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7 Ways To Grow In A Down Economy.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Jennifer Bosavage

Our study reveals that for a majority of VARs, things are looking up. here's how they plan to beat the odds.

The economy is down, revenue projections are low and sales figures are in decline. How, in such a bleary economic picture, is a solution provider going to survive, much less grow?

Despite the recessionary environment, Everything Channel's recent survey of 117 solution providers found that many were optimistic about steady growth this year. Breaking down the respondents into categories, 33 percent of the VARs in our survey identified themselves as "growth" VARs--expecting moderate growth of between 4 percent and 14 percent greater than the market as a whole. Thirty percent classified themselves as "hypergrowth" VARs--predicting better than 15 percent growth. Twenty-five percent identified themselves as "lifestyle" VARs--intending to keep pace with the market and increasing or decreasing revenue by 3 percent. That number is up 6 percent from 2007. Twelve percent said they weren't focused on growth, down 6 percent from two years ago.

Part of the reason for all that potential growth might actually be those corporate cutbacks, VARs said. Several VARs said their business was thriving because they could offer their customers ways to do more with less. Such productivity-enhancing solutions are quickly becoming this season's best-sellers.

Joel Schleicher, CEO of Presidio Inc., Greenbelt, Md. (2008 VARBusiness 500 rank: 69), said, "Entrepreneurs tend to be optimistic." Here are seven ways these optimistic VARs intend to beat the odds.

1. Find New Customers

The leading way VARs...

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