



A Mean Green Bean said...

FerFal,



This topic is timely as we are having a discussion on the Life After the Oil Crash Forum about starting micro businesses based on the top items needed after a crash. Can you give us an idea of what items / services people want the most post crash. Here's a link to the discussion. http://www.doomers.us/forum2/index.php/topic,40122.0.html.



Thanks in advance!

Of course you have the basics: food, water, shelter and medicine. (Renting real estate will become a good business, by the way)



Problem with the food market is, it’s as old as mankind itself, you can hardly compete with the big firms.

The smaller producer will find himself out of his league unless he has a couple hundred acres.

It’s better to try to exploit the “small mom and pop” thing, find the marketing niche, organic food.

But this is very tricky. I mean most people I know that grow food small scale know well enough its for them and not profitable as a business idea.



This is a common mistake among the survivalist community if you ask me. What I started calling the “Little house on the Prairie “ syndrome.



Guys, the only way you’ll go back to 1800 is if you build a time machine.



Serious. Barrel maker, carriage builder, carriage wheel repairer, making horse shoes for a living… making a fortune selling candles. Even trapper was suggested somewhere.

What can I tell you? I don’t see that here. I’ve researched and talked to others on eastern Europe and Africa and nope, not the kind of thing that will get you serious money.



Some of the lists going around the various forums are simply lists of skills used a couple hundred years ago, very wild west like. But again, it’s wishful thinking, and not something I see reflected here or in other places where SHTF.



Even gun smithing. Gunsmithing is something that will certainly go DOWN, not up.

People will have guns for defense but spend as little money as possible. No more tacticool 2000 USD 1911 for many. Those are “nice to have”, and “nice to have” doens’t cut it for SHTF market. They wont spend what little money they have on something like that, at least MOST people wont.



This is the kind of subject that could go on forever. Serious, the dynamics of the post SHTF market could fill libraries.



My friend in USA asked for bit of advice regarding business ideas the other day.

He told me a bit about what he had in mind, and at some point he said he had a buddy that offered him a percentage on a car sound system installation shop, also doing tainted glasses and car alarm.



He said that he didn’t think people would want to spend money on an fancy sound system during the depression.

We talked about how car alarms and security film for windows would go up in demand. Also tainted for security reasons.



When we got to the sound system part, he asked what I thought about that.



I told him “well… there’s a few things people want when SHTF: “Booze, religion, drugs, prostitutes and gambling.. and a loud car”

I told him that its common here to see total rust buckets from the 70’s with maybe 1000 bucks worth of sound system. Maybe more expensive than the car itself.



Of course any business can fail, but if his friend does things right and is a smart business man, he has a fair success chance.



My friend say “Man, peoples are stupid”

I told him “YES, dude, they are”

But why, why would a poor guy spend his hard earned money, the little he has, on something like that?

Because that’s the way people are! Maybe the guy hasn’t got a week worth of food and water OR cash, but he’s gladly going to spend it on drugs, or a fancy sound system, simply because it makes him feel less miserable.



That’s valuable folks, ESPECIALLY when SHTF and getting depressed and feeling miserable is so easy.



It’s what I like to call “affordable luxuries”.

I see it here all the time, and you see it in other poor nations.

They can’t afford the fancy car anymore, but they can afford the expensive tires or sound system.

A loud sound system can be turned up the volume.. wake up everyone… everyone sees you have the fancy gadget … ego boost for our poor guy. See the mentality I’m talking about?



Something similar happens with cell phones. Selling cell phones is a pretty nice gig during depression. It’s an “affordable luxury”.

I don’t have a home of my own, or a car, “but take a look at my nice (toy) phone”. The guy/girl already feels better about himself.



Same happens for jewelry. Most women can’t afford the gold anymore, and it’s too dangerous even if they can. But there’s still silver, and “quirurgic steel” jewelry is becoming more and more popular.

Affordable, looks good, shiny, wont get stolen in 10 minutes. Research the market and promote it well and you have a winning combination.



Forget the old days, at least as business ideas. Recognize the new needs and the new society you are dealing with and what they want/need.

There’s how you start a real post SHTF business.





FerFAL



