Getting Money in a Recession

Everyone is all up-in-arms over the declining stock market and wondering if Obama's economic stimulus package is a real solution or a finger in the dam.  I don't know about the rest of you but the recession hasn't hurt me one bit. Perhaps that's because I own no stocks (all my money is in bonds) or because I'm African (American) and we're used to struggle, but the whole implosion of the world markets is an interesting footnote to my life.

But for those who are impacted, the economic climate is really f-ing things up.  So, in the spirit of Obama, here are a few economic stimulus tips for anyone ready to make moves:

1.  Mobile. Mobile. Mobile.  If you haven't noticed, mobile has been making slow but steady gains globally.  It's still in its infancy, so there are still plenty of 'first-mover' advantages for the wise, but this advantage won't last for long.  What can one do with mobile?  The more appropriate questions is what CAN'T one do with mobile.  Mobile today is like the internet was at its infancy, very few people 'got it' initially, but when they did, the whole dot.com thing happened.  Don't be on the bubble, when mobile breaks.  Get in now.

2.  Less is more.  Learn to scale back and work in a more efficient and productive manner.  I've always been a fan of guerilla-style tactics.  I'm an advocate of working small and lean, so that you have the ability to adapt rapidly to change.  Audit your company, processes and systems to determine where you can trim the fat.  Find out where you can scale and what aspect of your current business or operation is expendable. 

3.  Partnerhips.  If ever there was a time for allies, now is that time.  You should actively be looking for situations where the partnership adds value for both parties.  You should look for partners where you know they would add value to your operations or business, but also where you'll add value to their's as well.

4.  Be aggressive.  Forget all that 'the meek shall inherit the earth' malarky!  If you see an opportunity, seize it.  Right now, everyone is scared, and as the saying goes, 'scared money don't make none!'  You've got to be prepared to stake a claim and justify your position.  Difficult economic times are really a boon for the well prepared and the aggressive.  People want solutions and are willing to follow anyone who holds themselves out as a solution provider.   Be the one with all the answers, offering without hesitation and with unbridled confidence.

5.  Use technology.  I've always said that technology is the great equalizer.  That is true now, more than ever.  Use all that technology has to offer to get out there.  There are countless free or low cost solutions for building and hosting websites, mobile sites, building and deploying SMS campaigns, CRM solutions, project management, and the list goes on.  Make sure that you're not re-inventing the wheel and open-sourcing it all the way (unless you've got some ill cats developing proprietary ish you can get to market right away!)

A case study for this methodology can be found in my man Kenyatta 'Tally' Galbreth.  Over two years ago, we sat down in his attorney's Park Avenue offices in New York to discuss his mobile play.  He had a major international investor greenlight his media start-up, Gotham Jungle, and he wanted me to run his mobile division.  Long story short, the investor took a massive hit, and the money went away.

Undaunted, Tally still set up Gotham Jungle, with his own money.  He got a friend who was into web and application development to partner with him to develop some apps for the Apple App store, based on the SDK Apple had released.  Today, he's got his website up and they've got a few dashboard widgets available for download.

Tally's setup is still a little rough around the edges, but he's doing it.  And he's not waiting for anyone else to make it happen.

I'm not saying that by following these tips you're going to see a stimulus check tomorrow.  I am suggesting, however, that you can flip this whole economic downturn on its ear, and make positive revenue-generating moves for yourself right now.

So be like Mike and just do it!

What the hell have I been doing?

I have been completely derelict in my writing responsibilities with respect to this blog. In my own defense, I've been working on a lot of different things, including a new gig, starting a creative agency (http://www.shadowpropaganda.com), specializing in strategic and non-traditional marketing, writing ANOTHER blog (http://www.stephenchukumba.wordpress.com), planning, attending and moderating panels at conferences across the country (and overseas), and generally being bout-it bout-it.

But, I recognize that I have a duty to keep the content flowing, so I return, after my extended hiatus, and re-engage.

What's been going on? Well, since I last posted up, Apple released the iPhone 3G (which I resisted getting) the new MacBook (with the aluminum casing like the Pro) and the MacBook Pro, both of which include many of the features contained in the Air (like the multi-touch track pad). I've got to cop at least one of these bad boys.

There have been a number of handsets released featuring Google's Android operating system, and the industry is a flutter with excitement over it. T-Mobile released the G1, and the reviews so far have been quite positive. Whether any of these new devices will unseat Apple's iPhone remains to be seen.

Verizon Wireless tried to increase its rates for SMS on its networks, only to beat a hasty retreat in the face of a malestrom of criticism and alarm. It was, to say the least, a public relations nightmare, and still signals the end-of-days for content providers and aggregators relying solely on premium SMS as a revenue source.

W-A-P. Get with it, its the wave of the future. WAP will enable content providers to monetize their content withouth the carriers taking 40-60% of the puchase price away. With the number of smart phones capable of seamless m-commerce transactions on the mobile web growing from 15% to over 65% by the year 2012, carriers will have little option but to decrease their percentage take, or risk being foreclosed permanantly from the premium content market.

The stock market rollercoaster ride and the presidential election are the two really big things that have taken place in my absence. Obama won the Democratic nomination, and McCain the Republican. Obama selected Joe Biden as his VP, while McCain selected a political novice, Sarah Palin. Currently, Obama has a seven point lead nationally, but if the Bradley effect comes into play, that lead may be meaningless. November 4th is not far away, we'll see.

That's about it for now.