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TJ

A: I love this quote from the late, great Paul Harvey: “In times like these, it is good to know . . . that there have always been times like these!”

Sure, we have all heard that this Great Recession is the worst economy in 50 years, and it is, but that does not mean that there have not been equally bad times to be in business, because there have.

And what works in times like these? You bet, discounting.

Consider 1974 if you will. That year, new president Gerald Ford had to deal with an ongoing, expensive conflict in Vietnam, a quadrupling of oil prices, a huge drop in the stock market, and 11% inflation combined with stagnant growth – or “stagflation”. 

With the economy in such bad shape, it hardly seemed like a time to start a new business, but that is exactly what Dennis Brown did, and he succeeded because he tapped into the economics and mood of the time and created a business that offered low, low prices.

Specifically, Brown opened a new motel in Aberdeen, South Dakota and set prices at a mere $8.88 a night. By 1979, he had more than 70 hotels in his chain, and today, Super 8 Motels is one of the world’s largest discount motel chains with more than 2,000 locations.

So yes, low prices can work, and work big time. Many businesses in fact tie their brand to low prices and succeed as a result:

• Wal-Mart
• McDonald’s
• Amazon.com

So the question is not whether lowering your prices can work, sure it can, instead, the question is whether lowering prices can work for your business.

Lowering prices does not work for every business, and the one time that cutting your fees usually does not help much is when you have a high-end brand. BMW could gain little by suddenly selling their cars for a lot less because its brand is based, at least in part, on expensive luxury. Discounting would cannibalize its brand.

That said, the low price strategy often works for plenty of small businesses, especially in this type of economy. People are shopping right now. They want a bargain. If you are not willing to give them one, then they just might take their business elsewhere.

I have often said that one key to business is to ask people what they want and then give them what they want. I bet if you asked your customers what they want, today, many would say lower prices. So you better consider giving them that.

And as you do, you do have to be careful how you do it, and how much you do it. Lowering prices will bring in more people, yes, but it will also eat into your margins. Crunch some numbers before diving in.

One good way to start is to choose a loss leader. That is, pick a product or service that you think would be more popular if you put it on sale, and then put it on sale. The idea is to attract attention and entice customers and clients to your business with a great deal. The loss of profit on that item should hopefully lead to more sales of other things, hence ‘loss leader.’

Aside from the loss leader, discounting prices can take many other forms:

• It might be a regular sale
• It can mean bidding on projects lower than you normally would
• You might even start offering discount coupons

Whatever tack you take, be sure that you let your actual and potential customers know that you are in fact giving them a deal. Mention it in your advertising or when you are chatting them up.

Low prices are a big selling point today, and if you do it, take full advantage of it.

Today’s Tip: On Wednesday, May 20, at 11:00 a.m. eastern, Capital One is hosting a free webinar on how to survive and thrive in this economy. I spoke last week with Todd Kennedy, the  Vice President of Capital One Small Business, and he told me that the one-hour webinar is intended to help small business with information on getting credit, tips for motivating employees, and also ideas for succeeding online and with social media.

Says Kennedy: “We want to give small business owners practical tips on how to succeed in a tough economy.” It’s a great service of which any small business should take advantage. You can watch it live, or a recording of it later. Steve says check it out, here.

May 14 (Bloomberg) — Prices paid to U.S. producers probably rose in April as oil costs rebounded, economists said before a report today.

The projected 0.2 percent increase in wholesale prices would follow a 1.2 percent drop in March, according to the median estimate of 68 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Another report may show the number of people claiming jobless benefits climbed last week from a three-month low.

Signs that the worst of the recession is over may boost commodity costs further, alleviating concern over deflation, or an extended drop in prices that hurts the economy. Along with the trillions of dollars pumped into the banking system by the Federal Reserve, increases in raw materials may stoke inflation once an economic recovery takes hold.

“It’s impossible to see how deflation can persist given the amount of liquidity in the system,” said Maxwell Clarke, chief U.S. economist at 4Cast.com in New York. “With oil moving back up, the thought in people’s minds becomes that inflation could ultimately become a problem that outweighs deflation.”

The Labor Department’s producer-price report is due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Economists’ forecasts ranged from a decline of 0.6 percent to a 1 percent gain.

Labor may also report at the same time that initial jobless claims rose to 610,000 in the week ended May 9 from 601,000 a week earlier, according to economists surveyed. The increase in applications probably reflects the closing of all Chrysler LLC assembly plants starting May 4 for at least 30 days while the automaker reorganizes under bankruptcy.

Recession Easing

Smaller declines in manufacturing and an easing in the housing slump indicate the worst recession in at least 50 years may be starting to abate.

The economy will probably shrink at a 1.9 percent annual pace this quarter after contracting at an average 6.2 percent rate in the prior six months, according to economists surveyed this month.

DuPont Co., the third-biggest U.S. chemical maker, and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., the beverage maker spun off by Cadbury Plc last year, are among companies able to charge more. Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont raised prices 5 percent on average in the first quarter and said demand will improve because most customers have used up inventories and are increasing purchases.

“We expect sales in the second quarter to be flat to slightly up from the first quarter,” Chief Executive Officer Ellen Kullman said on a call with investors on April 21.

Price Increases

Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple yesterday reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates and raised its 2009 forecast after increasing prices and cutting expenses.

“Markets and consumer sentiment appear to be on the mend,” Chief Executive Officer Larry Young said during a conference call with analysts.

Still, a report yesterday showed consumers aren’t yet totally out of the woods. Retail sales fell 0.4 percent in April after a 1.3 percent decline in March, according to data from the Commerce Department.

Producer prices are one of three monthly inflation gauges reported by Labor. Prices of goods imported into the U.S. rose 1.6 percent in April as petroleum costs surged, the government said yesterday.

Labor figures tomorrow may show consumer prices were unchanged last month after declining 0.1 percent in March, economists forecast. Excluding energy and food, prices probably rose 0.1 percent.

For their part, Fed policy makers are still more focused on the threat that prices will fall.

“In light of increasing economic slack here and abroad, the Committee expects that inflation will remain subdued,” policy makers said after their April 29 meeting. Still, there remain “some risks that inflation could persist for a time below rates that best foster economic growth and price stability in the longer term.”

                        Bloomberg Survey

================================================================
                               PPI     Core     Core  Initial
                                        PPI      PPI   Claims
                              MOM%     MOM%     YOY%   ,000’s
================================================================

Date of Release              05/14    05/14    05/14    05/14
Observation Period           April    April    April    9-May
----------------------------------------------------------------
Median                        0.2%     0.1%     3.4%      610
Average                       0.2%     0.1%     3.4%      610
High Forecast                 1.0%     0.2%     3.6%      650
Low Forecast                 -0.6%    -0.2%     3.3%      580
Number of Participants          68       65       18       38
Previous                     -1.2%     0.0%     3.8%      601
----------------------------------------------------------------
Action Economics              0.3%     0.1%     3.4%      620
AIG Investments               0.8%    -0.1%     ---      ---
Aletti Gestielle SGR          0.1%     0.1%     ---       612
Ameriprise Financial Inc      0.3%     0.2%     3.5%      585
Argus Research Corp.          0.3%     0.2%     ---      ---
Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi     0.7%     0.1%     ---       615
Bantleon Bank AG              0.3%     ---      ---      ---
Barclays Capital              0.3%     0.2%     3.6%      627
BBVA                          0.2%     0.1%     ---       615
BMO Capital Markets           0.6%     0.2%     3.5%      610
BNP Paribas                   0.0%     0.1%     3.5%      596
Briefing.com                  0.2%     0.0%     ---       580
Calyon                        0.1%     0.1%     ---      ---
ClearView Economics           0.3%     0.1%     ---      ---
Commerzbank AG                0.2%     0.1%     ---       610
Credit Suisse                 0.4%     0.2%     ---       590
Daiwa Securities America      0.0%     0.1%     ---      ---
Danske Bank                  -0.6%     0.2%     3.5%     ---
DekaBank                     -0.1%     0.0%     ---      ---
Desjardins Group             -0.2%     0.0%     ---       610
Deutsche Postbank AG          0.2%     0.1%     ---      ---
DZ Bank                       0.1%     0.2%     ---      ---
First Trust Advisors          0.2%     0.1%     ---       609
Fortis                        0.2%     0.0%     3.3%     ---
FTN Financial                 0.2%     0.0%     3.3%     ---
Goldman, Sachs & Co.          0.0%    -0.1%     ---      ---
Helaba                        0.1%     0.1%     ---       610
Herrmann Forecasting          0.3%     0.1%     3.5%      596
High Frequency Economics      0.5%     0.2%     ---       590
HSBC Markets                  0.1%     0.1%     ---       600
IDEAglobal                    0.1%     0.1%     3.4%      610
IHS Global Insight            0.0%     0.0%     ---      ---
Informa Global Markets        0.3%     0.1%     ---       610
ING Financial Markets         0.0%     0.1%     3.4%      620
Intesa-SanPaulo               0.0%     0.1%     ---      ---
J.P. Morgan Chase             0.1%     0.1%     3.4%      650
Janney Montgomery Scott L     0.3%     0.2%     3.5%     ---
Johnson Illington Advisor    -0.1%     0.1%     ---      ---
Landesbank Berlin            -0.1%    -0.2%     ---       610
Landesbank BW                 1.0%     ---      ---      ---
Lloyds TSB                    0.2%     0.0%     ---       595
Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc     0.1%     0.0%     ---       615
Merrill Lynch                 1.0%     0.0%     ---       605
Mizuho Securities            -0.1%     0.0%     ---       589
Moody’s Economy.com           0.2%     0.1%     ---       611
Morgan Keegan & Co.           0.1%     0.2%     ---      ---
Morgan Stanley & Co.          0.1%     0.0%     ---      ---
Natixis                      -0.3%     0.1%     3.4%     ---
Newedge                       0.3%     0.1%     3.4%     ---
Nomura Securities Intl.       0.3%     0.2%     ---      ---
PNC Bank                      0.4%     0.2%     ---      ---
Raymond James                -0.1%     0.1%     ---       590
RBS Securities Inc.           0.6%     0.1%     ---       650
Ried, Thunberg & Co.          0.1%     0.0%     ---       625
Schneider Foreign Exchang     0.1%     0.2%     ---       626
Scotia Capital                0.0%     0.1%     ---       590
Societe Generale              0.0%     0.1%     ---      ---
Stone & McCarthy Research     0.1%     0.1%     ---       615
TD Securities                 0.4%     0.1%     3.5%      610
Thomson Reuters/IFR           0.1%     0.1%     ---       605
UBS Securities LLC           -0.1%     0.0%     ---      ---
Unicredit MIB                 0.0%     ---      ---      ---
University of Maryland        0.1%     0.1%     ---      ---
Wachovia Corp.               -0.3%     0.1%     3.4%     ---
Wells Fargo & Co.             0.3%     0.1%     ---       620
WestLB AG                     0.2%     0.1%     3.4%     ---
Westpac Banking Co.           0.4%     0.2%     ---       615
Wrightson Associates          0.2%     0.0%     ---       625
================================================================

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Willis in Washington at bwillis@bloomberg.net

Ann

A: I do agree that we are in extra-ordinary times and it makes sense to be on the lookout for cutting edge ideas and strategies. You never know which one might make a big difference.

Let me give you an example:

We have all heard about R.O.I. – Return on Investment. It’s a useful way to analyze whether you are receiving sufficient bang for your buck for your efforts.

But have you ever considered your R.O.O. – your Return on Organization?

Look, we all know that main two pain points for most small businesses are not enough time and not enough money. This is even truer in light of the current economic environment. But what if I told you there was a simple, affordable way to get more of both? After all, as we all know, time is money.

I have been doing some work with Office Depot recently in order to help small business owners understand how, with just a few smart changes, they can increase their ROO, and how that can have a significant impact on the bottom line. In fact, it is estimated that increased ROO can yield up to an extra two hours of productive time a week and up to an additional 6% of revenue.

How? Well, think about it. It costs five times more to create a new customer than it does to keep a current one. The whole idea is that with some extra time you can take better care of your best customers. No, 20 minutes a day may not seem like much, but what if you used those 20 minutes a day to their maximum effectiveness? You could check in with customers, make some sales calls, send out some ‘checking-in’ emails . . . that sort of thing.

It all adds up.

Being more organized means having more time to be more effective and make more money. It’s as simple, and as important, as that.

So here are a few examples of some things you can do to increase your ROO:

Get your office or workspace organized: No matter what kind of business you are running, having the right work environment saves you time and money every day.

Incorporate a filing system that actually makes sense for your business. Always have Post-Its on hand so you are ready for your next brainstorm. Whatever it is, make sure you have you need to be organized.

The right tools can make a big difference.

Make sure you are sufficiently mobile. What business are you in? No matter the answer, let me suggest that you are in the service business, especially in this economy. You simply have to offer exemplary customer service right now.

And one of the best ways to do that is by taking advantage of mobility computing so you can respond to customer needs wherever you happen to be. Notebooks are the best-selling computers right now for a reason; make sure you have a good one.

What about your Blackberry or Smartphone – is it helping you help them? It better! And, there are a lot of apps to choose from to make you more efficient and that help you use your time better.

These types of tools will ensure you’re always able to meet and exceed customer needs, regardless of where you are.

Own your software, and don’t let it own you: It’s amazing how often small business owners buy the best software to help them with their business, but fail to take the extra time necessary to fully learn how to use it, when doing so can save them a lot of time down the road.

Software manufacturers spend enormous amounts of time and money learning about small business and they use that to make programs to help us succeed. Take advantage of that. Learn how to really use your software.

The important thing to see is that there are savvy ways to get ahead right now that do not require spending heaps of money. Being more organized in all areas of your business will increase your ROO, and that will yield some powerful results and rewards.

Today’s Tip: According to SCORE, here are two important things to keep in mind regarding customer referrals:

• If a customer compliments your work, ask them for a written testimonial to put in your marketing materials.
• Always follow up a referral with a thank-you to the referrer. Also consider sending the referrer a coupon or other discount.

Since 2002, Doba has hosted its own marketplace for drop shipping, catering to all aspects of selling products: manufacturing, distributing, and retailing. Its Web site and platform hosts about 1.5 million unique products from more than 250 suppliers, and thus has the potential to create thousands of buyer-seller relationships.

“We are exclusively focused on managing that supply, in helping retailers and suppliers simplify that process,” said Blaine Nielsen, CEO.

The convenience it provides for both retailers and suppliers has resulted in major growth. In fact, last year’s growth was a 400 percent increase from its 2007 profit, Nielsen said. The company also ranked high on Deloitte’s North American Technology Fast 500 and MountainWest Capital Utah’s lists.

Nielsen and the company attribute much of the past year’s success to its Product Sourcing application performance interface (API). Launched last February, the Product Sourcing API allows retailers to use the company’s supply chain programming within their own applications, for functions ranging between searching product catalogs and pulling shipping information.

Following its launch came ten new partners, though the Product Sourcing API adds to the overall cost and time-efficient services that Doba provides. For one, the company taps into the rising popularity of drop shipping, which Nielsen called “enticing in a recessionary time.”

Online retailers can test their target market and suppliers can market products supplementary to their tried-and-true, without much risk.

“There’s a lot less financial investment in there,” Nielsen said. “Even to the extreme that they don’t make any money out of it, at least they are getting over that hurdle.”

In addition, access to its marketplace saves both retailers and suppliers from most of the painstaking process that usually comes with finding potential customers. The company, after all, strives to combine “the supplier’s distributing ability and the retailer’s purchasing power at a single connection point,” its Web site states.

For 2009, Nielsen hopes that Doba continues to expand in all possible ways, by increasing their number of suppliers, products, and partners.

“We hope to turn the number of new partners into 20 or 30,” he said.

The newest addition is an online course, “Down-shifting in a Slowing Economy: A Business Planning Guide.” The presentation, while running less than 25 minutes, takes small business owners through a step-by-step process of how to reevaluate and streamline their strategies.

“When sales have slowed and credit markets are tough, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and to view planning as a great idea, but something you just don’t have time for,” the course states in its introduction. “On the contrary, business planning is a constructive and necessary tool.”

The Small Business Administration has also made an online presentation that explains its 7(a) loan guaranty program in detail, then touches upon its micro-loan and Company 504 programs. Like “Downshift in a Slowing Economy,” the “Finance Primer” is also equipped with audio and targeted links. Small business owners can access the guide through the Web site’s new “Helping Main Street” section, which is linked on the home page.

Both presentations are free with registration.

The Small Business Administration cumulated them, along with other edits throughout the Web site, into the first online update it has made to deliberately address the economic crisis. The administration expects to further expand the “Helping Main Street” section with more online courses and targeted business tools.

For more information or to access its new online presentations, visit www.sba.gov.

Q: I was recently laid off from my job of 10 years. I don’t really have any savings. Could I start a business somehow given my circumstances? Even if I could do something part-time until I get another job would help. Thank you.

Ellen

A: Of course the conventional wisdom is that this is a bad time to start a business, and one thing I know about conventional wisdom is that it is there for a reason; that is, maybe the group knows a thing or two.

No, this is not the greatest time to go into business for yourself, but that said, it can be done if you do it right.

What do I mean by that? One way to succeed right now is to start an inexpensive part-time, home-based business.

No, none of the ideas below are get rich quick plans, but they certainly can help you get some extra dough now, and maybe even more later. Here then are some businesses that can be started without a lot of time or money:

Deliveries / Driver: Especially with the price of gas coming down so much, this might make sense. Businesses of all sorts (in bigger cities especially) need stuff delivered every day. Print up some flyers, charge less, and away you go!

eBay sales: I once had a pal who spent every weekend at garage sales buying old motorcycle parts which he then sold during the week on eBay. He made several thousand dollars a month. His motto? It’s all in the buying. Think of something you know well, hunt it out, and resell it on eBay. Buy low, sell high.

Residential and commercial cleaning: Housecleaning is a tried and true home-based business, and it can lead to more lucrative commercial contracts. The cost to get into this sort of business is almost zero.

Transcription: Doctors and lawyers especially contract out transcription services.

Window washing / pool cleaning / snow removal, etc: Simple service businesses like these can be started with very little time and money and require nothing but some elbow grease. Again, especially in this economy, the secret is to undercut the competition in terms of price.

Pet-sitting and house-sitting: No, you won’t make a ton of money, but these sorts of businesses can be a nice source of extra income.

Hauling: With a truck and a classified ad, you can have a business removing junk for people.

Independent sales representative / manufacturer’s rep: Thousands of companies hire independent contractors to get their products into store and handle their product lines. This job would likely take you on the road for long stretches. Consider handling the products of several different companies.

Gardener: If you have a green thumb this might be the right business for you, but of course it tends to be seasonal work with most of it coming in the spring and summer, along with some leaf cleanup in the fall.

Childcare: Of course this is a business that requires extra responsibility and due care, but it can also be very rewarding and can be started with little money.

This list, of course, is really just a sample to get you thinking. If you have a specialized skill, such as automotive repair or being bilingual, you could parlay those as well into a shoestring startup. The important thing is that you open your eyes to the possibilities.

Today’s Tip: If you own a tech business and are thinking about expanding internationally, you should know about a contest that can help you. Called the Technium Challenge, the contest gives to the winner from the U.S., along with finalists from 12 other nations, a business-class flight to Wales for a week-long “Learning Journey” that will include one-on-one sessions with British legal, business and skills experts.

The overall winner will receive one year of free office space within one of 10 Technium incubators in Wales and ongoing counsel on financing, business planning and technical issues. You can learn more here.

Phil

A: I’m sorry, but I simply disagree. I think things are pretty tough right now for most small businesses. That said, nevertheless, I will admit that there is a surprising amount of debate on this issue.
Case in point: I hosted a roundtable event of small business bloggers in New York last week. The event was sponsored by Brother and the topic was, "Who says a slow economy has to slow your small business down?"

I thought that "the slow economy" was a given and was prepared to move the discussion on from that point, so you can imagine my surprise when the very premise of our chat was challenged by not one, but several of the bloggers in attendance.

Their point? That the people they work with, and the ones who read their blogs, and the small business people they know, are doing just fine, thank you very much. Phil Graham was right, one asserted, we are nothing but a nation of whiners and the whole problem with any alleged economic slowdown is that it was fabricated out of whole cloth by the media.

You gotta be kidding me!

There is no doubt that $4 a gallon gas, inflation generally, deflated home prices, and the credit crunch are making it substantially harder for small businesses these days. That there was such strong opposition to that point of view really surprised me.

What didn’t surprise me, though, was that there was also some general disagreement about whether and to what extent small businesses can benefit from new media tools like websites and blogs.

For example, does a gas station need a blog? Does it even need a website? One friend of mine who attended the event thought not, stating that the gas station gets its business via drive-by traffic. Who would bother even checking out the station’s site, let alone its blog?

But I think that is being shortsighted.

Look, amigos, we are living in a brave, new digital age. Hop on the bus, or it will pass you by. No matter what the newest tool is, there is no doubt that a plethora of exciting, new options are available today to help you succeed in business.

What if the gas station had on its main sign something like, "Check out our website – GasSavers.com to download free coupons for 3 cents off per gallon!" Don’t you think that would drive some people to the site? And, aside from the coupon, what if the station then had other specials advertised on its site? What if it had a drawing for a free tank of gas for customers who fill up four or more times this month? Would that not create an even more loyal customer base, and generate even more business?

I have a pal whose e-newsletter is vital to his business, and his business has to do with cars. One colleague uses free e-books to generate 60% of his new business.

This is the beauty of new media. Whether it is your site, your e-newsletter, a viral video, a blog, or whatever, all of these tools work together to create a multitude of new ways to attract new customers, sell more, and market better – inexpensively and powerfully. Even in this economy.

Hop on the bus, Gus!

Today’s Tip: Another way to ensure that you succeed in this tough economy is by keeping your overhead low. This is the very first piece of advice I ever received before I started my first business and is still among the best.
I was reminded of this at the event when I saw a new Brother Professional Series all-in-one inkjet printer on display. The cool thing was that it printed 11×17 pages – in color. That alone could eliminate a trip to Kinko’s for a lot of businesses – for brochures, displays, whatever. Keep your overhead low!

Jenna

A : There is no doubt everyone is feeling the pinch of the economic downturn these days and woe to the business that doesn’t react in accordance with the times.

Back at the turn of the 20^th century, the automobile was a newfangled contraption. But even so, it was apparent almost immediately that it was also a revolutionary item that was here to stay. That is one reason why, if you Google the term “buggy whip manufacturer,” you end up with zilch.

Why did all of the buggy whip makers go out of business? Because they thought they were in the business of making buggy whips.

Wrong.

Sure, when the automobile supplanted the horse-drawn buggy, the need for buggy whips evaporated, but it wasn’t the car that killed the buggy whip maker, it was the buggy whip maker’s thinking that did it.

Literary essayist George Steiner once put it this way: Had a buggy whip manufacturer in 1910 rethought things and concluded that rather than being in the buggy whip business he was instead in the business of creating ‘transportation starting devices’, he just might have been able to survive the challenge of the new economy and make the transition into a new era.

You gotta go with the times my friends. Unlike our fallen buggy whip business brethren, you must avoid what is known as “marketing myopia.”

Marketing Myopia was an influential business paper written by Theodore Levitt for the Harvard Business Review. The essential idea put forth was that too many businesses think like the old buggy whip makers, with a far too narrow an analysis of what their business is.

The proposition instead was to Think Bigger, to be more expansive, to broaden one’s definition of what business they are in. A broader, more unrestrained criteria offers opportunities that otherwise might have been missed.

Here is a current example: I just read a story that the Whole Foods marketing chain is trying to lure more people into their stores by showing customers that Whole Foods is in fact an economical place to shop. I don’t know about you, but when I think of shopping in Whole Foods “economical” is not one of the adjectives that pops into my mind (and of course that is not all bad, with words like “healthy” and “organic” being more prominent.)

But what people today want, as much as they want healthy, organic, fresh food, is something that does not cost an arm and a leg. The gas pump already has that distinction. So Whole Foods is offering discounts and less expensive brands.

Of course a business like Whole Foods , that has built its business and its brand on matters other than discounts, certainly can’t re-brand themselves as a discount warehouse, nor should they. But it is equally true that neither should they suffer from marketing myopia and conclude that they are a high-end grocer, for good or ill.

Dumb thinking, that.

So all of this is a long story to make an important, succulent point: Go with the flow. If people are looking for discounts, give them some discounts. Listen to your customers. Follow the market. As I am wont to say, if you own a deli and your customers want mustard on the table, put mustard on the tables.

You are not a buggy whip maker, you are not a high-end store owner, you are an entrepreneur, a business person. Your job is to stay in business.

Today’s Tip : Remember to ask for help when trying to figure out which way to go. John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach from my alma mater UCLA puts it this way:

“When I had assistants, I always wanted them never to be afraid to make a suggestion. We don’t know a thing we don’t learn from somebody else in one way or another. If you do agree with their suggestion and use it and it works, be sure that they are the one that gets the credit, not you.”

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s true. The recession-proof shopper is here and she’s here to stay. A new study commissioned and soon to be published by Elle magazine concludes that 8% of U.S. women are still shopping up a storm and show no signs of slowing down. (for full stats check out this article)

So what do you think? Do you think these ladies have what it takes to keep the economy (and businesses) afloat this year? I for one think that it certainly won’t hurt…but it’s not going to come anywhere close to how well those stimulus checks worked-wait….

If nothing else I suppose retail businesses can cater their advertising to focus more heavily on this demographic.