Frugal advice for a down economy

What should I do? What should I do?

With the economy being in an "official" downturn here are some thoughts to keep everything in perspective. Based on an article by by Mark Tewart

1 - Don’t read too much into the news reports
Things are rarely as good as they seem and things are rarely as bad as they seem. If you allow yourself to give in to the news you will determine your destiny. When people tell me about the bad economy I tell them I have chosen not to participate.


2 - You can’t cut your way to a profit
Expense management is done at all times not just in bad markets. Cutting expenses in bad times is a misnomer. You set your good and bad habits in good markets not bad. Be selectively extravagant and prudently frugal. I have never seen a business survive and thrive a down market by trying to cut expenses as their long term strategy.


3 - Don’t cut your life line
Some of the easiest variable expenses to cut out are advertising and marketing. That also takes a bad situation and makes it worse. When your business drops and you take action to stop the flow even more, you are doomed. Be smarter with your marketing budgets, rely on a more planned out approach and save where you can.


4 - Spoil your existing customers
The past and present customers are the life blood of any business. These customers are also the most over looked and underutilized asset in ALL businesses. Do you have a relationship building program that creates over fifty positive customer contacts per year? The people who have done business with you already like and trust you and will most likely do business again and bring others if they are appreciated, rewarded and yes asked. There is gold in them thar hills.


5 - Spin the bad news into something good
Use all the bad news and the fear and negative emotions associated with it to your advantage. Use the headlines in your marketing and advertising and become the solution provider in a bad economy.


6 - Stop Boring Me to Death
Be creative and use trash can mailers, wallet mailers and other dimensional mail. Stop trying to get the lowest cost per piece and concentrate on the highest ROI for your mailings and other marketing. Boring does not sell in any media format.


7 - Go back to the basics
Instead of cutting your education, double your education efforts. If the market is really that bad then you should have tons of time to educate yourself and your team. If your opportunities are fewer then you must maximize each customer contact. Think like a customer. Examine your process from a customer’s point of view and ask yourself what creates heartburn for those customers.


8 - Super-size it
You can impact your bottom line immediately by increasing either transaction size or the gross margin. You can do this through add-ons, bundling, value-added presentations and better process for asking for and negotiating money. Do want fries with that and do you want the large popcorn for 25 cents more are not accidental questions.


9 - Create Multiple Campaigns
If your customers buy one product or service from you then they will buy more. Sending a one time mailing for a discount oil change does not constitute a continuity program. When you create a continuity program you will insulate your business from bad economies in the future because you will be less dependent on conquest customers.


10 - Attitude of the Boss with effect the Crew
As the leader thinks and acts, the team shall too. If the leaders of your business talk bad economies and bad markets the team will believe it. What are your leaders doing right now? Spend every minute of the day in the pursuit of things that will create customers and incomes now and in the future. If the leader does not believe, don’t expect the troops to.

Taking your green to the bank

turn it off for profits sake...

Here is a very interesting mini-report regarding return on investment (ROI) for green products. I have edited it down a bit from the original.

Saving energy makes sense any time, but particularly now, given our short supplies of oil and the pollution and climate change we create when we burn any fossil fuel. Many consumers are under the generally false impression that adopting "green" (energy efficient) technologies is beyond their financial reach. And especially during these economic hard times, even the suspicion that something will cost more is enough to deter its purchase.

That's why the concept of Green ROI is so important. Green ROI offers a way to calculate what the purchase of a green product is worth both in the short term and a longer way down the road. In other words, if you spend X dollars on a green product today, how long will it take you to realize a gain — in real dollars — and make the purchase worthwhile? Well, consider a few of these Green ROI calculations, courtesy of GreenandSave.com, and based on a ten-year performance period:

1. Programmable Thermostat save money going green Automatically adjust indoor air temperatures to reduce the amount of gas or electricity you use with a programmable thermostat. Cost: $115 Annual savings: $180 ROI: 156.5%

2. Power Strips Use energy-saving power strips on office electronics and home appliances to reduce energy use when in "standby" mode. Cost: $20 for two strips Annual savings: $24 ROI: 120%

3. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Replace 20 incandescent bulbs that are 60 watts and have a life expectancy of 1,500 hours with CFLs that use only 14 watts and last 10,000 hours. Cost: $3 - $6 per bulb Annual savings: Each bulb saves on average $4 to $7 per year in electricity ROI: 133.3% See how saving energy saves money — a lot of money — over the long term?

But what about climate change, you ask?
Take programmable thermostats. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the federal Energy Star program, calculates that in 2006, consumers using programmable thermostats not only saved a total of $14 billion on their utility bills, they also saved enough energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 25 million cars off the road. Want to know how additional investments will create Green ROI?
Go to GreenandSave.com.

Jobs at risk

No it can't be me I'm too important...

Car salesmen, real estate agents and investment bankers are among the most likely to lose their jobs this year, a new study says.

Bricklayers, catering contractors, boat builders, tire manufacturers, prawn fishermen and some miners also will do it hard.

The findings come from business analysts IBIS World's survey of industries most at risk in 2009.

Anyone connected with the international tourism industry may be wise not to make to many long-term plans.

The study predicts traffic from key markets such as China, Japan, the US and most of Europe will fall dramatically.

On the other hand the future looks good for vets, childcare workers, community health care providers and nursing home staff.

Nursing homes will be a boom industry, with the number of over-70s moving into care set to surge and the baby boomers to follow.

The ageing boomers will also keep radiographers and other people in diagnostic imaging busy as they will need more tests to keep them on their feet.