With the entire world in an economic panic and with many Fortune 1000 companies on the brink of collapse, it’s time to be thankful you are a small business!  Our government, economy, and pricing structures are about to drastically change.  Many large corporations won’t be able to keep up.  Their cycle of using debt to grow and buy more debt is about to come to a screeching halt.  Credit will freeze, employees won’t get paid, products won’t be made, and thousands of companies will essentially go bankrupt.  We can’t bail everyone out.

This is where the small business steps in.  The wise small business hasn’t choked itself in debt.  You started your company by yourself, or maybe with a few friends or family members.  You started on a shoe-string budget and you’re well-versed in cutting expenses and maximizing your bottom line.  As the economy shifts and buying habits change, your small business has the flexibility necessary to keep pace.  You’re creative.  You started and survived because your creativity and determination brought your dream to fruition, and you now offer that dream as a product that your customers love.

Now is the time to redefine your story.  How will your product make life better during this looming depression?  How will your product brighten people’s day?  How will your service make life easier, and more affordable?  How can you portray your product as an investment (but don’t call it that - people are horrified of “investments” right now).  You have to prove your product can reap huge benefits for your customers, both economically and emotionally.  

Now is the time where consistency and determination really pay off.  It’s easy to give up with the economy tanking.  A lot of your competitors will.  Now is the time to improve, invent, or implode.  Which will you do?