You may have heard the chinese proverb "crisis is opportunity"

This is so true and to overcome a recession we need to see it as the opportunity that it is.

As challenging as a recession can be it creates a lot of opportunities for those who are willing to embrace the changing economic environment.

The recession has made many including myself to look at our overheads and expenses and eliminate wastage whether in companies or in your personal life. In a boom time this would never occur but thanks to a recession I have eliminated millions a year in wastage in my companies and achieved massive efficiencies that would never have been discovered if the recession never occurred.

So have you eliminated unnecessary spending and overhead to become more efficient?
Recessions once every 10 or 15 years can be a valuable cycle for ecomonies to eliminate under performing companies and make society more efficient and move employees from inefficient jobs to more productive and rewarding careers.

On a personal level, it can make us in a material society not take for granted all the wealth that exists in our lives and truly appreciate the wonderful things we often take for granted and also simplify our lives to focus on what really matters most.

However the challenge of a recession is if people get fixated on the fear of sales disappearing or being made redundant.If so we lose our creativity and fail to innovate.

I have some friends who are doing it tough in business who are close to going broke ..Multi Millionaires who may lose everything. I've had to say to them they need to change what they are doing and change fast to avoid their business and investments becoming worthless.
My tips have been to them and I suggest to any entrepreneur or individual

1. Cut costs and overhead early and fast. Don't delay or procrastinate and hope things get better. Survival is the first goal. You must stay in the game to win it.

2. Then its time to now focus on innovation and new and better ways to do things. In a recession, companies must focus on much better customer service to keep their clients and go for more repeat business and often work harder to generate sales. Focus on margins more then overall sales.

My group of companies this year will do only 60% of last years sales yet make more profit.

Why?

Because a focus on sales at expense of profit margins is a waste of time and energy.
And because I cut overheads hard and fast earlier ie 50% of my staff across the 21st Century Group I cut and thus can maintain and actually increase margins with less sales.

As my first goal was to survive the Recession. Then the second goal is to grow and thrive in a recession. To do this I  needed to become very creative and focus on innovation.

Changing marketing, changing products and lately launching new companies that are recession proof and putting others that struggle in a recession into hibernation to just survive until theirs an upturn.

Which leads me to my final tip.

Look for industries that will boom in a recession and look at how to tap into them.

I'm launching a whole new company called www.21st CenturyGlobalEducation.com.au purely as a recessionary business as it offers a business opportunity and is in the education industry also a booming industry in recessions.

And in a recession business opportunity type companies boom as well. ie Avon has reported record new recruits since the recession started. MLM companies such as Amway always boom in recessions.

Why ?

As people are looking for additional forms of income.

Other industries and products that will boom in a Recession.
Education as people need to be retrained.
Alcohol sales.
Farmers Markets.
Cookbooks.
Chocolate
Home day care.
Affordable Beauty Products
Greying sector.
Products tailored to ageing baby boomers ranging from holidays and health care
Renovations
Business Coaching and personal coaching

Remember in past recessions some of the worlds largest firms were founded during a recession such as Microsoft, McDonalds, GE, Disney and HP.

Australia has had 17 years of growth but despite that recessions are actually quite common.ie Australia has had 8 in the last 50 years.

So let's embrace the recession and make the most of the opportunities it brings.