Yes, things still suck, but there are signs to look at that could mean improvement. The stock markets have be rising since March. They were the first ones hit and will be the first to recover. The question is how long with it take to translate into jobs; usually this is 5 to 6 months. With this recession and from the models I have been creating and looking at (I teach Applied Calculus at LaSalle University part time and we look at this everyday in class, great time for material for class) main street will be about 10 to 12 months behind the market in this recession.
Also, close to half of businesses surveyed stated that they plan on returning to normal work weeks and pre-recession pay for their employees by this Dec. This is good since this is what will happen before jobs will return, which, by the models I look at, should be this March/April. So spring is not looking really good, but Fall of next year should be notably better then now.
Also, GDP is rising and it is rising at the time and rate that models have predicted, so just as long as no other major event like Lehman Brothers Failing, we should be coming out of this recession slowly, but surely. Whether or not this is natural growth or artifical reamins to be seen; I really would like to see the numbers for growth in the private sector which did not get any direct stimulus but those numbers are not available yet. And we do not want to come out fast, because that will give us inflation.
As long as the recovery remains slow, we should not have a double dip. Sounds weird, but the slower (at first) the better. And I think that I heard exports are on the rise too.
With that being said though, the Case-Shiller index fell this month and foreclosures are on the rise in areas that have previously be not hit by foreclosures. Also, banks are still lending and angel lenders are not returning to the market as fast as we would like.
As far as making connections though, this is the best time with the most opportunities. Really push forward a marketing plan. Most businesses that decrease marketing during down times loose too much of their name base to return to profitability after the recovery begins. Those that neither increase or decrease gain nothing. Those that become more aggressive gain on average 1.5 additional percentage points of market share during and after the recovery. Want to read a great example on this, look at what happened to Post's market share when they decreased their marketing during the depression as compared to Kellogg increasing their marketing.