Now that America is in an Awakening, we need manufacturing more than ever. Start in the ground. What raw materials do we have to work with?
- Fossil fuels for energy (hundreds of years of coal, at least ten years of oil, and some natural gas to boot)
- Copper (a third is still in the ground, a third is in use, and a third is in landfills – we’ve got to go remining)
- Iron (used to make steel and the first Industrial Revolution, it will be used again for the Awakening).
Lets start with US automakers. GM, Chrysler, and Ford. Go Rockafeller and bring it home, vertically. Fire the unions, convert unused factories into foundries or merge with a metal manufacturing company such as US Steel. Second, convert other factories not needed for road vehicle manufacture and begin making locomotives or “mag lev” transportation. BE TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES, NOT AUTOMAKERS. Consider partnerships with GE and Boeing (and get your head out of your ass).
America needs a SWOT analysis and to act as a cohesive whole to make the Awakening work. What tools does America have to work with?
- Large amounts of energy – dams, wind, nuclear, coal, natural gas, wave, thermo, and solar.
- Large educated workforce – we might not be the best educated, but we are a smart population.
- Willing workforce willing to innovate – Americans are bred to take risks, that’s how we got here
US financial industry, you were like the son who asked for his inheritance early only to squander it, but we took you back, even threw a party for you under a big TARP tent. Start lending. Take a risk. Be entrepreneurial, invest in those who need investment, and give hope a chance. If you fail, you already know America will be there to catch you when you’re too big to fall.
The construction industry, you were the straight man, emerging in the Awakening as the “victim” of the collapse. Its time to use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. Lets renew our inner cities and small municipalities. Stop all new construction until existing buildings are repaired or in use. We’ve got to right the ship. The immigrants are leaving the country. You’re losing your workforce and potential new home sales. There are enough lead-paint, 16-gauge, non-grounded fire traps in America’s small towns to keep every home builder in business for a decade if not a generation.
So how can you become successful in a recession? Same as always:
- Stop doing what doesn’t work and resolve to be open to change.
- Write down a dream or a goal (ask yourself what you want to have, become, or do).
- Build a team – surround yourself with like-minded individuals with similar goals.
- Pick a distribution channel (Wal-Mart, Amazon.com, your own website).
- Figure out who your target market is (who your customer will be).
- Pick a product or service (something to resell, rebrand, license, distribute, or sell).
- Find out how much it will cost to make or do and what you will charge for it.
- Test with your target market (if successful, go on, if not, start back at #1).
- Let people know about it (promote through trade magazines, or online through PPC).
- Create procedures so that you can sell your business and start another.
I highly recommend three books for those who want more detail on how to start a successful business in good times or bad:
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- Good to Great by Jim Collins
- The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
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