As we head into the last stretch before Christmas and into the New Year, I decided to go back and look at my newsletter from Jan 5, 2009 to see what was on my mind going into 2009. Here is the first paragraph…
Welcome to 2009! What will the year bring? Nobody really knows. The talking head pundits are even having a hard time concealing they are clueless. The best guess is that the recession will last into 2010. Focus on the word “guess”.
The second paragraph was about restaurants going out of business. Wow, here we are 2 years later and I could use the same newsletter. Sad commentary. With the exception of the stock market, we are in much worse shape. The market on Jan 2, 2009 was at 9,034.69. As I write this, it is at 11,497. On January 6, 2006, the market was a 10,959.31. Up 562 in 5 years. Hmmm… Kind of feels like a hamster wheel. Going in circles and going nowhere fast.
The market is up but so is just about every other negative economic indicator. Unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcies,etc. We are now in the 3rd year of this recession. Now the Obama administration says we have to pass the bill with the extended unemployment benefits and extended tax cuts or we will slip into a double dip recession. Don’t we have to get out of the recession before we can dip back-into to one? As I have been saying for some time now, welcome to the new normal.
So what does this mean to a business owner? You have to be much smarter and better than your competitor. I was at the Gwinnett Chamber MACE meeting last week and the presenter made a great point: Selling has moved from “demand fulfillment” to “demand creation”. This is no longer an “order taking” sales environment. You must know how to sell – no exceptions. So what to do? Get educated and do things differently! Start with looking at how you sell.
I meet a lot of business owners who are scared and frozen in place, as if waiting for things to get back to the “way it used to be”. So ask yourself: are you frozen in place or are you adapting to the new circumstances?
January 24, 2012 at 11:51 am |
I recently stumbled across your website and book (Chapter 24 is amazing). The perspective from which you write is a breath of fresh air. Too many people are stuck in a proverbial rut because “that is how it’s always been done”. This is true in all areas of life, professional and personal. People are afraid of change; however, they need to realize that they should fear NOT CHANGING much more. The status quo is a comfortable place for most. Unfortunately, people realize too late how far behind they have fallen because they did not change.
I’ve seen this happen so many times when people become stuck in their careers. They are afraid of what is “out there” so they stay sheltered in a dead-end job working for a dead-end company until they are rudely awakened to the demise surrounding them. Just as you must “Get educated and do things differently!” as a business owner, you have to do it for your career whether working for yourself or someone else. The hamster wheel is a horrible way to live one’s life.
January 24, 2012 at 1:03 pm |
Thanks Suzanne! As we are entering into the 4th year of the “new economy”, I am working with my clients to target competitors that match your great description in your comment. That is where the opportunites are to gain market share. Also, I am glad you like chapter 24. That chapter is the one that makes most people uncomfortable! One would think that this would be getting better given the unemployment rate. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse…