The papers are full of it - the news bombards us with yet another multinational corporation losing half its stock market value, confidence is down, the housing market is stalled and there is a global credit crunch hurting everything.

But is it all doom and gloom and should we all throw our hands in the air and hit the beach (we might as well go broke there, right?)? Or is there more noise than there should be and is there something we can do to protect ourselves and even prosper while all the sheep run around with their heads cut off panicking and mixing their metaphors?

The companies failing seem to be the ones who allowed greed and hubris to guide their business strategies – and had high risk practices. Retail confidence is down but isn’t that why we have had interest rate rises – to slow down our screaming economy? The housing market is stalled but, again, much of the damage is in those outer suburbs where people have been enticed to overstretch themselves with cheap and large mortgages – risky practice, greed and interest rate rises again.

So, is it as bad as the media suggest? I don’t know, I’m a business coach not an economist but I don’t think we should be panicking.

Whether we are in a crisis situation or not and whether or not the economy is being slowed down on purpose by our vigilant central bank, it is clear that we are not in a booming economy at the moment. For those of us in small business, it is a good time to think about what we’re doing.

So what should we be doing?

I’m running out of space, so here’s a short list:

·         Keep marketing for goodness sake – if you lose customers and don’t keep marketing, the downward spiral is fast and nasty – keep the pressure on your marketing and your selling

·         Pay attention to collecting your money – don’t leave it to chance, like most of us do – call when invoices are due and ask, directly, for payment. Or demand cash with order!

·         See if you can lift your prices a little without losing business (it is not true that all your customers make their buying decisions on price alone!)

·         Have a go at your suppliers and see if you can squeeze them a little – for better prices or better credit terms, delivery terms or another non-price benefit.

·         Focus on your loyal customers and find ways to keep them loyal (by giving them something excellent but that doesn’t cost you the earth)

It’s a short list, sorry. If you want more help you know where to find us! (www.sfbc.com.au)

As the man says: "stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time"

William Bernbach, Advertising guru who is in the American Advertisers Hall of Fame

Jon Dale is a business coach and a Director of Pittwater Business Limited. Pittwater Business Limited is a not-for-profit group that supports its (small business) members by providing opportunities for networking, education and socialising. It’s enjoyable and people are finding it a supportive and welcoming way to meet others who just might be able to help them in their businesses. Get involved.

Jon’s business, Small Fish Business Coaching can be found at www.sfbc.com.au