Is It Now Time For Growth?

Posted on 29. Apr, 2009 by Craig Killick in Business

I went to a business seminar at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Monday, organised by Shirlaws, with a talk from Darren Shirlaw.

I  was impressed with the seminar, which covered economic cycles and what businesses can learn from the markets, and, although I hadn’t heard of Darren Shirlaw before, he seemed to know his stuff and his presentation was genuinely engaging and thought provoking.

I’d love to repeat details of the seminar, but it’s not my gig and I wouldn’t do it justice, but suffice to say, I learned a few new tricks about macro economics – or at least, another viewpoint.

I was introduced to the Economic Clock – this is the diagram of the Economic Clock that Darren Shirlaw used and there’s an overview of what it is and how it works. Coupled with Darren’s analysis of financial charts during recessionary times, the case for growth opportunity now seemed very compelling.

Darren discussed recessions, and his demonstration of charts showed me, if anything, that the current economic slowdown in not on as a large a scale as I had imagined it was. I take with a pinch of salt many of his comments relating to past charts and how they repeat themselves because I think it’s easy to use past data with hindsight, but the current movement of the market does show a sign of a bounce-back, and I can only point to Darren’s compelling argument about the next five years.

What did I learn?

• I came away very buoyed up about the next 2-3 years and am already looking towards expanding one of my smaller retail businesses to take advantage. This isn’t just based on the seminar, but the fact that the business is already doing well despite the doom and gloom.
• The advice towards changing a marketing proposition during tough times is not new to me, but it’s still a great point that many businesses overlook. Here’s my take on that.
• It was confirmed to me [again] how important it is (as a business owner) to interact with other businesses for a wider viewpoint of the economy, and sharing business ideas in general.

I was sceptical about the whole Shirlaws business consultancy thing if I’m honest, but they certainly seem geared up to deliver results.

Would I recommend them? In the words of Darren Shirlaw, “I can’t give you any advice” but if you are looking for ideas to invigorate your business, it could be a good investment.