I stumbled over this gem that James Ledbetter tweeted:
Small businesses “create” majority of jobs. As in: when Reuters fires me, I will become a small business. Job created!
Ledbetter rolls his eyes at the government and analysts who tend to get excited about small businesses during economic downturns. For example, this headline from 2020 as found on reason.com:
Americans Are Starting a Staggering Number of Businesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic
What that tweet then says is that the rise in small businesses happens out of necessity and is probably not even replacing the jobs lost. While that may or may not be true (topic for another time), this “Ledbetter rule” hints at something: a behavior change in recessions.
Because that’s what recessions also are. Not just times of economic gloom and doom but also a time of change and these changes means opportunities. Figuring out these opportunities is what RecessionNerd is all about, so that we can weather or even thrive in a recession.
So … what is changing and how is that helping you?
Well, as you know, recessions are almost by definition a time of rising unemployement. Mix in the Leadbetter rule, and when you see a recession coming, you can expect a wave of tiny one-person enterprises getting of the ground.
What products and services will these freshly baked entrpeneurs need to succeed? How can you help them get off the ground?
It also means that people change from employee to entrepeneurs. What does that mean for their daily routines, their financial planning? How can you help them cope?