Tips for the Boss During Difficult Times

: Markets have shifted dramatically in the last couple of years. Construction specifically has dropped off the map. For some companies there are no good answers – a business built on the back of new construction that isn’t able to adapt to a different market will likely go under. Are you adapting?

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Examine the Market

As the real estate market has dropped off the construction that is happening has shifted from the construction of new houses to the remodeling of existing houses. Is your company gearing sales in this direction? More people are doing it themselves as opposed to paying a contractor – are you set up to help the do it yourselfer? Do you have the people in place who can knowledgably answer questions from beginners?

Slim Down

There is no room for excess in this market and that means you have to pin-point the excess and get rid of it. It’s tough, but likely employees will have to be laid off. Make sure you’re laying off the right ones.

Value

When you’re trying to figure out who to keep and who to let go you need to be a ruthless calculator of value. Examine the money you pay each employee and determine whether or not the money being paid to them is being returned in terms of genuine bottom line dollars. If an employee isn’t pulling their weight – they’ve got to go. There is no other option. It’s either them or the company. I know this is tough – but take solice in the fact that the government has extended unemployment benefits and also is offsetting the staggering costs of the COBRA health plan for recently unemployed workers. There is a safety net in place.

I want to see people really looking at these dollars in and out. Every company I’ve ever worked for, save one, has obvious, flagrant wasted dollars – usually based on vanity. Employers like to look big and strong and sometimes this leads to dollars just being flushed down the proverbial toilet.

Sales vs. Marketing

Sorry marketers, you’re on the losing end of this debate. Sales people are the ones out in the field, making the connections, generating real dollars that fill the company’s coffers. Marketers on the other hand play a game of hype. There tends to be a lot of self-importance and vanity within company marketing. Most companies can afford to cut their marketing dramatically and notice very minor drops in their revenue – resulting in a net savings for the company. Sales people on the other hand are invaluable. If you have good, talented sales people, hang on to them for dear life.

Cut Every Cost: Get creative and leave no stone un-turned when looking for ways to cut the company’s costs. One company I worked for talked to their health insurance provider and managed to get the administrative costs of the health plan cut in half – this resulted in a $450 savings per month, or $5,400 annually. It may not seem like much, but all those little costs, the nickels and dimes, can add up to a solid chunk of cash when you multiply those costs over months, quarters, and years.

Inspire Your Employees

Now, more than ever, your employees need to be inspired and encouraged. This is a situation where you either all work together like a well-oiled machine, or you sink to the bottom of the sea. Disunity and chaos is not an option. You get enough competition from the other players in your business, you can’t tolerate internal conflicts and fissures tearing your own company apart.

Silver Lining

These are seriously grim times, but the thing to keep in mind is that eventually things will get better. When they do, those companies that have managed to get through this uncertain, slow economic period, will be poised to take great advantage of a burgeoning market. These tough times will focus the will of the strong like nothing else. Those that emerge will be sleeker and stronger than ever before.

In the mean-time, good luck to you. The task at hand is a daunting one, but together we can and will get through it and be stronger because of it.