The Economy: A Report From the Front (All is NOT Well!)

It has been said (in jest) that a recession is when your best friend looses his job and a depression is when you loose yours (and a recovery is when Obama looses his, but let's not digress right now…).

As of writing this MasterPo and Mrs. MasterPo have returned from exhibiting the home business at an annual 3-day show/expo. This is an event that has been undertaken for 9 consecutive years. The show is as much a sales opportunity as it is a marketing and PR venue. But there is a cost to attend (booth, inventory for sale, transportation, food, temporary extra help with the event (can't do it just two people) etc).

Some year's sales are better than others.A few years outstanding.

But 2010 was abysmal!

Didn't even cover booth rental costs.

It wasn't just MasterPo's business that was hurting. All the vendors at the event were telling the same tale of woe. And many had much large booths and inventories to cover costs for!

Additionally, there was a similar event the week before in NYC that was equally poorly attended (MasterPo did not have a booth at that event). And MasterPo already discussed not spending the money to travel for an annual fly fishing show/expo in New Jersey that apparently was very poor too.

There are other events schedule for the winter season but hopes are not very high. When people do not have discretionary money leisure time activities are the first to feel the brunt of it.

And even those with some disposable income are tight about spending it for fear of the unknown in the weeks and months (and years!) a head. Can you blame them?

For MasterPo and Mrs. MasterPo 2010 will probably be the last year our business will take a position at this event. A 9 year tradition is over. There are smaller 1-day events that have lower costs and should be easier to at least cover expenses that will be explored for 2011. That's presuming the business itself can survive that long too.

MasterPo makes no illusions about the impact of 1 small home-based business on the economy. It certainly was never going a retirement plan from the start. But a few extra dollars would have been helpful. But more importantly if the business goes under for good that's one less source of revenue for the suppliers and manufactures, the [evil] banks and credit card companies, the web host, the tax preparer, sales tax to New York state, etc etc.

Economic turn around?
Recovery?
Saved from the brink?

Can't prove it by MasterPo!