As you read this posting, the year is half over. You have heard over and over how difficult and challenging the economy is and how that has affected all of our businesses.
- So how do you feel about things?
- How is the morale of your team?
- Is your strategy working?
- Are you ahead of budget?
- Are things getting better for you?
For us, we have had a pretty good year. For some reason the economy hit our company hard in August and September of 2008. Since then we have responded nicely, picked up some new clients and are really focusing everyone on delivering more insight to our current clients to ensure they truly see us as a partner.
I truly believe that companies that made the necessary moves and decisions in the past year will pay huge dividends in the years to come.
I feel much better about the economy and what is going on than I did six months ago. I am hearing from many clients and prospects that budgets are starting to loosen up and the second half of the year will be better than the first half.
- Are you hearing the same thing?
- What are you hearing?
I believe that by second quarter of 2010, things will be in a much different and better place and what we went through will be in the history books.
Do you agree with my timeline?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Seanjjordan says:
I’ll tell you, Merrill… I hope that things get better soon for recent college graduates, because I know a lot of people who finished their degrees in business administration last summer and who still can’t find professional work. Many of them have had to settle for sales jobs that don’t pay well and that come with no benefits. I’m really, REALLY glad I made the decision to go to graduate school myself — it’s kept me from being a workforce casualty.
What it eventually boils down to is the availability of cash and credit so that new growth can happen in some of these larger companies. They’re the ones who not only employ a good segment of the professional population, but who also drive the services around them. If a big firm with a corporate HQ in St. Louis is doing well and adding staff, the service businesses around it will benefit from the new families and money brought to the area.
Analysts keep coming out with indicators, like “Watch for nail salons to get busy — it’s a sure sign that things are getting better!” But in my thinking, it’s all about business. It’s not about money in the hands of the consumers; it’s about money in the hands of large organizations that have the ability to spend it freely once again.
Nancy Domenichelli says:
Revenues are down from last year but we’re still turning a decent profit and I’m able to keep most of the ICs who want work busy. I’m very thankful for our medical expertise, as that book of business more than makes up for the sluggish general business transcription work.
I’ve been taking on more duties that I used to delegate to project managers, though. That includes lots of training to get general transcriptionists trained for data entry (an easy task) and the more stellar transcriptionists trained for medical meeting work (very intense).
So everyone in my network is stretching skill levels, getting out of comfort zones, and rising to the challenges. That we’re open and doing things as a team makes a huge difference. Everyone is generously sharing knowledge, helping one another get up to speed where necessary.
Clients are paying on time for the most part now, so I see that as good sign. Also, I’ve put out probably double the quotes in the last 4-6 weeks than in all of Q1 and early Q2. Seeing more RFPs from the tech sector, which had really slumped in the last 12-18 mos. So, another good sign.
Our long-term outlook for medical work is tremendous, but again the non-medical focus group transcription is lagging. That said, there are still strong companies and a couple of nonprofits that have projects in the summer pipeline. So, I’m optimistic that things are turning around out there because if there’s transcription work, that’s pretty much generated by market research projects.
Jeffrey Lorber says:
Thanks to the Recession, I was able to replace two marginal employees with two superstars at very competitive salaries.
Sales were flat to down a bit and cash flow is the same – that was the biggest worry for me that clients would slow down their payments. Luckily they have not!
I have to say I am disappointed that having my nails done won’t help the economy- darn!
Steve Gentile says:
Although very important and something not to be neglected/ignored, looking at corporate profit/loss takes on a very different measurement in 2009. Different than past recessions, we shouldn’t be quick to apply the same rules and mentality to the current times.
Last Spring, I began doing this on my own after almost 18 years of working for others. Always approached the work “as if it were my company” so I was prepared in many ways. What I’ve always done is looked at the role we play in the mix of research and find (I hate this term) value-adds, whether it’s cost savings, better methodology, utilization of technology, or other creative solutions that still allow the research to occur rather than not occur.
Working this way involves team work, collective thinking toward a greater end, compromise by all parties, and active hands on participation by everyone. Working in this way leaves no one feeling left out or taken advantage of, and best of all, involves a cementing of a relationship that is difficult to break.
It taught me how agencies think, how research providers think, and how facility owners think. Mostly, it taught me that relationship is everything, and trust is imperative – of one’s experience, one’s budget, one’s goals. Working together, we make great things happen better.
There’s always room for improvement – in resource, in discipline, in bottom line. That should always be the goal, not simply dollars. Anyone can do it cheaper. The bigger challenge is better and smarter.
Be of good cheer – a smile goes a long way!