Calm in the Storm: Why I Love Recessions

pstrongBy U.S. SBA Entrepreneur of the Year, Business Coach amp; Cofounder of Fears amp; Clark a href=http://www.fearsclark.com target=_blankTulsa Real Estate/a Group ndash; Clay Clark/strongbr /br /nbsp;nbsp; I know that this title might sound like the kind of shocking title that you would expect to see as some tabloid headline, or something that a FM morning ldquo;shock jockrdquo; might say to get attention, but I sincerely do love recessions. I love recessions for numerous reasons.br /nbsp;nbsp; Historically speaking when a recession occurs here is what happens. Some catalyst instance occurs to cause the ldquo;group thinkrdquo; of our economy to stop, pause and to evaluate the economy what it truly is. When this catalyst event occurs the collective ldquo;group thinkrdquo; and emotion of our country goes from optimistic to doubtful close to over night. Average people begin thinking that the sky is falling. Average people begin believing that the ldquo;things are going to get worse.rdquo; People begin spending less in preparation for things to get worse. As people pull their money out of the economy things to get worse, because less tax revenue is being generated and less purchases are being made. A self-fullfilling spiral of negative and downward economic movement begins. As the collective economy begins bearing south the negative-self-perpetuating-economic-predictions begin to occur. Investment experts begin saying, ldquo;in this economy, you just have to be thankful to get what you can get.rdquo; People called Dave start saying, ldquo;you know, you just have to be frugal and be thankful for a job in this economy.rdquo; The neighbors start putting their house up for sale to downsize in preparation for the economic fallout. Most people begin distressing and spending less and less as they worry more and more. And then Warren Buffett declares, ldquo;be greedy when the market is fearful.rdquo;br /br /nbsp;nbsp; I love when Warren says that. If he would say it over and over again, it would make me so pleased. I could listen to him say it all day, if my wife and business partners were ok with it. My friends, here is the scoop. Most people donrsquo;t know what the heck they are talking about. Most Americans are over-weight. Most men donrsquo;t like their jobs. Most people are not successful. Most people are not millionaires or financially independent. Most people have mindless opinions about everything. Most people will dedicate 25-40 minutes per day to coffee breaks. Most people spend hours per day watching TV. Most people will spend hours debating politics with their neighbor while forgetting to actually vote. Most people buy things because they can get a ldquo;mail in rebate discount,rdquo; but they will forget to actually mail in the rebate. Most people who receive a gift card will lose it forget to use it before it expires. Most people donrsquo;t drink enough water per day. Most people are not doers. Most people are not leaders. Most people are wrong. To be successful in business you must be a contrarian.br /br /nbsp;nbsp; To be successful you must study successful people and then do what they do. How do you think I learned to optimise websites efficiently? I spied on the people who were top in the search engine and then did what they did. How do you think I have started numerous successful businesses while the majority of small businesses fail to make it? I studied successful small businesses and big businesses and did what they did. It never occurred to me to do what most people do, because most people are not successful and I do not want to be like most people at all.br /br /nbsp;nbsp; Success is not common. Possessing great leadership skills is not common. Having great riches is not common, so be uncommon. Be eccentric. Do you really want to be centric? Being ldquo;centricrdquo; in America today means that you are somewhat over-weight, you are in $12,000 of consumer debt, you work at a job you are not passionate about, you will not be able to afford to retire, you went to college for ldquo;sometimerdquo; where you studied general education classes that do not apply to what you are doing now in the least bit, you have a car payment and you get excited when you get a refund on your taxes every year. This is stupid. Centric is weak. Centric is average. Do not settle for average. Do what the rich do. Do what Warren Buffett says, ldquo;be greedy when the market is fearful.rdquo;br /br /nbsp;nbsp; Now that you are armed with this new outlook, letrsquo;s look at this ldquo;dreadful recessionrdquo; again. Banks wonrsquo;t lend to ldquo;most people.rdquo; Thus, if a homebuyer really wants to sell their house and very few people can get approved to buy it, you and I might be able to buy this house for a vulture cost. You and I might be able to offer the seller what they owe on the house and they just might take it. You might be able to find a house in a neighborhood where the comparative market analysis for this area shows that most houses are worth $150,000 and you might be able to get in it for $62,000. Have I done this? Yes. I just did.br /I personally bought a house in this ldquo;terrible recession.rdquo; Yes, I personally took advantage of this situation.br /br /nbsp;nbsp; In this ldquo;terrible recessionrdquo; other wedding businesses might be going out of business left and right. In fact, many businesses might just stop advertising all together. Can you get a discount on advertising during this recession? Yes. Have I taken advantage of these ldquo;total liquidation and rock bottom pricing plans?rdquo; Yes.br /br /nbsp;nbsp; In this ldquo;terrible recessionrdquo; big companies have laid off countless numbers of skilled workers. Are these workers looking for a job? Yes. Can you find talent today that would not have been available during an economic boom? Yes. Have I done it? Yes.br /br /nbsp;nbsp; In this ldquo;sky-is-falling-economyrdquo; the price of land is falling quickly. The cost of construction is falling. The price is steel is falling. The price of everything is falling because the economists and professional ldquo;sky-is-falling-band-wagonrdquo; media experts say the sky is falling. Is this a good time to build? Yes. Am I actually building and purchasing land during a recession? Yes.br /br /nbsp;nbsp; My friend, in this ldquo;end of the worldrdquo; economy, big businesses are looking to cut costs. They are looking to outsource and they are looking for ways to become more profitable. If you have the skills and the drive now is your time. These companies never would have listened to a startup years ago, but now they are willing to give a new guy a chance, because ldquo;in this economy they have to be more flexible.rdquo; br /br /nbsp;nbsp; As people rush to sell their homes at fire-sale prices, this is your time to buy. If you cannot afford to buy yourself, round up 10 people and put money into some a href=http://www.fearsclark.com target=_blankreal estate/a together as a partnership.br /br /nbsp;nbsp; Start a business now. Prices for startup will never be lower. I just bought 5 desks from a church for less than $50.00. Our team bought $8,000 of DJ gear for less than $2,000. My wife just bought all of the furniture for our new twin babiesrsquo; room for less than $200. Oh the recession is great for the contrarian. Find a why to advance from it. As people abandon their boats because they have a leak, find a way to hop in them. Rip off a piece of your clothing and plug the holes. Bail some water and then BOOM, you have your very own boat and you didnrsquo;t even have to buy it. This economy is great for non-average people. Donrsquo;t be average. Be the best you can be. Be an economic contrarian. ldquo;Be greedy when the market is fearful.rdquo; Warren Buffett.br /br /Clay Clarkbr /U.S. SBA Entrepreneur of the Year, Business Coach and Cofounder of Fears amp; Clark a href=http://www.fearsclark.com/about-us target=_blankTulsa Commercial Real Estate/a Groupbr /br //p