[Hidden-tech] Re: Recession and pro-bono work

[fredbliss at comcast.net]

That's a great post, Paul.  You are absolutely right.  Small biz tends to be more elastic in this sort of economy.  I thnk a saavy business owner looks at it as an opportunity I think to increase their foothold on a market where larger companies have lost their way or have revealed their business model to be unsustainable in a down market condition.  I think in other cases is simply gives them time to focus on themselves and to realize they need to improve their marketing strategies as well as invest in their customer service infrastructure, which happens to include websites.

Companies with five or ten huge clients are hurting right now.  The overhead it takes to land and keep that client often requires a full time sales person and/or account manager.  They demand more, they consume more time, and they tend to trim things like pricey service contracts first.  When one of those types of clients leaves, are you losing 10, 15, 20% of your cash flow?  Not good.  I'd rather have 30 small clients and lose one than 10 huge clients and lose one any day.

If you have carved a niche and your demographic includes small businesses (I work in a business where that is the case) *and* you have found a way to be profitable on smaller projects, I think you'll do fine.  We too have been very busy recently.

Regards,

Fred

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From: "Paul Stallman" <paul at alias-solutions.com>
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