Each Sunday morning this summer, I was playing softball with a team of over 40 men. We were terrible. And I learned a few things from it.
I was told that the hamstring muscles to a pop-up window. I was told that men my age have always to wear a shirt when playing (or in some cases, BRA). I was told that to beat, even on slow-softball pitch characters. I never slide into second base, never let our third baseman (who wears glasses, socks and black shoes on the street) can grab the ball thrown to him, and never to argue a call when your opponent is a lawyer.
I was playing with a lot of lawyers. And doctors. And a lot of business owners, too. Smart guys. Obesity, hair loss, and only the small bit of uber-competitive. But very smart. Or so I thought. The summer wore on, I began to understand the secret about these so-called educated, men experienced with: not quite, I wore a deodorant. Oh, and when it's the economy? Clueless!
"So, how is business?", I heard often. "You guys pick up?" was another common question. "What is important to turn around soon?" was another.
You think with all the data for this purpose during the "age of information" that influence these guys a better handle on what is in their businesses. But the problem is that we, as a business, they anger with so many facts, figures, statistics, analysis of the economy and we don't know what to believe. There are too many it-related businesses is vast.
Who is the Conference Board of the consumer?
Take the consumer confidence index. The last Tuesday of each month, statistics, and it always headers. Is it up? He's down? Who cares? This is not relevant to my daily decision making. The index is calculated by a confidence of the consumers. Who? The numbers come from a survey of 5,000 consumers. You know people sit in the House during the day watching Dr. Phil cloth. I never distribute it any of these calls. And if I did, one of my adolescent boys has already grabbed the phone than I did in who uses farting noises.
And securities market. Sure, the guy next to me is the second master tubby gets angry when the market falls. But it does not affect how he runs his store hardware. He did not mean people lay off or stop bears product line only because of the Dow lost 100 points. And if he has problems much more deeply than the fact that he couldn't bend over far enough to pick up the ball on the ground that only his legs.
Small business owners don't really care about unemployment, or. If the rate of 9% or 12%, it doesn't change that the owner of the business of providing dental laboratory-this still looks like a idiot with batting gloves while playing softball-slow pitch characters. I'm sure he feels bad for people who lost their jobs. Then again, an unemployed Carpenter waiting aboard sniggering at him whenever he directs from the blend to adjust these gloves stupid between pitches. More unemployed workers can provide us a potential hire more people, but the number of jobless claims reported each week there is no impact at all on how we manage our business.
And then there are statistics such as the GDP and deficit. Who cares? GDP is down, you have said. As we do not understand it already? The trade deficit is up. This is affecting the grey-haired man is ??????? and at the second base, even though his fly ball was called trick by about 100 meters 30 seconds earlier. As the paramedics to give him oxygen, it will be back in business Monday-hustling for taxes or taxes. It doesn't matter to him.
Of macroeconomic reported by the media, are not relevant to small businesses. Not meaningful. At best they give us a sense of the psychological mood of our customers.
At worst, they are used to scare the hell out of that to other people, you can buy our products.
This does not mean that all media statistics report are without value. Some useful practice to such a business interest, inflation. It goes without saying that many of the guys in my League experience stomach caused by too high inflation interest lex, bagel was after our softball games. But I'm not talking about it. I'm talking about how to change the interest rates can be higher or lower costs of debt service and funding easy or difficult to obtain. And's uptick rule prohibits manufacturing or manufacturing produces can quickly translate high production costs. These are figures that have businessmen keep a careful eye.
The price of goods directly affects us, too. Copper steel are part of almost everything produced. Their loss in the last year was the main reason why inflation is kept confidential. But the rising economic activity places pressure on some of these materials, and these costs affect our profits. Oil prices have the same effect, and not just small. $ 10 additional barrel could cause softball my team member fees skyrocket, with expenditures that have been added to the baiisi and Ben gay.
In addition to the above, the smart business owners I know keep the statistics of their own. These are the numbers directly related to their businesses. For example, told a quiet field to the left does something ????"?????/export" and must pay attention to the exchange rate of the dollar with the Iranian rial. Whatever is one of the few that we have good hitters. And pitcher, who pitches just because his knee in the second to make it the only location that he can play, keeps the eye is very close to the shipping company that indexes it is mainly transporters to get its products to customers. This makes sense, too.
Well, the season's over. We went 3-15. We beat a great retirement home our mother, crews middle school girls. But hey ... The triumph of victory. The reason why is not relevant. Almost like part of the economic data relevant, continuously thrown in our face.
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