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When your business is struggling and especially if it’s been struggling for a while, there are some hard questions that you need to ask yourself to figure out what to do next. If you’re trying to determine your next steps, ask yourself these 7 questions to create a new plan for business success.

1. Why are you still running your business? The reason why you started your business might be very different from why should still be running it now. Think about it. You need to reconnect with your purpose and your mission to lead your business out of its current state.
2. Why do your customers do business with you? Repeat business is what sustains a business. Do you have repeat customers? If not, do you know why they don’t come back for more?
3. Are you charging enough to grow your business? When is the last time your reviewed your pricing? Have you raised your prices? It’s important for you to make sure that you understand all of your costs, and that there’s some profit in every sale.
4. Do you have a strong value proposition? How can add more value for your customers? You need to make sure there’s something special about how to deliver your product or service. Brainstorm ways you can add more value for your customer, with minimal cost to you.
5. Is your business in the right location – or should it be in a different state? Trends in the industry might lead you to consider a move to take advantage of more favorable tax and business regulations in a nearby state. What do you need to do to set up shop in a new state? It could be that your original legal business structure is no longer the best fit and a new legal entity might work better for your business. CT Corporation can help you transition to the best business entity for your business – from your first formation to growing your business through acquisition, adding partners, moving into new states.
6. What are the trends in your industry? You need to stay on top of the trends in your industry. Is your industry growing or shrinking? Is there technology that is changing your industry or allowing you to save time and money on how you deliver your products and services?
7. How are you generating sales leads? Sales is what drives a business. Do you have specific lead generation activities going on? How are your following up on those leads? Are you running Google Ads or Facebook Ads? Blogging? Attending trade shows? Making cold calls? Following up with recent customer in email? You must be doing something to generate interest in your business.

When your business stops growing there are lots of places to look for answers. I suggest that you start with these questions, and then take the time to figure out a new strategic plan for your business. Your leadership will be critically important to change things, so don’t forget to work on that too.

This article was sponsored by CT Corporation, but all content is strictly the opinion of Melinda F. Emerson.

About CT Corporation

CT Corporation helps small businesses, corporations and law firms around the world manage their most critical business and legal compliance responsibilities. With over 125 years of legal compliance experience, along with strong relationships with federal and state legislatures, CT Corporation has the expertise and flexibility to support a wide range of clients-from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations.