People all over North America are telling me business is slow. "I can't say there isn't any business," Bob confides. "It's just that it's darned difficult to get sales. I have to work three times as hard just to get a small order."

Even though experts say our economy is still strong, most people agree we're in a recession. Many of us charged up our cards in the 90s and don't feel much like buying anything we don't have to have. Others feel a little depressed about the future and just don't want to spend anything to make their lives better or more successful.

Hey, I understand. Hardly anybody feels as adventurous as we did a few years ago in the go-go '90s. But that doesn't mean we should roll up our tent and slink out of town.

THERE'S LOTS OF MONEY TO BE MADE!--even in a recession. Here are several ways to capitalize on the recession and move your business or career forward no matter what.

Start by cutting prices. It's the old law of supply and demand. When there is less demand for what we sell, it's time to drop the price. Emphasize several low cost products or services that will appeal to the thrifty.

I dropped prices recently at my site. I just leveled with people, told them that times were tight and I wanted to make my services available to everyone without putting them into more debt.

Customers responded with overwhelming enthusiasm. Sales, which had been slow, suddenly became brisk.

Next, cut costs. If you've been in business any time at all, you have probably accumulated expenses you don't need. I cancelled an extra $40 per month phone line I wasn't using, cut a 10 message autoresponder back to 7 messages, and pulled back on the labor I was paying for. None of the expenses were big in themselves, but when added together they make a nice difference in the bottom line.

It's hard to be creative when big expenses are breathing down your neck, and a recession is just the time when you NEED to let your creativity show.

Advertise! The BIG mistake companies make during a recession is they let their marketing director go and cancel all their advertising.Intel did that back in the recession of the early 90's and later admitted it was a huge mistake. Competitors had a chance to market when Intel wasn't and grabbed a lot of their customers. Now the smart thing to do is to take advantage of the recession's lower ad rates and market, market, market. Your ad gets extra attention when competitors aren't advertising.

Business and the economy go through natural up and down cycles. The Internet, which is a more pure type of market, goes up and down with even wilder cycles. Ride the wave. Change your business as the economy changes.

Look for what prospects need, for where they hurt, and offer helpful solutions that cut right to the problem. You'll have a lot more customers and they will be grateful you are there to help in times that are less than the best.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copywriting. See his 10,000 marketing ideas and popular promotion packages at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at kevin@drnunley.com

or 603-249-9519.