Thursday, July 2, 2009

Recession Proof Businesses

Here is a list of attributes you can use to grade a business as recession proof (Yes is good, No is bad):
  1. Is the product/service the best there is?
  2. Is the product/service a necessity for those that buy it?
  3. Are there just a few alternative competitors?
  4. Is the company creating a lot of free cash flow to the equity holders?
  5. Is the product/service protected by patent, intellectual property copyright, or something else?
  6. Are the employees top notch?
At the end of the day, being recession proof is all about being really, really good at what you do. Using this definition, some people are recession proof, even if their company is not.

Besides being safer places to work during bad times, such companies tend to be better places to work in general. Productive, successful, thoughtful, and honest companies do great work, and tend to attract great people. So seek quality, regardless of the industry, and you may find shelter from the economic storm.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with mostly all of it, except point 4. The quality of business being recession proof is related to cash flow to enterprise. It flowing through to the equity holders is a mark of smart capital management, not smart business operations.
    Right on with everything else.

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