My business is tanking due to the economy

.. know of types of businesses and work that is seeing more employment and increases in opportunities despite the bad economic environment? I've been reading that energy work (oil and gas related,etc) is on the upswing a bit. And somebody here mentioned the idea of manufacturing something and selling it overseas.

Anything else?

freedumb is not free! I work for a small contracting company and what we do is this, we have a small circle of contractors we deal with. We all use each others services as often as possible it kinda keeps work going for everyone. If we could do this on a larger scale it might help us through a recession or depression. i dont know maybe. Its kinda like why home depot puts the hardware stores out . People will go to the depot because they can save a few bucks on an item but if you went to the local hardware store and spent a few bucks the guy from the hardware store would have a few bucks to eat at the local deli and so on. We are working towards lowmcdepotmart

I have had a lot less phone calls (primary source of everything) however, am getting a lot better quality customers when I do get a call; and yes, it is very slow. Somehow, I know I will make it because my business is set up to weather difficult times.

i know that my daughter came home from the mall and said the pet store there was also closing.im in upstate new york which has always had rocky economy until they made fort drum a year round military installation and it is the military and their families that keep the area afloat. everywhere i go im seeing businesses shutting down or on the verge of closing,,it always starts with leisure based businesses and trickles down.also i d say about one in every five houses either up for sale or foreclosed and none of the house are moving . my next door neighbor was a successful realtor and works out of her home, but ive barely seen a customer there since last november.ive been cleaning my house out of unneeded items and having rummage sales which serves two purposes and gives me extra gas money,etc.keep your head up, get to know your neighbors,bring barter back into your life when possible,we all have a long ride ahead of us,,,and PLEASE put some food away...good luck

I was notified of this site, where you can locate a local Yahoo group
(mailing list) that acts as a hub for swapping things locally for
free.

This may be an additional helpful resource for ensuring that
your old stuff is put to productive use, or where you might find stuff
that you could put to productive use.

http://www.freecycle.org/

we clean out foreclosed homes, so our business should be booming. but too many wannabees have jumped onto the gravy train. they do crap work and have no ethics, and we are slowly getting pushed out of the business. we also have rental houses and most of our tenants are 1000 plus behind, we too are using up our savings.... if it weren't for our Faith in God, I'd really be down

are the canneries in the mine. Good luck, Read history to find out what businesses did well during the depression. Consider transforming your business accordingly. People continue to want to eat out I thought a soup kitchen would be a good idea. Maybe, not make a lot of money but an opportunity to reach people who are starting to question what is happening to the economy and their country. Peace

I to am starting to feel the aforementioned negative economics. I just wanted to point something out. It kind of came to me when I saw the signature after someones post. It was something to the affect of: "I Freed Thousands of Slaves and could have Freed Thousands of more if they only had known they were slaves." Harriet Tubman.

A lot of people are going to have to check into the "last resort" until they wake up and realize what is happening. I hate to say this but in my view, the worst things get the better Ron Paul's chances are. Pain tends to make people re-evaluate (I hope I'm not underestimating the extent to which people are brainwashed) their own ideas and their lives. Just as markets tend to "correct" so do peoples opinions and attitudes. I think the larger numbers we are looking for to joint this movement aren't necessarily against our ideas but are asleep at the wheel. In my opinion, the Financial suffering that will soon be crossing the threshold into large numbers of American households (it is already at their door step, they just don't realize it) will be the necessary slap in the face that initiates conscientiousness.

I would bet that the chances of Ron Paul supporters being an entrepreneurs/small business owners are probably pretty high. I think we maybe feeling the affects first in some instances because we are on the economic front lines if you will. What I have found is that Dr. Paul is an expert at seeing the big picture and at telling the truth. I think he would suggest that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. This maybe one of the reasons he is actively campaigning. He always comments that a lot can happen between now and the fall of 2008.

Adjust your lives accordingly, for what is coming. Look at how extended families lived together in the past to shoulder living expenses of home ownership and energy costs. You can substitute the word friends for family in the dynamics of today. Try and get rid of the extra vehicle. Embrace a minimalist life style. Try to become more "agrarian" if you possibly can. I think this is the reality of what we are facing.

If possible, as your living through these painful readjustments, remember that this is the necessary correction we need for large scale political change.

I've got help wanted ads out now and although I got 75 qualified responses for an admin assistant, I've gotten no usable responses for motor machinists and assemblers. Americans don't want to get dirty anymore, and the school counselors steer all the smart kids into white collar jobs.

Our motor prices have risen only slightly over here, but the dollar has slid enough that our product is about 25% cheaper to the Europeans than it was 3 years ago. Our $6000 motor in 2005 basically only costs them $4500 now. Shipping costs have not increased as much because the computer is making trucks and ships run fuller more of the time. The internet has made it very easy for the Europeans to find our products too.

My flippant, Yankee Doodle Dandy free advice, worth every penny, is to whittle a product out of something American and figure out how to sell it to the Europeans and the Asians via low cost web advertising or e-mail. Do it without a bunch of snotty nosed chronically late, lying, retard employees because the millstone of government makes it impossible to meet all the regulations, pay all the fees and do all the paperwork.
Do it without a bunch of American employees because, according to Crain's, 85% of them steal, they goof off constantly, they do crap work and they'll sue you for anything. Ruined as useful employees by many poisons. Government warehouses masquerading as schools, Nintendo, Unions, parental abandonment, entitlement programs like unemployment, welfare and subsidized housing.

We have consistently sold to the Western Europeans, but now we are hearing from Serbs and Croats and Bulgarians and Russians and whatever you call someone from Abu Dhabi. A world economy is a great thing because it is a huge market for us. In turn, I buy $2000 in USA parts for every $4500 motor job I send to Belgium.
One of my favorite quotes is from English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, "Americans will do the right thing, after they've tried everything else".

Who moved my cheese.

Escrow Officer here, I have not worked since August 07, I am 45 years old and have never been without a job. I went into partnership as VP in a new Title Company, they needed my 18 years of unflawed escrow experience to set up escrow and obtain an escrow license through State Banking. Within one week after getting our license I discovered my partners were unethical and were willing to do anything for a buck. I immediately resigned and assigned my ownership over to them. We all know what is going on right now in the real estate market. People are getting laid off everyday, many of my friends and associates are currently looking for work. My savings is dwindling and it seems I am over qualified to wash cats. If it was not for all the time I have been spending in my garden and the awesome companionship I get from my beagle (Milo) I would have gone nuts with worry. I just keep telling myself it is what it is and hope for the best.

"I freed thousands of slaves. I could have freed thousands more if they had known they were slaves."
-- Harriet Tubman

i've been laid off now for over 3 months; though I got a call back this week to start back monday. I've been doing everything imaginable to make a few fiats (legal of course).

I sell manufactured housing in Florida and all the factories from here to Georgia are only running 2- 3 days every two weeks. Many dealers are thinking about closing up. Times are really tight right now.

is what we do. Seal coating, crack filling, striping, etc. It has been horrible for two years. If it hadn't been for my mom and dad's help we would have lost our home a year ago. So I understand where you are coming from.

I just lost three jobs because some new guy took over at Schnuck's grocery over maintenance and the guy that authorized the work quit. I've bought the paint and now he won't let us do the work.

Trying to make it through the year...hopefully enough work will turn over to get us through winter.

I hope things get better for you too. :) We Mississippians have to stick together ;)

Where are u located?

Well, I do not want this to be a "whining time" thread but I , too, am at my wits end. I have a hotel in a beautiful little Arkansas town, and I have rental houses. The Motel had a great year last year and in January all at once things changed royally! My business is about 60% of where it was, and going downward, even though summer is the usually REALLY big time where we make our money to get through the winter. The revenues are horrid. Renters tore up 2 of my houses so much I can not rent them, and I do not have the money to fix them up. I have tried to sell them "as is" for STEAL pricing, like $39,000 for one and $50,000 for the other (which has central heat and air, a trailer with it, that I used to rent for $300.00 a month before trashed, a 40x60 ft metal shop and at least 2 extra lots) and I so far can't even SELL them to get out from under. My sign broke on the motel, so I need $6000.00+ for a new sign, and I do not know what the H I am going to do. I have been doing fine for 8 years, but paying all those mortgages every month has used up about all of my savings. I was at the bank today, trying to figure out if they can do anything, but whatever they DO do, it will put me more in debt.
It sucks. Somehow, however, I will be in DC on 7/12 and I gave out about 40 copies of the Constitution yesterday at a Meet the Candidates thing and stuck some old Ron Paul slim jims in some of them too. I am all by myself, so I am the one who has to do anything, but running away into the woods is starting to look better and better..hahahaha..

We need President Paul. We don't need McCain, Hillary, or Obama. We need a man with a plan.

A week ago, a neighbor I was talking to (introducing him to RP!) mentioned that his company (garment business) made $22M last year, this year was determined to be on track for $18M, but has since been adjusted to be on track for only $2M. Employees have been showing up and doing their jobs, but waiting weeks for their regular paychecks. Yesterday my neighbor told me that the company just closed up, no warning, no checks for anyone, no back pay, no nothing. He doesn't know how he's going to pay the rent this next month. At least he'll have some free time now to watch AFTF...

In our nice gated community where the homes were going for close to half a million 12 - 18 months ago, several are now closed up due to foreclosure; several more are being rented out after sitting on the market for months and months...one family of renters had to move out because, although they were paying their monthly rent, the owner hadn't been paying the mortgage...so bank representatives stopped by their home to do an inspection for the impending foreclosure. That's how this family discovered that they needed to find a new home, and quick.

I myself did a freelance transcription job seven weeks ago...still haven't received payment for it...

But I'm not worried, because as we all know, we're not in a recession!!

Selling into trends-

In a nearby town, many of the alternative green residents have a chicken or two. Their kids learn and the family gets some eggs.

With the economy going down, some people will get deperate. I predict there will be more of a demand for guard dogs for personal and property protection.

All of us who own businesses in here have to really think about how we can salvage what we are losing. Dr Paul would want us to do everything in our power to stop the wars and expose Bernanke and the fed so we can get a hold on the things we have have worked so hard for. What's the solution?
As business owners we have to stop supplying services until the government realizes that we are dead serious about this. We cannot allow them to give our hard earned jobs to foreigners. I feel bad about working so much in Canada but what can I do ? I have to feed my own family.

I could not have imagined the wonderful posts I've gotten here...I couldn't asked for a better online family...hugs to all!
_________________________________

"I have once heard that the ability to resist temptation is the truest measure of a mans character."

Dustin Hoffman to Steve McQueen
"Papillion"