I think it's hard to notice unless your actually one of the unlucky ones who faces the issues. I know people who live just fine and unaffected, then I know people who struggle to find a job, lost their house, etc.
Once you discover IM and it's opportunities, it's very hard to be okay with slaving away at some low paying job.
Yeah, I agree with that for the most part. However, it does still effect everyone on some basic level, as it is a reason, true or not as a real ' resession ', to raise their prices on consumer goods as a ' sign of the times '
, as well as due to a much MUCH smaller margin of fact remaining that people get scared and hang on to their spending cash that would normally fuel the profit streams of these companies.
It is hard for those that have lost their jobs due to their bosses and stockholder's bad investment choices. It is also hard on those that we know have lost their homes not due to lack of payment but due to the mortgage lender or bank that backed them drying up.
The main thing that I've experienced directly in my business is an upscale in sales with a major shift on what people are buying right now. It went from consumer luxury products, to buying used, second hand, auction and off-brand stuff. Tightening their belts out of fear is fine, as it actually pushed the market to go for product options they haven't tried before that are actually better than the older, more commercial based high-end stuff that does the same thing with less effectiveness.
Keep in mind that people haven't STOPPED spending their money...they have just changed what they are spending it on and the impact it has on their bottom line.
The fear will pass with this coming holiday season, as the BP thing is clearing up, the stocks are still shakey but will become more stable as companies expand and push for the holiday season in new directions..won't go way back up however, will settle in...always does.
Just keep a tight eye on your markets and your trends for the purpose of seeing what people are into at the moment, as trends tend to weed out as people are affraid to spend. It will reveal the new markets openning up and the standards that are still hanging in there, adapting and overcoming to meet the needs/wants/interests of the clients, which is what we ALWAYS do, resession or not.