How do you — how do I — as a business owner survive and thrive in uncertain times? Best off all is life and business must go on, yes it is hard but not impossible by no means. Why sit back and wait for the bad times to get the best of you. Noses there are better things to do with your time and afford as to worry about all this uncertainty.
At times like these, it may help to recall the old saying, "I complained I had no shoes until I met someone who had no feet." As bad as it may be to be self-employed right now, it's probably far worse to have an uncertain job. There are lessons to be learned by remembering exactly why you're in business for yourself and, indeed, how much better off you have it than those people who are waiting for the corporate office to decide whether they'll still have a job next month. You can use the very drive that made you go into business for yourself to your advantage. Why and how you may ask? Well the answer is simple to have taken the first step and not working for a boss has immediately distinguished you from the pack. And this my dear friend is exactly what you want. Use your imagination, your inner self, your knowledge and begin to come up with new refreshing ideas. People are now looking for the new things that can give them hope and inspiration. If you can change your business strategies and come up with that special something to fill the need, you will be amazed by what you can achieve.
Here's what I reminded myself of the other day: I can do something about it. No, I can't change the industry dynamics. But as a person who owns a business or who is self-employed, I can make decisions, take actions. I can help shape my economic destiny. Sure, I don't have complete control — I may have to make major changes in my business, my expenses, the nature of my work — but at least I can do something to help keep my business alive and my employees keep their jobs. (Because, believe me, laying someone off is not something any responsible business owner wants to do.)
I compare my reality to people who have lost their jobs or are waiting to hear whether they're going to lose their jobs. It's not that they have no control over their destiny, but they don't have nearly the day-to-day sense of empowerment that I do — or that you can, for that matter.
Don’t be scared see this as a business opportunity of a life time. Be exited because the gods of hope has given you new inspiration, new insight.
Here is the reason I give you the opportunity to go out and find the YOU that has brought you this far, I do so now to remind YOU of what it means to be in business for yourself. It means that every single day, you can go to work to make something happen. You may have to work harder to make a sale. You may have to find new business models in a changing industry. Or, you may have to change the nature of your business altogether.
But all of us have survived downturns before. I know that many of the strongest businesses were founded during depressions or recessions. I know that I — and you — can survive, thrive.
Uncertain times require you to be certain about something — that you are fortunate to be able to take some measure of control of your destiny. That's what being in business for yourself is all about.
