Strategies

Strategies for Managing Directors

If Only I Had Managed The Risk Of Possible Insolvency Better Kim Radok May, 2016

One of the least desirable outcomes of owning and managing a business is to end up in front of Insolvency Administrators or a Regulatory Authority like ASIC. On occasions when you speak with those business people or managers who have; they may tell you what happened. It is also likely that you will hear statements beginning with "If only I had ...!"

It is within these statements you often find the answers of why they became insolvent or had the misfortune to end up in front of ASIC.

The value of listening to the "If only I had ...!" statements is that you can learn a lot about why other business people got in to trouble. This knowledge is invaluable for your own business affairs. Let us not beat around the bush. There are always risks associated with owning or managing a business. Understanding where these risks are, helps you avoid them.

Here are a few subjects which you may hear in the conversations of "If only I had ...!"

(i) listened to my mentor or asked a few more questions from other professionals;

(ii) focused more on customer service and resolving the reasons for customer complaints;

(iii) did not try to do everything myself;

(iv) completed more due diligence exercises on my suppliers and customers;

(v) had focused a bit more on quality rather than the cheapest upfront solution;

(vii) talked to my customers more about how we could a more profitable trading relationship for both of us;

(vii) made more contacts and more often for the unpaid invoices.

Of course, you will hear many more of these types of "If only I had ...!" statements and scenarios.

Business is not just about moving forward with unbound optimism, good ideas and a "business model". There is always risk involved when operating and managing a business. A wise business person is always conscious of the lessons of the past or from the current business environment, which might affect the survival or of benefit to their business. One source of business risk information is from "If only I had ...!"  statements, especially from those business people who have already lost their business.

On noticing such issues, the wise business person or manager, will take the time to reflect and ascertain how to alter their business practices for survival and growth.

If you would like to discuss how to better understand business risks, contact Kim via kim@creditmatters.com.au for additional ideas and support.

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