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 hand basket. 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!”
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 us business owners to re-engineer our offerings for large potential rewards.
My marketing mentor Dan Kennedy — who’s “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.
© 2003-2009 Alexandria Brown International Inc.
Self-made multimillionaire entrepreneur Ali Brown is devoted to creating financial freedom for women globally through the power of entrepreneurship. To learn how to create wealth and live an extraordinary life now, register for her free weekly articles at www.AliBrown.com
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