Today's podcast is a pep talk. And the theme of the pep talk today is that the UK is officially in recession. So you might think this is an odd theme for a pep talk, but I know that it can feel overwhelming and demotivating when you hear headlines like “ UK officially in a recession after Christmas sales collapse.” It can feel like a very worrying time for a business owner. And we've also had other high-profile bad news recently in the press, for example, the body shop going into administration, which a lot of people are also feeling demotivated about.And so what I wanted to do with this episode is dig in a little bit into the data and the stats behind the headlines, tell you why I think you should be optimistic, and five things to do instead of letting it overwhelm you. [00:00] It’s time for a Pep Talk[03:00] Let's Define What Recession Means[05:21] Reasons I believe you can be optimistic despite the headlines[07:36] What actually happened to the Body Shop[08:53] Five Things to Do to Beat Feeling Overwhelmed[08:58] Focus on your circle of control. Make your business as good as it can be as opposed to spending that time getting distracted or, demotivated by external factors.[09:49] Keep Your Business Nimble. Now, more than ever, it's important to keep your stock under control, to not have too much of your money tied up in your stock so that you have got some flexibility.[10:36] Understand Your Customers. No matter what the economic environment, no matter what's going on in the world, knowing your customers, talking to them, really understanding them is only going to help you as a business owner.[11:03] Take Action! Make sure that you are thinking about your circle of control, what you can do, to move things on and focusing on that instead of the things that you can't control.[12:05] Get Support. You want to have that environment where you can talk to other people going through the same thing as you so you can share your worries and concerns and get ideas from what other people are doing too.[12:42] Don't Forget to Join Retail ROARMentioned in this episode:Faire 50% offerUse the code GamePlan25 to get 50% off and free shipping with your first order at faire.comFaire 50% off - use code 'GamePlan25'Freebie downloadStock Freebie

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.