There are many obvious signs of trouble for a business. Struggling to make payroll each month, getting behind on payments to vendors, worrying about being able to make your next quarterly tax payment. Any of these indicate a need to review existing operations and consider making changes.
But what about the less obvious signs? Revenue has been stagnant for months, the phone isn't ringing as often as it used to, your employees complain they are overworked and yet productivity is down. If you are seeing these warning signs, there may be underlying problems that could be fixed with a turnaround specialist.
Turnaround services are not just for companies on the verge of bankruptcy. That is more of a hail mary attempt to save the business before it gets gutted for parts. Still valuable and worth pursuing, but engaging a turnaround specialist early can help ensure you do not end up on the edge of collapse.
Now, you might be asking why you would want to hire a turnaround specialist. It is your business, you know it better than anyone, what could someone else do that you haven't already tried? In my experience over the years, it is very easy as a business owner to get entrenched in your existing strategies without ever really considering alternatives. You might make small tweaks when a complete overhaul would save thousands and increase productivity because it simply does not occur to you or seems too daunting.
A skilled turnaround specialist can audit existing operations and identify strategies to improve many aspects of the business, and quality consultants will do this with an eye towards minimizing even minor disruptions or upfront costs. With some clients, this looks like pointing out loss leaders and putting forward ways to reduce those losses. With other clients, this involves the opposite: identifying best sellers and eliminating SKUs to focus on those that keep the business alive. This work is about a set of fresh eyes and will only be successful when egos are removed from the equation on both sides and the sole focus is the business.
Each turnaround project is unique but there is one consistent thread: Creative problem solving. Having a creative, adaptable, and cost-sensitive turnaround specialist could be the difference between bankruptcy and generational success.
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