The question today is...how do you survive in Today's economy? The answer is
educate your self on what is working for other business facing the same struggles.
2008 was a great year. Business was great record sales were recorded and everyone was optimistic about the future. Then it happened, housing values took a nose dive, banks and insurance companies were in trouble and all the optimism disappeared. A new government came along and promised to change everything.
No, this is not going to be a blog about government, bail outs or a move toward socialism, but a comment on what it takes to survive in today’s business climate. The first step toward being successful is to stop listening to the news about how bad things are and how bad they are going to be. Look at your business first to see if it is lean enough to survive and then look to your market to see what it takes to be competitive. I must have heard from at least 20 customers within the last few months that they needed to develop new markets but all said that they were going to wait to see what happens with the economy. Wrong attitude! If you see an opportunity in today’s market, you must take it.
I have been involved in concrete repair for 35 years. Back in 1983 when recession hit, concrete repair businesses did well. Home owners, businesses and governments were looking for inexpensive ways to repair rather than replace concrete. Think about it, if a homeowner has water leaking into their basement from a patio or driveway that settled towards the foundation, something must be done. Wouldn’t they rather spend ½ the money repairing their patio than the full cost to either water proof the basement or replace the patio. Even though the reasons for today’s economic slow down are different than they were in 1983, the same logic holds true. Looking for ways to save customers money always works for business.
This approach works for all types of contracting businesses. I was reading “Masonry Construction” Magazine recently and this headline grabbed my attention “Top Contractors are in Survival Mode with the economy lagging contractors look to restoration”. The author Patrick Smith goes on to tell how many large masonry businesses are now looking toward restoration (repair) to stay alive. Today’s largest national masonry contractor realized this and “derives all of its revenue from renovation work.”
The bottom line is, if you see a business opportunity; don’t wait for things to get better. Move on it now. If you don’t someone else will and it will be a missed opportunity for you.