Is It Time To Recession Proof Our Business?

It was 2008, the United States was in the middle of a great recession, its impact still rippling through businesses, families, and other countries that rely on the US dollar and business exchange. This was another hard recession crippling the economy. Many businesses closed overnight, families broke apart due to hardships they couldn’t get past, and foreclosures soared like never before.?

Yet, for those that cautiously squirreled away savings, didn’t overspend, had secure employment or a business that was recession proof, this was a time of opportunity. It was during this very time that I found an opportunity to start my adult life, while other young people in their mid 20’s were still playing invincible to the world I was squirreling away and planning.?

So many people were losing their houses causing a drop in prices while interest rates plummeted, creating a prime opportunity for this young 25 year old single mother to buy a home. This was not something most young people could or can do in the state of California. To make this possible I worked harder and longer hours so that I could save for a down payment, even downsizing my current living situation to save more.?

Then came the game of hurry up and wait. While I was young and inexperienced, many investors who had large sums of available cash to buy houses outright were outbidding me. Every time I saw a house I had to quickly make the decision to put in an offer, only to be told that someone else came in with a cash offer trumping over my little down payment. When I felt like giving up? I would encourage myself to just look at one more house, make one more offer. And then finally, six months into house hunting and after thirty + bids on homes, my offer was finally accepted!

The house I purchased was previously used as a rental, it needed some repairs and upgrades, but I didn't care. All I could see was 2,400 square feet of opportunity and beauty. Over the course of six years I made this house a home, remodeled the backyard, added a bedroom, changed out the floors, remodeled the kitchen and the master bath, gave it some fresh paint and it was beautiful. When it came time to sell, I looked at my opportunity and had nothing but gratitude in my heart. When I sold I more than doubled my investment!???

Looking back at my first big opportunity fifteen years ago I find so many life and business lessons that carry over to where our economy is today and the practices that we need to instill in order to recession proof our lives. Are we in a full blown recession, no. But the possibility of one is lurking and proofing preparation is where resilience comes from.

So many of us have stories from past recessions, some good, others not so great. While on the other hand, younger entrepreneurs are going through their very first experience of a down sliding economy and are looking towards more tenured professionals to help them see more clearly in a cloudy situation.?

In order to help us with our present circumstances we can look at our past experiences and lessons learned. The past that we look at could be borrowed from someone else, perhaps it's that of a 25 year old single mom who is buying her first home, or the loss of our last business when sales plummeted, or it's the broken relationships that crushed under pressure.?

In reflecting, what do we see now? Is it opportunities, weaknesses, flaws, areas for improvement? How does this translate into where we stand today and opportunities that can be created during questionable times??

Staying afloat during a recession or pre-recession is based on your ability to reflect, adapt, pivot, save, and make strategic and sound decisions. Avoid rash decisions based on emotion, rather look for data, check facts, and analyze history. Work together! Younger generations have an obscene amount of intelligence around technology while older generations have experience, memories, and lessons. Sharing information in a collaborative way may be the only way to move forward.?

The year of 2023 will be the year that business owners start to open up. It's no longer survival of the fittest, it's survival of the smartest. We can no longer work our way out of our problems, we need to face them head on and analyze the facts. Small businesses have the advantage of being able to pivot much quicker than larger businesses with more politics, control, and overhead. If your business is small, determine where your market stands and how your finances are holding up. If you need to make changes to your offer, your message, or your expenses do it now.

Technology and younger generations that know how to leverage its use will be our safe haven and sharing valuable insights from one business to the next will be the windows that we seek to look through. Recession proofing is all about reflecting, learning, adjusting, and collaboratively standing together in business. We are living in the era of unity, that may look like mergers, stronger business relationships, sharing of audiences, and generously giving knowledge.??