How strong is your confidence?
Stock market crashes, house price drops and mass redundancies are denting everybody’s confidence, but we need to emphasize the positive as well.
Low inflation, low interest rates, strong employment and some better-than-expected profit results show us that the recession is not here quite yet.
For smaller companies who take the right action it can be avoided, and the conditions are nowhere near as bad as they were prior to previous recessions.
Unfortunately, confidence is everything and if we are not careful we will talk ourselves into a major crisis instead of managing the economy and our businesses through a difficult period.
I was with one of our major listed construction companies last week who had just had a stockbrokers’ lunch. The Chief Executive was moaning at the depressed attitude of all the brokers. In his words, ‘They could turn a wedding party into a funeral march’.
He had to explain to them that his company already had a full forward order book and, with the 2012 Olympic benefits still to be felt, his next two years would be very busy with strong profits and growth.
The brokers need to really look at what’s happening on the ground, not what people are saying or what shares are doing!
The same goes for your business. Analyse the activity, check your stock, chase in your debtors and keep marketing your company and pushing sales.
If necessary make the cuts and reduce your costs, but look at the reality before you act and then do so quickly and decisively. In this way your business will survive and your confidence will be as strong as ever.
January 2008
