Last month, I wrote about the recession and said the predicted 2.5 per cent fall in GDP should not necessarily be a cause for widespread doom and gloom.

Last month, I wrote about the recession and said the predicted 2.5 per cent fall in GDP should not necessarily be a cause for widespread doom and gloom.

One month later, there are now predictions of a four per cent fall in the economy and some entrepreneurs I meet are quite depressed.

Well, as a champion of entrepreneurs and SMEs, I stand my ground: there are an increasing number of opportunities – some real business know-how, a good network and a bit of cash will work wonders, but first, market intelligence is important.

So who’s doing well? As we all know, the smarter supermarkets are benefiting as consumers choose value, but this doesn’t help us entrepreneurs much, except highlighting the fact we need to be cautious about going into retail right now since these competitors are big, fierce and efficient.

Similarly, Primark is a scary competitor offering fast fashion with adequate quality at incredibly low prices. It doesn’t have the market dominance of the Big Five grocers, but it’s a competitor by aiming to be different rather than better.

But then there are big competitors who aren’t smart and alert and adapt too slowly to this climate, leaving many opportunities. The fact that Woolworths closed down and laid off 27,000 people proved nothing except the incredible incompetence of the management. It’s no surprise that Poundland is booming, based on an offer that steals Woolworths’ original positioning.

Elsewhere, as people worry about the security of their money or try to find it, credit checkers (Experian) and corporate investigators (such as Kroll) benefit. Then there is the restaurant business. Here, trading is well down as people eat out less, opting for fast food and eating in.

Initially oven-ready meals benefited, but as the recession and fear of it has continued, even those are too expensive. Considerably more people are cooking at home, which has produced huge increases in sales of vegetables such as onions and garlic.

But assuming you can’t start a grocery chain overnight and don’t want to flip burgers, here are some more practical tips on where new business will come from.

Anything that fires up the passions is a good bet. Five-a-side football is still growing well (look at Goals Soccer Centre and Powerleague): not corporate events, but blokes forking out their own money to play in a league every week. The things that people feel most passionate about are the last they give up.

Local government can be a great source of business, given that more municipal services and facilities are being outsourced, especially those in healthcare and support services (schools, cleaning, maintenance, environmental services and the like). Across the country there is a huge amount of money to be tapped, but you have to get involved if you want a share.

There are plenty of other examples. However, if you still feel like the well has run dry, go to mid-town America where typically you will hear: ‘We can beat this thing: we’ve known tough times before, we’ll roll up our sleeves…’ Yes, the American ‘can do’ attitude lives on.

But if you can’t afford the plane fare, go to one of my favourite restaurants, Elena Salvoni’s L’Étoile in Charlotte Street and speak to Elena who, now in her eighties, is totally unfazed by this downturn. I may be a veteran of five recessions, but she can tell you how they kept the restaurant going when the bombs were coming down.

If that doesn’t inspire you, then nothing will.