There is a lot of uncertainty in the economy, and many business owners I’ve polled are foreseeing a slow in 3rd quarter business. In some cases, corporate lay-offs and reduction in spend is affecting small business cash flow.

Inflation is high, and while higher interest rates make for better returns from our savings account, it also makes it difficult to get favorable terms with lenders. Even the business news is confusing; some economists say we’re going into a recession and others do not agree.

This moment calls for nurturing our businesses and ourselves, and doing what is necessary to make sure we will be just fine in 2023.

Metaphorically, this is a moment to give our businesses some “motherly love.” What does this look like?

1. Consider additional revenue streams for growth. Want a guided way to do that? Download the 7 Steps to a Profitable Pivot….In June, I will be working with a select group of business owners on this process to generate more revenue in their business. More details to come!!! If you’re interested and not on my email list, downloading 7 Steps will add you to my list.

2. Business Development: Network with colleagues that provide products and services complementary to yours – look for potential synergies, make referrals for each other and put reminders on your calendar to check in so you stay top of mind for each other. When is the last time you did this?

3. Relationship Management: Spend one on one time with customers to understand what is going on in their business now, what their goals, challenges and recent accomplishments are. and discover how you can further support them in any of these areas.

4. People Management: Have one on one meetings with employees and contractors and ask the same questions as recommended above for talks with customers; see if they have any feedback on how you can work better together; ask them if there are additional skills they want to learn and see if there are training opportunities.

5. Internal Operations: Complete internal operations projects you’ve been meaning to take care of – implement new systems, and create standard operating procedures for critical parts of your business.

Those are some actions you can take instead of being frazzled, stuck in the mindset of ‘settling’, or afraid, worried and anxious about what’s going on in the economy and how it’s affecting your business.

If it’s affecting your business, customers or clients in a negative way, reset your focus. What I have learned after going through a couple cycles of recession is, sometimes our businesses need that motherly love and nurturing.

 

Want to increase profits in your business by an average of 10-20%? I use a 6-step method to make this happen for my clients. Schedule a financial strategy call to learn more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tricia Taitt is the CEO and Chief Financial Choreographer of FinCore. She holds an M.B.A from The Fuqua School of Business of Duke University, and a BS in Economics with a Finance concentration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. For over 20 years, she’s been a finance professional. Half of the time was spent working on Wall Street while the other half was spent in the trenches side by side with small business owners. As a result of working with FinCore, clients have been able to take control of their numbers and feel more confident in their ability to make decisions, while increasing profits by 10% and building a cash stash to invest in growth. Follow Tricia on LinkedIn and Instagram.