Cash crunches feel sudden and almost never are. By the time the bank account looks scary, the leak has been running for weeks. The shops that survive the next 90 days are the ones that act on day one, not the ones who wait for the next deposit to clear.
Move one: stop the bleeding
Before anything else, freeze every non essential dollar. Owner draw, subscriptions, marketing spend that is not converting, planned equipment buys. Not forever. For the next 30 days. The point is to buy yourself time to think, not to gut the business.
Move two: get honest with the numbers
Build a 12 week forward cash forecast, even on a napkin. Inflows you actually expect, outflows you cannot avoid, and the gap. Most operators discover the problem is one specific line, not the whole business. The plan gets a lot shorter when you know that.
Move three: talk to the people who can help
Vendors will usually extend terms if you call first. Customers will often prepay for a discount if you ask. Your bank will renegotiate before they will foreclose. Almost every conversation goes worse if you wait for them to call you.
What not to do
- Do not take a merchant cash advance. The daily debit will finish what the slow month started.
- Do not lay off your best people to save a payroll cycle. You will rehire them in 60 days at a premium.
- Do not hide it from the team. They already know, and they will respect a real plan more than a brave face.
Walk the numbers through managing cash flow or build the forecast in cash flow forecasting. If borrowing is on the table, work it through raising capital first.