To Survive Tough Times, Exude Positivism
Getting through this economic climate intact doesn’t just mean operating efficiently – some changes need to be from within: “Project a good positive image every time; show that your company is growing, doing well and is eager and ready to serve both old and new customers. Have your staff dress and look nice; have them answer the phones sounding eager to do business. Leave no room for doubt or ambivalence. Customers will not want to go with a company that’s in the doldrums – or, worse, is teetering close to the brink and may be shutting down as soon as the next day.”

Business advice important for entrepreneurs
Microsoft Small Business Center published the results of a study that found a majority of entrepreneurs – arguably more than consultants – are willing to share their precious advice with other startups. “Entrepreneurs should consider asking other company owners for advice as they seek to establish a foothold in the small business market, it has been suggested. Research conducted by SurePayroll indicates that 91 per cent of existing business owners would consider offering help and support to those wishing to become self-employed.”

Public Relations Tips for Businesses in a Down Economy
Jamie Turner of MarketingThatWorks lists cost-effective PR tools businesses need to capitalize on, such as localized search, strengthening employee relations and utilizing social media: “Start a blog on WordPress and talk about your industry, not just the company. Give tips, advice, general observations. Sign up for Twitter, a microblogging site, and follow people that interest you and join the conversation. Create an account in LinkedIn and Facebook and reconnect with old friends and colleagues. You can even ask business questions in LinkedIn and answer others’ questions and be seen as an expert in your field.”

How to Grow Your Business in a Recession: The 3 Key Areas to Invest
Victor Mataraso of CityScoop argues that the best way for companies to fight depression is through expansion, especially in marketing, customer service, and systems: “For many businesses, the marketing budget is the first to be cut during tough times. The reality, however, is that such a move only exacerbates the pain. The dollars you invest in marketing and advertising today are what is going to drive your success in a few months. During a slowdown, demand does not necessarily disappear, but sales cycles lengthen as gratification is postponed. As your competitors cut their budget, just holding steady will gain you a larger share of voice in your chosen medium and in the mind of your customers.”

Beyond Doom and Gloom: New Economic Development Rules for Local Policymakers
In his blog, Jon Gregory hails grassroots initiatives on innovation as a driving force for the economy, and calls for more local support for these to help the communities: “While debate continues in the beltway about how to rejuvenate the American economy from a macroeconomic perspective, little attention has been given to the equally difficult challenge local elected officials face in cities and counties across America. They are tasked with creating jobs, tax revenues and prosperity in their communities in a period compared to the Great Depression. It is at the local grass roots level where the effects of lay-off notices are exceedingly personal and the impacts on public services most noticeable.”

Data Storage 2009: It’s all about efficiency
Ted Uberti of the NetApp Community talks about data deduplication, virtualized storage and the deployment of Green IT data center as key storage strategies. “All data roads eventually lead to some kind of storage, whether it be on 15K RPM Fibre Channel disks, a slower-running SATA (Serial ATA) drive, or a tape cartridge stored in an Iron Mountain vault. Thus, efficient data storage is a key factor in a well-run enterprise IT operation. Redundant data is the enemy; it is costly, wastes energy and generally slows storage I/O, traditionally the major bottleneck of storage.”

The Economic Crisis Sucks; What you can do about it
MontrealTechWatch’s Heri takes an honest look at the hard facts on the economy, and lists the opportunities that still exist for tech companies to explore. “There are many fast-growing markets: the exponential rise of the Internet population in Asia, netbooks, mobile applications and software (iPhone and especially Android), virtualization, video games, etc. If you haven’t taken a look at those, do it now. There are legacy industries waiting for new tools and waiting for reinvention, especially the finance, the music, and the media industry. What’s going to happen to the media after the NYT loses its current standing?”

IT Retrenchment: Performing IT Project Triage
Bruce Webster of Baseline Magazine proffers advice on how to handle technology-related projects in challenging times: how to decide if it should push through, be scrapped completely, or be frozen indefinitely. “Your triage effort can give you the leverage and political cover to shut down – or, at least scale back—such IT projects. Don’t be afraid to use it, because this may be your only opportunity. However, don’t simply announce your list of cancellations. You will need to lay the groundwork ahead of time. Be sure that you can make a solid argument; then spend time establishing the political backing that you’ll need.”

Surprise for Startups: You have to Charge Your Users to Survive
Profy’s Svetlana Gladkova asks startups to face up to the challenge of having a sound business plan from Day One, as simply having an innovative concept just doesn’t cut it anymore. “But sometimes this new focus on money from everyone – be it a startup or a technology blogger reviewing that startup – leads to dubious and somewhat embarrassing situations when startups that never seemed to care about the business side a lot and were pretty happy with the investments they raised realize they need to learn how to make money finally in addition to knowing how to raise money.”