Do you remember how frustrating he was? He was the cause of problems, putting the Robinson family in danger because of his greed, stupidity or fear. After the crisis passed, he would deflect blame and grab credit.
That is exactly the feeling I got last night when I saw an American Express ad forecasting a light at the end of the economic recession and the rebirth of a new and better small business economy. Clearly, their Dr Smith moment.
Reality is that American Express cut credit limits to small business owners in their moment of need. This not only limited available credit, it cause credit scores for many to drop and their cost of capital jump. In other words, Amex was part of small business’ problem, not a solution. When times were tough and the recession was scaring many business owners, Amex cut their risk and ran for cover. Owners were looking for small business loans and working capital while Amex was taking them away.
Now that things are looking brighter, they want to be a resource and a friend. Until when…?
I understand weakness and fear, we’ve all experienced that at one time or another. I understand Amex wanting to protect their balance sheet. What I do not tolerate well is Amex boldly proclaiming they are part of the solution now that the future looks brighter. I did not like it when I was a kid watching Lost in Space and I do not like it now when my business is on the line.
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Both Amex and Advanta cut my credit limit without any notice. I do not consider them partners, friends or good business people.
I do think they will have a price to pay and wonder if another card company will step into that part of the market?
Lending is being cut in all aspects of lending. Small business just need to adapt to this lack of capital in other ways. Using online advertising is one way to cut the advertising budget using cheap advertising networks like Adwido.
There has never been a better time to use technology to make small business owners more effective. You can also check ByTheZip.com and CloudProfile as two great ways for future customers to find your business online.
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