But many probably don’t consider “nothing” as a competitor.

I’m reacting here to a blog post by Seth Godin yesterday titled, “Better than nothing (is harder than you think)”.

Godin put words in the mouth of a mythical customer, saying:

“I will buy this treat or I will buy nothing, because I don’t really need anything.”

That’s a battle for any business owner, particularly over the last year, I think. But it really applies to any kind of sales pitch in any kind of economy.

I can only speak as a digital media producer, trying to convince small businesses, schools, couples and families that the services I offer fill a need for them – marketing, PR, keepsakes – at an affordable price and are not just optional “wants.”

They’re a need.

People will always make buying decisions based on “need.” So business owners must demonstrate that they are better than nothing. And that there’s a new breed of need, when it comes to marketing or raising awareness, or in the case of couples and families, creating a keepsake.

Should a small business decide to put a short promotional video on its website, allowing the owner or employees to talk about their commitment to their customers?

Or, do nothing?

Should a school produce a short weekly audio or video podcast with its coaches and student athletes that showcases their achievements and efforts?

Or, do nothing?

Should a bride-to-be order a half-hour long well-produced, behind-the-scenes reality TV style video of her wedding day activities with her friends, family and hubby-to-be?

Or, do nothing?

“I already work around the clock!” – Harrison Ford in Extraordinary Measures

Join the club, right?

Anyone feeling like Harrison Ford’s character in his new movie? I saw that trailer this weekend and laughed and thought, now there’s something a few people have been screaming every day in corporate offices and small businesses for months.

It’s an odd paradox. While unemployment surges the people fortunate to stay employed in many lines of work – I can speak to what I’ve seen and heard lately in PR and communications – are working around the clock, literally, to pick up the extra work.

Complain about it? Sure, they could. But when your neighbor is spending eight hours a day online or networking trying to get back on his feet in a whole new industry or line of work, complaining gets you nowhere.

But it’s not necessarily tied to cutbacks and layoffs.

It’s a sign of the times. In good times and bad.

Think about it.

When the economy gets back to “normal” you’ll still have your BlackBerry or laptop at your side. It’s there right now, isn’t it? And it’s your day off, or a Saturday, or it’s a Tuesday night at 9pm and you’re watching something on TV with your spouse.

The reason we’re all tied to our work email inbox 24/7 or the hour-by-hour demands of our small businesses and our customers and clients is that we’re all petrified of falling behind and/or delivering less-than-stellar work – those of us who care about how hard we work that is, or the results and success that hard work brings for our business or our boss.

Ask any small business owner or teacher. Ask a blogger trying to provide timely, relevant information to their niche audience every day. Where’s the down time?

Ask Urban Meyer at Florida, who just took a leave from his football coaching post due to health issues. He talked yesterday about the demands his job put on his time:

“…If that means staying until 4:00 in the morning, if that means rehashing over and over again what to do different, it’s our fault. When a young man flunks a class, that’s our fault. Something happened… I think what I have to learn is you can’t just accept, you’ve got to be able to delegate might be the right word, that you have to delegate and you have to function. I’ve lived a nine year coaching career, I’d say a 30-year coaching career in nine years, and I can’t do that. I just have to be smarter. I’m not very smart; that’s part of the problem… Wow, when you put your heart, soul and everything into being a father, husband and coach, not much time left. Got to make sure we stay in that order, father, husband and coach, and not flip it.”

“I just wanted to make sure I had my priorities straight,” Meyer said Sunday. “A lot of times coaches do not have their priorities straight. You put business before God and family, you have a problem.”

Do you have a problem?

Falling behind or means more work, more stress. Who wants that?

Nobody.

The answer is, that ‘it is what it is.’ You have to manage your time more effectively than ever. Giving priority to what needs priority at that particular moment.

It’s not easy.

How do you strike a balance in your work and your “down time”?