How to fix a business that's losing money

Your business is losing money and the hole looks deep. I know the feeling that comes with that. You look at how much you owe, you look at how long it is going to take, and you get defeated before you even start. Wow, I owe so much. The hole is so deep. That feeling is a liar.

Here is one of the secrets I have found. Handle the noise first. Get it under control. Then put your attention on making more money and start working your butt off at it. If you get in there and every week you just keep it going, you will be shocked at how fast you can fill that hole. Amazed, actually.

First, lock the outflow

Before anything grows, you have to control what goes out. Put purchase orders in place. Set it up so that nobody can spend your money without authorization, ever. You want it to be next to impossible for a dollar to leave the building without your say so.

And you have to confront the people involved. Sit down with your individual staff. Sit down with the vendors you owe and talk straight with them. Then get to work. None of this fixes itself while you avoid the conversation.

Then drive the inflow

Once the outflow is under control, the majority of your attention goes to one question: how do we create the inflow? And here is the part people miss. You do not have to get from the bottom of the hole all the way to the top of the mountain. You have to get from here to here. The next step. That is doable.

Go find the low-hanging fruit. How do we get more customers? How do we get the customers we already have buying more of our stuff? What can you do to get clever this week? Put your attention on making more money, and then you drive it.

You will find somebody working for you who says, boss, it cannot be done. Have a talk with that person. Look, it has to get done. Believe in them. Coach them to some greatness. And here is the point: they can always change. They can change their mind, or they can change where they work. It is that simple. Your job is to get everyone around you agreeing that this needs to be greater.

Know what it costs to be broke

Now maybe you are not in a hole. Maybe you are doing fine, or better than fine. The rules are exactly the same. You still need to know what it costs to be broke. That is the number it takes to keep every door open and every obligation paid, and you should know it to the penny.

I can do this for any company I have and for every aspect of my life. You could sit down across from me, point at any one of them, and I could pull up a report and tell you to the penny what it costs to be broke. So should you. I do not care if you are way down in the hole, sitting comfortable, or way up top. Know the number.

Be the freight train

Here is what I know to be true about time. Before anyone can say quit that, summer will be well on its way. Four, five, six months will go by and you will ask, where did it go? Before you can even blink, it is going to be Santa Claus time again. That is just what happens.

And that is the beauty of it, if you are applying yourself correctly today and tomorrow and the next day. The things done right stack up while time flies, and you win. But if you sit there and jack around and do not do the right things, which is how you got in the hole to begin with, you lose. Because it is coming at you either way. You can either be the freight train or you can have one coming at you. It is your choice.

I do not believe you would be reading this if you did not want more. You want to better yourself, do more, have more, be in the game. And if you are winning already, you want to keep winning. What championship team have you ever heard of that got the trophy, had the party, handed out the rings, and did not immediately say, what is next? Next season. Next race. Got to win, got to win, got to win.

So here is the whole thing in one breath. Put your attention on creating more income. Take total control over your outgo, so it is next to impossible for money to go out and everything in the world is set up so money easily comes in. Surround yourself with people who want to get the job done, and make sure they know how to do it. If they know how and it is still not happening, they do not want to do it, and you sit them down for a very direct meeting. One of two things is going to change: their attitude or where they work.

Do that over time and you cannot be held down. And watch who you surround yourself with, because unsuccessful people will suck you down no matter how well you are doing. Your business needs other surviving businesses to do business with. The more stable companies we build up, the better it is for you and me.