Business Owners Face the Economy
Can you feel it?
One day everyone is thinking positively that the economy is on an upswing and then suddenly everyone is thinking that the economy is going back in the tank. Economics is often based more on emotions than science, so I can’t help wanting to stand on a high hill and yell,
“Don’t pay attention to the economy, pay attention to your business!”
For those of you who are in the doldrums about the economy these days, here are some interesting statistics that might snap you back to reality:
- The United States Gross Domestic Product is currently 14 trillion dollars – yes, that’s TRILLION – or, 22.73% of the world economy, according to the World Bank.
- Our nation’s economy is still GROWING at a rate of about 2.5%
Yes, the downturn that hit our economy in 2008 has finally rippled throughout Europe and Asia, which has increased the value of the dollar against the Euro, Pound, Yen and Yuan.
So, for a while there was definitely an upswing that led people to think we were truly on the road to a fast recovery, when in fact a stronger dollar would negatively affect exports and slow things down a bit sooner or later.
But can you do anything directly about that?
Pretty doubtful.
So what does that mean for you as a small business owner? It means more than ever that you have to focus on business fundamentals.
- If you don’t have a business plan then the chances are pretty good that your business wouldn’t be doing as well as it could no matter what’s going on in the economy.
- Are you truly measuring and testing all of your marketing strategies? In particular, are you doing everything you can to get referrals from existing and former customers? Why chase a cold lead when you don’t have to?
- Sure that website – which probably cost you thousands of dollars – looks great, but what are you doing with LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Hubpages to generate greater visibility and drive people to your site, or better yet… to pick up the phone and call you?
- What kind of networking are you really doing? Are you going to your BNI or Chamber events each week and just sulking in the room, or are you actively, aggressively asking people for referrals and leads?
- Have you truly scrutinized your sales process? What is your exact closing rate? Do you know when you miss the boat with a prospect in the middle of your sales process so you can take corrective action or at least fix the problem when meeting with next prospect?
No, things are not the same as they were pre-2008. The real question is what are you doing about it?
Stop worrying about the economy and start working ON your business. There are plenty of businesses making money in this economy. Just how much of that $14 trillion GDP do you need to realize the lifestyle that you want?
Call ActionCOACH today 203 210 7003 and let’s get you focused on the right things instead of worrying about “the economy”.
[1] http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP-Growth.aspx?Symbol=USD
