Your business is never guaranteed to succeed, and it will certainly suffer setbacks. But if your business is continuing in a downward trend, it may actually be dying, and you’ll want to try to resurrect it if you are able. According to the article “Eight tips for resuscitating a dying business” by Jacqueline Mahugu, here are eight steps you can take to try to resurrect a dying business:

• Admit to the problem. Sometimes, owners will deny that there is a problem and, rather than face it, let it fester. Instead, you need to admit that there is a problem, own up to it and decide how you’re going to fix it. Inform all of your stakeholders about the problem and what you are doing or will do to fix it.
• Organize a crisis management team. Change often must come from the outside, so build a team with a mix of external and internal people, and from the internal, a mix of old and new employees. Also, as your changes take effect, look to see who is adapting and who is not. The employees who do not adapt will be more expensive to keep in the long run and should be let go.
• Examine the problems and potential solutions. Talk with everyone, from management to staff, about these issues. While it may start some rumors and lower employee morale, it will also help you find out both the good things about and the problems with the company.
• Don’t mistake the symptoms for the problems. An overarching problem may have many symptoms. Here are some common problems:
  • Poor data management. Not having proper data management or controls can lead to employee theft and fraud.
  • Poor operations and management. These problems include the aptitude of the staff, poor leadership and/or poor execution.
  • Problems adapting. If you’re stuck in your old ways — using outdated equipment or having too much space, for example — and don’t change, you won’t survive.
  • Poor marketing. These could be anything from having a stronger competitor to having bad branding or a negative reputation.
• Create a flexible plan. Your recovery plan should be adaptable, and the following elements may overlap:
  • Reduce losses. Deal with your operational and management problems and whatever else you must do to stem the flow of cash loss. Do not attempt company growth at all. Cut back on labor and non-profitable products, if necessary. Aim to break even with revenue and expenses.
  • Buy time. Closure could come at any time, so you have to try to extend the life of your company by negotiating with all moneylenders and investors. Raise whatever capital you can. This is a very delicate and humbling process.
  • Rebuild. If you’re making progress by reducing your losses, you’ll be rebuilding your confidence, as well as that of your stakeholders’. Begin innovating and changing your business model with the aim of growing revenue to generate operational cash flow.
• Execute the plan effectively. Stay focused on eliminating the problems, staying alive and rebuilding. Make sure progress is visible, starting with the easiest things to fix. Keep changing teams and structures. Build up and then break down teams as they accomplish the tasks for change, and don’t apologize for it.
• Have confidence in yourself. Be confident that you can succeed in this job. Take on a task that you are passionate about and not for the sake of generating money.
• Have the need to succeed. In this instance, your drive is more important than your strategy. Affecting both turnaround and change is stressful, and you will need to be able to handle both criticism and rejection. Also, don’t hog the glory — give credit to others, as you are only a representative of the change. But, you need to have an intense desire to succeed; otherwise, if you can’t do the job, quit and give it to someone else who wants to try.

Read the full article here.