Investing for better times ahead

Sure the economy is a mess for many of us right now. I recently was talking with my daughter about what she saw in her future. She is starting her third year of undergrad studies at Purdue this fall. I was shocked when she mentioned how bad the economy & the job market looked. I brushed that comment aside & tried to remind her that her job right now was to get the necessary skills to be marketable when she is ready to enter the marketplace. Judy is a remarkable kid, who has done & will continue to do great things for herself & those she comes in contact with.

As a Yoga practitioner I know it is critical to be fully present in the moment, and to be fully aware of the larger context of our lives. This is the only moment we have, we can use it to worry about what is, or what will be, or we can use it to prepare. There are so many ways do this. Learning new skills, exercising both our bodies & minds will certainly serve us in many ways going forward. Here are a few things I have done at Brody's 800-4-Balloons over the past few months to be ready for the opportunities ahead.

8004Helium.com: We formed a partnership to distribute Helium. It is up & running with many happy customers. It hasn't been easy & we have had our share of setbacks, but we have continued our efforts, expecting to succeed.

Adding Item Numbers to our Category Pages on Brody's 800-4-balloons.com: This has made getting this information easier for our customers & ourselves too.

Refining our warehouse & information systems: Seems like this job is never finished, which of course speaks to job security, for everyone involved in the process.

Of course there are many other thing I would like to get done, & setting priorities is a completely different subject for perhaps another day. But I would like to download those idea here & now.

Sending out emails to customers.

Creating postcards to mail to existing & prospective customers.

Building Kiosks for customers to use in our showroom.

Installing a new phone system.

Fixing up the building inside & out.

Adding new products & product lines to the offerings.

Having sales meetings.

Spending time with the staff outside of work.

Training staff for future positions.

Calling customers we have not heard from in a while & asking why?

Sending out surveys.

I firmly believe that "luck is what shows up at the confluence of preparedness & opportunity." I like this quote I read recently "opportunities are easily missed because they come knocking looking dirty & dressed as hard work." You can spend your time worrying about how you will meet your next payroll, or you can prepare to take advantage of the next opportunity you spot. I encourage you to prepare. Lee