I received a press release from a company working with Mike Mann, and I thought it was an interesting read. It seems that despite the poor economy, Mike Mann and his companies continue to hire. It’s good to see growth when things are tight for many.
Bethesda, Md. — With financial markets crumbling and thousands of workers losing their jobs, some businesses are poised to thrive in this slow economy.
As recession looms and protesters take to Wall Street, the most innovative companies will fare best during tough economic times, said Gerard J. Tellis, a professor of marketing at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.
“The main thing is if the company has new products or a new business model,” Tellis said in a telephone interview. “During a recession, companies based on older models die off faster than those with newer models. The best way to prepare for a recession is to introduce new products.”
One entrepreneur said his firms will succeed because along with innovative products, key to surviving in a slow economy are strong balance sheets and outpacing the competition. No business is recession proof, but entrepreneur Mike Mann said his managers learned to adapt in the hard times. Three of Mann’s companies grew during the last recession mostly because business owners must promote themselves even in a sluggish economy.
Mann’s businesses provide Internet marketing, Web development and telecommunications products that make it easier for companies to compete online. Experts said businesses are usually more successful when those budgets are not cut during tough economic times.
“We find that companies that do not cut marketing during the recession do better than those that do cut,” Tellis explained. “Innovation and maintaining your level of marketing is critical.”
Because results from online marketing are easily tracked, companies hire Mann’s firms after ending advertising contracts with cash-strapped newspapers and magazines that are unable to reach the growing audience online.
Despite the economic slowdown, Mann’s SEO.com, Phone.com and DomainMarket.com have hired new staff and taken on more clients as other businesses were shuttered.
“There is a paradigm shift from traditional media to the companies we own, which are new media,” Mann said.
Next year the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization expects online marketing to grow to a $20 billion industry as companies demand better ways to track their marketing efforts.
Still, Mann said it isn’t just innovation that allows companies to weather economic downturns, it is also business acumen. Small companies need contacts, mentors and other resources to succeed. His new book “Make Millions & Make Change! Secrets to Business and Personal Success” is showing people a pathway to financial independence. Visit http://www.makemillions.com/ to download the book for free.
“The book is not just abstract theories. These are things you can actually do in your business today and start making money,” Mann said.
Tullis agreed that success for businesses is often hinged on mastering the basics.
Along with all the technology, Mann’s companies probably also relied on simply providing excellent customer service to ward off the economic downturn, the professor said.
About Mike Mann
Mike Mann is the author of “Make Millions and Make Change! Secrets to Business and Personal Success”, a business book focused on making money in order to better serve society. Mike is the founder of Grassroots.org, a global network providing free services to nonprofits and promoting social action. He also founded and manages Make Change! Trust, a charitable fund supporting select non-profit organizations. For more information, visit http://www.mikemann.com/.
When I first started investing in domain names, I used 
In the past year or so, Ryan Colby sold a number of high value domain names as a domain broker at 