Hiring yet?
Probably not, if you are like the rest of corporate America. After another day watching the market crater, it's difficult to dig out the checkbook and add another mouth to the payroll. Most of us know, intellectually, that now, in the dip, is the time to be investing and working hardest to be poised for the upswing when it comes, but emotionally it's a hard thing to hold onto when you're watching your portfolio and potential investors shrivel.
But hiring is one of the most important places to take advantage of a downturn. The job market is juicy from the employer perspective right now. You can pick up top talent at bottom dollar. And while the increasingly mobile labor force means that there is no guarantee you will hang onto staff when good times are back again, the various practical problems of job-switching means your odds are better than if you are simply competing with the rest of the field when hiring naturally ticks up again.
Some of the latest reports show a slight upward trend in small business hiring. If you're not part of it, start considering it.