I’ve been meaning to write this post for several days now, ever since I read an article in our Las Vegas Review Journal dated Monday, February 16th. In fact, it’s been sitting on my desk just waiting for the right moment to go from paper pile to post.

What really caught my attention was the headline, “Cultural differences: Economic values may explain why businesses owned by Chinese-Americans are faring well in the recession.”

We see all too often people pulling away from the very thing they should be doing during down times or slow times or tough times – especially online. The energy exerted to build a business is tamped down (or shut down) in the hopes that somehow, magically, sales will continue – in spite of no advertising or marketing.

---

Here’s something that very well may (and should) change your perspective on “should I or shouldn’t I be advertising and marketing or even blogging?”

“The fortunes of a newspaper published out of a second-floor Chinatown Plaza office may give us insight into differing attitudes about money and ways of surviving tough economic times.

In a time when a 162-year-old national news chain such as the Tribune Co. file for bankruptcy protection, the Las Vegas Chinese Daily News is actually growing, fueled by an increase in advertising. The paper has gone from 16 to as many as 36 pages since printing its first copy five years ago.”

The article goes into further details by defining how different cultures view our current times; “…many Chinese business owners consider a time of economic stress a time to spend money on advertising.”

This advertising “outlook” is considered to be a definite separation of U.S. and Chinese cultures. Where the former sees nothing but doom and gloom when it comes to doing business, the latter are taking advantage of great rates and exceptional deals. These factors also attribute to the fact that over 20,000 valley residents of Chinese heritage are surviving the highest unemployment rates in a generation.

“Chinese attitudes about money include the notion of saving profits and growing slowly, instead of leveraging long lines of credit and expanding rapidly, several business owners said.”

Now here’s the best part, and what I’d really like you to come away with (having read this post… thank you):

“The Chinese rely more on what is known as a relational economy, compared to Americans, who function more in a “me economy.” The Chinese system is based more on, “I do something for you, you do something for me,” with everyone being on the same level.”

Sounds a lot like the Golden Rule applied with a fine paint brush to the art of keeping customers coming back by treating them right.

So if you’re asking yourself, “Is now a good time to slow down with my marketing and advertising?” we think it best to tell you the answer is no.

Recovering lost ground is costly.

Instead, plan and budget for an amount comfortable (and affordable) for you in today’s economy. Be it $10 or $1000, keep your business plans afloat and keep them growing.

We’ve said it before and we’ll keep on saying it. The internet waits for no man, woman, or child. Let up for even a tiny bit of time and your competitors are going to sweep right over you.

Your wise move is again budgeting. Keep your ads out there, continue investing your time and energy, too.

These rough times will not last forever, even if (in the moment) the light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t shine very brightly.

Stay on top of what you’ve been doing, and when the sunshine hits, you’ll be well positioned – ahead of your competition – in the months and years to come.

Linda of Forcedgreen sent me the following (which is just too good not to share, I received two in the last week alone – oh I did change a word here and there to keep it “family friendly”):

================================

I’m Still Waiting…
I did what you told me…

I sent the email to 10 people like you said …
I’m still waiting for that miracle to happen.

To all my friends who in the last year sent me best ‘wishes’, chain letters, ‘angel’ letters or other promises of good luck if I forwarded something, NONE OF THAT ___ WORKED!

For 2009, could you please just send money, Vodka, chocolate, movie tickets or gasoline vouchers and airline tickets instead?

Thank you!

================================

And thank you Linda for your unique timing! You know just when I really need a good laugh!

This morning, following along the lines of yesterday’s post about Qassia, I just could not bring myself to type in junk. Sorry, must be me, but what someone had for breakfast is not my cup of tea (no pun intended).

So, I chose the high road, writing off-the-cuff. In other words, my experiment this time around opted to choose the “Unpublished original intel” option, and give it a go right from their website.

Here’s what I ended up writing (remember it’s not rocket science LOL!): (more…)

UPDATE: Sunday morning – keep in mind this guy is only talking about $85B while the government is proposing a $700B bailout!

Okay, now just as a whim a good friend of ours sent this email along. It may have started out as a joke, but it’s anything but.

This actually MAKES SENSE – a hell of a lot more sense then anything I’ve heard our government talking about doing.

See what you think – U.S. or not…?! (more…)

Not that long ago, it was acceptable to stumble one’s own post to get the ball rolling in Stumbleupon. However, the rules of the game are changing as detailed here:

StumbleUpon Has Updated Its Algorithms

If by chance you have been found wanting by the SU team, never fear there is a way to get back into their good graces. Here’s just a few excerpts from the post (linked above): (more…)