Who in the world would want to kill their business? Don’t we start and operate them because we want to do what we are passionate about, build an asset and leave a legacy? If you don’t fall into that category and feel the need to do away with your business, here’s the quickest way to accomplish that in no particular order (they will all render significant damage)!
- Disengage: You’ve lost interest in it anyway, so why waste your time with making improvements to grow it? Just go play golf or something more fun than managing cash flow and employees.
- Ignore your Financials: This is one of the quickest ways to end the life of your business. Just throw caution to the wind and don’t worry about whether you can make payroll. Soon you won’t have any payroll to make!
- Have little to no Staff Interaction: No meetings, no reviews, no performance goals, no office parties.
- Cut or eliminate your Marketing: It’s not working anyway, right? Or perhaps you’re not sure, because you don’t monitor whether it’s working or not. Let’s assume it’s not, so you can pocket the money you’re spending on it instead.
- Shoot from the Hip: Who needs a Business Plan when you’re trying to kill your business? Not having a Plan to execute from is like driving down the road with no destination; you’re just driving around and at some point are bound to run out of gas.
Granted, I wrote these as a way to reverse the way I normally advise my clients. It may sound tongue in cheek, but you would be surprised at how many businesses actually operate in violation of some or all of these areas and can’t figure out why they don’t grow, have cash flow or have good people working for them. It usually starts with the owner getting out of their own way. “When the student is ready the teacher appears” is a wise and true statement. What would it take for you to get out of your own way? Call me for a complimentary session and we’ll explore that possibility together.
