If You Are Going Through Hell Keep Going

Winston Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” What great advice, and how true. A man who has gone through hell and survived told me this. How appropriate for the small business owner stressed by reduced revenues and increased costs, fighting for survival confronting default and the ensuing disaster, or the owner already in default.

However, I have something to add. If you are going through hell, keep going, with a plan. How else can you possibly succeed? Merely getting through will strengthen the character of any business owner, but with success as the objective merely surviving is not enough. If you are going to pay the price, endure the pain and suffer the consequences, then you are best advised to formulate a success plan to support you through the hell you are experiencing. Mold that plan around what I refer to as the Four Pillars:

1. Downsize and tighten up the ship. Your business must be run far more effectively.

2. Reinvent your business to absorb and reflect the changes in the economy,  your business and the consumers you are marketing to.

3. You must do your debt workout.

4. Learn to utilize the Internet for marketing.

This is your road map. Of course, default is painful, downsizing is painful, debt workouts are painful and reinvention is painful, but failure is far worse. So, yes, if you are going through hell, definitely keep going. Come out on the other end, ready to emerge and to be more successful than you were before by utilizing the four pillars of change. Endure, change and succeed. Really, what other choice do you have? Giving up is not an option. Enduring pain without a satisfactory conclusion is not a winning strategy, and winning should be your only plan. Make certain you have the winning plan.