Surviving this economy (individuals and businesses)

The fourth quarter of 2008 has been a wild ride for the financial markets, the housing markets, and both small and large businesses. All of us have been impacted by these economic challenges. With the collapse of the financial markets marked by unprecedented national debt and unsustainable consumer debt, the (unsurprising) announcement of a recession and fears of impending depression, one begins to ponder ... will we survive this?

Unfortunately, I believe the overall economy will get worse before it gets better. Even so, through the grace of God we will survive this as individuals and businesses. There are some simple things we can do to help our situation.

As individuals, we need to remember that most of factors that effect our life are out of our control. We have little impact on the economy. We can control how we use our finances, particularly in these troubled times. Curbing spending to the essentials and retiring personal debt are all things that can be done by each of us to improve our personal situation. The challenge for each of us is to define what are the essentials. Most of us agree that food, shelter, and clothing come first. But what else beyond that?

As a business that provides engineering services, we face economic challenges too. However, our business could also be a part of the solution as a cost savings alternative to direct staffing. When our clients use our services, they enjoy the benefit of consistent resources without having to pay for those resources between assignments. In most cases, the overall burdened cost of our resources is less per hour that our clients internal resources. As our relationships with our clients expand, learning curves are reduced further reducing costs. We become a virtual extension of our clients organization. For a business, this could be an alternative to keep manufacturing running.

As individuals and as businesses, we can all do our part to get through these hard times. Unfortunately, it won't be easy and will take some time. Controlling debt, reducing spending at home and in business, getting the most bang for the buck, that's where we can all help ourselves.