Procrastination Is A Killer

Whether you are a bank, or a business that borrows from a bank, waiting to see if things get better is never the answer. Every day you spend in a declining, or negative cash flow position is a day closer to closing your doors. I know it is difficult when faced with layoffs, and cutbacks to make tough decisions. You must ask yourself who is critical, to achieve short term goals such as positive cash flow status. It is usually easier if you spend time determining what work you have in place, and what work will you soon get. By projecting this work forward on a Work In Process spreadsheet (WIP Report), you can see who you must have on your team, and what resources you will need to complete the work. Consider everything and everyone as an option to reduce you overall costs. Half measures will not work. Your cost reductions must meet your minimum cash flow requirements in very short order. You do not have months to fix this problem, you have weeks. You must make these changes quickly, because you do not have time on your side. If you think you can go to your lender to borrow more funds to see you through this tough time, forget it. You are on your own. The only way in which a lender will advance more funds to your company is if you can illustrate that you understand the situation you are in, how you got there, that you have a plan on how to fix the problem, and that you have sufficient sales backlog and outstanding quotes to support your plan. If you present this information incorrectly to your lender, it is almost certain you will expedite your companies demise. Professional consultant are very valuable in this situation. Not only in helping make good decisions, but also in relationships with your lender.