Victor Cheng » recession proof

The Ideal Recession-Proof Business – More Profits TV – Episode #9

Victor Cheng — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:55:24 +0000

This episode was filmed in front of the heavily fortified New York Stock Exchange. In it, I describe a particular trait that a business can have that makes it 10 times easier to be completely recession proof.

Here’s a photo of security at the NYSE – noticed the machine guns:

Here’s a shot from the 7th floor of the building across from the NYSE – where I gave my speech on How to Create a Recession Proof Business. If you look very carefully at the bottom, you’ll see a few NYSE workers walking on the sidewalk. Let me tell you that flag is BIG. I have to smirk, because the flag takes up the entire exterior of a 6 story building – and I guess is a not to subtle message to would be terrorists.

Duh… Focus on What’s Still Working

Victor Cheng — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:00:09 +0000

In a recession, most business owners obsess about what’s wrong with their market, customers, company, and life. The natural inclination is to focus on your problems and how to make them go away.

While this is certainly one approach, it must be balanced with the exact opposite — focusing on what’s still working.

What part of your business is gliding along effortlessly despite you ignoring it?

What type of customer is as loyal as ever?

Which product keeps selling no matter what you do (or don’t do)?

In short, what segments of your business are still working well. And what can you do to focus on that and do what’s working more deliberately.

In a declining market, with limited resources, the only way to win (and not just survive) is through very carefully chosen focus. Pick and choose your battles very wisely because you can’t find too many of them at the same time.

Recession Survival Lessons from Fortune Magazine

Victor Cheng — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:50:36 +0000

I got back late last night from New Orleans where I gave a keynote speech for Fortune Magazine’s Small Business Sales & Marketing Summit.

I flew in on Sunday night to hear the other speakers and to get a better feel for the audience. And I ended up spending 10 hours revise my talk and rehearsing it to better fit the audience, time slot, and format for the event.

So sadly, I did not end up making it to Cafe Dumond (will have to wait for next time).

But, I did come up with a story that I share with the 150 CEOs in the room about how to survive this recession. It was a last minute addition to my talk and I think it made the point I wanted to get across. So I thought I’d share the story with you.

When an economic storm rolls in, most people run for cover, hide, and try to ride the storm out. This is a natural human instinct and if you know for sure the storm will be short, it’s a reasonable thing to do.

But if you need the storm has the potential to be a long one, you don’t want to hide from the change in conditions… you want to take advantage of it.

So in my best (okay mediocre) attempt at being a drill sergeant, I started yelling at the group of CEO’s to stop being a bunch of wussy pansies. (And amazingly I did not get thrown out of the room)

When it starts to rain, you don’t run and hide.

You get your rear-end out there and start selling umbrellas! Sell food rations. Sell bottled water. Sell bus tickets to somewhere dry. Sell the stuff people want when it’s raining.

Crisis creates opportunity.

The morale of the story is that even in storm, people still have money–but what they care about and what they spend money on changes. The key to ensuring your business survives and even prospers is to sell what people want to buy right now.

Do NOT what they used to buy. Don’t sell what you think theyneed. Just sell what they want to buy at this precise moment in time.

It seems simple enough… sell what people want to buy. But, as I am fond of saying, under times of extreme stress and pressure, common sense is the first thing that goes out the window.

Don’t let it!

Be brutally honest with yourself. Ask yourself, are you selling the products and services your customers want to buy? (If you’re not sure, check your bank balance. It doen’t lie)

If you’re not or if your only partly selling what customers are buying, go talk to your customers and figure out what they want right now. It’s a great place to start.

Lessons from a Recession-Proof Toddler

Victor Cheng — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:38:10 +0000

The other day my youngest daughter, Charlie, wanted to show me something. She’s 22 months old and was terribly insistent on showing me something.

The music CD from her toddler music program was playing in the background. She leaned against the wall with one hand, stood on one leg, and was swinging the other leg back and forth to the beat of the music.

She was so proud of herself, grinning from ear-to-ear indelight. I thought she wanted me to copy her, so I started to and she got very grumpy very quickly.

I quickly realized she just wanted me to watch, so I did until her little performance was done.

She was so happy.

Afterwards I realized that in her world she has no idea there’s a recession going on.

She has no clue it’s the worst recession in 75 years. In her world, she’s got a roof overhead, food to eat, parents that love her, an older sister to play with (who from time to time does torture her, but her life can’t be 100% perfect), and with lots of opportunities for smiles and giggles all day long.

In her world, life is pretty good.

And its at that moment, I realize that taken the by the standards of a two year old, life is actually pretty good for alot of people–recession or not.

Her expectations about life are innocently focused on the basics. Many people, myself included, could use a reminder about that every once in a while.

I personally tend to be a forward thinker – what do I need to do tomorrow, next month, a year from now to get to where I want to go in life. I know a lot of people who are historical dwellers.

What happened to the good old days? And dwell unproductively on the past.

I know very few adults who are present-oriented… where they focus on right now, this second, this moment. I try to do to this, but it takes a conscious effort to be “present” as it is not my natural instinct.

But this instinct is natural for a “recession-proof” toddler.

And if you want to have a recession-proof moments in your life, try being “present” and enjoying the basics that we all already have, but often take for granted.