The fiasco with the US Government shutdown highlights a major risk for any business. Heaven help the employees who are directly affected and aren’t getting paid.
But spare a thought for the millions of businesses downstream that rely on Government clients. While Government employees may well get back pay, these businesses will likely not. Many will go to the wall.
The most dangerous number in business is one. One market segment, one major customer, one key staff member, one lead generation system.
Closer to home an organisation we work with just lost business through no fault of their own either.
A major client of theirs in the Government sector restructured and chopped their budgets.
A two million dollar project just went out the window. They were on the list for a further 8 million dollars in projects that which have gone off the table as well.
A major revenue shortfall they need to rapidly fill.
Fortunately for every downside there is an upside. You just have to look for it. Necessity is the mother of invention.
The organisation is effectively a sub-contractor and dependent on referrals from players who recommend them to the end consumer.
We knew this was a risky, eggs in one basket scenario so have been working on strategies to alleviate this.
Given the timing we’re brought forward a completely new approach which will make them the trusted advisors in their space eliminating their dependency on referral and prime contractors.
Effectively they’ll become the prime contractors who decide who they’ll work with, not the other way round.
And by diversifying away from mainly Government work as fast as possible they’ll no longer dependant on one major market segment (which could go south in an instant), or middle-men, and be fully in control of their own destiny.
Do you have similar risks in your business? The unthinkable does happen and often it’s just a matter of when, not if.
You owe it to yourself and your dependents (family, staff and shareholders) to protect yourself by diversifying your markets and how you get to them.
Our Focus Day is designed to do just that. Work on your business to find new angles and ways to grow. We guarantee you’ll come out with insights and real world implementation steps.
Then it’s up to you to either do it yourself or engage us to work together to not be dependent on any one factor taking your business down.
Call us on (02) 9499-7958 for more information.
Rashid & Barbara.
