Running a business is always hard—but this is a particularly tough time.
Quick decision-making is a foundational characteristic of an entrepreneur, and this is one reason why being an entrepreneur is considered so risky. We are at historic highs for entrepreneurship in the United States right now, with about 16 percent of the workforce being made up of entrepreneurs, but that still means that 84% of the population works for someone else. They look for the steady paycheck and the (arguable) security that comes with having a “jobby-job.” It’s been an employees’ market for many years, and now its flipped to being an employers’ market—and the corporate “tightening of the belts” and concurrent job justifications mean we’re heading toward a much different business climate than many young business owners have ever had to navigate.
Many of the tips here should always be on an entrepreneur’s mind—but it’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day tasks of running a business. Now is the time to make sure you’re hyper-focused on the bigger picture.
As of this writing, the pundits say the full effects of tariffs haven’t hit yet. We should brace for inflated costs in the next 60 days, just in time for holiday shopping, yay! I think that as we browse The Home Depot garden department or the Safeway meat aisle, we’d all agree that prices have been growing all year. We’re paying much more for construction materials compared to just a year ago, so the continued inflation of prices needs to be factored in as we plan the next year’s business strategies.
As business owners, we need to make tough decisions now—involving both immediate matters and longer-term concerns, into 2026, 2027 and beyond. As a founder or general manager, what options do you have to gain more control over the business during uncertain times? In two of my companies, we are looking for more efficiencies, i.e., cutting back on costs and looking to consolidate operations wherever we can. In my local service biz, we’ve combined two routes so my guys are spending less time driving, and more time serving our clients. It also freed up a day for them to focus on client value-add projects. This is good for the customers and good for the company: It helps us generate additional cash flow by maximizing labor, minimizing downtime, minimizing gasoline use, and minimizing overall overhead.
We are also thoroughly focused on existing clients now. It is much easier to maximize revenue (with limited additional cost) by securing new business with existing clients—who already trust you and already pay you. Leveraging that relationship can be huge. Our goal is to see how we can maximize our value to customers by widening our service offerings. When a customer asks, “Can your company do this?” it’s because they trust us and believe that if we can do this new service for them, they will see the value, as they have in the past services performed by my team.
Hi, Denise! Recall that project we discussed earlier this year? We’d like to get started on it. What’s it going to take to make that happen? We just got a window of time, so I thought I’d give you the first right to fill it. Let’s get it put it into the queue.
Notice in the fake example above that my approach was assumptive: I set the sale up with positive, forward-thinking questions and statements, so there is no yes or no answer. They may say, “We don’t have the budget,” or, “We’re in contract with someone else until December.” At least I know where I stand at that point. If I’d asked, “Can I have your business?” I may get a yes or no without explanation or context. But if the answer is that they are in contract until December, then my response is, “Let’s meet in October so we can launch seamlessly in January after the contract expires.” Those assumptive strategies work well with trusting clients, and they often lead to amazing and profitable new business.
Another great strategy during tough times is to leverage the happy client’s “sphere of influence.” The premise is simple: If they love us, who else do they know who could benefit from our services? A recommendation nullifies the trust factor, meaning a deal can get done much quicker than trying to woo a new client without a warm introduction.
There is always a concern that if I raise prices, I’ll lose clients—but if you continue to provide value, you’ll almost certainly keep that customer. If the tariffs and inflation are affecting your margins and your ability to profit, it’s OK to incrementally raise prices. In fact, I have never lost a client due to raising prices. You won’t, either, if you do so justifiably and professionally. Everybody knows costs are up.
For my international consulting company, in addition to “revenue per customer,” we focus on “revenue per employee”—a simple way to allocate resources and have a benchmark for hiring, laying off and subbing out services. This is a great way to be certain we have all of the resources for expansion and contraction as the market fluctuates. If my benchmark is $150,000 in revenue per employee to make my profit margins, it’s an easy way to measure how we’re doing month over month.
When times are good, and the economy is strong, business comes to me. These are not those times—so, as I said above, I’m hyper-focused on the tactics I mention here when I know rocky times are coming, or are already here. Stay tuned, and stay vigilant—that’s what enables the quick decision-making for which entrepreneurs are known.