Some business is starting to pick up as we ease our way through the current recession.  But a lot of business is still pretty flat.

When customers aren’t beating down your door, you have a couple of options.  You can chase them down, re-invent your company, change prices, change services or just quit.  I see people trying out all of those solutions. In fact, I’ve watched some seminar promoter types jump from one area of “expertise” to another, trying to find that one thing that people are going to buy.  And as they jump from frying pan to frying pan, they get a little more scorched every time as they trade in what expertise they do have for more and more hype.

And I see others just waiting.  They cut their businesses and lifestyle back to a sustainable level and with minimum work, they can maintain.  Meanwhile, they are taking advantage of The Chance of a Downtime.

It’s not often that you get that breather in our modern world.  I remember my grandmother (raised on a South Dakota farm) telling me how winter was when the family rested.  There weren’t field to plant, cultivate or harvest.  It was a time to just stay indoors, hang out with the family and stay warm.  It was a time to get ready for the next season.  It was the Chance of a Downtime.

In this economic breather, there are opportunities to learn new markets, meet new people, increase our personal capabilities, learn, meet, expand, grow and plan.

One friend just shut down his business a few weeks ago.  He and his wife are now going full board into a network marketing company with an internet marketing twist.  He is improving his capabilities at SEO (search engine optimization) and considering a new business to be an SEO resource.  I don’t know for sure what he’ll end up with, but rather than try to keep a flailing business alive, they took advantage of the Chance of a Downtime.

If your business or investments have slowed down, what can you do with your own Chance of a Downtime?