Not all business operations keep going from year to year. Circumstances may cause temporary shutdowns that make it difficult to regain the former momentum. While not impossible, restarting your old business will take a lot of time and effort. Assuming you believe it’s worth it, put these five tips to good use. They could increase the odds of becoming a profitable entity once more.

Understand Everything About Your Current Credit Score

While you know that your credit rating and score are damaged, do you know to what extent? Taking things one step further, do you know what potential clients or investors would see if they pulled credit reports related to you or the business? If not, you need to find out all that information before attempting to open the doors again.

Even as you pore through the comments and other details, it’s important to remember that your recent NJ bankruptcy does not necessarily have to be a deal breaker for customers. Assuming the bankruptcy is now discharged, you may find people willing to at least hear how you plan on doing things differently in the future. By knowing what they will see in advance, you have the opportunity to address those concerns head on and defuse them.

Realize That You Have History to Overcome

The money problems probably led to operational issues as well. Perhaps deliveries to clients were delayed or didn’t happen at all. Maybe the quality of your products decreased and left a b ad taste in the mouths of some former customers. All that history is something you will need to address moving forward. If you want some of your old clients back, you have to sell them on what you offer all over again. This time around, you must undo the damage before they will give you a chance to make your case. It won’t be easy, but by dealing with concerns instead of trying to side-step them, the odds of success are greater.

Consider a Soft Launch For Now

Trying to recapture the same business volume overnight is often unrealistic. Set goals and work toward them, but keep them modest. You may want to conduct what’s known as a soft launch. That just means you use low-key methods to spread the word that you’re back, and maybe offer some type of incentive for consumers to give you a try. If that works, you can always do something more elaborate later on.

Think About Focusing on a Different Consumer Demographic

While rebuilding your reputation with the consumers who used to flock to your company, consider cultivating a presence with one or more different consumer demographics. They may or may not know of your past woes and see you without all of the baggage. In any case, diversifying your client base will help you be less vulnerable if the economic climate shifts again.

Search for Fresh Suppliers and Vendors

While some of your former vendors and suppliers may still be willing to work with you, others will keep their distance until they see if you’re really on stable ground again. In the meantime, there are still supplies and services that you need to take care of your customers. Take a look around and find a service like IA BusNet that can help you identify potential suppliers and vendors. There will still be question that you have to answer, but at least a few are likely to provide something of a fresh start for your business. Assuming things work out well for the first six months to a year, you could end up with better pricing and more flexible payment terms.

Remember that what you are attempting to rebuild will take time. Pace yourself, pay attention to details, and avoid making commitments that you can’t keep. With the right approach, there’s a good chance that things will look a lot brighter a year from now.