Times are tough. It's the time to tighten the purse strings and go into survival mode!

Running a small business in these economic times is an enormous tasks. EL Consulting has a proven track record on helping small businesses  migrate through the rough waters. You and your businesses will be in much better condition to plot a course and control your destination and not just tread water for survival.

Answer these questions:

Do you know how to deal with vendors when you can’t pay and still get the needed supplies and materials?

Have you been put on C.O.D.? Is your account on hold and you need the product/supplies?

Learn how to negotiate with your vendors and actually take control!

Do you need to reduce your payroll expense? Can you make the tough decisions?

Base salaries too high? Too much overtime? Too many people for the downturn in your business? Job duties too segmented requiring more then necessary staff? Is the right person in each position that will enable you to win in a down market? Do you know your true labor burden/cost? Are you missing out on employee tax credits?

Are you planning for profitability? Do you know your "Break Even Point"?

Is each product or service priced for profitability? Do you know your cost of goods? Do you know your overhead? Do you know your profit margins? Are you on an "air tight" operating plan and budget?

Do you know your cash flow? 

Do you know your cash flow for today and at least the next six weeks? Are your accounts receivable and payable planned into your cash flow? Do you have an adequate sales plan and incentive tools to reach revenue and cash flow projections?  

Are you meeting your projected results? 

Do you analyze your projections vs actual and drill down to find the "root cause" of deficiencies? Do you do trend analysis? Do you adjust your operational plan with the changing times and conditions? Does each department /person know how they effect the bottom line? Do you have an employee evaluation process? Is it incentive based? Are your employees motivated?

Is your Small Business Organized?

Do you have a Mission Statement? Employee Handbook? Operations Manual? Training Manual? Safety Program for OSHA Compliance? Organizational Chart? Do you have a proper training program? Do you know the difference between "Training" and "Showing"?

Are you physically prepared to handle the stress of a down economy?

Are you lacking focus?  Is the stress in your business causing you mental fatigue? Is your heart rate higher than needed? If you lower your heart rate just 10 beats per minute do you realize that would  be 14,400 beats less per day? And that's just at rest. When you add in stress it could be thousands more beats per day.