State of the Union and all that jazz

It's an odd night tonight. I somehow feel compelled to write a bit here with no real logical reason. It might be the stars and I suspect that if I looked at the charts (RL pro astrologer here) I would have some answers. Instead I decided to ponder in print-- partly for my own records, but more for the newer designers that might be wondering what in the Phil's Place firmament is going on.

My second rez day is on the horizon, so while I am not a member of the old guard, I am definitely not in the newbie camp either. For those of you that don't know, I have had a shop from the beginning. Furniture to start, then shoes and garden and stained glass and eventually clothes. So I am fairly diversified in Phil's domain just as I am in RL. The US economy took a major hit today with stock market plunges, major financial institution bail outs and the like and I was wondering how all this might affect our virtual land.

We, USA folks, are no longer the giant majority of residents in our virtual land -- not like we were when I joined. We are diverse and global and all that is fantastic. We are a melting pot of ideas and cultures. Still, the real world is global these days, interdependent more than ever before -- especially economically.

So, especially for the NEW designers who have just set up shops, worked hard and given their hopes and dreams, laughter and tears to the SL economic system and wondering if it will work -- here is what I want to say. This is just ONE case and not necessarily the norm. I doubt many people want to tell the world their financial business -- virtual or RL, so I figured maybe someone should say SOMETHING (smile).

I have been here two years and have had a shop almost that long. I have ALWAYS made a profit. I expanded from my profits and I have no RL money invested. I am still making a fair amount of profit. Most likely a lot less than our superstars and a lot more than many shops. Currently I am diversifying a bit into different locales. I have no guarantee that my half sim will ALWAYS be available to me. Estate owners come and go and I have been lucky so far; "owning" in estate land is always an iffy proposition. As times get tougher in RL and at Phil's we will most likely see more abandonment and "foreclosures". Virtuality mirrors RL in many cases.

My profits now are about half of what they were six months ago. So those of you that have read this far now have "some" benchmark which I am guessing is somewhere in the middle ground (just a guess though -- I have heard 60% down from some retailers). What does that mean for the new kids on the block? It's a bit like starting a business in the midst of a recession or depression and I have done that in RL. It is tough. It is also doable if you are wise, and careful; if you pay attention and know your market. Having a good product is pretty much a given or at least I hope it is.

My personal plan is to stick around. I am still enjoying SL and I am still making money with not all that much effort. I put in 12 hours days for a year so I can rest on SOME laurels now (wink). If I find that I am in the hole for a couple of months, I will either downsize or leave. This is just me, this isn't meant as advice.

And I guess it is time to get off the computer and back to my DVD. Virtuality is after all, simply that.