The CNBC website has a slide show on which industries will offer the most job growth over the next few years. The data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For what it’s worth, the best job prospects are said to be in:
Management, scientific and technical consulting services
Feb. 27, 2010
Long-Term Joblessness “Off the Charts”
Hitting Middle Class Particularly Hard; Millions of Such Jobs Gone Forever, Reports John Blackstone
via Long-Term Joblessness “Off the Charts” – The Early Show – CBS News.
You should read this article. But, if you miss it, don’t worry. These stories are becoming everyday occurrences. There are two points from the article that I’d like to highlight:
Our economic landscape has changed and, though I’m tempted to say forever, I’ll avoid the hyperbole and simply suggest to you the following:
If you plan to wait around for “big business” to offer you a decent job, you’re in for a long wait. If you plan on an employer (business or government) looking out for your long-term interests, you’re in for a disappointment. My advice is to start your own business and understand that you’re financial success is up to you. Sure, some people are going to get the inside track and may get a piece of the ever-diminishing pie – but for the average guy, you are on your own, my friend.
I’m not trying to sound “doom and gloom” – but I’m absolutely convinced that the key to success is in your own hand and it will require initiative, and hard work, and probably long hours. Of course, there was a time when everyone understood that to be the case. Well, those times are back.
In the Sunday, February 14th, 2010 edition of the Birmingham News, there was an article entitled “Green Shoots.” (This was on page 1 of Section C, the “Money” section). In the article, Samford University business professor Franz Lohrke offered seven things to consider if you are starting your own business. I’ll recap them briefly here:
1. Focus on providing value.
2. Learn about your industry.
3. Understand your business model.
4. Manage your cash.*
5. Minimize fixed costs.**
6. Use low cost “guerrilla” marketing tactics.
7. Try to find partners.
It’s a good article. I recommend it.
To quote a couple of Prof. Lohrke’s comments:
* “Know when it [cash] is coming in and going out. Even profitable, growing businesses can go bankrupt because they can’t pay their bills on time.”
** “Higher fixed costs like rent and equipment mean more sales are needed just to break even.”
It’s handy to know how to make cash flow projections and how to do a break-even analysis.
That was my nickname about fifteen years ago – Number 41. It was an inside joke between me and my manager. I once told him that there was a mood developing among the team members that I could best compare to a scene in the movie Ben Hur. Ben Hur, at one point, is serving as a galley slave on a Roman ship. A Roman officer addresses the slaves, telling them:
“You are all condemned men. We keep you alive to serve this ship. So row well and live.”
Ben Hur was referred to simply as slave #41… and, after I offered my observation, I, too, became #41. He would pass me in the hallways and say, “Good morning, 41″ and we’d just smile about the significance of that statement.
Remember my barbed wire post? My comments about how, for decades, jobs have become increasingly less satisfying and pay checks have continually shrunk through inflation? All this was necessary, of course, so that we could “remain competitive in a global economy.”
Well, guess what? Those very things now may be hurting us in terms of being “globally competitive.” A news story, entitled “Americans’ job satisfaction falls to record low,” published on MSNBC’s website today is definitely worth reading because it’s an acknowledgment of what we’ve been saying for a long, long time.
According to the news story,
…worker dissatisfaction has been on the rise for more than two decades.
Oh, really? Why is that? The article explains,
Workers have grown steadily more unhappy for a variety of reasons:
- Fewer workers consider their jobs to be interesting.
- Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
- The soaring cost of health insurance has eaten into workers’ take-home pay.
Well, yes, now that you mention it, that’s true, isn’t it? But, so what? It continues,
If the job satisfaction trend is not reversed, economists say, it could stifle innovation and hurt America’s competitiveness and productivity.
I see. Well, I wouldn’t want that to happen, so, in the interest of our remaining competitive, how about helping us all get caught up on that inflation problem right now? That might even stimulate the economy. And give people some hope.
I encourage you to read this very illuminating article. Here’s the link:
