Survival Kit for the Disoriented Entrepreneur (When Times Get Tough)
23 March 2009
Read by 2231 persons
How to approach work and your career when the future looks bleak? Three lines of thought to overcome "lean periods" by Marc Traverson, coach and consultant.
For a few weeks now (actually, since the beginning of the year), I've been hearing negative comments from people I talk to about what awaits us in 2008. I don't know if it's the stock market situation, the panic cries of banks and financial operators, but let's face it, 2008 seems to be under pessimistic auspices.
This reminds us of other crashes and other lean periods. What sailors call a calm: no wind in the sails and everyone taking shelter. In my opinion, this is even more formidable than a storm.
This raises the question of what to do in difficult situations. Traders, when the stock markets are turbulent and the clouds of recession are ominously gathering on the horizon, they buy gold. This is called a defensive position. And I'm telling you this in case you don't listen to BFM, gold is currently at a very high level.
For a professional, whether independent or employed, what could be a defensive position? How to approach work and your career when the future doesn't look bright? Here are three avenues for reflection; you can create your own mix.
1 - Strengthen your expertise
In prosperous times, there is activity for everyone and the employer/client is certainly less demanding. When indicators plummet, all investment decisions are weighed carefully. Often, the decision-making process itself is unreasonably extended. "We lack visibility": this is the mantra you hear in companies. This is the time to work on deepening your expertise and updating your skills that make up the coherence of your "profession", whatever it may be. For example, you could consider taking additional training or really reading, pen in hand, the latest books by the gurus in your sector of activity that are sleeping under a pile of old files.
2 - Refine your marketing
This is also the time to narrow your angle of attack: this allows you to be more effective. Still the warlike metaphor. When the armor gets thicker, doesn't it... Narrowing the angle means, in particular, better targeting your clients (external or internal, by the way). Develop a niche strategy and stick to it. The scattergun approach doesn't work. In times of scarcity, you need to conserve your energy and avoid spreading yourself too thin. Deepen the furrow you have identified. If you develop a service offering (as is the case for an independent consultant or a job seeker), you must identify the clients who really need what you can bring them. For the rest, that is, the superfluous, they have postponed their investment to the Greek calends. No need to insist.
3 - Prepare for the future
You have to be resilient, which doesn't mean remaining passive. When you have no other choice, the right investment is to sharpen your weapons (definitely!) to make the most of the situation as soon as things start to improve. Because after the rain, as everyone knows, comes the sunshine. So: prepare your communication tools, the priority development areas (to be immediately operational when the weather is favorable for investment and budgets bloom again), devote yourself to the boring tasks that need to be done anyway, to get rid of them. So many ways to make yourself ready and available to seize the opportunity that passes and bask in the first rays of sunshine
Marc Traverson
Posted on September 29, 2008
newzy.fr
For a few weeks now (actually, since the beginning of the year), I've been hearing negative comments from people I talk to about what awaits us in 2008. I don't know if it's the stock market situation, the panic cries of banks and financial operators, but let's face it, 2008 seems to be under pessimistic auspices.
This reminds us of other crashes and other lean periods. What sailors call a calm: no wind in the sails and everyone taking shelter. In my opinion, this is even more formidable than a storm.
This raises the question of what to do in difficult situations. Traders, when the stock markets are turbulent and the clouds of recession are ominously gathering on the horizon, they buy gold. This is called a defensive position. And I'm telling you this in case you don't listen to BFM, gold is currently at a very high level.
For a professional, whether independent or employed, what could be a defensive position? How to approach work and your career when the future doesn't look bright? Here are three avenues for reflection; you can create your own mix.
1 - Strengthen your expertise
In prosperous times, there is activity for everyone and the employer/client is certainly less demanding. When indicators plummet, all investment decisions are weighed carefully. Often, the decision-making process itself is unreasonably extended. "We lack visibility": this is the mantra you hear in companies. This is the time to work on deepening your expertise and updating your skills that make up the coherence of your "profession", whatever it may be. For example, you could consider taking additional training or really reading, pen in hand, the latest books by the gurus in your sector of activity that are sleeping under a pile of old files.
2 - Refine your marketing
This is also the time to narrow your angle of attack: this allows you to be more effective. Still the warlike metaphor. When the armor gets thicker, doesn't it... Narrowing the angle means, in particular, better targeting your clients (external or internal, by the way). Develop a niche strategy and stick to it. The scattergun approach doesn't work. In times of scarcity, you need to conserve your energy and avoid spreading yourself too thin. Deepen the furrow you have identified. If you develop a service offering (as is the case for an independent consultant or a job seeker), you must identify the clients who really need what you can bring them. For the rest, that is, the superfluous, they have postponed their investment to the Greek calends. No need to insist.
3 - Prepare for the future
You have to be resilient, which doesn't mean remaining passive. When you have no other choice, the right investment is to sharpen your weapons (definitely!) to make the most of the situation as soon as things start to improve. Because after the rain, as everyone knows, comes the sunshine. So: prepare your communication tools, the priority development areas (to be immediately operational when the weather is favorable for investment and budgets bloom again), devote yourself to the boring tasks that need to be done anyway, to get rid of them. So many ways to make yourself ready and available to seize the opportunity that passes and bask in the first rays of sunshine
Marc Traverson
Posted on September 29, 2008
newzy.fr
