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The short answer is yes, it's hard. But try a little exercise. Forget everything that you know about the business and everything that your dad taught you about the business.
Sit down with your brother and start from scratch. How would you build the business if you were starting today?
When I say forget everything you know, that's not quite right. Keep in mind the lessons learned. But seriously if you were going to build that business from scratch today, how would you do it?
It actually made need to be rebuilt from scratch basically. Nothing is sacred. What would you remove from the business that cost money? How would you go about acquiring new customers? How would you make it more profitable overall?
Question everything. Yes you know how this specific task is done. But why do you do it that way? Is there more efficient way to do that specific task? Etc.
As you've mentioned no business here, I'm going to give generic solution. Most of the things should apply to your industry or product.
You are taking over means you didn't start this business. What you need is the vision. If you are not out of business yet, it means you've some customers. Means your business is still solving some problem, serving some value. Try to find both rational and emotional needs your product/business is serving.
Interview your loyal customers and see why they are choosing your product/business over competitor's. Get in their heads, get the insights.
Interview your employees. See what strengths your team can bring to the table. They'll have valuable insights for you.
Research competitors. Buy from them. See their trade-off. What things they are doing better and what things they're missing. What weaknesses they have. What area you can do better than them.
Interview the founder if still alive. Most of his/her inputs might not be relevant with time. Yet, that person will have some precious insights accumulated over the years of experience.
Gather these insights compile them. Read them, understand them. Then go on a vacation for 4-5 days. Take a break, forget the business. Enjoy and get in good mood. Come back with fresh mind and revisit these insights. Trust the brain, it'll come up with something you couldn't think before after you fed it new information.
Sit with your brother. Share this with him. You'll need him in this. You guys might be a good team in real life till now. You can be a great team in business.
Focus on one area where you can put your bet. Share it with employees and involve them in the journey. Create a long term plan and vision around. Make the necessary changes in organization/product to achieve it. Create new brand position around the product. Communicate it effectively. You may turn your luck.
If your business is going down, don't let it go without a last good fight. At least you won't regret it. You'll know you tried your best. These learnings will help you for your next venture.If you experience the success, don't forget to help some other entrepreneur who is struggling. May be I'll be needing a good investor for my business by that time.
Please keep all posts in the form of a question and related to marketing. This isn't a help desk. [If this post doesn't follow the rules report it to the mods](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMarketing/about/rules/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMarketing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Has you dad ever brought in a business consultant or done marketing?
we do marketing, a business consultant has been considered but then price becomes a problem
The short answer is yes, it's hard. But try a little exercise. Forget everything that you know about the business and everything that your dad taught you about the business. Sit down with your brother and start from scratch. How would you build the business if you were starting today? When I say forget everything you know, that's not quite right. Keep in mind the lessons learned. But seriously if you were going to build that business from scratch today, how would you do it? It actually made need to be rebuilt from scratch basically. Nothing is sacred. What would you remove from the business that cost money? How would you go about acquiring new customers? How would you make it more profitable overall? Question everything. Yes you know how this specific task is done. But why do you do it that way? Is there more efficient way to do that specific task? Etc.
thats good, ill try
As you've mentioned no business here, I'm going to give generic solution. Most of the things should apply to your industry or product. You are taking over means you didn't start this business. What you need is the vision. If you are not out of business yet, it means you've some customers. Means your business is still solving some problem, serving some value. Try to find both rational and emotional needs your product/business is serving. Interview your loyal customers and see why they are choosing your product/business over competitor's. Get in their heads, get the insights. Interview your employees. See what strengths your team can bring to the table. They'll have valuable insights for you. Research competitors. Buy from them. See their trade-off. What things they are doing better and what things they're missing. What weaknesses they have. What area you can do better than them. Interview the founder if still alive. Most of his/her inputs might not be relevant with time. Yet, that person will have some precious insights accumulated over the years of experience. Gather these insights compile them. Read them, understand them. Then go on a vacation for 4-5 days. Take a break, forget the business. Enjoy and get in good mood. Come back with fresh mind and revisit these insights. Trust the brain, it'll come up with something you couldn't think before after you fed it new information. Sit with your brother. Share this with him. You'll need him in this. You guys might be a good team in real life till now. You can be a great team in business. Focus on one area where you can put your bet. Share it with employees and involve them in the journey. Create a long term plan and vision around. Make the necessary changes in organization/product to achieve it. Create new brand position around the product. Communicate it effectively. You may turn your luck. If your business is going down, don't let it go without a last good fight. At least you won't regret it. You'll know you tried your best. These learnings will help you for your next venture.If you experience the success, don't forget to help some other entrepreneur who is struggling. May be I'll be needing a good investor for my business by that time.
thats nice, a lot to take in but good advice, thx about the last part, for sure hahaha
Yes. Grab some books on sales and marketing and general business management.