Thankfully the month of August 2009 is over. It will go down as one of the worst sales months in the history of my company. To say that it was "slow", harkens to the movie Apollo 13, when Tom Hank's character says "Houston, we have problem..." (a slight understatement). The best thing about a bad month is that it always ends, and a new month always begins.
With no where to go but up, I'm seeing small signs (both nationally and locally), that may indicate the worst is over.
Sign # 1: - Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index (which records regional manufacturing activity) surprised economists with a better than expected result for August of 50.0. (A result of 50.0 or greater is the threshold for indicated economic growth, below 50.0 indicates economic contraction. The result in July was 43.4).
Chart Courtesy of RTT News - Click Above For Source Article
When there seems to be no limit to how bad things can get, zero growth (or in this case no contraction) is growth.
Sign #2: - One of my clients who is dependent on venture funding for their planned expansion called with an immediate requirement for an East Coast office, and also released us to start planning for a local (year-end) requirement. This client had been "on-hold" for nearly 8 months awaiting funding, and it appears that this funding has now been secured.
Like the Purchasing Manager's Index, a single client finding funding doesn't make a trend, BUT - given that we have gone almost two full quarters with no good news, I'm taking these "blips" as a sign of things to come!
