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Starting the business is why I’m searching for part time jobs, so I’m really speaking from a position of intimacy with my local market.
If I can’t find a good job to support starting my small business than how am I supposed to find a customer with disposable income?
Which leads us to catering to the K shaped people economy and my original complaint. We cannot run an economy that entirely exist to serve the needs of the rich. We need a strong middle class if we want strong small businesses. I am kind of concerned at why you are so keen on the old pull yourself up by the boot straps trope. It’s tired and needs to go to bed.
I get it, believe me, I'm selling to that economy, too, and this year is off to a very slow start. Economic indicators always lag, and by the summer, we're going to be discovering that the Q1 2026 was really bad. Small businesspeople already know that.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing. I started my business in September of 2007, and immediately got clobbered by the Bush economic crash. We powered through, figuring if we can survive this, we can survive anything. We did, and then we survived Covid. And here we are all these years later, trying to survive the current wave, which promises to be the worst yet, frankly.
If you don't want to have to cater to rich, then you should focus on things people have to have, like it or not, and position yourself to help them with that. Maybe you know stuff in construction, and can help with permits, or you can clean businesses or houses, etc. People in my Mom's neighborhood are always looking for a handyman. If there was someone who was reliable, the guy would be booked all day, every day.
If you're artistic, you can make music, write a book, knit baby blankets, etc. It's never been easier to get your art out there online where people might discover it, and buy it.
The one thing I wouldn't do is get into a brick & mortar location, unless it is some kind of incredible deal, although I don't know what that would be.
Stick with a vehicle or home based or online business. Overhead will kill you more than anything else.
Man I've been praying for the cannabis industry to churn out its weak hands, but I feel like the weak hands sitting on the sidelines. I know a lot of these places are propped up by investors and can afford to run at a loss, but they've been doing it for years now. I tucked tail and ran when the margins compressed enough to make me worry about overhead. they held right through negative margins.
I agree there's nothing better than a nice economic crisis to open up opportunities. I don't think those opportunities are as lucrative now with liquidity behind big investors. I've lost a lot of faith in the system over the past few years. It's sounds like you're a small business person so you already know the drill. We're going to operate a business for the love of the game. We're not playing a fair game right now. It feels like fighting for scraps with the odds stacked against you. More than the usual amount lol.
The overhead killed me in the cannabis industry so I'm allergic to it. Having limited means of cost control was the death blow. I'd agree brick and mortar is on its death bed. I sold a large portfolio of light industrial/commercial mixed properties for pennies on the dollar a while back. Do not regret that at all. I'm in no danger of running out of money in the near term. I can be picky about taking jobs, and I am. But I still apply and interview for just about everything I can and its really just grim out there. I've got a decent resume. I'll have my business up and running again eventually, but I still won't feel good about the economy we're leaving for the next generations. Some poor kid out of college shouldn't have to compete with me undercutting him on the way to underpaid entry level work.
Between me and you I sold a Tesla put spread this week, $1400 risk, $400 reward which is more money than I can make actually working. Risking $1400 on Tesla puts should not be more lucrative than 20 hours of labor. It's not a good economic system.
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