Image Source: Shasta Consulting
By Adedoyin Jaiyesimi
As the cost of business continues to rise in today’s economy, it is important for every business owner to think of innovative ways to thrive. Although it is inevitable that some businesses will shut down, you can escape this by re-examining the value chain in your business operations and coming up with innovative ways to cut down unnecessary cost.
I saw an Instagram post by Steve Harris where he described how he almost shut down his business at the beginning of the year because several clients closed their doors to training of staff which is Steve Harris’ core business. After taking sometime to re-evaluate his business model, he decided to eliminate the middleman and take his training online. In less than two months, he had close to 200 people who had registered for his online course.
Just like Steve Harris, I also started to re-evaluate my business when clients began to complain about certain prices. Aside from paying my staff, there were some service improvements that needed to be done to take the business to the next level. Looking at the cash flow, I knew a miracle just had to happen. It was at this point of re-evaluation that a former client came to me with an offer.
“Adedoyin, I need your services but right now we cannot afford to pay. I would like us to enter into a value partnership. You know our services. Tell me what you want from us and what you will offer us to match the value we will be giving you.”
It was brilliant! The client’s offer was in the exact area we needed to do the service improvements. Talk about perfect timing. I sent in my requests and what I would offer in return. It’s a win-win situation and I also get to launch one of our new services at the same time.
While you definitely need cash in your business, there are some areas where it will make more economic sense for you to enter into mutually-beneficial partnerships. What does your business need right now aside cash? Who can provide the things that you need? How can you get them to provide it without paying cash? Is there something of value you can offer in return?
If you want your business to stay strong during the recession, you must be innovative across the value chain of your business. Eliminate waste and think of ways to reduce spending. Be on the lookout for how you can exchange value for value, and move your business forward. Like I always say, you need to think beyond money to make money in this economy.
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