Recession-Proof

by Jason Schenker

You can’t run, you can’t hide, but if you grab the bull by the horns, you’re going to make (Location 257)

You may even use a recession as an opportunity—a chance to get more education, become more valuable for your company, start a business, or buy low into the market. (Location 304)

hasn’t reinvented itself, so it stays in recession. (Location 315)

Most industries and businesses do well when the economy does well, and these are called procyclical businesses. Some industries like tourism (Location 367)

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be kind to yourself. In a recession, being kind to yourself means taking to heart the fact that there are lots of people who are experiencing the same thing. (Location 397)

If a company feels worried about where the economy is going, they’re not going to take the risk of expanding. (Location 443)

it can make the highs not so manic and the lows not so depressed. (Location 460)

Watching for Fed interest rate cuts is most important, because the Fed can raise interest rates even if growth is not fantastic, if it wants to kill inflation. (Location 470)

If the Fed is concerned about the economy in its statement, you should be concerned. If the Fed is confident about the economy in its statement, you should feel confident. That’s all you need to know. (Location 473)

GDP is very backward-looking, while the three indicators that I’ve told you about are more forward-looking—especially the ISM Manufacturing Index. (Location 493)

taking a low-paying job when you’re young will reduce your pay for the entire rest of your career. (Location 506)

That means graduating into a healthy economy, (Location 532)

that requires knowing where you are in the business cycle. (Location 533)

Get a job now while the getting’s good. (Location 538)

Remove your risk by locking in a gig as soon as possible. (Location 539)

You should be ready at any moment to jump into your next job. (Location 559)

Anything that still involves empathy, people skills, customer-service finesse, or creative problem-solving is not likely to be automated any time soon. (Location 585)

You need people to call in case of a downturn The goal is to have options (Location 607)

Seeing things how they are—no matter how negative—can guide you towards a more successful path. (Location 641)

Believe it or not, a recession can be the best time to do all these things, and the easiest time to make them happen. (Location 737)

Any financial advisor will tell you to buy low and sell high. (Location 742)

As for traveling, remember that tourism, leisure, and hospitality are industries that are exceptionally vulnerable to a recession. (Location 743)

Low opportunity costs are one of the big reasons why a recession isn’t just a threat, it’s an opportunity. (Location 762)

Remember: you’re a business—You, Inc. When recessions come, businesses cut costs, and you can do the same. (Location 781)

Cadillac. Second prize is a set (Location 952)

Get out early. (Location 964)

if your colleagues are getting golden handshakes and bolting, that’s a sign. If the company isn’t hiring, that’s a sign. If salaries have been frozen, that’s a sign. (Location 966)

Because it’s the ability to learn, not the mastery of specific skills, that employers are looking for. (Location 976)

and keep investing in you. (Location 984)

He told me later that the reason he hired me was so that I’d stop emailing him! (Location 1001)

Just because the well is dry now, don’t be afraid to go back to it later. (Location 1004)

Recessions take away options; counter this by creating options and keeping them open. (Location 1008)

whoever has options has power. (Location 1053)

work for that other boss. The more options you have, the better off you are—and the less crap you have to put up with. (Location 1055)

Your company may pay for you to attend a conference in order to market your company’s products and network on their behalf. That’s very common in (Location 1099)

opportunities that your employer pays for or subsidizes is a great ROI—return on investment—for you. (Location 1108)

The money isn’t in the boonies with the small fries; it’s at the table with the big boys. (Location 1143)

Hiding can take two forms. The first is to go back to, or stay in, school. The second is to get yourself into a recession-proof industry. Let’s look at the school option first. (Location 1169)

The trick is to graduate into a good economy, and if that means delaying graduation by a few years, by all means, do it. (Location 1205)

So need-based industries are recession-proof, while want-based industries are recession-prone. (Location 1300)

They need education. (Location 1302)

So the housing and construction industries actually do very poorly in a recession. (Location 1308)

Just because your company is laying off people in San Francisco doesn’t mean they’re not hiring like crazy in Dubai or Denmark. (Location 1417)

Things like: keep your resume updated and ready to send. Sign up for LinkedIn. Get on Monster.com. Get on CareerBuilder.com. For high-profile gigs, visit my favorite job sites: eFinancialCareers.com (Location 1426)

They want to fill a vacancy with someone who has already succeeded in exactly that job in exactly that industry. (Location 1463)

When recessions come, options disappear. When you build something, options reappear. (Location 1546)

Building yourself means building your skills, your credentials, and your network. It’s about growing You, Inc. into new markets. It’s about expanding your brand. (Location 1550)

You want to hire someone with hustle, drive, energy, hunger. (Location 1562)

Part of building skills is being out there and being visible. This is especially important during a recession, because during a recession, lots of people are looking for work and hiring managers just get carpet-bombed with resumes. (Location 1579)

Make it obvious that your resume is the one they want to pick. A great way to do that is to keep training, keep learning, and cram your resume full of those keywords and credentials that they’re looking for. (Location 1587)

What a headhunter does is fill the gap between job seekers and the people who want to hire them. (Location 1590)

A good headhunter will get your resume into the right hands—and lots and lots of them. The more people who have your resume, the better. (Location 1591)

Network, network, network. (Location 1596)

dial—this should be it: fly business class! (Location 1644)

would estimate that 75-80 percent of the time you sit in business class, you’re sitting next to a very serious businessperson. (Location 1654)

The middle of the day in the middle of the week is when executives tend to fly. (Location 1677)

“So, are you heading home or heading away?” (Location 1682)

whoever has options has power. (Location 1697)

Very few people want to build a business when the economy is rocking and bonuses are at record levels. (Location 1706)

starting a business are low. (Location 1716)

Starting a business in a recession is buying low, which is the first rule of investing. (Location 1720)

You’ll be competing with firms who are shrinking and laying people off. Meanwhile you’re hiring, you’re growing, you’re brand-new and shiny, and that looks very good to potential clients. (Location 1721)

It’s the thing that makes you special, the thing that you provide to your customers that they can’t get elsewhere. (Location 1724)

I’m able to do that because I’m one of the rare few who understand both business and finance. (Location 1734)

The best way is to just try it, but at a low level of commitment so that if it doesn’t work out, the repo man isn’t going to tow your car away. (Location 1743)

Instead of spending money on overhead for your out-of-home office, you’re saving money on a tax write-off for your home office. (Location 1754)

Calculate how much you need in order to simply survive during the time you are starting your company and haven’t made any money on it. (Location 1774)

It’s the mistaken idea that if you’ve invested a ton of money, time, and emotional energy into something, you need to keep investing in it until it pays off, so that you haven’t wasted everything you already put in. (Location 1783)

I did need their business—but if they know that, they won’t give it to you. (Location 1811)

Don’t invest money you can’t afford to lose (Location 1879)

This goes under the heading of investing in things you understand. (Location 1910)

Investing in your own business is therefore a great way to recession-proof your life. (Location 1923)

I could cash in overnight on all the money my company is going to make. That’s the beauty of investing in your own business. (Location 1937)

For a nonprofessional, a recession is the only time you should consider doing this. (Location 2075)

In up years, you may wish to rotate some of your money into blue chip bonds, cash, or money market accounts. (Location 2080)