Guerrilla business: tactics in the fight to stay solvent.

• Author: Ritter, Patrick

It's Tuesday afternoon. The company checking account balance is zip. Payday is Friday. The banker called, saying the overdraft, is no longer available and there is no revolving line of credit left because it's maxed out as well. And he muttered something about the credit committee feeling uncomfortable. Now what?

Go "guerrilla." What's that? Guerrilla business is the world of getting by when no one and nothing else will help. Guerrilla tactics are maneuvers made when there are no other choices. It's fight or die. Miss payroll and it's time to turn out the lights and call the Fat Lady. The company is up against the wall with nowhere to run or hide.

Overwhelmed armies use guerrilla tactics when the enemy is bigger, stronger and has more ammunition. Circumstances dictate clarity of thought and action. Get the job done and stay alive to light another day.

What are the weapons? How are they used once found? Before discussing tactics, let's talk history. What brought, the company to the point of cashless-ness? Vendors, taxes, payroll, utilities, insurance and a hundred other crows pecking away at the checking account caused the problem. Fail and the company languishes in the desert known as "cash poor." Keeping money in the checking account is a lot like trying to bold back an ocean at high tide.

Guerrilla business exists in the shadows and alleyways of modern economics. Many situations influence the decision to go guerrilla, but the greatest factor is time. Time is your enemy. It takes time to collect receivables, find investors or other lenders. And it takes time to strategize a solution to the problem.

How can time become a friend? By buying it. For example, ask a long-term customer to pre-pay their next order (or two) and offer a 10 percent discount ... or 15 percent. Chances are the inventory is already on the shelf, wasting money and time already. Why not pre-sell it?

And don't forget, 20 to 25 percent of the payroll is in taxes. If they're not paid...