13September 2009
As a small business owner myself, it’s a little confusing to determine where the economy stands at this point. The stock market has recovered and that is an indicator that wall street sees a light at the end of the tunnel for the future of the economy. Foreclosures seem to be leveling off which is also a good sign. Unemployment is another subject because it just keeps climbing.
If your small business has weathered the storm at this point, you should compliment yourself and then get back to work. Now is not the time to let up. There is still plenty of work for small business owners to do to continue to promote their business. With high unemployment sales are still lagging any economic news.
When the economy is struggling competition gets tougher for small business owners because their competitors are cutting bids or prices to the bone. Some are willing to break-even or even lose a little money to stay in business.
Most small business owners won’t see an improvement in business for some time yet. You must continue to aggressively market your business and let people know who you are. You may not always be able to compete on price so you need to compete on quality. The point is to market.
When business slows down the first thing that many small business owners cut is marketing and advertising. That’s exactly the wrong thing to cut. Evaluate your marketing costs and programs, but don’t shoot yourself in the foot. You should be marketing aggressively.