Should start-up’s be put off by an economic downturn?

Catching up on some background reading this week, I came across an excellent piece by Rachel Bridge in The Sunday Times. Rachel is a good friend of tutor2u and her writing on enterprise and entrepreneurshp is full of useful insights for us. A couple of weeks ago, Rachel wrote a really interesting piece on the dilemma facing business start-ups right now in the UK. Should they be put off by difficult economic conditions?

Whilst recognising that an economic downturn wasn’t an ideal backdrop for a start-up, Rachel’s article did point to some good reasons why start-ups should simply press on with a business launch:

- Consumers are looking for better value - so focus on low-priced, good quality products
- Some sectors and consumer groups are relatively recession-proof, particularly those affluent retired people with little if any debt
- Starting a business during a downturn focuses the company even more closely on cash flow management and cost control - good disciplines to get right ahead of an upturn
- Good products and services that meet customer needs and wants always sell - whatever the economic climate
- The downturn will make casualties of poorer / weaker competitors