Managing Your Business Growth and Profitability
...tions, a marketing consulting firm, and author of “Outrageous Business Growth.” In her article, “Nine Reasons To Say No To New Business” she reminds the reader that there are times when saying “no” to business is really the right thing to do. As an entrepreneur you should follow your gut instincts, value your time and resources and continuously reevaluate your customer base. As in every business overhead costs need to be paid, sales objectives need to be met and businesses need to grow. With these heavy demands hanging over you, we can get ourselves into trouble and take on business that is not healthy for our employees, our company or our profitability. There are often times your first impression of a potential client is a clue on whether you should pursue this business. For instance, that sinking feeling in your stomach “gut instinct” that sends a red flag that there may be a problem and we choose to ignore it in order to get the sale and later tell ourselves we should have known better. There are times when a customer’s request are too large for your operation and expect for the work to be done in an unrealistic time frame. Many entrepreneurs will accept challenges that are not in line with their current capabilities and available resources. Taking on a large client may be the kiss of death for some businesses. The demands placed by this client may force the business to devote all its manpower and resources to service this one account and neglect the existing accounts that have established the growth of the company. Forcing the company to depend solely on the income of this large client and placing them in a very vulnerable position. Businesses must not lose sight of their company’s mission, even if it means turning down potential business. When we start a business, we develop a business model and business plan of execution. But as time passes we sometimes deviate from our ...