How do you grow a business in a challenging economy? Corporations need to think like entrepreneurs—exploiting unmet market opportunities, staying tightly coupled with customers, peeling unnecessary expenses and fine-tuning business processes. Entrepreneurs need to think like corporations—remaining deeply practical, anticipating market trends, analyzing available information and building wise partnerships.

Entrepreneurs, mid-sized businesses and Fortune 500 companies alike need to focus on the realization that revenue is won through providing real value to customers, not simply by creating an innovative business plan. Tough business environments call for working harder on relationships, deepening an understanding of customers’ and suppliers’ needs and developing an intense appreciation for the value proposition of goods and services offered. The current business environment is an ideal time to reposition and plan for the future, which will, in all certainty, be very different from the past.

Bryan Bergeron's business consulting focuses on building effective business models. He has published extensively on the use of technology in business.