Written by Jim McCann, Spader Business Management
For some delaers, post-COVID reality
means enduring losses while keeping
the team together and readying for a
market rebound. For many, though, the
prospect of 30, 60, or even 90 days with
significantly-reduced revenue isn’t just an
inconvenience. If you fit into that category,
here are Spader Business Management’s
9 Action Items for Stabilizing and Shaping
Your Future.
1. Take control of cash. Make sure it
doesn’t get any worse. Stop all spending
without approval by appropriate leadership.
Put together a best-case/worst-case
weekly, 30 and 60-day cash flow plan and
rewview it often to make key adjustments.
2. Assess the situation using facts.
Seek reliable sources (internal and external)
about what is going on and what is
possible. Do you truly have a vialbe business,
or do you need to minimize losses
and get out? What are the odds of getting
ack to profitability? How long will it take?
Are you, as the leader, ruly ready to do it?
3. Watch your attitude (and the attitudes
of others). Conduct a “checkup
from the neck up” for you and your key
people. Do your people know what you
stand for, what the performance expectation
is, and what the vision for the business
is? Who is not “on the team?” Those who
are draining energy must change now – or
leave.
4. Stop the losses. Figure out what you
need to do to not lose anymore money. At
minimum, get losses to manageable levels.
5. Find the positives. Look for incremental
business opportunties or “building
blocks.”
6. Make a recovery plan. How can
you make this business work? Create profit/loss
and cash flow plans for the range
of key scenarios (most likely, worst-case,
best-case, etc.)
7. Raise more cash. Identify situations
and decisions to generate cash. Borrow
where you have the capacity and it makes
sense. You never know when operating
and floor lines may be frozen or cut. Remember
’08 and ’09?
8. Strengthen credibility with customers,
lenders, vendors, staff,
etc. Share your plan. Maintain and build
credibility. Proactively and openly communicate
with all internal and external key
stakeholders. Tune into your customer
base like when you were just starting.
Communicate and connect with them,
offer specials, create value for them as
your customer. Tune your website to promote
your brand.
9. Show a profit. Identify the path to
profitability. Otherwise, plan to downsize
or even exit the business.
Spader Business Management provides businesses
with key proven principles to help
organizations survive, stabilize, grow and
maximize their potential. Spader Business
Management has developed policies and resources
utilizing one on one coaching, on-site
consulting, management training programs
and performance enhancement tools to improve
business efficiency. Spader Business
Management has facilitated 20 groups for
over 40 years in multiple industries, including
the Trailer Industry.
For additional information on how
Spader Business Management can support
your business, please contact
[email protected] or call 800-772-
3377. WWW.SPADER.COM
60 NATDA Magazine www.natda.org