The media bombards us daily with screaming headlines of doom and gloom, each successive headline calculated to instill more uncertainty, fear and depression.  The conventional wisdom is that recession is bad and we are all encouraged to think and act according to that script. But is it? Of course it is for a vast number of people but also for a vast number of people recession is good.

 A falling economy is a by-product of a capitalist system, which most of us are only too happy to advocate as the best thing when the economy is on the up, but when it’s down we seem somewhat surprised and resentful as if we have been somehow hoodwinked into the unhappy situation. We also forget that for capitalism to work there must be winners and losers.

A recession is a shuffling of the cards, a transference of wealth, creating a large number of losers, but a lot of new winners. Even the so-called losers sometimes end up winners in the long run.

What am I trying to say? Your mindset during a falling economy will determine whether you will be one of the winners or losers. If you are able to climb out of the conventional thinking and see the falling economy as an opportunity rather than a setback, you will ultimately be a winner.

So who are the Winners?

1. Savers For A Rainy Day – Often seen as dull and unimaginative and derided for not possessing flashy cars, going on fancy holidays, or sending their children to school abroad. If you fall into this category you are now probably feeling smug in the contentment that your car is not being repossessed due to an inability to make the payments, your children are not being recalled from school and you don’t have to explain to them why you cannot do the things you used to do. Your life is continuing on an even keel because you never borrowed to maintain your lifestyle and did not live beyond your means. Of course if you have cash saved this is the time to buy those very things that you were derided for not having, at a very cheap price. Whilst others are losing theirs, you are gaining yours – In a falling economy where there are no buyers, cash is king.

2. Experts – People who are dedicated, hardworking and very good at what they do are rarely laid off from their jobs, because invariably their expertise impacts the bottom line. A company will retrench a multitude of benchwarmers and mediocre talent in a recession, but they will never get rid of the experts because they are fundamental to the business. They have a skill that is difficult to acquire and expensive to rehire so they don’t want to lose them for when the recession is over. So if you have spent years quietly honing your skills and you are really good at what you do, this is the time it pays off. You will be the beautiful bride; you can even get a salary raise or even get a better job. In a recession companies are downsizing, they cut out the fat and are looking to become leaner. They are looking for employees who make a difference, quality, not quantity.

3. Small firms and Entrepreneurial firms – Studies show that the world of small enterprise tends to ride out economic downturns better as their closer proximity to the market place and ability to respond with agility and speed to sudden market changes gives them an advantage over larger companies who are beset with rigid structural chains of command and as a result are unable to respond quickly and or effectively. We have to remember that a recession is a net downturn in activity. How quickly a company adapts and responds to new realities will determine its success. Creative smaller companies can often fill the opportunity gaps left by bigger more established companies.

4. People Who Look and SEE – The power of Observation is key in a falling economy. When you begin to look in a focused way you will SEE new opportunities spring up, dictated by the death of businesses, bankruptcies, changes in lifestyle, changes in human needs, new desires, changes in behavioral patterns etc.

5. People who understand Isaac Newton’s 3^rd Law – This has been dubbed Newton’s -Third Law-Of Success. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Who benefited from the disastrous high oil prices? – Makers of small cars! Moving forward as oil runs out, (which will also have disastrous effects on the economy), it will be makers of electronic cars and alternative energy sources. What opposite reaction are you putting towards this present action? In a falling economy it’s not just about cutting back, it’s also about acting forward. Without any positive reaction there will be no motion and without motion you will suffer a decline.

The truth is everybody can be a winner in a falling economy. All you need to do is change your mindset – Stop complaining! Somebody’s doom is not necessarily your gloom. It could be your boom. So don’t be sucked in by the negative news headlines. Take stock of your assets and skills. Know who and what you are. Some people have money and don’t even know it, so they do nothing even when things have changed and they can now ‘react’. If you have money, and I’m not talking about a ton of money, this is the time to buy shares. Shares are very cheap now, in doing so I admonish that you be guided by the great Warren Buffet who says he buys shares in businesses that provide things that people use every day and or will always need.  This is also the time to get on the property ladder, land is cheaper and house prices are falling fast. If you have no money, look and SEE opportunities and use your skills to provide a service. Most services do not require much capital and some do not require any at all. All they requite is expertise, time and energy, things most people do not have. People tend to look more inwards during recessions; they stay closer to home and pay more attention to details, life’s little luxuries, to make themselves feel better. You can find out what they are and supply them. No matter what, even in a recession, people will always eat, cater for their children and will always want someone to do what they can’t do, unwilling to do, or too lazy to do, if the price and the expertise is right.

The upside of a falling economy is simply change! New ideas, New ways of doing things. It is transference of wealth and an opportunity for a new set of people to bask in the sunlight…for a while.