Wooing the New American Consumer

There's no doubt about it, American consumers have been profoundly altered by the recession in a way that will undoubtedly have a lasting effect on how they shop and spend.

A new report released by Decitica, "Marketing to the Post-Recession Consumers," gives one of the first glimpses into the diverse reactions to the recession and how it has changed consumers spending habits.

While age, gender, and income continue to affect the way consumers respond to marketing, today's shoppers have become much more savvy in how they react to marketing messages.

Decitica has identified four new distinct consumer segments: Steadfast Frugalists, Involuntary Penny-Pinchers, Pragmatic Spenders and Apathetic Materialists.

1. Steadfast Frugalists comprise nearly one-fifth of American consumers spanning across all income and age groups. The core value of the Steadfast Frugalists is self-restraint. They are the least brand loyal and expect their new budget conscious shopping behaviors to stay with them for a long time. This group takes pride in their frugal attitudes.

2. Involuntary Penny-Pinchers have been forced to embrace thriftier shopping methods. Unlike the Steadfast Frugalists, they're more flexible in their decision making and less likely to restrict themselves to buying store brands or generic labels. As a group, they have average household incomes of less than $50,000, are largely in their 30s and 40s, and are primarily women (six in 10). The vast majority have been scared into tightening their budgets by the recession and are more worried about the future than the other groups.

3. Pragmatic Spenders have curbed their spending (for now) but are expected to resurrect their past spending habits. As a whole, they have higher spending power, they are primarily male (six in 10), and they are largely individuals in their 60s from the Northeast and West. More than one-third of people with household incomes greater than $75,000 are in this group.

4. Apathetic Materialists tend to be the least changed by the recession. As younger consumers under the age of 40, with most in their 20s, this group group is seemingly unaffected by price and the long-term aspects of the recession.

Business Owners Are the Happiest Workers

For many of us, the satisfaction we have with our job is affected by the passion we have for what we are doing.

Based on the results of a recent Gallup survey, entrepreneurs are the happiest workers. In a poll of more than 100,000 Americans in 11 sectors, business owners scored highest (72.5) in "overall well-being".

The overall well-being was measured by questions on six key areas of their lifestyles: work environment, self-evaluation, physical health; healthy behaviors (such as not smoking), emotional satisfaction, and access to basic necessities (such as food, shelter and health care).

While business owners may not make as much money as professionals (ranked second) and managers/executives (ranked third), they rank in job satisfaction and work environment making them as the happiest Americans.

The Business Girl Holiday Discount

As a general rule, we don't offer discounts very often. With the current state of the economy we want to help give new business owners an extra incentive to take the step and get started on their business NOW.

For a limited time only, we are offering a discount of 20% off all business plans. Just ask us for a quote for your project or send us the email with your previous quote. When you are ready to get started on your project advise me that you want to take advantage of the 20% off deal.

This offer is only valid through December 15, 2009.

Do you believe?

Do you believe? The holiday season brings alive a spirit of giving in many of us.

This is definitely a year for belief -- in believing that everything will get better, believing the jobs will return, believing that home prices will recover, and believing in the goodness of others. Leave it to

Macy’s video below to remind us all about the spirit of the season.

Companies Born During Downturns

Don't think it's the right time to start a new business. Some of today's powerhouse companies were born turning during economic downturns.

Some stories of inspiration:

Procter & Gamble
Founded during: The Panic of 1837
Two brothers-in-law, candle maker William Procter and soap maker James Gamble, decided to join forces to start a small household-goods business in Cincinnati. The two stuck it out through six years of financial struggles and went on to score lucrative contracts to supply necessities to the Union Army during the Civil War. Today, the couple produces many of the most recognizable brands in the United States, including: Pampers, Oral-B, Tide, Iams, Duracell, and Pringles. Revenues for 2008 totaled $83.5 billion.

IBM

Founded during: The Long Depression, 1873-1896
Three startups - the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company and the Computing Scale Corporation - launched during this 23-year period with technologies that were in demand despite the down economy. Their inventions included a time clock for recording workers' hours and a tabulating machine was vital during the immigration wave. The three companies merged in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, which renamed to IBM several years later. This technology powerhouse has thrived through rough times in its past including a 1960's antitrust action by the U.S. Department of Justice and the movement away from mainframe computers to personal computers. operations. Despite consumers cutting back on technology purchases last year, the company saw its revenues rise based on the outsourcing of technology services and a had record revenue of $103.6 billion.

General Electric

Founded during: Panic of 1873

Opened as a laboratory by inventor Thomas Edison in 1876, it was there that he produced the first light bulb in 1879. Edison used the economic downturn as a time to gain momentum to start a company he called Edison General Electric Company. The company posted $183 billion in revenues in 2008.