Be Prepared!

16/07/2010

The recession won't last for ever, so are you prepared for the upturn?

Recessions come and go, as most of us are aware. When we're in the middle of one, business often falls off, the office is quiet and we find ourselves with time on our hands. That's the time to do some preparatory work for when things improve.

How up to date is your paperwork? It's so easy to ignore it when you're busy, but now's the time to get it up-to-date - and then try to keep it that way.
What state are your computers in? Do they need housekeeping/replacing/a general tidy up? Get them to your technician; buy new; spend time tidying your desktop (can you find everything you need quickly?).
How old is your software? You don't have to keep up to date for the sake of it, but using old software is not a good idea either. Change it now while you have the time to get used to a new way of doing things.
Start networking, get yourself known and, hopefully, new customers will come along. They may not arrive tomorrow, it could be 6 months before they need you, but you will be doing the hard work now and laying the foundations for future work.
Plan. Yes, we would say that, but now's the time to do that too and to revise it over the next couple of years as the economic climate changes (for the better, we hope!). Of course, there's nothing stopping you having 2 plans - one for an upturn and another for a downturn; that way you've got it all covered.
Watch your finances - accepted wisdom is to keep some cash for a rainy day (and we do wish others would do that as well...), so work out how you can do that - maybe keep 10% of everything you earn in a "special" account? No, it won't earn much interest, but it will be there if you need it.

So, without preaching, let's use our time wisely, plan for the future and practice being optimistic that things will get better!

Be Prepared!

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