Does Your Business Need To Go On a Diet?

We’re roughly half way into the first month of the New year and it’s more than likely that someone in your immediate family or circle of friends has made some form of New Year’s resolution. There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s admirable even. The willingness to better one’s self is a noble trait and many New Year’s resolutions have altruistic effects. For example, many people are opting to try an entirely plant based diet for “Veganuary” to try and make a difference for animal welfare and the environment. The entrepreneur, however, doesn’t wait until the turn of the year to re-evaluate and change their practices. They know that innovation is what keeps them ahead of the curve and afloat in the ultra competitive landscape of the 21st century. That said, the New Year’s resolution analogy may be an apt one, as we look to the challenges of the coming year. Since everyone we encounter seems to be going on a diet at this time of year, should we try incorporating this same mindset to our businesses?
Cutting costs instead of calories
For this analogy to work, we need to look at business spending in the same way as calorie consumption. Both are important and even necessary for good overall health, but they can also prove ruinous when allowed to spiral out of control. After all, not all calories are created equal. An egg and a can of cola have the same caloric content but very different nutritional properties. The egg contains fats, proteins and omega 3 fatty acids… the can of cola will just contain empty calories in the form of sugars. Likewise some areas of business spending will be more conducive to economic activity and growth than others. Thus it’s your responsibility to…
Beware “empty calories”
There’s a reason that low calorie diets rarely work. Cutting calories, regardless of their nutritional content, will rarely be conducive to long term goals. You might see a brief reduction in running costs just like starvation will lead to a brief period of initial weight loss, but if you’re afraid to invest in areas that will be conducive to growth, your business is likely to become anemic. Just look at the UK government’s policy of post crisis spending, or “Osbornomics” from 2010-present to see the dangers of blanket spending cuts across the board.
That said, there are areas of spending that produce little or no return on your investment and need to be cut down as much as possible. Cutting down on this wasteful spending is as important as cutting empty calories out of your diet.
Don’t let debt become your tapeworm
A tapeworm is an intestinal parasite that will take refuge in your stomach and leech away at your caloric intake, leading to rapid weight loss no matter what the caloric intake. So too can personal and business debt leech into your profits if not kept under control. Taking on one of the top debt consolidation loans can help remedy this. It will ensure that your profits aren’t wasted by unnecessary spending on interest and even improve your credit rating.
Nourish your business
Just as your body needs vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates to grow, so too does your business need to be nourished by calculated spending in areas that will result in growth. Make sure that you invest in the right capital purchases like equipment and software to increase productivity or digital marketing to grow your brand will lead to a healthy and well nourished business.