The Economy in Motion: How are You Stretching Your Dollar?

The economy is in the tank and everyone is feeling a tightening in their gut, like the drop of a roller coaster down a mountainous hill. Is everything so bad?

Is everyone hunkering down to ride this out? Robert Scoble is talking with many executives who are tightening their belts by cutting non-essential spending and laying off non-essential personnel.

So how do you sell in tough times? You can change buying cycles – or at least try to. You might try to change the customer’s outlook, or you can talk to their fears?

Life Keeps Going:

Life doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Where some falter, there will be others to pick-up the pieces – and profit.

For instance, due to some changes I’m having to look at purchasing a car and give up my fully-paid-for corporate car. While this is tough luck for me (I know all of you are crying for me right now), this is an example of the economy in motion. Why? Because I have to have transportation for my job.

Toyota is taking advantage of their cash rich position and focusing on keeping their factories moving by offering 0% financing on 36 month agreements. Since I have to be in a buying mode right now, and Toyota is a well-know brand that I have trusted for over a decade now, I am most likely going to take them up on their offer to help me stretch my dollar.

Dell is doing something very similar. Again, due to some changes, I am splitting my personal and professional technology needs; no longer will I be able to blur the lines between my personal and professional lives and buying a new personal laptop while maintaining a corporate laptop is the way I have to move.

I will move things like iTunes and Windows Live Writer over to my new personal laptop. Dell is offering me 6 months same as cash when I upgrade to a 3 year service plan – which I would buy anyway. Again, this is another opportunity for me to stretch my cash a little further and maintain my savings and investment levels.

Blessings or Curses?

I could look at some of these changes in a negative light, but I don’t. I am still employed, unlike my friend, Max. Some future opportunities are simply pushed out a little further. Small things like splitting my personal and professional computing needs will actually become a blessing – as they will force me to put work away when I put the laptop away.

So you see, my friends, life could always be a little better if I think things are bad – but I don’t. We just have to tighten our belts a little too. We will just have to cut back on going out to eat as much, use more coupons and buy on sale items.

Some purchases will be pushed, but companies like Toyota and Dell are anxious to keep things moving – even at their cost. Because everyone knows it’s easier to keep a boulder rolling than to start it from a dead stop.

How are you handling the recession? How is it affecting you? Do you have any tips or tricks to help others keep the boulder rolling?

---

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

---