Unfortunately, the economy has taken a recent slide and this has had an impact on businesses everywhere. Businesses both small and large are laying people off to try to save money, and they are cutting costs wherever they can so that they can survive. Unfortunately, many of them are also closing down altogether. This meltdown has had a significant trickle-down effect that affects everyone, from individuals to business owners of every type and size, small or large.
When a person loses his/her job, or has had to take a cut in pay, or forgo a bonus he is now forced to cut his expenses. His income no longer is sufficient to cover normal expenses, let alone extras. He may have been planning on adding a new deck, painting the interior of his home, have a tree removed from his yard or adding a paved area to his driveway. These things, all of value to the homeowner and to the value of the home that were being done by people, are projects they are now putting on hold.
Among the first to be affected by the trickledown effect of our country's financial crisis are contractors. Contractors ordinarily depend on the type of business that is now considered by many as discretionary income. When people are short on money, they are going to pay their mortgage and feed their family first. They are not going to have a deck added, a roof repaired, their house painted that is unless it is absolutely unavoidable.
Because so much of what they do is "discretionary" in terms of customer expenditures, contractors often are among the first to feel the economy take a downturn, regardless of the reason for the downturn. And that means, of course, that contractors may have difficulty finding work. They can continue with their normal job pursuits in relation to work like networking, advertising, and so on, but they may see previously immediate responses delayed or met with silence altogether. Customers become harder to find, if they can be found at all.
Even if someone has not been affected directly by a bad economy, he or she may cut back as well. It is a natural tendency to cut back during times when things are in short supply. These people, too, consciously or unconsciously prepare themselves for a time when they may not be able to have every option available to them. Because they want to be "safe," they hang onto their money and bank it for a rainy day.
Simply put, this is happening in every sector of our economy, all across our country. Spending is down everywhere, and people are cutting back even on basic necessities like household needs, food and clothing. And with these types of budget tightening going on, "extra" expenditures like painting the house or adding an addition certainly are put on the back burner at least for the present time.
As the number of customers who are looking for contractors decreases, competition between contractors for each available customer becomes more intense. Where once a contractor could get his asking price, he now must lower it to even get in the ballpark with the other contractors.
And because consumers are feeling a financial pinch, even those who do hire contractors are becoming more cautious and selective with the contractors they choose. Previously, for example, they may have gotten just a bid or two for a particular job, but now they may be getting three, four, or five. Comparison-shopping is a common tactic as financially pressed consumers strive to find the best deal.
All of these things make it very difficult for contractors to find work. It can be so frustrating, because they seem to be thwarted from every direction. And as income drops for contractors, advertising costs, too, must go down; this, in turn, only complicates things further. Indeed, contractors are among the hardest hit in the job market during these most difficult economic times. - 23802
When a person loses his/her job, or has had to take a cut in pay, or forgo a bonus he is now forced to cut his expenses. His income no longer is sufficient to cover normal expenses, let alone extras. He may have been planning on adding a new deck, painting the interior of his home, have a tree removed from his yard or adding a paved area to his driveway. These things, all of value to the homeowner and to the value of the home that were being done by people, are projects they are now putting on hold.
Among the first to be affected by the trickledown effect of our country's financial crisis are contractors. Contractors ordinarily depend on the type of business that is now considered by many as discretionary income. When people are short on money, they are going to pay their mortgage and feed their family first. They are not going to have a deck added, a roof repaired, their house painted that is unless it is absolutely unavoidable.
Because so much of what they do is "discretionary" in terms of customer expenditures, contractors often are among the first to feel the economy take a downturn, regardless of the reason for the downturn. And that means, of course, that contractors may have difficulty finding work. They can continue with their normal job pursuits in relation to work like networking, advertising, and so on, but they may see previously immediate responses delayed or met with silence altogether. Customers become harder to find, if they can be found at all.
Even if someone has not been affected directly by a bad economy, he or she may cut back as well. It is a natural tendency to cut back during times when things are in short supply. These people, too, consciously or unconsciously prepare themselves for a time when they may not be able to have every option available to them. Because they want to be "safe," they hang onto their money and bank it for a rainy day.
Simply put, this is happening in every sector of our economy, all across our country. Spending is down everywhere, and people are cutting back even on basic necessities like household needs, food and clothing. And with these types of budget tightening going on, "extra" expenditures like painting the house or adding an addition certainly are put on the back burner at least for the present time.
As the number of customers who are looking for contractors decreases, competition between contractors for each available customer becomes more intense. Where once a contractor could get his asking price, he now must lower it to even get in the ballpark with the other contractors.
And because consumers are feeling a financial pinch, even those who do hire contractors are becoming more cautious and selective with the contractors they choose. Previously, for example, they may have gotten just a bid or two for a particular job, but now they may be getting three, four, or five. Comparison-shopping is a common tactic as financially pressed consumers strive to find the best deal.
All of these things make it very difficult for contractors to find work. It can be so frustrating, because they seem to be thwarted from every direction. And as income drops for contractors, advertising costs, too, must go down; this, in turn, only complicates things further. Indeed, contractors are among the hardest hit in the job market during these most difficult economic times. - 23802
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