Starting Up In A Recession

I was recently asked by an old colleague who is thinking of starting her own business whether she should start a business in a downturn or not...

At first I thought about giving the "standard" response about historical examples of businesses that started in recessions such as Microsoft, but then I thought better of rolling out that cliche.

Starting a business always carries a degree of risk and depending upon the type of business being started, the general macro economic factors can have a massive impact, just ask Woolworth creditors and shareholders...

But I have a slightly more pragmatic viewpoint... Unless you have funny shaped crystal balls, you'll never know if it's going to be a recession or a boom time, and frankly don't try to guess it either.

What is far more important than timing is whether or not customers actually need only your product or service, in boom AND bust times.If the answer to that is yes, then go ahead and start in a recession as you will probably succeed.

So spend the time understanding what customers need and whether or not you can meet their needs better than anybody else rather than spendign time worrying about recessions or boom times.