3.05 – Troubleshooting Your Business’ Challenges
Troubleshooting Your Business Challenges
Occasionally, businesses call in small-business consultants to troubleshoot issues. While troubleshooting can be an effective tool at any time, many small business owners only utilise it when their growing business experiences a slowdown. Consultants can help by evaluating key areas such as finances, employee morale, and business appearance, and then making suggestions for improvement.
Filling Out a Troubleshooting Checklist
Most consultants use checklists to determine the severity of a business’s problems. Here is an example of a checklist used by a troubleshooting consultant:
Rank each category from 1 to 10:
- Quality of cash-management procedures (cash flow reporting and forecasting) (1 = poor, 10 = excellent)
- Quality of financial reporting (profit and loss statement and balance sheet) (1 = poor, 10 = excellent)
- Quality of financial forecasting (budgets) (1 = poor, 10 = excellent)
- Dependence on borrowed funds (1 = heavy, 10 = none)
- Late with payroll tax deposits (1 = often, 10 = never)
- Lag between sales growth and profit growth (1 = substantial, 10 = none)
- Employee turnover (1 = heavy, 10 = nonexistent)
- Quality and frequency of strategic planning (1 = never, 10 = regular and dependable)
- Owner has more work to do than time to do it (1 = too much work, 10 = balances time efficiently)
- Owner’s feelings about the business (1 = hates it, 10 = loves it)
Evaluate your business using this checklist. Identify areas needing improvement by noting any ratings below 5. Focus on these areas immediately. For ratings of 6 or 7, add them to your long-range to-do list. For ratings of 8 and above, acknowledge the employees responsible and consider rewarding them.
Taking the Five-Minute Appearance Test
The appearance of your business is crucial, especially to customers. Conduct a five-minute appearance test to evaluate your business.
First, practice with another business, such as a friend’s business or one you frequent. Drive into the parking lot, walk through the customer service or office area, peek into a few doors, check the restroom, and observe areas around the coffeemaker and copy machines. Rank your observations from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent):
The Exterior
- Parking lot: Well cared for and clean
- Grounds and exterior: Well maintained, trimmed, and inviting
- Windows: Clean, unsmeared, and uncluttered when viewed from the outside
- Signage: Well maintained, readable, and understandable
The Interior
- General neatness: Desks and working areas neat and uncluttered
- Restrooms: Neat and clean
- Expense awareness: Unnecessary lights and unused equipment turned off
- Time-management: Employees appear focused and busy, no gossipy gatherings around the coffeemaker or copy machines
- Employee attitudes: Polite, alert, attentive, and focused
- Employee appearance: Neat, clean, and dressed appropriately
- Sense of urgency: Employees going about their business at a pace that indicates they don’t have time to waste
The Best and the Worst
- The one thing that impressed you the most.
- The one thing that bothered you the most.
After completing the test for another business, apply the same test to your own business. Share the results with your team and use the feedback to make necessary improvements.
