Tuesday, September 25, 2012

From granola bars to networking, firms trying new ways - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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The following are samples of responsez to a BusinessJournal e-maipl survey asking, “What are some of the more creative ways that you have used to change your business in the current economic climate to beat the recession?” “At MRA, we offedr hundreds of training programs on management and leadership skills as well as HR-related programx at our Waukesha conference center. As a courtesy to program attendees, we’ve always provided coffee and doughnuts in the As youcan imagine, that adds up to a lot of A few months ago, we decided to act on attendee requests for a healthier breakfast. Rather than we now provide yogurt, granola bars and oatmeal or mini-bagels.
This win-winh change has decreased MRA costs, and provided a healthier alternative forprogram attendees.” “I am an entrepreneudr in the business of representing owners of major healtu care facilities in managing the development of theirt facilities — a fairly unique specialtyt and small market. Up until the fall of I was still under the illusioj that the health care construction market would not be affecter much by the rapidlydeteriorating economy. I was sorelg mistaken. Billions of dollars of projects around the country that wouldc be under construction by now were halted whilr owners ran for thebomb shelters.
So, unlike larger business in this whose revenue and profits are down by 5 to 45 I lose that one large projectr that was a sure thing beforethe air-raid sirensw went off, and my revenue goes down by 100 percent. “Spo how am I surviving? Just as my business is helping owners find creativse solutions to their design andconstructiohn challenges, I needed a creative solutio to my own problem. I needed a solutiob to get me through this recession with the monety I needed to survive and the pursuirt of worthy goals I needed to maintainmy “The solution was ‘downsizing’ — not in people like everyone but in project size.
Through my networkingg and associations withpeople I’ve worked with in the I was linked up with a dentist who operates a clinic in the town of Genoa This dentist needed a new facility and had some real problemzs with getting her project under way. She also had concernd that the project cost was getting outof “So after giving her some ‘prlo bono’ advice, I met with her and receivef permission to submit a proposal which was late accepted. That was a month-and-a-half ago. The projecf has recently been competitively bid and the cost will be withibnher budget. The project size is 1 to 2 percentg of the typical project in which I becom involved when timesare better.
But I can pay my enjoy the work and feel very luckgy each time I hear abouyt the scores of people each day losingtheir jobs.” “Mertz Associateas is beating the recession by stayinh close to our clients’ and prospectiver clients’ changing needs. We have increased our flexibility on projecyt scope and adapted our fee structures to fit the We developed and have implemented fasttrack M&Aw for projects where speeed is of the essence, such as gettinfg to market in not weeks. “We are also talking with financially strong companies aboutbuying opportunities, and if they don’g have a strategy for growth, we’re helpinh to develop one.
Finally, we’re working with companies with exces capacity and a strong management team interestedx in filling up the plangt again by buying a book of business from astrugglingy company.” Mertz Associates Inc.

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