We’re surrounded by them every day, yet would you recognise those toxic business practices for what they really are? Would you kick them to the kerb or pack them in your bag for the ride? All too often in business, the lines become blurred between what’s okay and what’s not. After all, it’s easy to recognise toxic objects in our daily lives, but not so easy to identify practices in our business. Today we’re going to take a step back from our businesses and assess those business practices we need to ditch.

4 Toxic Business Practices You Need to Avoid

We all want our business to do well. Sometimes though, this means we draw a blind eye or fail to understand or learn about different business practices. Like in everything, ignorance in business is no excuse! Here are four of the most toxic business practices you need to keep an eye out for:

1. Thinking profit = a healthy business – Yes, making a profit is a great thing, but it’s not really an indicator of just how financially healthy your business is. To do this properly, you need to look at your balance sheet to see where that profit is going. After all, you can make a profit without having cash in the bank.
2. Forgetting about your expenses – it makes sense that as your business grows, so do your costs. Did you realise though that taking on additional business will also require more cash? It’s important to know you don’t have the money first to avoid financial or legal difficulties if you can’t fulfil your client’s order.
3. Obsessing over your margins – I totally agree that you need to achieve a realistic margin on your products or services. How else are you going to grow your pay your salary and your expenses? The problem is when we become fixed upon achieving a specific margin and turn down opportunities because the margin is lower than we’d like. If you’re not busy and will make money, then why not go for it?
4. Keep looking backwards – it’s no use watching your business in the rear-view mirror. If you wait until you get your end of year accounts back from your accountant before making decisions, you’re going to miss out. Those accounts can only tell you what’s happened in the past, not what’s happening right now. Tracking trends in sales, quotes or opportunities better help you make informed decisions living in the now, not the past.

Toxic business practices may not be something you are doing on purpose

They most probably started off with the best of intentions, but they’re just not working for you. To avoid this happening, auditing, monitoring, adjusting and challenging your business practices is essential. I can help you do just that! Book here