I was catching up recently on the phone with an acquaintance of
mine, and her talk turned to the coming recession. "Oh no," I thought. "She's
really buying into this."
She went on to complain about the price of
gas, how everything's getting so expensive, how she's worried about her
husband's job, and how the country's going to hell in a handbasket. And she
knows all this of course because she watches the news.
Then, as our
conversation took another turn, she told me about the fancy new home
entertainment system her hubby just installed in their family room. And how her
daughter now is taking both ballet and piano lessons.
I don't know about
you, but as I look around I still see people jammed into shopping malls and
spending, spending, spending. Compared with the rest of the world, we really
have nothing to complain about. And for you reading this article, this recession
will only be what YOU make of it.
Now listen, I know prices are going up
for many things. You may have lost some equity in real estate. And it may cost
$75 to fill your gas tank. The family grocery bill may be higher than before.
But it's especially important
as entrepreneurs that we do NOT follow the thinking of the herd. If you
let the news get to you and become mousey with your marketing or waffle back and
forth on firm business decisions, you WILL feel the "recession". So it's
important more than ever to simply refuse to participate in all the worry.
Here are three steps to turning this "lemon" of a recession into some
entrepreneurial lemonade...
1. Stop listening to all the media's
B.S.
Mainstream news would make no money if it stopped preying on
people's fear. (You realize the news networks are not a public service, right?
They are in the business of getting ratings to sell advertising. Period.)
Have you ever noticed that after watching just 20 minutes of CNN
Headline News you usually want to go curl up in a ball and die? I mean, you may
as well because the world's going to blow up, right?
Everything is going
to pot. You'll find negative stories on the environment, war, disease, crime,
and of course... the economy. It's laughable what they'll come up with just to
broadcast some bad news. A few weeks ago at the gym I spotted this "headline"
story on the tube along with some sad-faced puppies: "PETS: Feeling the
Foreclosure Boom!"
Everyone is selling crisis! From the news and
politicians. So stop watching CNN all day, refuse to participate in this circus,
and instead start planning your first (or next) million.
2. Look for the good news.
If you
actually look around you in real life right now you won't see people holed up at
home, huddled around a fire and eating rice and beans. Yes folks may be cutting
back their budgets a bit, but it's pretty much life as usual.
I am told
that just this past May the U.S. enjoyed the fourth straight week of a declining
number of people filing for unemployment. And while the media keeps harping on
the disappearance of the middle class, guess where most everyone is apparently
moving? The TOP. Yes, that's right. Two-thirds of the middle class are movin' on
up - just like George and Weezie.
A recent issue of Time Magazine stated that according to federal
income-tax data, "...the pie is [still] getting bigger for everyone." And a June
18 article in the Los Angeles Times says, "...there still won't be an actual
recession, UCLA forecasters say."
You can always find doom and gloom if
you want to. So turn off your TV and use your brain.
And even if you
think this recession is going to be a big deal, see what it brings with it: A
huge opportunity for entrepreneurs, along with less competition from those
throwing in the towel because they aren't made for the game.
3. Go where the profits
are.
Those two-thirds who have moved up are what many are now
calling the "mass affluent". These folks are a BIG opportunity for we business
owners to re-engineer our offerings for large potential rewards.
My
marketing mentor Dan
Kennedy -- whose "no B.S." attitude on the recession I adore -- reported in
a recent article that there has never been more discretionary income and
spending on a broader and more diverse range of premium priced goods and
services than ever before.
Dan was the first one to teach me that in
normal conditions less than 10% of consumers truly buy only based on price. He
surmises that number will go up in a recession, perhaps even double or triple,
but it will still be the minority.
(By the way, Dan has an excellent new
book on this precise topic, The No
B.S. Guide to Marketing to the Affluent. Everyone in business right now
should get a copy.)
So it's funny that many of us are so worried about
what we charge. What we should be doing instead is looking at ways to make what
we offer more valuable, more experiential, more unique, more indispensable. AND
what we all should be doing is looking for ways to take what we already do and
target it to the wealthy and soon-to-be wealthy.
For example, can you
offer a premium version of what you already provide? Something that includes
more 'hand holding', more services, or a more dynamic experience with you? Do a
quick brainstorm on your own.
It's Time to Step Up, More Than Ever
Before
NOW is the time to be bold, dear ones!
While your
competition sits around and complains that toilet paper has gone up $1, you
unleash an amazing new marketing campaign that blows 'em away. While they hem
and haw their investments have dropped, you snap up real estate deals on the
side. While they are convinced they should charge less and cutting their profits
to survive, you choose to reengineer, raise your prices, and thrive -- growing
your business faster than ever before.
Look for the silver lining... it's
right in front of you.
© 2008 Alexandria Brown International
Inc.
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown publishes the
award-winning 'Highlights on Marketing & Success' weekly ezine with 28,000+
subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and
have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.AlexandriaBrown.com
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