Nov 18 2008
The Curse of Interesting Times
Another Great Plan Hits A Snag
There is almost certainly no Chinese proverb or curse that says, “May you live in interesting times,” but the sentiment is no less true for lack of a pedigree. And we are certainly living in interesting, tumultuous, unpredictable times.
Financial uncertainty will probably result in a dismal holiday season for many retailers. However, consumers who haven’t already maxed out their credit cards are going to be tempted by spectacular sales in the coming weeks. High ticket goods are already on sale, at steep discounts. It’s actually a great time to buy.
Gas prices are back down to about $2.00 a gallon (regional differences still abound), making a trip to the mall less costly. Unfortunately, the big box retailer you were planning to buy the deeply discounted, 42″ HDTV from may have committed pre-emptive suicide (why wait until the last minute?) and laid off all its sales staff before Christmas, guaranteeing that all attempts to actually buy anything will end in frustration and failure.
Small, nimble online businesses are better positioned to deal with the chaos and uncertainty of this period than the retail behemoths. Consider this: Best Buy placed its bets and bought its holiday inventory six or more months ago – long before the September crash.
They are locked in. You are not.
You, the resourceful information product producer, are perfectly positioned to give people what they are looking for today.
Right now, people with money to spend are worried. Will they still have jobs next year? How can they build a bit of a hedge against bad times? How can they learn new skills, earn extra income, replace lost savings? You can teach them the skills they need.
Even people with fewer worries about job security are looking for ways to save. One thing we know from experience: when money is tight, people stay home. But they still spend money on hobbies and pass times. You can produce the CDs and DVDs that teach how to play piano or collect coins or go treasure hunting at weekend garage sales.
You can start producing a How To DVD tonight and have it ready to ship on Dec. 1.
Will you be paralyzed, like Circuit City, or will you listen to your market, tune in to what buyers want right now, and begin to make your next profitable product?
Photo by joshua putnam Released under Creative Commons License
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