How to Navigate Your Business in the Midst of Recession

To most small businesses, recession hits hard.

That includes my business.

What gives?

I can’t guess any culprits other than the soaring prices and the lower buying power of consumers. Nothing is wrong with my business, except those problems.

My business is in retail, and I guess retail industry is one of the most impacted industries by the current recession.

As an owner, a.k.a. ship captain, I have to be able to navigate my ‘ships’ through ‘storm and thunders’

Ay-aye, Capt’n!

For a business owner, there is no time to depressed and stressed out. Mark my words – NO TIME to give up.

You are the Capt’n. If you jump overboard, the ship and ship mates will go down with you. You have to keep navigating, with the hope that, soon, the bad weather cleared up.

Your employees, a.k.a. ship mates, depend on you as their emotional role model – if you were positive, they will be positive. If you were about to give up, they will give up, even before you eventually giving up yourself.

No, I’m not saying that you have to be cold-blooded and show no emotion – that would make you Blackbeard the Pirate.

What I’m trying to say is, that even though you are down and the outlook is negative, you still have the positivity and excitement about your business.

Being positive is viral and contagious – when you are positive, those who are around you will become positive, too.

How to navigate your ship through weather turmoil

Here’s some tips on how to be a great capt’n :)

1. Set your sight to what’s beyond the recession – remember, what come down, must come up.
2. Focus on the bare essential – Don’t overdo your marketing budget, extra focus on your business survivability.
3. Seek other sources of revenue – sponsorship programs would work best.
4. Never show any sign that your business is hit hard by recession – you will gain respect (and business) from your customers.
5. Turn to your customers for advice and referral – show your positive attitude toward adversities and show that you are a great learner.

Share your own experience in beating the recession!

Ivan Widjaya
Resilient Capt’n