The Three Steps to Recession-Proofing Your Business

I must admit that I don't watch the news often enough. It frustrates me and depresses me, all at the same time. But, I do walk by a television that is showing a news program often enough to see the constant predictions by the Chicken Littles of the world. They are all too ready to offer up the "news" that "the sky is falling."

Now, before you run off and start actually believing that - especially in the context of your business - just stop, take a deep breath and relax. Money is moving just as fast as it ever has, you just need to be conscious of the fact that it may be moving differently than it was in the real estate boom of yesterday.

Below, you'll find three easy steps that will help you recession-proof your business:
1. Become the "Celebrity Expert" in your Business Niche
In any economy, especially in an economy where the buyers in your market have been trained to spend carefully, you have to compete for every last dollar that is being spent. Your buyers are likely distracted by their own issues that they are dealing with, so the last thing that you want is to lose a prospect or, worse yet, an existing customer due to factor you can control.

If you have taken the time to show that YOU, not the product or service that you offer, are the Celebrity Expert, the Guru, the Go-To provider in the marketplace, you will have a much better chance of staying busy - while your competitors are floundering. The reason for this is that many business strategies change during market shifts, and if your buyers remember your previous strategies and offerings better than they remember your ability to make great decisions and guide them in the right direction, then you can expect to sit around waiting for the telephone to ring until the market changes.

If, on the other hand, you have taken the time to display your expertise, and have promoted yourself rather than your "latest and greatest" product and service offering, your audience will always come to you, their trusted source, when they must get results. They would rather rely on a trusted advisor than on a product or service. People buy people; NEVER forget this - especially in a shifting market.

2. Ramp Up Your Marketing Efforts
In a changing market where assumptions and projections are no longer identical to what they were in previous periods, the first thing many businesses do is assume an overly-conservative marketing strategy. The first thing many a CFO says is "let's slow down our marketing efforts." BIG MISTAKE.

This could appear to be a lesson in contrarian-marketing, and while that does often work, this goes deeper than that. We're not just trying to say "Yes" when those around us are saying "No," but the same outcome ensues.

In a changing marketplace you actually have to market more consistently and creatively to get consumers to spend their dollars on your products and services. They are adopting a more fiscally conservative policy all around based on what they are seeing and hearing; so they have to be smacked in the face with your marketing message even more than usual in order to finally make the decision that what you are offering makes sense for them. If you slow down your marketing efforts, the final "sign" your buyer is looking for before they cross the line and buy may never come. As they say, "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear." If you don't appear when the student is ready, you'll miss out on the chance to make the sale and bring in the revenues you deserve.

3. Be Agile
We often get caught up in offering the products and services that we want to offer, rather than looking for the missing ingredients in our buyer's lives. It's an easy trap to fall into, particularly if you've been doing what you've been doing for a prolonged period of time.

If you get stuck offering your products and services exactly as you have in the past, you may miss a great opportunity to fill a void. If there is a shift in market conditions and your profitability level drops, and you continue to offer your products and services the same way you were pre-shift, then you are turning a blind eye to the fact that your marketplace is no longer seeking (or willing to pay for) the solution of yesterday.

Oftentimes it only takes a slight tweak of your message to ease the pain your prospects are feeling, but you do have to take a moment to stop and realize that your "ointment" may no longer be packaged in a way that attracts customers, and that re-packaging could be the key to renewed profitability.

I know that the overwhelming message in the news is that "the sky is falling," but if you'll take the time to follow these three simple steps, I assure you that even while your prospects and clients are trying to avoid the impending doom, they'll come to your bunker to avoid getting knocked down.

About the Author

WANT TO REPUBLISH THIS ARTICLE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: JW Dicks & Nick Nanton, TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com, publish the Business Growth ezine covering topics that every business needs to know. Get more FREE business growth tips at http://www.TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com

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Benefits of Refinancing your Mortgage

 

When you refinance a mortgage, you are converting the mortgage you already have into a new loan. The new loan usually has more favorable terms, such as a lower interest rate, that make refinancing worthwhile. Refinancing can have several important benefits, most of which add up to money saved over the life of the loan.

Refinancing helps you save money

 

Most people who refinance do so because the new mortgage will save money, usually because refinancing will allow them to lock in a lower interest rate than the one they currently have. Refinancing can help you save a significant amount of money over the life of the loan, even if the interest rate reduction is small. If you have a mortgage of several hundred thousand dollars, even a small interest rate reduction can save you thousands of dollars in interest. In fact, reducing your interest rate by just one point could save you around $5,000 on a fifteen year mortgage.

Refinancing can save you money in other ways, too, even if you are not able to lock in a lower interest rate. If your current mortgage is sub-prime because your credit rating was poor when you took out the loan, for example, refinancing could save a considerable amount of money if you’ve built up a better credit rating.

Refinancing can reduce the term of your mortgage

 

The potential to save a significant amount of money is the most obvious advantage of refinancing, but there is another important benefit that is often overlooked. This is the ability to refinance to a mortgage with reduced terms. For example, if you are able to refinance from a 30 year to a 20 or even 15 year mortgage, you’ll own your home outright in much less time.

Don’t forget, however, that reducing the terms of your mortgage mean your monthly payments increase. If you’re refinancing for this reason, it is important that you know your finances will remain secure enough that you can continue to meet the higher monthly repayments. The good news is refinancing for this reason is actually another way you can save money on your mortgage. Even though your monthly repayments are higher, reducing the term means you’ll pay significantly less money in interest over the life of the loan.

Refinancing lets you switch mortgage types

 

One of the main reasons many people refinance is to switch to a different mortgage type, for example from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage. Taking out an adjustable rate mortgage is an attractive option, especially for first time home buyers, since securing a low interest rate means lower repayments. However, many homeowners later feel that they would prefer the security of a fixed rate mortgage. Refinancing means that it’s possible to switch from an adjustable to a fixed interest rate, or vice versa, to ensure you have the mortgage that most benefits you. When is a good time to switch? It depends on many things, including your current financial situation, the state of the economy, and how long you plan to live in the home.

Refinancing can free up equity in your home

 

As you make mortgage payments over the months and years of the loan, you build up equity in your home. Every payment you make means you own a little bit more of the equity, and sometimes, it can be financially beneficial to tap into that equity. If you want to make improvements to increase the value of your home, fund college for your kids, or consolidate debts, for example, equity release can provide the necessary cash.

 

If you can get a lower interest rate when you are accessing the equity, so much the better – this will help compensate for the fact that removing some of the equity extends the life of the loan.

 

Time to Refinance?

 

Most homeowners will refinance a mortgage at least once, and statistics say that the average homeowner refinances their home every four years. That might seem a little high, but given that refinancing has so many benefits, it’s not difficult to see why refinancing is a popular option.

So when is refinancing a good idea? Look to the above list to determine when is the right time to refinance. If you can benefit by lowering your interest rate, reducing the terms of your mortgage, or switching to a more favorable mortgage type, or if you need to access some of the equity you’ve built up in your home, refinancing could be a good option.

These are not the only points to consider, of course, but they are a good starting point to think about if you are wondering whether refinancing will work for you.

About the Author

Rachel Jackson is a freelance writer who writes about financial products pertaining to the mortgage industry such as the lowest mortgage rates.

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