Credit Crunchies - With milk on...
Credit Crunchies is just now getting it's snap and crackle to pop into place. Once that is done we will be taking a fresh look at living on less and doing well in a degrading economy. What that should mean to you is - we are on your side.
Grow your own: Part 1. Growing your own food is one great way to reduce your bills and make your money go further. I intend to talk a lot about living a low impact lifestyle that has small needs and can be sustained even without a full time job. It's how I live.
Online Job Hunting
There was a time when a person who wanted to find work had to buy newspaper and look through the classified ads section. The advent of the internet has changed that by creating opportunities for people to work either in a different state or in another country.
It has made the world a smaller place rendering it accessible for anyone with a computer to search for a job and apply to it.
There are many sites that offer such services. All the person has to do is open an account, fill up the necessary fields then submit your resume.
» Continue Reading: Online Job Hunting
Recession's Effects on Your Business and How to Control them.
The impact of recession can be very damaging not only to households but to businesses as well. Learn about these effects of recession and prevent your business from succumbing into its deadly claws.
1. Customer scarcity
When you have too few customers, consequently, your income suffers as well. The rising prices make customers too picky or less interested in giving you business. Existing customers may also be re-assessing their spending, which results in fewer orders for you.
So what do you do? How about changing your customer acquisition techniques?
Have you tried online marketing? This may not be suitable to all businesses but there's no harm in considering it. Online marketing has many forms and doing your assignment will prove to be helpful in determining which technique will benefit most your business.
2. Ridiculously high credit card debt
Inflation is likely to happen during inflation, which means your expenses can be higher than normal. If you have been relying on your credit card for payments, you now need to monitor your spending really closely. This is because losing track of your expenses can surprise you one day when you no longer have enough funds to pay off all your debt. You do not want to have problem with your credit card because a bad rating will not be of great help when you are trying to obtain approval for loans.
» Continue Reading: Recession's Effects on Your Business and How to Control them.
The credit crunchies early UK budget report
You can follow developments fairly live on twitter.com #budget09 and #budget. There is a budget summary from the BBC.
The truth of matters is that the economy is shrinking and so there is a squeeze going on. This budget while not very dramatic mirrors this.
There was a serious economic situation like this after the Great War (World War One) and the first country out of that got ther by spending hard and giving away bread. Also they grew the army to make jobs. That was Germany and e all know how that ended up.
Have your say.
Sound Advice for Times of Hardship
Some sound advice when times are hard - be there.
Lean on me when you're not strong and I'll be your friend - I'll help you carry on. For, it won't be long until I'll need someone to lean on.
Wishing you peace.
How should the smart person finance a business during a credit crunch?
If you are thinking of starting a business during this (or any other) credit crunch then you are going to be doing so with less resources thn at other times. That's not to say you are crazy (far from it) but you do have to be damn good at planning.
I've just recently found a story on online.wsj.com - "Credit Woes Hit Home" which looks at how business credit card facilities are being stripped back just when they are needed most.
So a question arises: how should the smart person finance a business during a credit crunch?
For example would Micro Finance be the way to go? If so how much might the "average Joe" hope to raise?
Could you start with a limited and sell shares? How would that work and how far could you go?
What could you advertising support that is not usually supported that way?
How can you innovate with this? What can you do without, outsource, cross-promote, co-work and co-brand? Could you exchange tasks with another company so that you both work more fully to your skills maybe without money?
What about trade exchanges?
It's a credit crunch folks and the innovators come out ahead. What innovative ideas can you share?
The cartoonists tip: Keep calm and carry on...
Royston Robertson the reasonably famouse cartoonist from Kent recently shared his view of the credit crunch which harks back to the British way of doing things in the last world war. Keep calm and keep going.
But, as a cartoonist friend said to me recently, "Your whole life's a credit crunch when you're a cartoonist!" Like many self-employed people, cartoonists do find it tough-going sometimes, recession or no recession. You may not be selling enough gags, maybe not getting enough commissioned work ... it can get tough.
All you can do is keep calm and carry on, as the poster says, and hope that something turns up. It usually does. So in that spirit, I created my own version of that poster for all you cartoonists out there.
All you can do is keep calm and carry on, as the poster says, and hope that something turns up. It usually does. So in that spirit, I created my own version of that poster for all you cartoonists out there.
Green life is economic life
One way to over come the current out of control inflation the West is "enjoying" is to side step money and own the means of production. Before you suggest I sound needlessly like Karl Marks or something let me explain.
The means of production was never the factories. Communism got that wrong (I think).
The means of production is direct access to the land.
By leaving the simpler life, the life more in tune with nature one has much less need for money in the first place as the land can and should directly provide for you and your family. It requires effort and "doing a job" and "saving for a rainy day" is easier even now.
However living life close to the tree, the soil and the wind is something I dream of. Fellow Good Moral blog Green Moral has a new article My Green Dream and in that I wax lyrical about the dream of a simpler life.
I have no idea the path required to get there but as I start to find it I will share with you.
Eddie Izzard and Kevin Spacey on Free Theatre Tickets.
Eddie Izzard and Kevin Spacey have lent their support to the Labour Government’s new free theatre scheme. At a time when things are getting tight it's good to know that you can get some things for nothing at all. Good things too.
"A Night Less Ordinary" launches in the week of 16th February and will offer 618,000 free theatre tickets to under 26 year olds in over 200 theatres up and down England (UK). You can (apparently) find out where your nearest participating theatre is at www.anightlessordinary.org.uk.
You tell us: Low and no cost dates "Recession complicates dating" says upi.com so let's turn the tables on you guys and ask - what recommendations for low and no cost dating can you offer each other?
A Perspective.
Hi there. My name is Tom and I am a partner and founder of a small creative technology company in New York, called POKE. I've been meaning to get a post up here sooner, but these are busy days trying to keep the pipeline full and the business creative. I have been doing a lot of thinking - with my partners about 2009. About where we'd like to take the business, if we'll be able to take it there, and, in this economy what exactly is success, anyway.
Success in 2009? For me its...Focus. Focus on doing the right things. For our clients - For our staff - With our partners. I truely believe if we Focus, the rest will come.
The following is a note I sent to my team staff week that I thought I'd share...
A perspective:
I’ve worked at gigantic ad agencies and tiny ad agencies. I've owned an interactive startup. And now I'm changing the game with you lot.
I don’t claim to know everything, but I do have some perspective.
If I could offer one piece of advice to for all of us in our current lousy economy, it’s this: It's time to Focus.
As we move in to 2009 I ask all of us to take a hard look at ourselves, as individuals and as a team. This year you will need to Relentlessly Focus on the ONE thing you’re truly exceptional at. The ONE thing that your current clients value you most for. The ONE thing that gets you f-ing excited. The ONE thing that you do better than anyone else.
Don’t guess about what the ONE thing is. Choose it. If you don't know, ask the guy or gal next to you. Forget the hype about what’s hot, or what’s next. It is now time to Focus. All of us.
You may hate this advice, because as creative people we always want to connect with what's new. But try it and watch what happens, POKE.
Pay attention to the little guy in photo. He’s 1000% focused. The big guy isn’t.
Guess who wins?
