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Are you bored with your business? Not sure? Here are 5 tell-tale signs to look out for.
Your Business Keeps Losing Big Contracts or Customers
It is a big blow for a business to lose a big contract or customer that brings good revenue to the firm. Although many factors can lead to a business losing a major source of revenue, a bored business owner can also play a role in that. Boredom can affect certain essential aspects of a business and even reduce the efforts made by the firm to keep clients happy.
Late Payments from Clients
When a business does not receive prompt payment from clients, it will of course adversely affect the amount of available cash. What at first glance appears to be a financial problem can often be traced back to apathy at the top. Proper communication with clients should keep them on their toes when it comes to paying their bills. However a bored businessperson does not have the drive to ensure that clients are paying bills on time.
Lack of Connection with Employees
Even the best business can experience an unusually high turnover of staff in a short space of time. Major changes such as a change of location, change of management, economic forces for instance can force people to make decisions about their work life they may otherwise not have made. But it may go unnoticed if a business has a steady stream of people who decide to leave. Or outsourced providers who are not as interested in working with them as they initially were.
Showing an interest in staff members as well as keeping them interested in the firm is an ongoing process that requires commitment from the top. In a business that is not performing well; efforts to keep staff engaged are low priority. Albeit unintentionally. In an environment where people feel they are not valued, even money ceases to be enough of an incentive for them to stay.
Reduced Credit Line
It is easier for a business banker to notice that a company’s viability in line with credits is slowly dwindling even before the owners or directors realise themselves. An increase in bounced payments and an ever increasing overdraft requirement is a red flag to banks. Before the credit crunch it was easy to trundle along not worrying too much until it came time to renew your facility. To their horror, business was finding existing credit under scrutiny. Much the same way, personal credit card providers reduce your credit limit if they feel you are struggling. It has also seen the rise of alternatives to the mainstream banks to cater to those entrepreneurs who feel they are held to ransom by the big banks. Or who themselves have found their bank unsympathetic during the tough times.
Where boredom exists, so does attention to details such as trends in the business. Or worse, the owner is fully aware, but procrastinates about doing what is necessary and settles for just getting by. Finally only spurred into action when a financial crisis hits and they are forced to act.
Lack of Fun and Motivation
Boredom cannot exist where there is fun and motivation, unfortunately, the reverse is also true. When something goes wrong in a business based on fun, it is seen as a blip. Where the landscape is negative, the same situation takes on crisis status.
If the business owner is intentional about concentrating on what it is about the business that brings pleasure to him or her. That will eventually translate to their team and crucially to their customers.
When you talk about your business do people comment on how “energetic”, “excited”, “passionate” you are. Or words to that effect?
If yes, then that’s great, but if no, or not for a long time. Maybe a glass of wine and a one to one with yourself about what makes you happy about your business is long overdue.
Share with us: Have you ever been fed up of running your own business? How did you overcome it? You can leave a comment below.
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Resources & Items Mentioned
Alternative to Mainstream banks
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