Working late into the evening, my janitor, Trin, stopped at my office and asked me, "Does this economy scare you?" My janitors--Trin and her brother and family members--and I often talk about housing, mortgages, and the state of the economy, so I didn't really think too much about my answer before I blurted out "Naw, I've seen worse, and this is not that bad."
"REALLY?" she asked; she looked pretty amazed.
"Really," I said confidently. I then explained to her that I graduated from college in 1983 with a degree in Finance and aspirations of being a CPA upon graduation, but that was one of the worst economic years on record, so only 6 students of more than 100 graduates found a job with a CPA firm that year. Like many unemployed college graduates, I spent my summer after school "pounding the pavement" and literally going "door to door" to secure a job in public accounting. Back then, I was lucky, and I found a job in a (then) "Big 8" CPA firm, working in their small business department, but I knew of many others who had a much harder row to hoe than I in finding employment during the same time. 1983 was also the year that I founded my property consulting firm, and--like other firms that start in a recession--my company is still here today.
Trin, who is considerably younger than I and never lived through the last crash in 1983, asked why I felt this economic "adjustment" was less severe than in the past. This caused me to pause, since I wasn't prepared to answer a "part 2" of the same question, so I said, "this time, unlike the last period, we're actively working to revitalize the economy, rather than simply allowing the economy to find a level."
Trin didn't look that reassured, so I had to ask what had brought about such trepidation and fear. She explained that many of the businesses in the buildings that she cleans were starting to fold and disappear. The latest victim--a thrift and loan in my building--had been her client for 15 years, and just today they had fired their staff and would be removing furniture by the week's end.
"Oh, is that what caused this?" I asked her. She nodded. "Well," I said, "the good and the bad of economic downturns is that every company, every businessman is forced to refocus to become super efficient, goal-oriented and customer-centered."
"Wasn't the bank (thrift and loan) efficient and successful?" she asked.
"In good times, even the worst entities can survive, so that bad company habits can be overlooked. In economically challenging times, those without direction and without purpose will expire, while others will thrive," I told her. "We," I assured her "are survivors." We talked a little more, but I know that losing some of your largest clients can be core-quaking, and that Trin needed time more than words to adjust to the latest changes in her work routine.
After she had left, I strolled down to the bank's now former offices and looked inside. The desks and computers were there, but the people and their personal belongings were gone. It was not unexpected that this thrift and loan--specialists in hard money loans for consumer goods such as cars, boats and motorhomes--would suffer in an environment where auto and recreational vehicle manufacturers are reporting some of the worst sales in their history. Further, the bank's staff and the branch manager had some of the most unresponsive, unpleasant employees I'd ever met. Since employees are your company's "business ambassadors", an unfriendly or cold staff member is likely to polarize your remaining customers rather than garner loyalty. The fate of this thrift and loan could have been predicted months earlier simply by its inadequate operations.
In a troubling economic year, 1983, I started my first company, and it immediately began to grow. It grew so fast and so quickly, in fact, that I had a hard time controlling quality and creating systems to meet our burgeoning business demands. Now, we're at 2009, and I'm again starting a new career in a challenging economic time; and, as before, I'm not afraid. I'll be employing the same tactics and skills that I used in my first business to gain customers in my second career. This--in my opinion--will be fun and I truly do believe that things are not as bad as last time. The key to being the last man standing in good times and bad is to hold to several basic core beliefs, and if you can do that, you will not only survive--you'll thrive.
Here's my core beliefs, what are yours?
1. Customers will always be willing to pay value for someone who is knowledgeable, pleasant, customer-centered and uniquely gifted.
2. Knowledge is a commodity of which you can never get enough. Learning is a life-long pursuit.
3. Marketing happens everywhere, anytime and with anyone; however, selling happens only on a one-to-one or face-to-face basis.
The challenge now is not just to survive, but to thrive, and choosing core beliefs that verbalize your business ethics and style will be the foundation of your business fortress.
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