Do Business Well

As you look through these or refer back to them, please see them first as a source of inspiration for specific ideas on how to handle specific problems. Then begin to develop a sense of how to solve all problems with creativity and a can-do attitude.

1. Tomorrow is Friday. For your company that means payday. Time to pass out paychecks to your employees. Time to take home the bacon for you.

Unfortunately, sales have been soft for a full week, or your largest customer is behind in paying you, or you made a substantial error in your checkbook, or you had to put out a large amount of cash to fix a piece of equipment or . . . any one or two of many things that could happen, and now, you can’t make payroll tomorrow.

1. Get on the phone and start calling accounts that owe you money. First call those that are due or past due and attempt to collect. You’ll want to get a firm commitment for a check to go out that day. Second, call those that are almost due and ask if they can send the payment now as a favor. If this hasn’t created the results you need, call those that are far from due and offer a special discount for early payment.
2. If some of these accounts are local, you should ask if it would be okay for you to pick up the check. And don’t be embarrassed to state your actual need. Don’t just say that you can’t cover payroll, but give the whole story. “Hi, Bob?
3. I could really use a favor. My receivables have been way off this week, and I’m a bit short to make payroll tomorrow. You have this one item for $535.50 that would just about solve it for me. If you are in a position to help me I could give you my Federal Express number so you could send it overnight.” After his agreement: “Bob, I really appreciate this. Let me know when I can return the favor in some way.”
4. Find a customer to take something early. Years ago, it seemed as if our business had a tight cash situation about every other month. One of our customers used to receive a great benefit from this situation. We would call, tell them how much we needed, negotiate a big discount, and deliver the merchandise that day or the next in exchange for a check. In each case this customer probably would have needed the product a month later than we sold it to them.
5. It cost us a pretty penny to get this money, but we needed it, and the customer was more than happy to help out.
6. Call a supplier to whom you’ve just mailed a check. See if they have already banked the check. If not, use almost the identical approach as above to persuade them to hold the check for one week.
7. Start calling anyone you can think of who might be willing to lend you the money for a week or a month, depending on your situation. Let them set the interest rate.
8. Talk to your employees, starting with managers, to see if they can hold their checks for a few days or take half now and half later. You’ll be surprised how often an employee will help in this way and be practically “happy to help.” This is another one of those areas where you don’t want to ask too often. Happy to help can turn to “this is getting old.”

2. One of your primary suppliers is out of product, and can’t supply you for six weeks. Sounds farfetched? I opened a retail bikeshop two days before a bicoastal dock strike. Dealers who had been in business for years couldn’t get bicycles. I opened on the first of July. I received my first new bike on December 10.

1. Ask your supplier for ideas. Not just the salesman; go to the production manager, sales manager, marketing manager, vice presidents, and even the president of the supplier. Is there anything they can do to speed the supply? Is there a substitute available from them? Do they have a foreign subsidiary that makes the same item? Do they have a customer who might be overloaded with that product at this time? Can they recommend a supplier who can solve the problem? You will of course want to assure them that their help in finding you material through another supplier will strengthen your relationship, not cause them to lose a customer.
2. Call the appropriate trade association to see if there is a buyer’s guide for that industry. Have it sent by overnight courier. If there is no buyer’s guide, ask the association if they have ideas of who might be able to help. Not necessarily just vendor’s names, but others who might know who to call
3. As mentioned before, start calling competitors. Generally, start by calling those that are far enough away not to consider you a threat. You may find someone who has too much. You may just learn of another source or substitute.
4. You can stay in business by dealing with used, reprocessed, or off-spec material (not exactly up to the specifications normally associated with that product).
5. Redirect your attention to a product that can fill the gap. This could either be another product you’re already carrying, or it could be a new item.
6. Reduce your overhead to an absolute minimum until the product is available again. Call your landlord and ask for a rent concession. Lay off employees. Cut back your hours of operation. Call suppliers who are due to be paid and ask for an extra thirty days.
7. Be certain that this experience results in a lesson. If this supplier is the only one carrying this product and it represents an important part of your income, you need to find a way to substantially improve the consistency of supply or change the emphasis of your company.

3. A critical employee quits or can’t work.

1. Immediately learn the task yourself, if possible. You’ll save money, increase the depth of your company, and give yourself more information about who you should hire.
2. Call a temp service. There are companies offering temporary workers for almost every occupation. You also end up with two additional benefits. If you don’t like this person’s work, you just call the temp agency and ask them to send someone else. This isn’t nearly as emotional as telling someone he’s fired.
3. Furthermore, if the temp turns out to be well qualified and is looking for full-time, permanent work, you can hire him. Some temp agencies have rules regarding some form of compensation for your having hired away their worker, but if the temp is good enough, it’s well worth it.
4. Call your supplier salespeople. They may know of someone in the industry who is looking for an opportunity.
5. Think of friends or associates who may be able to fill the gap for a short time. If your spouse is not already working with you, he or she may be able to handle the task until you can find a permanent replacement.
6. Of course you should use the usual hiring approaches such as running ads or calling the state employment agency. However, the above approaches are designed to deal with an emergency where the loss of the employee’s talents for even a few days could result in serious problems.

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• Helping Employees Through Personal Crises
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• BRINGING E-MARKETING MIX TOGETHER
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