Guest Post By FDL:
IS THIS THE RIGHT TIME-TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?
Are you looking for an opportunity because?
- You’ve been laid off.
- You’re bored.
- A great idea has been nagging at you.
- You’re an entrepreneur at heart?
If you are any or all of those things you are not alone. In my day job I talk to people who fit into those categories-myself included.
Not a day goes by I don’t discuss some of those things in my head. The economy has us all worried. Looking at the news, you can find people who think things are getting better and just as many who don’t think so, the sky is falling.
In recent news stories I read two particularly interesting articles about ideas that are working.
Buying a failing business
If you’ve looked around for a new sofa in the last decade, chances are you’ve heard of Norwalk. They make super nice custom furniture. I never executed, but I did drool over the idea.
A group of local investors in Norwalk, Ohio bought a portion of the famed company shortly before what was left slid into bankruptcy. These investors trimmed fat and excesses, changing all but the fine, custom product that made the company an industry elite. Changing the business model to meet the times saved the brand, jobs and may eventually make a profit for the investors.
Staying nimble, to survive!
Or look closer to home at your local book store. If you have one anymore. As a big reader I check out bookstores and libraries where ever I am. Using Amazon for most of my online book purchases, since they are so user friendly and have terrific prices, I at one time wondered how the local book retailer stayed in business.
Those who did not respond to the online call probably have not. Who else but the local bookstore owner supplies all those ‘used and new’ books for the Amazon giant?
In case my point is cloudy, like my brain:
DO YOU HAVE A GREAT IDEA?
If your idea does not fly, it won’t be because of the economy. It will be because you did not develop the idea with a business model that can adapt to the current market. Even Gap, a business that has weathered many economies, has to stay light on their feet.
Push forward. Take that plan, hammer out the details, plug in the holes, start small, be ready to adapt, the list goes on, but you get the idea.
See you again soon,
FDL writes about clutter, and organization-check out her blog, the Fast Declutter Blog
