Bars...the recession proof business?

In tough economic times most people would consider going to the bar as a luxury, but our current conditions are bucking traditional thinking. Bars are not only surviving, some are actually thriving.

The obvious thinking behind people going to bars during a recession or economic down turn is to "drink their troubles away". Several barmen tell us that is not necessarily true.

Many people are coming to bars just to socialize and interact with others.

Barmen report that the economy seems to have caused a trend that has drinkers shifting away from "top shelf" brands and more towards lower cost brands, the same is true with beers & wines. But, sales across the board are UP!

As one Baltimore Irish pub owner put it: "My father always said that bars do the best when the economy is doing great or when the economy is doing horrible. It's when it's in the middle that we have trouble."

So, drink up!

Pocket Of Prosperity "Props"

WBTV in Charlotte, NC recently ran one of their "On Your Side" features about Ms Stephanie Broadnax, a single mother with twins who left the hustle and bustle of corporate office life for her own work-from-home business.

Ms Broadnax had a well-paying office job, but she had grown tired of office politics, cubicle life, day care bills, transportation costs and the like. So, she decided to explore the world of work-from-home opportunities.

She quickly discovered two things:
1) Most work-from-home opportunities are scams or rip-offs
2) Those who have found legitimate work-from-home gigs guard the information like they were in a secret society.

Fortunately for Stephanie she had a friend who had found a good work-from-home situation and who was willing to walk her through the process and share the "secrets" with her. With her friend's help she soon had a successful, fulfilling work-from-home business of her own!

Oh, and did I happen to mention that Stephanie says that she is now making TWICE what she did before! That's right. She managed to DOUBLE her income, eliminate all those office stresses, eliminate day care costs, eliminate transportation costs...and, best of all she gets to spend more time with her two girls!

Okay, so I know that some of you are saying right now, "Well, that's nice for her, but how can I fall into something like this?" Well, I'm going to tell you!

First, you should know what kind of jobs the legitimate companies are offering. Most jobs in the work-from-home field are:
paralegal
pharmacy
writers
teachers
customer service
data entry
technical support
blogging

Stephanie says that most of the legitimate work-from-home jobs consist of computer and telephone work, and to do them you will need:
A fast, dependable computer
A fast, but not wireless internet connection
A landline telephone
A QUIET work space

She puts a lot of emphasis on that last item. To do this kind of work you simply cannot have music, TV, pets, children or other loud noise in the background. The clients you speak with over the phone will hear the noises, and it will present a very unprofessional image of the companies you are representing.

Another extremely important element, according to Stephanie is discipline. If you are going to approach a work-from-home job as one where you can work whenever the mood strikes and that you can do it laying around in your pajamas eating chips...forget it!

Stephanie approaches it just like any other job. She gets up at the same time each morning, dresses for the office, fixes breakfast for her twins, then goes off to her quiet room. Her girls know that when she's "at work", she's "at work". She attends to their needs on her breaks and at lunch time.

We give Pocket Of Prosperity Props to WBTV for running this type of positive story and also salute Stephanie Broadnax for having the determination to follow her dream until she found her Pocket of Prosperity!

*** Pocket Of Prosperity Bonus ***
The following are the most highly rated, reputable companies acting as clearinghouses for
work-from-home opportunities:
Arise
Alpine Access
Work Solutions
Convergys

Remember: Never deal with any work-from-home company that wants you to pay them for their services, and never sign anything before you read it throughly.