“If your customers don’t see you, you are effectively no longer relevant.”
Kris Kiler
If it looks like the economy is heading for the crapper, you’re right. If you think you can ride the storm by showing resilience, you’re right.
I can tell you first-hand that whatever you believe to be true will come true, even if it isn’t true yet.
But instead of panicking, complaining, or doing anything drastic, work on your psyche. Work on your belief system. Yes, circumstances can dictate our environment, however, it’s up to us whether we choose to let it beat us or not.
I know, it sounds overly simplistic and maybe even off-kilter.
It’s actually a life-long process — learning to believe in yourself. It takes a lot of work, actually, especially if you were raised on the premise that you were worthless. But there is no shortage of stories out there of those who refused fall into Lemmingville. And there are tons of tools out there to help motivate you, help you reinvent yourself, and to help you get noticed better. Just Google.
Where people and businesses make their biggest mistake during lean times is to cut back on their marketing efforts. Marketing methods have changed with social media and the digital empire, but the reasons for being seen have not.
This leads me to an old story — the Hot Dog Story.
“A man sold hot dogs by the side of the road.
He had no radio. He didn’t read newspapers or watch TV. But, he sold good hot dogs.
He put a sign up on the highway: Good Hot Dogs Sold Here. He would say to anyone passing by, “Hey, you, want to buy a great hot dog?” People came and bought. So, he increased his meat and bun orders and bought a bigger stove.
Then one day his son came home from college to help him.
His son cried, “Dad, haven’t you heard the news about the recession? The economy is awful. Unemployment is terrible. Everyone is suffering.”
The man thought, “My son’s been to college, reads the newspapers, and listens to the radio. He ought to know.”
So the father cut back on his meat and bun orders. He stopped advertising, and no longer stood by the side of the road and said, “Want to buy my hot dogs?”
His hot dog sales fell overnight. People stopped buying his hot dogs.
“You’re right, son. There is a recession!”
Here’s a different version of the hot dog story with a positive spin:
http://www.thehotdogtruck.com/2009/03/hot-dog-man-and-recession.html
