Over the past 100 years or so, the economy has experienced several boom and bust cycles. During the good times, it seems easy to be a business owner as almost every month or year brings higher revenues and profit margins. However, during the down times, it seems like nothing that you do is good enough to keep those gains. What can you do to stay motivated when everything is collapsing around you?
You Have to Remember It Isn’t Permanent
When the economy is doing poorly, it is easy to convince yourself that the good times are over forever. The important thing is to remember that the good times are going to make their way back around at some point. What you need to do is look for ways to minimize losses and look at opportunities to be at the forefront of your industry when the economy does rebound. Often times, poor economic conditions lead to innovations that help companies reinvent themselves or make their brand even stronger.
You Have to Stay Positive in Public
Poor economic conditions are not an excuse to cut staff or cut back on your advertising budget. If anything, it is a time to retain employees and maintain or grow your advertising budget. What you are trying to do is show the public that your company will be around in any economy. This gives people confidence to either keep doing business with your company or choose to do business with your company over a competitor that may not be handling a recession well.
Remember Why You Started Your Business
It is important to remember why you got into business in the first place. If your business were to go under, would the community have a place to buy fresh fruit or vegetables? If your company went under, would the kids have a safe place to go after school or during school breaks? When the economy is looking bleak, it is important to have a purpose that will keep you going until the money starts rolling back in again.
Take Advantage of Lower Prices
One silver lining to a poor economy is that most commodities cost less. This may be the time to stock up on oil for machinery or to buy new machinery while prices are slashed or interest rates on loans are lower. It may also be a good idea to look for talented workers who may be looking to join any company willing to hire them.
For small companies, a recession may actually represent a rare opportunity to compete with larger companies or even take market share. In some cases, it may make a smaller company an attractive target for a larger company, which gives a business owner a chance to get out while still making a profit.
While you may wish for the good economic times to last forever, history shows that this isn’t the case. Therefore, it is important to understand how to take advantage of both an up and down economy to either make money or make your company stronger over the long haul. Lenders such as AFN can help small businesses get the cash that they need to grow and thrive no matter what the economy is doing.
