As you get set for launch, it can help to acknowledge that a recession will come sooner or later. And when it comes, it will test your resolve, your ingenuity, and your ability to tough it out in an environment where you may find yourself working harder but making less money, at least for a time. If that seems daunting, you may take comfort knowing two of the most successful companies in the world, Microsoft and Apple, begun less than a year apart, endured a severe recession in their formative years.
Meanwhile, newer companies inspired by these tech pioneers have packaged innovations for small businesses around concepts and functions such as the “internet of things,” artificial intelligence, reporting and collaboration, self-service automation, and consumer-data security. Altogether, these verticals can make a new business more resilient in hard times by expanding service menus and reducing operating costs.
You can further strengthen your fledgling business by using social media to get your solutions to the problems faced by potential customers into the marketplace of ideas. Fortunately, you can draw content — either whole cloth or in modified form — from online libraries to enhance your knowledge offerings. You can also take advantage of other low-cost solutions for media outsourcing, marketing, project management, membership communities, and financial solutions such as small-business loans.
Equally, you can work to deepen your understanding of your clients’ needs and strengthen your referral pipeline by networking with professionals working in adjacent fields. While there is much to be learned from direct competitors, reaching out to professionals in complementary businesses can result in connections of mutual benefit to clients of both enterprises.