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Dealing with daily pressure of sales being 50% down

Anything related to matters of the mind

Paul David

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At the moment the sales in my business are 50% down compared to last year.
This is due to a number of reasons for example, no stock on better selling SKU's due to moving suppliers, some sku's being obsolete, more competitors joining the market.

I've been in business for 13 years and the pressure never really bothered me but lately i'm really starting to feel it. It got to a point where i wouldn't log into my internet banking because i didn't want to know how little cash i had in the bank, or i wouldn't look at our daily sales because i didn't want to see how shit we performed the day before.

I am working on a daily basis to address these issues and increasing sales (i'm currently waiting for stock to arrive in 4 FBA centres across Europe and US) but i know this isn't going to change overnight. I just feel this weight pushing down on my shoulders. I'm starting to feel like no matter what i seem to do or as hard i try it's not going to work out for me. I'm feeling very anxious especially at night time and i know that i'm just bottling everything up when really i feel like running a million miles away.

It's a horrible feeling that i am carrying around with me each and every day. It's like no matter what i am doing the worry is always there in the background that i'm losing my business and going to end up with a shit load of debt if i don't turn things around.

A while back i was always confident that i would end up achieving my goals no matter what, over the last few years that's evaporated and i need to get that faith in myself back somehow asap.
 
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FreeBy23

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As long as you're working, adjusting, and adapting as best you can, that's all you can do. If you don't even believe in it, how can anyone else? Champion your cause, make it count, market it like it's your livelihood and like going back to working a 9-5 isn't an option. Maybe bring in an expert in marketing or distribution or something, you're not alone. Sometimes you have to ask for help and that's okay, I'm not the expert you need but I'm sure someone in here is. I know it's tough but the lower the lows, the higher the highs seem. Kick butt and take names, show your market why you've been there for 13 years!
 

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At the moment the sales in my business are 50% down compared to last year.
This is due to a number of reasons for example, no stock on better selling SKU's due to moving suppliers, some sku's being obsolete, more competitors joining the market.

I've been in business for 13 years and the pressure never really bothered me but lately i'm really starting to feel it. It got to a point where i wouldn't log into my internet banking because i didn't want to know how little cash i had in the bank, or i wouldn't look at our daily sales because i didn't want to see how shit we performed the day before.

I am working on a daily basis to address these issues and increasing sales (i'm currently waiting for stock to arrive in 4 FBA centres across Europe and US) but i know this isn't going to change overnight. I just feel this weight pushing down on my shoulders. I'm starting to feel like no matter what i seem to do or as hard i try it's not going to work out for me. I'm feeling very anxious especially at night time and i know that i'm just bottling everything up when really i feel like running a million miles away.

It's a horrible feeling that i am carrying around with me each and every day. It's like no matter what i am doing the worry is always there in the background that i'm losing my business and going to end up with a shit load of debt if i don't turn things around.

A while back i was always confident that i would end up achieving my goals no matter what, over the last few years that's evaporated and i need to get that faith in myself back somehow asap.

I have been there. Man your post brought back memories. I was literally afraid to check my bank account balance, so I just didn't.

See if you can get the vendors whom you know the best to extend you terms so you can load in some inventory.

Night is when it is the worst when the shit hits the fan. Get a copy of the audio of Tony Robbins Hour of Power, and listen to it every single night if you need to.

Remember that I was over 1,000,000 in debt at one point, with zero dollars coming in.

You can make it. You know how to do this. It doesn't fix overnight, but it can fix in 30 days.

Don't play the game of "what if..."

Spend those restless hours tuning and retuning and reworking and rewriting.

Live the life you have imagined. Be bigger than your immediate issue. Catch your breath. Be larger than life with the vendors.

Your FBA inventory will give you a boost.
 

TheSmokey1

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13 years. 13 years is not a fluke. 13 years is not an accident. 13 years in business is far better and far longer than most people in this world could do.

I don't know anything about our business, so the best I can offer is: Laser focus. Laser focus on what it takes to correct this. Nothing else matters more than that right now. Afterwards you may want to evaluate. There is not just the fixing the now, but the wondering of "What can I do to keep this from happening again"? But for now, laser focus on fixing this problem is all that matters. Don't let yourself get distracted by the things that don't matter.

I just lost over $20K of mrr this month. First time it has ever happened to me. But, I stopped doing everything that is non-essential to fix it. You can accomplish a lot when you put your full focus on a problem.

Times like this is when I re-read one of my favorite quotes:
"In the meantime, cling tooth and nail to the following rule: not to give in to adversity, not to trust prosperity, and always take full note of fortune's habit of behaving just as she pleases."

Don't give in to adversity.
 
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garyjsmith

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I don't know you, your business, or what you're going through; I won't pretend to know. But I do know this: that you can do this, that you can be fearless, reduce your stress, and stare down the unknown.

You're going to need to make some lists. You're going to need to simplify, to tell people 'no' so you can dedicate time to thought and analyzing your situation. You're going to need to ask for status updates and to ask others for help. You're going to need to talk to confidantes. And when it's late and there's no one to talk to, go on a walk and listen to these:
Gratitude walks - YouTube

These clips will make you a fire-resistant beast. I built this playlist when I was in sales of outdoor services through the cold of an east coast winter. Walk and listen to them all. In the list are affirmations, gratitude reminders, stress relievers, and compilations of audio clips from the business titans of our age.
 

ZCP

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Fight the fires. Gets sales back. Keep money coming in.
Then put your feet up on your desk and 'think' your way out of the situation.
Start with a clean sheet of paper and sketch up how you would do it from scratch.
Study your data. Find the root cause. Get some systems and procedures in place to try to prevent this in the future.
Most of all. Just keep moving. You can do it. You always have.
 

Paul David

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Thanks everybody, great replies and links to information that will help. Also a big thank you to @AndrewNC who's offered me free coaching which i will take him up on early next week.

Firstly i think i need to nip the negativity in the bud even from my own staff. I work from home a lot and communicate with them via skype mostly. I regularly get messages from the guy who does my customers telling me about customers who are complaining for no reason or opening Amazon A-Z cases etc. Or he'll send me a skype messages saying sales are really slow or some other bad news. I pay him to deal with customers so i don't have to, as for sales being slow, i get a report at 8am each morning with KPI's informing me exactly how things are. I don't need to be told throughout the day.

I also remember last year i set myself a target of being able to spend the whole of my children school holidays in Spain (5-6 weeks), they finished school yesterday and unfortunately, i am nowhere near the target financial wise. I've gone the opposite way in fact.

I'm 37 tomorrow, i've never worked for anyone else ever but things have got to start to change. Even though from the outside people assume i have money, every bank account i have has a D at the end of the balance. That's the cold harsh truth i must face up to. All i've done in last 20 years is live month to month, and i've spent more than what i've earned meaning my business has a massive overdrawn directors loan account. Things must change.

If i had to go and work as an employee i honestly wouldn't know where to start, i'm too institutionalised as self employed and if i had a boss telling what to do i think i'd last less than a day. However if things don't change that's what's on the horizon.
 
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Vigilante

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Thanks everybody, great replies and links to information that will help. Also a big thank you to @AndrewNC who's offered me free coaching which i will take him up on early next week.

Firstly i think i need to nip the negativity in the bud even from my own staff. I work from home a lot and communicate with them via skype mostly. I regularly get messages from the guy who does my customers telling me about customers who are complaining for no reason or opening Amazon A-Z cases etc. Or he'll send me a skype messages saying sales are really slow or some other bad news. I pay him to deal with customers so i don't have to, as for sales being slow, i get a report at 8am each morning with KPI's informing me exactly how things are. I don't need to be told throughout the day.

I also remember last year i set myself a target of being able to spend the whole of my children school holidays in Spain (5-6 weeks), they finished school yesterday and unfortunately, i am nowhere near the target financial wise. I've gone the opposite way in fact.

I'm 37 tomorrow, i've never worked for anyone else ever but things have got to start to change. Even though from the outside people assume i have money, every bank account i have has a D at the end of the balance. That's the cold harsh truth i must face up to. All i've done in last 20 years is live month to month, and i've spent more than what i've earned meaning my business has a massive overdrawn directors loan account. Things must change.

If i had to go and work as an employee i honestly wouldn't know where to start, i'm too institutionalised as self employed and if i had a boss telling what to do i think i'd last less than a day. However if things don't change that's what's on the horizon.

How many employees?

And, in addition to speaking with Andrew, you might want to try and find a coach who has built a business before. Sometimes just some encouragement and insight from people who have faced and overcome similar challenges can refresh your spirit.
 

Paul David

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How many employees?

And, in addition to speaking with Andrew, you might want to try and find a coach who has built a business before. Sometimes just some encouragement and insight from people who have faced and overcome similar challenges can refresh your spirit.

I have 3 in house employees including myself and 1 who works in Philippines.

 

Vigilante

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