Change doesn't stop in a recession!

You may already be overwhelmed and oppressed by the amount of change, restructuring and cost-cutting you're going through. But the global recession is only going to exacerbate that!

Is there a silver lining in the cloud? Yes! Where there is danger, change and gloom, there is also opportunity, innovation and transformation.

Where people lose money, people can also make money.

Despite what you see, hear and read, people and companies are thriving and growing in the downturn.

Dictionaries defines 'opportunity' as a favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances'.

So the question is, how you can turn what's happening to your advantage? By working on your personal reputation! Remember it's easier to see the light in the dark! Anyone can claim to be a world-beater when the bar is low and everyone is making money.

Not everyone can be seen, noticed and heard when times are dark, gloomy and negative.

Here are four ways to take advantage of oppression of the recession to enhance your reputation:

1. Keep your profile high. if you're still open for business, keep up your writing, your networking, your PR, your marketing to let people know. Make your conversations count with stories of sales made, examples of projects worked on and testimonials of delighted customers.
2. Work on yourself. Downturn = downtime. That means you have extra time when you're not dealing with loads of potential customers beating a path to your door. This time should be spent working on you. Self-development, learning new skills, getting good mentors, reading good books, listening to great audio courses...all will make you better. Forget where you are now - what kind of a state do you want to be in when all this is over?
3. Be 'extra open' to ideas. When times are tough, it's a perfect window to be more open to various joint ventures, alliances, co-operatives, initiatives and partnerships. So do a lot more exploring with people that serve your target market but doing something different to you. What could you do with others that you couldn't do alone. Even your competition may provide a partnership opportunity for you - it's you and them against your target market!
4. Change what you sell and how you sell it. You've done okay in the good times - most people do. But now is the time to be better and different! How can you change, beef up or modify you proposition, both as an individual and as a company, to make you more attractive and more compelling? There is no better time to do it than now!