Now's the Time to Make a Killing

In today's economy, nearly everything you read, including my columns, offers advice and information about how to pull back, cut costs, avoid failure and even accept failure and close down.

Recently I have been thinking about this trend and what it means for entrepreneurs.

In even the best economic conditions, most new businesses fail. Yet entrepreneurs still start businesses.

So, recognizing that entrepreneurs tend to buck trends anyway, I want to advocate another way to view this current environment. This is a time of tremendous opportunity for those who joined this game to succeed, rather than survive.

Here are my observations on what makes the present economic environment opportune:

1. You're already living lean. Entrepreneurs tend to start and run their businesses on a shoestring. While VPs and managers at large competitors are seeking to keep their jobs and perplexed by how to create results for less, for you, living lean isn't an inconvenience: It's what you are used to.
    
2. Grab competitors' dissatisfied customers. As larger players lay off skilled people and cut back, they create gaps in the services they provide, leaving customers who might be dissatisfied. Both instances create opportunities a hungry entrepreneur can step into. Think about new markets that may have been out of your reach, customers you previously could not capture or services you could not deliver previously.
    
3. Take advantage of lower prices. Many tools that were too costly before may be accessible now. Pick up your local newspaper. Notice how thin it is? It's still being read every day. It's thin because salespeople are finding it hard to sell ads to large customers. The same is true of virtually every advertising medium--from radio and television to online ads. A small, scrappy company can now negotiate incredible advertising deals. The ads they place can make them look big and sophisticated, and generate new leads and expand market share for a mere fraction of what it used to cost.
    
4. Talented people are available. Extremely talented people who may have been unwilling to work with or for a small company are now willing to take on projects they wouldn't have considered previously. Today, even if you don't have the right team now, it takes only a day or two to find the talented people you need to deliver a project after you've landed the order.

In addition, many out-of-work executives are using this time to get involved in interesting projects. As a result, you may be able to find people to take on critical tasks or advisory roles in return for board seats or for shares in your company. That will help give your company a more high-powered image.

When this economy turns around, you don't want to be forced to ramp up again. You want to be running at full speed when the tide turns.