It's All in How You Look at It - Being Opptomistic About the Present Economy.

If you have been reading my opinions on the economy for the last 6 months, you will know that I believe that we are in for a long slow down. Does this mean that it's time to shut the doors? NO NO and NO. It means that you have to be smart in order to stay in business and make money. This is when the cream of the crop will rise and those who do shoddy work will loose money.

Jeffery Gitomer is a sales Guru - if you haven't read his books, start. He has a very interesting website filled with tips and advice on selling your product or service to the marketplace. Before you say, I'm not a salesperson..... if you are a business owner, you are a salesperson. You sell your products, services and yourself to the marketplace everyday in order to grow and make money.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is his take on the doom and gloom being hyped by the media, after all if it bleeds it leads. As I read his words, it brought home positive thinking and finding the silver liner to survive this downturn.

For example, when you hear the negative statistic on the news that home sales are down 33%, it actually means that FIVE MILLION homes will be sold this year. The only unanswered question is: Who will get that business? The media portrays gloom when actually there's still PLENTY of opportunity - just not as much as before

To read his full article on surviving the downturn in the market and being better at getting customers, check out his website: www.gitomer.com

Lots of companies prospered and some great big brand names started during times of recession and even during the Great Depression. Don't Believe ME?

To begin, not all was doom and gloom during the Great Depression. It was a time when those who knew what they were doing made great economic strides, and the very nature of the Depression was an economic boon for them. It was a time when several companies benefited from aggressive marketing while their rivals cut back. A good example of that would be Kellogg besting C.W. Post during that time. Consumers didn't stop spending during the Depression; most just looked for better deals, and the companies providing those better deals came out stronger after the Depression ended. When spending picked up, consumer loyalty to those companies remained.

Generally speaking, those companies that not only survived but also thrived during the Great Depression were those that continued to act as though there were nothing wrong and that the public had money to spend. In other words, they advertised. These are industries that didn't wait for public demand for their products to rise. They created that demand even during the most difficult of times.

What mattered is making a plan, being smart and NOT cutting back on the items that provide your customers more information about you, your service, your business, and your story. Keep advertising, just be smart about where you put your advertising dollars. Keep networking, just be smart about which luncheons you will pay a fee to attend. Keep contacting customers and the marketplace via blogs, websites, and newsletters along with writing articles for periodicals.

Your business can survive an economic down turn, whether it is a recession or heaven forbid a depression. You may not see as much cash flow as you did in the past, but you will see enough if you work hard and smart to attract customers to your business. By not advertising you are telling the marketplace that you can't afford to advertise, you are probably going to be out of business soon. Remember: Out of Sight - Out of Mind.