Today I was working on some stuff and was posed a question on Twitter by @24karatmarketer. I was asked if I think there is anything positive in the economy. My answer was yes, there’s tons of opportunity. If you read the news or listen to the White House you probably think otherwise. Well, this is why we have what I call a Polarized Economy. I’m no economist but frankly, I don’t give much attention to economists now a days.
If you ask Jim Cramer he’d tell you there are bull markets and bear markets defined by a growing economy & contracting economy. In my opinion, there are two kinds of economies but I call them bull markets and polarized markets. A polarized market is one where you do have a contracting economy but opportunity increases substantially more than in a bull market. Again, this may sound counter intuitive but hear me out.
In a bull market the economy is going well, stock/bond values increase as does the value of the dollar. This builds overall wealth nationwide and our standard of living increases. Frankly, the capitalist system our country USED to have is why our poorest are among the richest in the world.
In a polarized economy, or bear market as everyone else puts it, the economy is contracting. This usually leads to inflation, loss of wealth, and unemployment. While our leaders would like us to think this is all doom & gloom (I’m really not sure why, maybe to lower our expectations of them), I don’t believe this is all a bear market, recession, or even depression is. A contracting economy leads to newer and bigger opportunities. Why are these opportunities bigger? Duh! Overall wealth is contracting while your wealth is growing. Rather than everyone going up, they go down and you go up. You’re the exception, not the rule.
Here are my tips on finding these opportunities, most people will see these opportunities but not notice them for what they really are.
- Law of Attraction: Read “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. Everyone, including our leaders are bringing doom upon themselves. We all need a paradigm shift. We need to think differently, react differently, and act differently. It worked for Dale Carnegie and he did pretty well for himself. If you don’t know who Napoleon Hill or Dale Carnegie are, stop reading and go find out. Nothing else I say can help you until you know who these men are and what they’ve done. While you’re at it read a little about Henry Ford too.
- Core Values: I feel like I’m beating a dead horse here because of how much I’ve blogged about this in the past two weeks. STICK TO YOUR ORGANIZATIONS CORE VALUES! This isn’t just your mission statement or vision statement. This is about what your company is. Why did you or your founder build this great organization from the ground up? Why have you worked so hard to help solve a problem & satisfy a need? Why have you been so persistent in accomplishing your dream? More often than not, when you answer these questions, entrepreneurship is no longer about not working for the man, making a living for yourself, or becoming wealthy. It’s about passion. Stick to your organizations core values or you will not weather this storm. That’s my guarantee.
- Keep your Passion: This is what got you into business in the first place, is it not? Now more than ever it’s important to keep your passion. During a polarized economic period, people work harder and harder in their businesses to make ends meet. Key word: IN. Don’t work in your business. Work on your business. If you read anything about business from any good authors they will attest to this. If all you’re doing is working IN your business than your passion will disappear as will your business. Be passionate and make sure everyone knows that you are. I know I wouldn’t get hired by anyone if I wasn’t passionate for my work.
- Innovate: There are three primary types of innovation. Incremental innovation, adding features/benefits to current products/services. Architectural innovation, adding systems that make you perform & organize more efficiently. Breakthrough innovation, kicking your competition into the dirt by making their products/services obsolete. You should have a strategy to accomplish all three. It doesn’t take money to innovate. If you are telling yourself you can’t afford to innovate than you’re naive. If you have a truly innovative idea, the money will come your way if you do your part. Private equity is still out there. Develop a strategy that will not just make your company sustainable now, but scalable in the long-run.
- Let Information Guide your Decisions: This is good advice period, good economy or polarized economy. A previous post of mine was on the situational analysis section of the marketing plan. You should read it here to get more in depth. Information is the key to successful planning. Too many SMBs overlook this ESSENTIAL aspect of business. If you aren’t spending at least an hour or two a day than you aren’t prepared for changes. How many of you have sat down and made a SWOT analysis? That is, identify your strengths & weaknesses (internally as an individual & organization) and any potential opportunities & threats (external to your organization, like a contracting economy). Now, how many you spend at least 5 hours a week doing research (beyond reading the WSJ or IBD)? If you answered no to both than you have a ways to go. If you’ve done a SWOT but haven’t done the necessary research, you’re just as far behind. If there is one thing I am obsessively passionate about it’s research and doing it right. Never think you’ve done enough because you can always do more. Why am I not a freak for being like this??? INFORMATION RULES THE WORLD!! A decision made without any research or relevant, factual information, is made in IGNORANCE. Get up and read! If you can’t or need help than find someone who can (like SP Consulting).
These are my long winded tips to finding opportunity in our polarized marketplace. Just make sure you end up on the right side of the economy. If you do, than when we go back to the bull market you’ll be able to grow your company like you’ve never imagined possible. Remember, it’s not a bear market, recession, or depression. It’s just a polarized economy!
Thanks, have a great night, I know I will!
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