How to Successfully Navigate Your Business through an Economic Downturn:

An economic downturn is a phase of the business cycle in which the economy as a whole is in decline. This phase basically marks the end of the period of growth in the business cycle. Economic downturns are characterized by decreased levels of consumer purchases (especially of durable goods) and, subsequently, reduced levels of production by businesses.
While economic downturns are admittedly difficult, and are formidable obstacles to small businesses that are trying to survive and grow, an economic downturn can open up opportunities. A well-managed company can realize the opportunity to gain market share by taking customers away from their competitors. Resourceful entrepreneurs capture the available opportunities, from an economic downturn, by developing alternate methods of doing business that were never implemented during a prior growth period.
The challenge of successfully navigating your business through an economic downturn lies in the realignment of your business with current economic realities. Specifically, you, as the business owner, need to renew a focus on your core clients/customers, reduce your operating expenses, conserve cash, and manage more proactively, rather than reactively, is paramount.
Here are best practices that will help you to successfully navigate your business through an economic downturn:
Goals: The primary goal of any business owner is to survive the current economic downturn and to develop a leaner, more cost-effective and more efficient operation. The secondary goal is to grow the business even during this current economic downturn.Objectives:
• Conserve cash.
• Protect assets.
• Reduce costs.
• Improve efficiencies.
• Grow customer base.
Required Action:
• Do not panic… History shows that economic downturns do not last forever. Remain calm and act in a rational manner as you refocus your attention on resizing your company to the current economic conditions.
• Focus on what YOU can control… Don’t let the media's rhetoric concerning recessions and economic slowdown deter you from achieving business success. It´s a trap! Why? Because the condition of the economy is beyond your control. Surviving economic downturns requires a focus on what you can control, i.e. your relevant business activities.
• Communicate, communicate, and communicate! Beware of the pitfall of trying to do too much on your own. It is a difficult task indeed to survive and to grow your business solely with your own efforts. Solicit ideas and seek the help of other people (your employees, suppliers, lenders, customers, and advisors). Communicate honestly and consistently. Effective two-way communication is the key.
• Negotiate, negotiate, and negotiate! The value of a strong negotiation skill set cannot be overstated. Negotiating better deals and contracts is an absolute must for realigning and resizing your company to the current economic conditions. The key to success is not only knowing how to develop a win-win approach in negotiations with all parties, but also keeping in mind the fact that you want a favorable outcome for yourself too.
Recommended Best Practice Activities:
The Nuts and Bolts… The following list of recommended best practice activities is critical for your business' survival and for its growth during an economic downturn. The actual financial health of your particular business, at the outset of the economic downturn, will dictate the priority and urgency of the implementation of the following best practice activities.
1. Diligently monitor your cash flow: Forecast your cash flow monthly to ensure that expenses and planned expenditures are in line with accounts receivable. Include cash flow statements into your monthly financial reporting. Project cash requirements three-to- six months in advance. The key is to know how to monitor, protect, control, and put cash to work.
2. Carefully convert your inventories: Convert excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory items into cash. Consider returning excess and slow-moving items back to the suppliers. Close-out or inventory reduction sales work well to resize your inventory. Also, consider narrowing your product offerings. Well-timed order placement helps to reduce excess inventory levels and occasional material shortages. The key is to reduce the amount of your inventory without losing sales.
3. Timely collection of your accounts receivable: This asset should be converted to cash as quickly as possible. Offer prompt payment discounts to encourage timely payments. Make changes in the terms of sale for slow paying customers (i.e. changing net 30 day terms to COD). Invoicing is an important part of your cash flow management. The first rule of invoicing is to do it as soon as possible after products are shipped and/or after services are delivered. Place an emphasis on reducing billing errors. Most customers delay payments because an invoice had errors, and therefore, will not pay until they receive a corrected copy. Email or fax your invoices to save on mailing time. Post the payments that you have received and make deposits more frequently. The key is to develop an efficient collection system that generates timely payments and one that gives you advance warning of problems.
4. Re-focus your attention on your existing clients/customers: Make customer satisfaction your priority. A regular review of your customers' buying history and frequency of purchases can reveal some interesting facts about your customers' buying habits. Consider signing long-term contracts with your core clients/customers which will add to your security. Offer a discount for upfront cash payments. The key is to do what it takes to keep your current customers loyal.
5. Re-negotiate with your suppliers, lenders, and landlord:
i) Suppliers: Always keep your negotiations on the level of need, saying that your company has reviewed its cost structure and has determined that it needs to lower supplier costs. . Tell the supplier that you value the relationship you have developed, but that you need to receive a cost reduction immediately. Ask your supplier for a lower material price, a longer payment cycle, and the elimination of finance charges. Also, see if you can buy material from them on a consignment basis. In return for their price concessions, be willing to agree to a long-term contract. Explore the idea of bartering as a form of payment.
ii) Lenders: Everything in business finance is negotiable and your relationship with a bank is no exception. The first step to successful renegotiations is to convince your lenders that you can ultimately pay off the renegotiated loan. You must point out to your lenders why it would be in their best interest to agree to a new arrangement. Showing them your business plan and your action plan that includes your cost-savings initiatives, along with "the how" and "the when" of the implementation of your plan is the best way to achieve this goal. Explain to them that you will need their cooperation to insure that you can survive, as well as, grow your business during the economic downturn. Negotiated items include: the rate of interest, the required security to cover the loan, and the beginning date for repayment. A beginning date for repayment could be immediate, within several months or as long as a year. The key is to realize that your lender will work with you, but that frequent and continual communications with them is critical.
iii) Landlord: Meet with your landlord. Explain your need to have them extend the term of your lease at a reduced cost. Make sure you have a clause in the lease agreement that entitles you to have the right to sublet any or all of the leased space.
6. Re-evaluate your staffing requirements: This is a very critical area. Salaries/wages are a major expense of doing business. Therefore, any reduction in the hours worked through work schedule changes, short-term layoffs or permanent layoffs has an immediate cost saving benefit. Most companies ramped up hiring new employees in the good times, only to find that they are currently overstaffed due to slow sales during the economic downturn. In terms of down-sizing your staff, be very careful not to reduce your staff to a level that forces you to skimp on customer service and quality. Consider the use of part-timers or the current trend of outsourcing certain functions to independent contractors.
7. Shop for better insurances rates: Get quotations from other insurance agents for comparable coverage to determine whether or not your present insurance carrier is competitive. Also, consider revising your coverage to reduce premium costs. The key is to have the right balance-to be adequately insured, but not under or over insured.
8. Re-evaluate your advertising: Contrary to the other cost-cutting initiatives, evaluate the possibility of increasing your advertising expenditures. This tactic realizes the advantage of the reduced "noise" and congestion (fewer advertisers) in the marketplace. The downturn period a great opportunity to increase brand awareness and create additional demand for your product/service offerings.
9. Seek the help of outside advisors: The use of an advisory board comprised of your CPA, attorney, and business consultant offers you objectivity and provides you with professional advice and guidance. Their collective experience in working with similar situations in past economic downturns is invaluable.
10. Review your other expenses: Target an across-the-board cost-cutting initiative of 10-15%. Attempt to eliminate unnecessary expenses. Tightening your belt in order to weather the downturn makes practical, financial sense.
Proactively managing your business through an economic downturn is an enormous challenge and is critical for your survival. However, through well-planned initiatives, an economic downturn can create tremendous opportunity for your company to gain greater market share. In order to take advantage of this growth opportunity, you must act quickly to implement the above best business practices to continue realigning and resizing your company to the current economic conditions.
Copyright 2007-2008 Terry H. Hill
Terry H. Hill is the founder and managing partner of Legacy Associates, Inc, a business consulting and advisory services firm. A veteran chief executive, Terry works directly with business owners of privately held companies on the issues and challenges that they face in each stage of their business life cycle. To find out how he can help you take your business to the next level, visit his site at http://www.legacyai.com
Sources: http://www.legacyai.com/Article_Downturn.html

Samsung to Launch Google Android Smartphone in 2009

Samsung will be launching a Google Android touch screen mobile smartphone this year and will be available through T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel.
Samsung Electronics said it will deploy its first Google Android mobile phone in 2009. Pricing and additional information has not been disclosed.HTC Corp was the first cell phone manufacturer to offer the Google powered phone for T-Mobile. Samsung will be the second smartphone company to make the jump to the Google Android platform.Android is Google's open-source software that developers plan to use to build Internet-ready phones. Handset manufactures include LG Electronics Inc and Motorola Inc who could also launch their first mobile phone using the platform in 2009. The alliance comprises of has 47 companies to date.
Sources: http://www.cellphonedigest.net/news/2009/01/samsung_to_launch_google_andro.php
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Mobile Industry Will Not Be Hurt by the Global Economic Downturn

According to IDC the mobile sector has emerged as the dominant driver of the global telecommunications industry. The US$700 billion mobile industry now serves almost half of the world's population with 3.6 billion subscriptions at the end of 2008. Looking beyond the tremendous growth in revenue and subscriptions, the mobile industry is a diverse one, indeed a tale of two worlds – the developed and emerging markets. It is also an industry that is roiled by social and technological transformation, as well as the fickle but equally important dictates of fashion and consumer preferences.
IDC believes the mobile industry is likely to fare the current global economic downturn better than many other industries. For sure, in 2009, the industry is likely to see softening of sales in many of its constituent segments, from network infrastructure to mobile devices and from chipsets to software. Some other industry segments, like mobile devices, applications, and services, are likely to only grow over time – taking the current economic downturn in their stride.
On a global level, IDC expects the number of mobile connections to continue growing at a substantial pace. From 3.32 billon at the end of 2008, we expect the number of mobile voice connections to reach 4.57 billion by the end of 2012, an average compound growth rate of 8.3% per year. The most prolific source of new mobile connections will be India, China, and the other large markets in which mobile penetration is currently below 50% of the population. However, the industry will be challenged by declining ARPU in all segments, and operators will have to rapidly implement new business models and revenue streams that leverage information services in the emerging markets, and multimedia applications in the developed countries.
Sources: http://www.cellphonedigest.net/news/2009/02/mobile_industry_will_not_be_hu.php

Gomez: Get Paid to Be Online Service

Internet users, all. So help to speed up the process time in internet and earn free money just to be online... So what do all we have to do to start money by using our computers idle time? Open your free ...

GomezPeer is around for a couple of years but what a pity doesnt widely known many web surfers. In this earning revenue model, you do nothing but they pay you for your computers idle time. As you are aware of time is internet time and we've all come to depend on the internet, whether for news and information, shopping, stock trading, bank transaction, email communication and socializing or even critical business transactions. Unfortunately, all these busy activities face us to expect delays, slow pages, sites that grind to a halt, and even important transactions that don't execute. Now by signing up to to this service, there's a way for you to help make a difference in the performance of the Internet by using the otherwise unused capacity of your PC. And, earn cash in the process! What GomezPeer is doing in here is using the combined computing horsepower of thousands of PCs around the world, and with all these collected information, they can measure, for the first time, the real-world performance of Web sites -- from the end-user's perspective. The data collected by you will be used by Gomez's customers to improve the performance of their Web sites -- eventually improving the online experience for us, internet users, all. So help to speed up the process time in internet and earn free money just to be online...

So what do all we have to do to start money by using our computers idle time? Open your free Gomez Account by clicking here.

After filling out the short form your application will be reviewed. The service is available worldwide and for any speed connections from dial up to broadband connection. So while filling out the form try to give correct information since your speed is also critical measurment for the service. As of this writing, people living in US, China, Germany, UK, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Canada and South America are the mostly welcomed to the program as I said although the program is available internationally. After your account is accepted as pending and/or active your commisions will be started to be paid monthly to your paypal account. If you still dont have a paypal account yet click here to open. It's free.

There are two small programs, one for US connections and the other for the international members. You will install the one suitable to your situation. The process is a background process so you will hardly notice anything about your daily coınnection speed. If you want you can check the activity situation by clicking its icon on taskbar.

Based on your computer's characteristics (Internet connection type, geographic location and Internet service provider), your PC will receive instructions to autonomously test the performance of Web sites -- gathering important metrics that help identify network bottlenecks and performance problems. All of this happens "behind the scenes," even when you're away from your PC or asleep. Finally, your PC will send its results back to Gomez, where they are added to the work of thousands of other PCs around the world.

The program is only available on windows based PCs as of yet :(
If you refer your friends to this program you will be rewarded for your recommendation and for each active members you refer to the program you will be rewarded 1$.
I hope this unique get paid to be online service might be profitable for you...

Source:
http://www.freemoneyguide.com/get-paid-to-be-online/gomez-get-paid-to-be-online-service.html

Valentines Day: Gift A Special Gift To A Special One

Valentines Day is often also called lovers day, as they get to express their affection and love with romantic gifts, flowers, etc. to their loved ones. Not only can you gift to your sweetheart but also to friends and family members. This day is popular in almost all parts of the world and is celebrated by all. Youngsters wait for this day as this is a special day for them and they celebrate it in the name of love and romance. Valentines Day has become the day of love and affection and the day of exchanging gifts between lovers and loved ones. This day you can express your innermost feelings beautifully to your soul mate, anyway you wish to. You can just sing out some beautiful romantic songs or gift flowers to your sweetheart.

Valentines Day is always being related to love, romance and passion. It is considered as the most preferable time for showing your feelings and doing something special for your lover. This day is a special day to show how much you care for them. You can share a kiss, a gift or a hug or spend a romantic time with your lover. Tell your lover in different ways that you love him the most.
Think about unique gift ideas for that special one in your life. Ladies love to be pampered. So gift her something that she likes the most. Surprise her by taking her to a romantic place and have a romantic dinner. This can make her feel really special. If you are tired of gifting flowers, you can gift her chocolates, jewellery or accessories. A perfect day would be a romantic lunch followed by a romantic movie. Show your true feelings of love by choosing a gift that would please her. The more unique gift, the more impressed would be your lover. Remember, this can put some spark into your relationship.

You can make this day a lot more special by making him or her feel special. Think of some fabulous gifts. Take her on a holiday or a vacation trip. Go to a romantic place and express your feelings to one another.

Valentines Day gives you a perfect opportunity to show your lover that how much you love and care for each other. Gift them some memorable and romantic gifts and celebrate this day of love. A wonderful gift could be beautiful stuffed toys like teddy bears, cookies or red roses. These gifts can help to make this day memorable for a lover.

A fabulous gift would be a latest mobile phone with a fascinating design and looks. These phones are a complete package of impressive features and high-end performance. These phones offer a high quality mega pixel camera allowing you to capture the most special moments spent together. The outstanding musical features come with a built in MP3 player and FM radio. With the Bluetooth wireless technology feature, you exchange the best love songs with your partner. You can even browse the net and download romantic wallpapers, love ringtones, love themes and lots more.

Just check out the online phone shops to purchase a handset for your loved one. Shop for the coolest gizmo and get offers like free line rental, free gifts and even free handsets. So gift your Valentine the most impressive mobile phone and share an intimate bond with her. By gifting a mobile phone, you can show that you want to stay in touch with her. There cannot be a better gift than a mobile handset loaded with amazing features and stunning looks. With the high-end mega pixel camera, you can capture those wonderful moments spent together with your loved one. Select your desired handset from Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola phones available online. .

A mobile phone with the latest features and functionalities can surely impress your Valentine. Wonderful features like internet, email, music and radio would appeal your lover. This would be a unique gift for someone you want to show your love.

Source http://www.articledashboard.com written by: Adam Jaylin

Know more about valentines gift ideas and explore online gift shops for same day flower delivery UK.

Web 2.0 Expo: Gabe Rivera of Techmeme on Blogs Changing News Media

The blogosphere has provided a convenient source of news for viewers. Blogs are readily available, allow for free expression, and still cover the top stories that people want to hear about. All these advantages of blogs pose as a possible threat to traditional media forms. In an interview at the Web 2.0 Expo, WebProNews caught up with Techmeme Founder Gabe Rivera to discuss these developments. To hear how the traditional media can keep up technology plus the very latest Techmeme news, watch our exclusive interview with Gabe Rivera.

Source: http://videos.webpronews.com/2007/05/04/web-20-expo-gabe-rivera-founder-of-techmeme?click=1#

BlogWorld and New Media Expo: Jeremy Schoemaker of ShoeMoney.com

Shoemoney himself, Jeremy Schoemaker from Shoemoney.com spoke with WebProNews at the BlogWorld and New Media Expo 2007 in Las Vegas. Shoemoney talks about how to monetize your blog and gives our audience a few helpful hints and tips of what to do and what not to do. He said that you should focus your attention to affiliate links and gives a few sites that are great to use. For more information on Shoemoney and how to monetize your blog, or for more information from BlogWorld with Abby Prince, keep watching WebProNews

Source: http://videos.webpronews.com/2007/11/09/blogworld-and-new-media-expo-jeremy-schoemaker-of-shoemoneycom?click=1

Google Changes Algorithm?

In the New Year, Google seems to be changing their algorithm and making the search results more time related. The leading search engine has been ranking items from popular sites like Digg higher than factual or historical sites like Wikipedia. Is this a move towards a Web 3.0? In other news, Kara Ratliff reports that Yahoo’s Chief Performance Expert, Steve Souders plans on joining the Google team on January 7th, 2008. For more details of the news, keep watching WebProNews.

Source: http://videos.webpronews.com/2008/01/07/google-changes-algorithm?click=1

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Greetings and Warmest Wishes to you
for a New Year of
Wealth,Happiness and Prosperity.

Gifts Women Want

Technorati Profile

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