Stop talking about Recession, talk about Opportunities

Once uncertainty reached the market, it seems that the only thing people talk about is a recession. 

Investors rush in hordes to sell. Companies talk about layoffs, cost cutting, and new strategies to "survive" the financial circumstances. On the other hand, very few look for opportunities that others blinded by the economic outlook can’t find.

The Greek bailout has stolen the attention of many investors; however, the most important risk for the European Union lies in countries like Spain and Italy (Greek default: What it would mean). The U.S. unemployment remains steady; analysts talk about recession and do endless comparisons with periods of crisis like 1930 and 2008. The economic outlook seemed not to be so encouraging and demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the policy of the European countries and the United States to give confidence to the market and companies.

While the recruitment seems stuck on the big corporations and their employees are at risk of losing their jobs, which appears to be the reason why Americans are leaving companies to start their own businesses (Employees bid goodbye to corporate America). Small businesses appear to be growing not only in number but in size, recent studies show that 40% of small businesses plan to hire in the next 6 months(Are We on the Verge of a Small-Business Hiring Boom?). We could say that it's time for small businesses to guide the economy.

Can you succeed in this economic environment?

Companies like Procter & Gamble (1837), General Electric (1890), IBM (1896), General Motors (1908), Disney (1923), Burger King (1953), Sports Illustrated (1954), FedEx (1973), Microsoft ( 1975), CNN (1980), MTV Networks (1981), Wikipedia Foundation Inc. (2001) and many more were created during periods of recession. Furthermore, brands like Miracle Whip (1931), Rice Krispies (1933), Healthy Choice (1990), Transformers (2000), iPod (2001), and Hyundai (2008), were created or had great success in times of crisis.

What allows startups to be successful during these periods?

From my point of view, a major competitive advantage of small businesses is the ability to adapt. The size of these companies enables them to implement new ideas and dramatic changes more easily. Employees are more versatile and are involved in different parts of the organization, which enables them to understand and solve the problems of the company. Finally, communication with customers enables them to gain valuable insights that enable developers to create products or services of value.