I know, you must be thinking that after all the bad financial news and cries from large companies that are supposedly “too big to fail” for money that we don’t have means that I must be out of my mind.
True, I am a little crazy, but I always try and see the positive side of things. Let me explain…
Recessions are the best time to start a business
It seems counter-intuitive but starting a business during a recession is probably one of the best choices you can make. Someone with the determination and right frame of mind can be successful taking advantage of low overhead, no employees,
outsourcing and using the internet to your advantage for marketing.
But what if I fail? So, you fail. Would you rather be that person who tried to do something new and started a new business, didn’t get it right and lost a bit of money in the process. OR The person who did nothing and stayed broke?
2009 is gonna be a year of starting businesses that will grow and last well into the next decade. Want proof? Companies started in previous recessions: Google, Wikipedia, Microsoft, HP, Hyatt, IHOP, Burger King, FexEx, MTV and CNN to name a few you might recognize.
This period in our history is about new transforming disruption and not about new great depression
I was reading this post from Scott D. Anthony on Innoblog about what he calls “The Great Disruption” and I absolutely agree. We are going through a shift and transition where the economic challenges are a result of not executing and preparing for this coming shift.
“Why the Great Disruption? In the Great Depression, demand, output and wages declined across the board. Today’s times are different. It isn’t just that demand is sagging. It’s that change is ripping through markets at unprecedented pace. Competitive advantage that took decades to build disappears seemingly overnight.
The Great Disruption didn’t start in 2008. Over the past decade, technological improvements have made starting and scaling businesses easier than ever. The rise of China, India, Brazil, and Russia mean market leaders have to deal with more sharp-elbowed competitors than ever before. And industries are frantically converging and colliding.
Certainly the pace of change has accelerated over the past few months, but leaders in media, retail, defense, health care, automotive, and high-tech can attest that they have been grappling with the Great Disruption for some time.
The Great Disruption creates real challenges for managers who have made a career out of focused execution.”
What will you be doing in 2009 to prepare for “The Great Disruption”?
People’s sense of entitlement is gone for the most part
When I used to live in “cubicle land” many co-workers had some really bad attitudes. Many acted as if management should appreciate the fact that they showed up and graced the office with their presence.
Many of those people have probably gotten a shock to their system over the last few years and if it hasn’t hit them yet, it soon will. And oh yeah, a paycheck is a thing you get for actually doing work and you should appreciate the fact you have a job and can have the kind of life you do.
Many might be experiencing this for the first time and I believe that since we are in the debt hangover and we must live within our means and pay off the bills we have accumulated. This means that many people you might be hiring for your business might have lost theirs over the last year and are probably happy to have a job. You know the saying “it’s a recession when your neighbor loses their job, it’s a depression when you lose your job”.
People are eager to work and there will be less of a greed and “it’s all about me” so you can find quality people at a reasonable cost.
New Year, Clean Slate. Clean Slate, Fresh Start.
When the clock struck 12:00am and you rang in the New Year, look at 2009 as a clean slate and a fresh start.
So have a great New Years Day and look forward to this year ahead of us. I guarantee when I am writing on Dec 31, 2009 that things will be much better than they were in 2008 and you will be looking forward to an awesome 2010.
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