Why are you still trading?

[Emma]

With a large amount of UK businesses failing within the first 18 months, why is yours still trading?

[teotrad]

Be innovative and credibility (slightly) compared with others......

Tighting my belt and cutting down overhead cost

[teotrad]

Ohh....yes one more thing, forget to mention.....diversify and looking for other opportunities

[Emma]

Sounds like you could add to: 10000 Business Tips and Mantras for the SME

[Angela "VirtualPA" Dawson]

Why am I still trading? Because I'm damn good at what I do and my clients wonder what they ever did before I came along

Angela

[Mark]

^ Pretty much the same here.

[Dot Design]

Me too (blowing my own trumpet again!)!

[Kasumi]

For me, its because more and more businesses are realising that cutting down on marketing and advertising and importantly SEO are not cost effective to see their business through the credit crunch.

Businesses that have realised the importance of SEO, will begin marching to the forefront of their business sector, leaving competitors lagging along. for more information on companies who are taking this into account, for more info please read the article Survive the Credit Crunch the SEO way! The chief executive of Ryanair has a very interesting viewpoint in welcoming economic meltdown for the benefit of his own company!

Thankfully this leaves Wildcat SEO and fellow SEO Comapnies in what is potentially a very strong market field.

[James Coakes]

bloody mindedness.

[Meanna Blog]

persistance

[trogette]

Originally Posted by James Coakes

bloody mindedness.

Originally Posted by Meanna Blog

persistance

can't be arsed trying to figure out a way out

[Meanna Blog]

Originally Posted by trogette

[COLOR=\"Navy\"]can't be arsed trying to figure out a way out [/COLOR]

found out !

[clairejarrett]

100 hour weeks for 2 years and then a time management coach who helped me let go enough to come back to the real world!

[NikkiPilkington]

I wouldn't know what else to do

[BITS]

What else is there to do? you can't just stop (unless you can afford to ), it would alo get a bit boring too.

[Ozzy]

Originally Posted by NikkiPilkington

I wouldn't know what else to do

This is exactly the same problem I think I have, but then I'm not sure I have.

I have been offered some good money a few times to buy 1 or 2 of my businesses but I always turn them down because I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't have my main business activities to keep me busy. Yet, I keep coming up with different things to try (hence I also have 5x startups I'm working on) so maybe I'm kidding myself. Perhaps if I accepted one of these offers I'd have more money to really do something big with these startups.

Of course, if it all went Pete Tong and I had no business with no money I'd think differently. Although, entrepreneurs always find a way to survive don't we all

[Printing&Postage]

We keep moving, innovating.

We have to keep coming up with new, innovative services for our customers to negate the affects of adverse economic environment. Take advantage of your technical strengths to make use of new services and opportinities that crop up.

Example (DocMail - Hybrid Mail from CFH):
Without investment in mail processing capabilities, creating our own software, process control, tracking and reconciliation systems, we would not be have been in a position to integrate with supplier systems & take full advantage of the deregualtion of the UK Postal Market and come up with a product that offers a mail-merged mailing online postal service for Word and PDF files for just 25p per letter.

A money saving product, just in time for a recession. How's that for timing..

Will

[Gerry Brannigan]

More and more people are going for the PC repair rather than buying new. so all good for me.

[Scott-CopyandDesign]

Originally Posted by Emma

With a large amount of UK businesses failing within the first 18 months, why is yours still trading?

Sticking to the basics of what works and most importantly, not skimping on marketing.

I've said this to people time and time again, in a recession the WORST thing you can do is cut costs by reducing marketing. If anything you should increase your marketing spend to reach out to more people and keep the clients coming in.

[Parcel Dude]

I come from a long line of lucky barstards. But I graft too

[AboveParr]

Because there'd be no point selling my body (other then for medical research!!!)

Seriously though, I'd have to go with sheer bloody mindedness - I know it's a good idea and a great service so assuming I can battle my way through the next 10 years the rest will be a doddle...

[matt.chatterley]

Originally Posted by James Coakes

bloody mindedness.

I was going to say 'determination', but James phrased it better.

[UKSEOagency]

hard work, long hours, a lot of skill and a Large investment of luck!

[Sandcastle]

We're still trading because the GBP vs Euro exchange rate makes it very attractive for European visitors to come to the UK, and also makes UK families think about holidaying at home.

We keep our prices up rather than discounting, because we can only improve the quality of our accommodation if we keep re-investing in our properties.

We've brought two properties up to 4-star standard and have three properties at excellent 3-star standard at the moment, and of course in any business which is related to property - LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - four properties are located very close to the Royal Mile in Edinburgh - which is a magical place to visit, full of history, great tales to tell, good places to eat.

The fifth property is in a small fishing village, near the seaside and a park - so families love it and come back year after year. We're already taking bookings for 2010!

We're in business because we really thought hard about what holiday makers would like before buying property, and then we made it so comfortable and welcoming that we'd want to stay there ourselves ... over and over again.

It's keeping your customers returning that makes a business successful.

[B_Cal]

Because I am passionate about what I do.

Doubt if I had stayed in the IT sector, my line of work till 04 that I'd be saying the same.