Holiday Afterburner

Sales were up month to month, year to year.  But so were instances of people who lost integrity by going through the motions of committing to a sale, without follow through.  That is to say, we saw an all time high of buyers neglecting to make payments, re-negging on a deal after the fact, or just going deep under cover, MIA.  This confirms to us what we've said since the recession began - that there is tremendous latent demand out there - that people really LOVE to shop and want to spend money - if only they had the money to spend.  The engine that drives the economy - the consumer - is chomping at the bit - but there are forces reigning them in. Once the ones handling the reigns lighten up the touch, just a bit, things will flow again.  The question is - how long will the driver of the carriage maintain the tight fist? We thought we saw a glimpse of promise in December.  But here it is - January - and we're reliving summer 2010 experiences.  It's time for all small business to get truly innovative and create their own demand.  That's our strategy here in the workshop, going into 2011.