By Adrienne Gonzalez
You can't turn on a television set or open a newspaper these days without hearing about the economy. Yes, everyone knows things are rough. Yes, everyone is a little on edge. Yes, most of us, except for the 3% of the world comprised of finance professionals, accountants, bankers and money bloggers could live the rest of our lives without ever speaking of or hearing about the state of the economy again.
But the reality is that regardless of where things are headed, it's good to have a plan.
Lucky for you, between social media and your inbox, you can tweak your incoming doom-and-gloom filter and skip the rest. Anyway you shouldn't be watching so much TV, it's bad for you!
Here are five very simple and nearly hands-off ways to recession-proof your life.
#1: Google Alerts
For business owners, especially small to mid-size businesses, it's critical to understand right now that you never know if a supplier, key contact, or even bank your company counts on is in trouble. Keeping an eye on your go-to team is as easy as a detailed set of Google Alerts sent to you every day.
I highly recommend going with the "once a day" option for each alert as opposed to getting hundreds of alerts a day as they roll in. A quick scan through them can offer a quick glance at what the Internet has to say. Although you can't believe everything you read on the Internet, if 177 different Web sites are saying "xxx bank is in trouble," you can safely postulate that now might be time to reevaluate your options and make a move.
You can also look at the bright side as well. Create Google Alerts for yourself, your company, and your brands. It's really nice to see when you're getting press and if you're following the instructions in this article, hopefully all the press yo get will be positive.
#2: Twitter
When use correctly, Twitter can be an incredible source of information on competitors, suppliers, associates, and other assorted organizations you rely on. It is also a great way to connect with your own industry; an absolute essential asset in these uncertain times.
In conjunction with using Twitter's search capability, you can even track who is talking about your company, converse with your cable provider, keep an eye on competitors, and get advice on everything from the cheapest local steak place to how to secure a job after being laid off.
Above all else, you can throw in a bit of celebrity gossip, random joke feeds, and even keep an eye on the stocks in your portfolio. Of all recession-proofing strategies in this article, this is my highest recommended and most utilized.
