Coronavirus (non political)

[Buffalo Bob]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

My work{family owned jewelry store outside Houston}closed yesterday,supposed to be temporary but I dont know if it's going to pull thru or not.We've had very few customers the past week and we we're the only store left open in the strip center because everyone else had shut down because of the virus.Now Houston has ordered the shelter in place except for essential personnel till April 3rd{but I'm thinking this will be extended,shit wont be over by then}.
Before Hurricane Harvey in 2017 they remodeled store at a cost of around 100 grand,then Harvey hits and floods the place{no flood insurance}so they take out small biz loan to re-open,now this.I dont think they can survive for extended period.I've been a jeweler for them almost 25 years,it is very depressing to think I will have to start over somewhere else after all this time at 58 years old,and thats if I will be able to find work.The jewelry stores that do survive the shutdown will not be looking to hire anyone,it's not like things are going to pick up just like they were before the virus hit,it's going to take awhile before things recover.

I definitely agree. I think this crisis is going to cause people to put more money toward savings as they would in the past. This is probably the first time in many people's working lives they got blind sided and cut off from a steady pay check.

Before the great recession of 2008 I had 23 active customers in the limousine building industry, that I sold upgraded charging and air conditioning systems to. The recession pretty much wiped them all out and only two of them are in business today and one of those now makes cop cars. What many people don't realize is most limousines go to transportation companies that cater to the average Joe for weddings, prom night, funerals,etc. A very small chunk of their business is personal limousines bought by the wealthy.

I am kind of wondering the hit I will take as I am a small machine shop, and I only have 2 customers that are recession proof medical and those make up about 15% of my gross sales. Probably 25% of my business is gun related. Which I suppose will improve as I hear people are rushing out to buy guns to protect their stash of toilet paper. The other 60% are hobby related. I figure a lot of people are going to put a big chunk of their entertainment budget in a savings account for a good long while. I have a feeling this is going to cause people to want to double their emergency cash fund.