Women Days

A Better Bristol Ahead

The business community in Bristol has learned to pull together in this economic free fall. Many businesses started immediately to get their house in order so they could weather the storms of slow economic growth. Not only did the business sector change their ‘business as usual’ strategy but also families had to make changes in their lifestyle in order to try to soften the blow of the economic tail spin they would get sucked into. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully everyone will immerge a little stronger and a little wiser when this passes and it will pass.

When a man plants a garden he first prepares the ground he will use, he plants the seeds, waters, hoes the weeds, and watches as the fruits of his labour begin to grow. Sometimes pride in accomplishments takes hold and he leaves the care of his garden because he thinks all is well and goes off in another direction. Soon the weeds begin to pop up while he is gone and his beautiful garden begins to choke off destroying some of his crops. When the man returns he realizes if he doesn’t do something right now he could lose what is left of his crops. The man, despite his poor choice earlier, rolls up his sleeves, gets his proper tools necessary to get the job done, and goes to work cleaning out the weeds. He learned from this experience that if he had tended to his duties from the beginning and had planned to work and weed every day, even though the garden looked okay, he would had a more bountiful garden to see him through the winter months.

Businesses have had to freeze hiring, cut spending, and lay off employees in order to make it through these wintry months of a bad economy. That has been the bad side, but the good side is that eventually the hiring will come back, spending will improve, businesses and people will emerge stronger and better prepared for the future.