The recession won't end, no matter what anyone says. There are too many problems that need to be resolved before the economy can recover. This includes the writing down ALL bad assets on the books at the financial institutions. They should not be lending to new or existing customers if they realize they have much to lose before they can start to win again. The new business models emerging in this recession are also more lean and less profitable than ever before. This means they won't be able to reduce unemployment anytime soon. This recession could have lasting effects How Do I Find Investors For My Business?.
Entrepreneurs will be those who have learned how to bootstrap. Many of their rivals have been forced to close down or are in a downward spiral. The ones who make changes quickly and adapt to changing economic markets will win. Many businesses believe that if they can get through the recession, then they will succeed. This attitude will not work. It is not enough to survive. Those who can generate positive cash flow during difficult times will be victorious.
Capital can be raised by solving many customers' problems. If your sole focus is on capital raising, you won't get any money. You will have a better chance of getting the money you need if your main focus is on satisfying customers and providing great products or services. One of the main causes of this problem was identified by Ben Peterson, an angel investor and successful entrepreneur. He stated that business schools and entrepreneurial education mainly focus on raising money, rather than how to build a company that is worthy of investment capital. If you are able to take care of many customers, the money will follow. Your need for capital will add value to your efforts in serving your target market.
Cloud computing will continue to dominate computer technology. We are seeing more companies ditch traditional software and move to the cloud. This is a great trend that entrepreneurs can use to achieve the same results as large businesses, but with much less cost. Let's take just one example. Two years ago, almost all businesses used Outlook or another computer-based email program for their employees. We are now seeing companies, particularly those that have entrepreneurs under 40, move to web-based and SaaS apps. Google Apps appears to be the most in-demand, but it is obvious that the old practices of buying expensive software and servers to store all company data are becoming obsolete and cumbersome.
It will be less beneficial to be big than being small. Bigger is not always better. There are many reasons why this is so, but here are two: small and medium-sized businesses are more open to change and are more eager to please their customers than large-company economies of size. Jet Blue, for example, is able do more for customers because it uses remote, flexible and contract workers - even though it is capital-intensive. Service businesses might have more advantages than their larger counterparts.
It pays to focus on relationships. Relationships are the key to building a business. They help us build trust. This is why I included it on my trend list. It seems that trust building has become a dying art. It is not enough to increase your number of Facebook friends and get more followers on Twitter. We must build relationships. As filtering tools enable us to connect with the people who matter most to us and to strengthen and foster our relationships, we will see trust-building and relationships back in business.