With a sluggish economy in place, many companies are cutting their expenses and staffs to make ends meet. Others are rethinking core business plans, some are expanding their sales forces. So, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal asks: “What are you doing to improve your company’s position in this economic slowdown?” David S. Burr President and CEO Pacific Coast Cabling Chatsworth We believe this slowdown to be temporary. We are focused on the future and know that we will bounce back from this sluggish period soon. As a company that provides the full spectrum of voice, video and data communications infrastructure technologies, Pacific Coast Cabling is assured that business is out there and will continue to be available to us. Right now, we are tightening our focus as a business. We are more clearly defining our markets. In addition, we are strengthening our sales efforts. Unlike many companies out there in our space, we continue to hire personnel and do not foresee any layoffs in the near future. Iraj Borbor Dean DeVry Institute of Technology West Hills With the economy slowing down, some people are looking for new jobs, whereas others are seeking greater job stability. In such a climate, a bachelor’s degree at DeVry is viewed by many as a valuable asset opening doors for new career opportunities. Accordingly, our focus right now is on expanding our course offerings and programs to meet student demand. We are also continually working with the business community to enhance and adopt our curriculum to ensure our graduates are ready for the evolving needs of the marketplace. Robert Brown President The Comdyn Group Calabasas The slowdown began last August when the dot-com, or dot-bomb, went down. Our customers cut their expenses by minimizing their orders with us. The reason for this is due to fear from our cyclical economy. It affected us greatly. We decreased our purchases, minimized projects, put a freeze on hiring new staff and warranted a salary pay cut. We are keeping our powder dry and feel very optimistic about the economy. Currently, we are keeping a close staff, attending seminars for new information in the technology industry and enhancing our sales strategy and motivating my staff to sell, sell, sell. In a volatile economy, we must prepare, adapt, adjust and position ourselves to obtain a competitive edge. Jim Delany CEO Broadband Highway Inc. Woodland Hills It has affected us drastically. We had to decrease some of our resources and concentrate on improving a profitable model. Our main focus is to perfect our deployment and procedures to obtain revenues. To accomplish our goals, we’re currently targeting the Southern California area. By concentrating in the small areas of Southern California and changing our business plan, we can improve our return on investment. Our company is engaged in a service-oriented sector where we can focus our expertise in the Internet business.
