March 2010
Looking for Opportunities in All the Right Places
By Gene Pepper, Guest Contributor
You may think the economy looks bleak these days; but there are plenty of opportunities for you to pursue in your company, or on your own if you are a sole proprietor.
Let’s look at three bullet points that will spark you to take action:
- Anticipate.
- Become a Recognized Expert.
- Diversify.
Anticipate worst- and best-case scenarios that you may face in the next 12 months. Think of this exercise as almost identical to preparing a financial budget.
Without being irrationally negative, prepare a list of the worst things that could happen to you and your company. Your sales decrease and then, your profit; your bank calls your loan or your credit line; your best salesperson quits; your best customer quits; your vendors demand faster payments; your marketing and business development costs increase. You can add to this list, I’m sure.
Now map out the best scenarios that might appear. This is more fun than the short drill above. But again, do be realistic.
Become a Recognized Expert in your field. Write articles for your company’s Web site, newsletter, or industry journals. Submit ideas on cost-cutting. Concentrate on what you know best, and be helpful to your fellow employees and customers. Make yourself indispensable.
Diversify. Find ways to offer your products or services in new niches, with new customers. Go after market share. Be creative in expanding. What you want is to create new income streams, new profit centers.
If you look for favorable opportunities, you will find them. As tough as our present times are, it is also undeniably true, in my view, that these are the best times to score and secure positions within your market.
Gene Pepper is a business turnaround consultant and the author of the book How to Save Your Business & Make It Grow in Tough Times. Visit his Web site, GenePepperConsulting.com, for more information.