I was at a pawn shop this week looking for a couple of movies I want. I’ve been in that shop a few dozen times and the owner and I know eachother.
I asked him how business was and he said something like:
“It’s going really well. People are struggling a lot these days.”
As far as I understand, a pawn shop has two major revenue streams. One is from people like me, looking for a sweet deal on just about anything. The other is from people who need cash and take their goodies to the store to pawn them. It’s an interesting model.
When the economy does bad, and more people need quick cash, pawn shops tend to do well.
He then said:
“I don’t care who is in office next, it’s going to be at least three more years of really bad economy.”
Now, he’s no professional economist. But, he has a finger on the pulse of the economy.
Interesting… what are YOU doing to prepare?
What I’m doing is this (personally and from a business perspective):
- figuring out my income streams,
- working hard on my networking, branding and relationships, and
- figuring out my expenses
I don’t think you can stick your head in the sand on this one… years of recovery will be too much for many people to weather. But you can weather it.
My strategy is the same as always – be the best at what I do. If that’s your strategy and you achieve it, being laid off isn’t much of a worry because you control your future.
I was pretty good at what I did, but I neglected all-things-career management… so for me getting laid off wasn’t a worry for the first week, but it got progressively worse. That’s one reason why I’m so passionate about career management today.