2.  Merlyn Vandervort, president and chief
executive officer of Metro Renovators &
Construction Services, Inc., is the author of
Make It Happen and the upcoming release
The Lost Decade. With Make It Happen,
Merlyn Vandervort provides individuals with
tips for handling setbacks in business and
life. Merlyn is also a Certified Professional
Business Coach and Business Consultant;
and often councils businesses thru crisis
management situations.

3.  There are a few steps every business owner
should take in responding to a business
setback. If the situation calls for it,
assembling a crisis management team
comes first. Ideally, all businesses should
have a crisis management team
established and various response strategies
in place, though it may be prudent to bring
in an outside specialist, such as Merlyn
Vandervort in certain cases. Crisis teams
should focus on cost analysis efforts and, if
appropriate, future growth opportunities
that may offset losses.

4.  As the crisis management team sets to work on
mitigating financial loss and managing public
opinion, the business should not forget to
personally contact customers and employees.
Any individual or vendor who may be
impacted by the setback should be kept
informed as the situation progresses. Lastly,
business owners must be willing to embrace
change after a serious setback. If a company
could return to its former operations without
making significant changes, the setback would
not be considered a crisis. Intelligent business
owners must be willing to take risks in order to
counter a setback.