Prepare yourself
All businesses that are prepared to weather an economic storm seem to have a few things in common. They all have good discipline around financials, a well-defined system of checks and balances throughout the leadership tiers of the organization, and an unwavering focus on executing the business plan in line with the company’s core values.
When it comes to preparing yourself for financial hardship, you need to make sure that you are keeping your eyes open.
“Be aware of where all of your costs are and how they are broken up,” McMillin says. “We learned a lot about ourselves and our costs — for example, our legal costs and who should be paying them — over the past several years. We’ve seen how a business can get kind of lackadaisical when things are going good. If there is a magic formula for making sure you stay on top of your costs when times are good, I haven’t found it. Really, you just have to make sure you’re staying up on your books, that you know what you’re spending your money on.”
Financial responsibility goes hand in hand with fostering a companywide desire to make the best of a bad situation. You want the people at your company — especially on your senior leadership team — to be willing and able to do whatever it takes to not just endure the bad times but emerge ready to flourish when the outlook improves.
“You just have to find the bright spots in bad times,” McMillin says. “You find out what you’re going to do and how you’re going to fix it. You brainstorm with your management team and come up with solutions. A lot of times, those solutions only cover the next day or week. You might try to always focus on long-term goals, but sometimes, you can’t worry about how this line of credit is going to affect us for the next year. Focus on getting to the end of the month, on getting the next round of bills paid. Sometimes, that alone can serve as a glimmer for the whole organization that you really do believe in what is going on around here.”
How to reach: The Corky McMillin Cos., (619) 477-4117 or www.mcmillin.com
