When should a small business get help?

This morning I was asked an interesting question: “When should a small business seek outside help?”. The question is timely because so often I have been called in to help a small business owner when it is too late to save the business. A colleague complained to me yesterday that last week he had initial meetings with three small businesses which were all failing. His only advice to them was to close their doors. How very sad.

Small business owners are by nature self-sufficient and believe that they can do anything. The things that they don’t know they often don’t know. So when should they get outside assistance? When they are failing it is too late. Here are ten symptoms which, if not quickly addressed, may foretell failure:

1. Continual drawing on line of credit without paying it back down.

2. Declining sales

3. Employees concerned about their future

4. Not making timely IRS deposits

5. Ignoring financial statements

6. Quality control problems

7. Sleepless nights worrying about the business

8. Vendors putting the business on a COD basis

9. High employee turnover

10. Falling productivity

All of these are symptoms of deeper problems which may include ineffective management, poor planning, lack of a business plan, lack of a marketing plan or strategy, and inattention to financial data. These issues, when caught soon enough, can be resolved and once resolved substantially increase the chances of profitability and longevity of the business.

At some point business owners need to acknowledge that they may not have all the answers and bring in an independent small business advisor to help them.