[honestjchsfan]

Please note that there is a big difference in starting a business from scratch, rather than inheriting an established business and not having to purchase very expensive milling machines as a start up venture. You did not have to venture a great deal of capital into your business. Your example is probably not the best at proving your statements. I note you did say you just invested in a CNC milling machine. You as a layed off statistic trying to find a job, would you say that you would have been able to make an intial investment of a pretty expensive piece of equiptment right off the bat, if it were not for you being basicly set up from the get go? You do have a niche business that has been lacking in this area for a while now, with little competition. IMO , all it took is for someone to work what you have had the advantage of acquiring. Truely start one from scratch with just a few nickles and dimes, build it, fight the system, fight the huge conglomates for a small piece of that pie, and you will see quickly how insurmountable the mountain can be. Obama is doing nothing but damage to the backbone of this countries econmic stucture. You are one of the lucky ones that didn't have to fight the odds.

You are correct I was very lucky, my former employer provided me with a very generous severance package. Again you are correct my business is a niche business with little competion. The down economy has probably helped many "repair" type machine shops because many companies have elected to repair the old out dated machine instead of buying new. I follow the German philosophy that quality trumps quantity, this may not win you many World Wars but it is very good for keeping customers. When this philosophy is combined with modern technology the results can be great. The lack of modern technology is it the reason for closing the old out dated coal fired power plants. In my Machine Shop I have a 1952 model Lodge & Shipley lathe, many Lathe-men have stood in front of her making parts, she has stood the test of time but there is simply no way that the old Lathe can compete with a Modern CNC lathe. This does not mean the old lathe is useless she will make just as good of parts as the CNC lathe will but at a much greater cost. Its the same for the old coal fired power plants. One of the biggest mistakes that to Coal business has made is not keeping up with technology. In the Machine tool business the competion is great they have built faster, easier to use machine tools and reached out to show people how to use there product better. The coal business has found ways to mine coal faster, cheaper and safer but they have failed in teaching their customers better ways to use Coal. Why I dont know.