How to thrive in a tough economic environment

Posted on 01/09/2008 by Shaun Philpott

Business owners can take two differing views when the economy takes a downturn:

Category 1 - keep your head down and try and survive it.

Category 2 - see it as an opportunity to secure more business especially from Category 1! 

Category 1 businesses will tend to cut down on supposedly “non-essential costs” such as marketing. They then bluster along watching the pennies in the hope they have a business left when the economy turns around. 

Category 2 businesses continue to invest in their businesses to achieve growth at the expense of their Category 1 rivals. 
Shaun Philpott, a Wolverhampton-based business advisor with Steps for Success commented: “Amongst the many local businesses I have been talking to in the last few months, I’ve become aware of 3 key questions that business owners ask me in the current environment: 

How can I get more from my marketing budget? 
How can I improve my conversion of leads into sales? 
How can I improve my cash flow? 

My answer is always the same – now is the time to invest in your business to find out how to overcome these issues. This will make your business thrive rather than leave you crying into your beer about the state of the economy. I want all my clients to be Category 2 businesses!” 

Steps for Success, in association with Icon Business Solutions – a global network of business advisors, has developed a series of three workshops to address these frequently raised issues which will be running over the next few months. Shaun added “These workshops have been carefully designed to further educate business owners in these three areas. They also ensure they have a detailed plan of action on how to improve these areas within their business. Furthermore, each attendee receives a 1-2-1 session shortly after the workshop to ensure they are getting positive results and a significant return on their investment.” 

For further information contact Shaun Philpott on 01902 500837 or email shaunphilpott@iconbusinesssolutions.com