For many business owners, the numbers side of the business feels like a foreign language. Maybe it’s overwhelming, or maybe it feels like something you’d rather leave to the accountant. But here’s the truth: understanding your financials isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential, especially during a turnaround. Your profit and loss statements, balance sheet, and cash flow reports are the compass that tells you where your business stands and how to move forward.
Jan 23, 2025•5 min•Ep. 31
When we talk about turning around a struggling business, it’s easy to focus on immediate fixes like cutting costs or boosting sales. But a long-term turnaround isn’t just about survival—it’s about building a business that can with-stand future challenges. And that starts with your balance sheet. Let's talk about your fortress balance sheet.
Jan 16, 2025•6 min•Ep. 30
Letting employees go isn’t just a financial decision—it’s a deeply personal and emotional one. People are the heart of your company, and having to say goodbye to some of them can feel like you’re tearing apart that heart. But when your business is in survival mode, tough decisions are inevitable. The key is to approach this process with clarity, fairness, and humanity—balancing the needs of the business with respect for the people involved.
Jan 09, 2025•6 min•Ep. 29
Imagine you’re in the middle of a battle, facing a fire-breathing dragon. The heat is unbearable, the flames are closing in, and all you can see is the monster in front of you. That dragon represents the immediate crisis your business is facing—whether it’s a cash flow problem, mounting debt, or plummeting sales. It’s easy to become so fixated on the monster that you lose sight of everything else around you. SWOT analysis can help you fight the dragon of business distress and come out on top....
Jan 02, 2025•6 min•Ep. 28
Running a business in crisis is not just a test of strategy or execution—it’s a test of emotional resilience. The highs can be euphoric, like landing a critical deal or seeing cash flow improve. But the lows—missing payroll, dealing with tough employee decisions, or facing criticism—can feel like the weight of the world on your shoulders. Let’s talk about how to navigate the highs and lows effectively.
Dec 26, 2024•6 min•Ep. 27
Raising money during a turnaround is different than raising money in a growth phase. Investors are wary, and you’ll need to prove that your business has the potential to recover and thrive. Can you raise money during a turnaround? Yes. Is it easy? No. But with the right strategy and focus, it’s absolutely possible.
Dec 19, 2024•6 min•Ep. 26
When a business is in trouble, one of the first places to look for improvement is in how efficiently labor is being utilized. Labor costs are often one of the largest expenses for a company, especially in blue-collar industries. If your team isn’t operating efficiently, it could be draining resources and holding the business back from profitability. Let’s explore how you can approach this strategically in your turnaround.
Dec 12, 2024•6 min•Ep. 25
No one starts a business with the intention of walking away. We pour our hearts, energy, and resources into our companies, and when things start going downhill, we fight tooth and nail to save them. But sometimes, despite all the effort, the best decision for the future of the business—and for you as an owner—is to step away. The key is recognizing when that time has come.
Dec 05, 2024•6 min•Ep. 24
In a business turnaround one of the most impactful decisions you’ll make is who you bring onto your team. The right hires can transform a struggling company into a thriving one, while the wrong hires can keep you stuck in crisis mode. Hiring in a turnaround situation isn’t like hiring during a growth phase. Let’s talk about how to approach hiring during a turnaround and what qualities to look for in people who will help you rebuild and grow.
Nov 28, 2024•5 min•Ep. 23
Dealing with employee challenges can be one of the hardest parts of leading a business turnaround. As leaders, we want to protect the people who’ve been with us, who’ve contributed to the business and its culture. But the truth is, not addressing employee issues can make things far worse—not just for the company, but for the entire team.
Nov 21, 2024•6 min•Ep. 22
When you’re in a turnaround situation, cash isn’t just king - it’s your lifeline. Determining your cash runway, or how much time you have before cash runs out, can be the difference between making a successful recovery and watching your business slip away. It gives you a concrete timeline and lets you plan, prioritise, and make the necessary adjustments to keep the doors open.
Nov 14, 2024•6 min•Ep. 21
When a business is in distress, the instinct is often to do more—try new things, add more services, expand into different areas. But, when your business is in survival mode, doing more often leads to greater complexity and higher costs. What your business really needs is less. Less complication, less waste, and fewer unnecessary activities. Simplifying and focusing on efficiency can be the keys to turning things around. But why Efficiency Matters in a Turnaround?
Nov 07, 2024•6 min•Ep. 20
When your business is in distress, you can’t afford to make decisions based on gut feelings or past experiences alone. You need hard data, and more importantly, you need a vision of how different actions and scenarios will impact your company’s financial future. This is where forecasting scenarios becomes so valuable.
Oct 31, 2024•6 min•Ep. 19
When we think about turning a business around, the first instinct is often to focus on growing sales. The fastest way to profitability though is often found by cutting costs. This isn’t glamorous, and it can be uncomfortable, but when a business is on the edge, cutting expenses is one of the quickest levers you can pull to extend your cash runway. It’s about survival first, and profit second.
Oct 24, 2024•5 min•Ep. 18
Turning a business around is an intense process. The stakes are high, and the pressure can be overwhelming. As leaders, we often get so focused on saving the company that we neglect our most important asset—ourselves. But as Jim Rohn famously said, "Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live." This applies just as much to our mental well-being as it does to our physical health. In a turnaround, you need to be at your best, and that requires taking care of both.
Oct 17, 2024•5 min•Ep. 17
When we think about turning a business around, the first things that come to mind are cutting costs or improving efficiency. While these are important, the supply chain is an area that can be significantly improved during a turnaround and have a profound impact on a company’s recovery. Your supply chain directly affects almost every part of your business: production, inventory, delivery, customer satisfaction, and, of course, costs.
Oct 10, 2024•5 min•Ep. 16
Understanding how to manage working capital can mean the difference between success and bankruptcy. It’s a silent killer, often lurking behind the scenes, quietly draining resources and slowing down growth. But once you know what to look for, it’s a challenge you can overcome. Sustainable Growth Rate - how fast you can actually grow without putting your business at risk?
Oct 03, 2024•5 min•Ep. 15
Liquidation is often seen as the last, unwanted resort. It's the word that no business owner wants to hear, and the option we all hope we can avoid. But sometimes, after exploring every avenue, every turnaround strategy, liquidation becomes the most pragmatic choice. And while it's never easy, it can be the cleanest and most responsible way to minimize losses, clear debts, and free up resources for new projects.
Sep 26, 2024•5 min•Ep. 14
In business, especially when you’re in a turnaround situation, perfection is often the enemy of profitability. When you’re waiting for the perfect information, the perfect opportunity, or the perfect solution, you’ll likely be waiting forever. Worse, by the time you’ve perfected everything, your business might have already missed key opportunities to move forward.
Sep 19, 2024•5 min•Ep. 13
When your business is in trouble, one of the first areas you need to assess is how your company is generating revenue. It’s not just about how much money is coming in; it’s about whether the way you’re making that money is sustainable. During a turnaround, it’s essential to break down your revenue channels and take a hard look at what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to be changed.
Sep 12, 2024•5 min•Ep. 12
In a business crisis, one of the hardest truths to face is that the same team that led the company into trouble is rarely the team that can lead it back out. This isn’t just about competence; it’s about mindset, energy, and vision. The reality of a turnaround is that sometimes you have no choice but to sweep out the old to make way for the new.
Sep 05, 2024•4 min•Ep. 11
When your business hits a rough patch, it’s natural to feel the weight of those challenges bearing down on you. The instinctive reaction might be to resist, to avoid the discomfort, and to push back against the difficulties. But what if, instead of resisting, you welcomed adversity? What if you saw it as an opportunity—not just to improve your business, but to grow as a leader?
Aug 29, 2024•5 min•Ep. 10
When a company is in a growth phase, it’s natural to expand — new divisions are added, management layers increase, and more complex projects are taken on. This is all part of scaling up and capturing more opportunities in the market. Growing revenue is essential. But what happens when the business hits a downturn? Those same strategies that worked so well during the growth phase can start to weigh the company down.
Aug 22, 2024•5 min•Ep. 9
When a business is in trouble, the weight of debt can feel overwhelming. It’s not just about the numbers; it’s about the daily pressure of keeping the business afloat while knowing that payments are looming. Over the years, Marek has successfully restructured nearly 10 million in debt, primarily with banks and suppliers. But it’s not just about cutting deals—it’s about strategically aligning your debt load with the cash flow your business generates. Tune in to discover Marek’s secret weapon in d...
Aug 15, 2024•6 min•Ep. 8
In a business turnaround, growing sales and ensuring sustainable growth are critical, yet tricky. Today, Marek explores how to leverage modern channels, enhance your cash conversion cycle, and avoid the pitfalls that can make things worse. He’ll also discuss how increasing revenue can sometimes hurt your business even more if not managed correctly.
Aug 08, 2024•6 min•Ep. 7
Effective leadership is the cornerstone of any successful business turnaround. When a company is in crisis, strong leadership can make the difference between failure and recovery. In today’s episode, Marek explores the key aspects of leadership that are crucial during a turnaround, including vision, communication, decision-making, and team motivation.
Aug 01, 2024•5 min•Ep. 6
A successful business turnaround starts with a comprehensive diagnostic review. This crucial step helps identify the root causes of distress and forms the foundation for developing an effective recovery plan. Today, Marek covers the objectives, approach, and key components of a diagnostic review, including short-term survival analysis, viability assessment, stakeholder attitudes, and more.
Jul 24, 2024•7 min•Ep. 5
Turning around a struggling business is no small feat, but with a clear and structured approach, it’s entirely possible. In this episode, Marek will walk you through a practical framework for achieving a successful business turnaround. This framework will help you identify critical issues, implement effective strategies, and steer your company back to profitability.
Jul 18, 2024•6 min•Ep. 4
In this episode, Marek delves into the Altman Z-Score, a powerful tool for predicting company failure. Discover how this financial metric, developed by Edward Altman, can help you assess your company’s financial health and foresee potential bankruptcy. Want to calculate your company’s Z-Score? Visit our website: https://aexea.capital/failingcompany/
Jul 11, 2024•6 min•Ep. 3
In this episode, we’ll explore the key symptoms and underlying causes of business decline, and discuss how you can address these issues before they become insurmountable.
Jul 04, 2024•6 min•Ep. 2
