I remember before we had children.

Those were the days when “sleeping in” meant past 7 a.m. We could see movies at the theater without the hassle of lining up sitters. We could skip town and not suffer massive guilt and depression about leaving the children behind.

Things were very different back then.

And, as anyone who’s experienced the joy of having a baby can tell you, it never goes back to the way it was before. Thank God.

Life is forever changed. It takes a few days to realize that and longer to adjust to it, but the truth is, once children come into your life, you have to accept a new norm.

This economy is our new baby. It was a painful birth, not without its complications, but what we have now is not going away.

It will change and adapt, just as children do, but we will never go back to the economy of 10 years ago. Frankly, we shouldn’t.

It wasn’t based in reality.

I spoke with a long-time commercial real estate agent from Grand Rapids some weeks ago, and, in passing the now-customary business greetings of “How are you doing? Things looking up?” he shared with me that he has now accepted these economic conditions as the “new norm.”

In other words, he’s stopped waiting for things to get better. This is what it is.

If this were the economy you were handed, how would your business change? What would you invest in? What would you walk away from?

If you had no reason to hope that some metaphorical bottom had been hit and all days following would be spent growing back to a peak level of some past glorious year, what would you do differently?

Do it.

Nothing’s going to get better without innovation on your part. You won’t realize new sales if you don’t tap new markets.

We can talk about pent-up demand, businesses sitting on their hands for two years until time forces them to invest in new construction or better furniture or upgraded Web sites. But implicit in that theory is the idea that the demand of yesteryear still exists out there somewhere. We still harbor the hope we will return to the economic norm of the ’90s.

It’s time to move on.

The pent-up demand is real — we are driving autos that are older than ever before in American history, and people will buy new cars this year. Many companies in West Michigan expect to grow in 2010, and they may need more room. Those new workers may need new computers or new office furniture.

Things will improve slightly, gradually, but we will not return to the luxe days of lavish corporate holiday parties or inflated salaries that make summer homes affordable for the middle class.

Not every worker will be able to afford a new car every two years. Businesses will stop competing on the size and grandeur of their lobby or corporate headquarters.

The new norm in the new Michigan will support small, innovative businesses that scrap for every win and encourage an entrepreneurial, not patriarchal, corporate culture. Leadership styles will change, methods of showing employee appreciation will change, the very brick and mortar of business will change.

Starting now.

B. Candace Beeke, editor of Business Review West Michigan, writes a weekly column for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact her at candaceb@mbusinessreview.com.