http://berg.com.ua
Интервью со Смаурасоном относительно кризиса в Исландии

я: Hjörtur, please tell me your age and occupation
11:11 what you are into in routine life, what do you do?
  excluding personal life
  :)
 Hjörtur: I'm 33 years old and run my own marketing consultancy (one mans company) specializing in branding and internet marketing (social media)
11:12 я: I assume that you follow the current affairs in Iceland closely, arent you?
 Hjörtur: I work for different companies helping them get attention online
11:13 I'm also running a new online innovation project for Reykjavik University and the Icelandic Academy for the arts
  Yes, I do follow them closely
11:14 я: the global media has said much about the effect of world crisis on Iceland, we read about the turmoils on the streets, nationalisation of banks, but how did the crisis at large and its effect in Iceland influenced the life of citizens? How does it affect your daily lives?
11:15 tell in your own words whatever you consider important
11:16 Hjörtur: Financially, it affects every single citizen of the country. Inflation has gone up to 18% and the food basket in my local shop has gone up 35% in the last 10 months
11:17 There has been rapid expansion, partly due to cheap and easy loans people could get - in foreign currency. Those loans have now doubled due to the crash of the currency
  while at the same time people are loosing income and houses and cars are loosing value
11:19 For those who took those loans, this means that many people can't pay off there loans and they can't sell their houses and cars - often, the loans are now much higher than the value of the goods bought for it
 я: By forign currency you meant usd, eur, or gbp?
11:20 Hjörtur: Different form of currency "baskets" - a mix of Euro, USD, GBP, Yen and Swiss franks.
  Psychologically we've been going through some sort of morning
 я: go on, and let me know when you complete your answer, when done say something like "next question plz"
11:21 Hjörtur: ok
  The fall of the banks came as a huge shock and for the public it was completely unexpected. We believed they were standing strong.
  The first weeks were weeks of disbelieve and denial
11:22 Then came the time of anger and demand for action
  that's when people started protesting on the streets demanding that someone would take responsibility
  It took the government too long to realize that to regain trust, some key people needed to be replaced
11:23 so it finally ended with a breakup between the two governing parties and the formation of a new minority government.
  We are now getting into the phase of rebouncing, getting our act together and actually doing something
11:24 Companies have been waiting since October but now see that they can't wait no more. They have to start acting to survive, whether that means more layoffs, change of strategy or simply shutting down.
11:26 The older generations have been through tough times and recessions before and are mentally much better in dealing with the situation. The younger generation (under 35) have never had to worry about money, they got good jobs with very high salaries right out of school. For them, this is the end of the world as they knew it.
  Next q
11:27 я: how has the current crisis impacted your sales? have they decreased? has the industry lowered priced?
11:28 feel free not to dilclose any confidential data
  just in general
11:29 Hjörtur: Actually, in the b-2-b industry, we started to see problems last spring, when banks stopped lending money to anyone. I started having problems getting paid from my clients. After October and for the rest of the year nothing happened. People didn't know what happened and didn't know what to expect so everyone was waiting.
11:30 я: what do you mean by "nothing happened"? no orders or no changes?
11:31 Hjörtur: The new year on the other hand is starting off very well for me. When the currency crashed I raised my fee and I am now getting more requests from clients than ever before. The reason is that I help companies market themselves online, in a medium that is very cheap compared to others and where you can get good results and measure everything you do
  People like that, now that they really have to be careful about how they spend their advertising budget
  My "nothing happened" I mean no orders, no decisions.
11:32 я: again, notify when finished by "next q" please
 Hjörtur: While the fall of the Icelandic krona means it's difficult to pay of loans in foreign currency, it also means that getting paid in foreign currency is very good. So I have moved my focus to foreign markets getting clients in as remote places as Greenland and Australia
11:33 It is important to realize that what we are seeing is not the end of business.
  But it is a dramatic change in the business environment. It is important to realize what those changes mean to be able to spot the opportunities out there and grab them
  And there are actually more opportunities out there then ever before, because the status quo has been broken up
11:34 next q
11:36 я: is the effect or crisis visible on the street with a naked eye? can you see series of closed shops? bright and glamourous city streets turn to slum etc? is the crisis actually VISIBLE?
 Hjörtur: No, not really.
11:37 What is visible is that the cranes have stopped moving.
 я: again and hereafter notify when finished please
11:38 Hjörtur: A lot of new houses, both commercial buildings and private homes have been in construction but now most construction work has stopped. That means we have a lot of half finished buildings that no one is working on.
11:39 But this is one of the things that makes this so surreal. People are stilling driving their Range Rovers and BMWs around the streets. Most companies are still there, though we are seeing more empty office space, so it is hard to spot with the naked eye.
11:40 It does matter that Iceland was one of the riches countries in the world and we have an excellent infrastructure, good health care, good education system and everything free or almost free.
  That means we have a very good base to land on, and use to rebuild our economy.
  next q
11:42 я: in 1 to 5 sentences, what can you advise to the intrepreneurs in the harsh economic conditions like in Iceland now? what do they have to focus on? in short please
  (i know you have the entire ebook dedicated to it, so im asking just several most important points)
11:43 turning to foreign currency might be an example of such strategy, might it not?
11:44 Hjörtur: yes, I think most people agree that the Icelandic krona is useless, as is. But finding what should come instead is tricky.
11:46 It is important to figure out how the business environment is changing. People still need to go on with their lives but they will be turning more towards low cost brands, second hand shopping, maintainance, DIY. So if you can provide any products or services that fit into that category - that's what you should focus on.
  Also, realize what is your core business, your core clients and stay focus. Keep things simple and effective.
11:47 Increase your service to your present clients, to keep them, it's so much cheaper than getting new ones. And finally, build relationships.
11:48 Innovate!
  next q
 я: i guess thats it... thank you.
11:49 please tell me your website(s) and the url of the ebook again
 Hjörtur: You are welcome to offer my ebook to your readers for free.
 я: where do you live? what town?
 Hjörtur: You can use this link: http://zi.ma/magic-chest
 я: zi.ma is your site?
11:50 or its a short url?
 Hjörtur: No, it's a shorturl but by using that I can track the traffic ans statistics
  my site is http://blog.scope.is
  I live in Hafnarfjordur, which is a suburb to Reykjavik. So you can say I live in Reykavik, Iceland
11:51 я: ok..... thanks... once i publish, I'll send you a link...
  thanks a lot
 Hjörtur: Thank you. I hope my answers are what you were looking for.