Well, I have a great imagination, and this RE keeps me up at nights!
In late 80s and earyl 90s when I was working at Nordstrom, all these women were spending thousands of dollars with me every month. I knew their size, their taste etc. If an article of clothing arrived that I knew they’d like, I’d simply charge their card, and send it out to them!
Then, about a year before the first Gulf War, things really just came to a complete stop, and literally, we would not see a customer from 6pm to 9pm some nights! All of my customers stopped shopping the way they did, and were forced to cut back. One even broke down one day saying her husband was a contractor, and things were never going to be the same again. But then, the war started, and the economy got the little bit of jolt it needed, and life resumed albeit at a slower pace.
I think we’re in for some tough times ahead, but I go back and forth between thinking it’s going to get horrific vs. just plain bad.
After college I got into selling yellow page ad space, and saw daily how small and medium businesses were marketing themselves and surviving the downturn. The ones who pulled through were the ones who were able to adjust and find new ways to both make money and cut expenses.
Adjustment seems to be the key.
Even this morning I read in the NY Times that all the mortgage brokers are excited by the prospect of refinancing all these scary home loans and earning more money…