Poor Man Survival
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A Digest of Urban
Survival Resources
Can you start a business that will survive the stagflation crisis?
Business does not stop merely because a nation or system
collapses. As long as humans exist there will always be supply, demand and
trade — our very survival depends on it. Historically, the way we trade during
crisis events tends to streamline and simplify compared to the complex
economies of boom times and adapting to this change is essential to making your
particular business a fulcrum point within your community.
That is to say, consumer demand is going to reduce down to the
most basic necessities and anyone that is able to provide those necessities in
an efficient manner is going to do well. Also, any business that stops relying
on supplies from far away and focuses on production of goods from home will
remain viable while people that cling to the old days of "on-time
delivery" and brokering prefabricated trinkets from overseas is going to
fail hard.
This does not mean you should abandon your existing business if it
does not currently meet these standards. Keep it running as long as you are
able, just know that the party is going to end soon and you need to have a
Plan-B. Start a side business that is self-sufficient, make sure it focuses on
production and build from there. It is likely that this side business will one
day become your primary business as our system continues to destabilize.
What we are facing is an engineered storm of negative
circumstances. As I write this, stagflation is becoming a household word in the
U.S., just as I warned it would over the past several years. Prices on goods are
skyrocketing, but the real inflationary disturbance has not started yet.
Corporations have been hiding stagflation by eating the extra costs on
wholesale, and they have been quietly reducing package sizes little by little
while keeping prices the same (shrinkflation). All of this is about to come to
a swift end as we enter the holiday season. Corporations and suppliers are
going to raise prices drastically and consumers will now feel the pinch.
The past shows us the way, however. There are certain trades and
businesses that continue to do well even in the worst of times. First, we need
to understand how our trade environment will change before we can succeed
within it.
Local trade, barter and black markets
This might sound obvious, but I don't think many people even in
the preparedness movement truly accept that everything about trading is going
to change. It is unlikely that most of the items you purchase or barter will be
found in a "store" or one-stop-shop or even an open bazaar. Things
will get a little more tedious because you will have to network with other
producers within your community to get what you need, and you will have to meet
with each of them individually to trade. Depending on the level of organization
in your area a barter market will hopefully form, and someone will have to
provide the space and security to ensure safe trading is possible for everyone
involved (this may be a good business idea).
*People are going to be trading everywhere, but a central
marketplace might not be open regularly and so your business will be done
through personalized transactions. Depending on the scale of threats at the
time, you may want to keep all transactions private. That said, eventually, an
open market will have to be established to make it easy for everyone to find
what they need and trade faster.
The level of instability around you will dictate the trading
strategies you will use. If the system is still somewhat functional and rule of
law is still in place to a degree, then you might continue to use dollars, but
alternative currencies (hopefully commodity-backed currencies) will have to be
used as well. If the system is completely broken but government oppression is
not a big issue, then regular barter markets will become a mainstay. If
government intrusion and oppression are serious concerns, then black markets
will become the order of the day.
The types of businesses that do well in these
environments are those that have done well during past crisis events. Many of
the ideas I list here are taken from inflationary crashes like Weimar, Germany,
deflationary crashes like the Great Depression, and civil war environments like
Bosnia. Let's get started...
Communications
Without communications networks nothing else
will function; establishing a trade network will be very difficult. A business
setting up post-collapse comms could be a highly lucrative one. This could
include stocking radio equipment now and using it for barter later, or, if you
have the knowledge you could set up and sell repeaters for your community. You
could also work in an advisory capacity for a group or community, helping them
to establish solid comms.
Another form of communication is printing
services. Having the supplies of ink and paper to print newsletters, fliers,
posters etc. would allow you to become a home-based printing shop for the
community. Information needs to get around somehow, and if it's not being
discussed on the radio then it will be discussed in print. Print communications
might make a big comeback in the near term.
Natural resource
procurement
The key here is to build your business around
the resources and raw materials that are readily available in your region. For
example, if you live near the ocean, then learn to make sea salt in large
quantities. Although store-bought sea salt contains no iodine, homemade sea
salts do contain trace amounts vital to the human diet. And salt has always
been highly prized in every civilization for meat preservation without
refrigeration.
If you live near forested areas, focus on timber
for building materials or firewood. Heat in cold weather is a huge issue,
and in a grid-down scenario, millions of people will be turning to natural heat
sources in the winter, which means either wood heat or coal and oil heat. This
requires a larger initial investment for chain saws or two-man saws and other
tools, as well as a stock of gasoline to run them. For making lumber you will
need a home sawmill which is a hefty investment but could well be worth it as
you become one of the only sources for building supplies in your area.
If you have ample wild game near your home and
you are a skilled hunter you could provide meat to your community for trade.
This will cost you ammo, but the better a hunter you are the less ammo you will
use. Fishing is a potential revenue source, and gardening and farming will of
course be vital. Research the resources in your region thoroughly and think
hard about what you could procure and produce using local raw materials.
Repurposed goods
The relatively new economic model of "break
it and buy a new one" is going to end. A massive market demand is going to
rise for people that repair and refurbish existing machinery and items. Think
of it kind of like an eBay business or flea market business that becomes as big
as Walmart.
The idea here would be to find a vital niche —
you could focus on small engine repair working on generators, chainsaws and
other important items. If you have sewing skills, you could repair clothing and
blankets or sleeping bags. If you are a gunsmith, you can repair damaged
firearms. If electronics is your thing, then you could collect parts from
broken computers and use them to rebuild working computers, etc.
You can also function as a middleman for the
people that fix things, finding a wide spectrum of necessities that are
apparently broken and then trading them to the specific people that know how to
fix them. You become a kind of procurer for the tradesmen, you just have to
know what you are looking for and what is actually in demand.
Newly manufactured items might still exist, but
they will be expensive due to stagflation and most likely rationed by either
corporate retailers or the government. The word "rationing" is about
to become a dominant household term just like stagflation, and we should expect
government controls on purchasing including digital ration cards and
restrictions according to vaccination status on federal distribution programs.
If they can't control trade through the covid passports, then they will crash
the supply chain and try to control trade through rationing. This means that
used and repaired goods will be big business.
Household products and
comforts
Soaps, cloth diapers, toilet items, lotions, candles,
wooden bowls, plates and cups — the list goes on and on. A lot of people will
have these items stocked, but many will not, or they will run out and need
more. Just because you are in the middle of an economic crisis does not mean
people will not be looking for basic comforts. Many of them can be easily made
with natural raw materials or repurposed materials at home.
There will also be a demand for psychological
relief through stimulants. Meaning, people will still be trading for alcohol
and other drugs. Homebrewers and marijuana growers will probably do well in
almost any trade environment, and historically this has always been the case,
even during prohibition.
Home heating
I mentioned this briefly above, but I cannot
stress enough how massive the home heating issue is going to be in the near
future. If there are any electrical grid problems the first thing people are
going to be looking for is off-grid heating. This could include wood stoves,
propane heating, pellet stoves and so on. People will also likely need to close
off large portions of their homes in the winter and only use a couple of rooms
in order to save fuel and heat. People with basements will end up spending the
majority of their time in the winter below ground because this is the most heat-efficient
option.
Being able to supply wood fuel to areas with few
trees will be big business. Propane might become expensive, so stocking some
for trade would be smart. Repairing or building wood stoves would make you a
key business in your area. Also, sleeping bags and other passive items for
warmth will be in high demand when people can't get fuel for heating. Very few
people will have the money to set up a solar system large enough to run
electric heaters for most of the day, so the market demand for fuel-based
stoves will be constant.
Home health care
If you are a medical professional such as a
nurse, doctor or paramedic then there will be demand for your services. Vaccine
passports will be used as an excuse to deny people medical care at hospitals and
you can fill the gap by offering home visits to identify and treat various
ailments. To be sure, many pharmaceuticals will be in short supply, but if you
have a stockpile and also integrate natural health care options then you should
be in business for a long time.
Keep in mind that the establishment will seek to
interfere with home-based medical care, so being discreet will be helpful, and
having the protection of your community will be best.
Security
Depending on the scale of the crash there will
no doubt be a shortage of security professionals to keep your community safe
from crime, looting and outside threats. Any person that is able-bodied and
actually knows how to fight, how to shoot, knows tactics and is not inclined to
run away at the first sign of danger will be a rare commodity. Security
services could also include basic consultation for a large property,
neighborhood or town advising them on the best ways to protect their homes.
Keep in mind that covid mandates are forcing up
to half of police forces in many places to leave their jobs. If this continues,
local law enforcement will collapse. The military and the National Guard are in
the same situation. They will never be able to find enough people to fill the
void and even if they did, they would be using people that are more likely to
harm you than protect you. You will have to provide your own security.
There are a lot of blowhards out there that
claim they have the knowledge to do this, but when the stakes are high, they
will fold and run. Understand that big talk does not always translate into
expertise or action. Finding people that will not run is going to become the
top priority of every community. Finding people that have the physical ability
to handle the stresses of security and potential combat is also going to be an
issue.
Endeavor to become a skilled security specialist
and you will always be needed within your local economy.
The thinker's market
Economic crisis often cuts away the fat.
Businesses and skill sets that are only useful in first world boom times will
fall away and people that rely on them will not survive. Your average office
worker, manager or service worker is not going to do well. Brick and mortar
will evolve into something very different, and online revenues may not exist or
will be restricted according to your politics. You have to be able to think
outside the box.
Focus on necessities and your chances increase
exponentially. Focus on production and you remove the middlemen. Focus on local
resources and materials and you remove reliance on outside imports. The ideal
survival business would be a producer making a necessary product using
materials he can easily find right around his own home. This might not be your
situation, but you can get as close as possible using your ingenuity.
Knowing the local market and knowing the demand
is the other factor. The key to any business is understanding what people want
or need and how those needs change according to events.
To truth and knowledge,
Brandon Smith
SIDEBAR
How to Grow an Indoor
Survival Garden Year Round
One main reason why your garden may survive better indoors. The
rising price of food, especially produce, is leading to the casual and
indiscriminate theft of fruits and vegetables from backyard gardens.
There was a time when bugs and passing rabbits caused the most
havoc in our gardens, but more and more people are waking up to find their
tomatoes mysteriously gone, their cucumbers vanished, and their perfect peppers
disappeared...
How to
Grow an Indoor Survival Garden Year Round
With inflation stubbornly sticking around,
stocking the pantry may seem like a challenge.
Yet,
there are ways to stock the pantry to ensure you save time and money in a
pinch. These are some of the ways Beth Eggleston, a Meijer Nutrition Education
Specialist, advises people to stock their pantry.
Stocks
and Broths
Soup
may come to mind when stocks and broths are mentioned, but they are more
versatile than one might think. Eggleston cooks both her meat and grains in
stock. “I like to cook chicken breasts in broth. I’ll do it in the crock pot
and then it’s a lot more juicy and with more flavor.” says Beth, “I will use
broth to cook grains because it gives it that extra oomph, that extra flavor as
well”.
Beans
and Rice
Stocking
the pantry with beans and grains may be a great side dish, but it can also
become the base to a rice bowl. After cooking the beans or rice, adding
toppings can lead to a quick meal.
Packaged
Meats or Fish
There
are many types of salads that may benefit from the use of packaged meats.
Eggleston uses canned tuna to top her niçoise salad. Niçoise salads generally
include lettuce, green peppers, eggs, green beans, potatoes, and some form of
preserved fish on top.
Pasta
The
pasta aisle is a very crucial element within pantry stockings. The wide variety
of styles and ingredients can be utilized in a plethora of recipes. “There are
tons of traditional pastas, but now there’s a lot of bean-based pasta,
gluten-free, protein-packed pastas, whole wheat grain pastas,” explained
Eggleston. Stuffed shells and pasta bakes are just two examples of the
possibilities that can be used on a quick meal night.
Did you know a little imperfection can actually save you a lot
of money? We explore the why, how, and where of buying imperfect first rate
seconds.
How to DIY A Low-cost Survival Retreat (7 Step Plan)
It takes
just 7 steps to shield you from danger, and to create a place that’s safe.
Without
breaking the bank.
But only if
you act now.
Click Here to Reveal ‘How to DIY A Low-cost Survival Retreat’ <<
Your standard of living under Biden is
under attack…here are a few ways to fight back!
Frugal Living Ideas from
The Great Depression and WWII
Do
you need to make things go a little further? These frugal living lessons from
past financially tough times can help you make things go a bit further and
prepare for uncertain times.
Frugal Recipes for Homemade Dog Biscuits
Would you like to treat your pup with inexpensive home-baked
goodies? Try these frugal recipes that your dog is sure to love!
How to survive a socialist America – Create your own
economy; our economy has reached "a point of no return
Are
you thinking about starting a small business? You will need a business plan,
which is a roadmap for structuring, running and growing your new business. SBA
has resources to help you write your business plan.
Unique tactical
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Natural
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