I actually ran this by a couple of machine shops I was connected to when elite needed manufacturers. No takers.
I can perform all of the operations to produce equipment, but Iām nowhere near outfitted to actually sign contracts and fulfill orders.
Just curious, how much money are we talking? I realize it can vary tremendously, but could you give some examples of cash for equity that you are exploring while still maintaining your privacy on here?
You work in development, right? Commercial? Res? Industrial?
Optimism is good for ones mental well-being. Cynicism, less so.
Iāve no idea since 08/09 if people put money aside any more than they ever have. People like me have always done so, itās a natural habit of people who have had to fight their way out of poverty. A lot of people are in the unenviable position of being hand to mouth.
The people in my circle are not chasing āthingsā any longer, itās all about quality of life. Take time to smell the flowers along the way.
Iām willing to bet you could get around $1000 for a basic 2x2 power rack if made well, quickly, and local (IE no shipping) right now. Iām also willing to bet you could sell at least 50 of those in the next month (at least in Houston). Thereās a guy on craigslist in my area thatās building wooden equipment, FWIW:
https://houston.craigslist.org/spo/d/spring-half-power-rack/7105445520.html
Pretty sure youāre confusing blue- and white-collar jobs here. I also donāt agree with you. I think a lot of companies will start to realize that the cost of maintaining a brick-and-mortar office is no longer required to have a productive workforce.
In other words, I think the commercial real estate industry might be in for a rude awakening.
Results. Iām not sure why you have this impression of corporations though. Perhaps my perspective is skewed by working in a very results-driven industry (oil), where your production either increased or it didnāt, your project was either on-time and on-budget or it wasnāt, and your Op-ex either increased or decreased, but in my company nobody cares if you spend 100 hrs/wk in the office if you arenāt delivering.
This would be great, and itās how I try to live my own life and to instill those values into my children. Itās also a complete fantasy to expect this on a large scale. 9/11 was supposed to produce some similar level of improvement in social ties and national cohesion, and look where we are now.
I think some temporary improvements are to be expected, but 'merica aināt gonna stop 'merica-ing.
I think itās somewhat in the middle between what he said and you. The digital trends have been coming for a long time and this just moves it more. Movie theaters are probably dying a slow continued death though Iām not saying they will completely disappear. Theme parks should come back in time but it will be slow. Physical media will continue to disappear. Weāre probably a few years away from people not buying physical games or movies in any big sense. Video games already trending there big time. Movies the same. Blu rays and DVDās already becoming things of the past just like CDās.
Restaurants may see job loss continue. I donāt live in a huge place but we have fast food companies now delivering which just happened. If less people are coming into those places we may see limited job reduction. Donāt need to clean bathrooms as much, wipe off tables, replace napkins in multiple spots etc. Someone has to drive the food to places though. I could see more people āeating outā from home.
So I would say we certainly arenāt stopping those things, but I do see this accelerating certain things. Once people have been forced to accept a different way they may either enjoy the new ādeliveryā form more or simply do the going out part less. Experiences you canāt get from home should largely be fine. Concerts, cruises, church will take a while to get back to normal but they will return.
It occurred to me that @flipcollar is in Dallas and has a manufacturing system in place.
Entirely different product, but likely many of the same process parts and pieces required.
Youāre right, I only just realized Iāve written blue collar instead of white collar.
I worked for some of the worldās largest construction companies, which are also results driven as you have to build a physical structure in a given time for a given price, end of story. However, they are the exemption to the rule.
Bullshit jobs and the gamification of white collar jobs arenāt a new concept and theyāre bound to increase.
Not sure about concert and cruises. Perhaps in a decade kids will look at grainy videos of people in a mosh pit at a rock concert with a mixture of astonishment and disgust.
Thatās our goal, too, but I think weāre in the minority.
This depends on how they want to move forward. Our grocery stores are hiring more people to deliver groceries and prepare orders for pickup. People ordering their groceries online has increased jobs.
Restaurants might see less dine-in, but delivery needs might stay high as people get accustomed to being even lazier than before. They can either deliver their own food or lose out to Uber Eats and the others. And thereās always the chance that Uber Eats is more cost effective, but that increases the need for Uber drivers. Jobs arenāt necessarily lost; they just move.
I think conscientious unemployed people are aware they canāt spend liberally now or in the future simply because they received unemployment-benefit checks that can barely sustain a modest existence for a family in coastal cities.
That makes sense, but Iāve seen it play out differently time and time again here. Aircraft manufacturing is huge here. Iāve seen two to three huge waves of layoffs and multiple small waves.
I see this as an inevitable pattern. If I worked in that field then Iād have a big emergency fund. But every time it happens thereās a big panic. If itās really bad then people lose their cars and homes (08-09). Their homes are typically the $200k ones and they have multiple cars that cost over $30k. Get a promotion? New truck!
I donāt really feel bad for them. There are a lot of people with a high school diploma making more than me. They should be able to save, but they wonāt.
I have a family member who makes over 100k, lives alone in an apartment, no wife, no kids, and never has any savings. This might be because of items like a Mercedes SUV, designer suits, 500Ā±buck footwear, expensive watches, etc. When he lived closer, I had some of his hand-me-downs of less than one year of use.
One canāt tell anybody anything when theyāre fat and happy.
Because look at you. If you knew anything, youād be awesome like them! (being satyrical, universal you).
I was blessed (and cursed) with a brain that is very simple and logical. I just bought a new pickup. Itās everything Iāve ever wanted and I love it. Itās a 2006 with 109,000 miles and I paid $8k. I just canāt understand or justify spending $60k on a brand new one. I donāt get it. They do the same thing.
The same goes for clothing, shoes, cell phones, etc. I feel like I am living fat and happy. I have just about everything I want and I still have money left at the end of the month.
Bro. Come on.
Throw a bone collector tramp stamp on that back window and a big shiny light bar on top.
Maybe even modify the fuel system and put a stack on that bitch!
Roll some coal! Live large! 
I know. Itās shiny. Itās beautiful. But I drive about 3 miles each way to work in the city limits. And when weāre not in plague season I have a take-home car. I just donāt need that sort of thing. Actually, I donāt think anyone needs it.
On a different note, I have a home gym. How many of those high rollers are fumbling around with body weight workouts right now?
In the land of no gyms, he who has a power rack is king!
Yeah, I kid. I have an economy model car that has been paid off for a couple of years and Iām ok with doing my own oil and brakes.
Idk many golks who drive in conditions that neccesitates 4wd and clearance that wants a shiny new car. Certainly not me. I prefer my older 4runner that I put dings in, pinstripe on old jeep roads, and drive through mtn blizzards without any thought as to ācan I afford to fix the VERY likely cosmetic damage that will occur?ā.
Most folks would rather spend that money on the toys theyāre towing, or the equipment they strap on once they have used said 4WD for access.
Also, I always find it funny when big lifted nice trucks endup being 2wd, and/or have shit tires which get them stuck while that old Subaru Forester with snows keeps right on going by haha.
Butā¦ 'merica.
I had a hard time finding my pickup because I wanted 2WD. Everything is 4WD nowadays. We barely get snow here. We get ice. I donāt need 4WD. Itāll just cost more in the long run.
Hope so. Iām just wondering about the long term position. Right now our Walmart has people working the counters, jewelry, technology, sporting, etc in addition to the picker and curbside pickup. Maybe we create a few more pickers but if no one is going in Iāve got to wonder if the net effect isnāt job loss for a particular store.
Agreed and has always been the case. But the āmovesā donāt always replace everything and automation probably wonāt help if weāre looking at things in the pure numbers sense.
That said we had a really big labor shortage before this so Iām confident even with some shrinkage (itās cold I swearā¦) we will be ok. No doubt to me we will bounce back as always. Timeline on that is the biggest head scratcher.