Hey, SHTF peeps – it’s been a while, huh? Well, I’m a little busy with a lot of this-and-that going on, but I’m back now, and posing a question:
If you believe that a collapse (fill in your preference) is imminent, would you start a business? Would you continue to run your own business – probably yes, considering you know, income and all that? But most importantly, would you try to increase and build that business?
Okay, that was more than one question, but seriously – what I want to know is why, if you believe civilization as we know it could come to an end, you’d continue to strive to reach particular goals.
We opened our bookstore almost two and a half years ago, and now that we’re facing closing up shop in the next few weeks, I’m trying to pull together those two things: why struggle to stay open, if SHTF is coming? I mean, books aren’t going to be a priority right after an apocalypse, although I can safely say that E-books are going to disappear as the grid goes down and “charging a device” becomes obsolete. All those folks who proudly disdained paper books are gonna be really, really sorry!
Now, depending upon how long the immediate crisis lasts, and for many people it will be an ONGOING crisis, just to obtain food, water, and shelter – not to mention medical care, self-care of course – and others will work long, hard hours just to survive, but eventually books will be back in vogue.
And needed. After all, I doubt school will be session, right? The schools we have now, that is. And kids will still need to learn, adults will still need entertainment as well as lifelong learning. And new skills.
So at some point, books will be back, and popular, and necessary.
In the meantime, how do you reconcile what you do now with SHTF? If you work for someone else, obviously it’s a paycheck. Which you can use to prepare for the future. But a business? What’s the point?
Robin Writes 
Business is tough. It either works or it fails. Sometimes there is no reason or rhyme for it. Other times its competition which in my case was some faceless franchise able to under cut me for too long.
Those who were loyal will drift away, those owed money will hassle.
I’ve run two businesses, both failed and the heart ache of the first made me cynical about the second.
My accountant was told “As soon as you see a downward trend warn me”. She did, I listened, and got out before damage ensued.
Ultimately you just shut down cold and clinical, tying off the loose ends. Then having licked your wounds move on (hopefully with no debt).
Would I try a third business? No, too much emotional pain. Now I let some other person worry about my pay check.
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I had to look up that acronym to see what it means, so I guess if I didn’t know, it’s not on my radar as possible, much less probable. Plus, even if it were likely, “soon ” might mean anything from next week to 150 years down the road. That’s quite a few generations of people to go hungry waiting for the end.
Malcolm
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I would keep doing what I’m doing. The alternative would be to just sit and wait, and I’m not very good at that. 🙂
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I’m going with this one to maybe clarify a bit: IF a person believes in SHTF, why would they continue to build a business? Or would they? That was the question. Plenty of preppers out there, so do they build something, or remain employed or sit and wait? Curious. Some days, I wonder about the point of it all, but in our situation, we prep “just in case.” IF something happens, we’re ready; if it doesn’t, well, no harm done!
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The point is, humans are resilient, need something to do, and when the SHTF, which it will, there will be survivors that are prepared, some with businesses that are relevant, others not relevant at all. I’m guessing the question is, in business will there still be a purpose? Food, clothing, SHTF supplies, knowledge, skills and tools will be hot, fancy, useless retail junk probably not. That’s only a best guess, people are weird. Interesting to think about.
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