Alan’s Economic Forecast & Five Ways to Prepare Now
As always, our Annual CEO Retreat at Kingsmill brought over-the-top speakers and quality peer-to-peer breakout sessions. We learned how to build a winning sales culture, how Net Promoter Score (NPS) can be part of growth strategy, and we got a chance to share our recession confessions. And, according to economist and closing speaker Alan Beaulieu, we were told to gear up for the next economic storm.
The immediate forecast is as he projected last year. Regardless of what is reported by the news and expressed in opinion polls, Alan reports we are currently in a recovery, that is until 2019. That’s when another recession will likely occur.
Here are five action items to better position your business for the next storm:
- Get aggressive. In Alan’s words, “This is the time to grow your business. We can’t afford to lay back in the weeds.”
- Borrow. How much? “As much money as you can. Until you can’t sleep any more — that kinda money.”
- Spend. Invest in customer market research and use the data align your company around what your customers want. Then become efficient and raise prices.
- Invest or move into areas like water, waste, electricity, or food.
- Prepare for the storm. Watch the Money Supply, Corporate Bonds Rate-of-Change and the U.S. Leading indicators, among others. Alan says, “Ask yourself what would I have done in 2009 if I would have known a recession was coming? Start doing that in 2017.”
About Alan Beaulieu
“One of the country’s most informed economists, Alan Beaulieu is a principal of the ITR Economics where he serves as President. Since 1990, he has been consulting with companies throughout the US, Europe, and Asia on how to forecast, plan, and increase their profits based on business cycle trend analysis. Alan is also the Senior Economic Advisor to NAW, Contributing Editor for Industry Week, and the Chief Economist for HARDI.*”
Alan is (unprecedented) three-time presenter at the Annual VACEOS Retreat. He delivers an economic outlook presentation that is a mixed bag of financial stats peppered with specific take aways and occasional bits of humor delivered with comedic precision. His 2012 presentation audio is available for download in it’s entirety to VACEOS members by contacting the office.
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