It’s safe to say that every type of business is proceeding through uncertain times. These uncertain times can cause immense levels of stress—especially around finances. While it is always difficult to predict the future, everyone from the solo entrepreneur to the CEO of a blue-chip tech company must work with the information they have to make the best possible decisions. That being said, what if you could maximize your odds to survive—and even thrive—during these tumultuous times?

In this session from Dubb’s Action Summit, Dubb founder Ruben Dua sits down with Paul Fioravanti to discuss how you can drive your business from red to black. Paul is the CEO and managing partner of Qorval Partners, which is a Florida-based turnaround firm and management consulting firm. Paul and his colleagues help clients transform businesses and manage stakeholder relationships during those transformations. In the discussion, you will hear a variety of important insights, including the following:

⭐ Paul and his partners published a list of the “Six C’s” that business owners should pay attention to during a time of crisis. The six items are cash, costs, credit, communications, core operations, and customer experience, and customer focus. These are blocking and tackling moves that businesses should focus on to survive and thrive amidst a crisis.

⭐ Many companies tend to look to the past. They write historical summaries of what happened during tumultuous periods several years ago. While this may be insightful in some areas, these types of summaries do not help businesses when they are trying to look into the future. Because of this, Paul recommends that businesses focus on 13-week cash flow, which is a projection of the inflows and outflows of the business over the next quarter.

⭐ It’s important to not only avoid replicating mistakes but to protect two of your business’s most important margins. They are your gross margin and net margin. Ultimately, it’s critical to recognize your overhead in delivering your specific product or service. Even if you are uncomfortable with the numbers, understanding these two types of margins can go a long way in helping you get through these uncertain times.

⭐ While it may be tempting to look inward during times of uncertainty, it is also critical to look outward. By this, we mean that you must be paying attention to your clients.

Without your clients or customers, you don’t have a business. Therefore, step into their shoes and reach out via email or phone. See how they are doing. By checking in and solidifying your customer relationship, you increase your chances of retaining that customer and even generating new business. This conversation is terrific for entrepreneurs, CEO’S, managers, and others that want to learn about building thriving and profitable businesses—even during uncertain times. Even if you
aren’t interested in the financial side of your business, there is still plenty you can get from this conversation. Hope you enjoy it!

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