Perry Marshall wrote an interesting rant about the perception of a recession as opposed to the reality of one. I tend to agree with him though as he acknowledges, that perception can become a self fulfilling prophecy.

So what does that mean for us? Opportunity!

While everyone else is either pulling back or is too busy looking up to see if the sky really is falling, we can deepen our roots, expand what we are doing or start new en devours. While borrowing, due to the housing issues (which is reality), may be a little maybe a little more difficult, borrowing from an institution isn't the only way to get things up an running. More importantly, the other vendors, consultants and people we will need to do business with may be offering their goods and services at a discount or will at least be easier to negotiate with because 1) they also believe there is a recession right now or 2) everyone else does and isn't spending as much money with them. Either way, it's good for us and those complimentary businesses really want our business.

I look at all the recession hype as "clearing the path" for us making it easier to do what we want to do, especially if we are efficient, have good processes and run a tight ship. This is a classic distressed business opportunity market.

It doesn't mean a recession can't happen but don't get caught being a "dooms-dayer," it's wasted energy. Just because market growth has slowed doesn't mean we are in a recession and don't count on the government to bail us out if a recession does pop up. In fact, hope they don't. Government interference usually results in longer term problems than a real fix.

No matter how you slice it, when everyone else is panicking and things look bad, there has always been opportunity. If you dive in or expand what you are doing, just manage your risk a little tighter and remember that there are plenty of goods and services that people need and want, no matter what the economy is doing.

Labels: strategy