Herman School of Business
Are Your Blinders Still On?
For several months now I have been getting back into the “deal mode.” In the last four months I have visited more than 15 business owners scattered around the country and the theme is almost always the same. “My business was fine, I paid my bills on time…my customers disappeared.” Following that statement would come the notion that if the owner could “raise new money” or “find a new debt source” all would be well.
Rarely does adding debt save the day. I don’t mean small amounts over short periods of time. I mean big chunks of money where the idea is that next years’ performance will make it possible to pay back the big chunk.
The part I want you to focus on is not that out of desperation someone is willing to borrow more, even at higher costs, just to build that bridge to the future next year when the recovery will make everything all right. You see…the recovery people expect isn’t coming. THIS economy will actually get worse before it gets better.
GET YOUR BLINDERS OFF.
When you feel sick, maybe with the flu, deep down inside you know as you take your medicine that soon you will feel better. You have been sick before and you got better, so you comfort your aching body by having your mind think about that recovery just around the corner. It works for almost everyone for almost every illness. It gets a little rougher when it is a long term problem like getting a new hip or knee, or suffering a more serious ailment. When it turns out you have something really bad, something that could be terminal…you start acting differently…you realize you might not recover.
I am proponent of positive thinking. But it has to be reality based positive thinking. The economy did not catch a cold. America has a potentially terminal economic illness. And you better act accordingly. You can survive when you do everything you can, as fast as you can…to survive. That starts with taking your blinders off. If your child acts out you scold them…if you find drug paraphernalia you better step up the actions taken to correct the situation. Five pounds overweight, maybe you should skip dessert a few days. Fifty pounds overweight calls for quite a different action.
This is the new economy. People have less buying power. People are actually changing their philosophy about spending frivolously on “stuff.” The slower spending comes from less available credit and a new “less stuff” philosophy…get used to it. We will be here for several years before people will change again. We didn’t have a “scare” in this country, we woke up to the reality that we might have a terminal economic illness. Short term hope based on a short term recovery will most likely put you out of business.
COMING SOON: HERMAN UNIVERSITY…what people want are answers. They read, listen to the radio, and conduct research for more than just entertainment. They want answers. I am working with others to launch an idea I have had for years…have a place for people to get answers. And since people equate going to school with finding answers I have named this blog the Herman School of Business. The next evolution of this site will be HERMAN UNIVERSITY. It will be a “six lane highway” of answers: College Students, Start-Up Owners, Women Entrepreneurs, Seasoned Veterans, the Author’s Page, and the Speaker’s Corner. I won’t send you there just yet…give me your ideas about what should be available at HERMAN UNIVERSITY.
- Posted: 7 November 2009
- Comments: 0
- Category: Business success
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