What did I learn in the last two years?

Recently, a prospective new hire asked me a very good question … What have I learned from living through the Great Recession of the last two years? After gazing out the window for a few moments, here’s my answer:

• Have a strong base of clients in recession-resilient industries. We do a lot of work in the food production industry as well as health care. Both suffered slightly, but we are talking single digit declines in sales, not 40-50 percent. 
• Offer a diversified service mix. Our business model, for years, has been built on offering a wide range of marketing services. For instance, having strong digital and PR capabilities proved very useful. Media budgets are big targets for the budget axeman. But having strong offerings in other services allowed our clients to keep the heart beating on their brands while the economy recovered.
• Be open and transparent. This was a very difficult time for everyone. We fared better than most but you had to recognize that spouses, family members and friends were losing jobs. We kept a very open line with our associates about exactly what was happening and how we were making decisions.
• Keep your head up and keep moving forward. We are fortunate enough to live in the land of opportunity. Something good is sure to happen.
• Maintain a sense of humor. It was hard, but trying to keep a smile on our face despite tough times was big.

Of course, a little Lady Luck along the way didn’t hurt either. Put it this way, I hope none of us have to live through a period like that again! And let’s hope the words “double-dip recession” don’t find their ways into our daily vernacular.