Green Shoots

[bellchippy]

Hi guys

There is a lot of talk on the TV news about green shoots of recovery, I live in a rural part of the UK and there 's not not to many green shoots around here.  Not in construction anyway, Whats it like where you live, are things picking up or have you not even noticed the recession?.

 

[Eastbourne Handyman]

I'd say the green shoots are very much there.
Back in Jan Feb I thought the phone had been cut off, but since March (for me) it's been getting more and more manic.
I used to advertise myself as a carpenter/handyman, but nowadays, I work mainly on  restoring box sash windows and other restoring-renovating-resuscitating woodwork. I've changed my advertising to (hopefully) appeal to those who want to preserve what they have. It seems to have worked. Since then I've been farming out work like there's no tomorrow and still the bloody phone won't stop ringing. I have to say two things. I don't do site work (by all accounts that's as dead as a dodo) and I've doubled my advertising spend.  I'd say, that now that people have got tired of the newspaper and television hype about recession and all its doom and gloom, many are now realising that they still have to live their own lives and not what the media is vomiting over us.
I'm willing to bet if people stopped buying newspapers and watching television, the so called recession would be over before the end of summer. An old mentor of mine used to continually say that media reporters aren't paid for the truth they tell , but rather for the damage they cause. That's because bad news sells more than good news.
Oh, and  a third thing I've put my prices up very substantially. It's lunacy to compete on price alone, because there is always no end of people who will be able to undercut you.
The green shoots are there, of that, there is no doubt.

 

[bellchippy]

Okay thanks Eastbourne handyman for reply, must just be my local area my phone dos'nt ring at all except for people trying to sell stuff.
Must get on my bike.

 

[bonesbr549]

Unemployment going up, but Obama is going to save the day! (not).  Hang on, it's going to be a long hard ride!

 

[Jimhart]

Jim,

I reread your post several times. I'm a marketing consultant, and so are you, whether you think of yourself as one or not.

You tweaked your message, repositioned you service in the market, doubled your ad spend and raised your prices.......and you found a market willing to buy more of your service than you can produce.

The folks who are skeptical whether someone else is going to fix this for them and think this is going to be tough are 100% right.

While times are obviously tough all over, the folks who take action are going to get through it better than the ones who are doing the same thing the same way and waiting for the phone to ring.

This is much more than Jim being lucky to be in a place where business is good. Google 'Acres of Diamonds'. Great story about what you're looking for being under your nose.

Jim

 

[dirtydeeds]

i do hope there are green shoots in ALL rural economys on the planet

no harvests will give the the grabbing farmers another excuse to hit us, the tax payers across the planet

for yet another hand out

on top of the MASSIVE subsidies they already get

how is it the world trade talks break down EVERY time

farming subsidies

(all sides, all countrries and all trading blocks are to blame on this matter)

all other susidies for all other goods on the planet (including those for plane makers) are worth half a shell of peanuts in comparison

 

[bellchippy]

Jim,

I reread your post several times. I'm a marketing consultant, and so are you, whether you think of yourself as one or not.

You tweaked your message, repositioned you service in the market, doubled your ad spend and raised your prices.......and you found a market willing to buy more of your service than you can produce.

The folks who are skeptical whether someone else is going to fix this for them and think this is going to be tough are 100% right.

While times are obviously tough all over, the folks who take action are going to get through it better than the ones who are doing the same thing the same way and waiting for the phone to ring.

This is much more than Jim being lucky to be in a place where business is good. Google 'Acres of Diamonds'. Great story about what you're looking for being under your nose.

Jim

Jim I think your reply is a little simplistic, but i get your point

 

[Jimhart]

Bellchippy,

Half of my clients have declared bankruptcy in the last 6 months and my largest client has reduced my business by about 45%.

My income last year was about 65% less than the previous year.

I know I sound simplistic, but it's not because this hasn't darkened my door.  I also try not to confuse easy and simple. Knowing that the ball is in my court to reinvent how I create value is simple, actually doing it is hard.

The onus is 100% on me to reinvent myself. Time spent bemoaning the phone not ringing or getting snarky over whether Obama is going to make it all better is time wasted. I'm nowhere near back where I want to be, but I think I'm going to get there faster by keeping it simple, going back to the fundamentals, and taking action.

Jim