RHetoric

Now that a year has passed since the stimulus act became law, it’s worth considering it’s impact.  Many of our clients are selling into the government, healthcare, and education markets - and the impact has been significant.

On the one hand, our clients that sell to government agencies and education saw sales hold steady during the recession.  However there is new fear that the stimulus has mostly been spent and things will fall off a cliff in the year to come as massive holes open up in municipal budgets.

In healthcare, our clients saw a huge stall in 2009 as the promise of stimulus caused IT buyers to pause and wait for rules to be issued over what is or isn’t covered by stimulus money.  However there is new optimism that money is starting to flow and the impact will hit in 2010.

Our client Onvia tracks this data down to the penny and told Fox Business News today that just 25% of the stimulus project money actually left Washington in 2009, yet the majority of it will reach the private sector this year.  Onvia also says that nearly half of all GDP is government spending - this is an astounding figure that may indicate anyone who ignores the government market is shelving half of their business development opportunity.

We’d love to hear from you if the stimulus has impacted your business, for better or worse.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my previous blog post on resume tips and using those tips in their application for our SAE position.

I have one additional request, please take a look at the PRSA 2010 Salary Snapshot to ensure you are in the right ballpark when applying for the position.  We are looking for an SAE and may consider someone with AE-level experience.

Good luck.

Last night I watched the State of the Union address and thought about how our firm has been impacted by the events of the past year.  Without going on any political tangents, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised at how we fared this past year, and am optimistic that this year is shaping up to be a great one.

Our business has definitely benefited from the spending in Washington, mostly because our clients either sell to the government, or their markets are heavily influenced by government spending.  This is exemplified by two clients, Onvia and GCI. Both these businesses have positioned themselves to benefit from the stimulus bill (ARRA).  For Onvia, itlaunched recovery.org, a web site tracking the distribution of stimulus dollars.  For GCI, it applied for and won a grant/loan to build terrestrial broadband in rural Alaska.

So on this day I can report that the State of Our Business is strong and we are very optimistic for things to come.  We have new projects in the pipeline and are looking to bring on two new employees.

I am still have my fingers crossed that the recovery continues in its current path, while keeping an eye toward growth and success in 2010.