Get a leg up on competition now!

Hard times are here.

What do we do?

How am I going to survive this?

These are questions we are all asking ourselves. This is the time to reinvent your business and to get a leg up on competition that has made or will make mistakes.

As many of you know I do seminars, speaking engagements, and training; although many of you think that I'm teaching... I'm learning from those of you that attend my functions.

I was privileged to be invited to the Melco Summer Sale in Denver a couple of weeks ago, there I was the Guest Speaker, and learned from my attendees that there are people out there that will start up businesses and will be successful. Many have already taking steps to positioning themselves well for the future. Be it by upgrading machines, by upgrading software and by networking with others.

HOW DO I DO THAT? You ask. Well here are some pointers.

1. If you are cutting staff, do not cut staff across-the-board, Look around, see which departments are making money for you or will make money for you. If you have salespeople it might be a good idea to keep them at a lower base rate, they might get hungrier and be more productive in drumming up sales.

2. As I've mentioned before, look around at what niche markets you are not servicing in your area, do you belong to a hobby group? If you do this is one of the areas of expertise that you are good at, you know what they like and dislike and be a little more aggressive in getting business from them. If they are using another decorator, this might be the time to talk to the group and explain to them that you are prepared to handle their business competitively and aggressively.

3. Do extra things that other decorators are not doing.. Fold, steam and bag all finished goods before you give them to the customer for FREE, you can print your bags. Mark all boxes with the sizes that are inside, give the customer a discount coupon for the next order, you get the idea.

4. Just as you are thinking about saving cash remember that sometimes you need to spend cash to buy newer equipment that will make you more efficient and more profitable.

5. Keep in mind that all banks are cutting limits on credit cards whether you use them or not. This is not your fault; this is because banks are trimming their exposure to losses.

As you see there are lots of strategies that you can take. Just remember the basics, have short term strategies that are totally changeable at any time, and have long term strategies that remain static, something to shoot for.

Even I have lowered my expectations, so if you need a Melco Design Shop trainer in Spanish or English, or a speaker for your event I have lowered my fees and I may be more affordable than you think.

Till next time..