New projects can bring renewed hope

Just a week since the latest unemployment figures were released and the outlook for the economy seems gloomier than ever.
In my last blog I spoke about my personal experience of being made redundant and the hardship it has brought not only me, but my family.
Without a doubt, had it not been for the ongoing support of my loved ones my state of mind could be a lot different. But I am still here, battling on the best I can.
Losing a monthly wage gives you a new outlook on life, you tend to look at things differently, focus on issues you never really thought about before. Mainly because you have to.
But it can also give you renewed hope and allows you to focus on projects you have always had in the back of your mind but never really done anything about.
Unemployment is tough. Seven weeks in and I am just getting to grips with how scary the future could be. There is help out there, sure, but asking for that helps comes with having to swallow a lump of your pride and disclose the kind of information you would rather was kept under wraps.
Then there are the reasons behind unemployment and unfortunately, in the current climate, these seem all too familiar to us at the moment.
Debt is a massive factor. Small businesses are fighting a constant battle to get help from the banks and while the government is urging banks to lend on the one hand they are urging businesses to spend on the other. This leads to further debt and firms being unable to reduce their debt. This catch-22 situation has seen thousands of businesses go under before even reaching their full potential.
While debt is a major factor in small business meltdown another is the inability to market your product.
A recent report highlighting the state of UK business websites showed that almost half of the 1,000 websites analysed by Thomson Local had very little search engine optimization (SEO) and in some cases none at all.
It begs the question how can a business survive when customers do not even know they exist?
Marketing a product is all very well but potential customers have to be able to see what you are marketing on search engines or there is little or no point in going online in the first place.
This blog is by no means a guide to what small businesses should be doing and many out there will have their own thoughts on the ongoing crisis but it's just possible that with a little bit more help from independent organisations small businesses across the UK would flourish more, rather than being let down by the stranglehold of debt and other issues.
The title of this blog is "New projects can bring renewed hope" and there is a real sense at the moment, from myself and others, that a new start could be just what some people need to get on the right track to a prosperous future.
Intrigued?
Well, stick around over the coming blogs and more information might just be on its way.

Cheers for reading this. Please feel free to pass on to other people.

Nick