August’s Bright Ideas Issue of SSI includes the annual Operations & Opportunities Report (OOR). This original research identifies the most promising security technologies, service offerings and vertical markets, as well as the best ways to reduce costs and boost profits, among other data. My Between Us Pros column in that issue went deeper inside the OOR numbers to look at specific reasons why 72% of the respondents said their companies are better off financially today than they were three years ago. Below are some of the responses offered for the flipside of that, why some are worse off.
Why is your company worse off financially today than it was three years ago?
- Slow economy with fewer opportunities
- More staff and less revenue right now
- Insurance costs
- Increased costs overall
- Employee performance is down
- Regulations
- More cheap competition
- Slow paying clients, cutting prices to secure work, higher expenses
- We are a small firm in early growth stage
- Economy holding back investment and commitment to projects
- Backlog has disappeared
- Top-heavy without the talent or skill
- IT does not know customer service, but goes toward bottom-line profit
- Slumping sales
- Margins are flat
- Fewer contracts
- Failure to adopt and integrate new technology in the marketplace until after many competitors have already made their name in the area
- Liver transplant recovery
- The poor economy has hurt us, although it has every sign of getting better for security solutions
- Cost of goods
- Company that purchased us did a poor job, but it is now coming back under my control
- Change order cost overruns on previous projects causing cutbacks to be made to balance and recover, making it difficult to staff for next projects and inability to take on more work quickly when available
- Customers want the lowest cost even if it is not code compliant or in their best interest
