Fifteen months ago, I wrote a post “The recession will never end : adapt or die” and in it, I talked about about the cycle of business and how, to survive the roller-coaster of economic change that will define the businesses of the future. Well, the roller-coaster ride is certainly interesting and what we’ve seen, since the start of 2013, is the rise of newly-agile businesses. The old-style of business is doomed to die, like much of the high-street, screaming.
We’ve certainly seen the effects of change, we’ve won more new clients in the last 6 months than in the previous 3 years. By 2012, we had lost over 50% of our old revenue stream, to be replaced by new clients and a more flexible commercial model. It feels like a re-birthing and the excitement in the company has most definitely returned.
But it’s not just us. Look around and see what’s happening in the wider world: Tumblr has been bought for $1bn, Waze is being courted for a similar amount. Google are exploding with new products, even Microsoft are trying get in on the game. And who’d have thought Yahoo would make it back from the dead and on a spending spree that includes Hulu.
This optimism is not confined to the digital world; Tesla Cars have re-paid their debt NINE years early, the FTSE has shot-up 1,000 points since January and even the volume of house sales is looking optimistic again.
Dont’ forget this moment – you’ll look back and remember the year with the late snow and remember it as the year everything changed. It’s been a tough few years but now we’ve got the confidence to climb out of the trenches and we’re still alive. There have been some casualties, it was the biggest recession since the 1920s, and there are still a fair few patients that will succumb to their injuries later. For the vast majority of us it’s only good times ahead. Enjoy it folks.
By Martin Dower
