Funding is always an issue in this country, but I think you'll see the downturn hit worse in different parts; for example, a lot of the private investment money in Perth was off the back of people with cash to spare due to the mining industry.
In terms of "innovative" companies, the issue in 2009 will be one more so of mindset. Like it or not companies become more conservative in hard financial times, and may be less willing to adopt 2.0 tools, prefering to stick with what they know. The challenge there, which has always been part of the case but more so now is pitching the product in a way that demonstrates a strong cost/ beneifit analysis; ie: how will your tool/ business save the company money, not in 3-5 years time, but in the coming months. Consultants I'd think will have a rough year as well. They're always the easiet to get rid of for starters, but particularly outside larger companies, consultants will find it hard going. I think we'll see a shift to consultants as being enablers, as opposed to a money drain. I was on a panel of 8 in Melbourne in November, and I was the only non-consultant on it; every single other person told the audience that they should hire a consultant as the only way forward (naturally I didn't). The pitch has to change to make the sale: hire us and we'll enable you internally to have the knowledge to do what you want, and ultimately save money. Slightly self defeating in selling consulting services, but it will happen because people want to get paid, and it's the more attractive pitch. Web tools are going to struggle unless they have a paid version and strong client base (Atlassian comes to mind as a company that will continue to go well). The truth you're not reading about at the moment is the arse has started to fall out of the online advertising market in a big way, not as much as say heritage media, but I'm betting Nick Denton's prediction of 40% down for 09 might be right, from my own experience, and talking to a lot of people in the industry. The last paragraph obviously is my own challenge going forward ;-) 2009/1/13 Mark Neely <[email protected]>: > > Hi all, > > Well, a new year is upon us, and the business environment could not be more > different than the start of 2008. > > I'm using this month to plan my year (including prospecting for a few new > clients...feel free to drop me a line!), and I thought it would be useful to > have a discussion about your view of the major challenges ahead for > Australian companies (small and large) looking to bring innovative > products/services to market and generate profits. > > No doubt funding will be a key issue. While it will be harder to raise $ > this year, I don't think it will be impossible - the conversations I've been > having suggests there is plenty out there (if only a little 'gun shy'!). > > But what are the other challenges ahead that top the list of your own > planning process? > > Regards, > > Mark > > ----- > Mark Neely > Master Strategist > Infolution Pty Ltd > 'Beyond Strategy. Leading Change' > > e: [email protected] > m: +61 (0)412 0417 29 > skype: mark.neely > > Read my blog --> www.infolution.com.au > Connect on LinkedIn --> www.linkedin.com/in/markneely > > > > > > > > -- Duncan Riley Editor, The Inquisitr e: [email protected] p: +61 412844237 m: PO Box 8164 Camberwell North VIC 3124 w: inquisitr.com ff: http://friendfeed.com/duncanriley --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Silicon Beach Australia" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
