Front page headline South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Today, March 24, 2009
“BANKS PLAN, HOUSING SEND MARKET SOARING – Dow Jones Industrials jump almost 500 points after Treasury lays out plans for “toxic” assets.”
Associated Press Washington, DC: Today, March 24, 2009
“EXISTING HOME SALES MAKE SURPRISE GAINS – Sales of previously occupied homes jumped unexpectedly in February by the largest amount in nearly six years . . . The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes grew 5.1%, to an annual rate of 4.72 million last month, from 4.49 million in January.”
Also in today’s local news in South Florida, another headline shouted “HOUSING SALES SPIKE 33% IN FEBRUARY – Palm Beach County’s median home price down; bargain-hunters, cash buyers snap up deals.” With 30-year mortgage rates dropping to below 5% now, this is also contributing to the spurt in home buying around the country.
More good news: The national price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. was below $2 on March 1st, compared with over $4/gallon last June; a whopping drop of better than 50%.
Even good news in the struggling auto industry: While the auto industry as a whole is suffering, Hyundai is one of three automakers actually experiencing a sales increase in 2009, due in no small part to its cre
ative “Assurance Program.” The Hyundai Assurance Program allows new owners to return their Hyundai within one year if they lose their job, which helps put those prospective buyers at ease with their purchase. It recently upgraded its promotion to “Assurance PLUS.” The Plus means that owners who suffer a disability or lose their job will get payment relief for 90 days or three car payments.
On March 19th AutoNation Inc., the largest U.S. vehicle dealership chain, announced it will cover six months of car loan payments if you lose your job. This incentive is free with any new or used AutoNation vehicle, either purchased or leased. Monthly payments up to $500 will be covered during the six-month period of involuntary unemployment under AutoNation’s plan. Clearly, even in an industry begging for government bailouts, there are bright spots for those companies that choose not to participate in the current recession by taking a positive, creative approach to their business.
There is even some good news in the labor market: While overall unemployment in the U.S. was at 8.1% at the end of February, some sectors actually saw an increase in employment numbers. Healthcare, for example, added an additional 27,000 jobs last month. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people employed in education and healthcare increased from 18,932,000 at the end of the third quarter of 2008 to 19,149,000 as of February 28th. The U.S. government added 29,000 new jobs in that same period.
In a recent survey of 3,200 hiring managers and human resource professionals conducted by CareerBuilder.com, while 16% said they planned to reduce their number of fulltime employees, 14% said they intended to increase their number of employees and 56% said their numbers would stay the same in 2009. Thirteen percent said they weren’t sure how their hiring plans would be impacted. Of the companies interviewed for the survey, 66% said they intend to increase their employees’ salaries in 2009. In fact, 19% said they intend to increase their recruitment spending this year.
The bad news is that 12.47 million people are unemployed. However, the good news is that 141.75 million people in this country ARE employed. The glass is certainly more than half full folks! Let the other guys dwell on the negative; you need to concentrate and take advantage of the positive.
There may NEVER be a better time to grow your residential cleaning business: No industry is completely recession proof, but your industry has proven time and time again – and based on reports I’m hearing from our customers of House Cleaning Biz 101, the residential cleaning industry is certainly recession resistant. Homes get dirty in good economic times as well as in economic downturns. Dual income and professional households hire you to clean their home because they want and need your service. Let’s not focus on the 8% or 10% (or whatever that unemployment figure ends up peaking at); let’s concentrate on going after the other 90% of the population that’s out there!
While others in this industry may be pulling in their horns, you should be filling the gap they’re creating by continuing to keep your company’s name in the public eye through your marketing and advertising efforts. And if you follow the marketing and public relations guidelines outlined in House Cleaning Biz 101’s CD 4, you can continue growing and prospering in this or any economy.
“BANKS PLAN, HOUSING SEND MARKET SOARING – Dow Jones Industrials jump almost 500 points after Treasury lays out plans for “toxic” assets.”
Associated Press Washington, DC: Today, March 24, 2009
“EXISTING HOME SALES MAKE SURPRISE GAINS – Sales of previously occupied homes jumped unexpectedly in February by the largest amount in nearly six years . . . The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes grew 5.1%, to an annual rate of 4.72 million last month, from 4.49 million in January.”
Also in today’s local news in South Florida, another headline shouted “HOUSING SALES SPIKE 33% IN FEBRUARY – Palm Beach County’s median home price down; bargain-hunters, cash buyers snap up deals.” With 30-year mortgage rates dropping to below 5% now, this is also contributing to the spurt in home buying around the country.
More good news: The national price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. was below $2 on March 1st, compared with over $4/gallon last June; a whopping drop of better than 50%.
Even good news in the struggling auto industry: While the auto industry as a whole is suffering, Hyundai is one of three automakers actually experiencing a sales increase in 2009, due in no small part to its cre
ative “Assurance Program.” The Hyundai Assurance Program allows new owners to return their Hyundai within one year if they lose their job, which helps put those prospective buyers at ease with their purchase. It recently upgraded its promotion to “Assurance PLUS.” The Plus means that owners who suffer a disability or lose their job will get payment relief for 90 days or three car payments.On March 19th AutoNation Inc., the largest U.S. vehicle dealership chain, announced it will cover six months of car loan payments if you lose your job. This incentive is free with any new or used AutoNation vehicle, either purchased or leased. Monthly payments up to $500 will be covered during the six-month period of involuntary unemployment under AutoNation’s plan. Clearly, even in an industry begging for government bailouts, there are bright spots for those companies that choose not to participate in the current recession by taking a positive, creative approach to their business.
There is even some good news in the labor market: While overall unemployment in the U.S. was at 8.1% at the end of February, some sectors actually saw an increase in employment numbers. Healthcare, for example, added an additional 27,000 jobs last month. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people employed in education and healthcare increased from 18,932,000 at the end of the third quarter of 2008 to 19,149,000 as of February 28th. The U.S. government added 29,000 new jobs in that same period.
In a recent survey of 3,200 hiring managers and human resource professionals conducted by CareerBuilder.com, while 16% said they planned to reduce their number of fulltime employees, 14% said they intended to increase their number of employees and 56% said their numbers would stay the same in 2009. Thirteen percent said they weren’t sure how their hiring plans would be impacted. Of the companies interviewed for the survey, 66% said they intend to increase their employees’ salaries in 2009. In fact, 19% said they intend to increase their recruitment spending this year.
The bad news is that 12.47 million people are unemployed. However, the good news is that 141.75 million people in this country ARE employed. The glass is certainly more than half full folks! Let the other guys dwell on the negative; you need to concentrate and take advantage of the positive.
There may NEVER be a better time to grow your residential cleaning business: No industry is completely recession proof, but your industry has proven time and time again – and based on reports I’m hearing from our customers of House Cleaning Biz 101, the residential cleaning industry is certainly recession resistant. Homes get dirty in good economic times as well as in economic downturns. Dual income and professional households hire you to clean their home because they want and need your service. Let’s not focus on the 8% or 10% (or whatever that unemployment figure ends up peaking at); let’s concentrate on going after the other 90% of the population that’s out there!
While others in this industry may be pulling in their horns, you should be filling the gap they’re creating by continuing to keep your company’s name in the public eye through your marketing and advertising efforts. And if you follow the marketing and public relations guidelines outlined in House Cleaning Biz 101’s CD 4, you can continue growing and prospering in this or any economy.
Posts
