Immediate Cash Flow Relief

When cash flow in your business starts to wane, how do you react? We sometimes go into denial or avoid the issues. Or we get paralyzed – the “deer in the headlamps” syndrome. Or we get desperate and start and doing silly things that just worsen the situation. There’s a far better way.

Years ago, my bank manager called me up and told me that if I continued on the route I was taking in my business, I would go bankrupt. I had been in denial and I needed that wake-up call. I got such a shock that I immediately started implementing the ideas in this article and I saved myself from definite bankruptcy. I turned my business around and never got into that situation again. Let’s talk about what doesn’t work, first, just so you know I understand your predicament.

Denial and hiding away obviously doesn’t work, but we need to realize when we’re doing that. If you’re avoiding certain people and situations, not returning certain calls, playing a lot of solitaire while the Titanic sinks, focusing more on getting credit than on making money, going to movies alone when you’re supposed to be on a sales call… you get the picture. When you get back from the movies your business looks like a horror movie. Hiding won’t work. And you will upset a lot of people.

Paralysis is next. Keep on doing what got you into trouble in the first place, like using outdated marketing and advertising methods, or keeping people that should have been fired, or dealing with losers. If you don’t change, your circumstances won’t change. They’ll get worse. You have to be prepared to change what you’re doing if you want to change what you’re getting. If it’s not working, stop doing it. Stop beating the dead horse.

And then the desperate things – “desperate people do desperate things,” I know, been there, done that, got the T-shirt. That’s like paying the MasterCard with the Visa card, calling bad accounts up, going back to people who you know you shouldn’t do business with. The temptation is there for the quick buck, but believe me it’s going to cost you a lot more. Stay away from the losers. Don’t do things that you know won’t work, for the sake of being busy. “Look how hard I’m working ! I’m trying!” Work smart.

Here’s the attitude. Stand back and look at your business like a bucket beneath a faucet or tap. The bucket has holes in it – that’s expenses. Cutting expenses is always good, as long as it doesn’t detract from the level of service you provide and the optimal functioning of your business. I know I was ready to make some radical changes in my life when I saw bankruptcy looming, and I luckily bounced those ideas off a good friend whose sage advice saved me from some very silly choices. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, unless it’s a stepchild. More important than cutting costs, look at opening that faucet up so that your income is increased dramatically. The best cash flow income is fast, high margin, low cost, and leveraged. Short term is best, as long as it includes a medium term and / or long-term component, or you will be bailing water out of the boat as fast as it comes in, thereby perpetuating the situation. All you’ll get is tired.

Be objective. If you know something is wrong, don’t do it. Don’t be desperate. Think clearly. Bounce your decisions off a successful friend who understands your business. Look for high margin, fast turn-around, low or no risk. Ideally, commissions on other peoples’ efforts and resources, so that you expend minimum time and get as much leverage as you can. This is where you want to work only with very reliable people. Get advice from winners who are honest, creative, and objective.

Take Action. Who can I call right now? Instead of hiding, call your creditors up, tell them what the situation is and you might be pleasantly surprised at their response. After all, they want to get paid, so they might offer you better payment terms, or, better still, offer you a few solutions! That will relieve your stress and get you thinking more clearly and creatively. The answer is to take the right action – now. Confront the issues. Make the hard choices. Do what you fear. Look at what worked in the past, that you might not being doing now. Make those calls. Ask for the sale. Tell people what you want. Leverage your resources. And monitor your progress. Take a good, long look at the numbers in your business and look at them every day.

After my brush with bankruptcy all those years ago, I decided to never put my family and myself in that same situation again. I focused on the power, leverage and safety of Joint Ventures and never looked back. I use JV’s in every aspect of my business and so I operate on a very low cost, high margin, low risk basis. I spread my income and so I avoid peaks and valleys and optimize my opportunities. I work with carefully selected partners. Even if you don’t have cash flow problems but you want to put your bottom line of steroids, if you want instant access to the right people, the right systems and the right Joint Venture training, we can help. Visit www.dollarmakers.com and take action – NOW.

Robin J. Elliott