Carlton's Corner: Protecting Your Business In Today’s Market

I couldn’t help but overhear the two businessmen sitting at the table next to mine as one told the other they were born 20 years too late to be successful in business. I had to turn my smiling face away almost like an adult who had just heard a toddler use a bad word for the first time. I probably should have minded my own business but it’s hard not to watch a train wreck when it is happening before your eyes. These two guys, in less than half an hour, made every excuse to fail and not one argument to succeed.

I personally wasn’t ready to admit the market had changed until recently, when we invoiced out areseal project and received a goat and two dozen eggs for payment. In a nutshell, our market went from the strongest recorded to the lowest ever, and it had little to do with your trade, skill or reputation. The first appearance of this down market seemed like the end of all business, but I would like to shed a new light on it and see if your business can make an adjustment to power into the next level of business. My goal over the next few paragraphs is to help put your business mind at rest by explaining why the market turned, but more importantly, how to push through to the other side.

The why
The why still angers me because the fall of the home improvement industry, despite what economists say, had little to do with falling home prices or the low dollar. Your phone has slowed because people have become much more selective on spending. The reason for the ease up on spending is the nonstop pummeling about how bad the economy is. I completely...