DQ#1: (Ch. 2, economics) How does the local, state, or national economy affect your business or place of work?
I always loved the study of Economics, too bad that I was never good at it. The proof in that statement goes like this: I own a small manufacturing business that builds cat furniture, you know, scratching posts and such. We manufacture all year round but we only sell our products about 5-7 times per year in the Arizona market. Our products range in price from $35 to $345. So, when the economy started slowing, we cut way back on the larger, more expensive items, and started producing more of the items under $100. I figured that customers would not be so willing to part with a big wad of cash for a non-necessity item.
Boy, was I wrong. Come selling day we were sold out of the larger items within a couple hours, and the smaller items didn’t move as well. Bottom line, we went back to making larger items and they are selling better than before. I still don’t get it, are these non-necessity cat posts recession proof? Since we only sell locally, the state and national economy really has little impact on our business.
Are there businesses that are relatively recession- or depression-proof?
They say that replaceable items such as toilet paper and cosmetics are relatively recession proof. But then, the petroleum industry may feel a pinch, but not as hard as manufacturing, such as automobile manufacturers or even the insurance industry. So how can we explain why cat posts continue to sell so well? Is it because people are still willing to spend big dollars for something that they really want? Are there businesses that may not prosper to the same extent as others during an economic boom? Why or why not?
I really think that schools and Universities, like UoP, may actually suffer a bit in an economic boom. Because people are working, they are making