There are 5 points in the checklist to do if you are flying a small plane and the engine fails.
It’s just six things – 6 key steps.
The first is to fly the plane.
You are in the air, and a pilot must remember this before that flutter of panic turns into following the steps needed to start the engine and get down safely.
Fly the plane – an obvious starting point.
Because pilots get so desperate trying to restart their engines, so crushed by the cognitive overload of thinking through what could have gone wrong, they forget the most basic task – flying the plane.
The same in business.
Loss of a significant contract, tax debt that turns into a chase from the ATO, cash flow and other pressures, remember to keep trading the business.
Then you look for solutions like the pilot, who will use the wind and altitude to fly the plane first. A pilot will apply fuel carb heat, check fuel and switch tanks, hit fuel boost and mixture, the business owner will look for sales, quick collection of cash and reduce costs, amount many other options.
If a pilot can’t start the engine, he looks for and points toward a safe landing site. He establishes the best glide airspeed.
The strategy is to get safely down, to have the plane fixed and fly again.
This metaphor continues to business as well.
Get the business protected and solve the problem.
This is where Your Business Angels have exceptional skills when there is a real problem. Businesses may have great clients; the company offers excellent services and products, but many issues need fixing.
Our job is to keep the business going (flying), find a safe landing spot (finance and restructure) and get cashflow and business flowing profitably (best guide airspeed).
So on with 2023 – this can be a spectacular year for us all.
