Identifying Your Resources When in a Business Crisis

RCS Influencer Peter Horch says that if you find yourself in a business crisis, having resources like a network of attorneys or consultants can be incredibly beneficial.

Editor's note: The following is a transcript of a conversation between our Multimedia Manager, Megan Ellsworth and Owner of Horch Roofing, Peter Horch.

Megan Ellsworth: Hi, my name's Megan here at Roofers Coffee Shop, and we are back again for an influencer interview. And I'm here with Peter Horch. Hi, Peter.

Peter Horch: Hello, hello.

Megan Ellsworth: So this month's influencer question is, what are important resources for contractors when they experience business crisis? So, take it away, Peter.

Peter Horch: Business crisis can happen at any time and for multiple reasons. And I think that the biggest message that I would have to send to anyone who runs into issues is, ask for help. And the question really is, what important resources are there? But the bigger thing is recognizing what you don't know. And so when you start to have issues, you start to have concerns, what I do is I start to ask everybody and anybody that I can.

So as part of being a business owner, you have to have a network of attorneys that are on your team, CPAs, consultants, advisors. And if you have those people already up to speed on what your business is doing, already aware of how your business is run, then if there is an issue in any different, in any scenario, you can use those resources.

So I would recommend having relationships with attorneys, CPAs, and consultants out of the gate, even if you're not having a crisis. Because once you have an employment issue, you know that you have an employment attorney on your side. Or you have a contract issue, you know that you have a contract attorney on your side. If you're having issues with your margins and your finances, you can talk to a consultant or a CPA about how to change that to make sure that you're making money.

And so I think the biggest thing is not running your business, like you know everything, because we all have something to learn. And there are many people out there that have already done this in some way or another. They've been through some sort of business crisis. And if you can lean on their experience and ask them for help, that's what can help you maneuver through any issues.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. So well said. And I completely agree. Is there anything specific that a contractor should ask a contract attorney in a crisis like that? Or how should they reach out to these people for help?

Peter Horch:

Like I said, I would always try and be prepared. As my company grew, I did not have a network of employment attorneys. I just had a general attorney that did a little bit of everything for me. And I was in a meeting once and somebody said that they were really happy that they had an employment attorney on their side, because they ran into an issue with an employee. And I thought to myself, boy, I don't have that resource, so I should create that relationship.

So I called this employment attorney and he said, "For X amount of dollars a month, you can have me on retainer. And that way I can answer any questions at any time if you have any issues." And ironically, within my two months of engaging with this attorney we had an employment issue. And I was so happy that I listened to somebody that was giving... He didn't even know he was giving me advice, but he was, and I was so happy I took that, started a relationship, got prepared. If there is an issue, then I was able to call that attorney and we were able to work through the issue very quickly and to our advantage.

So if that crisis came up on my plate and I wasn't prepared, I would've been floundering and trying to reach out to somebody and maybe making a bad decision. So by being proactive in making sure that you have advisors on your side, when there is an issue, you're ready to go.