small business owners

may i know what business you are into? mine is a computer shop and income now is not so good. you could share me sort of idea with you business if it can be adopted here.am from the Philippines

careful evaluation should be made in order to survive during hard times. first thing to do is examine accounts which demand large expenditures. might be office rent? then if so, maybe u can consider looking for a new place with lesser rent. office supplies too will have to be used as needed. some saving measures will have to be adopted, like for example, using the clean back side of the paper for office use. maybe, u can take a look at the office machines and the technology u are using. if u think u can do away without some of them, i am sure u can save from it. also, if u can make do with a few staff or no staff at all and can do the job urself, why not? it would be a big savings on ur part. good luck.

You might be amazed at how much cutting out a few pennies here and there can help your bottom line. I don't know what kind of business you have, but not spending on things like paper for interoffice notes (use the backs of letters or out dated documents), disposable coffee cups or promotional items that are used in the office, can make a difference. If you really want to grow your business, think along the lines of personal contact. If you're selling even small items, one contact that might not seem like much, can spread the word quite a ways if your product or service is good. Go the extra mile to give people the very best and they'll reward you with telling their friends and family and on and on.

You do not say what kind of business you have so it is hard to give you specific suggestions. Yes I agree with the other posters your overhead is a killer when business slows down because the overhead is constant usually. Consider some small things like reducing lighting or turning out lights altogether. Look at your phone bill and see if there are extras that you do not need. If you have employees see if there are benefits of hours you can cut when you are not busy. There are a lot of businesses that are going bankrupt may be an alternative for you I cannot say at this point. There becomes a point where if a business is no longer making money you are just wasting your time. Another alternative is to get advice from a consultant that is in your line of business. Unfortunately this seems like always a large expense when you can least afford it. The recession is supposed to be just about over so if you can hang in there for another year or two without losing your shirt things might look better. All the best.

That is a very good question. Usually the first thing a business will do is cut their overhead. That usually involves laying people off. Your costs will go down quickly when you don't have to pay all those extras that it costs to have employees. I find that doing the books myself and just meeting with the accountant at the end of the quarter is very cost effective. I try to do as much on my own without paying for any extras. I am sure that you are already in this place. It is very hard to be a business owner because the whole burden falls on your shoulders. While it is wonderful to own a business when things are going well, it is really a burden to keep it running in the hard times. A number one consideration is to look at how you treat your customers. If you are kind and go the extra mile with them, chances are your business will still be able to function. If, however, your customers have just endured your business because of economics or there was no place else to get the service, you may find yourself in a very hard spot. If you receive calls from customers, answer the phone yourself or have a person answer your phone (that's competent and not rude or lazy). There is nothing that a customer hates more than having to press this and press that just to get to someone to solve a problem. Look at every area of your business and ask yourself how you can do it better. These are just some quick ideas that have come to mind. I wish you well in all of this.

First off, I am not a small business owner. In fact, I am only 22. My age and lack of experience might scare you off and you will not read this. I am going to write what I have to say anyway and hope it somehow reaches you. Here are the important questions: Did you fund this business initially yourself or did you recieve a collateral loan? What is the collateral if any? If the economy were to magically fix itself tomorrow would your business thrive again or has the economy destroyed your type of business from succeeding ever again? What is your risk level? You have to understand that you are going to probably lose more money keeping this business right now. It make be in your best interest to consider selling it to prevent a larger net loss. In terms of marketing, try promotions. Promote in local papers, groups, clubs, and anything else local. Maybe get on a local news station. Listen to your customers and get/provide what they want and need. I hope this helps. I would be able to be more specific if I had more details regarding the type of business you have.