How To Protect Your Small Business In A Volatile Stock Market

When stock prices move erratically, economic indicators weaken, or housing prices fall, small business owners get nervous. As a result we experience many sleepless nights because we have no idea what tomorrow will bring in terms of orders, or more importantly, payment for our goods and services.n nWe begin to believe that our best customers, who get behind in their payments to us, might fall further behind than they’ll admit. We wonder whether their promises to pay are empty. And, we worry about meeting payroll in the coming weeks.n nWhat does that mean for the average small business owner? n nOn the surface, it usually means we must hunker down as if the business has just seen its last sale. On a deeper level, many small businesses (dare I say, most?) are, even in good times, barely getting by. n nThe truth is, small businesses tend to be at the bottom of the economic food chain. Therefore, when the economy slips ever so slightly, it swallows many good businesses that were thriving months earlier. And then, in a chain reaction, vendor after customer after vendor fails.n nBut a small business can ride out a downturn more easily if it practices a few time-tested strategies that will strengthen any business, in good times or bad.n n5 Proven Strategies to Help You Protect and Grow Your Business During an Economic Downturnn n1) Don’t buy more raw materials inventory than you need. n nIn fact, reducing your inventory stores is an excellent strategy in any economic condition. n nReturn inventory that you don’t need. Sell, for less than you paid if necessary, any inventory that you don’t need and can’t return. Cash in the bank is more useful than worthless parts taking up space in your facility.n n2) Eliminate obsolete finished-goods inventory that won’t sell for what it cost you to produce.n nSome owners think that dealing with obsolete inventory takes valuable time away from their business operations. On the contrary, keeping obsolete inventory is a huge waste. If it is truly obsolete, then its value is not what it cost you. Its value is $0. When your CPA discovers that your inventory is obsolete, he has an obligation to write it off, which may hit your bottom line hard. n nWhile its value is zero, you may think that it doesn’t cost you anything just sitting there in the warehouse. But it’s actually costing you big! It wastes precious warehouse space and utilities. It wastes time for your workers to move around it. And it costs to count it at physical inventory time. n nReduce the extent of the write-off and the worker inefficiency by continuously selling off inventory that becomes obsolete. You will get quick cash, free up your warehouse space, and take less of a hit at inventory-counting time.n n3) Don’t build up finished-goods inventory. n nOne of the biggest mistakes that small business owners make is to ‘get ready for more sales’ by continuing to manufacture, at the same high rate, product for sale when it is selling more slowly. This mistake is a cash flow sponge that can soak up all of your cash reserves at a time when you need them the most. n n4) Don’t try to ride it out with your employees. n nWhen your labor force runs out of work, send them home early. Give them their choice of two days off in the next month, without pay. When you trim your labor base early in a downturn, it is more likely that your employees will be able to find other work. Your business will remain stronger, and may be able to rehire them sooner. You must remain as efficient as possible to protect your family and be able to provide for the families of the workers whom you retain. n n5) Send outdated invoices that your customers won’t pay, to a collection agency. n nGetting half now is better than nothing later when your customers have filed for protection. Audit your receivables. Make sure that all of your customers have each invoice they owe you and that your collections department has some leeway to aggressively collect your money. The further down that a shaky economy takes us, the more difficult it is to collect.n nThe best part is that once you’ve ridden out a downturn and become accustomed to these management behaviors, you can continue to do business this way, and you’ll see higher profits when times are good.