http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123466563957289181.html
It’s a scary time to own a business, and the knee-jerk reaction may be to just keep chugging along and wait out the financial storm. But that’s a risky decision.
This recession is expected to be longer, deeper and deadlier for businesses than any this nation has seen in decades.
The savviest entrepreneurs right now aren’t hunkering down. They’re rethinking their business models and hunting for new strategies based on the assumption that consumer spending won’t be rebounding to prerecession levels and that the types of products and services people want will be much different from before.
For a business owner, this can mean finding new sales channels, trying new marketing tactics and promotions, forming strategic partnerships and introducing new products that appeal to frugal shoppers.
“Unfortunately, bad news has this huge ability to paralyze people,” says Victor Cheng, a San Francisco business consultant. “I think it is very important for a small-business owner to be fast and nimble” right now. He suggests businesses do a hard evaluation of all segments of their businesses and focus in only on the ones that seem to be faring well in this economy.