What the Heart of Your Business Needs in a Down Economy

A friend and colleague recently told me this: “I know I am not spending money right now, and it appears that others aren’t either.” Other clients have seen contracts cut in half or accounts lost, others report a decrease in sales.

And yet, still others report having their best month ever. What gives? Is it just the luck of the draw, or which industry you’re in? Is the economy down or not?

It might appear there are only two ways to go with this economy. Either everything is going down the toilet, and you have to hunker down and survive. Or if you keep a good attitude and believe things will be fine, then you don’t have to suffer.

Yet both of those feel like ostrich responses, where one sticks their head in the sand and hopes for the best, while the other imagines the worst. I’m not going to advocate either one.

Nobody Said Being In Business Was Easy

For several years we have lived in a bubble economy, with extra money floating around and a little of a “devil-may-care” attitude toward spending. It hasn’t been the healthiest perspective, and it has given rise to a number of business myths. Here are a few of them:

• Business in the New Age is now easy! Just paint by the numbers and cash will come flowing in.
• You can build a huge business while spending nearly nothing, using free internet tools and a happy smile.
• If you’re not making gobs of money, it’s your own fault.

Each of these myths have caught me in moments, too. Why shouldn’t it be easy? Yah, it’s supposed to be easy! Waaah… why isn’t it easy?

The Truth: Making a Living Requires Work

There’s a popular idea floating around that says: God/Divine/Source wants you to have it easy. Just stay happy, stay focused on your dreams, and everything you need will come to you.

This is a misunderstanding of a profound spiritual teaching. The Sufis talk about it like this: You have been promised ease around your sustenance.

The problem? This is a teaching of the heart, not the ego. For the ego, “ease” means easy, no work, lying around on the beach while the cash flows in.

For the heart, however, “ease” means something entirely different. What brings ease to the heart is when your work (1) benefits others and has meaning, (2) hurts no one and doesn’t accumulate what is referred to as “sin” or “karma,” and (3) is honest. If you earn a living while accomplishing those three, even if there is some hard work involved, your heart will be at ease.

It’s no sin to work hard at your business. Your business is supposed to bring ease to your heart, but it isn’t necessarily going to be easy.

This Economic Change Forces Us to Get Real

There are plenty of people–millions, hundreds of millions–on the planet who have money and are spending it on things they need and want. Your business doesn’t need that many clients to thrive. The math should be simple.

The challenge rears its head when extra fake credit money suddenly isn’t floating around anymore. Now customers are taking the time and energy to make real decisions about what’s important to them instead of spending like they’re on a shopping spree.

This is an opportunity for you to bring focus and clarity into your business in a way that perhaps you haven’t yet had. And it is this clarity and focus that will help you connect with the people you are meant to serve, no matter what the economy is doing.

What kind of focus? What kind of clarity? Let me explain where it’s worthwhile to have focus and clarity so the heart of your business can thrive.

Keys to Clarity in a Realistic Economy

• Who are you serving and what are you helping them with?

This is the oldest, most powerful, and most useful tool in the business toolbox, but it’s surprising how many business owners don’t take the time to sharpen it.

Get crystal clear about who your business helps and what problem they are struggling with that you help solve. It can be a challenging, vulnerable, and difficult process to get rock-solid in. But once you do, EVERYTHING in your business gets easier.

• Where can you cut costs, and where must you maintain quality?

This is something that is always helpful to think about. There are places to save money and avoid unnecessary costs. And then there are places where cutting corners impacts quality, and that will lose you customers.

For instance, do you really need an extra-fancy website, or will a simple one do? It depends on your business. If you are catering to elegant, high-end, or sophisticated users, your website needs to match that quality. On the other hand, if your business is more down-home, then simple will do it.

• Are you on a mission, or are you being too careful?

It’s natural for us to be deeply concerned for each other. If someone is struggling financially, and it’s a choice between your service and food on the table, of course you don’t want to take the food out of that person’s mouth.

However, it’s easy for your worries to inflate this concern beyond what’s reasonable. When your business is dedicated to making a real difference for people, then your work is important. Don’t shrink from making a strong case for it! You don’t want to manipulate anyone, but you don’t want to make decisions for other people by withholding your passion and clarity about how important the work you do is.

There are realities about what’s going on in our economy right now, some of which are very painful indeed. At the same time, as our economy comes back toward a more realistic accounting and people are more conscious about their spending, your business can still thrive.

Take this opportunity to get clear about your clients and their problems, about your costs and your quality, and about your mission and strength. Don’t shrink back. It may be work, but now is the time when our world needs your work most.

And don’t be surprised to find your heart at ease as you see your honest contribution truly making our world a better place.

And you? What’s the heart of your business needing?