25 Ways to Overcome this Recession in your Business

We all know that almost all the countries have been hit by the economic slowdown. Most people confuse recession and economic slowdown. Job cuts have been on the rise. People are seeing lesser incentives and the whole world is experiencing a financial crisis. Anyway I will use the word recession throughout this article to avoid confusion. Is it so bad that we cannot recover from it in any way? I don’t think so. The main reason I believe that grows this recession is that most of us just sit and think about it alone.

Think about what you want always. Here are 25 tips to recover from recession and cut down on your costs, improve your conversions and more.

1.Do not worry or panic

Most business entrepreneurs, professionals are too much worried. There is a saying that worry is a prayer for something you do not need or what you do not wish for. Agree that the times ahead is the recession hit economy. We have to pass through those situations however reluctant we are. Take this as an opportunity given by God (If you believe in God that is) or any other supreme power you believe in, as a chance to prove your mantle. Think how you can operate successfully in these times.

2.Don’t spread negative thoughts on your share holders and employees

In most business establishments and companies, senior managers hold regular meeting with people below them in designation. These regular and irrelevant meetings are not at all motivating and will only help spread the panic among employees. At the end of the meeting, they too will have their own worries which will result in them thinking only about their problems. This will lead even small issues grow large.

3.Do not publicize your cost cutting methods

You can’t fight poverty to eradicate poverty!!! If you can see, most developed countries tried this method and failed. The solution is not to fight, but to find ways to make/raise money. Also concentrate more on making profits rather than on cutting the costs. Just do your cost cutting methods under anonymity.

4.Gain the trust of employees and share holders.

Make them understand the present economic situation. Educate them completely about the financial crisis the world is facing. You have to cultivate confidence in them. Motivate them to think about ways to accumulate more wealth. It is just not enough to have ideas and ideologies. You must also be able to implement and utilize them effectively.

5.Increase marketing tactics

Focusing on yourself, customer satisfaction, keeping finances are all important. But when coming to this recession time what you must keep in mind to strengthen or to increase with full vigor is your MARKETING efforts. Marketing is what drives customers to your business be it small or large. Who knows for sure, maybe this recession time will turn out to be the best year for your business. It is not only necessary that you derive the maximum value out of each dollar you spend but also to get the return. You learn new techniques; adopt new strategic marketing plans and so on. So get creative, increase your marketing and get the maximum out of it.

6.Get new customers to sustain your business

What makes a business a success? The customers of course!!! If you have customers you thrive, else you don’t. It is as simple as that. So what do you do to get new customers? Read how to get new customers for your business.

7.Understand that this is a fight against the crisis. Infuse this thought in others as well

Make each and every employee, share holders a part of this open fight. Motivate them to give the best operating results. Make them understand that it is in these times our true potential must come out.

8.Stay away from things that fill us with negativism

What we give our brain as input is what shapes up as our thoughts. So, during this recession hit times we must be selective in what we see and what we read. Get together with people who might inspire you and at the same way stay away from people who might have a negative influence on you.

9.Try to stay away from financial talks

If you are attending any seminars or meetings, try to ensure that the outcome of the meeting/seminar increases your creativity and productive power. Try to stay away from talks which might include topics on how recession can adversely affect a business or what all business will be affected by this recession.

10.Do not run away

When I say that you must keep away from discussions relating to slowdown, I don’t mean that you must run away from it or be completely ignorant of the topic. You must have strong idea on how the recession has hit your business, how it may affect your business and how it has/will affect your business after you take methods to combat recession.

11.Think a lot about future prosperity

In this world most things are available in plenty. People are making more money and wealth than people used to make 10-20 years back. In future, 10-20 years from now people would make more money than even now. This shows that nature has what we need for prosperity. Think about that and try to make the most out of it. See how the gulf countries came up with nature’s gift, OIL?

12.Understand that in any dire situation there is an opportunity

Take the case of most companies today. Most of them might have catered to a different business when they started off. When they faced hard times they took advantage of the new opportunities by tuning their business to suit the new needs. Find such new niche markets.

13.Fix your target

When challenges and hardships come most people turn their attention from their actual goal to their day to day life. This is not the right way. During this recession it is your responsibility to uphold your mission and attain your target

14.Make your “Mission” and “Vision” clearer. Convey it to your employees.

These techniques will motivate your employees during the recession. This will also empower them and help them stay away from negative thoughts. Make posters about your mission and vision and stick them on various places in your office. Be creative with the posters; include some elements of fun and creativity in it.

15.Publish motivating articles and stories on your company newsletter/magazine

Let your employees derive inspiration after reading these stories and articles.

16.Uphold your company achievements

You heard me right. Just brag about your company achievements however small they are. When all the thoughts are related to recession and slow down, then our eyes and ears will crave for more negative news. That’s human psychology. Your brain will like to think that your business will be impacted negatively. This will indirectly reflect on your companies standings. Just go about flaunting even the minutest achievement of your company.

17.Make of core team of similar thinkers

If you are the owner or CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of any company, try building a team of people who share your same wavelength. Critical events must be discussed among this core team before it goes into implementation.

18.Improve human productivity

This is the time to provide top class training to your employees and take their morale to an all new level. Do not think the cost incurred in training your employees mentally as an overhead. Just think as an investment which will yield the best results in the future.

19.Even your managers need training

How you overcome this recession will depend on how well you think. For the same reason you must consider training your top level management staff as well. This may prove more costly and time consuming, but eventually this is what will pay off
more as the decisions which make or mar a company are usually the result of this section of your company.

20.Have a clear idea of what you want from your business as well as your life

What you think is what attracts you. If you think the recession is going to bury your company deep down, well I must say with utmost regret that it is going to happen in no other way.

21.Find a mentor or a coach

You need a mentor or a coach who sees problems and down times differently and one who motivates you. Imagine going to a gym for work out (You are running a company). You are not alone in the gym (There are lots of similar companies). You have fear of the dumb bells dropping on your chest (Recession hitting your company). Yet you want to exercise because your profession demands it. (You have a company with many employees and you want to move forward). You see people around you on whom the dumb bell fall and die (Recession hit companies going bankrupt). How dedicated will you be? How much effort will you put into each of your sets? How much concentration will be on your work out? Now imagine there is a trainer for you (A mentor or a coach) who has a vast amount of experience and he guides you. He will support you in each set of work out ensuring that even if the dumb bell slips from your arms he is there to catch you. Now how much MORE confident will you be? How much MORE dedicated will you be? You can take the service of mind parlors which offer training for CEO’s and business owners.

22.Read books that inspire you

You can read books such as The Magic of Thinking Big by David Shwartz, The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Pale or The Power of The Subconscious Mind by Dr Joseph Murphy.

23.Open your eyes and ears

No opportunity must pass by you without you knowing about it. Only if your thoughts and attitude is positive will you be able to recognize these opportunities and make the best use out of it.

24.Remember that for every fall there will be a rise

Don’t crumble during this crisis. Stand up till you are back on track. This is the time to think and implement tactics which will take your business to new heights.

25.Find out ways to cut cost

Research how you can provide the same quality while cutting down on production and distribution costs. Try implementing virtualization, renting virtual office, cutting down on marketing etc. Surprisingly you may not even have thought of such things yet. Take this opportunity to implement maximum ROI (Return of Investment).

Ways to Recession Proof Your Business

First, let’s not panic. True, payrolls shrunk by 17,000 in January. But at the same time, the Labor Department adjusted December’s numbers upward, reporting that 82,000 new jobs were created that month – a far larger figure than the government’s initial estimate of 18,000. Unemployment, now at 4.9%, is just 0.9% higher than the 4% level that economists consider “full employment” (meaning that everyone who wants a job has one).

Still, with the ripple effect of the mortgage mess still spreading, consumer spending in a sulk, and companies like Citigroup, and Sprint Nextel  announcing big layoffs, you’d be smart to start thinking about recession-proofing your job – or, failing that – devising a plan for landing on your feet somewhere else. Here’s how:

Think of ways to generate revenues or cut costs. That brilliant idea you had that would open whole new markets for the company, but require substantial spending to get started? Scrap it for now. Concentrate instead on finding places to pinch pennies, or identifying cheap new sources of revenue. Or both.

Be visible. “This isn’t the moment to take an extended vacation. Your position could be eliminated while you’re gone,” says Dale Winston, CEO of New York City-based executive recruiters Battalia Winston (www.battaliawinston.com). “It’s also not the time to come rolling in at ten o’clock.” If you possibly can, figure out a way to stand out and distinguish yourself. She adds: “If you’re in sales, get your numbers up. Nobody will be laying off star salespeople.”

Talk up your contributions. “Make sure you’re adding value at work by going above and beyond your basic job responsibilities,” says Christine Price, principal at staffing firm Ready to Hire (www.readytohire.com) “Then make sure your boss knows it, without being obnoxious.”

Keep a broad perspective. “Don’t get a reputation as someone who only does what he or she is told to do,” advises Richard Bayer, chief operating officer of career counseling network The Five O’Clock Club (www.fiveoclockclub.com). “Pick your head up, look around, and get in on the action. Volunteer for crucial responsibilities, including tasks for which your boss is responsible.”

Just doing your job well isn’t enough. “The question is,” says Bayer, “when your organization is making a list of who has crucial skills, will you be on it?” If you suspect not, now’s the time to hustle.

Get your skills up to date. “Companies get rid of people whose skills are obsolete and replace them with people who are already trained,” Bayer says. “Take classes, join trade organizations, and prove you’re plugged in.” Christine Price adds: “Consider going back to school, to show your employer you’re serious about your career and your performance.”

No whining allowed. Attitude does count – a lot. “Management wants people who can boost morale during tough times,” observes Dale Winston. Not only that, says Christine Price, but happy workers are less likely to get laid off than people who seem to dislike what they do. After all, the reasoning goes, if you grumble about your job all the time, then maybe giving you the sack would really be doing you a favor. Gulp.

Never stop networking. Of course, the day you get a pink slip is not the day you want to start calling old colleagues, asking former bosses out to lunch, and getting in touch to say hello to all the interesting people you’ve known over the years. No, the time to start doing that is now. Whether or not you move seamlessly (and relatively painlessly) into a new job after a layoff often depends on how consistently you’ve contacted – and maybe even helped – lots of people when you didn’t need them.

Update your resume, return headhunters’ phone calls, and start picturing where else you might like to work – just in case. If you’re mentally prepared for a move, you’ll make a wiser one than if you wait until you’re desperate (read canned).

One more thought: If we really are in, or headed for, a recession – and economists can’t even agree on whether or not we are – it may not be so bad. Every downturn is different. So who knows? If you’re not a mortgage banker or a home builder, maybe your current position is perfectly “safe.” But think about it for a while and you may find yourself wondering: Is “safe” good enough? Maybe it’s time to change jobs anyway — and heed the immortal words of Keith Richards, “I’m gonna leave while it’s still fun/ I’m gonna walk before they make me run.”

25 tips for hard times

In the world of economics there are few proverbial jokes that offer less insight into the current state of the economy than this: “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job.”

The U.S. slipped into recession in December 2007. Canada is thought to have followed suit in December 2008, but we won’t actually know for sure until May when official numbers are expected to indicate the economy to have gone through two quarters of negative growth, thus having the variables needed to declare it an official recession.

Proverbs aside, a prolonged recession where real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falls by more than 10 per cent, is called a depression, a term introduced during the presidency of Herbert Hoover (1929-33) as a euphemism for “panic.” During that depression Canada’s economy shrank for four consecutive years starting in 1929 while the American economy cratered by 33 per cent.

Unemployment in the U.S. peaked at about 25 per cent, and in the early years after 1929, about 8,000 U.S. banks collapsed. By comparison, most current forecasts have U.S. unemployment rising to as much as 11 per cent this year, up from 6.9 per cent last fall. GDP contraction in the U.S. — which is expected to be worse than in Canada — should be in the range of no more than 2 per cent to 3 per cent in 2009-10.

Still, with even the most optimistic forecasts not predicting a return to growth until late this year early next, we have compiled 25 tips for the average reader to survive a recession (assuming we’re in one) that might help you come out in 2010 with more than just your shirt on your back.

1. Switch to a credit card with a lower interest rate. There’s no sense collecting air miles or other such points if you can’t even pay off your monthly bills. Equally, there’s not much point in paying 20 per cent interest when you don’t have to. You might try shopping around then ask your credit card provider to lower your rate, especially if you’ve received a better offer from a different provider.

2. Go retro and clip coupons. A 50 per cent coupon for a sandwich at your local McDonald’s is the next best thing to a food stamp.

3. Be sure to pick up the sales flyer at your local grocer whenever you shop. You never know what savings you might find tucked in the corner of the meats or frozen foods sections. On that note, you might want to reacquaint yourself with the age-old tradition of marinating stewing beef and turning it into filet mignon. A $3 cut of veal shoulder, if marinated for 12 hours can taste hauntingly similar to a $15 sirloin steak but at a fraction the cost.

4. Do your food shopping at discount stores. No Frills and Food Basics might be more crowded and offer less selection than your local Loblaws or Metro and you’ll have to pay a quarter for the cart and bag your own groceries, but you’ll see a payoff at the cash register. If you’re shopping for a larger family try buying in bulk from stores like Costco.

5. Give the office cafeteria a wide berth and get into the habit of packing your own lunch. You’ll save money and calories, even if you are just eating peanut butter sandwiches.

6. Throw away your bank card and leave your credit card at home. ATM charges can add up and it’s hard to live on a budget if you keep paying for things on credit. Or, try only using your bank card once between pay cheques. That will help you budget your money accordingly.

7. Join your local Free Lance network, where people pass on baby gear, furniture, electronics, clothing and craft supplies, among other stuff, for free.

8. Cancel your gym membership. Go for a walk or run around your neighbourhood instead. If it’s muscle you’re trying to amass then start doing push ups in your bedroom, invest in a chin-up bar and start walking up and down multiple flights of stairs. You don’t need to spend $50-$150 a month to stay active.

9. Having a baby? Ask around for hand-me-downs. Most parents are eager to get rid of the mounds of kids’ gear cluttering up their basements.

10. Got kids? Forget shopping at Baby Gap. Buy children’s clothes at discount retailers or department stores. Your two-year-old won’t know the difference, and if they do they won’t remember it for too long anyway as their brains are still evolving. Better yet, phone up everyone you know with young kids, bring them all together and swap anything from shoes to strollers to clothes and toys.

11. Find free or low-cost activities for your kids. Ontario Early Years Centres, school board parenting centres and city recreation programs are good places to start.

12. If you’re getting $100 a month from the government for child care, try your best to keep banking it in a high interest savings account for your child’s future. Saving can be hard, especially in these times, but a few dollars a month can go a long way over the course of 20 years..

13. Switch to Skype for long-distance calls. After the initial hardware investment, it’s free or practically free to call friends around the world.

14. Itemize your monthly expenses and allocate money for each by placing it in marked envelopes. If you only want to spend $50 this month on entertainment, then put $50 in an envelope marked “Entertainment” and use it to entertain yourself. Once the money’s spent, that’s it. No more fun. It’s shrewd and effective.

15. Don’t ignore inflation. Many economists predict that, with so much money being pumped into the global financial system in bailouts and stimulus packages, inflation is destined to rise. So make sure the interest on your savings keeps up with the level of inflation from here on in. If, for example, inflation hits 5% and you’re still only getting 3% in your savings account you’re going to come out the loser.

16. Instead of an expensive vacation to the Bahamas this year, why not try a “staycation” — a trip to the CN tower, the theatre or a local maple sugar bush is infinitely less expensive than a sunburn and you’ll be infinitely less depressed when you return to work the next day.

17. Make an appointment with your financial adviser to review your portfolio. It’s too late to protect yourself from recent carnage in the markets, but you can at least position yourself for the recovery – if and when it comes.

18. If you and your friends have young kids, consider setting up a babysitting co-operative with another family. You look after their kids for an evening in exchange for a night out at a later date.

19. Bring a coffee maker or kettle to work. With coffee ranging anywhere from $1 to $5 a cup (depending on size of cup, exoticness of brew and franchise from which it is purchased) some people are dropping anywhere from $20 to $200 a month just to stay caffeinated. Don’t believe it? Try this: bring your own coffee to work, make it yourself and put the money you would have spent in a jar on your desk. At the end of the month, empty the jar and see how much you saved.

20. Fast food restaurants have long been regarded as recession-proof – the benefactors to the demise of high cost dining in times of economic turmoil. It’s one thing to take the family to McDonald’s instead of Red Lobster just to save a few pennies, but there are some of us out there who should really cut the fast food bit out altogether. The constant inhalation of cheeseburgers, pizza and Chinese food isn’t just ripping through your lower intestine. It’s blowing a hole through your wallet as well.

21. Review your monthly plans for phone, wireless, Internet and television services. Often households are paying significant sums for features that aren’t even being used. That includes everything from digital TV channel packages to wireless voice and data plans. Paying $30 a month for 6 gigabytes of data for your iPhone might seem like a good deal, but not if you’re only using 50 megabytes to check your email and surf the Web occasionally. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for a better deal from your current provider if they want to keep you as a customer – particularly if you subscribe to multiple services and have done some comparison shopping. If long distance phone calls are costing you a fortune, you might want to think about signing up for one of those $5 a month zero-cent per minute long distance plans, especially if you’re currently paying 25 cents a minute on your cell phone.

22. When purchasing household items that are only used occasionally – gardening equipment, ladders, snowblowers, for example – consider sharing with a neighbour. Store the stuff in a mutually accessible shed or garage, and split the cost.

23. Start an entertainment-sharing club with like-minded friends. Meet monthly to pass around books, magazines, movies and music.

24. Try your best to keep yourself employed. Though it goes without saying, it’s the best advice anyone can give you. But with layoffs adding up and unemployment on the rise, there’s no way for everyone to come out of this with their careers still intact. Career counsellors advise that the best way to keep from getting a pink slip in times of economic turmoil is to make yourself indispensable at work. Take on extra projects, preferably high-profile ones your boss cares deeply about.

25. The same career counsellors however advise you to keep up your networks, just in case you do join the growing ranks of the unemployed.