The Art of Business: Staying Afloat on Rough Economic Seas

Eric J. Adams

The news from the business pages reads like the obituaries. Companies large and small are carving up budgets wholesale, and content and advertising – once the reigning royalty of the creative world – have been unceremoniously dethroned in favor of, well, not much.
Even in these turbulent times, you can remain successful (somebody must). It’s just a little more difficult than in years past. Your sails need to be trimmed tight, your course needs to be set with dead-on accuracy, and all those unprofessional behaviors and practices, tolerable a year or two ago, aren’t going to cut it in our regrettable new economy.
Here are nine tips to help you navigate the rough waters ahead:
 

• Stay With Your Game Plan.

You set out recently, or perhaps years ago, with a plan to create a successful business. If you’re in business today, obviously it worked. It may not seem as brilliant as it once had, but it’s gotten you this far. While you might have to tweak your rates, or make slight adjustments in strategy or tactics, it’s doubtful a wholesale scrapping of your plan in favor of a new one will put you on the path of profitability. Stick with what you know and do best. Just be better and smarter about it.

• Pace Yourself.

There’s a great inclination during bad times to speed up everything — make a zillion phone calls, work ridiculous hours, avoid panic by embracing insanity. Indeed, you may have to work harder than in the past but remember that economic cycles tend to be slow and long. Put your energies into long-term solutions, not short-term fixes. Cultivate new clients, network, develop new skills. Prepare yourself for a marathon not a sprint.
 
 

• Downsize.

Fancy offices, exotic hobbies, capricious spending habits — there comes a time when you just can’t afford some things anymore and downsizing is the surest way to make your income match your outflow. In both life and business there are amenities that can be jettisoned. Yes, it may be painful, demoralizing, even embarrassing, but so is foreclosure. Think of it as spiritual cleansing.
 
 

• Avoid Dumb Deals.

It’s easy to get desperate in desperate times, and you’ll have your share of clients propositioning you with deals to work for cut rates or (greatly) delayed payments. Has compensation for freelance creative designers dropped? You bet, but it’s never worth taking a job that is unprofitable or doesn’t provide some other tangible value, such as an entre into a hard-to-crack market. A professional respects his or her time and should expect the same from clients, even in dire times like these.
 
 

• Deliver As Promised.

Now more than ever professionalism counts. Be courteous and prompt. Make your presentations snap. Answer phone calls on the second ring. Do the work required and a little bit more. Get it done on time, and do it with a smile on your face. All the lessons you’ve learned about being a professional count now more than ever. It’s up to you to nurture client fidelity at a time when your clients have every incentive to bolt. There’s no margin for failure anymore.
 
 

• Keep In Touch.

Chances are you will lose clients in the next few months. But they’re not necessarily lost forever. One day, next summer or two summers hence, someone will dump some money in their budget or they’ll find a new position and be looking for a creative designer once again. If you want to be on the top of their “I-remember-them-fondly” list, remain in touch during the interim. Drop an e-mail or, better yet, dash off a stamped hand-written note every once in a while. If you want a reason to make contact, include a tidbit of valuable information: inside news about a competitor, a newspaper clipping on a subject of interest, or a hyperlink to some related site. Make today’s pink slip tomorrow’s paycheck.
 
 

• Stay Honest.

Everyone’s done it or thought about doing it — adding a few phantom hours to a time sheet, or worse, talking a client into a project or option that is in your best interest but not theirs. In lean times when every dollar counts, perhaps there’s greater incentive to pick up a few bucks via these means. Think twice. Let clients know what’s going to work for them and what’s not, and, most importantly, let them know what you think may be a waste of money on their part, even if it means a loss of business for you. If they discover you were right, you and your opinion will be held in the highest regard for a long, long time, and in the long run that’s worth far more than the couple of extra bucks you may have earned at the expense of your integrity.
 
 

• Be Happy.

Hey, it’s only an economic downturn; it’s not the end of the world, yet. It’s easy to get depressed when life changes for the worse, but depression and worry do little to rectify a bad situation. Reconnect with the things you love, be it art, music, literature, hobbies. Use your downtime to do all the things you had no time to do. Perspective works in life as it does in art, by giving depth and meaning to our creations.
 
 

• Do Insanely Great Work.

There is one constant through all of this: the talented will always have jobs. So perhaps the best way to keep afloat during uncertain economic times is to accept nothing but the absolute best from yourself and then go even further. Surprise yourself and dazzle your clients. With all the unknowns facing you, producing incredible work is the only way to stay captain of your fate upon during this unchartered journey ahead. And that, perhaps, is the best one can hope for during times like these.