Michael O’Leary of Ryanair startled a British reporter once by saying ” I love the recession, that is when real clever people make money, the men stand out from the boys not when times are good, because then anybody can make money” So supposing what seems inevitable now actually happens and the Euro goes bust and the world sinks into another recession are we ready to capitalise on that sad state  of affairs and make money. How do you make money in a recession?

Good strategic management suggests that you look for recession proof markets, these are markets were demand does not fall because of a cash crisis in the economy or even just on consumers. Recession proof markets in my opinion are food retail, health services, education services, undertaking and the sex industry. People will always need to buy from one of more of these markets because they are amongst the most basic of all human needs, not buying them could kill especially those that haven’t already died and even if they are dead they still need to be buried or cremeted so the demand is a given. But there are propbaby thousands of other people, companies or even nations thinking the same thing albeit on different scales.

Thinking of and choosing a market of the ones listed above is probably the easiest part, the challenge lies in how to turn an idea into a viable business, first and foremost make sure your business idea has a unique characteristic that will earn it a place in the customers minds otherwise it will be like opening a corner shop in the same street as TESCO. Even though demand is not affected by the recession as much as other markets whoever chooses to do business in the markets I have listed will need to be creative and innovative to capture the customer’s imagination.

KFC did it in the last recession by tweeking their menus and food combinations which gave them higher than ever profits which in turn allowed them to something unimaginable in a recession, creating 1500 jobs and opening new stores. Ryanair also tweeked their product offering and continued to grow, becoming the largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger numbers. Stubbonly sticking to old strategies saw Woolworths’ long heritage wiped out in a few short months, British Airways lost £400 million over the same period by failing to realise the times had changed  and more of the same was no longer and option