4 Ways To Survive Business Disaster 🥵

Four Ways To Beat The Business Grim Reaper

Sup,

Want a scary number? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 25 percent of new businesses last 15 years or more. Maybe even more surprising is that 25 percent of all new businesses go under in the first year.

_{Was this forwarded to you?}

And that number of fails only goes up year over year. The odds aren’t always in the favor of new start-ups. But, as we’re talking about today, there are ways to extend the life of your business when things get dire.

One of the best ways to keep your business healthy and thriving is lead generation. For Wilson, that means the PPC, GMB, and SEO magic of Service Scalers. 

We’ve used them for a while now and the experience has been a massive time-save and lifter of stress.

Offering three different levels of service for every kind of home service business, Service Scalers does everything from website redesign to SEO guidance, placement on Google and Bing, and more.

Give Service Scalers a try and get the growth you need, now.

I also have a promo code to get you a free website: OWNED

But what if you’re running out of runway? Let’s talk disaster.

Let’s do it.

• Prioritize and complete ongoing projects to stabilize operations

• Look at your overhead and where you can save

• Find high-impact, low-cost marketing strategies that drive lead generation without big spending

• Managing costs and planning for worst-case scenarios can extend the business runway and ensure survival

Reading time: 4 minutes and 35 seconds

Plan For Disaster

When I talk about runway, I literally mean the amount of time you can keep a business alive with cash on hand. So, what happens in a scenario where you have a limited runway and your lead generation is struggling?

That creates a number of problems you’ll have to face head-on.

The problems create a slow death, inch by inch and week by week. You’re wasting money and lacking focus, and that’s typically when owners start panicking.

Suddenly, you’ll start thinking about slashing the marketing budget and cutting workers, all the while you’re still dying a slow death.

Time is the enemy.

What can you do to keep the Grim Reaper away from your business? There are options. But the biggest tool against this happening is to plan and know what you’re going to do when it does happen.

Have an emergency plan in place so you aren’t scrambling.

Eliminate Overhead

You immediately have to start asking: What can I get rid of? Is there an unneeded overhead? Because to me, you need to find ways to bolster that marketing budget.

Leads are the thing you need in this case, and cutting off the source of said leads is as good as giving up.

So, where can you save $10-15,000 a month? If you’re a start-up then even two or three thousand a month is a big deal, as that’s rent. Can you sublet the space, run out of free location? Is taking CSR overseas an option?

These are hard questions, but they’re also ones that will allow you to recover in six months and figure out lead flow.

And speaking of hard questions, are you prepared to trim your own salary to make things work? If I’m being honest, 2024 is the first year I didn’t cut my own salary during the slow season.

These things take time to get better, but finding ways to live long enough to see them get better is vital.

Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize

When you get into this mode where the runway is running out, the jobs you take on become important. It’s here that consolidating ongoing work and protecting customer trust is one of the most important goals.

I talk a lot at Wilson about the focus of core services or offerings that can increase an average ticket, but it’s also here that you’ll want to find a sweet spot for bringing in revenue and making those bookings worth the time.

Service time is a huge cost. Other huge costs include factoring in the costs of services and software. Is it worth it to stop or reduce ServiceTitan? It could be. After all, the name of the game is survival.

I’d compare it to breaking skin versus breaking bone. Things like salary and SEO are breaking skin—short-term pains, easily healed by time.

Breaking bone is terminating managers and getting rid of departments. That kind of thing takes time and isn’t easy to heal. Keep that in mind when it comes to survival.

Free and Cheap Marketing Options

As I said, decreasing the marketing budget isn’t a good option. However, there are plenty of ways that sub-one to two million outfits can get money, find leads, and generate runway.

Outbounding on Facebook Groups, NextDoor, and other social platforms can generate work if you are willing to grind—or find someone to do said grinding. And that’s all free or cheap.

And sometimes it’s as simple as going into those groups, seeing someone say they need help with HVAC or need an electrician, and milling through those cold calls for service.

You can fill up your own schedule quickly that way if you’re willing to dig.

And related to marketing, make sure you’re spending the money you do spend wisely. It should all be on direct lead generation—LSA preferably. Don’t worry about branding costs right now.

Remember the runway. You can do it.

On the Pod This Week

This week on the podcast we talk about AI call center training and how it’s becoming a potentially massive tool for owners of home services. I think it’s a great discussion.

Don’t want to miss a video? Then consider subscribing over on YouTube.

And speaking of not wanting to miss…

The next workshop is on the calendar and you’ll want to get in on our three-day knowledge bomb, right here in Ohio.

Our next Breaking $5 Million Workshop is set for Sept. 10-12 for business owners looking for actual, applicable advice and methods for increasing revenue.

Come learn, come eat, and come see the Wilson HQ, all while learning about pricing, infrastructure, recruitment, and more.

Registration is now open. Get your seat for September now.

Have a great week, and stay hungry.

👊

John