What the Economy is Teaching Me

I’m emailing back and forth right now with one of our wonderful fwm Community members. I can‘t WAIT until fwm launches and we have a forum so that we can do more of this kind of talking. In doing so we are, of course, learning more about one another. She’s getting a business off of the ground, which is what brought her here. I’m so impressed with her indomitable spirit. She described some cataclysmic hard times she has faced, things some of us would think we would not ever be able to get out from under. And yet here she is.

One thing that she is facing right now is that the economic downturn is affecting her ability to grow this business. That is the case with many business owners right now. Other than a few people I know who are blessed with unusual material wealth, we are all facing adjustments and a bit of belt-tightening. The Today Show’s Dr. Dale Atkins, an fwm Expert Contributor, recently wrote a wonderful article about this, and in her usual chock-full-of-wisdom style, she breaks it down into some manageable concepts. The last sentence of this article says it all (no…I won‘t tell you what it is! I want you to click on the link and read it!).

In addition to the personal lifestyle changes many of us have had to make, the organizations for whom we work are doing what they can to minimize the impact and, in some cases, stay afloat. This can mean some unpleasant things for career women, such as doing the work of two people to cover the workload following a layoff, or worse, being the laid off employee.

How do we get out from under that? We do what successful businesses do. Constantly evolve.

Take back control as best as you can, and you will keep the situation from robbing you of your peace of mind. Make those changes, tighten that belt, survive that layoff, bearing in mind that others have done it and you have probably faced worse than this and survived. And never think that you won’t get out from under it. Whether you are in good times or bad you may rely on the fact that fortunes change.

What advice do you have for others as we make it all work in the current economy? What resources have helped you?