"My Time is More Valuable Than Money"

[indieretailer]

Many small businesses were created over the past 10 years based on the idea that a living could be earned by providing services to people with means who had neither the time nor inclination to do them themselves---
Which services do you think that people will forgo now and in the future? i.e. dog-walking, personal cooking, massages

[bhkyra]

On a broader scale, the things you need most on a day to day basis are clothes, food and shelter. Clothes and food can certainly be made at home, but it is time consuming, and definitely convenient to pick these items up from a store.

Though I think right now, a lot of people are cooking at home, rather than going out to eat. I think a lot of people are trying their hand at gardening too.

Clothes take quite some time to make, and most people don't buy new ones every day, so I think fewer people are taking advantage of this. They also come in the used variety, so they are not necessarily expensive.

For other services like dog walking.. well... I don't think I could ever bring myself to pay for that service. If I didn't have the time to walk my dog, I don't think I'd get a dog in the first place.

[FinanciallySMART]

Some of the services that persons realized that they themselves can now do because there are more time on hand will be fore go. Services that you have listed will be the quickest to stop. House cleaning services is another that will be on the losing end as well. Now that the experts have advice that to have a longer life doing house work is essential then persons will soon heed to this.

[SurferTiki]

Check out getfriday.com. Great personal outsourcing tool.

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by FinanciallySMART

House cleaning services is another that will be on the losing end as well. Now that the experts have advice that to have a longer life doing house work is essential then persons will soon heed to this.

I don't know about that.
First, I don't think the science says that cleaning your own house leads to a longer life. I think the science says that remaining active, especially as you get older, leads to a longer life. But I could be wrong. Do you have a study which supports your comment?
Second, I think that most people who use cleaning services are probably younger than what the studies which have linked longevity and activity are targetting.

That said, I think that house cleaning and yard care services aren't going to go away anytime soon. They may see some decreases and declining profit margins (especially for lawn care services if gasoline prices rise again). But there are many, many people I know who detest these chores and feel that their limited free time is better spent doing other activities. I personally know multiple families, some not terribly well off, with fathers hwo are very busy with work and other committments. They are happy to spend the money on lawn care so that dad can have more time with the kids.

I do think that personal trainers will see a decline as people turn to other options for getting exercise including having a trainer set up a workout for them that they can then do on their own (that's what I do).

[lucille]

Some people will always use certain services. If I went back to working 50 hours a week on the other side of town you bet I would be looking up a house cleaning service.

People are either being forced to cut back due to less income and higher prices of core needs or are rethinking much of the get rich motivation that caused people to be too busy in the first place.

[sliceoflife999]

One place that you still can see an example of this is at the grocery store, there are many more prepackaged "ready to go" meals that you can get. Take for instance salads that are pre cut, mixed and ready to eat or how about shredded cheese? I thought that people would not go for this one but they do buy it.
I'd like to know how such pre-packaged food sales do in a recession, you would think that they would go down but you never know.

[bhkyra]

Originally Posted by sliceoflife999

One place that you still can see an example of this is at the grocery store, there are many more prepackaged "ready to go" meals that you can get. Take for instance salads that are pre cut, mixed and ready to eat or how about shredded cheese? I thought that people would not go for this one but they do buy it.
I'd like to know how such pre-packaged food sales do in a recession, you would think that they would go down but you never know.

I'm guilty of buying pre-shredded cheese.

I hate shredding cheese, so I hardly ever do it. But I love cheese.

A block of cheese in my fridge is like money down the drain. It molds before I ever feel like shredding it.

So I buy the pre-shredded stuff in bulk, and I never waste it.

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by sliceoflife999

One place that you still can see an example of this is at the grocery store, there are many more prepackaged "ready to go" meals that you can get. Take for instance salads that are pre cut, mixed and ready to eat or how about shredded cheese? I thought that people would not go for this one but they do buy it.
I'd like to know how such pre-packaged food sales do in a recession, you would think that they would go down but you never know.

At the grocery stores I got do, most of the shredded cheeses are the same price per weight as the block cheeses, at least for the store brands. So it makes sense to buy shredded if you're just going to shred it anyway.

As for pre-packged foods, I would bet that they do better than you would think in a recession. Some people will save money by buying prepackaged and eating at home rather than going out. Others will rationalize that everything else is so stressful in their lives that not having to do as much work in the kitchen is a reasonable expense/tradeoff. I know that when things get busy and stressful, not having to worry about preparing what I'm going to eat is a nice break for me. And a $5 rotissary chicken that will feed me for multiple meals is cheaper and better for me than fast food.

[MerchantsBarter]

What a great thread! I agree with many posts, time IS money, or more specifically time is potential revenue. Being in the barter business gives me a very unique view on business and the economy. Obviously, when cash is tight - like right now - businesses engage in barter more, so our members that do better are usually in areas that are hurting in the cash world. You have covered some of them already, so we won't repeat, but we thought it would be interesting to mention industries that seem more resilient to the recession: hair salons, dentistry, construction, auto mechanics, advertising.

Good thread! Looking forward to joining in on many more.

Merchants Barter Exchange
http://businessbarterblog.wordpress.com