Preparing for and profiting from the downturn

It's pretty clear now that we're heading for another crash. Greece will default on its debts with consequences for the rest of the world ranging from bad to catastrophic.

What should we be doing as businesspeople to prepare for this? We've already cut all the costs we can and are repaying debt as fast as possible. Are there any other measures we could take to prepare ourselves?

Are there any business sectors that could do well in this scenario? Insolvency practitioners, you might think. But, Lehmans aside, they haven't been as busy as you might expect recently. Banks are reluctant to crystallise losses by putting their clients into insolvency proceedings.

Patterns of consumption and business buying are bound to change, but in what direction? I don't have any answers, but we should be thinking about this and be ready to adapt strategies quickly. I'd welcome any thoughts or ideas.

Counterattack the Recession

UK GDP is £1.4 trillion.  You only need a small slice of that to be successful.  Here are some great ways to grow your business.

"When you-know-what hits the fan and the survival of your business is endangered, you must begin thinking like a military commander in battle. Often the situation is so serious that you have to step forward and make hard decisions, and make them immediately. No more Mr. Nice Guy."

How big is your Outlook file?

The prevalence of email and the cheapness of data storage mean that Outlook files grow to a fantastic size.  100Gb is not unusual.  However, there always comes a time for housekeeping and here are some great tips for cutting back your email jungle, including...

"We could tell from the emails every time we had cakes in the office for the last 10 years! Searching for the word "cake: enabled a further 300+ emails to be identified and deleted."