An Ideal we can Relate to...

This month brought with it the inauguration of Barack Obama. In front of the Lincoln Memorial he stood just hours before becoming president and summarised the challenges facing America, namely the war and the economy. He ended by saying “the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard”. I feel this is an ideal that is applicable not just to a whole nation but to small businesses here in the UK also.

The time is coming when hard decisions have to be made and we do things that we maybe don’t really want to do. It will, more than likely, become an achievement as a business to survive. However if we come out the other side of all of this in one piece it says something not just about the business itself but more importantly how we as people helped it through.

Obama will only be around for a term or two but the impact of the economic crisis may be around for a lot longer. Inspirational speeches and celebrity concerts will only go so far, and every business cannot expect to raise funds in the same way as a presidential candidate. Sometimes it’s just good, simple hard graft that is needed, it’s not glamorous but it’s what we Brits do best I think.

What is interesting though is that those who most would argue don’t really do any ‘real’ work will mostly likely be fine. Pop stars, T.V. presenters, anyone in entertainment really, are still quite safe. People still want to be able to turn on the telly in the morning and watch GMTV or be able to turn their MP3 player on and not have to listen to the same songs again because it’s too expensive to record new ones. However it is somewhat hard to begrudge them when it is they that will bring a certain relief to each day, even if it is just to mindlessly watch a bunch of arguing about who’s going to be evicted next.

It is slightly worrying though to think that possibly the safest place to be in the next few months or years may be the Big Brother house.