At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, a panel argued that are key to economic recovery relies on incorporating the teaching of entrepreneurship into the K-12 education system. Pretty interesting huh? I guess starting out young has its benefits.
http://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/2009/02/17/teaching-entrepreneurship-in-grade-schools/
In January 2009, there were over 1,300 layoff stories reported by the Layoff Daily. Pretty scary, huh? It makes me wonder what the implications are for entrepreneurs.
There are likely going to be some entrepreneurs that find their way into this category -- meaning that they simply are not strong enough to survive in this economy and/or the ability of their customer base to purchase their product/service is dissipating.
Other entrepreneurs will survive and perhaps even thrive in this economy. There are certain sectors or niches that do well in a down economy (think about Walmart) and others that are effective at changing to meet the demand/needs.
Yet, interestingly enough, there are still others that will become entrepreneurs BECAUSE of the economy. Yes, these are those individuals that are in the stories of the Layoff Daily and will turn to entrepreneurship because they don't have any other option or because it is something they have considered for a while, but now have the push to take.
With the current condition of the economy, everyone seems to be concerned about the ability (or rather inability) to obtain credit. As entrepreneurship fuels the economy, this could potentially be a rather grave concern if entrepreneurs are unable to obtain credit to grow their companies.
However, although a recent survey by Wells Fargo indicates that optimism is low for entrepreneurs, "four out of five small business owners said they did not perceive credit as difficult to obtain."
Why is credit not that big of a concern for entrepreneurs? My guess is that entrepreneurs have learned to persevere and find a creative way to get things done no matter what. The bar can also be relatively high in order to go the traditional credit route via a bank. It typically requires an entrepreneur to think thorough the business opportunity, prepare a business plan and financial projections. These projections must be realistic and believable enough to convince a lender to take on the risk of the loan. Thus, entrepreneurs have likely found a few different options to get the financing they need, and if financing isn't available, they find another way to get through the situation.
That said, even if credit is not the main concern of entrepreneurs, how the economic conditions impacts their ability to sell their product/service obviously is. Unfortunately, there is no real quick fix here.
I read an article this morning on how some larger companies are going green (attempting to be more environmentally friendly in highly visible ways) in order to attract not only customers...but employees! With the rise of the creative class, some highly desirable employees are being a bit choosier about the kinds of companies they work for. They want to work in an environment where they know they are making a difference.
If you are a start-up company and want to be competitive, there is further motivation for going green. Not sure how? For starters, you should at a minimum...
Visit www.evo.com for some additional ideas.
Last month I blogged about the many free online resources that are available. Well...here is another website to check out -- a directly of free online resources!!!
TheFreeSite.com even has a section dedicated just to business-related freebies. Some of these include free press releases, a free online storefront, and free template for business cards.
Some of the other, interesting freebies pertain to Internet access, web space, and webmaster tools.
Like anything that is offered for free, do make sure you read the fine print!
I am expecting our third child in early January and we are waiting to find out if the baby is a he or a she. While I was shopping the other day in a shoe store, a vibrant lady came up to me and told me that she was 100% confident that I was going to have a boy. She went on to chat about how she is always right about these things and that I should call her after I have the baby to confirm that she is right. Miss Sherrie (as she likes to be called) then went on to tell me that she is a professional psychic.
Afterwards, I got to thinking -- wasn't that a creative marketing ploy on her behalf? Miss Sherrie has a 50-50 chance on getting the gender of the baby correct (although perhaps her psychic abilities increase that chance....haha). For those that she does guess correctly, they then have her phone number and are probably more likely to call her up to find out what else she knows!
Some industries are more competitive than others and to the average consumer, it is hard to tell some of the business within those industries apart. Think about the dry cleaners, book store, coffee shop, gas station or even hotels. They all pretty much offer the same product/service as their competitor.
This weekend, I was traveling and had to select a hotel. I went online and in the mid-price level, the hotels all looked pretty much the same -- the rates were within $10 of each other, they all offered a complimentary breakfast, pool, high-speed Internet, etc. I ended up settling on the Country Inn & Suites, just because I hadn't been there in a while.
When I arrived, something really stood out to me that I hadn't seen before at a hotel - 
This program probably doesn't cost a fortune, but it was a nice surprise that I will remember - and for me, will separate this particular hotel from the mass of other hotels in the mid-level price range.
As an entrepreneur, this is exactly how you need to think. Your mainstream product/service has to be competitive, but then try and look to see how you can offer a unique perk or something unexpected that the customer will take away from their experience.
