Connie Fears the Worst

Here is the beginning of my post, delete this sentence.
On Sep 29, 2008, at 10:18 AM, Constanza wrote:
FROM: kids clothes start up.
Hello John:
tks for your very informative e-mail.
In view of these uncertain times we have, would you suggest maybe to hold of on
starting a business? I am getting scared with all these situations and the whole mess that
will spiral the bail out.
I am getting my samples made as we speak in Hong Kong,
I am starting on the conservative side and from home.
please keep you e-mails flowing, I love you e-group.
thank you
constanza (connie) 

Hey Connie,

The best time to start a business is when you have customers.  You are doing what you love, and you get samples.  From the samples you get enough orders to cover the suppliers minimum requirement in a workable amount of time profitably.  When you do that, you do it again.  After 30 years, you've had a career and you are rich.  Regardless of the economic conditions at any given time, you are providing a value so you make money.

The damage was done during the boom, what debt people took on when it was apparently cheap and truly easy.  Now those businesses are failing and falling apart.  Any spiralling out of control will just get the bad stuff, which should be fine.  Good stuff will get protected by the free market.  In medicine Maggots are nasty beasts, but in medicine they only eat rotten flesh.  The crisis may look nasty, but it will only get to the bad. The key predictor is debt, how much did they take on during the boom?  Can they eat it?  In my book (which you can read for free on google books) I explain how to check credit so you do not get stuck with slow or non-payment.  There are enough good customers out there now to float your business.  Those customers will survive this, and anything else.  There is a strong vibrant responsible swath of business and industry in USA that is doing just fine.  Anyone hurting now was exercising the untenable Hamiltonian ethic.  The government may try to make the Hamiltonians winners, but it would just mean much worse later.  (we are here today because of the mexican bailout of 82, the S&L bailout in the 88's, the LTCM in 97,  the dot.com scam, the housing bailout, and so on. )  The Tuskegee Experiments kept getting bailed out, but finally had to end after some 45 years.

Your business can do just fine.  The very fact you are in business is part of the solution.  The govt rules are "get big or get out."   By the time WAMU folded last week, it had acquired dozens of smaller banks over the years, so when wamu ended, all of those did too.  America is free because of countless small businesses.

First rate customers, and first rate suppliers. Enough orders to cover suppliers minimum... repeat as necessary.  That never changes, and therein lies your security.

Be not afraid.    There are too many of us who know what we are doing for you to be afraid.

John

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