Recession Ended or not, where you are … ?
OK, so to be blunt I am seeing no signs of a recession on my travels, yes some companies are laying people off, but with still in ALL countries more than 90% of the workforce still earning there is still plenty of people spending.
Maybe not the bigger ticket items, but even they, houses etc are starting to move.
Stock markets certainly made a run for it in recent weeks ...
SO, what are you seeing, recession over (if there really ever was one) or still a little while to go ????
Let me Know ASAP ... Brad Sugars
Mind over matter.
I think there has been a definitive shift in consciousness, an increased appreciation and a desire to get the balls of the economy moving again.
Dentistry like we practice is not in a recession. Big cases are down somewhat, so we need to work harder, market smarter and wider to attract the client with larger needs. 20% of people are hurting in the recession…but then 50% of people don’t go to the dentist regularly anyway….perhaps in part due to bad teeth…perhaps that’s why they meet the recession face on first. http://suwaneesmiles.com
Australians have just been informed that we are not in a recession – so much for media hype. We experienced one quarter at the end of last year of negative growth followed by a positive growth quarter.
No sign of a recession in my patch. All of my clients are experiencing sales increases on the same time last year and some even hitting best month evers. Several are talking to their banks at the moment to raise finance for capital expenditure to expand their factories and buy more stores.
The mindset of customers definitely has been swayed by the constant battering of negative media hype but for those business owners who are being proactive and innovative in their marketing and thinking growth rather than contraction there is an abundance of opportunity.
BTW I love your twist on reporting unemployment figures Brad. Currently Australia is experiencing 94.3% employment. I will be describing employment levels this way from now on:)
In South Florida, the real estate market took a hard hit and those people who bought over-priced homes at peak are screwed. Other than that, there are a lot of people bargain hunting for cheap homes, so I would call it an “adjustment” more than a recession. Also if you place a job posting in the paper or on craigslist, you will get 2-3 times more applicants than you did about 1-2 years ago, which is an indicator that a lot of people are looking for work. Other than that, I see restaurants full of people, home depot is cranking with people, costco’s line were long as usual. I think that people are spending less overall, but are still spending. For my business, we are having a double digit growth so far and no indication that it is about to slow down any time soon.
Depends on your perspective, for employees it can be very worrisome. They can be drawn in to worrying about losing their jobs, or may have already lost them.
For Large companies that don’t adapt quickly to attack opportunities it can be the end of them.
For small companies and entrepreneurs that can adapt to the opportunities in the market, and there are a lot of HUGE opportunities out there, this is the time to put your name in the history books as a game changer, a mogul, the next Billionaire. There is more money at play, more change happening, more needs being created, more players on the sideline clearing the field for you…. Read More
One example: GrowthConcepts.com has been working to find someone to take part in a program we found that would get them $1B to lend out to small business owners since the banks won’t do it. The response…crickets chirping. Admittedly, all those zero’s can be scary.
What would you do with $1B?
History is waiting to be made…
The well run companies are doing well. The ones that are not well run are having a hard time. The question they need to ask themselves is why? Then look in the mirror and decide what to do about it. Lets face it…some people are better off having a job. Less headaches, less stress, less hours and they get to take holidays. I am not saying if you don’t have a well run company and you haven’t been able to enjoy the fruits of your labor that you shouldn’t be in business. What I might be saying is maybe it is time to look for new knowledge that can help you set your business up so it is recession proof. Slow downs in the economy expose many businesses weaknesses. While that is happening to them the good businesses take advantage of the times and shore up their teams and their systems. The long and short of it is I have not notice much of a change in the economy except for the talk in the media.
In the early 2000’s Harry S Dent predicted the crash of 2008 based on cycles and trends dating back to before Christ in his book “The Next Great Bubble Boom”. In his lastest book “The Great Depression Ahead” he outlines how government bailouts in 2009 around the world will see the economy come back but won’t last as the government money runs out. He sees another crash late 2009 early 2010 which stays down for many years. The good news is this creates opportunities to make money in many ways including those we have not seen before.
Time to implement the zig zag approach. When they zig you zag!
So far most of my clients have gotten on the ball and worked their business to greater success. Some of my clients are posting a profit where there was none before, several others are hiring, and several are buying other buisnesses and growing. Where the hits seem to be most are in the mid-level luxury market; things that people with not enough money buy to make themselves feel rich – like cars and related items. What they’re spending their money on still is personal fitness, beauty and items that make them feel better in a “down” economy. My clients in these areas are thriving. It’s like Faith Popcorn’s books on simple pleasures applying to the mid market pleasure place. Even cosmetic dentistry is up – go figure.
I’d like to say it’s ended, however I’m not convinced one even started. I say to each business owner in my region who blames the economy ‘have you personally spoken with EVERY potential customer in Australia and they all said ‘no’ twice?….’ I have never heard a ‘yes’… I follow that up with ‘how about you do the stuff you can control before blaming an economy that you can’t control.
It’s just a case of staying focused on the prize…
Business is Booming for those who choose it!
Wez
I feel that it is over. Employment numbers always lag behind. I’m seeing most people becoming very comfortable spending again whereas during the entirety of the 1st quarter of 09 i saw most people holding onto every penny for dear life. Most of the economic indicators lag behind in my opinion. I think the best way to figure this out is to talk to people like myself who are out in the world everyday talking to real people who make up the economy. and what i’m seeing is good…
Consumer spending is down. Retail is struggling. Big companies are cutting costs/staffs and profits are better than in any previous slowdown.
My cousin works for a global machine manufacturing company says that orders are up, especially China. China infrastructure projects are going through the roof.
We are experiencing a global financial crisis, deleveraging. What people still need they will buy, the extras are being cut back on at almost all economic levels.
The big difference that I see is that the business owners need to work smarter. Cost effective marketing strategies, including social marketing, are now required to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Those businesses that are willing to adapt to the new economy are thriving in this marketplace.
What is quite interesting to me is that “luxury” businesses can still grow IF they understand their niche and deploy new strategies to attract their ideal customers. People are buying if they find something of value.
Looking back to the end of last year and early this year people were very afraid hence the economy slowed down and we sucessfully “Talked” ourselves into this so called recession. Now the FEAR of the unknown is over and the reality is here, most people are realising that their “false expectations” were not real.
What I am noticing now is that people are having to work smarter and be better than ever before and in general most of my clients are experiencing regular increases in profits.