Now compare these answers to your business.  Do you have a business plan?  A business plan is the map for planning your future.  Without it, anything you do is okay for there is neither plan nor accountability to keep you on course.  Your dashboard in your car tells you when to fill up your tank, check your oil or service your engine.  The dashboard in your business is your budget.  Do you have one?  How do you know what your cash flow requirements are?  Do you have too much or too little inventory? Are the expenses being managed successfully?

A business plan (okay, map) and a budget (okay, dashboard) are two of the most basic fundamentals of any business.  Don’t the dollars from the business pay for the vacation?

I have noticed that many businesses are electing to take the reactive-negative approach to dealing with these times. Dramatic discounts are being taken to stimulate sales and/or excessive cuts are being made in expenses; particularly payroll and advertising.  These reactions are occurring far too often.

My clients take a more positive approach; determining what can be accomplished in 2009 to minimize overhead, increase market share and prepare for the turnaround predicted for early 2010.  How to survive in 2009 and be properly positioned for better times in 2010 must be the short and long-term strategic plan for today.

I encourage the companies I coach to avoid a “knee-jerk” reaction and to analyze how to be more productive with less people.  Cuts in the long term will cost more than the short term gain. 2009 is a year of reckoning. It is a year to force us to answer the hard questions that we so conveniently put off.  These questions may include: Can I afford to keep an under-producer because he/she has been with the company so long? Can I continue to not hold people accountable for their actions? Will I continue to allow my employees to delegate upwardly to me? Will I make sales, only to swap dollars with no intent to make a profit? These and other pertinent questions must be answered and it is essential to ask the right questions to achieve the proper solutions.

Don’t kid yourself today.  All businesses are facing the same challenges, but the smart ones are positioning themselves for the better times that lie ahead. How to capture increased market share in 2009 should be at the top of the agenda.

These companies are not being overly aggressive in slashing expenses but are examining where the “fat” is and how to become “lean and mean.” Under-producers are being asked to leave and are being replaced by energetic, creative and most of all, accountable individuals.  Attention is being given to competitive weaknesses to gain market penetration and customer service to create “raving fans.” This is paramount in the thoughts of forward thinking entrepreneurs.

So I ask you, will you succumb to the “dire straits” of today and put your head in the sand, or are you willing to take a stand to strengthen and position your business for the future, the good of your family and the legacy of your business?