Recession ACCELERATED business and money making opportunities.

Originally Posted by L.B. Jenkins

The cleaning industry is not regulated which allows home owners, renters, and businesses to negotiate lower prices.

That statement seems to me to be wrong on two counts.

First; I can't think of a single US business that has it's price regulated. Certainly not any service businesses.

Second; In my experience I've never had a home owner or renter even attempt to negotiate a price for anything. The price is either too high and they just go away, or it's an OK price and they accept it.

Originally Posted by L.B. Jenkins

Remember, us Americans are to lazy to pick up after ourselves and we don't mind paying someone else to do it.

You're kidding, right? No wait, you just said "all kidding aside". Please don't lump all us Americans into your low opinion. I pick up my own socks, and I do mind paying someone for a crappy job and stealing from me to boot.

LB

Thanks.

I know your wife is an Employee. By Isolated I was meaning the Company your wife works for.

See, like Rolexes, there will Always be people who hire cleaners. If their current Cleaner (say a sole owner) doesn't have enough business to stay in business, the client will look elsewhere. So while some businesses loose clients, others gain clients.

Now despite my living in the arsehole end of the world, people who lack funds are the same the world over. They jettison unnecessary spending - generally speaking. So please explain why/how Cleaning (the industry as a whole) is not negatively effected by a recession - and - how during a recession people in the US Now decide to get cleaning done when their dollars are tight and jobs are being lost.

Look at the motor car market. GM wants bailout money. I say, screw 'em. Toyota, Honda, et al don't need it. So obviously, GM isn't competitive enough and if they scale back operations and manufacturing, people will turn to other makes of cars. GM loses, Toyota increases. GM screams recession, Toyota asks What Recession.

Michael Ross

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

LB

Thanks.

I know your wife is an Employee. By Isolated I was meaning the Company your wife works for.

Not possible. My wife works for a national chain. They've been in business over 25 years and are recognized as one of the top 500 Franchises in America.

LB,

A single company - even national - is NOT the industry as a whole.

Michael Ross

OK, this is purely personal. Not everyone thinks like me, but...

Last Friday I was laid off my day-job at an I.T. consulting firm due to lack of work. Found out at 5 pm. By 5:15 I called our cleaning lady and told her that we were sorry, but we were going to have to do it ourselves until I was back to a normal income.

I live in the U.S. - Illinois (home of the wonderful Governor Blagojevich and many more of the most corrupt politicians on the planet).

Again, this is just one piece of anecdotal evidence. But my reaction seems to be the sensible - and normal one.

Kevin P.

hi guys ....long time no see

keep hearing all these comments about how Honda, Toyaota, Nissan etc. have NO need fo rthe bail out money ....they have all ready recd theirs ...up front ....google honda factory in ____ and see how much money they get PAID to open their factories...which is all bs

they nissan plant here cost the taxpayers 200 MILLION...up front ....plus concessions ....theoritically the average wage was going to be 33 bux an hour ...in truth , it is closer to 13....

honda the same . dont know about ALL of them and certainly am not takin gup for the ford gm idiots...the board of all these should be replaced with average American s ..like me ...at their inflated salaries and perks...

see yall ...

sstill cant type

Gordon,

What is the fastest way to scare the masses? Start hinting something is wrong in the economy and provide selective case studies. To begin this process you need to use a framework of dialogue that begins to push people's fear buttons. Now if you have some big name high profile companies going under then all the better to push an agenda.

Recession is a word used to terrify the masses and pushes all the right buttons. It is a word the media freely uses to keep the masses tuning back into their particular anchor person daily, so they can get another dose of fear and loathing and be controlled not to go about their daily lives buying what they want to keep the economy flowing.

What the masses do not pick up on is the fact that business is still going on all around them. New business, old business, repeat business, additional business, business up starts, business expansions, & simply put business in general is not halted but still conducting transactions.

Now those that see a decline in their business have not followed a simple sow and reap, cause and effect strategy to bring in new customers or not following up to bring in repeat business. That is 100% their own fault and not that of any economy. (The only exception might be a wide spread natural disaster, as we've all seen in recent years such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and other such disasters around the globe.) But our focus is on this media/government driven toxin known as a recession.

It doesn't matter what business we list, the bottom line is that people will still buy. It is up to the merchant to stay abreast of his/her client's changing buying habits and be the first to provide them with products that go along with their client's changing tastes, wants, needs and desires. The best model to study is grocery stores or super markets.

Do I believe our economy is off? Yes, but only in certain industries. But there in again, only certain businesses within that industry and not every business related to that industry is struggling. IE. GE, Ford and Chrysler are struggling, but not Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes or Hyundai which are made in the USA.

Do I believe business is off? No, because business trade, especially in the import/export sector continues to rise. If it is rising, that means people are buying and selling.

Do I believe people are more selective now than in the past? No. People have always been selective. Economy doesn't make people selective if it's something they want. Those who feel the biggest pinch in business, are those businesses, that do not watch and adjust to market trends.

Do I believe there are businesses that need to go away? Absolutely! They are a niches, that really had no chance to survive regardless of the economy or they simply have grown complacent and greedy.

Remember before Walmart, was Kmart. Before Kmart, was Kroger. Before Kroger was Sears and so on. If one were to search each industry's history, we would see those that were giants, those that became giants and those that are giants now.

There is an ancient proverb I read that states: "When hay is removed, new growth appears." What we are seeing again is the old outdated businesses finally being removed, making room for new businesses. What I find amusing about the proverb is that the field is still producing hay, which means people still want your type of hay.

[Dien Rice]

Thanks Gordon - great post!

A few more things sell well during a recession...

Sales of chocolate, alcohol, and cigarettes go up during recessions, and have gone up recently, according to some articles I read.

In addition, "stay-in and have fun rather than go out" type of items are increasing in sales - like tea light candles, indoor slippers and dressing gowns...

Here are a few articles about it...

RECESSION PROOF - Alcohol, cigarette, chocolate sales thrive in hard times
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...cession-proof/

Economic slump sends condom sales soaring in UK! (also increasing sales of pregnancy tests, tea light candles, slippers, and dressing gowns)
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/...100126657.html

Cheap thrills to beat crisis (Similar rises for these kinds of items in Asia)
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_306189.html

Hmm... Reading this makes me want to have some chocolate!

Best wishes,

Dien

Dear Dien,

Thanks.

While adding BONUS material to a book I wrote, "101 WEIRD ways to make Munny".

I came across this 39 yr old Super Saleswoman.

a - She grew up in a house containing 26 pianos. (Her mom was an Uber piano teacher)

b - She sells By-Referral-Only

c - Her ability to know the personalities of all 400 handmade pianos at the Steinway store in Manhattan... allows her to match YOUR personality with the perfect piano.

She calls herself a MATCHMAKER!

d - She reprints all the articles written about her. And mails them to prospects. TV video interviews of her links are sent too.

I learned a lot
watching a "Live" sale.

The husband and wife tried out the piano's she matched them with. 20K each.

Then asked to try the most expensive piano among the 400 in the store - to compare.

Ellen got all excited. Talked about how "IN LOVE" she was with this handmade Baby Grand. A perfect MATCH for the wife.

Then she left them alone to "DECIDE."

The ordered the 52,000.00 BABY GRAND!

Amazing.

Affluent people always have money. Since all her sales are from one rich family to the next. Her business is recession-proof.

AND since she started doing Corporate TEAM BUILDING using her (She got a patent) 1 Day to read music and play the piano shortcut Method...

Her referral base is Expanding - rapidly.

Thanks,
Glenn

P.S. - For More About Ellen - Here's a Link to my E-bay auction for the "101 WEIRD Ways to Make Munny" E-book...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120350866108

Some Good reading and ideas regarding the Recession times...

The RECESSION of 08, 09, 2010, '11...not much of a limb, but I'll go out on it...
http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthre...ght=recessions

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5878.html

Good little story... One step at a time and a Million dollars later...
http://www.erica.biz/about-erica/

Along with a few more good ideas... Three Business Ideas That Will Thrive In A Recession...
http://www.erica.biz/2008/three-busi...g-a-recession/

Some recent Recession related posts worth reading and thinking about a little down the page...
http://copywritersroundtable.com/

Here's a simple low cost Not so new idea, perfect for these times... And be ready for the next Economic Boom!

Re-introduce the Tons of endless misc. public domain Focusing on relevant Niche topics and ideas still applicable & in demand in Today's world...

Get yourself the Must have Bible on public domain, preferably the most recent 4th edition in book form for easy referencing...
http://www.nolo.com/product.cfm/Obje...F99DB505D/310/

Develop your own public domain Niche blog network... Along with Specialized product creation using multiple media formats, ideas, print services etc. etc...

Try Googling a few of these related keywords and Develop your own Money making business model(s)...
public domain music,public domain images,public domain movies,public domain photos,public domain books,public domain pictures,public domain songs,public domain video,public domain software,public domain films,public domain posters...

Phil