Tweet

Zeroing In On Bad Economy Business Basics

Written by: Marijo McCarthy

Article Overview: A client called me recently to discuss a new venture. Before he could start, however, he had to vent for almost five minutes: About the state of Wall Street; about the problems with the government bailout intervention (or "interference," as he put it); and about the poor health of the economy in general.

Zeroing In On Bad Economy Business Basics

A client called me recently to discuss a new venture. Before he could start, however, he had to vent for almost five minutes: About the state of Wall Street; about the problems with the government bailout intervention (or "interference," as he put it); and about the poor health of the economy in general.

He had become so incensed about the state of affairs outside his control that he almost forgot why he had called me in the first place!

As he took a breath, I interrupted and made a suggestion that we take it in manageable bites and re-focus on his business. Almost immediately, I could sense him shaking off the red rage which had surrounded him, as he rebalanced and once again gained control.

With the financial world shaking as it is, now is definitely not the time to take your eye off important areas of day-to-day business - areas over which you do have control. In particular, I see three areas worth focusing on: credit, employee training and marketing.

Let's explore these a bit.

Credit. The credit of your customers and clients is essential to creating a solid, long-term relationship. You can sell products or services to hundreds of companies, but if they don't pay your invoices in a timely manner, you're up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

So, how do you "pre-qualify" new customers? Many clients find a Dun & Bradstreet inquiry worthwhile, particularly if the customer relationship is intended to be large or long-term. Others simply request several credit references (with contact information), which they then confirm on their own. Others (especially professional service providers) require a deposit against future work which is then applied to the final bill.

No matter which method you choose or already use, in this economy in particular, take time to differentiate between credit worthy customers and those who will leave you holding the bill.

Employee Training. There is a natural and understandable tendency to cut back on employee benefits during tight times. When cash is tight - or if you fear it may soon be - it seems logical to avoid "unnecessary expenses." Employee training, however, can be one of the most solid investments you will make.

For example, when business is slow, many companies will need to lay off excess staff. What's often missed when this occurs is that the remaining staff will need to take on new responsibilities that are suddenly thrust upon them. Not only does an investment in employee training help retain the quality of the business, it sends a message to the remaining employees that you recognize their higher contribution and want them to excel, despite the company's economic challenges.

A little bit of investment goes a long way towards boosting morale and maintaining a qualified staff. (Psst... want to get some of your tax dollars back and use them to train your employees? Read the Legal Tidbit section below for information regarding employee training money in Massachusetts.)

Marketing. I know you've heard this mantra before: Not only should marketing spending be maintained during downtimes, it should actually be increased. It's true.

How you do this depends on the specifics of your business, but in general, use this time to figure out and emphasize the things that distinguish your product or service from that of your competition [yes, there is always something which makes you stand out]. And, for heavens sake, if that distinguishing feature is you - in other words, if you are the best symbol of your brand - get out there and stay out there on a regular basis... do not hibernate... market yourself.

If this all sounds like simple, common sense, it is... we just tend to lose sight of these basics when challenges in the world around us cause us to take our eye off the ball.

As David Rockefeller, former Chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank famously remarked: "Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you're not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were."

Related Articles
  Best Internet Business Lesson 1 - Target Your Market
  3 Key Reasons A Business Needs To Keep Books
  Millionaire Internet Marketing Basics! ~SUCCESS SECRETS EXPOSED
  How Do You Read Profit And Loss
  List the Basics for Making Any Sale

Article Tags: bailout, business basics, wall street



Related Forum Posts
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.
Re: HOw to market a B2B consulting company - [quote="zohahunt77":428owzbi]Hi, I was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference between B2B and B2C. I don’t know about b2b marketing but I have done marketing so know things about it. I will suggest you to take online services which will spread your business all over web network. Online marketing is the best way to market any business.[/quote:428owzbi] B2B = Business to Business - You are marketing to other businesses. B2C = Business to Consumer - You are marketing to consumers.
English teachers learn Japanese as Interns - Yasunori, what about the many students that leave N. America to teach English in Japan. They may want to learn Japanese (maybe Business Japanese is a bit different) and the Japanese Business Culture.
New Study - Women prepare better business plans - I found an article in Business Week and I found this quite interesting. [quote:ka7lg35i]Who Prepares Better Business Plans, Men or Women? A new study based on four years of data from men and women in a training program for microenterprises finds that they come out the same in quality scores. "However, women scored significantly better on the presentation of their plan to judges," conclude the study's authors, Ronald G. Cook, Paul Belliveau, and Christine Lentz of Rider University, in a paper presented at a recent meeting of the Small Business Institute. [/quote:ka7lg35i] What do you guys think?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Life, Conflict and Work

Marketing & Sales tools – going back to basics

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.