Tightening Our Belts

Recent inflation, jobless claims, and a contracting GDP are all harbingers of a struggling economy. You can't watch the news without hearing bad news regarding the economic outlook. If negativity is your thing, then here is an opportunity to revel in it. Most business people are pragmatists, however, and prefer to focus on reaching goals.

There is no reason to panic unless your goals have recently changed. Poor economic news means that we may need to revise our plans to achieve our previously set goals. We must adjust carefully, or we run the risk of retracting our business economy.

The Chicken Little approach favors our competition. Steps like cutting off advertising, reducing sales calls, or cutting back on inventory are all techniques used to tighten our belts, but these methods may hurt more than they help. A judicial approach will typically yield better results.

Try to diminish expenses, narrow advertising, and assess ways to reduce travel costs have proven to be a more prudent approach. Cutting existing promotions often hurts the bottom line, and reducing time spent with prospective customers almost always backfires.

Supply chain issues pose problems of their own, but slashing inventory seldom reaps a reward. Maintaining a plausible catalog of sellable items is crucial, but people understand the logistics do not rely solely on you.

Reminding people that your business is sound and ready to serve them may be the number one predictor of success. If you sell products or services that your customers need and are ready and willing to supply them, you have already taken the first step.