In this guest post the author looks back to the 2000 recession, where some businesses turned what was a bad economic climate into an opportunistic time to grow and thrive. Aiming to keep your business successful, even in today’s global financial situation, is still achievable when the correct methodology is applied. Through partaking in Six Sigma Training you can highly improve chances of success through applying its standards and methods.
Courtesy of ProProfs.com
During the 2000 recession many businesses went bankrupt. However, some companies managed to thrive despite the economic climate. Ignoring the predictions of the forecasters and refusing to succumb to the negative outlook that invaded so many businesses, they carved out a niche and succeeded.
There will always be entrepreneurs who have the vision to see how they can profit. They spot opportunities others are too blind to see, or lack the courage to try. They know that there is money to be spent; buyers just need the right product to spend their money on.
The recession of 2000 was a perfect example of how some enterprising businessmen found a gap in the market for goods and services that consumers wanted to buy, here are some of the top 5 that came through.
1) PayPal
PayPal is an online payment facility that lets anyone with an email address send and receive payments, without having to reveal private banking information to unknown third parties. Founded in 1998, PayPal continued to grow throughout the recession, eventually going public in 2002 and becoming part of the EBay group.
2) Salesforce
Salesforce.com, comprehensive customer relationship management software, launched from a small apartment in San Francisco in 1999. Throughout 2000 it built its customer database, reaching 1,500 customers and 30,000 subscribers by the end of January 2001. Salesforce combined all the features needed for both small and large businesses to maximise their marketing efforts, and have high year on year growth.
3) Wikipedia
Wikipedia.com, everyone has heard of it, the free online encyclopaedia, conceived during the recession; it went live in 2001 and as of March 2011 attracts 400 million unique visitors each month. While Wikipedia is a non-profit website, it illustrates the huge growth potential of a service that consumers are looking for. They could have monetized the site with adverts, but have chosen to rely on donations until now. If they do decide to commercialize the site, 400 million unique visitors a month could instantly generate substantial revenue.
4) iStockphoto
The founder of iStockphoto turned to the internet in 2000 after struggling to compete successfully in the traditional photography market. He began uploading his own photos and started selling credits on the site in 2002. The site offers users the chance to buy low-cost, high quality photos, in a user-led marketplace.
5) Netflix
Netflix.com was formed in 1997 and began offering cheap and convenient DVD sales and rentals in 1998. However, it was in 2000 when Netflix really came into its own, signing deals with Warner Bros and Columbia Film Studios, then 2001 saw a partnership with Best Buy retail chain and Netflix went public in 2002.
In times of recession, businesses sustain heavy losses and the spirit of business and entrepreneurship is quick to suffer. The instinctive reaction is to be cautious, not to take too many risks, and batton down the hatches for the stormy financial weather that is ahead. Nevertheless, as these five companies show, recessions can be a great time to thrive. People still have money to spend; you just have to offer them the right product.
This post was written by a leading savings and investment opportunities provider.