I have always kept an optimistic outlook on the current economic climate; that despite the recession good ideas will prevail and there are still opportunities for start-ups and entrepreneurs especially businesses with products or services that are recession-friendly, offering value for money at lower prices. But I won't deny it's tough out there.
In my own business clients are understandably nervous about the future and not making long-term commitments. For the majority of friends and contacts, each are being hit in different ways. A friend who has been made redundant from a senior commercial role finds himself working on commssion-only in a tough sales role. Another friend's revenues are down and they are having to make staff and overhead cuts; another contact has just been made redundant. So it's tough.
For those at the grass roots of business, they are having to shift their attitude to how they run their businesses. Sole traders and tradespeople are less able to call the shots on whether they take work on or not. They can much less pick and choose what work they take on.
The landscape has changed at all levels. Of course, business will survive and we'll see stronger people, products and attitudes emerge the other side. But in the meantime – and more than ever - we need tenacity, optimism and lots of 'hard graft'. No moaning about working long hours, weekends or on days off. He or she who turns down a project may well be replaced by a competitor at the front of a long queue of someone else willing to do the work. These are challenging times and we are all going to have to be really smart to reinvent ourselves and change our attitudes to stay ahead of the game.
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