I came across an article by Rich Sloan, the co-founder of StartupNation.com a business advice and networking site for entrepreneurs. It is just as applicable to the optical retail business. These are the five tried-and-true survival strategies used by successful entrepreneurs that are also relevant to the retail optical business.
Cozy up with customers.
They are your lifeblood. But, much like you, your customers are under duress. Take the time to commiserate. Provide a giveaway that recognizes their past patronage. If you take the time to listen to optical customers’ needs and show them you genuinely care about their welfare.
Experiment.
The worst thing to do during tough times is lose your entrepreneurial spirit. Use any extra time to conduct product, operational or marketing related ideas you have always wanted to explore but were too busy to try.
Loop in financiers.
Rather than recoiling into the shadows, proactively share with your banker or other capital sources exactly what is happening and what your plan is. Ensuring that they understand your business and are well attuned to your future plans will help you avoid the kind of financial surprises that often occur when parties aren’t well informed.
Trim hours, not staff.
Consider cutting your employees’ hours rather than firing them. It not only shows you care about their welfare,but strategically it also helps you retain your most valuable asset – your people – for when the economy inevitably turns around and you need full and even overtime hours from them. Finding and hiring good new employees and training them is a huge burden that you should avoid if you can.
Stretch your spend.
To make every dollar go as far as possible, review all fo your vendor contracts. Where reasonable, ask for breaks on pricing. Everyone’s in this together. Don’t let your pride keep you from taking advantage of potential savings. Every dollar saved will be critical during the down time.
You can find lots of articles on saving costs in the Green and Save category right here on this site!
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