At the time of writing this lesson (February/March 2009), the United States and the entire world are suffering from an unprecedented economic crisis. In this Lesson, we will discuss the current economic crisis and how it provides an amazing opportunity for multi-tier Internet Marketing.
The Current Crisis
Unless you have had your head buried in the sand for the last couple of months, you are very well aware that the United States and, indeed, the entire world, is in the grip of a profound economic crisis. Large banks are failing and being bailed out with government money. Stock markets have suffered record losses and are extremely volatile. The auto industry is on the verge of bankruptcy and collapse. Credit for individuals and businesses has frozen. Jobs are disappearing in unprecedented numbers. Huge numbers of families are losing their homes.
No one claims to fully understand the current economic crisis or to fully understand what caused it. The U.S. approach to alleviating the crisis has been to “bailout’ the large banks by buying up their questionable assets with government funds. Similarly, the auto industry is being bailed out. A huge new stimulus package to get the economy flowing again is also being proposed.
The experts’ approach to fixing things is to “stimulate” the economy and to increase confidence. They attempt to stimulate the economy by adding money to it, such as in the bailouts and stimulus packages. They attempt to increase confidence in a variety of ways.
Reality Vs. Confidence
It is helpful to distinguish the concrete problems from the “confidence” problems. If you have lost your job and do not have any money, you indeed have a concrete problem! The way to “stimulate” the economy as far as you are concerned is to give you a job or at least an affordable business opportunity so you can make some money to spend. (Job creation is, indeed, proposed as the key element of the long-term fix to the economic problem.) On the other hand, if you have a good job, but are hoarding your money for fear of losing your job, that is a “confidence” problem, at least from the economists’ point of view.
If you have a huge, gas-guzzling vehicle, then you have a concrete problem (albeit not nearly as bad as being unemployed). The oil needed to fuel that vehicle has become a limited resource and it has become costly to our environment to continue burning oil. On the other hand, If you have the money or credit, but are hesitating to buy a new vehicle for fear of lack of gas or future income to make the payments, then you have a confidence problem (and not without good reason).
If you want to buy a new home, but cannot get the bank to finance it, you have a concrete problem. If you can get it financed, but are hesitating for fear you may lose your job or have your income reduced and not be able to pay the mortgage, then the issue is confidence.
Why Confidence Is A Factor In The Economy
For the economy to be strong, we need lots of people doing lots of things to increase production of products and services. For those increases to be practical, however, there has to be demand for those products and services. That is, people have to be able and willing to buy the goods and services before companies will be willing to produce them. If people are able to buy, but do not buy because they lack confidence in their future income, this lack of “confidence” slows down the economy. Companies that could be producing products and services lay off employees and become idle, while consumers who could be using those products and services do without them.
Say you wanted to buy the latest computer with all the bells and whistles. If you did so, your production would increase. If you and several others like you did so, the store you purchased it from would have more income. If you and others did so, the manufacturers of all the parts would have more income. If you and others did so, the software companies writing the pre-installed software would have more income. So would the companies that assembled all the parts and sold the package to you. On the other hand, if you and others like you decided to save your money instead – in case you needed it to pay your mortgage or pay your rising energy bill later – then you would be less productive. If you and others like you decided to save your money instead, then all of the companies mentioned above would have less income. Having less income, these companies would produce less. Having less income, these companies would lay off employees. With more employees laid off, there would be less people able to buy other products and services – thus affecting other companies. And so on it goes.
Why Do We Lack Confidence
Those who lack confidence in the health of our economy and the assurance of their future financial well-being, do so for good reason.
The economic problems we have today were not caused by lack of resources. Although there are some shortages, shortages are not really the problem. There is a shortage of oil. Also, as the number of the people in the world increases, while it’s land surface remains constant, there is a growing ‘shortage’ of real estate also. Neither of these shortages, however, is the cause of our current economic crisis.
While no one can say for sure, it strongly appears that the current economic crisis has been in the making for a while as the result of unsound investing and poor management of the major industries of the world, coupled with government deregulation that allowed them to magnify their mistakes. In short, the major governments and major industries in the world have failed us. We are suffering an economic downturn and economic insecurity as a result. We have lost confidence as a result.
What We Can Do About It
The first thing we can do is to apply something that the large governments and large industries seemed to have totally lost sight of—COMMON SENSE. Let’s take a moment and think about the current situation and what we can do about it from a common sense standpoint.
While the use of oil as a source of energy is becoming impractical (due to shortage and effect on the environment) science and technology offer alternatives. One of the major ways that large governments and large industries have failed us is in not using science and technology to develop alternative sources of energy long before now. That is changing now, however, and a vast market exists for cheap alternative energy. New companies with new ideas will eventually build a thriving energy economy.
In the meantime, though, what can we do to help ourselves get through these hard economic times?
The first answer is that we have to learn to think independently. We cannot simply rely on large governments and large industries to run our lives anymore. We can do a better job ourselves. We, the hard-working people who are involved hands-on in the creation of goods and services, must continue to work hard—but we must start working for ourselves. If we do, WE are the solution to the current economic crises! We didn’t cause it, but we can fix it.
In order to do this, however, we have to understand the importance of independence. We can no longer let multi-national mega-corporations determine what we want and need. We must determine for ourselves what we want and need. By doing this, we greatly enrich our lives in a number of ways. First, it just feels good to make your own choices, not just being an autotron controlled by media advertisement and government rhetoric. Taking charge of your own life, while it takes a little courage and energy, is the most rewarding experience you can have. In short, we simply have to become real.
Next; once we have that independent, take-charge, make-it-real, attitude; we start with ourselves and our close associates to build our own economy. The best way to do that in times like these is with a system like the one the SFI Marketing Group has already created for us—multi-tier, technology-based marketing.
Restoring Confidence
A large part of the current economic crisis, as discussed above, is simply lack of confidence. It will be quite some time before we can restore our confidence in government and industry. But, WE CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE IN OURSELVES! We create that confidence by creating the time and energy to work our businesses. We create that confidence by budgeting our limited resources to invest in our businesses. That is the best possible investment we can make right now. (In fact, many large corporate-type investors have been known to turn their attention to opportunities just like the one we have before us in times like these.) The type of opportunity that our SFI business provides is the type that works best in tough economic times. All it takes is for you to have confidence in yourself and to instill that same confidence in your team. As this confidence grows, OUR economy thrives and grows, notwithstanding the shape of the overall world economy. From the grassroots up, we build a groundswell mini-economy that works just fine for us. Our actions lead to our postive results. Our positive results leads to our prosperity!
Confidence In The Business Model & Management
Gery Carson of the SFI Marketing Group has worked hard over the last several years to build a legitimate business model that works for us. That model has been constantly tested and improved and in January, 2009, has reached yet another pinnacle with the introduction of TripleClicks.com. TripleClicks.com is destined to become a major brand on the Internet. We will make it so. The company has a tested and proven, time-honored track record. (I personally have been an SFI Affiliate for over a decade.) While Gery Carson has never been timid in making needed changes and adjustments, he has been extraordinarily consistent in his goal to provide the best possible home-based business opportunity available at any given time. The company is sound.
The SFI business model is sound as well. As discussed before in this course, MLMs which base their model on the sale of over-priced products (that no one will buy without the added promise of riches from in turn selling the product to others) are not sound. Such opportunities are based on greed. Such opportunities are mathematically unsound. On the other hand, when an opportunity provides multiple products and services for you to promote, all reasonably priced and with much of the commissions being earned from retail sales; then you have a sound, viable opportunity. SFI offers such an opportunity. Indeed, you can earn commissions from the promotion of needed, everyday products and services in high demand, even in times of economic crises.
In addition, these economic times call for reuse of reusable goods. TripleClicks.com is based on that very timely need. Rather than depending on large corporations to manufacture new items for all our needs—while landfills overflow with perfectly useable items—modern technology needs to be more employed to the task of connecting people with others who have unwanted items they can use. TripleClicks.com does just that—it uses the most modern internet technology, combined with one of the largest affiliate networks in the world, to keep items in productive use and out of landfills—benefiting all involved.
Also, later in 2009, my company, VeryVIP Sitebuilder Hosting, is launching a new Internet package designed to recruit new affiliates for your SFI Team based on the concepts in this lesson. With modern social networking technology built right into the package, you will be able to connect with, and instill confidence in, a much larger audience of possible affiliates. By connecting together, having confidence in ourselves and each other,...and being willing to take a real independent approach to the challenges that face us and our world; we can truly create our own thriving economy.
Conclusion—Take Action
It is really quite simple when you think about it. A large part of the current economic crises is due to lack of confidence. Due to this lack of confidence, business slows down because people slow down. People need products and services and want to buy them, but are reluctant to do so...due to fear and insecurity in their financial future. Businesses want to produce products and services but are reluctant to do so...due to declining sales. This is very easy to turn around just by instilling confidence. Although we may now lack confidence in traditional businesses and government, we can have confidence in SFI, our SFI business, our team of affiliates, and ourselves! With this confidence, we can stimulate our own personal economies. While you may understandably be reluctant to buy a new car or a new home right now, do not be reluctant to invest in your SFI business! Work harder than ever! Promote harder than ever! Invest more than ever! Buy the things you need and want from TripleClicks.com and Maxmalls.com and promote those products and services to everyone whom you come into contact. Recruit new affiliates for your team. Explain to these new affiliates that the only thing necessary for success is confidence. When they become confident, they will create action. Action creates commerce. Commerce creates prosperity. Prosperity increases confidence. It becomes an upward spiral of success for everyone involved, as opposed to the downward spiral of the world economy right now.
It starts with you. Take Action!
