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7 Strategies to Prepare for Recovery
| Guest post by: Marian Banker |
Article Overview: No matter our circumstances, we all have been affected by the deepest recession in our lifetime. This summer seems to be even tougher than usual for many small businesses. Now is a great time to take a hard look at the realities that exist, get help where needed and rethink our business strategy in preparation for recovery.
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7 Strategies to Prepare for Recovery
No matter our circumstances, we all have been affected by the deepest recession in our lifetime. This summer seems to be even tougher than usual for many small businesses.
Now is a great time to take a hard look at the realities that exist, get help where needed and rethink our business strategy in preparation for recovery.
Here are seven strategies that will help.
1. Open a dialog with those you know. Mutually beneficial relationships are now, and always have been, a key to success. Reconnect with former customers, former prospects, business colleagues and friends. Ask about their plans and their challenges. How have things changed for them and what do they need now?
2. Identify your personal value and offer to give that on the terms of your choosing. Incorporate your personal values into your business. Support programs you believe in. Join selected organizations and find a way to contribute your personal value.
3. Expand your network. Seek to connect with those who are either in your target market or do business within it. Be sure to have a follow-up plan for all new connections. Limit time on social media and networking activities to only those that produce results for you. The volume of information and interactions in online networking can be overwhelming, so be ruthless with sticking to your strategies and plans.
4. Consider alliances, joint ventures and partnerships with those already in your network. These are typically low cost, high return arrangements if structured to the benefit of all parties. Such business relationships can provide flexibility, new resources and stability in a sea of chaos. For more information on growing your business using partnerships review my recent webcast,
5. Make informed decisions and take calculated risks. Before making any decisions gather all pertinent information from your business, your market, your community and the economy in general. Take calculated risks based on all the pertinent information you have gathered and analyzed. Consider the risk vs. reward relationship. You're bound to come up with new options. As some doors close; new ones will open.
6. Remain flexible. Test your ideas on a small scale. Adjust and modify based on what you learn. Make small investments in new ideas. Set very short term goals and determine early what works and what doesn't. Innovative ideas that prove themselves now could position you to lead in a recovery.
7. Provide yourself with ongoing support. Create a small, close network to help provide perspective. Get feedback on your ideas and concerns. Find out what others are doing that is proving successful. Ask for what you want and need.
These are actually good business strategies for building a strong business in any economy, but they are especially important in maintaining and growing a healthy business now. It's how many small businesses are taking the lead in creating a recovery for themselves and the economy.
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Article Tags: business strategy, recession, recovery
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About the Author: Marian Banker RSS for Marian's articles - Visit Marian's website Marian is co-producer and host of the annual Small Business Summit 2006-2009, an all-day conference that brings together small business owners and technology providers. She is creator of the "Business Success System", a step-by-step process with tools, text and a virtual classroom atmosphere. Since 1995, has coached Entrepreneurs, Professionals and Executives in transition to become business leaders. Emphasis is on what it takes to lead a business to success. Holds a Masters in Business Administration and has over 25 years experience as senior executive, consultant, entrepreneur, educator, mentor and coach. Founded Prime Strategies in 1996 to provide the small business community with coaching, consulting and training in business leadership, translated into plain English for the typical small business owner. Click here to visit Marian's website   Partner Questionnaire Warning Signs Checklist |
Related Forum Posts
Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: A Small Business
- Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: A Small Business Guide
Donna R. Childs, Stefan Dietrich
2002
"Among the countless tragic lessons of 9/11, an overlooked but important discovery was the lack of preparedness among small and midsized businesses for responding to disaster. While most of the media attention was naturally devoted to...., the very existence of thousands of small businesses was determined by whether or not they had adequate insurance, sufficient technological support, and viable disaster contingency plans."
(People who live in hurricane prone areas need this as well...and who knows when a fire might not strike...)
Table of Contents
1. Preparation
2. Response
3. Recovery
4. SAmple IT Solutions
Basic safety practices
Okay, the TOC isn't [i:2fu76idt]too [/i:2fu76idt]helpful, but there's lots of valuable info in this book, as to ensure that [i:2fu76idt]your [/i:2fu76idt]losses won't be catastrophic. How people cope with suddenly seeing their homes and all their possessions gone, what kinds of insurance to get, etc. etc.
Re: FREE Toronto Referral Workshop
- Kevin, I'll try to get a copy of the slides and summarize the 14 Strategies. Stay tuned!
Re: Hi there
- Welcome to the forum
It Starts with you
Prepare
Doing business online is not much different than doing business offline, except for the obvious differences; location, brick and mortar, leases, licenses, signage, business cards and letter head, etc.
First Advise: Prepare: It is not a simple, single step, sign up. we do all the work for you and sit back and collect your money process
What do you already know about business and it its various functions, products and pricing, sales and marketing, distribution, after sales support, etc.
You need a plan(s); plan for your business, plan for your marketing, a financial plan and a personal action plan. what do you and your business need and where are you going to get it.
Most offline business start from an interest, a hobby or a passion. (sure you get buy a franchise and they train you, but this is going to be your business)
Online should not be much different : What is your passion?
[quote="galuhsitra":3vf2qp5q]I dont have specific skill i think..
I love swimming, reading, and all about cats..
I love animals, mountains, and water..[/quote:3vf2qp5q]
Then Google find product or services that help fulfill your passion. Pick perhaps 3 or 4 and do your own due diligence, Join 1 or 2 and take responsible for your decision
You are at a great advantage that you found us (EvanCarmichael) with your question.
Move around the site, look at other tabs, subjects etc. Plenty of help and expertise here for free.
Books for Women Entrepreneurs
- There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here.
It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new.
In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment!
1. The Old Girl's Network
2. Mother's Work
3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women
4. Pitch Like A Girl
5. Workplace Warrior
6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer
7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery
8. She Wins, You Win
9. Napoleon On Project Management
10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do
11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years
12. The One Minute Millionaire
13. Talking From 9 to 5
14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions
15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success
16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded
17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful
18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End
19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide
20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen
21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business
22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker
23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business
24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises
25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy
26. The Promotable Woman
27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it
28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home
29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Re: Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must;
- Hmmm nice, never beg while crawling
But also look up "Exit Strategies"
We cannot always be right, nor can we control all matters of business.. Sometimes we have to get off the horse before it dies under us
I can recall offering data service to banks, mortgage companies, and others before the data became available on the internet. Even though I had a better mousetrap, I was not ready for the glamor of the internet and let my system die a natural death
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