| This has been a difficult year for companies of all | | | | florist last year. They were a traditional |
| shapes and sizes. With the economy in shambles and | | | | bricks-and-mortar flower shop, and they were having |
| literally billions of dollars being wiped off the books in | | | | a difficult time competing with some of the bigger |
| the last 18 months, this has certainly been a trying | | | | online flower delivery companies. The only thing |
| time for many. Newspaper headlines tend to focus | | | | preventing them from being competitive was their |
| on stories relating to the struggles of big | | | | lack of technology infrastructure and expertise. With |
| corporations, but small to medium sized businesses | | | | a small investment of a few thousand dollars, they |
| have been struggling just the same. While nobody | | | | were able to build an e-commerce platform that |
| likes to admit it, challenging economic times provide | | | | allowed them to provide fresh flower delivery to a |
| excellent opportunities for investors. In many cases, | | | | market well beyond their traditional reach. They now |
| the best investment opportunities in this climate may | | | | specialize almost exclusively in international flower |
| exist right in your back yard. | | | | delivery. |
| Currently, a lot of small businesses are struggling to | | | | By embracing technology, they were able to capture |
| make ends meet. Many of them are successful, | | | | market share both in their local market and beyond. |
| profitable businesses in their own right, but the credit | | | | It was a small investment in the grand scheme of |
| crunch has stretched thin their operating resources. In | | | | things, but it made a world of difference for the |
| times like these, the natural instinct of many | | | | business owner and the investor has seen an |
| companies is to reduce their spending on marketing | | | | impressive return on his investment. The lesson here |
| and advertising. What they fail to realize is that sales | | | | is that there are countless investment opportunities |
| and revenue are dependent, not only on existing | | | | out there for people willing to consider non-traditional |
| customers, but on their ability to attract new ones. | | | | investments. If you are an investor, do yourself a |
| Therein lies the opportunity. If you are an investor, | | | | favor and take some time to explore your local |
| why not consider investing in some of these local | | | | markets for new opportunities. You might be |
| businesses? | | | | surprised at the opportunities you find. |
| For example, one of our colleagues invested in a local | | | | |