Entrepreneurs Worry: Will the Economy Do a Double Dip?

By Carol Tice

For a while there, things were really looking up. Retail sales rose for months on end. People were buying houses.

Now, it's all come crashing back down. June retail sales declined. After the federal new buyer credit expired, home sales sank substantially in July.

Now, entrepreneurs are biting their nails and wondering if the economy is headed down again. Experts are saying basically, nothing else can go wrong now, or we're going back in the tank.

I think the answer to whether a double-dip is headed toward your business depends on where you are and your industry. In California, for instance, the recession has pretty much never let up. The state started issuing IOUs this summer, instead of paying its bills to social-service agencies and others. Tracking markets with the highest business bankruptcy rates, California cities are prominently featured along with Houston, Dallas, Denver, Chicago and Atlanta. If you're a retailer selling a big-ticket item like, oh, cars -- I think I'm not going out on a limb too far when I say that for you, the recovery is probably a ways off.

But there's still lots of life in this economy. Up here in Washington State, the downturn was never that extreme. I know a lot of other entrepreneurs who've kept roaring along straight through the past two years.

Clearly, whether the economy heads back down or just keeps sort of slogging slowly along, the economy is not going to come around and lift all boats again anytime soon. I think there's too much energy spent worrying about the general state of the economy, and not enough spent focused on how your one, individual business can succeed in this environment. The economy's a great excuse for failing, for those who don't have the drive to figure out a success strategy.

It's not a great time for business owners who want their business to churn out cash while they golf. It's all hands on deck, for those who want to succeed in this unhelpful economic climate.

It's a time for entrepreneurial creativity. For seeing the opportunity in how the economy is changing. The advantage is to those who're thinking about the trends -- crowdsourcing, the new frugality, the desire for quality food, quality experiences -- and finding ways to meet consumers current needs.

Those who are spending less time worrying about leading economic indicators and more time crafting a relevant business strategy are very high on their company's prospects. I think that's the best indicator of how entrepreneurs can thrive in the downturn, whether it's single or double.

What's your strategy for succeeding in the tough economy? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

Photo via Flickr user pattyequalsawesome