Do you know what I dislike most about recession?
It’s nothing to do with economics, it’s those people who knock confidence in others.
It’s people who would otherwise deem themselves to be intelligent business people (or journalists) suddenly deciding that their opinion about recession is right and spouting it out here, there and everywhere. I’m not talking about those with some opinion, I’m talking about those that jabber on and on incessantly about how we should mark their words about the impending end of world economics as we know them.
The economic tide is one thing, but mate-down-the-pub economists really wind me up. I studied economics at A-level, I’ve studied accounting and business finance, I’ve run a business in finance that put packages together for listed companies, I’ve worked with investors, I’ve worked with businesses going through IPOs, I’ve talked to halls full of business people about financing on behalf of Business Link, and I get email updates on policy from the Treasury. But can I tell you what’s going to happen next year? Of course not. Is my macro economic judgement worth anything to your business? Probably not.
I heard an ‘expert’ business advisor at a conference on Tuesday night who in the same breath told everyone how well his own business was doing right now, but that he wasn’t going to grow his business because he was fearful about recession. My only advice would be not to use that advisor.
Do you get the facts?
As is recently well documented, recession is defined by having two successive quarters of negative growth. One quarter (which we have now ‘officially’ had) could be a blip. But this is the economic definition, what we should be concerned about is what it really means.
All that’s happening is that a pie (the economy) that’s been growing nicely for many years is now going to shrink a tiny bit. Last quarter our economy shrunk by 0.1%. Yesterday’s predictions by Mervyn King were that next year the economy could shrink by as much as 2%.
Now get real. If your business’ sales dipped by 2% could you survive? Most would. And that’s an average. Some sectors will be hit worse – estate agents, mortgage brokers, motor manufacturers, furniture companies – which means, by the law of averages that other sectors will do better. And even that’s not the whole picture. The biggest influence on your business is not the wider economy – it never has been. It’s YOU and your ability to make decisions. If you can make a decision to go and get a bit more of the pie, or even a bit of a different part of the pie, then your figures can look very different.
Do you know what I love about recession?
That’s precisely what I love about recession – the huge opportunity for those that realise that they alone are the key. For those that stop frightening themselves with all this macro economic stuff and deal with what’s actually happening right in front of them, there is actually more opportunity than ever before. My sales training programmes are going through the roof at the moment. Why? Because there are plenty of business owners out there that understand that whilst their competitors act like that daft business advisor, they can thrive – by maximising their share of the market.
It’s that kind of Darwinian aspect that I love. Those that go prowling NOW, those that are the fittest of their species will prosper. And note – it’s not the biggest, the flashest, or the proudest. It’s the fittest; the most alert, agile and ravenous that survive. And prosper.
For those that really want it, NOW is your time. Your weapons are outstanding marketing and clinical sales skills. Go for it!
It’s nothing to do with economics, it’s those people who knock confidence in others.
It’s people who would otherwise deem themselves to be intelligent business people (or journalists) suddenly deciding that their opinion about recession is right and spouting it out here, there and everywhere. I’m not talking about those with some opinion, I’m talking about those that jabber on and on incessantly about how we should mark their words about the impending end of world economics as we know them.
The economic tide is one thing, but mate-down-the-pub economists really wind me up. I studied economics at A-level, I’ve studied accounting and business finance, I’ve run a business in finance that put packages together for listed companies, I’ve worked with investors, I’ve worked with businesses going through IPOs, I’ve talked to halls full of business people about financing on behalf of Business Link, and I get email updates on policy from the Treasury. But can I tell you what’s going to happen next year? Of course not. Is my macro economic judgement worth anything to your business? Probably not.
I heard an ‘expert’ business advisor at a conference on Tuesday night who in the same breath told everyone how well his own business was doing right now, but that he wasn’t going to grow his business because he was fearful about recession. My only advice would be not to use that advisor.
Do you get the facts?
As is recently well documented, recession is defined by having two successive quarters of negative growth. One quarter (which we have now ‘officially’ had) could be a blip. But this is the economic definition, what we should be concerned about is what it really means.
All that’s happening is that a pie (the economy) that’s been growing nicely for many years is now going to shrink a tiny bit. Last quarter our economy shrunk by 0.1%. Yesterday’s predictions by Mervyn King were that next year the economy could shrink by as much as 2%.
Now get real. If your business’ sales dipped by 2% could you survive? Most would. And that’s an average. Some sectors will be hit worse – estate agents, mortgage brokers, motor manufacturers, furniture companies – which means, by the law of averages that other sectors will do better. And even that’s not the whole picture. The biggest influence on your business is not the wider economy – it never has been. It’s YOU and your ability to make decisions. If you can make a decision to go and get a bit more of the pie, or even a bit of a different part of the pie, then your figures can look very different.
Do you know what I love about recession?
That’s precisely what I love about recession – the huge opportunity for those that realise that they alone are the key. For those that stop frightening themselves with all this macro economic stuff and deal with what’s actually happening right in front of them, there is actually more opportunity than ever before. My sales training programmes are going through the roof at the moment. Why? Because there are plenty of business owners out there that understand that whilst their competitors act like that daft business advisor, they can thrive – by maximising their share of the market.
It’s that kind of Darwinian aspect that I love. Those that go prowling NOW, those that are the fittest of their species will prosper. And note – it’s not the biggest, the flashest, or the proudest. It’s the fittest; the most alert, agile and ravenous that survive. And prosper.
For those that really want it, NOW is your time. Your weapons are outstanding marketing and clinical sales skills. Go for it!
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