By Greg Gerber on 10/30/2008 7:43 AM

The Commerce Department released data this morning that showed the U.S. economy contracted by 0.3 percent. Judging by the media coverage about the economy, I was almost expecting to see a 30 percent decline, or at least a 3 percent drop.

Yesterday, the media's economic experts were predicting anything from a 0.5 percent to a 1.2 percent decline in America's gross domestic product.

No decline is ever good for the economy, but with all the stock market volatility, the bailout discussion, the drumbeat of layoff news, the credit crunch and talk about how "we are mired in the worst economic period since the Great Depression," I'll take a 0.3 percent contraction any day.

George Mason University economist Walter Williams penned a great column in September that I just stumbled across. Here are some highlights:
 

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By Mike Whitty on 10/29/2008 7:12 PM

As an RV Sales Manager, you make dozens of decisions every day that affect your customers, your salespeople and, of course, yourself. So, from what mindset are you currently making your decisions? From the mindset of a salesperson, or the mindset of a manager/leader?

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By Greg Gerber on 10/29/2008 1:58 PM

This Thursday, about 50 RV-related companies will gather in Washington, D.C., with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to discuss how the RV industry might be able to build temporary shelters suitable for use by the federal government.

In announcing the meeting, FEMA officials said they were interested in talking to the RV industry about creating units for states that wanted to use them after a disaster. FEMA plans to sidestep any liability issues by passing the buck to states, which would buy the units with FEMA money. But, hey, 49 states already know that RVs are good for America so I see that as a positive sign that RV makers will soon be making emergency shelters instead of laying of workers.

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By Greg Gerber on 10/29/2008 12:56 PM

Business owners everywhere are probably wondering where they can find managers like Kim and Bob Simon, who are stuck in purgatory at Golden Valley RV Park in Kingman, Ariz.

Although the couple collects fees from residents and forwards money to the absentee owners, the park's bills aren't being paid, nor are improvements completed, taxes paid nor much of anything else accomplished.

While most managers would have e-mailed a resignation, packed their RV and skipped out of town, the Simons took ownership of the issues. When electricity was shut off Oct. 1, the couple used their own money to buy generators. They also paid the water and trash bills. Plus they haven't been paid in months.

Rather than allowing this dedicated couple to languish in a hellish situation, their work ethic should be rewarded by a park that cares about employees and their customers.

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By Greg Gerber on 10/27/2008 1:30 PM

Everyone is all atwitter about the stock market and its falling prices as investors pull out on fear the economy is going to collapse. With worldwide markets showing signs of volatility, analysts wonder where new sources of investment money will come from that can be used to jump start the markets with an infusion of new cash.

Some people might think this proposal is just nuts, but I think it holds potential to catapult the United States economy into a permanent position as the world's reigning superpower.

Let's reformat Socialist Security and give workers the ability to invest part of their money in the stock market.

Instead of sending 12.4 percent of their salaries to Washington, by investing the money in the market a worker starting at $25,000 and getting 3.5 percent annual raises for 50 years could accumulate $853,000 and generate a monthly payment of $5,577 -- if the market returns just half of its historic return.

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By Bob Zagami on 10/26/2008 11:39 AM

It wouldn't be the first time that Pete Liegl went left when everyone else was going right.  His recent dealer gathering may have been a stroke of genius in gathering his flock in Elkhart to hear the Forest River story straight from the top, and see what the company is doing in light of the financial challenges impacting the RV industry - all up close and personal.

They could have done the same thing in Louisville, but they never would have gained the mind share, and more importantly, the purchase orders and sales commitments that I'm sure they garnered with this captive audience.

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By Mike Whitty on 10/25/2008 11:35 AM

One of the temptations of Sales Managers is to look at the commissions of their salespeople as a great place to cut into their operating budget. After all, a great salesperson might out earn the vast majority of Sales Managers. Many dealerships will cut commissions to increase their bottom-line thinking that this is the smart and clever thing to do.

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By Greg Gerber on 10/22/2008 1:06 PM

 Earlier this year, RVAA Executive Director Karl Etshied penned an article recounting a presentation he heard in 2006 that predicted a softening economy in 2008 followed by two years of deep recession.

Twice in the past 10 years, the stock market has tested an artificial floor of 7,700. It's currently at 8,700 and falling again. If the Dow pushes through the 7,700 floor, where would it stop? For more than 30 years, the Dow vacillated beween 450 and 815 -- during the same period the government was run by the party promising to bring change back to Washington.

I don't know who will win the election, or which direction the economy will head regardless of who wins what. But, I do know that many in business are holding their breath until the morning of Nov. 5 when the country's destiny becomes more clear.

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By Greg Gerber on 10/21/2008 11:36 AM

They were worried about the economy. They were worried about their jobs. They were worried about their personal finances -- and assumed every one of their customers were, too.

So, despite the fact Freedom RV in Tucson, Ariz., had good traffic, according to owner Devin Murphy, the staff wasn't getting things done like they should. They had bought into the idea that nobody was buying RVs.

Murphy didn't want the worry and pessimistic attitude to influence conversations with potential buyers, especially as the dealership entered its busy season of serving snowbirds.

So, Murphy called the staff of 67 together last Friday. There would be no cutbacks, he assured them. In fact, he was going to guarantee everyone's pay through the end of the year, by which time their season should be in full swing. The strategy worked.

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By Mike Whitty on 10/19/2008 8:41 AM

 A Sales Manager called me one day asking if I knew of a good salesperson he could hire. Essentially, he wanted someone to start right away. So I made a few calls, and the first question I had to ask is ... "Do you mind if someone screams at you?" As soon as they got past the initial shock, they all replied in no uncertain terms, "Yes, that's not acceptable". I continued, "Well, he probably wouldn't call you names, but he's a pretty hard driving guy and he raises his voice a lot".

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