Hey all.

 

Just wondered what everybody thinks about the whole financial / buisness / recession situation.

 

I am beginning to put a portfolio page together with a view to starting paid design in the not too near future (although hoping to do a few freebies and learn more first).

 

Is it a bad time as with all things appear to be at the moment?

 

Are you pro's out there suffering the consequences of tightened purse strings and cut backs?

 

Sorry guys, don't mean to be gloomy, just wonder if I'm wasting my time.

Maybe this will help, I received it in an email today (weird that).

 

Building Your Business in a Recession: Turn to SEO and Online Marketing (SEO Group - http://seogroup.com/)

 

It certainly doesn’t seem like the best time to increase the time and money you spend on your business’s marketing campaign, however, putting in the effort can not only help your company ride through the recession, it can even ensure that your business is properly positioned for better days.

 

* Turn Analytics into Understanding. It is not enough to just check your stats and read reports – you need to understand why your users do what they do. Each click, each email subscriber, and each conversion is an action taken by an actual person, and understanding why they behave the way they do is the key to effective online business development.

 

* Turn Understanding into Action. Put the knowledge you’ve gathered from your analytics into play by optimizing your site’s usability and creating a clear path for your visitors to follow – lead them through your website to an eventual conversion.

 

* Turn to Search Engine Optimization. The most creatively designed and usable website is the proverbial in the internet haystack without SEO. Positioning your site on page one for relevant queries (e.g. Chicago SEO if you are a Chicago SEO company) is the best way to drive targeted traffic to your company’s website.

 

The fact that the economic climate is harsh right now doesn’t you should stop marketing and growing your business. On the contrary – now might be the best possible time to get your message out to potential customers and clients, so take advantage of the internet’s many marketing opportunities.

 

Read the SEO Group blog for more SEO advices, as well as other SEO and internet marketing tips and techniques.

Undoubtedly a global recession (which is completely artificial, caused only by rich gamblers being greedy and the fundamental flaw in capitalism which no-one likes to talk about) plenty of companies will be either reigning in their spending or going bust! The stupid thing is, the only way to avoid a recession is for everyone to carry-on as normal and spend, but the media will have everyone panicking.

When times are tough businesses should be looking at ways of improving their performance - beating their competitors and working harder to reach customers. This should be the message at the moment from businesses like ours and I expect to see everyone frantically editing their copy to ensure they get that message across and reassure potential clients that they are investing wisely (an 's' not a 'z', although... ).

I saw the Mail (someone else's, honest) comparing things to Black Tuesday (big crash in 1929). One thing that was noted at the time that happened was that the companies that invested more in advertising and branding were the ones that generally came out in a stronger position than their competitors who reigned in the ad budgets.

 

In a sense, it may be a good thing for designers. The companies that have an understanding of the value of design work are the ones more likely to invest in design services. There'll probably be less paying work going around though, so it'll be a bad time to start a design company.. unless you have prior clients, a lot of work is currently from startups, and not many people will be starting up a company with things as they are.

Thanks people.

 

Let's keep our fingers crossed!

 

I have loads to learn yet and will do some freebies (if I can find them) to keep me going.

I don't have the greatest deal of knowledge... but I think this is a great time for people who are just beginning - whether it be setting up shop, or buying your first property.

 

You need to operate in a way which is tightly controlled. Getting a bank loan might be tough but if you can get yourself off the ground without one now isn't a bad time.

 

As folks have said, people are turning to strengthening their brands and consumer confidence which means plenty of design and web work is available.

 

It is also important to remember that by being positive and bucking the trend you will be playing your part in turning the situation around.

 

Watch out for mega bargains in the coming months too! As some commodity items are being slashed and for those who aren't too badly directly affected now is a good time for sizable purchases