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The perfect storm.

Article Excerpt
"Poor naked wretches, where so ever you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm."--William Shakespeare

I was recently a bystander to a tragedy. A close friend of mine, "John," was forced without warning to shut down his life's work literally overnight--a cleaning and restoration business he had spent more than 30 years building.

So very, very sad for everyone involved. Thirteen employees, some that had been with John for many years, lost their livelihood with no notice. John's painfully purchased business assets will be liquidated for pennies on the dollar, and he will see little or no financial reward for the work of a lifetime.

Even worse, John goes off into his "forced retirement" with the sour taste of failure in his mouth. What happened? The "Perfect Storm" and John's failure to prepare for it.

Let's examine this perfect financial storm that devastated John's company and what he should have done over the years to prevent it from happening. Or at the very least, what tactics John could have used to survive the current tough economic times.

Just maybe, you will see a bit of you and your business in the sad scenario detailed in this column. Forewarned is forearmed.

A "Challenging" National and Local Economy

For many carpet cleaners the recession has hit hard. John's town is no exception. A local car plant shut down, unemployment spiked and a substantial minority of John's loyal customers started postponing their regular carpet cleanings.

John had been complacently running his company...

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