Imagine you decided to get into shape.
You read up on how to get physically fit quickly and safely and start training for a marathon.
You train in very specific ways, building up your mileage and muscle and developing your running technique.
Before you know it, you’ve completed your first couple of races. Not only are you fitter than you’ve ever been in your life – you’re become a bit of a running expert …
Then you sprain your ankle, very badly.
You’re desperate to start running again – but how?
First you need a physio to help you heal. They’ll give you lots of exercises to build up your range, control and strength over several weeks or months.
Then you need their advice to learn how to run again safely, without risking re-injury.
All those running skills and knowledge you built up while your body was healthy are only of limited use when your body is injured and vulnerable.
The situation is different… You need to learn to run differently, for a while at least. And that’s hard to do all by yourself. You need expert help.
It’s the same when your business is in distress – as so many are right now.
If you’ve created a company turning over more than £1 million a year, you’ll have excellent business-building skills. You know how to attract clients or customers, how to manage a good team, and how to deliver your product well.
That doesn’t give you the ability to turn around your business when it’s in financial trouble.
That takes completely different – often specialist – knowledge and skills…
For example, you need to understand your business’s numbers at great depth. You need to be able to manage cash flow, come up with creative solutions for cash problems and know how to get a cash injection quickly.
You may have to restructure the business.
You may have to understand insolvency laws, ensure you are not engaging in “wrongful trading”, be able to prioritise creditors and ensure your legal obligations are being met.
Just because you’ve built a successful business doesn’t mean you have the ability to do any of this. (Just like a great runner won’t know how to manage their sprained ankle alone.)
In fact, the vast majority of business owners don’t.
Why would you? You went into business to succeed – not to manage failure!
The problem is that business owners in this situation usually take far too long to acknowledge that they are not equipped to save their businesses and seek expert help.
You probably feel that your business is your “baby”… You built it, you can fix it, right?
No one knows your business as well as you do.
And bringing in outside experts feels like giving up control of something that is very precious to you… Perhaps even your life’s work.
So you try to hang on, doing whatever you can to turn things around…
Using the limited skills you have to fix things…
Falling into deeper despair as your business falls into a deeper and deeper financial hole.
It’s a terrible mistake, because the cost of getting all this wrong is so enormous.
The longer you wait to seek help, the harder it will be for the financial professionals to rescue your business.
And not only could you end up losing the company, but you could end up in legal trouble if you do not handle this process correctly.
That’s why, if your business is showing signs of distress, it’s critical to get advice from turnaround experts as early as possible.
We have the knowledge and experience you lack to fix things.
We’ll see options and solutions you can’t possibly see – and have the contacts and skills to make those happen.
What’s more, if the business you have lovingly built up over years is in trouble, you’ll be feeling extremely stressed and perhaps even panicky. It can be hard to make really sensible, but difficult decisions.
We can give you really objective advice, which is critical in high-pressure situations.
Recognising that you can’t fix things alone isn’t an admission of defeat. It’s the first, brave step in turning your business around.
If you’re worried in any way that your business is entering into a spiral of financial trouble, get in touch with us today. Just hit ‘reply’ or call us on 01279 647 447 for a confidential chat about your business and options.
The earlier the better…
Warmly,
Garry
