Let's be honest and admit it: We all know that times are tough these days.
The stock market is up and down (mostly down, it seems) like a yo-yo. The dollar is up and down so frequently, it's all a little dizzying. The cost to fill your tank is all over the map. Companies that sell to big retailers or wholesalers whose products ultimately end up in consumers' hands are having their order books trimmed. Everyone seems at least a little skittish, a little shaky. And the daily - make that hourly - reports in the media are not helping make anyone feel better.
But let's all take a deep breath here. The sky is NOT falling. The world is NOT coming to an end. We CAN and almost certainly WILL get through this, as we all have during other recessionary periods.
If you're a small business owner, you have two choices today and over the next 6-12 months: you can hide in the corner and hope to survive until things get better, or you can set out to be vastly stronger and ready for that moment by taking the right steps TODAY.
I would argue that, in fact, it is not only possible to survive during times like this, but that in fact, it's entirely possible to thrive. More importantly, now is probably the best opportunity you'll have in the next decade to set yourself up to get a leg up on your competition when things pick up again.
Some of your competitors WILL go hide in a corner. If you don't do that, then you will be ahead of them when things improve.
We had one client that got beaten up badly early in the 1991 recession, and they were really struggling. At a certain point about half-way through the recession, they made a new company policy that the recession was over.
False bravado? Sound silly and simplistic? Sure, perhaps. But it made a huge difference in how they approached their business from that day on. They entered some new markets, became the name in their industry in Ontario, expanded their market beyond Ontario, hired some great talent that had been laid off from their competitors, and earned the loyalty of some larger, more consistent customers. The result? In 18 months following that decision, they doubled their business while their competitors stagnated at best, because they approached things with a renewed vigour and a new attitude.
This recipe won't work for every business in tough times, but there are definitely things you can do TODAY that will help you succeed where others will fail.