The world is going through some really difficult financial times right now. It’s not a good time for any of us, no doubt about it. Things are difficult, they require hard work and constant effort in order to keep ourselves and our families financially stable. With hard work, though, we will all make it through this rough patch, I really believe that.
I have always been a firm believer that hard financial times are times of opportunity. When times are rough, that is the best time to lay the foundation for success. During hard times, most people take cover, they shy away from starting any kind of new business.
When the stock market is plunging, as it has been, a lot of people sell everything they have in the stock market. The problem is that they sell stocks too late. They sell when the market has already sunk considerably. As I type this column in, the Dow Jones is around 8,000 or so. Last week, it sunk as low as the 7,500 range. The Dow has been in the 14,000 range at times over the past year or so, but it has now lost nearly half of its value. Now is not the time to be selling. I don’t believe we are at the bottom of the market, but if you’ve stuck it out from 14,000 down to 7,000 or 8,000, you need to stick it out further, in my opinion.
This site is not about the stock market, but I am just using that as an example of how bad the times are right now. When businesses are hurting as bad as they are now, you can get big discounts from them. Negotiate hard. People are scraping up whatever business they can find, and they will be flexible in many aspects, pricing included!
Here is the way that I look at getting into business at this time. If you can make it through doing a startup during the worst of times when things improved you will be well positioned to make a huge run at real success.
Hang in there. Do what you can to keep things afloat. Keep a keen eye out for new opportunities that may present themselves during a time when most people won’t chase those opportunities. There is no better time!
Hi Bob,I agree with your comments,there are always opportunities.If we can find and establish them now we will be well placed to take advantage when the upturn comes.The major problem with many people is they have a “herd” instinct and follow the rest of the herd.Most fortunes have been made by doing the opposite.Take Warren Buffet as example,as the masses are ditching their investments he is starting to buy for the longer term. Yes, there are great bargains out there.I just negotiated 25% off a new car my elderly dad wanted to buy,which will now probably be his last car purchase,regards Chas.
@Chas: Yep, being a contrarian, or going against the herd is usually a money making move. By the time that the herd gets moving, trends are generally moving the other way, since the herd is always slow to react.
Congrats on that 25% reduction in the car price! That is really a great job of negotiating a super deal for your father.
hi bob, how is it possible for me to start an earning of at least $1 a day? i wanted to have that financial freedom myself..enlighten me please..tnx
Hi Malou – Making $1 per day is not too hard to do. But, you need to come up with an idea of your own, because you know what you enjoy doing. You really need to choose something that you enjoy, and something that you have a knowledge about, so that you can sustain it. If you choose something just because it can earn money, yet you don’t like it, you will soon loose interest.
Some examples of things that you could do to make money:
1. Start a blog and write about a topic that you have expertise on. Write on it regularly, at least once per week, preferably more than that. Put advertising on the site and within a few months or so you should be able to earn $1 per day.
2. If you enjoy cooking, you could start offering catering, or selling cookies, something like that.
3. Just watch your daily routine and see what things are needed. If you go to the mall or somewhere in public and find that you want something that is not available, that is a signal of a product or service that is needed!
Good luck to you malou!
When times are tough, maybe its time to clean out the closet and sell some items. Try Garage Sales or online classified and ebay auctions Once you sell some items use the money for an investment in your next idea!
Hi Mark – I think that’s a reasonable thing to do. Turn something that’s not being used into money, and use that to start a business! Great idea!