It is with great joy that we announce our nominee Ashley Orlando VP/Director of Eco Financing was selected as a 2023 SFNet’s 40 under 40 WINNER! Ashley was nominated byMark Bienstock & David Estrakhin virtue of her being an outstanding employee, colleague, and exemplar of true excellence. We acknowledge and honor her as she has honored us for the last 8+ years through her relentless devotion and unwavering zeal to elevate our profession.
In the United States, recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle. While they can be difficult for businesses to weather, they can also present opportunities for growth and innovation. Here are 5 tips for how your business can survive and even thrive during a recession.
Inventory & Interest Expense Management.
The first crucial point is to properly monitor your inventory levels. Too high of an inventory level will then require you closing out inventories at either cost or substantial potential losses which will have a negative impact on your gross margin. You will want to monitor and maintain the proper inventory levels going forward so that you are able to maintain your existing gross margin percentages.
Almost all business owners are dealing with higher interest rates as the federal reserve has been continuously increasing the prime rate to combat inflation. Companies need to be very cognizant of their borrowing needs and only draw down the minimum funds required to operate the business on a daily basis.
To better plan for the management of the business, it’s recommended that companies do both: a full year cashflow forecast along with arolling 3-month cash flow projection. While it is customary to do a 12-month projection, it is more appropriate to do a rolling 3-month projection to keep a good handle on constant changes in the economy as it relates to retail performance, interest rates, international politics etc.
Accordingly, if your business is seasonal in nature, it’s essential to monitor your inventory levels to make sure that if any potential adverse developments occur (that cause orders to be held back), your inventory levels are at a sustainable level.
2. Focus on Core Products.
During a recession, consumers and businesses alike are likely to cut back on spending. This means that it’s more important than ever to focus on your core products and services. Identify the products and services that are most essential to your customers and concentrate on improving and marketing those offerings.
3. Expense Management as it relates to Overall Operations.
Right sizing the business as it relates to expense management is imperative. If your sales volume is stagnating or decreasing, it’s vital that you look to right size the expenses, starting with payroll, which represents the biggest aspect of the expenses on the P&L side. However, a detailed review of all other operating expenses may uncover extraneous expenses which can be cut down or eliminated.
4. Embrace Digital Transformation.
In recent years, digital transformation has become increasingly important for businesses. During a recession, it’s even more crucial to embrace digital tools and platforms. This can help you reach new customers, improve your customer service, and streamline your operations.
According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company, companies that embraced digital transformation during the pandemic are more likely to see revenue growth and improved profitability in the coming years. This highlights the importance of investing in digital tools and platforms during tough economic times.
5. Maintain a Positive Attitude.
Finally, it’s important to maintain a positive attitude during a recession. This can be a challenging time, but it’s also an opportunity to innovate and grow. Stay focused on your goals and look for ways to improve your products. Remember that every business faces challenges, and that the most successful businesses are those that can adapt to changing circumstances.
According to recent statistics, a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business found that 60% of small business owners feel optimistic about the future of their business. This shows that maintaining a positive attitude is a key factor in weathering tough economic times.
While recession can be a difficult time for businesses, with the right approach, you can overcome it and come out stronger on the other side.
At Express Trade Capital, we provide financing along with logistics solutions, and serve as your consultant – providing advice including:
How to structure transactions for maximum profitability.
How to most efficiently move your goods from pickup to delivery to your customer.
How to manage cash flow and mitigate risk throughout the various stages of production and delivery.
How to eliminate bad debts.
To schedule a discovery call and see how ETC can help your business, contact us here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e84Ti6hg
Congratulations to MINA on yet another excellent creation. Mina’s Moroccan Harira is a flavorful soup full of chickpeas and lentils. The heartiness and earthiness of this Harira will make your taste buds sing.
Kindly note that our office will close at 3 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 1st and will be CLOSED on Monday, July 4thin observance of Independence Day Holiday.
Please contact your account officer to plan accordingly during this time frame.
We greatly appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience.
When a well-established and long-term client needed to execute a Trade Finance transaction within 48 hours in order to take advantage of an extremely profitable purchase opportunity, they knew the financier to turn to Express Trade Capital . Our deep understanding ofLetters of Creditalong with the Logistical parameters that were required to be navigated, allowed ETC to issue the Letter of Credit seamlessly and expeditiously within the required time frame constraints. Our Letter of Credit and Logistic teams are “second to none “commented Mark Bienstock – Managing Director. No matter what day or hour of the week, our team is committed to providing unparalleled service to bring each transaction to a satisfactory conclusion.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that only 50 percent of business startups make it through the fifth year. If your startup is real estate, your chances are a little better (58 percent); if you are in retail (47 percent) or information (37 percent), the odds are a bit worse.
The first year of business sets the tone, and companies that start off on the right foot improve their chances of not only surviving, but also thriving. The infographic below, “First Year of Business Survival Guide,” gives entrepreneurs foundational survival advice in all key areas of the enterprise — at a glance.
The infographic format was selected for this topic because entrepreneurs with new ventures are busy enough setting up shop without the added burden of dissecting a 10,000-word textbook about business organization. To make your job as easy as possible, we created an infographic that distills the business knowledge and experience of our organization down to the must-do actions that make or break a new enterprise. Without doubt, there are many, many other bases that need to be covered — but without these 11 items, entrepreneurs will have a difficult time staying in the game no matter how well they run those other bases.
Another advantage of boiling down the survival guide to a manageable number of 11 items: One of the biggest missteps a new business can make is trying to do too much and overcomplicating the effort.
For instance, from an executive leadership perspective, it is far more effective to emphasize a handful of goals than a wheelbarrow full. Too many goals makes focus difficult, and more often than not confuses the team (if not the business owners themselves) — the upshot of which is not merely falling short of every goal, but often working at cross purposes. A small set of goals — provided they are the right ones — give new businesses the best chance of success, by far.
Another widely applicable example of simplicity trumping complexity is in the IT function. Many startups get wrapped up in their own wiring, trying to hit the ground running with complex, state-of-the-art information technologies and operating platforms. The real survival issues are much simpler: keeping the computer system up and running and phone lines open. As many a former entrepreneur can tell you, upsetting prospects with website pages that don’t load, being unable to process orders and dropping the call when they want to phone in an order are sure ways to go out of business — quickly.
Succeed with simplicity. This more than anything is the key to success in the first year of operation — and we hope this infographic makes yours a smashing success.
