Three Strikes and You are Out
We've been discussing the global economy around here recently. Gee, as if that's news in any business office or boardroom lately!I've been watching the dollar dive, the banks crumble and wonder at the mysterious, miraculous "powers that be" that step in to save the financial world just in time. Then I watch how these financial saviours just happen to slip in a few little provisos at the same time (like, "Oh by the way, we'll end up controlling you, even if we won't actually own you - yet"). Hmmmm! . . .
I don't begrudge bank and insurance company bailouts per se but I really do smell a rat when it comes to what looks very much like global manipulation of money markets to the advantage of a privileged few. I've been a conspiracy theorist since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. I saw Red-under-the-bed when I was a teenager (I was actually proved right 20 years afterwards), and I've watched the mainstream media and politicians spin yarns at me (a half brain-dead monkey wouldn't get fooled by the media spin they dish out now). I've spent years Illuminati watching and have listened to boffins spout on about how one minute it's the Vatican, then the Triads, then the central banking cartel, then the Mafia, then World War III, then this is all leading up to the BIG one. To be honest it just gets so bloomin' depressing listening to everybody - half of them just talking through holes in their heads, and the other half who seem to have it all sussed.
The point of this preamble is that we've been strategising "Where to from here in our various businesses?" Is this the big one, and do we sell up and pull our horns in, batten down the hatches ready for massive global depression, or do we do business as normal, or do we just go for broke?
I had a chat to my father recently - he's knocking 80 and has a fair bit of experience in his own business life. He bought the business he did his apprenticeship in and sold the same business when he retired. In the crash of the late 80's he went to his accountant worried that he should be taking the advice of the doomsdayers and tightening his belt, so to speak. The accountant's wisdom was a triple whammy; as long as he was out of debt, making good profits, and that he looked after his customers he would be fine. He did. He was.
So it's kind of like the Giuliani "Three Strikes and You are Out" thing:
- If you're in debt, strike one
- If you're not making good profits, strike two
- If you're not looking after your customers, losing them, or haven't got what they want, then strike three, you're out!
Make sure your business is doing the three things above well, and we'll keep seeing you in business.
One of our WDANZ Industry Advisors asked me recently, "Dennis what are you doing with WDANZ? Is the Internet UNMASKED!! thing taking it over or are you still going to put effort into WDANZ? Our members might be wondering about this too."
My answer has always been to balance the two. They complement each other really well - one services the needs of our members - the other of the SME market.
No matter what we have by way of recession, depression, hard times or whatever else is around the corner, we'll be pushing WDANZ and Internet UNMASKED!! just as hard as ever because they are both good solid little businesses that will do well in hard times - because they help others. Our membership will grow as other web developers find it harder and harder to land the big juicy deals that made them all fat in the good times. WDANZ will become even more valuable to our members as things tighten up, and we find more ways to help you all. That's our goal, anyway!
Tagwords: business
Posted by Dennis A. Smith ~ Saturday 4 October 2008
