Today is July 1, 2008. We’re exactly half way through the year. How’s it been for you so far? Only you can answer that question. The bigger question is “What’s the second half of 2008 going to look like?”
Of course, you’re also the only one that can answer either question. The difference is that the first half of the year is history. The second half is opportunity.
Every day we go to work we face situations and circumstances that have an effect on our day. The most obvious one right now is the economy, especially the cost of fuel.
High fuel prices, and high prices in general, definitely have an effect on the way we do things. Like it or not, the price of a gallon of gas is $4.00 or more and it’s not likely to come down soon. Who knew on January 1 that it would go so high? We know it now and can adjust accordingly.
Prices of everything look to go higher in the second half of the year because nearly everything we buy or sell travels by truck and the cost of diesel fuel is even higher than the price of gas.
But, and this is important, while consumer confidence is down, consumer spending is up. Our job is to do our part to make it stay up. Now isn’t the time to pull back on our sales and marketing efforts. We have to aggressively go after every sale. Car and truck sales are down. New home sales are down. People have to do something with that money. They might as well give some of it to you.
I spoke to a dealer yesterday who was telling me about the competitors in his market who have gone out of business. A few were quite large. But this dealer has diversified his offering and taken on a major national brand that became available when another dealer went under. He’s not sitting back waiting for the other shoe to fall.
As we’ve discussed here before, the Internet makes it possible for a small business to have a large presence. Blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and other social sites like FaceBook and MySpace are all free (or nearly free). You can use these tools to position yourself as an expert in your field and attract more business.
The first half of 2008 is over. Now is the time to take stock. What did we do right? What did we do wrong? What could we do better? Even if the first six months of the year weren’t the best, we can take the lessons we’ve learned and parlay them into the best second half we’ve ever had.
Here at MYOB, we’ll keep doing our best to provide you with information to help you work on your business, not in your business. Of course, your thoughts, questions, and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated.
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