What’s Your Backup Plan When Your Business Stops Working?

It happened so fast. Storm clouds and wind replaced the picture perfect sunny weather. The rain followed. It came down in buckets for thirty minutes. The sun came out again and the cycle repeated.
For people who live here it’s normal. Radical changes in weather frustrates visitors. We get over it and find other things to do.
Radical Effect
Radical changes in business have longer lasting effects.
A killer promotion can work like an ATM machine until one day, it stops working.
A killer app can be all the rage until someone releases a slightly better one.
When I ran my first successful promotion I had no backup plan. One day, it stopped working.
It went from profitable to unprofitable in a matter of days.
I had no backup plan. The losses mounted. Desperate to retain some profit, I shut it down.
The Auto-Pilot Business Is A Myth
I fell into a common trap for newbie marketers. I thought my business would run on auto pilot. I made two mistakes.
First, I didn’t have a business. I had a promotion.
Second, no business sustains itself on auto-pilot.
Blackberry minted money even after they lost their technological edge. They had no backup plan until it was too late to matter.
The same can be said of countless apps. They’re hot for a short time. They fall out of favor and so does the business.
The What If…
Here’s what might have saved my promotion. It may have even let me build a business.
What if my promotion stops working? What would I do next?
What if a competitor steals my customers? What would I do next?
What if customer acquisition costs exceed the break even point? What could I do to fix it?


