the lucky ones....

[greenoak]

retail is in a big mess right now, a big shake out is happening... ...and in my field lots of small stores are closing up..... some are facing bankruptsy or huge credit card burdens...and the lucky ones in this sad situation who are going out are the ones who worked hard to keep the debt down thru their years as a store...they look real smart now.....
everything kind of changed last year in the retail world im in......it was tough!!!
it makes it pretty clear how dangerous living on the financial edge , almost over your head, is when things get tough and you have to tighten up and have no room......
ann
.

[vangogh]

True. I'm one who thinks the overall economy will get back on its feet before too long and we'll be in the up cycle again, but I also know at some point in the future things will get rough like they are now.

What we all have to do is remember during the good times that those times won't last forever and make sure we prepare for the next downtime. I don't think it's always about luck. More often it's about being smart and prepared. Luck certainly enters into the equation, but I think more often than not we make our own luck.

[KristineS]

Diversifying definitely plays a role too. You have to be alert for signs that things are changing. Just because you've always done business one way or in one area doesn't mean that things will stay that way. If you don't pay attention you can be blindsided by events.

[vangogh]

Good point. I guess I considered that as part of being prepared, but it really is something different. It really comes down to not being satisfied when times are good and assuming they'll always continue to be good. They won't. When the downs come some aspects or all aspects of your business won't be brining in revenue so you need to be ready for that in some way, whether it's savings or having made preparations for new products and services.

[huggytree]

things are still going downhill here in WI in construction.

my competitors are finally going under 1-2 a month.

all the guys who are going under are the low price/cut rate guys.

all the builders who are going under are also cut rate.

some builders are going under and coming back with almost the same name

'xyz builders' is now 'xyz builders of WI'