RECESSION PROOF REPORT

By Richard “Dickie” Smith

   Some economists and journalists define a recession as two consecutive quarters in which the gross domestic product (GDP) decreases. The GDP is the value of all the reported goods and services produced by people and institutions operating in a country. An overall decrease in the value of goods and services indicates that demand has decreased in most markets.

   The official determination of recession is left to the Business Cycle Dating Committee (no, that is not an eHarmony for pencil pushers) at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). It is not a government agency but a private organization that works to further understand the economy. The GDP is not the most important factor they consider. They give more weight to personal income, the national employment rate, sales in manufacturing and trade, and industrial production.

   But you and I don’t care about all that. All we know is that it costs more to fill the car’s tank; that, because of real estate tax and homeowner’s insurance premium increases, the house payment is getting higher; that the grocery bill doesn’t seem to buy as much as it did 12-18 months ago. And just when we need it the most, if we have any money saved, it doesn’t seem to be working very hard for us. If you work in an industry that tends to reflect an economic slowdown you may be worried about layoffs, cutbacks, or smaller or no raises come evaluation time.

   Wouldn’t it be nice to know that your income producer was in an area of the economy that is recession proof? Some things are ‘consumed’ in any economy because people feel they need it or they want it.

   Keep in mind that there are many variations in each of these industries. But you have some choices; you can work for someone else that is involved in one of these industries, OR you can market to people/companies that have ties to these industries OR both. Pick the choice you have the most control over, learn all you can about how to do it while you make money at it, and never worry again about the state of the economy. For further discussion of recession proof industries see the Recession Proof Industries Report.