I’m excited about 2009! I might be a bit late in writing this up, but I wanted to spend a moment to follow up to our predictions for 2009 in greater detail. The excitement of the New Year always fires me up. That’s especially true this year. Why am I so excited for 2009? Because we’re in a recession.
I know it’s bleak and outright cold. But hold on a second.
You might be wondering if I’m off my rocker. I’m not. You see, I LOVE entrepreneurship. I believe there’s no better time for entrepreneurs to shine than in a recession. When the media is preaching gloom and doom, when every casual conversation around us is weighed down by the “R” word and when many folks are fearful about the future, Now is the moment when entrepreneurs get to show their stuff. This is when the entrepreneur’s traits of creativity, optimism and tenacity are the most valuable. This is when entrepreneurs make hay while everyone else is “hunkering down,” weathering a long winter storm.
For me, it’s so fun to see our customers and our company grow at a fast pace. I love being asked, “How is your business doing in the recession?” I grin because we’re doing great. We’ve grown 80% this year, doubled our customer base and have had our ‘best quarter ever’ every quarter. How are we doing this in a “downturn?”
We serve entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses. We serve people who know they make their future. We serve entrepreneurs who understand “stability” or “job security” is a personal matter: the market doesn’t provide them stability, their company doesn’t provide them stability. We serve entrepreneurs who inherently understand that each one of us creates our own stability.
Yes, the antiquated notion that ‘big companies in Corporate America provide people with job security’ has gradually been giving way to the truth: we all create our own job security by the caliber of our work. That’s what entrepreneurs understand. And the recession is driving that point home harder and harder everyday. I validate this through the recent employment report from ADP, which reflects the need for the nation’s workforce to bootstrap and think independently.
I like to say this is “The Age of the Entrepreneur,” a term I borrow from Michael Gerber. Well, if this is the Age of the Entrepreneur, the recession is bringing the Age to the forefront. And I love it!
[Image credit: Jaako on Flickr]
