This just in from the Associated Press: "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply lowered its projection for U.S. economic growth this year, citing blows from the housing and credit debacles along with zooming energy prices. It also expects higher unemployment and inflation."
Okay, maybe I was a little dramatic like Fox News, but, is anyone shocked by this? Has no one been reading my blog for the last few months? (I know the answer to that so don't bother answering.)
I was at the GLI Small Business Expo and 9 out of 10 businesses are saying the same thing, it is slow. Gas prices are killing business.
The Fed is indicating rates will likely not be cut anymore as inflation is a concern. The projected inflation rate was increased 1% to an expected range of 3.1 - 3.4% and the projected unemployment rate was also increased to 5.5 to 5.7% from last year's 4.3% average.
So what do we do? I say we all take a lesson from Tony Dungy's book outlined in my previous post and "keep doing what we do". Obviously we need to prepare our businesses for possible continued slowness and watch any frivolous expenses, etc. But I think we keep doing what we do. Keep winning the small battles, keep providing excellent client service, keep coming up with new ideas, keep in front of your clients, keep in front of your employees, vendors, suppliers, etc. Buy wisely and be sure to manage margins. Sales are no good to anyone if they don't make financial sense for your business. Don't manage the top line, manage the margins. These are the only numbers that really mean anything.
Call me and let's discuss the challenges your facing. Maybe a fresh set of ears can help with some fresh ideas.
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