. They are the owners, so it’s possible.

Actually you can't.

The money you have in your cash register or checking account is not necessarily yours.

If you work on a prepaid basis, it could easily be your clients’ money, and you are already spending it, although you have not yet fulfilled your obligation. For example, you make websites, spent an advance payment, and the client changed his mind and asked for the money back. There is nothing to return.

Or you will need this money in the future. For example, on the 10th you took money from the cash register for a new phone, and on the 20th you have to pay your salary. Some of them will be left without a salary because you bought a phone with someone else’s money.

2. You are chasing more sales.

The concept of profit is taught in high school social studies classes. But entrepreneurs, adults, seem to forget about it - and evaluate their business by the amount of money in their current account. Indeed, they are easier to calculate than profits. But they don’t say anything about work efficiency.

For example, an entrepreneur sold 300 belts in a month with an average receipt of 3,000 rubles. I multiplied the numbers and got 900,000 rubles. After that, he will deduct the purchase price at most - there is, say, 300,000 rubles left. Seems to be OK. He earned money and is happy.

And if you subtract the salaries of sellers, transportation of goods, rent of premises, marketing costs, taxes, you will get not 300,000 rubles, but minus 50,000 rubles.

3. You can’t quantify management decisions.

Every action in business must be evaluated through the prism of profit. There are no good and bad management decisions; there are profitable and unprofitable ones. But entrepreneurs do not calculate the effect that their actions bring.

Are you planning to increase your conversion? Create a sales funnel and see what increase in revenue and profit this will ultimately give. Do you want to automate business processes? Estimate how many your employees have. Then consider whether this time could be spent more profitably.

For example, you have a store with one cashier who, on average, serves one customer in 30 seconds. You have automated sales, and now the cashier spends 15 seconds per customer. But does this make sense? If there are queues at the store, then yes. People will stop getting nervous and leaving, and there will be more sales. Next, you need to calculate how much more and when this increase will pay for the automation.

And if there were no queues, then automation will not bring any benefit. Unless the cashier will sit around a little more.

Of course, there is no need to fanatically calculate the effect of moving the cash register 3 centimeters to the left. But the key decisions you invest time and money into are necessary.

How to avoid such situations

1. Take money from the business according to your roles

Most likely, you have two of them: the owner and the director. The owner has the right to dividends from profits. Determine what percentage of the profit you will keep for yourself, and stick to this number. The director has the right to a salary. Look at how much directors earn and set yourself the same amount.

Dividends and director's salary are yours. Everything else is business.

2. Remember that increasing revenue does not always mean increasing profits

Open any book on economics. It says: as sales volume increases, the price falls and the cost per unit of goods increases. It happens that one sells 10,000 units of goods a month and works at a loss, while another sells 1,000 units - and in chocolate. Increase your sales volume only as long as it gives you an increase in profits.

3. Draw up a financial model when you plan to change something in your business

A financial model is a table that shows how a change in one indicator affects all others, including the most important one - net profit. It makes it easy to understand whether you should work on this or that indicator or whether it is ineffective.

conclusions

The problem for entrepreneurs is a phenomenon I call the absurdity of doing. A person works 14 hours a day, always coming up with something, solving some problems. With this approach, the process comes to the fore, not the result. I do and do, but I don’t know what it gives.

I'm for a different approach.

The main indicator that a business is operating efficiently is not the number of actions, but profit. Every action should lead to profit. And each action must be assessed from the point of view of how it increased profits.

And in order to evaluate a business through the prism of profit, you need to keep financial records: know the business resources, key indicators and growth levers. Read more about what financial accounting is and why an entrepreneur needs it in our previous one.

Evgeny Smirnov

# Interesting

Business not going well?

Stubborn statistics: 90% of businesses fail in the first year. What is the reason and what to do if your business is not going well?

Article navigation

• Signs of an Unsuccessful Business
• Reasons for stagnation in business
• Wrong approach to business
• Low quality or lack of internal business analysis
• Poor quality of financial management
• Low qualifications of the company manager
• Lack of ownership control
• Weak marketing campaign
• Wrong staff motivation
• Incorrect customer service
• Using only simple sales schemes
• Pathological desire for perfection
• Lack of self-confidence
• Refusing the benefits of the Internet
• Endless dumping
• Susceptibility to human laziness
• How to improve your business
• How to close an unprofitable business
• Selling a business
• conclusions

It often happens that a business that previously brought good income becomes unprofitable. It's no secret that many entrepreneurs face this problem immediately after opening a new business. To make your entrepreneurial venture profitable, you need to figure out what's going wrong and how to fix it.

Signs of an Unsuccessful Business

The very first warning sign is a sharp decline in sales. As you know, money should make money, but when business doesn't work, it becomes impossible. Only a dynamic, developing business can bring profit. If the income received does not correspond to the business plan, then you should think about the situation and analyze it.

Many attribute the stagnation in their business to rising prices for production factors, as a result of which the cost of the product has to increase and it sells poorly. Of course, price has an impact on product sales volumes, but if you try, you can find ways to reduce costs and make your product competitive.

Upgrade your business

Practice shows that stagnation in business is not due to price, but to the lack of a sufficient number of consumers. Any business ceases to generate income when there is no one to sell goods or services. To acquire new customers, you need to be able to work with ideas. After all, the basis of any market is the idea. It is introduced into the consciousness of a certain part of people who ultimately become consumers of services or goods and form a market.

Therefore, if a business fails, first of all you should pay attention to the popularity of your idea among the target audience. You can identify problems using surveys or simply observing the behavior of potential customers. It is also worth carefully studying the experience of competitors. Using their example, it will be easy to identify your own shortcomings and find the cause of unexpected losses or loss of customers.

Reasons for stagnation in business

There can be many reasons why business declines. Among them you can find both completely objective and the most banal ones, for example, laziness. You should understand that there are no trifles in business. Everything is important – organization, company structure, business and team management. For a business to work, it must be formed correctly by analyzing the reasons for stagnation.

Wrong approach to business

Any entrepreneur, starting his own business, must see and plan his actions several steps ahead. It often happens that a person, having opened a company, seems to hire himself to work and does only what is required at the moment. With this behavior, he cannot be called a business owner: he is simply an employee. To achieve success, you need to understand that you should always work not in the business, but on the business. It is also important to realize why the business was created and act in accordance with your purpose.

Many business projects fail due to insufficient funding because investors cannot be found. It can be quite difficult for an entrepreneur to convince someone that his idea will pay off.

Low quality or lack of internal business analysis

Business analysis is necessary for assessing and planning changes in an existing company. It helps to understand the state of affairs, facilitates interaction between participants in production processes and contributes to their standardization. Therefore, it is very important to find a good specialist who has system knowledge and the necessary business analysis techniques, especially when business is not going well.

If the company is not making a profit, it may be necessary to refocus on long-term cooperation or providing an expanded package of services. You should also analyze the state of your client base and determine who else could join it. You don’t need to wait for clients to come, but you need to look for them yourself, but also don’t forget about those who have already used the company’s services.

Poor quality of financial management

Owners of small and medium-sized businesses, as a rule, operate only with numbers from the cash flow statement. But the whole truth about the financial state of a business can be found out by having three forms of financial documentation - a balance sheet, a cash flow statement and an accounting of income and expenses. Using the balance sheet, you can find out the answer to the questions where the profit is and how effectively the money invested in the business works; thanks to the income statement - how much money is earned and how effective the business is; The cash flow report helps you understand how much money was received, how much was spent, and how much was left in reserve.

Proper management of financial flows is the cornerstone of building any business. It is unlikely to be successful unless its owner has good knowledge of marketing and management.

Low qualifications of the company manager

If the owner of a business is not running it, then someone else is doing it or no one is doing it. Both the first and second options are bad for business. At the same time, there is no need to blame your failure on various external factors - complex legislation, economic recession, expensive loans. The reasons why business is not going well should be sought, first of all, in yourself. After all, under the same external circumstances, some companies for some reason shoot up sharply, while others barely make ends meet. The business owner must be well versed in all work processes, understand his financial situation and have a development strategy.

Lack of ownership control

The first thing to do is to identify among the employees those who do not bring any benefit to the business and those who really work. There is such a procedure as timing of working hours. Of course, the manager himself should not do this; it is better to attract a qualified specialist from outside.

As a rule, timekeeping results show that 90% of workers are not doing what they are paid for. Such people are found among accountants, technicians and other specialists who do not directly influence the increase in the company’s profits, but at the same time eat up the lion’s share of it.

Weak marketing campaign

It is no secret that a product or service being produced needs maximum publicity. This can be done by distributing leaflets to the target audience, advertising on television, radio, specialized exhibitions, on the Internet, etc. The main thing is to quickly respond to the current situation and carefully analyze your activities.

Wrong staff motivation

Each employee of the company must understand that the achievements of the entire company depend on the results of his activities. In addition, he must see that his level of income depends on how effectively he performs his duties. Motivation must be built in such a way that each team member is interested in increasing the company's profits.

Incorrect customer service

Clients are divided into current and potential. Often, a company tries to attract new customers through advertising, which can become a significant problem when doing business. After all, using the right strategy, it is much easier to sell something to a person who has already taken advantage of an existing offer once. At the same time, every effort should be made to turn every potential buyer into an existing one.

You can earn much more from existing clients than from potential ones.

Using only simple sales schemes

Complex, multi-stage sales schemes provide much more effective results than simple ones. For example, if the product is specific, then you can offer the client free training on how to use it, and this stage will be one of the elements of the sales system.

Pathological desire for perfection

The desire to do everything perfectly is a problem that poses a much stronger threat than it might seem at first glance. If a person decides that he should launch a process only after bringing it to perfection, he risks never launching it.

Lack of self-confidence

If an entrepreneur is guided by the principle: “I’m sure this won’t work,” then his business is unlikely to be successful. To find out the result, you need to try to do something. The more trials there are, the higher the chances of success.

Refusing the benefits of the Internet

Every company, even a small one, should have its own website. As you know, the Internet is a fairly powerful sales tool. If an entrepreneur does not use it, he loses great opportunities.

Endless dumping

If an entrepreneur tries to win by constantly reducing the cost of his goods, then he only creates unnecessary problems for himself. If you carefully analyze the technology of effective sales, you can understand that selling expensively is not so difficult, and in certain situations it is even easier than selling cheaply. The main thing is to find the right tactics.

Susceptibility to human laziness

Having become an entrepreneur, you need to completely forget about laziness. Business cannot develop on its own; it requires constant work. Even if a businessman is satisfied with the current state of affairs, there will certainly come a time when he will need to take his business to a new level. Therefore, you must always be ready to “move mountains” for the sake of a future result.

How to improve your business

For many people, optimizing their own business is something very difficult and expensive. But there are a large number of ways to revive a business without investing large amounts of money.

Here is a list of the most effective of them:

• assortment analysis. Products that sell poorly should be removed, and more popular ones should be added at a higher markup;
• change of suppliers. You can always find those who sell cheaper or offer good discounts;
• revision of the tax regime. If it is chosen incorrectly, you can go broke on taxes;
• putting the accounting in order. With accounting, everything must be very strict. If it is not managed correctly, it is impossible to adequately assess where the money goes;
• change of personnel. If most of the clients drop out at the stage of communication with the seller or manager, it means that they are working poorly and should be fired, hiring more professional specialists in their place;
• site optimization. There are a lot of little things that can directly affect sales. This inconvenient menu, an excess of pop-ups and widgets, even the lack of a phone number and address can turn off some customers.

Such simple methods will help improve the state of the business and stop losses, and the entrepreneur will have time to analyze the situation. In an unprofitable business, even small successes give him enthusiasm, so new ideas can come to his mind that can ultimately become life-saving.

What not to do:

• take out further loans. When borrowing money from a bank, you need to know exactly how to repay the loan. You should not count on profit in an unprofitable business;
• let the situation take its course. Of course, things will never get better. It will take a lot of effort to pull it out;
• sell personal property. As a result of such actions, you can lose everything - business, apartment, family;
• dump. Reducing the cost of your product in a crisis situation is the fastest way to completely ruin your business. If an entrepreneur thinks that by lowering the price he will be able to increase sales volumes, he is deeply mistaken. In fact, there is a risk of being left without working capital in a week or two. Dumping is good only when there is money and the market needs to drop;
• borrow. The situation is the same as with a bank loan. Sooner or later, any loan will have to be repaid. The only possible situation is the help of relatives who are able to understand that the business is not going well and lend money with the condition “you will pay it back when you can.”

There is no point in raising additional funds to revive your business if you are not sure that the investment will be justified.

There is an exit!

How to close an unprofitable business

Many entrepreneurs prefer to close an unprofitable company and want to know how to do this with minimal risks. The most common and effective way to get rid of a business that is not profitable is liquidation, which with a competent lawyer can be done quite quickly and without complications.

How to understand that it’s time to close a business:

• We tried all the ways to improve his health, but nothing helped;
• there is no dynamics. Business growth is the main criterion for success, even if the profit is 5% per year. Otherwise, it is better to close;
• the point of no return has been passed. Before opening a business, every businessman decides in what case he will close. If such a case occurs, it is time to stop activities;
• nothing to pay taxes with. If you don’t have enough money to even pay taxes, it’s time to think about closing;
• a lot of bad debts have accumulated. Debt obligations to creditors and suppliers, unpaid office rent - if this has reached a critical point, there is no point in continuing the business;
• there is no way to pay salaries to employees. In this case, it may even lead to criminal liability if the staff complains where it should;
• lost interest in the matter. In such a situation, I don’t want to resuscitate anything.

There are two options for closing a business – liquidation and bankruptcy. For individual entrepreneurs, the best way is liquidation. Bankruptcy for an individual entrepreneur is a stigma for a long time: you will not be able to do business for 3 years, take out loans, and you may also lose your property.

In case of bankruptcy of a legal entity, the founders risk much less, since they are not liable to creditors with personal property. This, of course, does not mean that the company should be declared bankrupt at the first opportunity. It makes sense to take such a step if a lot of debts have accumulated and there is no way to pay them off. In the event that there is a chance to close the obligations, it is better to resort to simple liquidation. If there are no debts at all, you can leave the LLC in the register and submit zero declarations. In this case, the state will not have to pay anything, but when the business owner wants to return to work, he will already have a ready-made company.

Individual entrepreneurs pay taxes regardless of whether they have a profit or not. It is completely unprofitable for them to leave the matter “just in case”, since they will have to give up to 30 thousand rubles to the state annually. Moreover, opening a new individual entrepreneur is not at all difficult.

Selling a business

Only an LLC can be officially and entirely sold. Legal implementation of IP is impossible. You can only sell the material assets of an individual entrepreneur, his trademark (provided that it is registered). If someone takes the risk of buying an IP project, he will have to redo everything: registration of documents, cash register, contracts with suppliers, regulatory authorities.

A legal entity has the opportunity to sell its company along with its assets, name and even employees. In the case when the director remains the same, there is not even a need to renew agreements with counterparties.

A business can be sold through free advertising portals, for example, Avito, or by announcing the sale on social networks. But it should be borne in mind that there are unlikely to be many people willing to purchase an unprofitable business. The sale can be successful if the following conditions are met:

• no serious debts. When it comes to an LLC, the new owner not only acquires the business, but also its debts. If the debt load is large, the chances of selling such a business are too small;
• the presence of at least the slightest prospect for the success of the business after the sale. For example, the old owner does not have the opportunity to increase working capital, since all his reserves have been exhausted, but the new owner has money, so he can try his luck and take the company to the next stage of development;
• the new owner has more experience in doing business, so he sees all the mistakes made and knows how to correct them in order to make a good profit.

conclusions

If the business is not going well, the first thing to do is to reconsider the idea and strategy of running it. You need to understand the reason why the business idea didn’t work, and you also need to be able to make the right decisions by following three simple rules:

• take full responsibility for the business, employees, clients. Think not about how much to put in your pocket, but how to make sure that the company develops, employees are satisfied with the working conditions, and customers are satisfied with the product;
• prepare basic reports every month: cash flow, profit and loss, balance sheet;
• plan the company's work. By drawing up a sales and expense plan, an entrepreneur has the opportunity to control the current situation and at the same time set realistic goals.
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