4 Tips on How to Keep Your Business Afloat in a Challenging Economy

In any kind of economic downturn, small businesses are often hit the hardest. It’s now more important than ever to be creative and find ways to make your customers happy.

In any kind of economic downturn, small businesses are often hit the hardest. It’s now more important than ever to be creative and find ways to make your customers happy. At Decimal, we work with many small businesses and want to help your business continue to thrive in whatever storm may come. Here, we’ve put together some tips on how to keep your business afloat in a challenging economy.

Tip 1: Keep the big picture and shed the unnecessary

In times of economic stress, all your regular expenses can be a weight dragging you down. Sometimes it is necessary to go back to what your business goals are and assess what things are not directly helping you with your goals. Focus on what brings customers to your business - whether that’s to your website or to the doors to your store - and see what obstacles they may encounter to get there. Remove the roadblocks so you can continue to get new customers. These can include side projects, expensive partnerships, or inefficient processes that can be eliminated or fixed relatively quickly. While these things can be helpful and provide eventual growth, in an economic downturn it may be necessary to reduce efforts in other areas to keep your main vision alive and well.

Next, go through your monthly or quarterly expenses line by line and see what items are slowly dragging you and your bank accounts lower – is too much being spent on branded merchandise (like cups and t-shirts) or do you really need those really unusual (and more costly) coffee beans for the machine. This kind of assessment can help you know what things can be paused for now to allow for continual growth. Who knows? Maybe after some time, you will realize you never really needed some of those expenses in the first place.

Tip 2: Keep up on your bookkeeping

Going through your expenses can save you a lot of money, and keeping your books up to date all the time is the best way to stay on top of your finances. However, going through bookkeeping on your own can be very time-consuming. It is difficult to focus on your bookkeeping when you also need to focus on improving your product, serving your customers, and maintaining your business in times of economic hardships. That is where we come in!

Decimal - an online bookkeeping solution

At Decimal, you get a dedicated bookkeeper that keeps track of all your expenses and works directly with you to help you know what is going on with your business’ finances. We do this so you can have the time and energy to make decisions for your business - decisions that matter to you and will have a significant impact on your business to keep it running smoothly amidst the unpredictable economic climate.

Tip 3: Make adjustments without sacrificing quality

You know your business better than anyone else. You know why customers come through your doors, make their purchases, or subscribe to your service. After going over your finances, finding those line items that are just a little too expensive can help you find less costly alternatives. But be careful not to make changes that will decrease your customer satisfaction.

For example, say you have a restaurant and need to cut costs. While you could substitute the cheese you use for a cheaper version, that could lead to dissatisfaction with your food. Instead, find where you can change things like napkins or cleaning supplies to less expensive versions that will still get the job done – particularly if there is no difference in quality. That way, the reason your customers come through your door (in this example, the food) stays the same, and you are able to better financially stabilize your business.

Finding parts within your business that you can improve even while under economic distress is when real innovation occurs. Get creative with your team and see how you can improve the customer experience, which will only help your business grow. Having this time on your hands to accomplish these things is vital to the growth of your business.

Tip 4: Keep your head up

If this year has taught us anything, it’s that business owners should be ready for anything. While this may be daunting, allowing yourself to focus on the essential aspects of your business will allow you to stay optimistic and not get discouraged. At Decimal, our goal is to help give you more control over your business. In times of economic downturn, Decimal team members are by your side, dedicated to helping you understand your finances. Get in touch with us today to see how Decimal can help your accounting operations.