Reporter's Notebook

Making lemonade

A big part of my job involves picking people’s brains – specifically, Southwest Washington’s business brains. You people are smart. Really smart. In this rocky economy, you are proving your smarts over and over, and it’s taking you to good places.

In several interviews lately, people have told me that a slow economy forces us to fix problems we didn’t want to think about before. It forces us to weed out inefficiencies and fluff. It makes us think about making the best use of our resources. It makes us look at how and why we do things. It reveals our strengths. I see this sharpened focus carrying over from the business world into our personal lives as well.

I hear a lot of stories about hard times. But lately, I’ve heard more about Southwest Washington businesses finding ways to outsmart the economy – finding ways to pull through when it seems easier to close up shop. Vancouver planning firm MacKay and Sposito is being strategic about the projects it pursues and careful in its budget cuts as work opportunities slow.

Northwest Builders Resource has added a staff position to help connect local builders with resources and jobs. Manufacturers are opening in-house retail outlets and giving factory workers a hand in process improvements. Salespeople are using communications technology to cut down on travel costs. Laid-off workers are chasing their dreams and starting their own businesses.

The economy has given us some pretty bad lemons. But you all are making some mighty lemonade. Let us know how you’re rethinking business in this economy.


--Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com