Making It Through Tough Economic Times

This economic environment is certainly conducive to negative mindsets: can I make my coaching practice thrive in such times? Isn't coaching one of the last things people would spend any money on at the moment?

Many entrepreneurs, small business owners and practitioners are feeling the economic pinch right now. But here's the real truth: these are precisely the times when business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs need questions answered.

Remember, people going into business or self-employment are invariably opportunistic in their predisposition: they may be battening down the hatches but the vast majority - potentially 90% - are thinking about opportunities for the future. They want to talk about creating businesses that can weather any storm. And so do you! Think about business not the career.

It's the economy isn't it? No: it's the mind that will be your greatest asset in this time. If you think of your business as a job, it will be. Your actions will forever keep it that way. If you think about your practice as an entity outside of yourself - think of it as vehicle for your life. You'll approach your business with the intention of making it just such a vehicle. It's a mind shift. It will get you away from the negativity bedevilling many business owners and professionals. Hare's some practical pointers that will help you recession-proof your professional practice.

Flex those muscles

By focusing on your core competencies, you are flexing muscles which are already there. The tendency in these times is to go into a kind of fear state where those small tasks that are pedestrian, not business building can become front-of-mind. It's very easy to be taking on multiple but often minor tasks, grasping at straws, trying to be all things to all people. By doing this you may be diluting the very essence of your core capabilities. You don't need to keep an eye on the competition - there will always be another business or another practitioner that out there that does something better than you do. The trick is to not allow your core competencies to become so diluted that you lose the competitive edge that makes you unique.

Grow flexibility muscle

Once you re-focus and consolidate around what you do best, you may find that that there's ample opportunity to innovate: to do what you do better. Re visit your "capability" story and find ways to re-sate the story, perhaps through a website offering, an email newsletter, a phone call. It's the way to do better than your competition in your core strength; not theirs.

Listen to your clients

Your clients will have their own concerns: listen to them. Find ways to grow their capacities and be prepared to adjust. Preferences may have shifted: there is, after all a massive shift in consumer behaviour - a much more frugal environment abounds. As a "talking point" look at what is selling and what is not selling. Quantify this with the clients.

Ironically, some sectors that one would expect to be running around like the veritable "chooks without heads" are the financial advisers: yet there is considerable calm out there despite the carnage on Wall Street. Much lower level of withdrawals are evident; possibly because advisers have listened to their client concerns and are talking them thought the crises- showing resiliency and a capacity to be "two ears; one mouth."

Long term planning

This will all pass. Those who adapt to the changing environment will be the winners; who strengthen their core competencies and who take a pro active rather then reactionary mode.

This is the time to take on "helicopter" view of your practice. For sure there will be a need to examine inefficiencies in the way business has been conducted: this need to be addressed. Indeed weed out those activities that do not support a renewed commitment to promote and sell on core competencies. And do all of this with an eye towards not only meeting their customers' immediate needs, but to position oneself to be the best in your field a year from now.