Small Business Boomers

I love helping people start their own businesses, and I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t start one right now.  Am I crazy?  Maybe, but not for that reason.  If you want to start a small business in the midst of this “recession/depression,” consider a business that will be “recession-proof.”

I’m not sure what the term means, and I can’t find it in any dictionary, but here’s what I think  about the two types of businesses anyone can start at any time, even in the middle of a recession:

1.  Businesses that sell things people must have.  This includes, of course, food, clothing, and shelter.  It also includes health services and their adjuncts, like drugs, natural remedies (less costly than drugs).  It also includes energy, fuels, and their adjuncts. If you can sell something people need, you will always have customers.

2.  Businesses that sell things people think they must have.  This includes those addictions we think we can’t live without.  Like chocolate, alcohol, tobacco….

3.  Businesses that sell things people want to keep their minds off bad times.  In other words, entertainment.  During the depression, people still went to the movies because, for a little while, they could forget that there were people in bread lines and homeless everywhere.

4.  Businesses related to education.  During difficult financial times, people go back to school.  In past times, they just wanted to be trained for a new job.  Today (sadly), they use student loan money to pay for living expenses.  If you can teach something, or coach people, or help them learn a new skill, you have a value to people during a recession.

5.  “Make-do” things.  People don’t buy new cars, and new homes during recessions, but they repair old ones.  If you can fix things – like cars, plumbing, heating systems – or do home renovation, you can find work.

So, what kinds of businesses are not on this list – in other words, what are “recession-prone” businesses?  I believe any business, if marketed correctly, can provide value to customers, even during a recession.  What do you think?  Is there a kind of business that you should not start during a recession?

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