Welcome to ASK ROCK, a monthly advice column where industry expert Rock LaManna will answer your questions on topics such as: key financials for every business, and how it can lead to profitable organic growth, M&As, strategic alliances, succession plans, and exit strategies. He will also talk about leadership and present family business case studies.
Do you have a question for Rock LaManna and the LaManna Alliance?
You can submit your question here. Your identity will be kept 100% confidential if it’s included in this column, unless you give your permission for it to be public.
Dear Rock,
With all the market uncertainty, I’m thinking of just sitting tight and seeing how things turn out. Personally, I think people get too scared about all the headlines of doom and gloom for our printing industry. Anything wrong with being a bit conservative?
A great question, and one I hear a lot. I hear it so often that it became the subject of my upcoming presentation at Print 13 and CPP Expo: “Making Big Decisions: Why Doing Nothing Will Destroy Your Business.”
As a wise man once said, a business cannot stand still. It must either grow or shrink. This is especially true in today’s marketplace, in which industry consolidation and tighter margins are occurring every day.
Yet owners time and time again avoid making big decisions and opt to do nothing. What can this mean for your business?
Back-sliding financials: Not actively pursuing a growth strategy – such as building your business organically; entering into a strategic alliance; or pursuing a merger and acquisition – will hurt you financially in many ways.
Remember, the competition is always out to eat your lunch. If you sit still, they’ll take your client base and pass you by with R&D. Without new sales in high margin arenas, you’ll feel the pinch mighty fast.
Many owners believe that if things get too bad, they can always sell the business, but buyers are a selective lot these days. No one wants to invest in a business that’s on the wane. And if your balance sheet goes south, your lender won’t have much patience with you either – especially if you’re deciding to “do nothing” instead of pursuing growth.
Dysfunctional Operations: Your team is not going to be happy if you’re sitting on your hands. People need vision and a goal to be motivated. They want to see you have a concrete plan in place for the future. Your staff will get antsy when you’re not actively looking to create your own fate.
What will happen? It may not be overnight, but soon you’ll start to lose people. Either physically, as they transfer to new jobs, or mentally, as they check out from helping you build the business.
Once your talent goes, your quality standards will slip as well. With no goals in mind and nothing to shoot for, people won’t care about your future – only their own.
So why don’t more owners steer clear of “doing nothing?”
I think it’s because most of them don’t have a clear understanding of how to make the right decision. They don’t know how to look at their financial and operational metrics, and then compare them with the marketplace to make the right call.
During my presentation, I explain how to use those benchmarks to remove the risk from your decision-making, and avoid the deathtrap of doing nothing.
Join me at Print 13 and CPP Expo for a free luncheon and “Making Big Decisions: Why Doing Nothing Will Destroy Your Business.” I’ll be presenting on Monday, September 9th from 12:00 – 12:45 PM in the Printerverse, booth 5440. Join PMC, Danny Maloney from The Global Channel Partners Summit, and myself, and learn how to make the right call and avoid the dangers of doing nothing.
Rock LaManna is the President and CEO of the LaManna Alliance, a business advisory and consulting firm that helps printing owners and CEOs use their company financials to create successful strategies. He blogs regularly on family business solutions for the printing and print-related industry.
