It’s no fun to confront problems that are preventing your company from being successful, but sometimes this is the challenge facing all entrepreneurs. If your company is having problems due to changes in your market or in the economy as a whole, it might be necessary to go back to the drawing board and re-imagine your business in a new way. Sometimes, simple changes will help, while other times more radical moves are necessary. Our roundup looks at challenges facing businesses large and small and how those problems can be turned around.
Best Buy Breakdown
Desperate times. The struggling electronics retailer Best Buy has resumed talks with founder Richard M. Schulze about his offer to buy the chain. Schultz says he plans to take the company private and make some major changes to help it weather the radically changing market. Bloomberg
Desperate measures. The company may have difficulty fending off Schulze’s acquisition attempt. The retailer reported a 91 percent drop in second quarter profits, and sales in the United States and Europe are down. Others familiar with the situation express skepticism that Schultz can assemble the resources necessary to acquire the company in which he owns a 20 percent stake. DealBook
Creative Counterpoint
Making connections. One of the things entrepreneurs instinctively do when facing challenges, either when launching their companies or when hard times befall them, is to network. Sir Richard Branson tells of how he used networking as an integral part of his strategy before social media even existed. Entrepreneur
Mashing mythology. When trying to find workable solutions for your company, you will be confronted with silly myths about business that must be ignored. Never buy into any paradigm you believe to be untrue. Instead, focus on getting positive results, not on platitudes that center on the negative. Buzz Small Business Magazine
More Solutions
A little extra. Sometimes it’s the little things that can turn a company around. Consider this simple suggestion to improve your customer’s experience when they’re placed on hold. As you can see, very small changes can make your customers believe in you again. Small Biz Diamonds
The things you leave out. Sometimes you can turn your entire marketing campaign around simply by evaluating where you might have gone wrong. Here are some things you might have overlooked in your latest marketing campaign and why it wasn’t a good idea to leave them out. FixCourse
Around the world. Another way you can help turn an ailing business around is by expanding your reach, perhaps by adding markets overseas. Depending on your product, moving into exporting can allow you to go after markets you might not have considered attainable. SBA.Gov
Great round up! So excited that Small Biz Diamonds made the list this week. Thanks Small Biz Trends 🙂
If you had told me a decade ago that Best Buy would be dead in the water within ten years, I would’ve laughed and turned up my Nelly.