“We are living in a world in which nobody is free, in which hardly anybody is secure, in which it is almost impossible to be honest and to remain alive.” George Orwell.
The business and economic environment is not looking positive for businesses in the immediate future, despite what politicians, bureaucrats, the ever-optimistic businesspeople and others with blinkers are saying. If you actually look around you with your eyes wide open, review the media and crime reports and ask “… why there is so much crime today?”, and look at studies on why people commit crimes, it is not hard to see what is already happening.
I could provide you with a list of why we are in the current predicament and what will almost likely happen in the future. Unfortunately, as we all know, people generally switch off when hearing about bad news. Therefore, no list of the issues will convince people who switch off, or don’t want to know, or will probably not feel any pain, will want to know on the size of the problem.
My intent as always, is to draw your attention as to why it is likely that criminal behaviour, in all its forms, will almost certainly increase in the future. If this reality eventuates, selling and doing business as you did previously will soon cost you dearly. The fact is, your business will not survive if it cannot sell and complete your business transactions profitably if criminals have stolen your business assets and finances.
Whilst it seems my words mean we are all doomed, that is not the case. Surprisingly in tough times, as history shows us repeatedly, your fortunes can turn around completely, either from good to bad or bad to good. What happens will depend which one of two strategies businesses and businesspeople have taken.
One strategy was to trade on as before and if the worst happens, you will be forced to react under pressure. When the worst happens, usually your world ends up in tears with negative outcomes as you become the victim of the actions of others, which will include your lenders and suppliers that demand to be paid, or your customers that went out of business with your invoices unpaid.
The second strategy, is where those who saw tough times emerging took proactive steps to minimise potential problems, or to build up financial and asset reserves. It is this strategy which usually ends up in positive territory because those acting positively are able to grow their financial and emotional wealth exponentially by buying out competitors at a very generous discount, or by obtaining additional assets to grow their net financial worth.
The second strategy is always best because you are in more control over what happens. Many of the actions which will help you survive and grow, have been detailed previously in our previous newsletters and blogs and can be found at our website, details are below.
Irrespective of what your situation is currently, it would be wise to take proactive action now. Even if your financial state is not positive, there are still actions can you can take which may end up minimising your losses or saving your business. After all, “It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings.”
In summary
In tough economic times, we know people commit crimes because they are trying to survive. The truth is, we are almost certainly in for some extremely tough economic times. It will therefore not just be criminals committing theft in the future, many people who previously would have been law-abiding citizens will also be involved as they try to survive.
It would be wise then for businesspeople and their organisations to initiate strategies and procedures to minimise any potential losses to their businesses via theft.
Want to know more, contact Kim at kim@creditmatters.com.au, or 0411 649 261, or have a look at what we offer via our website at www.creditmatters.com.au
