New Business Today

With the economy in such a state of flux it is a great time to expand your current business or even start your own business. I know it sounds as if it is going against the grain. The business world is so uneven as in normal times, why doesn’t it make more sense to baton down the hatches and ride out these times?

The first issue is when trying to endure the economic storm reducing your work force and telling everyone else they need to take on more is not going to help your business move forward. Even though times are tough does not mean you can remain stagnant. In the world of business, if you are not moving forward, you are moving backwards.

So why is it a good time to retool a business, expand a current business or even start a new business? The answer is because the economy is so slow that suppliers, real estate owners, and all the other people you need to work with are willing to work with you at reduced rates.

If a business was originally started on the east side of Michigan and over the past years has expanded and has a satellite office in West Michigan now. It might be a great time to develop that satellite office. The Detroit area is still in decline where as the Grand Rapids area is seeing some growth. Why not do some reorganizing and test the waters to see if you can generate more business in West Michigan? If your numbers are already on the decline then the worst thing that can happen is they stay on the same path.

You can even hire new employees and pay them less then they are worth. There is so much unemployment in Michigan that people are getting desperate to find work. As more and more people flood the market, you might be able to get an employee that was making $40,000 2 years ago for closer to $30,000 now. That is $10,000 less you have to pay and they are still doing the same quality work they were for $40,000.

The other thing that most people overlook is that you have all the power. You can negotiate with anyone on anything. If you are starting a business, negotiate the rent of a building down to where you want it. Negotiate the price of your inventory down so your prices are more competitive then the market is used to. Advertise at reduced rates. The fact is all of these other businesses are not getting the amount of business they used to so they are trying anything to get new clients. They need the business but you have the power to go somewhere else. The worst thing they can say in no.

In the end you will be surprised that you can probably reorganize or expand your current business or start a new business for much less then you could have even 2 years ago. So what is the harm in testing the waters, testing some numbers and see if you can make it work?