is economy really rebounding?

[love2Code]

Are seeing any changes your sales? Do you see any sign of economy rebounding? I went to a positive territory with my stocks today after staying negetive for a long period of time. What are you seeing?

[Preben Frenning]

IM hasn't been hit that hard, and MANY people have actually improved their sales due to the recession. I think it's because people are looking for inexpensive solutions online, rather than going shopping.

As for the economy rising, yes. The real estate prices here in Norway have increased by 12% or so this year. - Which is crazy!

We're going up again!

[twitterguru]

The economy is in the eye of the storm before the final leg down. Desperate times.

[Lisa Gergets]

I've been in some form or another of real estate for the past...jeebus, 18 years, and it's nowhere near rebounding yet, in my opinion. We have a loooooong way to go before we see a steady, relevant upswing in the economy.

[derekwong28]

Things are really uncanny in Hong Kong and China. It is as if the recession had never occurred. The property market had more than recovered and the stock market almost doubled within a few months.

Derek

[Preben Frenning]

I would say it differs from country to country.
I don't know about the US, but I think Norway is going up now.

[jokarl]

It start to look better slowly. I think it will take until end of 2010 until it really turns around. I really hope the jobs start to come back now so we can get some kind of stability.

[Scott Ames]

The problem with the whole thing is that we get a dose of negative each day about the economy. When the news does have good news, notice how they always seem to follow it with bad news. "Jobless claims are down, but many companies continue to cut jobs and hours even as economists forecast a return to growth in the current quarter" It makes people jumpy, nervous, depressed.

The only economy that really matters is your own. If you have plenty of cash and no debt you are not worried. You may in fact see this as a great opportunity for discount real estate, travel, and other goodies. If you don't need to sell real estate, you can just ride it out and sleep rather well. Dave Ramsey the debt free radio host says that he has not worried at all. I'm sure the Google boys, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and others are not too concerned personally.

This is a big wake up call for me. Debt free, cash in the bank, is the way to go for peace of mind during hard times. "They laughed when I said I was going on a Cruise in this economy, but when I said bon voyage... "

[daveanderson]

Most states in the united states are still going to have significant economic slowdowns. Real Estate is one of the bigger reasons but only part of the problem now. This recession has hit most retailers and almost every sector now. I don't think it is over yet and I think there is another wave about to crash down. On a positive note during recessions is truly where market share is gained. I think with all the hard times there are definately good things to look forward to as well.

[Preben Frenning]

I would say this is the time to get into Offline Internet Marketing.

A bi-polarization of compaines is occuring, meaning there will be more winners and more losers, and less in-between.

Many brick'n mortar businesses are cutting their costs, starting with reducing their marketing budget, meaning they will get even less business, and eventually breaking up their company.

The offline world needs experienced marketers to help them recover their business at a lower cost than traditional marketing and advertising. (Which many aren't tracking anyways)

Just my bunch of cents...

[Denis Grossman]

when the economy drops to bottom,definately it will rebounds back.but does it really so good?i dont think so.may b just slightly better.

[derekwong28]

I would say that the main reason is that a crisis on this scale happened in Asia and other emerging markets 10 years ago. Because of that, they are armed to the teeth in terms of reserves and risk management for their financial institutions. Certainly, the property and stock market bubbles were not as great as then.

In relation to the size of the economy, no other country had spent as much as China on stimulus but they can afford it because of their reserves.

[Preben Frenning]

China has other problems though... Their "One Child Policy" is starting to strike back, and they have to spend more money on children. After all, "They are the future".

[CliveG]

The "real" world in the UK is looking really, really bad from where I'm sitting. And whenever the politicians tell us that it's getting better I know the problems are real!

The IM world, however, is still looking good, probably better than last year.

[Preben Frenning]

Yeah, like I said, more people are looking for cheap solutions online, and business owners need effective marketing to keep their business alive.

This is the ideal time both for IM as well as Offline IM

[timer]

I'm with cliveg. The real UK is a bit dire and our politicians complete ********s!. Online UK is holding up. House prices? Dodgy.

[derekwong28]

There was a second part to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. In 1999, our economy rebounded by growing at more than 10%. But this knee jerk rebound quickly died down and we had another recession in 2003. But this is basically what had been happening in Japan since the late 80's.

The real problem with stimulus money is that once you withdraw it, or try to increase taxes to cover it, the economy tanks. If you do not do anything, you end up with something much worse like Zimbabwe: hyperinflation and economic collapse.

The moral of story is that don't be too overjoyed if the economy rebounds very strongly suddenly. There is usually another down leg that is as much or evern worse than the first.

[CharlesRuppert]

The only way to fix the economy is to take responsibility and stop charging and start paying hard earned cash. The credit companies are strangling the Americans to death. Release there hold on your pocketbook and start paying for your things with cash.

[MacFreddie]

When the guy to the <<< Left leaves office and someone conservative gets in then we will have a chance. At least 5 years according the best Financial people on the planet Bill Gross with Pimpco and Jim Rogers.

Some say it will take decades.

Just work around it and choose to Ignore the Recession.

A famous Billionaire in the 1930's was asked how he became so successful in business during the worst crash in history. He replied "I chose to Ignore it." ;-)

[GuerrillaIM]

Originally Posted by CliveG

The "real" world in the UK is looking really, really bad from where I'm sitting. And whenever the politicians tell us that it's getting better I know the problems are real!

The IM world, however, is still looking good, probably better than last year.

I share same opinion. Feels like the recession is just kicking in over here. I have friends with businesses in different industries and they all say last 2 months have been their hardest ever.

[celente]

i must say that I found your post interesting, and I guess as humans we should have a clear understanding about how our economy works especially as entrepreneurs. Realise that even in a sour economy you can make money.

Make sure you find some great resources and follow them. Persoanlly I listen to huffingtons blog and also the guy over at www.forecastfortomorrow.com they have both been spot on about what is happening in the economy!!!

[vijayrajesh]

Originally Posted by Preben Frenning

IM hasn't been hit that hard, and MANY people have actually improved their sales due to the recession. I think it's because people are looking for inexpensive solutions online, rather than going shopping.

As for the economy rising, yes. The real estate prices here in Norway have increased by 12% or so this year. - Which is crazy!

We're going up again!

I believe this same. And personally the economy is rebounding. People are still buying, Adsense click values have increased on my sites.

People think online business is cheaper and quicker and hence IM is doing yet good.

[JackPowers]

Guys, do you think the Dollar will crash and be replaced by a new currency?

Putin showed off a new currency he advocated on a meeting to Europe not long ago.

I must admit, I see the future of the west as bleak unless we get rid of corrupt facist leaders.

Ok, enough politics.

[Josh Anderson]

Any headline about the economy on the rise or the recession ending early is just a plant by government operatives to try and get people to loosen up and spend.

Real people aren't that stupid.

The beast is starving because of the bottomless financial appetite of the most fiscally insane administration this country has ever seen.

Jobs losses are continuing... the state where I live is reporting highest unemployment rate in 26 years and we used to be among the lowest before the recession.

We are in the worst recession since the great depression:

U.S. Recession Worst Since Great Depression, Revised Data Show - Bloomberg.com

Anything reported to the contrary are just planted stories for people who do not pay attention to statistics or reality.

What I think American's should worry about more is the Federal government's response...

Scarily out of control federal spending and plans by the Obama administration to raise taxes on the wealthy and other fiscal policies being pushed forth and the desperation of the US government on Federal and State levels due to dramatic decreases in tax revenue bear stark similarities to the environment and terrible policies enacted by the administrations during the recession that lead to the great depression.

It was a world war that pulled us out of that one...

California is a good example of what we can expect on a Federal Level if the fiscal irresponsibility of the federal government continues...

Except that California cannot print money.

They tried but Banks stopped accepting California's IOU paychecks because they know California has no money to pay those IOUs and will not likely be in the black again at any time in the foreseeable future.

The Fed thinks it can just print the stuff and then suck it back up before inflation hits.

In the US the recession is a bit like a raging infection and the doctors, fresh out of bureaucrat school are throwing everything they can at it hoping that something will stick.

Unfortunately this infection system wide and no amount of socialism is going to cure it since that and the move during the last couple decades to loosen up banking regulations and give unlimited credit to the non credit worthy to fund the consumer over spending and housing boom is what put us in this situation in the first place.

Now that Obama is playing with trillions its common for us to hear headlines constantly of a few billion disappearing to some failed project here and a few billion disappearing to some failed bank there... or some wasteful useless spending in some other part of the world.

The best idea I heard for actually having an impact on the recession was to take the original bailout money and instead of bailing out the banks bail out the small businesses that are the backbone of the American ecomomy...

By offering any small business that could create a new Job and hire and keep employed an individual for 1 year a $20k grant.

Too bad the beast always has to get fed first because it and its friends are "too big to fail."

[GuerrillaIM]

Originally Posted by vijayrajesh

I believe this same. And personally the economy is rebounding. People are still buying, Adsense click values have increased on my sites.

People think online business is cheaper and quicker and hence IM is doing yet good.

Since the recession has hit the CPC has gone up from my experience. This is similar to what happened in the last recession where TV & Radio advertising were much more expensive than newspaper advertsiing. When the recession hit the big companies dropped their TV & radio campaign and went with the newspapers for a better ROI.

These days the best ROI is from PPC so the CPC is higher than ever. I was paying 3 times more per click last month than a couple of years ago. I have noticed in my field that the big companies are now always sitting on the top 3 results when before they didn't really bother too much with ppc.

[twitterguru]

Originally Posted by derekwong28

Things are really uncanny in Hong Kong and China. It is as if the recession had never occurred. The property market had more than recovered and the stock market almost doubled within a few months.

Derek

China have fed itself with its surplus. When this runs out, there's enough left to do it again, then it's time to tap up the savings. In that time they are gambling on the world recovering - or owning 80% of the US. We'll see.

On the whole this is a deleveraging recession and can be compared to that period between 74 and 82 where everything was simply a bit crap. The odds are that things will be a lot worse though. The forecast for Japan for example is basically catastrophic.

The really scary thing to look at is the oddity of the data we see and the markets vs the reality. Markets tell you that the Bulls are back, the reality is the Bears are biding their time backed with a wealth of information that says at some point this artificial push for bubble reinflation is going to end some day soon.

[Steve Peters Benn]

I wonder if this really fits in the main forum? Beyond that, will anything here help anyone improve their business? I realise that might not rub some people the right way, but we are all part of the economy, the best thing you can do is try and get the cash flowing.

Regardless of the market, you need to be out there every day trying.

I know some people want to talk about these things - but what difference will this thread make to the way that you do things? What new things will you learn?

The reason a lot of highly productive people leave this stuff alone is that it's a distraction. If your opinion is 'well this is part of our lives and I want to discuss it' I get it - but it's a talking shop with no possible benefit.

If someone tells you the economy is rebounding, what will that mean to you in terms of difference. If someone tells you that it is worse than you thought - what will you do?

[wisecrone333]

I read your posts with interest because here in little NZ (or at least where I live) we decided we weren't going to have a recession - there is a big sign up at the door of our local pub and restaurant that states quite clearly we live in a recession free zone and to leave your depression about it somewhere else

That said when I hear how our unemployment is higher than it has been in ten years and the price of petrol gets so high it is ridiculous, I am just thankful that I have a computer and I think Travis's Bum Marketing method is something that should work better now than before - there are a lot more people with really big needs.

Because we are so far away from most global markets there has been a general discussion here on how the recession started in the first place - did someone post a nasty rumor about it on twitter perhaps

Okay I am joking, but that is because in my opinion there is not a lot of point worrying about something you can't change. I am a great believer in the collective consciousness and you know given that it is almost 2am here I feel silly enough to think if we just think positive thoughts it just might go away. The only reason I am awake is because our little country is having a giant telethon to help pay for our own school kids to have shoes, raincoats and lunch - the whole country gets behind something like this and watching this type of thing is really neat because it helps reinforce the idea that we can make a difference.

I would have given you 2cents but I gave it to the telethon
Lisa

[mbrown]

Originally Posted by Josh Anderson

The best idea I heard for actually having an impact on the recession was to take the original bailout money and instead of bailing out the banks bail out the small businesses that are the backbone of the American ecomomy...

I could not agree more with that statement. In fact, over the last 5 years I've been stressing the fact we need to do more for small businesses. The country has been killing small businesses over the past years. Small businesses are the strongest foundation for the USA as a country.

Think of the money that many Warriors (who own their own businesses btw) alone are pumping into the economy. Not to mention the millions of small business in the US that could significantly impact the economy in a positive way.

Anyway, Josh cool post and I couldn't agree more.

[melanied]

That's a great way of putting it!

Originally Posted by Scott Ames

The only economy that really matters is your own.

[Preben Frenning]

Originally Posted by Steve Peters Benn

I wonder if this really fits in the main forum? Beyond that, will anything here help anyone improve their business? I realise that might not rub some people the right way, but we are all part of the economy, the best thing you can do is try and get the cash flowing.

Regardless of the market, you need to be out there every day trying.

I know some people want to talk about these things - but what difference will this thread make to the way that you do things? What new things will you learn?

The reason a lot of highly productive people leave this stuff alone is that it's a distraction. If your opinion is 'well this is part of our lives and I want to discuss it' I get it - but it's a talking shop with no possible benefit.

If someone tells you the economy is rebounding, what will that mean to you in terms of difference. If someone tells you that it is worse than you thought - what will you do?

Well, some people might open their eyes more to IM and Offline IM, as both businesses seems to increase, rather than dropping like brick and mortar businesses in the recession.

I'm going to send out my first major batch of high-responsive, extremely targeted letters to business owners I KNOW have been hit hard by the recession, and using it in my copy. Many of them are desperate, and I'm pretty certain I'll get a crazy ROI on those letters - Even if I include a chocolate in every single on of them.

The fact that people are 1. Desperate to get more customers and reducing their expenses, and 2. More people are going online to find cheap solutions, means that working with internet marketing in any way can be more profitable now than ever.

And someone mentioned that the CPC is increasing, because big companies outbid smaller ones. - Then they need SEO, and other means of getting traffic. They have no clue, so they might seek a good internet marketer, and pay well =)

[CDawson]

if you think about it, the im niche is skyrocketing.

[elofmark]

Very interesting topic here. Especially interesting is seeing how people view this from all different points of the globe.

I live in Michigan, and our unemployment is higher than any other state. Yeah BIG THREE!

I have been seeing small signs - some realtors are starting to sell more than just foreclosures. Other businesses are doing better too.

What we have to really swallow is the fact that home prices may take 10 years or more to regain the value they once had. This was a "needed" correction because of all the crazy excess spending. That doesn't mean it is any less painful.

Most people would feel a lot better, and actually start doing a lot better if they would quit watching, reading or listening to the news. Fill your head with possibility thinking instead.

Stephen