

Ask HN: online business that will thrive in great depression - stuffthatmatter

I've heard that these (brick and mortar) businesses do well in recessions.      
- Funeral homes
- Accountants
- Health care
- Pawn shops
- Flea markets
- Debt collection agencies
- Equipment repair
- Grocery stores<p>What online businesses do people think will survive during the greater depression?
======
keefe
I think it's nearly impossible to predict. We are in the middle of a societal
revolution brought on by the availability of instantaneous communication
across a distance and perfect memory and repeatability.... so, I think
previous models of what happened no longer apply. Are pawn shops and flea
markets going to rise now that ebay exists? I don't think so. I think
accountants will go down because of quicken and even grocery stores are
threatened by mail order business for nonperishables.... I think what will do
well in the coming years are companies that exploit the new capabilities of
this revolution, just like companies that exploited industrial principles did
well in the last revolution. I think the current recession is just minor
turbulence in the midst of the larger sea change.

------
icey
I've seen successful sales teams that emphasized how their product would help
_make_ money when the stock market was doing well; and when the stock market
was doing poorly, they'd emphasize how their product would help _save_ money.

Since people worry about their finances when the economy is weak, perhaps
online businesses that help people manage their own costs will do better than
an online jewelry store (for example).

