We speak to business owners and company directors whose businesses have run into problems everyday. If yours has hit the stops and it is causing you problems you are not alone!
We have compiled wisdom from Entrepreneurs who although now are extremely successful, it has not always been the case.
These gems of advice stem from people who have been in your situation and got through it, so don’t give up hope!
If your worst fears have been realised, follow advice from people that have been there.
Allow yourself 3 full days for grieving, then plan your comeback
Making a fresh start is familiar to many company directors – our experience has indicated that 3 days is a good amount of time to allow yourself to mourn a failure or loss of business.
Once this is done, you can plan to build the capital to get up and start again; most will set reminders for themselves to stay on top of their plan execution.
Read I can’t Afford To Pay My Suppliers or HMRC, What Are My Options?
Stop, change direction, and ramp up acceleration
As above, allowing yourself time to stop and get your head in gear will be essential. Focus on your desired outcome and strategise – build a team around you that share your goal and that you can delegate to efficiently.
The next step is to look at your marketing and day-to-day operations, and of course finance predictions.
We have found that the majority of directors that know their numbers are in a much better position to deal with hardship when they are faced with it.
Always remember that the journey to success is a marathon, not a sprint.
Surround yourself with friends
You are in the right place to reassure yourself – researching other people in your situation will undoubtedly deter you from taking the stance that you are the only one who has been under similar circ*mstances, which of course is not a positive outlook (and is completely inaccurate!)
You need to know that others have recovered from great falls and prospered more than they could have imagined.
Having said this, don’t isolate yourself from others; your friends are a great safety net. There’s a lot of scientific studies to back up the fact that socialising is the best way to recover from anxiety and depression.
Your mindset is everything
During your grieving period, take the time to reset your attitude.
Establish your initial reasons for building your business in the first place; once you have established why, use this as your motivation to build a new venture.
Again, we all go through troughs and peaks, and dramatic events will pass – it is your choice whether to go up or down from here.
Not sure what to do?
If your company is struggling with unmanageable HMRC debts, poor cash flow, or an uncertain future, you are not alone.
We speak to company directors struggling with the same issues as you every single day, and we are here to give you the help and guidance you need.
Call our team for free, no-obligation advice today on 0800 975 0380 or book a free consultation
Seek the positives from the disaster
Often, a massive loss will open many doors of opportunity if you let yourself see them. Never lose faith in your abilities – just because one of your plans have gone wrong does not mean that every one of them will.
You may find yourself fired from a company that you have helped grow, for example. This is the time to take your fate into your own hands and own direct your own business.
Using an event that has devastated you to spur you into more ambitious action is the path by which we have witnessed many directors succeed.
Consider getting away
Several of our contacts have suggested putting serious thought into travelling if you need to shut up shop and start again.
One Director said that although he is doing well, if his business failed again he would start again in Thailand, taking as little as possible with him.
Studies do show that creativity is improved by travelling, along with emotionally re-charging and reducing your stress. Packing light would avoid distraction, while the fresh environment would spark new ideas.
Our advice would be to keep your living expenses low and sell products to wealthy customers worldwide while considering your options. Of course, you are under no obligation to stay there – the worst that can happen is that you’ve had a soul-searching holiday!
Pay your rent first, then start another business
As long as you believe in your product or service unreservedly, it shouldn’t matter what your new company is doing.
Of course, research should come first, but if you feel that you know what you are doing, you are likely to be right – always cover your rent first, then move on to new ventures.
Immediately share your new vision
Entrepreneurs should be starting afresh annually in any case! Financials, systems, processes and people should be assessed and altered as appropriate.
Start with what your firm does well, concentrating on the market need that is being fulfilled by yourselves, then focus in on your vision.
Share your vision with whoever is apt; usually this will either be your staff or your target market (or of course, both). This is obviously essential before investing into novel ventures.
Source your capital appropriately
Here, we are not just referring to financial capital but also to intellectual, physical and relationship capital. Assess the capital you have immediate access to and move forward with.
You can either quit or utilise your ‘assets’ to start over; take notice of the feedback that you get from sources that you wouldn’t ordinarily consider and modify your actions and way of thinking to produce the desired result.
Network, network, network!
Your ‘tribe’ should be identified and values should be determined to guarantee that someone shares your vision before spending time on them.
Our advice is to do some research and attend as many events as possible, spending as little as possible; you could even sit in a lobby without a pass to enter an event.
If you can be fearless and speak to everyone, the chances are that you’ll get a pass by speaking with the right people. If you arrive at an event at 7am and sit at the bar until 1am, it is very unlikely that you won’t talk to 1 person of interest. Learning to be unafraid to ask for help will make the world of difference.
Get free advice today
If your business has run into problems, you should think of hiring an insolvency specialist. They’ll be able to advise on the best route for you, such as Business Restructuring, as each one has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the company’s situation.
When you can get the commercial debt written off, then you can build a new business, while taking previous lessons you may have learned from your former business into account.
If you need some advice on which would be the best option for you why not take advantage of a free consultation, please call us on0800 975 0380today or email[emailprotected]
