Worried About Your Business?

Check out this great article by Cath Lawson. It’s all about staying focused and taking small steps toward your goal – while enticing the customer to make the journey with you.

The article gives you a variety of tips in order to keep your clients and gain new ones.

And while you’re at it – check out the rest of this great blog!

Staying In Business During A Recession

Remember the definition of “Insanity” (My abbreviated version)? Doing the same thing that you’ve always done and expecting different results? Is that how you’re going to outwit the current economy?

If that’s your plan, good luck. However, if your business has slowed down, maybe you need to change your thinking…and the things you’re doing. As we’ve discussed yesterday – you have to know where your business is coming from. Once you know that, you can adapt to become more successful.

Who are your clients? What do they have in common? And what is appealing to them? Why do they do business with you? Is it your service? Your product? Your employees? Your personal touch? Your willingness to go the extra mile? Whatever it is – use it to your advantage and expand on it.

Check out this article by Dosh Dosh, to start thinking outside the box. (And no, huge ads like the “Ram Challenge” are not needed. Be creative and keep your audience in mind!)

Just because we’re all trying to save money and “go back to basics” doesn’t mean you should stop doing what brings you business! Unless all your business comes from referrals, advertising needs to be part of your business plan.

What changes are you making to outlast the current economy?

The Economy And You

How is the recent economic downturn affecting you/and your business? Is it the same old, same old? Has your business gone down? Are you finding yourself considering changes to save money?

Before you do anything drastic (like lay-off your employees, cut marketing, cancel suppliers, etc) you have to take a look at your past year first.

Where did your business come from? (You DID track that, right?) Were most of your clients Walk-ins? Did they call from Ads? Was first contact made via Internet? Were they referrals? What item/product/service sold the most? What supplier offered not only the best product for the best price, but the best service?

Before doing anything drastic, you have to take a good look at your existing business, because you might inadvertently cancel/cut the one thing that brings you most of your clients/business; i.e. you might cut advertising in certain publications due to price, but those might be the very ones that bring you the most income. So be sure to take all those details into consideration.

Once you’ve made your decisions on how to move forward, review your business plan and adjust it for 2009.  Keep an eye on your expenses, treat your customers well, provide a great product and/or service – and have a great year!