Business

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, November 10, 2008 Expert advice for small businesses trying to cope By Mike Benbow Oregon economist Bill Conerly will visit Everett again this week to talk about the financial markets, the general economy and specifically what to expect in the coming months for Everett and the rest of Snohomish County. This Thursday he will make his annual talk to the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Coastal Community Bank. If you haven't already paid up, it will be a little bit pricey at this late date -- nonmembers of a chamber of commerce will be charged $50 to listen to Conerly's predictions over lunch at the Everett Golf and Country Club. For more information, call 425-257-3222, extension 0. If you're not planning to go, then read on. You can still benefit from his advice. Conerly has some solid ideas on how businesses should deal with a recession that I'll share with you for the price of this newspaper. What a deal. He suggests: Watch your inventory level closely; don't let it get out of hand. Watch trade credit. Be cautious extending trade credit and collect it aggressively. Watch staffing levels. If you are going to have to cut, better to do it early. If you have some employees who are critical, and you want to keep them even if they are under utilized now, ask them to step up their training and education so that they'll have stronger skills when the economy recovers. Do more marketing now. Not only will you occasionally turn up new opportunities, but calling on prospective clients helps you keep your ear to the ground. You'll learn earlier about problems your competitors may be having. Take care of your good customers. They may be having difficulty. This may be the time to stretch to help a few key, loyal customers. Look at acquisition opportunities; you may be able to pick up a competitor fairly cheaply. Talk to your banker. Report any bad news early. Your loan officer has an easier time going to bat for you if there have been no surprises along the way. And ask your banker about your credit quality. Did he have to stretch to get your line approved, or do you lie right in the bank's sweet spot? That's all good advice. If you like what you've read here, you can get more information and advice at Conerly's "Businomics" blog at businomics.typepad.com/. He also has a book out, called "Businomics: From the Headlines to Your Bottom Line Profit in Any Economic Cycle." It's available at his Web site, www.businomics.com. Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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