Recession / depression resistant business idea??

[Stacktastic]

Hello, 

I am looking to set up a business, enterprise of small investment for a recession?

I work in the wedding industry which has always been sited as one of the best businesses for the Ai driven age & recessions in general, but with social distancing and a second 'house arrest' looming next year i want to explore other avenues. The number one option is mobile mechanic, but my mechanic has been dead as no one is driving anywhere, so its very  different. 

As good as precious metals are an income stream is the main thing to ride the wave. 

3 rules: 

1: Ideally I don't have to physically be anywhere (physical location fine if there are bread queues LOL)
2: It can be scalable (room for development ongoing)
3: repeat business (i.e. not one off trade)
4: Does not require constant work after set up
5: Does not require a huge, if any, capital investment

My main ideas so far. 

- Online courses - Udemy / Teachable - things I am good at - already made a start on this. 
- Marketing & sales - not sure with this one, but I'm good at it. Online - in person?
- Take over struggling businesses, work with them to drive sales & take a cut of profits ongoing. 
- Food dealer - buy in bulk / grow your own and deliver to houses. 
- Stock pile things like toilet roll, rice and stuff?? Bit risky mind.

I would like to build up some capital and purchase a cheap commercial property of some sort (lock up garage etc.) in the almost certain property bubble burst 2-3 years down the line from any economic collapse. I heard of someone buying a hotel with one gold sovereign (from a tourist) in Germany during hyper inflation - man that would be good. My dream is to have a few acres with a lake, horse stable (to convert for rural traders) & woodland. im wondering if I could do a deal with a desperate land owner / farming in the coming years LOL. 

[Thelonerangershorse]

Undertakers, people will never stop dying.

[Stacktastic]

4 minutes ago, Thelonerangershorse said:

Undertakers, people will never stop dying.

Funnily enough someone else said that. I actually thought of becoming a funeral person to deliver the service (I assume its called that). Too depressing for me. 

I have also tried to avoid the general public as much as possible at the moment, look inwards and see the bigger picture. 

[Norskgeld]

Normally Births and Deaths are the two areas where you can guarantee constant business.

However, if St Bill of Gates gets his way deaths will skyrocket whilst births will plummet.

Deaths wins I think. 😁

[motorbikez]

Get a job in the government/public sector, recession/depression doesn't make a great deal of difference to them.

[Stacktastic]

34 minutes ago, Norskgeld said:

Normally Births and Deaths are the two areas where you can guarantee constant business.

However, if St Bill of Gates gets his way deaths will skyrocket whilst births will plummet.

Deaths wins I think. 😁

Yes precisely. I wont be taking any Microsoft vaccines any time soon, regardless of the legal or social pressures. I spent 2 months looking into the details at the start of this, including a lot of science papers as a lot of did no make sense. I even thought I was mad, but slowly its coming through to the mainstream I think, especially people not addicted to the media & Facebook feed etc. 

Anyhow. usually that would be fine, but if they keep rolling out social distancing, I think the funeral market has and will be hit as hard, as i know of a number of people that have died and were only allowed a small funeral or nothing at all. I am guessing that they probbaly make a lot of money out of 3-4 funerals today and charge more for the larger areas, which are certainly not being used. 

[Stacktastic]

5 minutes ago, motorbikez said:

Get a job in the government/public sector, recession/depression doesn't make a great deal of difference to them.

Good idea. I was very shocked at how many army jobs were available when this was big! A vaccination person would be good, but I would rather work for myself & work smart if possible. Or get other people working for me rather than busting a gut for bugger all 'money' especially if there is hyper inflation as i guess prices will rise way in advance to wages, especially with the record unemployment figures looming. 

[Minimalist]

Food. Utilities. Birth/Death. Clothes. Consumables.

[vand]

IMO there is not that much that is truly 100% recession-proof, although of course many businesses are pretty robust to the short term business cycle. If things get really bad then people won't bother with undertakers, they'll just leave the bodies on the street. Yeah.. grim thoughts.

the trouble with a lot of defensive sectors is that they they are also incredibly competitive, so margins are thin and companies have high operating leverage.

Maybe something like Dentistry during non-covid times, where there is a reasonable barrier to entry and yet people will always need their teeth fixed. 

[Stacktastic]

15 hours ago, vand said:

Maybe something like Dentistry during non-covid times, where there is a reasonable barrier to entry and yet people will always need their teeth fixed. 

Yes even during Covid, especially a home practice. My wife went to the dentist the other day as it was hurting so much. I will never forget when I went to the dentist for the first time in 25 years (for a general check up) and came out with 2 abscesses and 2 messed up back teeth. That was not a nice few weeks. 

[Stacktastic]

16 hours ago, Minimalist said:

Food. Utilities. Birth/Death. Clothes. Consumables.

Food certainly. Might explore that avenue, My friend took over the marketing of a butchers at the start pf this, he massively stepped up business and is taking a cut without knowing anything about butchery. The owner is happy, he is earning from it & my friend gets pretty much free meat, which could potentially be life saving if it was that bad (cant see it getting that bad in the UK, but civil unrest is already brewing!!).  It would be nice to have a crystal ball and order in a few pallets of rice & bread flour. We were pretty fortunate in lockdown as we already had 6 months food, including 25kg of bread flour & some four-court size blue rolls (not that we needed them). Went to Poland had 2 route canals - £120!! Bargain considering it was a very posh dentists. Now where did I put my multi tool, hammer & pliers???  

[Onenote]

Having 'multiple streams of income' is always a useful thing (Udemy's a good start); makes you more 'flexible' and that's what we need to be in these uncertain days.

The head of the International Money Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, warned of a major Western financial crash in January this year (before Covid-19 kicked off in the UK), but her warning wasn't reported by the media. Whatever happens from here on is anybody's guess, but being flexible, using whatever skills you have and/or pooling knowledge/skills (with like-minded people) to make an extra penny or two is always a good idea.

 

[MickB]

Photography is a way to generate income. I've sold some photos in the past and just had a couple of requests from a publisher and a former boss of mine for images for their books they're releasing later this year. I only do this as a hobby but I know of a few freelance photographers who do this for a living. 

[Stacktastic]

On 16/06/2020 at 11:51, Onenote said:

Whatever happens from here on is anybody's guess, but being flexible, using whatever skills you have and/or pooling knowledge/skills (with like-minded people) to make an extra penny or two is always a good idea.

I thought about using Udemy for a lead magnet and show a cut down course, then divert people to my site perhaps? I am making courses out of sections in my course, so its somehting that can really develop. For example, the 'self development' part of my wedding MC course could easily span the same length.  

I personally think that there will be another huge crash in the next few weeks, plus the possibility of a second wave to back it up and sense everyone back indoors for more QE. It would seem silly to let us all out and start over again with it early next year.  

11 minutes ago, MickB said:

Photography is a way to generate income. I've sold some photos in the past and just had a couple of requests from a publisher and a former boss of mine for images for their books they're releasing later this year. I only do this as a hobby but I know of a few freelance photographers who do this for a living. 

Yes this is something I do actually as I am a pretty seasoned semi pro photographer!! I am not that busy with it, as I do other stuff but its a business I can certainly do. I have a ton of really great wedding photos (mostly couples on thier first dance or speeches) that i can sell, where would you recommend - I assume the returns on stock are not great nowadays?? 

[Paul]

Its not flash, but find a field in these three types of D's businesses

Dirty

Dangerous

or Degrading work

and add in 'recurring income'  monthly subscription, you are onto a winner, whatever field you 

Lots of small subscriptions or payments coming in is far better in a recession than all your eggs in one basket with one client/shop or contract

i.e. x300 £10 a month window cleans gets you £3k in revenue.   You lose x1 client it not the end of the world, you have x299 income steams and still get £2990

You lose one large contact with national store chain bringing in £3k a month.  Your income is £0.00 

[Groundup]

Making alcohol or rubbing alcohol/sanitizer with a still. The prices of this stuff went insane. 

I use my still for making distilled water for making colloidal silver. 

I see a still as an essential piece of equipment that can be put to many uses.

 

 

[Stacktastic]

11 minutes ago, Groundup said:

Making alcohol or rubbing alcohol/sanitizer with a still. The prices of this stuff went insane. 

I use my still for making distilled water for making colloidal silver. 

I see a still as an essential piece of equipment that can be put to many uses.

Fabulous suggestion.

I am already there, I air double distil a 50 litre wash every week. Probably gonna make a decent 50 litre pot still as it takes forever in the air still.  
Fortunately I assessed my outgoings in Jan & alcohol was one of the biggest costs, so decided to start making it myself. 

I made a load of really great sanitiser then Ebay and the likes band the listings. 
i might try and sell them directly somehow, any ideas? 

Its also good for first aid. 

[Stacktastic]

20 minutes ago, Paul said:

and add in 'recurring income'  monthly subscription, you are onto a winner, whatever field you 

Precisely. 

[Groundup]

12 minutes ago, Stacktastic said:

I am already there, I air double distil a 50 litre wash every week.  
Fortunately I assessed my outgoings in Jan & alcohol was one of the biggest costs, so decided to start making it myself. 

I made a load of really great sanitiser then Ebay and the likes band the listings. 
i might try and sell them directly somehow, any ideas? 

Sorry I not very good with business. I'm no entrepreneur. I haven't got past making distilled water.

[MickB]

43 minutes ago, Stacktastic said:

I thought about using Udemy for a lead magnet and show a cut down course, then divert people to my site perhaps? I am making courses out of sections in my course, so its somehting that can really develop. For example, the 'self development' part of my wedding MC course could easily span the same length.  

I personally think that there will be another huge crash in the next few weeks, plus the possibility of a second wave to back it up and sense everyone back indoors for more QE. It would seem silly to let us all out and start over again with it early next year.  

Yes this is something I do actually as I am a pretty seasoned semi pro photographer!! I am not that busy with it, as I do other stuff but its a business I can certainly do. I have a ton of really great wedding photos (mostly couples on thier first dance or speeches) that i can sell, where would you recommend - I assume the returns on stock are not great nowadays?? 

I used to get £20 per photo then it went down to £15 and the recent offer was £10 but it's just the way the market went for rail photos. As I just take pictures at work I don't mind as I'm already paid to be at work. I used to be signed up to Getty images but gave up with them. There are plenty of sites you can sign up to for them to sell your photos or you can contact magazine publishers directly. 

[Stacktastic]

24 minutes ago, MickB said:

I used to get £20 per photo then it went down to £15 and the recent offer was £10 but it's just the way the market went for rail photos. As I just take pictures at work I don't mind as I'm already paid to be at work. I used to be signed up to Getty images but gave up with them. There are plenty of sites you can sign up to for them to sell your photos or you can contact magazine publishers directly. 

Gonna go through them and see what i can sell. Worth it even just for money to pay for fuel. 

[Goldhooked]

49 minutes ago, Groundup said:

Making alcohol or rubbing alcohol/sanitizer with a still. The prices of this stuff went insane. 

 

46 minutes ago, Stacktastic said:

I made a load of really great sanitiser then Ebay and the likes band the listings. 
i might try and sell them directly somehow, any ideas? 

Legally it’s a minefield.  There are so many regulations you have to follow.  You’d probably get away with it on a small scale (although as you said all the big selling platforms put a lid on it) but try and do it on a large business scale without all the relevant boxes ticked and at best you might find yourself ordered to close down, at worst you might find yourself in court.  Here’s some info I found from a quick google - https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/media-library/documents/business/coronavirus/hand-sanitiser-faqs.pdf

I sell products that originate from overseas that didn’t originally have the relevant EU safety testing/documentation.  I engaged with UK testing houses to get all this sorted.  I was once subjected to a ‘random’ inspection by Trading Standards who took away samples of most of my products for testing and for next few months had to supply reams of evidence to prove they were safe.  Thankfully I passed with flying colours but it was a stressful experience.

I’ve also had expensive testing done on other products that to be lucrative, needed to be come under the heading of toys.  They failed so we scrapped that idea but I still see the product in question being marketed to children.  I’ve also seen Trading Standard safety alerts for the product but many small sellers continue to market them towards children (there is a danger of death from choking so it’s not something minor!).

Unless you’re buying and selling products that already have all the relevant safety tests/documents, you really do need to be careful, especially if you’re manufacturing.

[Stacktastic]

23 minutes ago, Goldhooked said:

 

Legally it’s a minefield.  There are so many regulations you have to follow.  You’d probably get away with it on a small scale (although as you said all the big selling platforms put a lid on it) but try and do it on a large business scale without all the relevant boxes ticked and at best you might find yourself ordered to close down, at worst you might find yourself in court.  Here’s some info I found from a quick google - https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/media-library/documents/business/coronavirus/hand-sanitiser-faqs.pdf

I sell products that originate from overseas that didn’t originally have the relevant EU safety testing/documentation.  I engaged with UK testing houses to get all this sorted.  I was once subjected to a ‘random’ inspection by Trading Standards who took away samples of most of my products for testing and for next few months had to supply reams of evidence to prove they were safe.  Thankfully I passed with flying colours but it was a stressful experience.

I’ve also had expensive testing done on other products that to be lucrative, needed to be come under the heading of toys.  They failed so we scrapped that idea but I still see the product in question being marketed to children.  I’ve also seen Trading Standard safety alerts for the product but many small sellers continue to market them towards children (there is a danger of death from choking so it’s not something minor!).

Unless you’re buying and selling products that already have all the relevant safety tests/documents, you really do need to be careful, especially if you’re manufacturing.

Yes its a little bit dodgy in terms of safety, but at least I made all of it from scratch, apart from the bottle. Yes it is a legal issue and can land you in court especially from the HMRC point of view as they dont like anyone infringing on thier horrendously dodgy (but accepted for some reason) markup racket do they!! 

I made a load before I knew about the SE bailout as something to make money, but now I understand economics & the dynamics of currency flow & the requirements for QE I would not have worried. Lets face it most people will inject that money backing the system anyway, within a year!

[Goldhooked]

Just now, Stacktastic said:

Yes its a little bit dodgy in terms of safety, but at least I made all of it from scratch, apart from the bottle. I made a load before I knew about the SE bailout as something to make money, but now I understand economics & the dynamics of currency flow & the requirements for QE I would not have worried. Lets face it most people will inject that money backing the system anyway, within a year!

Personally I wouldn’t risk it without the proper tests and labelling.  I purchased enough ingredients at the start of lockdown to make several litres of hand sanitiser (following the WHO recipe).  Costs were not much above £200 and I think I worked out the finished product if sold would be worth a couple of thousand pounds.  But I won’t risk selling it as I don’t have the relevant safety docs to back it up, it’s for use in the office and friends/family.
 

  

[vand]

2 hours ago, Paul said:

Its not flash, but find a field in these three types of D's businesses

Dirty

Dangerous

or Degrading work

 

Ladies of the Night..?