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When you’re in business, things are going to go wrong. Terribly wrong. And often. These things-gone-wrong reveal two classes of entrepreneur: those who charge on despite things-gone-wrong, and those who punk out. The good news is that these are learned behaviors, not inborn traits. But here’s the problem: A good portion of learning to “charge on” comes from the confidence of knowing that you will know what to do when things go wrong. The paradox is that such knowledge tends to come from experience. So, what do you do? The answer is easy: Keep this guide with you. Then charge on, with the knowledge that nearly every potentially business-killing situation has a solution. You can rest easy because the solutions in these pages have been battle-tested by business titans of the ages.
Don’t Panic. Be Prepared. Have a Plan. Layoffs. Sales slumps. Dangerously low morale. Extreme cash tightness. Reorganizations. It’s a scary world out there. Times are as tough as they’ve been in decades. More than ever before, companies are struggling to make ends meet, having to cut costs, lay off employees, delay new endeavors—and focus almost exclusively on SURVIVAL. And until now, there’s never been a good, clear, step-by-step guide for businesses facing such sudden turns for the worse. THIS BOOK MAY SAVE YOUR BUSINESS. Written by WORST-CASE SCENARIO creator and entrepreneur David Borgenicht, bestselling new business superguru Mark Joyner, and many other business experts, you’ll learn: o How to Stay in Business When You Can’t Make Payroll o How to Fend Off an Employee Coup o How to Perform Emergency Surgery on Your Overhead And many more answers to the most dangerous situations your business will ever encounter. Most importantly, you’ll get the basic training you need to make sure you’re prepared—and that this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Business Survival Guide HOW TO Survive the Recession, Handle Layoffs, Raise Emergency Cash, Thwart an Employee Coup, and Avoid Other Potential Disasters! David Borgenicht and Mark Joyner New York Times Bestselling Authors T H I S B O O K M A Y S A V E Y O U R B U S I N E S S $17.95 USA / $21.95 CAN The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Business Survival Guide Borgenicht • Joyner Visit WWW.WORSTCASEBUSINESS.COM for updates, free courses, and more! Business/Self-Help ffirs.qxd 9/14/09 3:05 PM Page 6 The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Business Survival Guide MECH_interior_WCSB.qxd:Layout 1 8/27/09 11:18 AM Page 1 David Borgenicht and Mark Joyner New York Times Best-selling Authors John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Business Survival Guide How to Survive the Recession, Handle Layoffs, Raise Emergency Cash, Thwart an Employee Coup, and Avoid Other Potential Disasters! MECH_interior_WCSB.qxd:Layout 1 8/27/09 11:18 AM Page 2 David Borgenicht and Mark Joyner New York Times Best-selling Authors John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Business Survival Guide How to Survive the Recession, Handle Layoffs, Raise Emergency Cash, Thwart an Employee Coup, and Avoid Other Potential Disasters! MECH_interior_WCSB.qxd:Layout 1 8/27/09 11:18 AM Page 2 Copyright © 2009 by Quirk Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. Illustrations by Colin Hayes Visit www.worstcasebusiness.com for updates, free resources, and more! Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written per- mission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be ad- dressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies con- tained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not lim- ited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical sup- port, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572- 4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. ISBN: 978-0-470-55141-7 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 If you’re going through Hell, keep going. Winston Churchill MECH_interior_WCSB.qxd:Layout 1 8/27/09 11:18 AM Page 4 Copyright © 2009 by Quirk Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. Illustrations by Colin Hayes Visit www.worstcasebusiness.com for updates, free resources, and more! Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written per- mission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be ad- dressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies con- tained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not lim- ited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical sup- port, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572- 4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. ISBN: 978-0-470-55141-7 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 If you’re going through Hell, keep going. Winston Churchill MECH_interior_WCSB.qxd:Layout 1 8/27/09 11:18 AM Page 4 ffirs.qxd 9/14/09 3:05 PM Page 6 CONTENTS Mark’s Introduction 10 David’s Introduction 11 CHAPTER 1: FINANCIAL EMERGENCIES 15 How to Survive When You Can’t Make Payroll 16 How to Perform Emergency Surgery on Your Overhead 19 How to Get Cash Fast 24 How to Collect from a Deadbeat Customer 29 How to Renegotiate with Your Creditors 33 Basic Training 36 CHAPTER 2: HR EMERGENCIES 45 How to Enact and Survive Layoffs 46 How to Fire Someone 51 Essential Advice for Firers 53 How to Deal with a Complainer 55 How to Deal with Nightmare Employees 58 How to Fend Off an Employee Coup 62 How to Restore Dangerously Low Morale 66 Basic Training 71 ftoc.qxd 9/14/09 3:22 PM Page 7 How to Deal with a Severe Brain Fog (aka Lack of Focus) 158 Short but Sweet Scenarios 161 Basic Training 163 EPILOGUE 169 “Get Your Mind Right” by Mark Joyner 170 APPENDIX 177 The “You’re Fired” Speech 178 Announcing a Termination to Your Staff 180 The Layoff Speech 182 The “We Can’t Pay You on Time” Speech/ E-Mail 184 The All-Purpose Apology 185 The Breakup/“It’s Not You, It’s Me” Speech for Business Relationships 186 The “Down at Halftime” Pep Talk Formula 187 Ten Great “Tough Time Pep Talk” Quotes 188 The Rules of Good Negotiation 191 The Four Business Exit Strategies 191 Quick Cash Generation Tactics 192 About the Experts 196 Index 202 About the Authors 205 Acknowledgments 207 CHAPTER 3: PRODUCTIVITY EMERGENCIES 81 How to Remove Productivity Leeches 82 How to Fend Off Mission Drift 85 How to Fend Off “Feature Creep” 90 How to Fend Off Death by Meeting 93 How to Identify the True Priorities 97 How to Resuscitate Innovation 99 Basic Training 102 CHAPTER 4: SALES AND MARKETING EMERGENCIES 113 How to Create a Killer Ad—Yesterday 114 How to Salvage a Failed Marketing Campaign 116 How to Market without Money 119 How to Sell When No One Is Buying 126 How to Identify a Nightmare Customer 128 How to Replace Your Number One Customer 131 Basic Training 133 CHAPTER 5: EXECUTIVE EMERGENCIES 143 How to Articulate Your Vision 144 How to Deliver Bad News 148 How to Apologize to Anyone 151 How to Avoid Getting a Divorce 154 MECH_interior_WCSB.qxd:Layout 1 8/27/09 11:18 AM Page 8 [...]... you that the clear, straightforward, step-by-step information within The Worst-Case Scenario Business Survival Guide is just the resource you’ll need when your business suddenly takes a turn for the worse david’s introduction 11 And I can tell you that this book is no joke Whereas the other Worst-Case Scenario books I’ve worked on have been meant more for entertainment and humor than actual survival. .. lay them off • To keep them but to cut their pay You must be prepared to reduce your own compensation at least as much as the reductions to the salaries of other employees IF AN ESSENTIAL EXECUTIVE LEAVES, FIND AN EQUALLY COMPETENT REPLACEMENT WHO WILL WORK FOR LESS They are always out there ENLIST EVERYONE IN THE EFFORT TO CUT EXPENSES FURTHER AND BRING IN MORE REVENUE Explain the reality of the situation... payments— no request is out of bounds If they value your business and believe that the alternative is to lose that business altogether, they will work hard to help Bolster your argument by presenting the information you discovered about the market value of their goods or services (thus implying that you may take your business elsewhere) OFFER AN INCENTIVE TO HELP YOU These may include a term of exclusivity,... for any business owner My coauthor, Mark Joyner, and I have worked hard to identify and find the answers to dozens of the toughest situations that you as a business owner will ever face—and to provide you with the training necessary to ensure you never face them again Plus, we’ve solicited dozens of business experts to contribute their knowledge to help you make it through It could well be the most... must learn, and we’ve distilled them for you in the Basic Training sections and epilogue I urge you to read them now; then use this book as an arms-reach resource for the future Charge on Mark Joyner mark@worstcasebusiness.com 10 mark’s introduction David’s Introduction Let me start by confessing that I am not a business guru Yes, I am the creator and coauthor of one of the bestselling brands in recent... spread the word throughout the industry that the company is not paying its bills and should not be trusted Or threaten to alert the media (major or trade) if the company has some notoriety IF MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS STILL FAIL, REFER THE ACCOUNT TO A COLLECTION SERVICE But be sure to contact the vendor one last time to alert them that you are about to do so Note that a collector will retain a percentage of the. .. who punk out The good news is that these are learned behaviors, not inborn traits But here’s the problem: A good portion of learning to “charge on” comes from the confidence of knowing that you will know what to do when things go wrong The paradox is that such knowledge tends to come from experience So, what do you do? The answer is easy: Keep this guide with you Then charge on, with the knowledge... many of these same situations I’m glad we made it through, and I’m glad we’ve found a way to bring it to you, via the good people at Wiley Now, I can’t promise that all the answers you will ever require are within these pages Depending on your specific situation, you may need to adjust here or there You may need to change the order of the steps you take, depending on your industry, culture, or business. .. business when you didn’t have the human resources and/or funds that you have now—and run your business based on the same ideals as you did then Use the minimum resources, as you did to survive in the beginning, and you will stay afloat Be strategic about which practices you revert to, however; for example, if more than 50 percent of your clientele comes from advertising on billboards, do not stop the. .. every potentially business- killing situation has a solution You can rest easy because the solutions in these pages have been battle-tested by business titans of the ages If I had such a resource when I was starting my first business, I would have been spared a tremendous amount of pain and suffering My wish is that, with this advice, you will far surpass even my greatest business triumphs There are a few . B U S I N E S S $17.95 USA / $21.95 CAN The WORST- CASE SCENARIO Business Survival Guide Borgenicht • Joyner Visit WWW.WORSTCASEBUSINESS.COM for updates, free. side. David Borgenicht david@worstcasebusiness.com And I can tell you that this book is no joke. Whereas the other Worst- Case Scenario books I’ve worked