One of the questions I get on a daily basis is "How is the economy affecting Bulletproof?"   I get asked it so much that I thought I'd take a few minutes to give you my thoughts on this crazy world we live in.   First off, Atlantic Canada is never in a huge boom, nor a huge downturn, it's always around the middle so a recession to us never seems be as bad as some other parts of the world.

This past week I had the opportunity to take part in a US/Canadian trade mission held in Boston and it was quite obvious in speaking with representatives from many companies that they are feeling the pinch considerably more than us in Atlantic Canada.  Don't get me wrong, I realize many industries in our neck of the woods have been affected substantially but I truly believe this is not the norm.

When it comes to an IT services based companies like Bulletproof, an economy like this can be an opportunity.  Certainly the number of companies that are hiring IT professionals is reduced and if those companies need expertise then they will call their IT partner.

I believe the biggest challenge we face while this is going on is making sure the company works twice as hard to make things happen.  For example, our sales team knows that if it took 10 opportunities in a normal economy to close 1 deal, now it will take 20.  That means we need  to see twice as many people to get that one deal.  In addition to this we need to work that much harder to service our customers.  The positive side to this is that when the economy does change for the better and it will change, a large percentage of those 20 deals will come through.  It's about maintaining what you have and preparing for the upturn.

Part of our approach to preparing for the upturn has been making an investment in crafting our strategic plan for the next five years.  The plan takes into account all areas of the business including, financial, operational, customer and people aspects and when it is completed it will give everyone clear direction.  The end result will be a balance scorecard, the scorecard will be updated on a monthly basis and our team will be able to view it and know where we need to focus to improve the company.  The nice thing about it is that it gives everyone clear direction from our people to our customers and enables accountability throughout the organization.

All in all I think everyone has felt some pain from recent times but it will end and when it does Bulletproof will be in the best possible position to succeed.