I spoke last week to a teacher whose husband’s employer was dealing with the recession by avoiding making excess stock, but taking real stock of staff training needs and using the down time to cater for them.  At a time when training budgets are being cut along with everything else, I was dead impressed at the far-thinking of an owner killing two birds with one stone, as it were, by developing his existing staff at the same time as keep unnecessary production down.  But, how else can businesses survive?

So, how else can businesses survive?

Watching Alone in the Wild a few weeks ago, I wondering how Northern Ireland organisations are coping when stripped of all our usual comforts.

The premise of the documentary:

In this remarkable documentary, Ed Wardle is dropped into the unforgiving Yukon wilderness with just basic provisions and cameras to film himself as he attempts to survive completely alone in the wild.

Find a Safe Place to Camp

What part of your business is working?  Which product is selling best?  Which market is requesting what?  Which customers are remaining loyal?  Stick with that.  To rework an old saying, if it’s not broke, now’s not the time to fix it.  Avoid experimenting with new products or new markets.  This is not a time for market expansion

For those of you who are self-employed, this may mean working for someone else for a short period, until you feel things are straightening out.  The bottom line for many of us is a regular income to cover costs and wages.  Just now, you need one less thing to worry about.

Ration Your Provisions

Ever wondered how long the stock will last?  Or, how long the staff will continue to get paid before you have to make redundancies?

• Watch those figures like you were McGyver defusing a bomb.  Ensure you receive more regular updates from your Financial Person.
• Ditch costs that are window-dressing.  Reduce costs that are unavoidable.  Are the new cars and furniture essential this quarter?  You may find that you continue this prudent mantra well into your recovery period!
• Decide now, who would have to go.  Have a plan in place, if the bottom falls out of the boat.  Don’t be taken by surprise.  Some employers have little finesse when it comes to redundancy; make sure your staff leave on as good terms as possible, with all legal and contractual requirements adhered to.

Explore the Territory

Don’t just sit there and stew in your fear.  Start exploring.  What a great opportunity to conduct market research for your next product or a new foray into a different market!  If your staff have time on their hands, make them productive.  Get ahead of the competition by becoming aware of the mood out there and continue to monitor even as you put new plans in place.

Oh, and by the way, this is something that should be conducted on a regular basis anyway.  Now, you have more time to dedicate to not only collecting information but analysing it in a meaningful way and applying any wisdom gained to your procedures and plans.

Start a Fire

By now, almost all the basics are in place, so you need to start a fire.  Comfort or action?  Only you can decide when to start a fire that will catch hold of your customers and consume the attention of new ones.  Get the business news on an RSS reader and watch your competitors too.

Perhaps even experiment, but without putting the entire Camp at risk.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Bears

Ed Wardle, the hero of the series, developed a paranoid fear of bears.  So did I, at the thought of being strung up in a hammock, covered in animal blood from gutting earlier in the day, waiting for bears to come exploring.  It was tense to watch!

That said, I’m heading alot of bear growls just now.  Negative thinking, depressive attitudes, overwhelming put-downs, discouraging talk.  For alot of small business owners in Northern Ireland, the recession can be a lonely and frightening wilderness.

Like I tell my Assertiveness Workshop attendees, maximise your time with maximisers and minimise your time with minimisers.  Now is the time for encouragement and support, not fear and paralysis.

What are your survival techniques?  Comment at will.

The BBC and Workology, among others, have taken up the news of the British Chambers of Commerce July announcement - UK in ‘serious’ danger of recession.  Chamber Online expressed concern that business taxation might rise, squeezing an already thin profit margin, borne out by falling cashflow levels in the services and manufacturing industries.  That, added to the slowing up in house sales is making all of us decidedly twitchy…

So, how are small businesses, which make up around 80% Northern Ireland businesses, to survive the threatening wobbly period?

My mantra would be ‘In the long run..’

1. Take the advice of a financial advisor and/or accountant you trust.  Trying to figure out all the red tape, ways to increase your profits at the same time as reducing hte tax you need to pay all especially important, when cashflow may be waning a little.  Yes, it’s another cost, but in the long run.. it may save you thousands.  Rule of thumb: you should be able to get the services of an accountant for under 1000 per year.  And, as with most service providers, it’s always best to have one recommended.
2. The most obvious reactionary (and, short-sighted) response is to decrease prices.  Yes, I used to fall into that mindset too.  Of course, you may want to reduce prices temporarily, though it is more difficult to put them back up again.  Value your product.  Those providers who continually drive down prices de-value the service as a whole, and do the industry no image favours in the long term.
3. Can you use the time to get resources replenished/revived, including your staff?  What a perfect time to arrange some well-needed training.  Does your stationery or business image need a make-over?  Invest in an image coach or take some time out to get a new look for the office, or work premises.  Call the web designer and ask him to get his finger out with a new online design.
4. Planning.  All too often, during very busy periods, things go by the wayside.  Take this blog for example.  We’ve been over-occupied during the months of April, May and June and therefore, the blog took a direct hit.  You may have notived lean periods.   So, get the blogs written in advance, leaving space for those little reactionary posts just to remind people you’re keeping your eyes peeled. Or, arrange meetings with all your key managers and teams, to schedule in new projects or opportunities.  Ensure everyone knows what the business direction is for the next six months, so when the orders start coming thick and fast, everyone is aware of what the priorities are and knows their active place (so to speak) in the team.
5. Finally, enjoy the quiet time.  When was last time you truly took a break?  For NI business manager/owners, it’s difficult to get away from it all, especially as there is often a home office as well as/instead of a ‘proper office’.

Step away from the laptop!

1. Get yourself down to the Antrim Coast (see Giant’s Causeway shot above) and take a brisk hike along the sea wall.  Can I recommend The Nook for a perfect Mocha afterwards?  Your body and brain will thank you for it.  There’s nothing better for invigorating that tired old brain, in order to face the remainder of 2008 with renewed va-va-voom!