By: André Larabie, CBC, MBA, PhD

If you own a business, there is a good chance that recent economic conditions are putting excessive pressures on your business too, so much so that it might feel as if your company is headed for serious trouble. Like many others, you are wondering if you can take some actions to save your business. The answer, in almost all cases, is a resounding YES!

Since you are an entrepreneur and therefore a leader by nature, you have the inherent skills to lead your company out of these troubled times. With your leadership skills, you can make your company a turnaround success.

You probably already know about the obvious things you stand to lose if your company fails: assets, property, your job, among other things. I can tell you from experience that you may not fully understand all the bad things that can happen if your business fails.

If you have never experienced a business failure, you will quickly learn that when things start to go bad, unexpected events will arise, and it becomes difficult to predict the outcome of your scenario.

Not only that, you will likely lose some amount of self-esteem and confidence. These intangible things are always less apparent, and especially so for those who have not been through the business failure process.

If you do feel your business is in danger of failing, you do have alternatives. There are formal methods in place to turn a business around, and you can hire a professional business turnaround expert to assist you with the process.