The Business End

I’ll keep this post brief. I just had recent conversations with a number I people regarding business gadgets. I wanted to know what people use out there that helped them, truely!

I have used a number of tools from expensive crm tools to a piece of paper and a pen. I find that often times these cool apps often take up more time than one might initially think they do.

What is your favorite organizational tool?

Lately it seems the stock market has been more like a despair-market than anything else. It’s hard to look at your investments and see that things are dropping. I hear it from my folks all the time. “Do you know how much my 401k has dropped?”

So far today as of this writing it seems we are holding tight. After a 7% increase in the DOW yesterday, most felt that historically speaking we would just drop another 7% today. There is nothing wrong with optimism lets just hope it all stays up there.

Of course if you have nothing in the market then all of this means very little to you. I like to use it as a barometric indicator on how emotionally people feel about the economy. I find that when there is a sell off there tends to be people not willing to buy retail goods. At least in my own town.  I went to Northpark Center one night and noticed a ton of people but very few bags in hand. Then the market took an upswing and the human to bag-in-hand ratio went up significantly. There is in fact a certain psychology to how people buy. Having people tell the public that its doom and gloom sure does not help.

Well, lets hope we are moving forward in a growth pattern!

It’s no news flash that things are tight. However, as of this writing I’m looking at the dow nearing a 5% rally towards the closing bell. I have seen a large number of folks out there trying to make ends meet. The previous economy that we all knew and loved was ripped out from underneath us. Now we have another economy in place and some call it a crisis, I refer to it as a new economy with a new set of rules. Most of the complaining is coming from those who do not adapt well to change.

I think when Darwin wrote the Origin of the Species, he was referring to more economic strategy than anything else. I have seen some very interesting people in the last several months of this new economy. One thing that I have noticed is that many of these ones are trying new business ideas to see what the new economy with bite into. The traditional things that were once thought of as “bread and butter” seem to be sitting in warehouses collecting mold. These new breeds of entrepreneurs are looking for ideas that they can take advantage of.

Of course it is always smart to do a market study to see what business you might be able to get out of an idea. That could mean starting a concept and telling only a few select individuals. Thinking different is always going to get you into trouble because there are plenty of people out there that have no real talents except for trying to tear down others. When you venture out and try these concepts bear in mind there will be an army of those who want to tell you it’s a dumb idea. Remember, there are “Life’s Losers” who will try to use their energy to discourage you, if they had any real ability whatsoever they wouldn’t bother with you and try to perfect their own craft.  If you feel you can substantiate starting this business idea or product line then you should go for it. Just don’t go all out and spend godly amounts of money if you are not sure this will be a revenue generator. There is no harm in experimentation.

On the flip side, talk to other successful thinkers and see what they think. If the masses think it’s a great idea but only a couple successful businessmen/women tell you that it’s not the best idea, take note. Most people want to tell you its a good idea but very few will be brutally honest. The way you can get around this is by asking them if they will buy the service or product you are offering. All of the sudden you notice that they are not worried about hurting your feelings now that you are asking for money.

I wrote this because I feel that with the number of layoffs scheduled this year, no doubt you are thinking about starting something on the side to keep a little cash coming in. My advice is to be careful and remember that there are others with your same problem and no doubt there will be a flood of scams that directly target you personally. Keep your head on straight and look to successful business advisors and try to stay away from those “Life’s Losers”.