Many entrepreneurs believe that once a business reaches the point where it needs some sort of big turnaround to save it, it’s past the point of no return.

But, of course, the reality is different. Businesses can actually be turned around quite easily, and a lot of entrepreneurs are very good at it. It’s just a matter of being honest and putting systems in place to make it happen.

So, what do you need to do?

Get Some Early Wins

The best way to start is with some early wins. The sooner you can get these through the door, the better. Wins are what build momentum in your team and just make everyone feel better and more positive about things, even if the situation is objectively dire.

What’s more, if you can leverage the energy from these early wins, you’re also putting yourself in a much better position. The energy that radiates off you is often much better for the team as a whole.

Be Relentless With Communication

The next thing you want to do to turn around a company is to be relentless with communication. You just have to get into the habit of being direct with people telling them things as they are.

Most business leaders will think they’re doing this with daily meetings and weekly roundups. But what really matters is the bluntness and accuracy of messages. If you can leave people on the team in no doubt for what you want to do, then that can change all your internal dynamics.

If you can adopt a traffic light system, that’s even better. For example, you could follow Ford with its red, yellow and green status system, and ask every manager to make decisions beforehand, no excuses allowed.

Try A Culture Shock

Another thing you can do is try a culture shock. How you do this will be unique to your firm, but the goal is to break the existing bureaucracy and stop it from functioning as it has been.

Every business has had a different approach to this. Apple banned PowerPoint meetings. Ford instituted open-plan offices where everyone could talk to each other. Other companies literally remove middle management and find new organizational structures.

You’ll want to think about what's most likely going to work for you in light of the teams and services you’re using. If you can find something at the operational level that ties in with your pain points, that can be a powerful technique for business turnaround.

Fold Your Unproductive Bets

The sunk cost fallacy is something that affects everyone, not just business leaders. But it’s the idea that once you’ve invested in something, you want to keep running with it because of how much you’ve already spent instead of cutting your losses and running.

Just look at what some of the biggest brands have done throughout history. Marvel licensed its characters for movies while IBM moved to services and mainframe defense. These changes might seem subtle, but they can have enormous impacts on business models and bring in hundreds of millions of dollars when done properly.

Focus On Customer Re-Engagement

If you have existing customers, make sure you’re focusing intently on re-engaging them. Concentrate on providing them with renewed value as they are much more likely to come back and spend more.

Don’t be afraid to kill off so-called “sacred” products and reinvent things. Don’t be one of those businesses that sticks with something, just because it’s always done things that way.

If you can combine this approach with a healthy dose of customer obsession, that’s even better. Really getting involved in them and what they want from you can build a lot of rapport and help you make more sales.

Build A “North Star” Vision

You can also make a lot of progress if you redefine your North Star. If everyone on your team is aiming at the wrong target, you’ll flounder and won’t get all that far.

Just look at what Dominos Pizza did. They were known in the 2000s for being low quality and not really understanding the business. Then they invested in a bunch of online ordering and delivery tools while improving their kitchens, leading to massive improvements in service quality.

What was so interesting about Domino’s turnaround is how the fast food joint actually admitted to its customers that it sucked. It knew it had to improve and promised them it was doing all it could to make it happen. And it did: Domino’s is now one of the largest chains globally.