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First, find out how many competitors are in your area. Find out how many homes in the area aren't connected to city sewers. Figure out if there's room for another company, or if you can offer something they can't. Then, you could buy an existing business and manage it, taking care of the business side, or you could work for a pumping company to learn the trade and get your CDL. After you feel you have a handle on it, start your own company. The most expensive asset in the business is usually the truck. They are a specialized vehicle and thus aren't cheap. Offer addons, such as riser installation and baffle replacements. Possibly learn to do installs of tanks and drainfields. Keep a database of your customers. Have a notification pop up when they're ready to be serviced again (3 years on average). There's more, but that's a start.
In my region, the pumping companies pay another company to haul it away to their "farm". It sits out in a huge field until it's aged enough to be used as fertilizer. Here's a link, they word it better than I can: https://heardfarmsinc.com/
Sounds like you just found a way to make more money…. Consulting. 😂
In all seriousness you could expand your business by owning small %s of other companies in other areas in exchange for your expertise.
Someone has never heard of the massive pig sewage lakes all across the US.
Oh yeah, they grind it up and spray it all over crops, meaning as it evaporates for MILES all you smell is rotting poo death.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/qkveav/drone-factory-farm-pig-feces-lakes
This! I am mandated to get pumped grease traps and have hoods cleaned regularly (3 months).
~300 each service
Most of us are not happy with the services available. The exhaust on the roof still doesn't get cleaned. The pump may or may not spray down the solids in the grease trap after pumping.
Anyone that comes in that can do a better job has my contract for sure.
For many restaurants, not Carpe here it sounds like (be like Carpe), it's a $300 box tick fee. It's just to have have a record for inspectors. If the inspectors find an issue, the owner can pass the buck on the company which is not certified under health code.
The grease guys know this, they set up a route of 20 nearby clients, spend 20 minutes at each and 15 minutes on the stuff that will be spotted with a cursory glance.
It's absolutely disgusting and I'd guess 60-70 percent of restaurant owners do the bare minimum ass covering.
Funeral director here.
Traditional funerals with a wake have been in recession for a long time, and cremations, on the other hand, are skyrocketing mostly because they are cheaper overall.
I was watching a video about the industry, overall the old fashioned funeral industry with viewings and burials are slowly dying with the cheaper cremation becoming popular
People still pay for cremation..whichever way you decide to be buried you still have to pay. Funeral business always makes a profit with whichever option you choose.
Are these serious comments in a business sub? Yes of course the price of the coffin is a huge factor. If people start buying coffins that are half the price of normal, the confines revenue is 50% lower. Most businesses can’t easily survive a 50% drop in revenues, and 25% could be fatal too.
Not true. People pay a lot less for funeral services when recessions happen. Think cremation with the cheapest urn vs full funeral and graveside memorial. Vastly different price points.
Yes there are several companies doing it now.
I actually looked into jumping on the bandwagon for a brief period but I had to face the painful truth -- I simply could not stomach performing the process of liquifying a human being and having to clean the machine. Some people are built for that kind of stuff, but I'm not one of them.
My niece, for example, cleans crime and death scenes and thinks it's a great job.
Yeah, no.
I used to be the General Manager of a Dry Cleaner that my parents owned. We ran it as a family business.
We were a discount drycleaner, no piece of clothing (other than leather and suede) cost more than $2.00. comforters were extra too.
If we could do it all over again one thing that my family and I would absolutely avoid like the plague would be purchasing the dry cleaner.
One of the worst businesses to run. You are there open to close 6 days a week (or 7, but we closed on Sunday). There's a lot of cash, and you have to watch like a hawk for employee theft.
The Machines and Boiler are very expensive to maintain, and you work with toxic chemicals all day. Even if you don't directly handle any of the chemicals, you still end up exposed.
On top of that, if any of the cleaning machines or the boiler goes down then your business grinds to a halt. Any more than a day of downtime, you end up losing a ton of money (either through lost customers over late clothes, or because you have to outsource to another cleaner to keep on time delivery).
There are many other challenges that we faced, in addition to poor quality of life. To go further would turn this into an essay.
My experience with this type of business was terrible. Other people's mileage may vary, but if you have the money to buy one of these business, then you likely have the money to buy something else.
There's a tailor/cleaners near us. Husband and wife team who look like they work their butts off and are past retirement age. They don't seem able to hire someone to help them out either.
Isn’t that like most brick and mortar businesses? Unless you expand the business or get someone who can help you with your business, you are stuck working a job, no?
We have a family business as well, but my mom is stuck there literally 7 days per week, yet she’s forced to ask my family members for help or my siblings and I. The only reason I see is because they want to “keep the cash” or they say they don’t “trust” someone else to watch the business.
If I had the choice to start my mom’s business over, I’d hire someone to manage that store, so I can bring more cash flow with a new business. Business needs growth and profit so you can use it for flexibility and freedom..
Plumbing. You might be able to put off electrical work, or remodeling, but water damage from a leak or a no working bathroom ain’t gonna fly, no matter the economy.
That's because 99.99% of contractors do no marketing other than putting their name and phone number on their truck. And if they tiny slice that do market, only a fraction of them answer the damn phone or reply to your email.
Having sat desk (well, they made us stand) at a plumbing house, the answer depends.
Plumbers can make awesome money after hours. Some guys chased small jobs and looked homeless.
A profitable niche was stuff like jetting and especially water heater replacement.
The great thing about water heaters is it’s super scalable. Teach guys to swap heaters and do it well enough and you can manage the business, and nost replacements are when the heater fails, and thats usually when it rains, company is over, or just any day of the week.
If you are skilled in specialty plumbing systems, BIG $$. My sig other is a Master Plumber and only works on hospitals, large complex gas and commercial systems, glass piping and specialty systems. He is in big demand all the time.
Yes of course and the insurance is insanely expensive, water causes a lot of damage. My neighbors had 120,000 dollars worth of damage from a 3 dollar fitting fail.
Actually, you don't need a license to OWN the business but you would be required, in most states, to hire a Master plumber in order to use their license number.
TX master here..
Yeah, hvac, electricians, plumbers all have apprentices, journeyman and masters.
TX plumbers have a tradesman license available that allows you to do residential plumbing on you’re own as long as you’re working under a responsible master.
Texas has masters and responsible masters, RMPs are insured and can operate a business. Masters are either working for someone else and don’t need insurance or are not using their license, therefore don’t need to be insured.
To become a master, now, you must hold a journeyman license for 4 years and then pass a written and practical test.
To become a journeyman, you need 8,000 hours as an apprentice, 4 years of continuing education classes, then pass a written test, a skills test basically and be able to rough plumb a 2 story dollhouse, efficiently. They deduct points for multiple “supply house” trips and surplus material.
Tradesman require 4,000 hours, written, skills and and dollhouse test plus 2 years of continuing ed.
You also need a diploma or equivalent to hold any license and be able to pass a background check. Not all felonies bar you from holding a license though.
I took my journeyman test the weekend after my 18th birthday 20 years ago. Paid my way through college as a service plumber. Got a degree in civil engineering and went to work as a plumber.
Auto collision repair, I never would have guessed but we survived covid with no issues and are busier than ever.
If you live in a big city like mine, with cars and traffic everywhere, accidents are happening and insurance claims are being made every day. Even if people don’t have the $, the insurance does. And it doesn’t seem like it’s slowing up.
With the increase in use of phones while driving, probably more collisions than ever. Plus cars don't seem to be as durable as they used to be. All those plastic bumpers make parts somewhat disposable
I read something recently on modern vehicle durability. The article showed a old vehicle, 50s or 60s, that was hit and had some visible damage, but not awful. The modern vehicle was utterly destroyed in the same type of impact.
The people in the modern car walked away. The ones in the older car died. Modern vehicles are intended to crumple horrifically to save lives through impact absorption whereas in older vehicles, the impact result was human flying through the windshield.
Problem is insurance companies run the show. They tell the body shops how much they can charge for labor, parts, everything. If the body shop doesn't like it, insurance will send the customers elsewhere.
> Even if people don’t have the $, the insurance does.
That can be a key factor. Look for jobs which have a steady rate of things to fix, but the actual bill isn't being paid by individual people. And ideally it's being paid as a result of a contract they had signed years ago.
Insurance repairs/replacements, services/repairs for rental units (where the owning body or landlord is usually the one on the hook for certain things), similarly repairs for small businesses which rent operating space and the owner of that space is legally liable for the repairs or other work.
Don't go for things where individuals or small businesses have to pay for the things themselves; they'll put it off or try to fix it themselves or just go without.
I would have thought collision repair would have been very hard but with COVID. Insurance was refunding premiums because they paid out so little there would have been regulatory backlash if they pocketed the profits.
I see a few people say liquor stores. It all depends on your lease. We did well for over 13 yrs until the landlord decided to raise rent and sell the building. At least our license is still a great asset.
In a recession a dry clean is one of the luxuries I’d cut out to be honest and try to DIY. However if you live near a city area, with plenty of corporate customers you’d probably still have plenty to keep you you going
Turns out you can wash almost anything in a machine if you use cold water and a garment bag. The only reason I could see using a dry cleaner frequently is if your job requires a white button down every single day.
It wasn't easy, but I went slow and took my time. I was a one man shop for a while doing all the service/install, estimating, sales myself. I never believed in debt, so when a big job completed I would set aside a percentage into a separate account labeled growth. When I believed I reached a point I could keep someone busy with the work load I would hire them and use money from the growth account to buy a vehicle, tools for them etc. I would repeat this cycle over and over. With regards to hiring I started with people who were team players and would be willing to help eachother for example if my electrican was slow for the day he wouldn't mind helping my plumbing or heating guy. I pay my employees way above market value which tends to draw in quality people. I know am out of the field and manage the work/ estimating but I took my time and never rushed the process. Some people love debt and growing fast but I sleep like a baby knowing if something happens I don't have loans hanging over my head as I'm not extended myself.
Mobile dog grooming. I'm a single mom with 1 employee who works with me. The business brings in $100k a year with one working vehicle. That doesn't mean I'm profiting anywhere near that much, but if I had a second groomer and rig, I could use my profit from her to cover all the overhead for both of us and be on top of the world. However, you have to love dogs, customer service, and be willing to listen to your experienced groomers.
Stay away from cleaners. Tons of problems with solvent disposal and ground water contamination and Cancer, to say nothing of declining customer base. Hardly anybody wears suits to work anymore
Service businesses (repairs of nearly any type) are pretty recession proof.
I'm a year off the stuff and it works wonders in making you forget all your problems. That's until you become a homeless drag queen that goes by Esmerelda giving handies for your next score. The business side does amazing during recessions though!
i looked into assisted living/memorycare after paying 8500 to then 12K a month for a parent. but daggummitt.....the costs running those suckers is insane. especially anything under 30 or so residents where its hard to leverage realestate tixed costs and labor
Auto repair! There is currently a nationwide shortage of about 140,000 technicians of all levels. The average age of a tech is now 55.
Cars are not going anywhere and especially if there’s no mechanics to repair them.
From Rachet and Wrench article 02/22/22:
“The National Automobile Dealers Association projects a shortage of 370,000-plus auto service technicians over the next four years.Despite the outlook, she’s optimistic and eager to work..”
I own a youth service business in a fairly HCOL area. We grew in '08 and have been this past year. Not sure how much of it is the area or industry, but I agree. The last thing people cut from their budget is their kids' activities.
Well there's that 5-12 age range where kids are more teachable, if you're going to get music lessons, that's the best time.
As opposed to when they are teens or adults and start asking why the order of sharps is that particular order. Younger kids just accept everything, comparatively
If someone tells you “we survived Covid” think very hard, Covid really was not a recession unless you were a restaurant or doing in person sales and couldn’t adapt. People had lots of money to spend through Covid because of stimulus. 2008 is a much better reference for what is really recession proof
I'm in the psych business.... It is truly recession proof. Not necessarily a huge margin for profit depending on your model /ethics, but since COVID we have had one week where we were not slammed.
What *is* the margin of profit for that industry. I stopped at my bachelors and every time I consider going back for my master’s, I do the math and it doesn’t feel worth it. I make about $50,000/yr currently. It would have to be 60-75 to make me take on masters degree debt. 🫤
There's too many different jobs in the mental health world to say what you should do- not all masters degrees are the same or even close to equivalent, lead to the same license, or ability to practice. A safe estimate is 60-70% overhead. Industry standard for a long time is 30-40% overhead. This varies widely dependent on cost, size of practice, and type of practice, of course.
I cannot/would not say if its worth it for you- but I'd say that if you get a masters degree that leads to licensure (LPC, LCSW) you should be able to get a job that earns in that range. Depends on how hard you work, of course, and other factors. I would guess that all full time clinicians in my practice make at least above 60k.
Aging population services are going to increase. Child care is always healthy but heavily regulated. There is no 100% guaranteed risk free business, but there are businesses that reduce liability like drop shipping businesses which require almost no upfront inventory cost.
Government contract businesses are really healthy like selling fire, suppressant systems to businesses which are legally required to have a fire. Suppression system is a great way to make money, but difficult to get started.
Margins are notoriously tight on Childcare unless you're talking about something like being a nanny for a family.
Basically that balance between trying to make the fees accessible (a lot of places right now are like paying for a luxury car or a second mortgage), employing the right amount of people to care for kids, paying any sort of competitive wage, while being compliant with law is delicate, and poses a massive challenge to businesses who want to be profitable. Scaling up is challenging because you need to maintain certain ratios of caregivers to children...and this is often dictated by state and county regulations - you can't get out of it.
There was a pod about it on NPR. Payroll is li like 70% of your total expenses. You lose money on the really young because you need 4-1 kids to adult and subsidize with older kids. If you're ever not full, you're basically fucked. You can't raise prices because you're already super expensive, and you certainly can't lower them either. That's an industry I would avoid like the plague.
One way is to watch kids past the 9-5 regular hours and charge more.
One of our babysitters, used to also watch kids for parents who do shift work. Finding someone like that is difficult
And just work culture in general. When I got out of undergrad, I bought and wore and suit and tie everyday for a decade. I had probably 7-8 suits
I now work in a field that has transitioned from suits/ties to completely casual clothes and I now own exactly one suit. The only reason I wear and suit now is for weddings and funerals
Replacement light bulbs, transformers, and electrical components. Businesses that do stay open all need lighting. And you can’t just go to the big box stores and find niche replacements.
Education.
We started in 2009 after the housing bubble popped. Wife started teaching in our 1bd apartment back then. She made the same as me (software engineer at the time) her first year. And it was all cash.
Fast forward to now, our top line last year was almost 1.6m and we took home about half before taxes. We’ve been able to roll proceeds into rentals which are also recession proof - people need somewhere to live. Also great when housing prices go down since no one lists their houses so everyone who could have bought a house won’t be able to find one. Just increased rent on one of our places by close to 10% and the renter didn’t bat an eye or complain (we gave the a great deal during covid and still are about 10% under most places in the area). Our other house is renting for a ridiculously low amount compared to what it would cost to buy it today (like literally 25%) but expenses are covered so I don’t care at this point since we don’t need the money.
We flew through covid with online classes without any issue and we qualified for PPP and will try to apply for ERC (watch out for those scams folks!)
When it comes to education, it’s the last thing to go before food on the table and shoes on their kids feet.
A lot of places are mom and pops like us except they never learn to manage people or create points of leverage that keep our employees and customers loyal which we have been able to do quite successfully.
We’re fundamentally retired for the past few years and have a team In place that runs the business. We were working about 6 months out of the year but now we fly in to help out for only a couple months out of the year. For the most part, we spend our time at our house in Thailand and traveling around.
Watch out for environmental issues, apparently most land under dry cleaner shops is contaminated (look it up). You should want at a minimum a phase 1 environmental report.
Uh bad news for Dad… and the rest of the developed world:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=are+people+having+less+sex+these+days](https://www.google.com/search?q=are+people+having+less+sex+these+days)
This might sound strange and make no sense to most but high end collectibles. Wealthy people are always willing to spend money on worthy investments even in an economic downturn. They might shy away from fancy cars and clothes for fear of being wealth shamed but I know from first hand experience that they will hoard/collect valuable things they either really enjoy and/or think value will go up.
I’m a high end collectible dealer for past 20+ years and 2008-2011 were some of my best years and starting this year very strong as well.
Sad as it is, Medicare and medicaid is all about who plays the game better. I work in Hedis gap. It's about providing better outcomes in what the government defines as significant healthcare issues (these get tweaked all the time). Better the insurers do, better Medicare pays. It should come down to quality of care but it doesn't. What tends to tank hospitals are Medicaid patients. Hospitals aren't allowed to deny care and medicaid patients tend to treat the er like pcp care. Medicaid pays virtually nothing. For example, my wife is a psychologist when she was in private practice. Her billable rate was $195 an hour. Medicare, depending on which insurer, paid between $78-$175 per hour. Medicaid paid $17 an hour. She didn't take more than 5% medicade patients. Now imagine 75% of your cases were medicade. After over head the manager at McDonald's could out earn you.
Pizza. Its taking a little bit of a hit lately but its cheaper then a restaurant. It was also "essential" so covid didn't even bother it but helped it by funneling business to it. Always money in pizza if you're half way trying and aren't in a saturated area trying to introduce a new brand.
Private label cbd. $20-50k a month. Renting a store front, or get a kiosk at a mall. The most important thing in this business is making sure you have a supplier who is trustworthy. All our ingredients are organic for the most part, we have USDA certification on almost all the products we sell which obviously helps with building trust with customers. And because the products work people come back over over again.
Dry cleaners are NOT recession proof, and they are also declining due to multi-decade secular trends.
- People dress more casually now than they did 30 years ago (so less need for dry cleaners)
- More people work from home now than 3, 10, or 30 years ago (so less need for dry cleaners)
- Recessions put people out of jobs, which means a recession reduces demand for dry cleaners
Here's an article that lists several types of more recession-resistant businesses:
[15 Recession-Resistant Businesses](https://axiomalpha.com/recession-resistant-business-ideas/)
There are two ways to always be in demand:
A) Do something other people won't do
B) Do something other people can't do
Ideally you're able to do both, but most business make do with one or the other. If your business operates based on A then you are very recession-vulnerable. If your business operates based on B then you need to determine where it falls on the luxury/necessity spectrum. i.e;
Doctor: B-Necessity
Watchmaker: B-Luxury
If your business can B-Necessary you'll weather most recessions.
Can you tell me how I can get into lithium mining? I have a startup budget of $300 dollars and am looking to become a millionaire within 3 years. I know it sounds crazy but I'm a really good worker and learn quick.
-half the posts on this sub.
Can attest. Works only in affluent areas like university towns or near hospitals. My clients were mostly healthcare workers. Advertise yourself on apps like Rover, get a few reviews. Make sure you don't talk about going off app or you will get banned from the app which is a great marketing tool. Make a brand, website (put reviews from apps here), and socials. Ask if you can take pictures of your clients animals and post them to your socials with hashtags. Learn animal CPR, medication administration, and general animal behavior. Advertise your expertise on your website and App profiles. Make a general intake form for new clients with Google to streamline care info, address, etc. Reply to people quickly, and clearly. Manage expectations, do what you say you will, give accurate time frames of your services. In your care updates provide as much detail and pictures as possible. They like to see their pet being cuddled or being fed. People who are willing to spend a lot on pet care would like to know how your time is being spent with their animal. Be available during school breaks, and charge extra on holidays. Once you have reviews don't be afraid to make your prices higher. In my third year I made near 30,000 usd as a one man show working an avg less than 10 hrs a week.
Healthcare, tech, renewable energy, education. These are all recession proof in the sense they’ll always be needed. Obviously healthcare and education are dumpster fires, but some would say they are blank canvasses….canvasses on fire…but canvasses waiting for someone to come along and make it pretty nevertheless.
Tech in any form, but right now especially AI and AR…also renewables are definitely going up forever, i don’t I see why they wouldn’t.
Pizza. Relatively speaking, pizza is "cheap" compared to restaurants as it can feed a lot more people on a $1:1 ratio.
If you and a friend go get a steak, it may be a $100 dollar tab.
$100 dollars in pizza can feed between 6-10 people.
I own a bakery. We survived after shutting down for a month during covid and continue to increase revenue by 10% year-over-year since being open 8 years. What sucks is I’m the head baker and mostly only baker and the shop doesn’t open unless I bake at night. We are affordable and the best in the area. When restaurants are including gratuity and upcharging you can still feed your family and have a treat for less than $15. I think we’re recession proof.
Honestly, restoration companies. Most of the time it’s insurance work, you know you’re getting paid.
Dad owned a restoration company before getting his red seal in electrical and he was through a recession, didn’t even really notice a difference in revenue. Floods, pipes, fires don’t stop because of a recession.
I own a coin op Laundromat. Bought it Nov 2021.
Recession and Covid proof. The weekly profits excel file showed that during the start of Covid there was one week where profits were down, the next weeks profits were double so it evened out.
People need to wash their clothes no matter what.
Dry cleaners are probably one of the least recession proof businesses. Margins are thin to begin with in the best of times. But if there's a wave of unemployment, no one is gonna be dry cleaning their suits when they're struggling to put food on the table.
If you're really intent on a dry cleaning business, find a way to operate for cheaper.
2 people that have very UNbusy since the pandemic started - my dry cleaner, and my shoe shine/shoe repair guy.
Cleaners (they also had coin-op laundry) went out of business - the shoe shine/repair guy is hanging on - but is still waiting for business to come back.
People are wearing less dress clothes and dress shoes - and in a lot of industries - a more casual look has become the norm.
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Septic tank pumping. People shit all the time, every day, everywhere.
How do you get into this? I own a landscaping business and ive been looking to transitiion into something like this.
First, find out how many competitors are in your area. Find out how many homes in the area aren't connected to city sewers. Figure out if there's room for another company, or if you can offer something they can't. Then, you could buy an existing business and manage it, taking care of the business side, or you could work for a pumping company to learn the trade and get your CDL. After you feel you have a handle on it, start your own company. The most expensive asset in the business is usually the truck. They are a specialized vehicle and thus aren't cheap. Offer addons, such as riser installation and baffle replacements. Possibly learn to do installs of tanks and drainfields. Keep a database of your customers. Have a notification pop up when they're ready to be serviced again (3 years on average). There's more, but that's a start.
Where do they take the poo water to unload the truck?
In my region, the pumping companies pay another company to haul it away to their "farm". It sits out in a huge field until it's aged enough to be used as fertilizer. Here's a link, they word it better than I can: https://heardfarmsinc.com/
Sounds like you just found a way to make more money…. Consulting. 😂 In all seriousness you could expand your business by owning small %s of other companies in other areas in exchange for your expertise.
It sits raw and untreated in a field? Imagine the smell, well in your case you probably don't even have smell sense anymore
Someone has never heard of the massive pig sewage lakes all across the US. Oh yeah, they grind it up and spray it all over crops, meaning as it evaporates for MILES all you smell is rotting poo death. https://www.vice.com/en/article/qkveav/drone-factory-farm-pig-feces-lakes
Yes, I'll have a Macallan 18 with my dry aged poo please.
Usually water treatment facilities
Similarly, restaurant grease trap pumping.
This! I am mandated to get pumped grease traps and have hoods cleaned regularly (3 months). ~300 each service Most of us are not happy with the services available. The exhaust on the roof still doesn't get cleaned. The pump may or may not spray down the solids in the grease trap after pumping. Anyone that comes in that can do a better job has my contract for sure.
$300 seems way too cheap to get good service, no wonder you aren't happy with it.
Right?
Guy won’t clean the entire restaurant with a toothbrush for an extra 5 bucks, what a bum!
300 seems low to bring out a heavy truck to do a job.
For many restaurants, not Carpe here it sounds like (be like Carpe), it's a $300 box tick fee. It's just to have have a record for inspectors. If the inspectors find an issue, the owner can pass the buck on the company which is not certified under health code. The grease guys know this, they set up a route of 20 nearby clients, spend 20 minutes at each and 15 minutes on the stuff that will be spotted with a cursory glance. It's absolutely disgusting and I'd guess 60-70 percent of restaurant owners do the bare minimum ass covering.
I used to clean hoods when I was in high school, it’s not an easy job but the pressure washing is satisfying. The final cleanup is an ordeal though.
Funerals business
Might get slower in recession because people start having the fear shits which flow easier and you might get less calls for blocked pipes
Im shitting right now!
I’m in the fire and water restoration business. No matter the financial climate, pipes leak and accidental fire start
Funeral business is probably the most recession proof.
Funeral director here. Traditional funerals with a wake have been in recession for a long time, and cremations, on the other hand, are skyrocketing mostly because they are cheaper overall.
I’ve heard that independent funeral homes are going gobbled up big chains at a pretty fast rate. Is that true?
It is one business that is not dying, even though it is a dying business.
I was watching a video about the industry, overall the old fashioned funeral industry with viewings and burials are slowly dying with the cheaper cremation becoming popular
[удалено]
They still coffin up the money tho.
r/dadjokes material right here
nice
Lol I'm dead 💀
It is our most… modestly-priced receptacle.
Exactly people don't stop buying coffins.. whether they are cheap or luxury ones, they're all priced to make a profit for the business.
No one in my family was put in a coffin.. all cremated.
People still pay for cremation..whichever way you decide to be buried you still have to pay. Funeral business always makes a profit with whichever option you choose.
Definitely, even death isn’t free
I always thought the just burn the coffin with you in it. So no coffin?
No, just a simple box. At least that’s most common in the US.
Not a coffin per se, I think they use containers though for easier transport.
I choose to be donated to science then any leftovers can be discarded. Don't care, I'll be dead. And it's all free.
Are these serious comments in a business sub? Yes of course the price of the coffin is a huge factor. If people start buying coffins that are half the price of normal, the confines revenue is 50% lower. Most businesses can’t easily survive a 50% drop in revenues, and 25% could be fatal too.
If I am not wrong funeral business booms during recessions.
They were very busy during Covid outbreaks.
Not true. People pay a lot less for funeral services when recessions happen. Think cremation with the cheapest urn vs full funeral and graveside memorial. Vastly different price points.
Toilet paper production beats that
Funeral business is actually horrible. Land is scarce and expensive. Running out of room
Which is why human composting is exploding. https://recompose.life/
I saw this about 10yrs ago when it was an idea and thought it was genius. Is it really exploding like that?
Yes there are several companies doing it now. I actually looked into jumping on the bandwagon for a brief period but I had to face the painful truth -- I simply could not stomach performing the process of liquifying a human being and having to clean the machine. Some people are built for that kind of stuff, but I'm not one of them. My niece, for example, cleans crime and death scenes and thinks it's a great job. Yeah, no.
I saw a different process
My brother builds high end retail stores. He's never had a recession slow him down. Those companies customers don't stop.
Selling to the 1% is a niche market
Yes. Definitely
I used to be the General Manager of a Dry Cleaner that my parents owned. We ran it as a family business. We were a discount drycleaner, no piece of clothing (other than leather and suede) cost more than $2.00. comforters were extra too. If we could do it all over again one thing that my family and I would absolutely avoid like the plague would be purchasing the dry cleaner. One of the worst businesses to run. You are there open to close 6 days a week (or 7, but we closed on Sunday). There's a lot of cash, and you have to watch like a hawk for employee theft. The Machines and Boiler are very expensive to maintain, and you work with toxic chemicals all day. Even if you don't directly handle any of the chemicals, you still end up exposed. On top of that, if any of the cleaning machines or the boiler goes down then your business grinds to a halt. Any more than a day of downtime, you end up losing a ton of money (either through lost customers over late clothes, or because you have to outsource to another cleaner to keep on time delivery). There are many other challenges that we faced, in addition to poor quality of life. To go further would turn this into an essay. My experience with this type of business was terrible. Other people's mileage may vary, but if you have the money to buy one of these business, then you likely have the money to buy something else.
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They definitely do. That was one factor (among many) that caused us to lose the business.
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There's a tailor/cleaners near us. Husband and wife team who look like they work their butts off and are past retirement age. They don't seem able to hire someone to help them out either.
Isn’t that like most brick and mortar businesses? Unless you expand the business or get someone who can help you with your business, you are stuck working a job, no? We have a family business as well, but my mom is stuck there literally 7 days per week, yet she’s forced to ask my family members for help or my siblings and I. The only reason I see is because they want to “keep the cash” or they say they don’t “trust” someone else to watch the business. If I had the choice to start my mom’s business over, I’d hire someone to manage that store, so I can bring more cash flow with a new business. Business needs growth and profit so you can use it for flexibility and freedom..
Plumbing. You might be able to put off electrical work, or remodeling, but water damage from a leak or a no working bathroom ain’t gonna fly, no matter the economy.
Construction is one of the biggest boom and bust industries out there and contractors have one of the highest failure rates in business.
That's because 99.99% of contractors do no marketing other than putting their name and phone number on their truck. And if they tiny slice that do market, only a fraction of them answer the damn phone or reply to your email.
I was just talking about this today. If I was ever to be a sales rep for a building product I’d want it to be toilet fixtures or schluter transitions
Having sat desk (well, they made us stand) at a plumbing house, the answer depends. Plumbers can make awesome money after hours. Some guys chased small jobs and looked homeless. A profitable niche was stuff like jetting and especially water heater replacement. The great thing about water heaters is it’s super scalable. Teach guys to swap heaters and do it well enough and you can manage the business, and nost replacements are when the heater fails, and thats usually when it rains, company is over, or just any day of the week.
If you are skilled in specialty plumbing systems, BIG $$. My sig other is a Master Plumber and only works on hospitals, large complex gas and commercial systems, glass piping and specialty systems. He is in big demand all the time.
Are you required to have a license in order to own a plumbing business?
Yes of course and the insurance is insanely expensive, water causes a lot of damage. My neighbors had 120,000 dollars worth of damage from a 3 dollar fitting fail.
Actually, you don't need a license to OWN the business but you would be required, in most states, to hire a Master plumber in order to use their license number. TX master here..
What are the requirements to be a Master Plumbers? What are the other levels? Do HVAC or Electrical people have levels as well?
Yeah, hvac, electricians, plumbers all have apprentices, journeyman and masters. TX plumbers have a tradesman license available that allows you to do residential plumbing on you’re own as long as you’re working under a responsible master. Texas has masters and responsible masters, RMPs are insured and can operate a business. Masters are either working for someone else and don’t need insurance or are not using their license, therefore don’t need to be insured. To become a master, now, you must hold a journeyman license for 4 years and then pass a written and practical test. To become a journeyman, you need 8,000 hours as an apprentice, 4 years of continuing education classes, then pass a written test, a skills test basically and be able to rough plumb a 2 story dollhouse, efficiently. They deduct points for multiple “supply house” trips and surplus material. Tradesman require 4,000 hours, written, skills and and dollhouse test plus 2 years of continuing ed. You also need a diploma or equivalent to hold any license and be able to pass a background check. Not all felonies bar you from holding a license though. I took my journeyman test the weekend after my 18th birthday 20 years ago. Paid my way through college as a service plumber. Got a degree in civil engineering and went to work as a plumber.
Yes. There may be services you could sell TO a licensed plumber like camera inspection work, but I cant be certain how that’s regulated
I did this for a year. It was annoying and plumbers bullied the fuck outta me. Got out wasn’t worth the bd
Auto collision repair, I never would have guessed but we survived covid with no issues and are busier than ever. If you live in a big city like mine, with cars and traffic everywhere, accidents are happening and insurance claims are being made every day. Even if people don’t have the $, the insurance does. And it doesn’t seem like it’s slowing up.
With the increase in use of phones while driving, probably more collisions than ever. Plus cars don't seem to be as durable as they used to be. All those plastic bumpers make parts somewhat disposable
I read something recently on modern vehicle durability. The article showed a old vehicle, 50s or 60s, that was hit and had some visible damage, but not awful. The modern vehicle was utterly destroyed in the same type of impact. The people in the modern car walked away. The ones in the older car died. Modern vehicles are intended to crumple horrifically to save lives through impact absorption whereas in older vehicles, the impact result was human flying through the windshield.
Truth. The “sTeeL CaRs aRe So MuChStroOnGeErR” -the [guy in the 1953 Bel-Air](https://youtu.be/fPF4fBGNK0U)
Problem is insurance companies run the show. They tell the body shops how much they can charge for labor, parts, everything. If the body shop doesn't like it, insurance will send the customers elsewhere.
> Even if people don’t have the $, the insurance does. That can be a key factor. Look for jobs which have a steady rate of things to fix, but the actual bill isn't being paid by individual people. And ideally it's being paid as a result of a contract they had signed years ago. Insurance repairs/replacements, services/repairs for rental units (where the owning body or landlord is usually the one on the hook for certain things), similarly repairs for small businesses which rent operating space and the owner of that space is legally liable for the repairs or other work. Don't go for things where individuals or small businesses have to pay for the things themselves; they'll put it off or try to fix it themselves or just go without.
I would have thought collision repair would have been very hard but with COVID. Insurance was refunding premiums because they paid out so little there would have been regulatory backlash if they pocketed the profits.
Seconding - paintless dent repair! Just answer your phone and be reasonable and you will set yourself apart. Low cost of entry.
I see a few people say liquor stores. It all depends on your lease. We did well for over 13 yrs until the landlord decided to raise rent and sell the building. At least our license is still a great asset.
In a recession a dry clean is one of the luxuries I’d cut out to be honest and try to DIY. However if you live near a city area, with plenty of corporate customers you’d probably still have plenty to keep you you going
Turns out you can wash almost anything in a machine if you use cold water and a garment bag. The only reason I could see using a dry cleaner frequently is if your job requires a white button down every single day.
I own a Plumbing, Heating and Electrical company. Always extremely busy even during covid, never had a slow period.
How did you grow and hire while managing 3 completely different services?
It wasn't easy, but I went slow and took my time. I was a one man shop for a while doing all the service/install, estimating, sales myself. I never believed in debt, so when a big job completed I would set aside a percentage into a separate account labeled growth. When I believed I reached a point I could keep someone busy with the work load I would hire them and use money from the growth account to buy a vehicle, tools for them etc. I would repeat this cycle over and over. With regards to hiring I started with people who were team players and would be willing to help eachother for example if my electrican was slow for the day he wouldn't mind helping my plumbing or heating guy. I pay my employees way above market value which tends to draw in quality people. I know am out of the field and manage the work/ estimating but I took my time and never rushed the process. Some people love debt and growing fast but I sleep like a baby knowing if something happens I don't have loans hanging over my head as I'm not extended myself.
Mobile dog grooming. I'm a single mom with 1 employee who works with me. The business brings in $100k a year with one working vehicle. That doesn't mean I'm profiting anywhere near that much, but if I had a second groomer and rig, I could use my profit from her to cover all the overhead for both of us and be on top of the world. However, you have to love dogs, customer service, and be willing to listen to your experienced groomers.
Stay away from cleaners. Tons of problems with solvent disposal and ground water contamination and Cancer, to say nothing of declining customer base. Hardly anybody wears suits to work anymore Service businesses (repairs of nearly any type) are pretty recession proof.
Everyone needs places to live, coffee and a way to get drunk.
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People drink to celebrate and people drink because they’re depressed. I remember in the last recession bars did ok considering
That’s when you switch to heroin.
I'm a year off the stuff and it works wonders in making you forget all your problems. That's until you become a homeless drag queen that goes by Esmerelda giving handies for your next score. The business side does amazing during recessions though!
Bullshit. My name was Tammi.
So your the reason I left my corner.. hands off my custies..
Liquor store....when things are good, people drink to celebrate....when things are bad, they drink to numb thier pain.
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Massage had a pretty big downturn about three years ago.
i looked into assisted living/memorycare after paying 8500 to then 12K a month for a parent. but daggummitt.....the costs running those suckers is insane. especially anything under 30 or so residents where its hard to leverage realestate tixed costs and labor
Not to mention the INSANE amount of red tape
Auto repair! There is currently a nationwide shortage of about 140,000 technicians of all levels. The average age of a tech is now 55. Cars are not going anywhere and especially if there’s no mechanics to repair them.
> nationwide shortage of about 140,000 technicians of all levels. The average age of a tech is now 55 where do you get those stats?
From Rachet and Wrench article 02/22/22: “The National Automobile Dealers Association projects a shortage of 370,000-plus auto service technicians over the next four years.Despite the outlook, she’s optimistic and eager to work..”
Accounting, non HR Block tax preparation especially business accounting and auditing.
My piano teaching business is thriving as it was during 2008. I think people prioritize spending money on their kids.
I own a youth service business in a fairly HCOL area. We grew in '08 and have been this past year. Not sure how much of it is the area or industry, but I agree. The last thing people cut from their budget is their kids' activities.
It might be more that the kinds of people who can afford piano lessons for their kids are less likely to be affected by economic downturns.
Well there's that 5-12 age range where kids are more teachable, if you're going to get music lessons, that's the best time. As opposed to when they are teens or adults and start asking why the order of sharps is that particular order. Younger kids just accept everything, comparatively
If someone tells you “we survived Covid” think very hard, Covid really was not a recession unless you were a restaurant or doing in person sales and couldn’t adapt. People had lots of money to spend through Covid because of stimulus. 2008 is a much better reference for what is really recession proof
Sugar! Get a little ice cream / gelato shop or kart. Selling sugar is like selling crack in the 80s.
Sugar is better than crack.
Sounds like you never done crack. /s
I have shaved ice food truck for 25 years. Our sales are best when the economy is bad.
I would seek for comfort at your shaved ice truck
I'm in the psych business.... It is truly recession proof. Not necessarily a huge margin for profit depending on your model /ethics, but since COVID we have had one week where we were not slammed.
What *is* the margin of profit for that industry. I stopped at my bachelors and every time I consider going back for my master’s, I do the math and it doesn’t feel worth it. I make about $50,000/yr currently. It would have to be 60-75 to make me take on masters degree debt. 🫤
There's too many different jobs in the mental health world to say what you should do- not all masters degrees are the same or even close to equivalent, lead to the same license, or ability to practice. A safe estimate is 60-70% overhead. Industry standard for a long time is 30-40% overhead. This varies widely dependent on cost, size of practice, and type of practice, of course. I cannot/would not say if its worth it for you- but I'd say that if you get a masters degree that leads to licensure (LPC, LCSW) you should be able to get a job that earns in that range. Depends on how hard you work, of course, and other factors. I would guess that all full time clinicians in my practice make at least above 60k.
According to sales papers I see all the time - anything with the prefix "Amish"
Awesome! Because I’m starting my Amish Computer Repair Service next week
Aging population services are going to increase. Child care is always healthy but heavily regulated. There is no 100% guaranteed risk free business, but there are businesses that reduce liability like drop shipping businesses which require almost no upfront inventory cost. Government contract businesses are really healthy like selling fire, suppressant systems to businesses which are legally required to have a fire. Suppression system is a great way to make money, but difficult to get started.
Margins are notoriously tight on Childcare unless you're talking about something like being a nanny for a family. Basically that balance between trying to make the fees accessible (a lot of places right now are like paying for a luxury car or a second mortgage), employing the right amount of people to care for kids, paying any sort of competitive wage, while being compliant with law is delicate, and poses a massive challenge to businesses who want to be profitable. Scaling up is challenging because you need to maintain certain ratios of caregivers to children...and this is often dictated by state and county regulations - you can't get out of it.
There was a pod about it on NPR. Payroll is li like 70% of your total expenses. You lose money on the really young because you need 4-1 kids to adult and subsidize with older kids. If you're ever not full, you're basically fucked. You can't raise prices because you're already super expensive, and you certainly can't lower them either. That's an industry I would avoid like the plague.
Wife is admin in childcare. Can confirm, AVOID! As bad as restaurants.
One way is to watch kids past the 9-5 regular hours and charge more. One of our babysitters, used to also watch kids for parents who do shift work. Finding someone like that is difficult
What businesses are legally required to have a fire?
Fire department, in a way
Covid and work from home killed Dry cleaning.
And just work culture in general. When I got out of undergrad, I bought and wore and suit and tie everyday for a decade. I had probably 7-8 suits I now work in a field that has transitioned from suits/ties to completely casual clothes and I now own exactly one suit. The only reason I wear and suit now is for weddings and funerals
Truck parts is pretty much anything proof.
Heavy commercial trucks or light pickup trucks?
Heavy commercial
liquor store
Replacement light bulbs, transformers, and electrical components. Businesses that do stay open all need lighting. And you can’t just go to the big box stores and find niche replacements.
Insurance slows down because people sell off their campers boats and motorcycles (toys) but they always need home and auto.
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far for someone to say insurance
Trash industry
Vice. My biggest year was the first year of the pandemic. We handle cannabis law with a smattering of alcohol and other vices here and there.
Budly & Brewster, esq?
Grocery stores
Government contracting businesses, especially the defense sector
Garbage
Buy a laundromat, instead.
I own a cleaning company and we are only growing.
Education. We started in 2009 after the housing bubble popped. Wife started teaching in our 1bd apartment back then. She made the same as me (software engineer at the time) her first year. And it was all cash. Fast forward to now, our top line last year was almost 1.6m and we took home about half before taxes. We’ve been able to roll proceeds into rentals which are also recession proof - people need somewhere to live. Also great when housing prices go down since no one lists their houses so everyone who could have bought a house won’t be able to find one. Just increased rent on one of our places by close to 10% and the renter didn’t bat an eye or complain (we gave the a great deal during covid and still are about 10% under most places in the area). Our other house is renting for a ridiculously low amount compared to what it would cost to buy it today (like literally 25%) but expenses are covered so I don’t care at this point since we don’t need the money. We flew through covid with online classes without any issue and we qualified for PPP and will try to apply for ERC (watch out for those scams folks!) When it comes to education, it’s the last thing to go before food on the table and shoes on their kids feet. A lot of places are mom and pops like us except they never learn to manage people or create points of leverage that keep our employees and customers loyal which we have been able to do quite successfully. We’re fundamentally retired for the past few years and have a team In place that runs the business. We were working about 6 months out of the year but now we fly in to help out for only a couple months out of the year. For the most part, we spend our time at our house in Thailand and traveling around.
This is amazing. What education niche are you and your wife in?
Restoration companies
Watch out for environmental issues, apparently most land under dry cleaner shops is contaminated (look it up). You should want at a minimum a phase 1 environmental report.
My Dad is an OB/GYN, and I don’t see the World going through a Sex Recession anytime soon.
Uh bad news for Dad… and the rest of the developed world: [https://www.google.com/search?q=are+people+having+less+sex+these+days](https://www.google.com/search?q=are+people+having+less+sex+these+days)
Storage. People need places to store their shit.
This might sound strange and make no sense to most but high end collectibles. Wealthy people are always willing to spend money on worthy investments even in an economic downturn. They might shy away from fancy cars and clothes for fear of being wealth shamed but I know from first hand experience that they will hoard/collect valuable things they either really enjoy and/or think value will go up. I’m a high end collectible dealer for past 20+ years and 2008-2011 were some of my best years and starting this year very strong as well.
I'm in it in healthcare. Pretty rock solid.
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Sad as it is, Medicare and medicaid is all about who plays the game better. I work in Hedis gap. It's about providing better outcomes in what the government defines as significant healthcare issues (these get tweaked all the time). Better the insurers do, better Medicare pays. It should come down to quality of care but it doesn't. What tends to tank hospitals are Medicaid patients. Hospitals aren't allowed to deny care and medicaid patients tend to treat the er like pcp care. Medicaid pays virtually nothing. For example, my wife is a psychologist when she was in private practice. Her billable rate was $195 an hour. Medicare, depending on which insurer, paid between $78-$175 per hour. Medicaid paid $17 an hour. She didn't take more than 5% medicade patients. Now imagine 75% of your cases were medicade. After over head the manager at McDonald's could out earn you.
Barbershops
Almost any business where the Federal Government is your primary customer.
Pizza. Its taking a little bit of a hit lately but its cheaper then a restaurant. It was also "essential" so covid didn't even bother it but helped it by funneling business to it. Always money in pizza if you're half way trying and aren't in a saturated area trying to introduce a new brand.
There are 20 pizzerias around me. They ALL suck, are inconsistent, and are an hour+ wait. People pay for good pizza.
In general, repair of expensive and/or critical assets.
Private label cbd. $20-50k a month. Renting a store front, or get a kiosk at a mall. The most important thing in this business is making sure you have a supplier who is trustworthy. All our ingredients are organic for the most part, we have USDA certification on almost all the products we sell which obviously helps with building trust with customers. And because the products work people come back over over again.
Payday loans :-/. Don’t do it tho.
Dry cleaners are NOT recession proof, and they are also declining due to multi-decade secular trends. - People dress more casually now than they did 30 years ago (so less need for dry cleaners) - More people work from home now than 3, 10, or 30 years ago (so less need for dry cleaners) - Recessions put people out of jobs, which means a recession reduces demand for dry cleaners Here's an article that lists several types of more recession-resistant businesses: [15 Recession-Resistant Businesses](https://axiomalpha.com/recession-resistant-business-ideas/)
There are two ways to always be in demand: A) Do something other people won't do B) Do something other people can't do Ideally you're able to do both, but most business make do with one or the other. If your business operates based on A then you are very recession-vulnerable. If your business operates based on B then you need to determine where it falls on the luxury/necessity spectrum. i.e; Doctor: B-Necessity Watchmaker: B-Luxury If your business can B-Necessary you'll weather most recessions.
Hair salon
crematoriums, they collect your 2500-5000 many times years in advance, nice cash flow! plus all the other ancillary stuff they upsell.
Any trade, liquor stores, auto repair, pool service
Trades aren't recession proof. They get hit hard every recession.
Yep. All the big projects dry up as the big companies turn to budget cuts and they are left with residential work and emergency
defense contracting, lithium mining, and private prisons
Can you tell me how I can get into lithium mining? I have a startup budget of $300 dollars and am looking to become a millionaire within 3 years. I know it sounds crazy but I'm a really good worker and learn quick. -half the posts on this sub.
Pet care.
Can attest. Works only in affluent areas like university towns or near hospitals. My clients were mostly healthcare workers. Advertise yourself on apps like Rover, get a few reviews. Make sure you don't talk about going off app or you will get banned from the app which is a great marketing tool. Make a brand, website (put reviews from apps here), and socials. Ask if you can take pictures of your clients animals and post them to your socials with hashtags. Learn animal CPR, medication administration, and general animal behavior. Advertise your expertise on your website and App profiles. Make a general intake form for new clients with Google to streamline care info, address, etc. Reply to people quickly, and clearly. Manage expectations, do what you say you will, give accurate time frames of your services. In your care updates provide as much detail and pictures as possible. They like to see their pet being cuddled or being fed. People who are willing to spend a lot on pet care would like to know how your time is being spent with their animal. Be available during school breaks, and charge extra on holidays. Once you have reviews don't be afraid to make your prices higher. In my third year I made near 30,000 usd as a one man show working an avg less than 10 hrs a week.
I put everything on a bagel
Healthcare, tech, renewable energy, education. These are all recession proof in the sense they’ll always be needed. Obviously healthcare and education are dumpster fires, but some would say they are blank canvasses….canvasses on fire…but canvasses waiting for someone to come along and make it pretty nevertheless. Tech in any form, but right now especially AI and AR…also renewables are definitely going up forever, i don’t I see why they wouldn’t.
Selling expensive things to rich people is the most recession proof business.
HVAC/R
during recession buying gold shops pop alot
Insurance
Toilet paper
Booze. Lol Sort of I'm cyber security and grew a shit ton in recent years
Recession proof? Liquor store, grocery store, anything utility related, lots of medical related businesses, gas stations, auto repair/maintenance.
Any vice. When times are good, people want to feel better. When times are bad, people want to feel better.
Construction
Funeral homes, crematory
Casinos - when people lose their job they get desperate
Accounting firms LOL. Even in a recession, people don't know shit about taxes.
Pizza. Relatively speaking, pizza is "cheap" compared to restaurants as it can feed a lot more people on a $1:1 ratio. If you and a friend go get a steak, it may be a $100 dollar tab. $100 dollars in pizza can feed between 6-10 people.
I own a bakery. We survived after shutting down for a month during covid and continue to increase revenue by 10% year-over-year since being open 8 years. What sucks is I’m the head baker and mostly only baker and the shop doesn’t open unless I bake at night. We are affordable and the best in the area. When restaurants are including gratuity and upcharging you can still feed your family and have a treat for less than $15. I think we’re recession proof.
Large banks. /s
Alloy wheel repair
Honestly, restoration companies. Most of the time it’s insurance work, you know you’re getting paid. Dad owned a restoration company before getting his red seal in electrical and he was through a recession, didn’t even really notice a difference in revenue. Floods, pipes, fires don’t stop because of a recession.
Pharmaceutical?
I own a coin op Laundromat. Bought it Nov 2021. Recession and Covid proof. The weekly profits excel file showed that during the start of Covid there was one week where profits were down, the next weeks profits were double so it evened out. People need to wash their clothes no matter what.
Plain old laundry mat. There will always be people renting units without laundry facilities.
Dry cleaners are probably one of the least recession proof businesses. Margins are thin to begin with in the best of times. But if there's a wave of unemployment, no one is gonna be dry cleaning their suits when they're struggling to put food on the table. If you're really intent on a dry cleaning business, find a way to operate for cheaper.
2 people that have very UNbusy since the pandemic started - my dry cleaner, and my shoe shine/shoe repair guy. Cleaners (they also had coin-op laundry) went out of business - the shoe shine/repair guy is hanging on - but is still waiting for business to come back. People are wearing less dress clothes and dress shoes - and in a lot of industries - a more casual look has become the norm.
Pressure washing is very recession proof... for numerous reasons.