Scattered Business Thoughts

If you could control what is put into the multi-billion dollar stimulus package that congress and our new President are considering, what would you add or focus on?

What will you be doing during the inauguration? Are you looking forward to a successful year in 2009? Let us know?

Many of us will be working through the holidays this year to earn that much needed extra cash. If you are a business owner and you’ve seen a decline in your sales, the next several months may be crucial to your success or failure.Gas prices are bottoming out. This time last year we saw gas prices consistently rising and now they are potentially going to drop below $1.50. But while energy costs drove the cost of food and other necessities up, those same necessities are not coming down in price as expected. So how does this affect your business? Our clients are managing their businesses on tighter budgets which directly affects how we make money. If you are selling a product, your inventory is up and your trying to come up with a marketing plan that will get your products moving without your company losing significant mark-up. If you are selling a service, you have to work extra hard to make sure your client appreciates the value of your service and will continue to buy even in these harsh times.Every sale is important, but in this economy its even more important to not only to  make the sale but collect that revenue as well. So what’s your plan?

Should we bail out the big 3? One of the few manufactoring industries left in America is riddle with lackluster performance, management teams that are out of touch and products that could use an overhaul in standards. So why should we save the American auto industry? The arguments to save it include the following: 1) its American; 2) millions of jobs at stake (and not just in Detroit); and 3) other countries are doing the same for their industries. The arguments to let them flounder include: 1) what about the free market and capitalism; 2) $25 billion is already been alloted by President Bush - where’s that money; and 3) why does it fall to the rest of America to clean up another group of bad businesses?

And what do you think?

Are you experiencing a downturn in your sales? Are customers asking for steeper discounts? How are you weathering our great financial downturn?