You have probably experienced a slowdown, as business has been shrinking significantly in most parts of the world. Regrettably, I’m sure you are feeling the effects – and I’m sure you don’t like it.
In fact, I hope you don’t like it, and I would encourage you to hate it so much that you are willing to do anything to fight back! Despite the fact that we’re enduring a time when many people will suffer – with millions out of work, companies failing and entire industries disappearing – it is also a time to learn and use specific strategies to turn the tide.
New companies, products and even industries are born out of economic challenges.
I want you to be a person who wakes up every day wanting to be first in your industry or field, who is not victimized by what appears to be reality but who creates a new reality out of the opportunity and rubble of the old.
Contractions introduce a different set of problems for everyone, and these problems require varying degrees of willingness and thinking, along with a new set of actions.
Financial hardships result from inability to sell your products and services in quantities great enough and at prices high enough to make the business profitable and viable.
It is impossible to be in business for any length of time and never experience a tough economy. Some downturns will be worse than others: some long, some short, some very painful and some just a blip.
The good news is twofold:
- There are exact and precise actions you can take to counter any contraction, and
- Contractions are excellent opportunities to expand and conquer market share.
Use the doom and gloom to make this your time to boom! It’s time to create the economy and success you want for yourself, your company and your family.
Businesspeople, salespeople, managers, entrepreneurs and CEOs fear economic reductions. They reason (correctly) that in a major economic contraction, clients and customers cut back on projects, reduce spending and worse – sacrifice quality looking for lowest-priced vendors and/or suppliers.
It becomes more difficult to raise capital, close transactions and make accurate projections that affect planning at all levels. Uncertainty and doubt negatively impact our ability to make decisions. These game-changing economic times can occasionally require major transitions in our skill-sets, as well, particularly following periods of extended expansion.
It’s fairly easy to observe when people’s motivation and skill-sets are crippled from extended economic expansion. It’s a lot like a professional fighter who, after a series of easy bouts, appears to lose his edge, his power – even his sense of the basics. People tend to become dependent on a surplus of opportunities, easy credit and cheap money and develop an overall unrealistic attitude when the business is good and the wind is at their backs.
When the market changes and belts tighten, the forces are no longer at your back, but are blowing directly in your face. When times get tough, every weakness in the organization is greatly magnified. Mistakes become more costly, every transaction vital, and failure becomes a real possibility for both individuals and companies that aren’t able to transition within the new economy we are facing today.
The world could be entering one of the greatest economic contractions of our lifetime. During periods of major, game-changing economic shifts, people immediately find themselves scared, confused, overwhelmed, angry, hopeless about what to do and unsure about whether there is anything they CAN do.
During times like these, people suddenly realize that their businesses, incomes and futures are at risk. It abruptly seems as though the world is giving each of us a giant wake-up call by screaming, “You are vulnerable and may cease to exist!”
The truth of the matter is that if you aren’t No. 1 in your category or field, then you are in a precarious and dangerous situation. If you’re not first, it pretty much doesn’t matter where you are in the race; you will suffer.
Regardless of your product, service, or idea – and despite a challenging economy – you CAN be first and should always strive to be. You must acquire a position within your company and/or career in which you are not susceptible to economic pullbacks and start thinking in terms of creating your own financial system.
I don’t want you ever to settle for “just getting by” or have to worry about the condition of your finances. I say to hell with the economy! I choose to improve, conquer and prosper and will do everything possible to be first.
