Millions of entrepreneurs nationwide would love to have the very nice problem of simply having too much business and therefore needing to turn some of it down, but the fact of the matter is that as a result of the improving economy, many may now be approaching that position. For this reason, it might be helpful to figure out how best to deal with such elevated levels of demand.
Unfortunately for many small business owners nationwide, there are only so many clients they can take on before they start to spread themselves, their workers, and their company resources too thin, according to a report from the Houston Chronicle. For this reason, many owners may need to know how they can start saying “no” to new business; this kind of thing is certainly counterintuitive to most companies because more business means added ability to grow as a company, but expanding beyond its means can be bad news for any such enterprise. This might lead the quality of work performed to slip, or cause delays in the ability of a company to complete jobs on time, among other potential issues, all of which can lead to reduced customer satisfaction and possibly damaging negative word-of-mouth reviews.
The first thing it might be wise for owners to evaluate when they’re thinking about turning down business is how many requests they’re getting above and beyond what they consider to be a workable level for them, the report said. If they can take the time to run the numbers, they might find that it could be more cost effective, and better for their companies, to simply bring on more workers if the influx of customer or client demand is that significant. In addition, they might be able to find ways to streamline their processes so that they can operate more efficiently and therefore handle a larger workload.
Moreover, it might be wise for companies to start looking into ways they can specialize what they do so that they can start saying no to jobs simply on the basis that it doesn’t fit within their specific area, the report said. Such a decision could be based on the types of things they’ve been hired to do in the past. In addition, they might find that those with additional or specific needs are also willing to pay more for a company’s services overall, which likewise could serve to make up for the potential decline in business from people who need more general services or products.
When it comes time to say no
Of course, many owners may look at all the above options to see if they can squeeze in an additional client or two and determine that they simply cannot do it in a feasible manner, and thus will have to turn down the extra work, the report said. In these cases, it might be wise for entrepreneurs to simply explain why they cannot take on the added work, as being up-front with these people may show that the company cares about their business but simply cannot squeeze it in at the current time. They may be disappointed, but they will also be more likely to understand the position, and thus will not have a negative or diminished view of the company going forward.
If cost-related issues are the reason a company can’t take on additional work, it might be wise for owners to consider finding ways to reduce their small business insurance expenses. Finding more affordable workers’ compensation or general liability insurance premiums may help to give small businesses a sturdier financial foundation.
