We all face setbacks. It’s a part of life. Setbacks seem to hit differently when it’s your small business. You’ve probably poured your heart and soul into it. How can small business owners, who often have fewer resources and less margin, bounce back from setbacks on the business front?
We know you plan, but often setbacks can seemingly blindside you. Taking extra precautions and learning how to deftly deal with unforeseeable roadblocks can keep your small business afloat when times get tough.
Do Your Best to Save and Prepare
We’ve all heard the phrase “a rainy day fund”, but this is especially important when a major financial setback hits. It’s easy to spend the money your business is making when it’s booming. Reinvesting in your business as a whole seems like the best option. However, if you can manage to reinvest some gains as well as save a large portion, you’ll have more peace of mind when a setback occurs. This way, when profit margins drop, you won’t have to fear not being able to pay your vendors or manage your overhead costs.
It’s also important to mentally prepare for setbacks. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. You lose a big client; you fell victim to a cybersecurity issue; negative work culture is affecting team productivity. Whatever the situation, at one point or another, your business will suffer a setback. How you respond to it will be the determining factor of getting back on track.
Be Accountable and Fix What You Can
It’s important to accept the part you played in a business setback and grasp why you might have had an oversight. This is not to say you should dwell. Stewing over the hows and whys isn’t going to correct the issue. So, once you’ve identified the problems, sit down and start making a plan to move forward.
This might include adjusting your business plan. Maybe you can find ways to cut back on operations costs. Perhaps changes in your market lead a client to one of your cutting-edge competitors.
No single business has succeeded without failure, but it’s how you handle the struggle bounce back that truly matters. Once you overcome your obstacles, you can come back stronger than before.
Ask For Help
We’ve talked about the benefits of having a mentor for your small business when you have questions and scenarios you’ve never imagined. This would be a perfect time to lean on those resources to help guide you in this uncharted territory. It’s guaranteed that your mentor has experienced something similar, if not shockingly the same. They have the experience to see how it played out in their business, and the hindsight to see what they could have done differently in that situation. Take heed of their misfortunes and consider their perspective to get you through this tough time. A business mentor can help you find the confidence and motivation to push through your problems.
Recognize What You’re Doing Right
When disaster strikes, it’s far too simple to focus on the negative and not take stock of what is actually going well with your business. If you start keeping track of your small wins, you might start to notice how those begin to snowball into larger and more meaningful long-term goals and plans.
This may mean you have reset your business plan and have adjusted your short-term goals to adequately reflect where you and your small business have currently landed. Keeping those goals healthy will empower you as you push through the struggle. It also helps with company morale, if you can highlight what you are doing right, versus honing in on exterior factors, which often are out of your control.
It’s important to utilize all of your resources, the best you can, in times of setback and heavy stress. Build Fund, operated by Renew Indianapolis, may be the first resource you can utilize. At Build Fund, we are able to connect you to flexible, affordable, and responsible funding options for your business. Start the process now!
