I Refuse to Participate in this (or any) Recession

by: Christel Wintels

 Overthe past few months, we’ve been surrounded by negative reporting about our economic situation. And not only our own economy, but the economic crises that seem to be facing almost every country around the world. Job layoffs, bailout packages, reduced spending in almost every industry – that’s what we hear. It’s hard to see past all that doom and gloom. There’s so much of it.

I watched a video last week, which took a different approach. The video was promoting International Networking Week. Dr. Misner told this story about responding to bad economic times:

“We’re all struggling with recessionary measures and my advice is to ignore all the doom and gloom voices because those voices are sending us useless information. They urge fear. And they ignore what we need. Here’s what we need to remember: I was at a business mixer in Connecticut in the 90’s during the last recession. Everyone there was feeling the crunch. Particularly in the real estate business. I found myself beside a realtor and was leery of asking 'How’s business?' But I did. He said, 'I’m having a great year.' 'You’re in real estate?' I asked. 'Yes', he replied. 'You are in real estate in Connecticut. And you’re having a good year?' 'Best ever,' he said. 'Is this your first year in real estate?' I asked. 'No I’ve been in it 10 years.' 'How are you doing so well?'

He took a button out of his pocket and put it on. The button read 'I absolutely refuse to participate in the recession.'

'That’s it', I said, 'a badge?' 'Yup', he responded. 'You have to start with the right attitude. My competitors are all crying the blues while I’m calling my contacts letting them know that real estate is on sale and they’ll never see prices like this again. I’m focussing on opportunities – not problems. So, I’m having my best year ever.' I then looked around the room and realized that very little networking was going on. Most people were commiserating with each other about how bad things were.

Back to the present; at the networking events you attend are you commiserating or networking?  It does no good to complain about tough times because half the people don’t care and the other half are happy you’re in worse shape than them. We can’t control the doom and gloom voices, but we can control our response. Thousands of businesses grow and prosper by consciously refusing to participate in the negative and by learning how to build their business through word of mouth and relationship marketing.

Now more than ever, it’s not what you know – or who you know – it’s how well you know them that really counts. In a tough economy it’s your social capital that has real value. Make good use of it and you will thrive while others struggle. The more you focus on fear the more afraid you will become. Don’t let a bad economy be your excuse for failure – make it your opportunity to succeed.

If you tell yourself I can’t succeed in this economy – you’ll likely be right. But if you focus on what you do well, the benefits you offer and your customers, you’ll succeed. Focus on what you do best and don’t let others sidetrack you from building your business. See opportunities where others see problems. See success where others see failure. Say, “I refuse to participate in a recession, now more than ever!”

After seeing the video, I thought about the last networking event I attended and it was true that almost everyone was preoccupied with talking about how bad things are. But I did notice that a few people were talking enthusiastically about a project they were working on together. Those were the folks I wanted to be around. Those were the people I wanted to meet. So I introduced myself and learned all about their project. I also learned that I could help them and I have.

In my opinion, they best way to thrive though a recession is to help others. Because no matter what the economy is doing, we all know: givers gain!

Posted in: Managing your Business, Financial, Networking, Relationships