Gray is the new black and white!

The first of every month the government and the private business sector release key economic numbers and indicators. When the numbers for May were released I read a number of articles to get a broad perspective of opinions and viewpoints on what the numbers meant. The job numbers were disappointing, housing sales are up a bit, retail sales year up over year are up, gas pricing are trending downward. Fortune 100 companies are holding large cash reserves on their balance sheets but aren’t hiring. Mortgage rates are low but fewer people are applying. US export growth was up 7% for the first quarter And the looming European crisis sits out there as impending negative factor. So all in all its a real mixed bag allowing for some hope and certainly some pessimism. Here’s the one thing I’ll say with certainty if you’re a small business or independent retailer and you’ve survived up to this point your probably going to make it. Keep doing what you’re doing with the understanding that every customer interaction either enhances or erodes that relationship. If you lose a customer call them immediately to find out why. You may or may not salvage them but by knowing the problem you avoid the same mistake going forward. I believe those who sustain will become even stronger when the economy returns to growth.