It’s quite disheartening when a business collapses or is at the edge of failure. Some businesspeople looking for ways to make their companies more productive, teams more creative, and operations more efficient, may require a fresh start.

According to Aimable Nkuranga, a personal finance coach in Kigali, jumpstarting a slow business varies depending on the nature of the business, as well as the causes of stagnation or decline of that business.

"If, for example, it is a restaurant with customers on peak days or hours and almost empty on slow days, these strategies might work,” Nkuraga warns.

Hosting other peoples’ events

Nkuraga says that you can make arrangements with people to host their events free of charge on slow days. You would benefit from free marketing and it’s also an opportunity to boost your own business during those events.

Hosting your own events

"In the case of a restaurant, you can come up with special events with discounts on usually slow days and this can boost your sales,” he says.

Collaboration

Nkuranga says that you can propose some strong brands to have some of their products sold at your place. By doing this, you can benefit from small profit margins and you can also sell your products to the clients of that brand.

Run promotions

Discounts and other forms of promotion can boost a slow business. For instance, while looking for new clients is tempting for business managers who want to grow their commerce, experience shows that existing customers respond quicker and better to these strategies, Nkuraga says.

"Targeting new clients with new products might give you growth of around three per cent while existing products offered to new clients bring a growth of around 10 per cent. If you compare a potential growth of 15 per cent when you target existing clients with existing products, and potential growth of 25 per cent when you propose new products to existing clients; you realise that existing customers are easier to rely on when considering growing a slow business,” Nkuranga states.

Lay out your goals

If you are planning on jumping right in full-time or wanting to start out slow, business experts say to make sure you have enough money saved to pay for living expenses while you get started. They recommend at least six months of savings, but this will vary depending on how soon you expect to start making a profit.

You can write down where you see your business one month from now, six months from now, one year from now and five years from now.

Rebrand

A rebrand is essential but isn’t the first thing business owners think about when sales start to fall. But sometimes, when products and businesses aren’t positioned properly, a rebrand is necessary to solve that problem.

A rebrand that will successfully jump-start your business is going to be more than just changing your logo. Your entire brand’s approach to how it positions itself in the market will require renovation to see a major impact.

Create a new marketing plan

Kelly Ishimwe, a business worker in Kigali, says a new marketing plan can renew your business, and trying new things just might get your business out of a loss.

"If you have outlined your general idea of who your target audience is, you can set a goal for your marketing strategy,” he says.

Ishimwe adds that a great way to start is by creating an online presence and creating brand awareness. In the beginning, you can first target all people who have no idea about your company and what it does, so it is a good idea to create a strong online presence.

"Whatever tools you use, keep your messages consistent with your business’ brand, and keep your social media posts consistent,” he adds.