Comments on: Fishing for Happiness http://www.dailynetworker.co.uk/2008/06/14/fishing-for-happiness/ Oli Barrett is your Daily Networker Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:22:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Eric http://www.dailynetworker.co.uk/2008/06/14/fishing-for-happiness/#comment-22 Eric Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:11:19 +0000 http://www.dailynetworker.co.uk/?p=18#comment-22 Oops, I got my website address wrong when I left me previous post - it should be www.neablog.org Oops, I got my website address wrong when I left me previous post - it should be http://www.neablog.org

]]> By: Eric http://www.dailynetworker.co.uk/2008/06/14/fishing-for-happiness/#comment-21 Eric Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:59:57 +0000 http://www.dailynetworker.co.uk/?p=18#comment-21 Hey Oli, nice points well made. I always find it pays to have an optimistic view of circumstances, especially when everyone around you seems to be in the opposite frame of mind, as hard as it can be to go against the grain sometimes. Challenging conventional wisdom or opinion is a good thing, and it is sometimes the best place to look for the pot at the end of the rainbow. It's not only first-time buyers that might do well at the moment, I happened to be with a group of people this week who work within some VC funds, and they felt that the coming months would be "good times" for them in an acquisition sense - however, I did get the feeling that the 'V" in their titles stood for 'vulture" rather than "venture" at this point! I left this lunch feeling rather bothered, as I personally know many entrepreneurs who will find times ahead tough, and I was concerned that some desperate deals may be done by some to ensure survival. So having, read your blog and felt a good shot of optimism, I am thinking that the over-worn phrase "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" is maybe a good mantra of the moment. My advice to entrepreneurs just now, for what it's worth, would be to take a much greater interest than normal in the basics of their businesses - the overheads, controls on spending, protecting revenues, credit control and getting closer to your team and fostering the spirit of optimism spelled out here. If there is a real focus on the basics, then there is no need for the spirit of the entrepreneur to be dampened in times like these - despite the term "credit crunch" being in the number one spot of the current journalistic lexicon. Postscript: I was thinking last night as I watched the French being trounced by Holland in their Euro 2008 match... if England had made it to the finals, and exited in their usual loss on penalties against the Germans, we would have at least been able to blame the current credit crunch for halting their progress I suppose :-) Hey Oli, nice points well made. I always find it pays to have an optimistic view of circumstances, especially when everyone around you seems to be in the opposite frame of mind, as hard as it can be to go against the grain sometimes. Challenging conventional wisdom or opinion is a good thing, and it is sometimes the best place to look for the pot at the end of the rainbow. It’s not only first-time buyers that might do well at the moment, I happened to be with a group of people this week who work within some VC funds, and they felt that the coming months would be “good times” for them in an acquisition sense - however, I did get the feeling that the ‘V” in their titles stood for ‘vulture” rather than “venture” at this point! I left this lunch feeling rather bothered, as I personally know many entrepreneurs who will find times ahead tough, and I was concerned that some desperate deals may be done by some to ensure survival. So having, read your blog and felt a good shot of optimism, I am thinking that the over-worn phrase “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” is maybe a good mantra of the moment. My advice to entrepreneurs just now, for what it’s worth, would be to take a much greater interest than normal in the basics of their businesses - the overheads, controls on spending, protecting revenues, credit control and getting closer to your team and fostering the spirit of optimism spelled out here. If there is a real focus on the basics, then there is no need for the spirit of the entrepreneur to be dampened in times like these - despite the term “credit crunch” being in the number one spot of the current journalistic lexicon.

Postscript:

I was thinking last night as I watched the French being trounced by Holland in their Euro 2008 match… if England had made it to the finals, and exited in their usual loss on penalties against the Germans, we would have at least been able to blame the current credit crunch for halting their progress I suppose :-)

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