<!--[endif]-->Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve been hearing about all the economic doom and gloom unfolding recently. And you’re probably worried about what it means to you and your family. Everyone, from government officials to parents are concerned. I recently overheard two small business owners discussing this the other day — they were wondering how their businesses will keep their customers and keep money flowing in. But, what does the recession mean to you — as an Internet marketer? In this 10-part series, I’m going to talk about how a recession can be one of the best times to start a career selling online.

First off, you will have to be more creative in your marketing efforts. Discovering how to promote your products or services without spending a lot of cash will prove to be priceless training that will serve you in economic times both good and bad. Yes, it’s going to be challenging at times, but those who find inexpensive ways to market will ultimately be more successful than those that can’t stop themselves from spending money.

Let’s take an example of two online marketers, Greg and John. Greg does everything he can to keep costs down and trim the fat. If he needs articles or press releases, he writes them himself and submits them to the directories by hand. John, on the other hand, hires professional writers and pays for services to submit his articles and distribute his press releases. If Greg’s profits go down, he just works harder, but when John runs into trouble he’s between a rock and a hard place, since his overhead is so much higher and since he’s not used to doing things himself, he doesn’t have the skills to fall back on. He ends up being hit much harder by economic downturns than the self-sufficient Greg.

What is boils down to is that people just starting out online right now have a big advantage, because they are forced to stay low to the ground and keep their costs down. You can actually benefit and thrive from a situation that will knock more experienced marketers for a loop.

In Part 2, we’ll discuss how to come up with ideas for products and services and how to decide whether they’re likely to be profitable or not.