I am in Shiny Penny Hell.

I know many of you have experienced the concept, but this is a new term I just came up with, so let me explain it for those that perhaps haven’t had the experience yet. Many have used ‘shiny penny’ before to refer to all those ideas that roll around in your head. The great new product you think about while you’re in the shower. Another new product or service you come up with while driving kids around. They’re like shiny pennies – they distract us. If you’re like me right now, you get to a point where you are BLINDED by your shiny pennies. So much so, that you can’t figure out which way to go, where to turn, and, sometimes more importantly, which ones to leave on the street. In short, you get stuck. Shiny Penny Hell.

There are two questions that come to mind, both representing two new programs I’m working on.

First, if you haven’t experienced this, why not? Has your creativity been stifled, like mine was at the end of my tenure at my first company? My creativity was blocked…gone. I didn’t even know it until the floodgates opened up again and I wasn’t inhibited. That’s when the pennies start collecting. Recognizing that ‘stuckness’ and getting the pennies to start flowing is the first program I’m working on.

Second question: what do you DO when the pennies are overloading your vision and all you can see is the blindness of their shine? Which one(s) do you pick up? That’s the other new program I’m working on.

I’m interested in your Shiny Penny Hell stories. Are you there now? Have you been there before? How did you get out? PLEASE SHARE!

Shiny Penny Hell(TM) is (C) 2008 Path Forward International.

If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you know that I have been less than impressed with the press coverage of the economy lately. Every time I turn around, there’s doom and gloom and the ‘R’ word (recession). It’s not that I don’t think there are some serious problems and difficult times ahead. As an entrepreneur, I have certainly seen a lot of business-related activities slow down or in some cases grind to a halt (specifically where the government took over a potential client – go figure!). Undoubtedly, Americans have been spending way too much money and going too far into debt. In reality, I think a correction is needed. My question, though, is how much does the media play into the hype and make it worse?

Case in point: my husband had some interesting discussions at a recent casual get-together. One gentleman is in the mortgage industry. The question was asked: do you guys have any money to lend? The answer: absolutely! We just can’t get people in the door. They’re too afraid. Same with a friend who is a car dealer. They have had to cut back on their inventory of cars (which shrinks their profit margins) but they have plenty of money to lend…just no one to lend it to.

On the positive side, perhaps the lowering of the oil prices will bring us much-needed relief. I was ecstatic to see gas in my local community offered for under $3.00 per gallon. I have no doubt, though, that some media outlet will point out the negatives to that.

When I started my first business almost 14 years ago, I had no idea what “Intellectual Property” (IP) meant or how it applied to me. Nowadays, I hear that term ALL OVER THE PLACE. In fact, I’m teaching a couple of entrepreneurship classes where it comes into play and I’ve found that people don’t really understand that the only thing IP gives you is the right to protect it. It gives you the right to sue someone else for infringement.

Case in point: an article this week in our local paper about a company selling Cuff Links calling their company Cuff-Daddy. Sound like any rappers you know? Yes, Sean Combs is trying to block their use of it because it sounds like his nickname, Puff-Daddy. I could see that. The thing is, he isn’t being mean or nasty, he’s just protecting his brand. If you don’t protect it, you actually lose the right to do so.

This being a Presidential Election year in the United States has taken a toll on the productivity in American businesses. I haven’t done a scientific study, but I can remember back 4 years ago to what was going on in my small business. We had every political ideology represented – from Libertarians to all-out liberals (and everything in between!). We were so diverse – and emotionally charged – that at one point I had to all but ban political discussions in the office because once they started, no work was getting done. Tell me I’m not the only one!

 I have also seen an increase in business owners using their business or platform as a way to express their political views, sometimes in obnoxious ways. In fact, I recently stoped following someone on Twitter because I found their continual bashing of the other party’s candidate to be frustrating and just plain annoying. I don’t mind people pulling for their candidate but I choose to get my political insight and news from other sources and keep it separate from my business.

This past weekend, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post (note: free content, but you may have to register) about the challenges of expressing your political views within your business.  One hotel in a very Obama-centric area of town posted a sign in support of McCain/Palin. That very morning, there was a campaign mounting to boycott that facility. Alternatively, one hair dresser in Washington, DC, posted a “Palin-Free” sign in his window and has been met with no grief whatsoever from his clientele.

I’ve heard numerous other business owners talk about the rift that occurs when talking politics at work, mostly when one or both parties are intolerant of alternative beliefs and viewpoints. Wearing a button of your favorite candidate is one thing, getting into debates about the shortcomings of your colleague’s choice, especially when done in an obnoxious way, is quite another, especially when it can really bring the progress of business to a halt.

What is a business to do?

Clearly, as a business owner and an American, you have a right to display or state whatever political views you want. It’s our right. You need to be prepared, however, for potential backlash. If you choose to integrate politics with your business, don’t be surprised if you are met with resistance from colleagues, clients or employees who hold a different viewpoint. It is possible to even lose a few along the way, or see a community mounting a boycott.

Religion and politics, at least in the U.S., seem to evoke extreme emotional responses. I guess there’s a reason that most businesses keep their religious and political views quiet. For those who don’t, however, expect that not everyone will appreciate it or agree with it. If you’re OK with risking the backlash, go for it! Otherwise, you might want to consider sticking with the sign in the front lawn of your house and volunteering outside the office to support your candidate of choice.

Has anyone personally experienced extremes in the workplace? Can your office talk politics without interrupting productivity and business progress? If so, how?! 

You would have to be living under a rock lately to not know about the current economic crisis in the US. The ripple effects have been felt in global markets, reminding us all of how connected we really are. But what does this mean for small businesses? And what can we do about it? I polled some of my clients and friends and here’s what I found.

First, most of the business advice out there is common sense: get lean, lay off employees. But what if you are already lean and have no one to fire but yourself? A lot of small business owners are solopreneurs, meaning they work alone. If you’re work out of your house, how much leaner can you get? Unfortunately, as some business owners have discovered, you may need to make some tough decisions.

One business owner I know has decided to shut down her e-commerce website and focus on wholesale. She sells sassy beach-fashions under the Salty Chix brand and is finding that the $85 per month it costs her to maintain her online store is just one more expense she can’t afford. Instead, she’s packing up her products and calling on local retail outlets in hopes of placing some of her products and moving her inventory, even though it is at lower wholesale prices. The idea, however, is to establish a relationship with the retailers so that when the market turns around, as she’s confident it will, she can grow her presence through them. Short term tactics with a long-term vision. Perfect!

Another business owner who is seeing slow-downs is a local auto body shop. They’ve been in business a long time. They believe where in good financial times people would never drive around with dents or scratches on their car, tightening the belt includes leaving your call in less-than-pristine shape. Perhaps working through insurance companies, even though the margins may be lower, could provide another channel for customers.

Clearly, credit from banks may be tough to get. If that’s what you need right now for your business, it may be time to look at creative financing including loans from friends and family. Equity financing, in the form of angel investors and VC’s don’t appear to be in danger, but only time will tell. BusinessWeek recently published an interesting article on this.

Unfortunately, when everybody hunkers down, it adds to the problem. It is a ripple effect. I believe the press doesn’t help this, as their gloom-and-doom reports only serves to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you stop purchasing goods and services from others it impacts their business. And so on, and so on, and so on.

So what can you do about it? Certainly, you need to choose wisely where you spend your money but by all means, don’t stuff it under your mattress. The only way the economy is going to recover is if we continue to stimulate it through spending.

Be flexible. Continue to look for new angles, new problems that you’re solving, and ways you can relate to what your potential customers are going through. Have an “economy sucks” sale where you temporarily lower your prices until things rebound.

So go out and buy those holiday gifts while you look at how you can market your business in a new and different way. Whatever you do, DON’T lose heart. Retreating from the market is probably the worst thing you can do. If you need to get a part-time job to get through this cycle, do it. Do whatever it takes to weather the storm because there will be brighter days ahead!

Got any other ideas on creative steps you can take when the economic news is so grim? Share them!

Someone sent me a link to this video - a keynote given to 20,000 people by a kid. This kid ROCKS! Watch it, and see how it makes you feel. Inspired? This kids “Boot in the Butt” is awesome!

This week, I’ve got some guest articles posted over at Life Meets Work. Check out the first: Communicating with Flexible Workers. If you manage employees who aren’t in the office all the time, I would be curious to hear about the challenges you’ve faced and the approaches that work!