The associated cash flow schedules and inputs to help you figure out how to best address a changing market will be discussed. Measured systems have proven over time to outperform unmeasured systems by approximately 20%. The key to success for the business owner is to determine what things should be done and how to measure the actions to accelerate movement along the path. Without doing the work required to effectively develop and implement a business plan, most businesses will underperform. And in difficult economic periods, they could unexpectedly be at significantly increased risk.

So, to survive and thrive you need a series of measurable outcomes. As soon as you lay a foundation for planning, take the following three steps as you read and review the balance of your books: First, develop a survival plan with projected cash flows. Set up a specific cash weekly outflow for each of the first four to eight weeks. Set an ending cash balance objective for week four.

Figure out how to operate to end the period with that amount of cash in hand. The key sections to this planning document are the sources and uses of funds and staffing strategies for this short four to eight-week time frame. Second, prepare a six-month business plan based on all the required changes needed to use your company’s strengths to take advantage of the disruption in the marketplace. This is a foundation-building phase.