As the news freaks everyone out about the economy, each us has to take stock of where WE are, rather than panic over what we hear from the media AND from our new President. I am still here to tell you that opportunities abound and this is an amazing time to have a business! But, you have to pay attention!

How can you take stock of where YOU are right now? First, sit down with pen and paper and seriously look at what expenses you have and compare them with your income. Think “cash flow”. You have to have enough money coming in to at least pay all of your bills. And if you do not, something has to go.

I have a personal training client who is a financial planner and for over the last year, he has been telling me about clients who refuse to cut back in order to just be able to live on their retirement a little longer. Now many of those people are about to lose MORE than just a bit of their income! So, what can YOU do without right now?

What do I mean by “do without”? As I said above, this is the time to re-evaluate all of your expenses. If you are a business owner, consider how each expense helps you run your business or helps you generate more income. And look at the income it helps you generate. Are you spending time and money on a product/service that isn’t selling? What IS selling, then? Spend more time promoting THAT product/service instead of trying to bring back something that may never produce revenue.

As you consider the time and money spent on something not producing, you also need to consider the opportunity cost. It is costing you in the missed opportunities for not paying attention to what people DO want, trying to convince them to buy something they DON’T want.

When considering what is helping you generate more income, an easy place to look is at subscriptions and memberships. It may be a professional membership, it may be to a particular journal, it may be for a membership program. Do you use these regularly? Ask yourself about each, “How does this help me generate more income or help me grow my business now?” If it doesn’t, you can always re-join or re-subscribe another year. If it just supplies you with information, how else can you get the same information you are getting from them? And, if you are not reading the journals on a monthly basis or actively participating in that organization, chances are they aren’t providing the value you perceive they are.

But that’s half the equation. Now you need to look at what people are buying from you right now. What are potential or current clients telling you right now? This is where creativity comes in for the entrepreneur. And, if you’re reading this, you are an entrepreneur, right?

There are two things to consider when trying to come up with how to continue to grow your business during tough economic times:

1. How can you offer products or services that are more affordable for your clientele yet also help you continue to grow? This may mean group programs, membership programs, or offering more products that can help your clients meet their needs.
2. Business strategy when the economy slows down is to “widen the net”. This means expand your product or service offerings. Who are you currently offering services to, and how can you expand that to new markets? This doesn’t mean you can ignore your IDEAL client, but it means expanding what you do for them to more people. Also, what other services can you offer that you hadn’t considered in the past? This may go along with #1.

So, as you take stock of your business and personal finances, consider what you can “do without”. Now I’m going to pull my dry cleaning out of my dryer. Dryel is a great product!

If you need help growing your business right now, feel free to take advantage of my free, 30-minute collaborating coaching interview. To set up an appointment, email me at support@meg-enterprises.com.

Margie