Will You Be Ready for the Big Dance?

There seem to be a lot of downtrodden businesspeople these days. They are discouraged about inflated costs, high interest rates and difficulty getting employees to perform.

When things get tough, “Cost Cutting” often becomes the mantra. To an extent that is fine. However, we cannot simply save our way to prosperity by only cutting costs. If it were true, all we would have to do is reduce our expenses. On the contrary, I suggest that you only cut costs to the extent that it does not hurt the performance of your business.

In 2009, I watched some dairy producers cut back on feed costs to offset the greatly reduced milk prices. While that may have looked okay in the short term, in the long term, it really stymied their operation’s performance. When milk prices rose again, they were not prepared to respond, and cows did not come back into their maximum production very quickly. They were lackluster, at best. Profitability suffered for at least another year.

We are going through another trying period of inflation, high interest & tighter margins. With that in mind, let’s limit our cost reductions to the items that do not directly impact productivity of your business.

Motivational speaker Les Brown tells the story of how, early in his career, he had wanted to be a DJ, a disc jockey. An experienced adult told him that he had to be hungry & ready to take action. He went to a radio station in Miami and was rejected for a DJ position numerous times.

However, on the advice of his mentor, he studied and practiced being a DJ, because he was advised that it was far better to be prepared & not have a job, than to be unprepared when an opportunity did come along. One afternoon, his chance surfaced when another DJ was drinking heavily and could not finish his show. Les Brown stepped in, completed the show, and, as the saying goes, “The rest is history.” However, what would have happened if he, not having a current opportunity, had just not bothered to be prepared?

My point is this. Be prepared. These challenging times with high inflation and higher interest rates won’t last forever. Tough times don’t last, but tough people do!

Watch your costs and adjust them where you can. Just don’t stifle your operation’s productivity in the process, and you will be prepared for success, i.e. “Ready for the Big Dance” when better times arrive, instead of sitting on the sidelines, wishing you were more prepared.

“You gotta be hungry!”

                      Les Brown

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!