From the Director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center

If you don’t live under a rock then you have probably been bombarded with news stories or articles every other day about “how to deal” with a rotten economy or something similar. I’ve obviously seen them too and many of the strategies are helpful to entrepreneurs who need to take a different approach at this time.

But here are a couple alternative ideas:

1.  Remember why you started your business in the first place.

A tough economy highlights the importance of doing the basics of your business really well – and hopefully enjoying it. My best advice to clients is tap into the motivation that pushed them to start their business in the first place. Go do the things you know you must do, but simply do them better. By going back to the basics, but executing at a higher level, companies can sharpen their approach to their customers during the tough times. When dollars are tight, competition increases. When competition increases, the small differences between companies and their approaches to the market start to become more noticeable. The bonus with this approach is that when markets improve, these companies will already be one step ahead in the game.

2. Remember the Serenity Prayer

Focus on the things you can control – and to some extent, tune out the things you can’t. No, I don’t want you to put your heads in the sand or be oblivious to real problems. But I want my clients to stop losing sleep about the big picture and focus on what they can control – their approach to running their company. Sometimes rolling up your sleeves, turning off the media’s drama, and focusing on your own business is the best medicine.

3. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid!

It is easy with all the negative media to let our pessimistic sides run free, but I find that the most successful entrepreneurs are optimists. When many businesses are panicking, the best entrepreneurs recognize that economies go up and economies go down. The more they remain upbeat, the more likely they will see opportunities when others just see gloom and doom. An entrepreneur’s attitude is key. 

And yes, new opportunities will emerge and sharp entrepreneurs always find ways to exploit even the most challenging economic situations. No matter what is happening in the economy, small business development is the intelligent way to support the local economy.

Elizabeth Binning, Director