GEEKNOTE: The Local Economic Picture

GEEKNOTE: The Book of Genesis provides a guide to living. Early on, God worked hard for six days creating the universe and kicked back on the sofa to watch football on the seventh day. Well, maybe not football, but there is something to be said for following his example and relaxing a bit one day a week. 

I'm writing this late on Sunday afternoon while listening to the LP I'm playing on my phonograph. Other than writing this, finishing one small project from last week, and checking items off the "honey do" list here (start organizing the attic and fixing the downstairs toilet), I've made a point of doing as little as absolutely possible all day long. It's nice to relax, and I REALLY needed the break from the high tech stuff I've been working on all week.

This past week was the busiest one I've EVER had at work and it was part of a pattern that has been developing for several months. It's not just me. The company overall has been busy and getting busier at an increasing rate. We are adjusting some of our internal processes to deal with the increasing workload and having a serious discussion as to when we can justify adding another employee.

Both individuals and businesses have been replacing old computers and upgrading their networks. Why?  Business people universally tell me that they are seeing more and more business and they need to update to be prepared for the growth they expect in the immediate future.

The strongest indication to me was when an appraiser walked in and started quizing me about doing a full network replacement at their office. They are getting slammed with appraisal business!  I've heard similar stories from others in real estate related businesses.  This is monumental. When the real estate industry in Florida starts growing again, it is going to pull the entire state economy with it.

As we've watched the local economy over the past nine years, it has become apparent to me that my business is a "leading indicator". We tend to see downturns before it gets announced in the media, and I believe we are seeing a strong upturn now.  Three of our biggest months ever have been since the first of the year.

We've also got some new businesses in town. At least some of them seem to be doing well. I suppose I'm glad the new bakery down the street is far enough away that I can't just walk there...I'd blow my diet for sure.  (http://newportrichey.patch.com/articles/rollin-in-the-dough-delivers-hom...)

People are buying cars again. All of the major car companies reported strong sales gains for August. People don't buy cars if they expect the economy to tank.

We had an evening event downtown last month and the local restaurants couldn't handle the business that night. People don't go out and pack the local restaurants when they are concerned if they will have a paycheck in a month. The restaurants are planning ahead for the next event.

The parking lot at the mall has been consistently packed.  Again, folks don't shop when they expect conditions to get worse.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that we've seen the worst of the Great Recession and things will continue to improve, at least if the folks claiming to represent us in Washington can avoid doing anything else stupid in the mean time.

I'm excited about the future I see for our community. Every indication is that things are about to take off and, after the last five years, it's about time!

I've got several projects with "TBA" scheduling, including building my first production Windows 8 system when I get some free time.  I want to be fully up to speed on Windows 8 when it is released to the public next month.  With any luck, I'll have some first impressions to talk about soon.

Feel free to drop me a note or leave a comment here if you have any questions about your computer or your office network.

Rob Marlowe, Senior Geek, Gulfcoast Networking, Inc.

http://www.gulfcoastnetworking.com

(Rob also serves as deputy mayor of the City of New Port Richey. Opinions expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the position of the city.)