13 Comments
Nov 16, 2022Liked by Corbett Barr

Having been laid off so many times, I'm not really bothered by that fact. I have had to learn the hard way on healthy finance management. Even now, I know I'm not the pinnacle of fiscal responsibility, but I know how the levers work and definitely adjust where needed.

For me, I realize the power in the wisdom I have from life experience. Regardless of how I'm affected by the real recession (so far, things are going well), I'm still focused on my bigger picture. My vision of starting a "Wellness Village" is well into focus and I continue my work on it. I understand how I would do it with a 9-to-5 versus being unemployed.

If I can share any helpful message, it's certainly "[you] will be fine." It's just money after all. Yes, it allows us to function in society, but it's certainly not everything. I'm personally thankful for my family and friends, who I know I'll be able to support and be supported by should a global economic event happen.

Corbett, I'm glad to see you "back outside" as the kids say today. Congrats on your recent sale of Fizzle. It was definitely a great resource for me in the early days.

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Thus far, the recessions hasn't hit me too hard. I still have my full-time employee role, though I certainly have noticed how much more expensive groceries are every week! I'm a minimalist in general, so I'm not usually buying too much, but I'm spending less even on splurges for myself.

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Nov 21, 2022Liked by Corbett Barr

Thanks for sharing, as an entrepreneur I also kicked and scraped through those times. Yes, right on with how “thinking productive ideas” sparks mental and physical positive action. I’m tweaking my business right now towards a niche client base. Best to us all !!

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Nov 16, 2022·edited Nov 16, 2022

Great read, Corbett. I've gone broke a few times. 2008 was the last one - I went from five houses to none, and got divorced for extra sh*ts and giggles. I can laugh now, but I was genuinely suicidal at the time.

The first time I lost everything I was so broke I had to use tap water with my Corn Flakes! But I learned some valuable lessons, and went on to rebuild my life in a few short years. At least until the aforementioned 2008 housing bust.

Today, I'm back to three houses (with an LVR of about 30%), no personal debt, and I just started working 4 days a week so I can spend more time with family, and outdoors shooting landscapes. Life has finally settled into a well-balanced canter, and the future looks good - even if/when the world turns to sh*t again.

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Super interesting insights, thanks!

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The first recession hit just as I left college. I had to sign a UB40 every two weeks to get my dole( social security ) not a great start. Having lived through half a dozen of these events I know one thing, I have always survived. So how am I going to cope with this one? First of all be better than any of my competitors because the money is still there and I am going to make sure it heads my way. I am not going to panic and cut my prices because I have a great product and people will pay for quality. Lastly control what I can control, which is mainly my attitude. So I will stay positive and ride the storm just like I have always done.

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Curse you Corbett. You lured me in again! With your fancy words and... how do I word this, ability to pick topics that have nothing to do with what I planned for my day but... there I am, reading the entire email. Then, of course, I HAVE to leave a comment.

I realize your article was not entirely about a recession. I have taken an interest in economics lately. One thing I read, in the Economist actually, is that the we live in a time in which leading indicators upon which the Fed relies is not leading anymore by the time the data comes in, is analyzed, and the a policy decision is made. Commerce is moving at the speed of byte through fiber optics. The Fed is trying to find the coffee maker.

It makes sense to me that raising interest rates will discourage a lot of purchases. Good. The real estate guys have gorged themselves for wellnigh a decade. Whatever. The Economy is very resilient.

Your personal story illustrates the point really. You adjusted. Back then, the dot com days, there was barely an internet. The mental picture of you in a big company doing the big company thing was surprising. (For me, anything over 25 employees is big.) I wonder what you think Corbett Barr would look like today had there NOT been a recession. Thank God there was one, for the sake of your audience. But, how do the big company, tow the line guys differ from guys like you, i.e., the new entrepreneurs?

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Airbnb hasn't had layoffs since 2020. No idea where you got that information but it's not correct.

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