Monday, March 02, 2009

Creative ways to keep going in this recession

These extraordinary times call for creative thinking. And maybe partnering with folks you never thought about partnering with before.

Today, I read an article about two formerly competing remodeling companies on Long Island, NY, sharing the same showroom and parking spaces, saving the one company more than $3,000 a month in rent and utilities. Both companies are having down years and were looking for ways to stay in business. The payback for the company supplying the showroom is that it gets to access the other’s dealer discount for cabinetry, and probably some other favors, which weren't mentioned in the article.

Also mentioned in the article, which appeared in Newsday, is a networking group known as “Go-To-Group," nearly a dozen different businesses that cater to household needs. The group includes a real estate agent, caterer, painter, interior designer, website developer, florist and landscaper. These service-related businesses exchange client lists and referrals, and, of course, enjoy much reduced marketing costs.

Although it wasn’t mentioned in the article, what would keep landscape and lawn service companies from sharing employees, at least during the period of the economic downturn? Of course, it would require trust on the part both companies, and extra scheduling and tracking, but why not? — Ron Hall

1 comment:

Bijendra Thakur said...

The article was very informative and I hope that I will get such good article in future also. I often read your articles and will also read in future.