#1 So there’s a recession, why is everyone whining?
I must confess, I’m getting quite tired of the same discovery call script…
It goes something like this;
Me: “Hey Bob, thanks for booking a chat with me, how’s business?”
Bob: “It’s a tough time, we’ve seen sales drop a lot and January has been flat. It doesn’t look good out there.”
Me: “Ok Bob, so how can we help?”
Bob: “Gee, urm, well we need to do something about this. We need to grow sales Jon.”
No shit Bob!
We know there’s a recession looming, we know retail is turbulent. But seriously, get over it and take control.
My time is too precious to waste musing on it, and so is yours.
You should have done something about it before now, but here we are. The next best time is now.
I traded through 2008, we did great.
I screwed up monumentally years after that during a boom, I couldn’t afford a pint of beer!
The entrepreneurship journey itself means learning through obstacles, creating, and finding different opportunities that bring you the desired results.
Great things come out of recessions if you’re dogged enough…
Microsoft: During the recession of 1973, Bill Gates, a Harvard dropout, started a small company specialising in developing computer languages.
FedEx: Founded in 1971 as Federal Express, FedEx didn't start operating until the recession in 1973.
Hyatt: Jay Pritzker bought the Hyatt House motel in 1957 in the middle of a recession and turned it into a five-star hotel chain.
Here’s what to bear in mind;
-Stay Lean, keep away from VC or outside funding. You need resources, not money.
-There’s less competition, get all over that. Be where they aren’t and be buoyant when they’re not.
-There are better people, the real cream are losing their situation, pick them up!
-Better deals are on the horizon, and your suppliers and vendors want cashflow…ask for a deal…widen the margins.
-Fear motivates us, use it. We perform at our peak in fight or flight so stay pumped and make it happen.
That’s it, the first Vanquish’d Friday.
See you next week.
Jonny
P.S. Oh and if you need any help with any of this stuff, get in touch
