CAN'T believe it's coming up to the end of July already...with no holidays booked for the summer, I think its just going to pass me by this year!

Just been reading Swansea Bay Business Life magazine – it's always a good read (if you're interested in that sort of thing...) It's really interesting to find out what other Swansea businesses are up to, and this month's issue has a particular focus on what we're all doing to survive the downturn.

I always think you can learn a lot from hearing other business owners talk firsthand about their companies, and it's inspiring to learn how real-life local businesses are being proactive, resourceful and innovative in their efforts to come out the other end of this recession.

Chris Hope at Dawsons is focussing on growing their market share, which is up significantly since the downturn started. When you think that there's been so much miserable news about the property market, it's refreshing to hear about a local business that is still able to spot a positive opportunity and make the most of it.

And Lesley Taylor of Taylors Etc is focussing on customer service, differentiating the company from competitors by offering a more holistic approach to interior design.

I should mention that we're also featured... but that's not the reason I brought it up... :)

We've used the downturn as an opportunity to diversify into other markets that are less affected, to focus on R&D – developing new technology that makes 3D architectural models interactive, and to look inward at how we can run the business better. As part of this, we're working towards our ISO:9001 certification.

We're also focussing on our team, training people to grow into more senior roles as the market picks up, and maintaining a strong team dynamic. I'd like to think we've made good use of any downtime we've had, and we've certainly learnt a lot over the last year. It's all very well to be able to grow a business in a booming sector, but it's good to know you can keep things going in tougher times as well.

It's difficult to look too far ahead at the moment, but things seem to picking up here at iCreate.

Five new enquiries today alone, and a long list of quotes to write. Hopefully this upward trend will continue!