Small Business Advice: What’s Your Stimulus Plan?

From TAB business coach, Marcy Turkington:

With all the discussion surrounding TARP, TARP2 and how to get the economy back on track, business owners are presented with a great opportunity in thinking about what they can do to stimulate their business’s economic position. What’s working (literally), what’s not, and what has the potential to generate the greatest returns – in other words, what’s your stimulus plan for business improvement?

As the saying goes “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Tough times invariably create new opportunity by encouraging businesses to take a hard look at current offerings, operations and approaches.

Historically, many businesses become stronger during downturns not due to competitor failure, but [instead] due to prioritizing the changes needed to adapt to the new environment, assessing where changes are needed and where resources should be refocused and then implementing these changes. To use this technique in your company, consider the following:

1. Ask your employees, if they owned the company and had only $1,000 to spend where would it go? $10,000? What if they had to cut a comparable amount? Their answers may surprise you.
2. Complete this sentence – “Our customers give us money because”: [and] then make sure you continue investing in that level of service, increasing efforts there where possible.
3. Spend time and money resources where you can get the greatest return – marketing and training are excellent investments during these times.
4. Talk to your customers – what are their pains during these times? How can you better serve them to help with their business goals?
5. Look to partnering with others who provide offerings to the same customer demographics that you do. There is strength in numbers.
6. Evaluate current partnerships and alliances – are you getting a good return on your investment in time and relationship and is it equitable?
7. Consider acquiring competitor(s).
8. Look at your current customer base. Are there any markets or groups of customers you should consider no longer serving? Are there new markets you can provide offerings to?

As with any stimulus plan, your stakeholders (customers, partners, suppliers and employees) must be supportive of changes to your business strategy, so take care to have an outside focus on changes you will implement. Down times are an opportune time to revisit how, what and where you’ll invest your resources – not only your capital and equipment, but your employees, your competencies, your time and your focus. Consider your economic stimulus plan as you move into 2009 and watch your company out-pace the competition.

What are you struggling with in this economic uncertainty? Send us your challenges or post them here so we can discuss.