Is there a recession? Maybe it depends on who you talk to and what about. A few days ago I had a guy come to the door to see if I would like to have the drive to my house block paved. It was the usual story – in the area, doing a house down the road, economies of scale with materials etc. well he quoted £3400 and said he would come back the next day. I, of course, said I would think about it.

He did not come back the next day but he did a couple of days later when I told him I would not be going ahead. He started to tell me about all the things he would do to make a fabulous job and offered to do it for £2800. Now that is a good price for the right specification and a quality job. I won’t be going ahead because my mood is against spending on non essentials just now and house values are falling so I don’t perceive it as an investment. I conclude that businesses such as his will be badly hit by the recession.

On the other hand I am a non executive Director of a Company in the software business. The Company implements software solutions that streamline business processes and generate efficiencies and therefore improved productivity. The Company is almost overwhelmed with enquiries just now. I consider that businesses that can deliver improved efficiency and productivity will likely prosper during the recession, especially if the cash break even point is within a year.

So – it just depends!