#262. Business trends that are thriving even in this economy – Conclusion
Posted on | The Agurban|
This week we will conclude our three-part series on the 2010 Trends, as identified by entrepreneur.com. You can find the complete list here.
Business trends that are thriving even in this economy – Conclusion
8. Health and Wellness
Healthcare reform, aging baby boomers, more emphasis on preventive care – all of these things and more are fueling growth in health and wellness businesses. Healthcare and social assistance topped the industry growth charts this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with second quarter revenue of $452.5 billion, up 3 percent from the previous quarter.
Home care was the No. 1 growing industry from 2004 to 2009, averaging yearly increases of more than 7 percent, according to IbisWorld. In-home care already employs a staggering 1.33 million people, and revenue is expected to grow beyond $72 billion by 2011.
And whatever form the government’s healthcare act finally takes, it is likely to boost the number of consumers for health services.
Preventive care continues to thrive too. In fact, people are more likely to go to the gym during a down economy, according to a recent survey by the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. Total health club industry revenue last year topped $19 billion, the association reports.
9. Texas
Weird as it may be, there’s an undeniable pull toward the secessionist state.
Pick any 2009 economic rankings list and the “Texaplex” cities–Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin–will have nabbed a spot or three. Austin and Dallas are counted among The Wall Street Journal’s top Youth Magnet cities, and Texas cities were half of the Brookings Institution’s list of top 10 strongest metro areas. Texas dominated 2009’s lists of best relocation destinations, home-building markets and job-creation cities. This very magazine also named Austin one of its own Best Cities for Small Businesses.
“Texas has fared this recession better than most other parts of the country,” says Brad Burke, managing director of Rice University’s Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship. “The state became much more diversified over the last decade. It’s investing [billions] in growth industries.
The cost of living is comparatively low and real estate is still inexpensive, even with the overall industry being depressed.”
Certainly, the state’s low-tax, pro-business climate helps. Texas is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other, and accounted for an astonishing 59 percent of all new jobs created in the U.S. last year. Its current unemployment rate hovers below the nation’s average.
10. Affordable Alcohol
We’re still drinking like fish–only now we’re doing it at home with cheaper booze.
The alcoholic beverage industry has been growing steadily for the past three years and is expected to reach a record $455 billion in 2009. But analysts say it is specifically the more affordable packaged adult bevvies that ring up big sales during a downturn. The story is more sober when the drinking is done in bars: 24 percent of wine drinkers say they are choosing less expensive bottles, according to Nielsen market research, while about one-third of beer, wine and spirits consumers are ordering fewer drinks.
10 ½. Pets
Nobel laureate Albert Schweitzer once said, “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.”
Maybe he was onto something. The recession may have demolished the manufacturing and financial services sectors, but the pet industry? Totally fine. Owners may be skimping on themselves, but certainly not their four-legged, furry, feathered or finned friends.
Earlier this year, the American Pet Products Association revealed total pet spending in 2008 topped a whopping $43 billion. The forecast for 2009 is $45.4 billion. |