How has the economy affected you if you have a business or a business person?

[RedXIII]

Because i'm a DJ at a nightclub in SL and i remember before the economy went south everyone was tipping me L$1000,but now i'm lucky if i get about L$60 and i'm thinking of resiging as a DJ and quitting until the economy gets better.

So how has the economy affected you if your a business person?

[Tobin S.]

1. I used to be in business for myself

I got out long before the downturn in the economy. But I can say that if I would have stayed in I'd probably be hurting right now. I'm a trucker and I used to own my own rig. I drive for someone else now and I've been lucky to have consistent work through this recession. But I know that a lot of drivers have lost their trucks- something like 96,000 last year alone. So I'm glad I don't do that anymore.

[Kali]

2. last year when gas prices were so high was tough

cattle prices are pretty shitty right now too, but my biggest problem isn't so much the economy as the lack of rain. I have never seen things this dry and brown here in August before. I'm getting pretty nervous. May have to dump a bunch of cows at really bad prices. That sucks.

the husband is a masonry contractor and nobody is doing any of that kind of work or they are trying to do it themselves.

How is that for about as far removed from your life as can be?:rofl:
seriously, unless you have something else lined up I wouldn't quit a gig that is at least paying SOMETHING.

[RedXIII]

3. Well i DJ on Second Life

Well i DJ on Second Life,and yesterday shoutcast was acting funny.

[Kali]

4. oh

:blush: :blush: :rofl:
thought you said in SL and I read that to mean St. Louis.:rofl:

[Tobin S.]

5. Me too

:)

[RedXIII]

6. What's so funny?

What's so funny?

[Kali]

11. I was laughing at myself because I didn't realize you were

talking about a game. Neither scenario (clubbing or computer games) is really part of my life so it was funny. I thought the contrast between my life in agriculture and what I thought was yours in entertainment was kind of funny to begin with, then when it turned out you weren't even talking about the real world at all...well, it made me laugh.

[RedXIII]

12. Um,sl isn't a computer game.

Linden Lab, the company that created the platform that is Second Life, is emphatic that their creation is not a game. “There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective,” says spokesperson Catherine Smith. “It’s an entirely open-ended experience.”


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17538999/

[Kali]

13. ok, but the point remains

I didn't get what you were talking about and there was a funny little disconnect. My open-ended experience is different than yours. :o

[RedXIII]

15. well here are sites explaining it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life


http://furry.wikia.com/wiki/Second_Life

my avatar in it



Me and my partner,before we moved to a castle.



looks like there is also a democratic organization in it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life_Left_Unity#Second_Life_Left_Unity

[Kali]

17. ...

[RedXIII]

18. ..

YIFFY ^^

[Kali]

20. ...

Fur Affinity
Error 403

Access is Forbidden

We are sorry but access to this resource is currently forbidden. If you are trying to access what you believe is a valid page or file on this site, please contact the administrators for further assistance.

[RedXIII]

24. That's the reason why i

put the pic on photobucket.

[amitten]

25. Wow. n/t

[RedXIII]

26. ,stop thread crapping

stop thread crapping you people.

[Ptah]

43. I can't find any of those in SL.

Maybe they are in Sim City?

[snooper2]

32. It;s still a game, no matter how they try to "market" it

just FYI

[vadawg]

48. confused the hell out of me as well, just looks like a game to me

no different to defender on the zx81 apart from graphics etc, still a game.. IE not real life..

[NightWatcher]

7. I had to close my business earlier this year

When the economy fell on hard times, my business dried up. Relatively few people were willing to pay out for my services. Many other private investigators also had to close down their shops. My friends opened up a thrift store after closing their PI biz.

Now it takes me nearly two weeks to make my old daily billable rate at my new job where I deliver parts to industrial construction sites. Funny thing is now this business is also feeling the pinch and may have to shut some branches down. Being one of the last people hired ensures that I'll be one of the first let go.

[styersc]

8. Dupe deleted

[styersc]

9. Completely screwed. The business that I have worked for

eight years and has been open for 15 years had employed 20. We are down to 4 and I am doing part time work for the few companies I can find with on going projects.

I don't know where the "recovery" is, but I'm not feeling it.

Maybe when the bank "recovers" my vehicle, or "recovers" my home?

[RedXIII]

10. And here is a video of my audition at a club.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGX8CmhfQi0&feature=related

Yes i did use the songs in it.

Of course what you don't see is how Winamp,Second Life,and Shoutcast started glitching with the computer,with the making movie.

[snooper2]

33. ROFL - I thought you were a "real" DJ ROFL ROFL ROFL

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I can see why your business is down - no people in that "club" :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[RedXIII]

39. of course

business has been picking up. Because i've been sending announcments and people have been coming,but it's the damn Age verification that has some people away,because some aren't able to verify their age and some like me are.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

14. Easy, two-part answer to that one...

I have a business. Here's what happened:

1). Prior to the recession, most of my clients came to me, either by referrals or other means, and offered varying degrees of regular, repeat business. In 2009, most of the clients I've worked for are ones I went out and got through direct selling.

2). In 2009, more of my actual hours are spent in direct selling and bringing new business in than in "actually doing my job." Selling has become the job. I couldn't tell you my "work hours" because I really don't have them...I never take weekends off and am basically "on the clock" whenever I am awake. That includes the times when I wake up at 2:30 in the morning to "take a walk down the hall" and when I get back into bed I can;t get back to sleep because I am thinking about the doors I'm going to be knocking on and the phone calls I'll be making when the sun comes up.

And when the sun does come up, I read the following two quotes and get busy.

“All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right about face which turns us from failure to success.” – Dorothea Brande

"Know how to help yourself. There is no better companion in the great struggles of life than a stout heart. When it flags it must be supported by the organs that stand about. Anxieties grow less in one who knows how to defend himself. Never surrender to fate, for then she ends by making herseelf intolerable. Some help themselves little with their burdens; in fact they double them because they do not know how to carry them. One who really knows himself brings thought to the support of his frailities. Wherefore the person of intelligence comes out victorious from under everything, even the unlucky stars." The Art Of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracian

:toast:

[Flaxbee]

22. bless you for those quotes.

We're on the clock all the damn time, too. I'm exhausted and freaked out, and thank god for my husband every single day because he most definitely has a stout heart. I try. I'll try more after reading those quotes.

[RedXIII]

16. bump

bump

[Tuesday Afternoon]

19. I like this thread. I don't understand it, but I like it.

[Kali]

21. I am pretty sure I am missing some vital bit of info too!

:yoiks:

[RedXIII]

23. Did you check out the links i gave you?

It explains it better than i ever could.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

http://furry.wikia.com/wiki/Second_Life

[Kali]

36. actually, I checked them before you posted them

:think: :tv:

[Shell Beau]

27. I don't think I have ever been as confused as I am right now.

:shrug:

[Obama2012]

28. From what I gather, his imaginary income in an imaginary world has dried up

:crazy:

[Shell Beau]

29. Oooohhh! Well I can see how devastating that must be!

:wow:

[Obama2012]

30. The economy has really hurt my Monopoly game

Hardly worth it to play it anymore. Plus somebody always ends up in a fight about who gets to be the race car.

[flvegan]

35. My $97k rent houses

I bought in Mafia Wars are only worth $50k now.

:cry:

[Shell Beau]

40. How will you manage?

[flvegan]

41. I'm hoping my casinos take off.

[RedXIII]

42. um,

Linden Lab banned gambling in 2008,because the Feds told LL to get rid of gambling or move abroad,or something like that.

[RedXIII]

44. bump

bump

[Shell Beau]

56. Dude, this is just plain weird.

I mean people are really out there struggling and losing jobs, and you are equating it to a "game" you play. It is just weird.

[no name no slogan]

55. You need to do some more jobs and whack some more gangsters

And finish off that race horse collection, too.

[grasswire]

31. people do actually make real dollars off second life

the "linden" are convertible to dollars. I don't know how it works, but I know it is possible.

[RedXIII]

38. you have to be a

premium account be able to deposit money from Second Life into rl money.

[snooper2]

34. ROFL

:rofl:

The linden is down :rofl:

[vadawg]

51. rofl, i guess the imaginary house will go soon too, mayby he will have to work an imaginary

minimum wage job, i wonder how that works in the game when you ask if they want fries with their meal, is it just like the real experience..

[Roon]

37. It shut down my cousin's RV service and repair business

he was doing great at first, but then towards the end there people just weren't RVing as much. So he locked up the shop for good.

[RedXIII]

45. hiyas

[lildreamer316]

46. You're a DJ?

Husband is a gentleman's club dj of 17 years and a nightclub dj of 14 or so. What do you spin?

We know all about the tipping situation, although out here he does not really ever get tipped on nightclub gigs, just of course in the strip club. However, he's at a new club where he switches to spinning after 2AM until 6AM on Friday and Saturday - best of both worlds.

We actually don't think we would have survived this economy in a regular job; the quick money from djing is the only thing that's kept us afloat. We aren't great but are keeping our heads above water.

Husband's other dj at the club lived in SF for several years; has only been back here for about a year or so. He was at the Hustler club/Penthouse in SF for a while.

[Ptah]

47. Psst, see post #3 :

"Well i DJ on Second Life,and yesterday shoutcast was acting funny."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=8979104&mesg_id=8979134

[lildreamer316]

49. Damn.

Ah well. :shrug:

[Ptah]

50. I forgot to mention I enjoy your posts.

:thumbsup:

[lildreamer316]

53. Why thank you!

I feel silly a lot of the time. Glad to know it's not always true...:)

[RedXIII]

54. Well i spin

Techno,electronica,and classic rock.

[Mystayya]

52. I work in the mortgage insurance industry

Yes- the economy has brought us close to the brink. We are teetering on the edge right now, hoping that people will gain some confidence back, otherwise I might be looking for a job and my progressive boss will end up losing everything.

[mwooldri]

57. I work in the credit card industry.

Customer Scare. The "Supervisor" you request when you call your credit card company.

I've seen good people let go and some downsizing. Requests for fee waivers were no problem in early 2008, we had full authority to credit fees and finance charges and put APRS back down if they went up - even the front line; now the decision is (mostly) out of our hands and is computerized - we can try and push things through but if computer says no, that's it - the answers no. Problem is, I am not a "no" person. I like to please. I get around it by un-personalizing it and literally blaming it on the computer but even this I hate. Therefore most of my calls are from the front line and people not liking the news they're hearing and hoping the supervisor can do something when in reality they're tied just like the front line.

Plus with all the changes - both regulatory and at the company level (the company's reaction to the changes) it has kept me busy being completely negative at work.

I'd rather be here helping out people when things go wrong and put them right. However this "no" business is giving me decent health coverage (most important right now as I have a responsibility to my son who has special needs and absolutely definitely requires full coverage) and a good paycheck ($45-$50k a year for a glorified customer service agent is not bad at all). Plus my employers do treat me right, they haven't done wrong by me yet. And yes, I am allowed to post here whilst at work (I'm at work right now).

Of course I am not speaking for my employer, I don't represent my employers views in this post and I am not at liberty to connect me with them in my post. This is just me... Mark... and yes I know a lot of people think credit card companies are evil right now. But someones got to do the job and whilst I am not happy about the industry as a whole and at some of the actions the company I work for has taken, I'm pretty happy enough here.

[no name no slogan]

58. Well, I work in the imaginary ball-crushing world

If somebody in SL gets behind on their payments, my avatar comes round their imaginary castle and crushes their imaginary balls for them, until they show me the Linden.

Equating the loss of income in an imaginary world to real people who are having a rough time putting a real roof over their real head and putting real food in their real mouths is not just patronizing, it's insulting. If you lose your SL castle, you'll be alright. If somebody IRL loses their home, they're screwn.

Do yourself a favor: invest in some real DJ gear and spend the time you'd be spending as a furry in SL honing your skills. I have a friend (a drummer, no less) who is doing just that, and is starting to get DJ gigs at parties. He's just starting, but he's starting to make money at it.