During the 9/11 economic fallout in 2001, there was a tragic event that disturbed me. A Black father who was losing his home after losing his job killed his whole family in a murder-suicide fashion. That bothered me because no brotha or sista should ever reach a point where we become so despair over money or our financial situation. Black people in America always have a way to get by and don’t ever let American money matter to us as a people – we can always make a way.

The Black father could have lost the house, he could have found a church home moving to Mississippi somewhere who will take him in and help him – he didn’t have to kill his wife and his children over losing his job and losing some damn house and thinking money is the measure of survival, it was always another way out there. Don’t ever be ashamed to be Black and broke in America – that’s when we become our strongest and our people always found a way, have faith.

Right now, we are hearing over and over there is going to be a massive economic downturn and a recession. But I need our people to take a pause and truly evaluate the landscape around us. Companies cannot find people to hire, there are products in high demand and low supply and people are migrating to hot markets. Technology is making things easier to do and there are new paradigms of opportunity from blockchain tech to cloud-based tech. This is not the same kind of recession we have been experiencing in the past.

Our observation is this recession is going to hit the upper wealthy class, not necessarily the majority of the working class out there. The rich are going to lose money from their stocks, increasing inflation, and even the hedge assets are not moving as expected – I’m pretty sure you not shedding any tears for the rich because I’m not either. What we see going on is actually some interesting scenarios.

Here is are the things we want Black folks to do to prepare for the recession.

Lose the Fear. In the past, we worried about losing our jobs and losing our income, and back then, that was a big problem but don’t let it go to our heads. Drop all the anxiety and what-if fear scenarios. The only problem you likely going to experience is realizing who you allowed close to you that will enjoy watching you suffer. Keep your head high, realize we always found a way as a people, and even if things go down, you will keep surviving and keep plotting to get through.

Choose Your Alternative Job. It may be time to pack up and move to Dallas or Atlanta. You may need to take that warehouse job that’s hiring. You may need to take that restaurant job. You may need to take that supermarket job. But realize there are other jobs like trucking, tech skills, automotive skills, and audio/video skills in high demand and train yourself for a career switch instead of settling for a job. It’s plenty of jobs out here and you should be flexible enough and ready for that switch when the time comes that you always wanted to be a forklift operator.

Recognize Opportunities. Podcasting and earning money on YouTube or Fiverr are real opportunities that pay well. Publishing books are opportunities they don’t teach us in school but also pay very well per book release. Start these opportunities, right now, don’t wait to lose your job then you want to hustle out there. On the Dream and Hustle Facebook page, I posted an example where Chinese influencers made serious money working with collectives like farm growers to promote their products and listen to the experts in the collective. It’s always a niche out there.

Notice what we are discussing this time around that we have not discussed before – we not talking about having six months of savings because the 2008 recession had people out of jobs for 18 months, and savings don’t work. We not talking about selling off stuff because you got to pay for utilities and housing and you don’t have enough stuff to sustain the bills. The only way you going to handle a recession is to have the skills and talent in demand someone willing to pay for – you have to keep maintaining an income, that is your only survival strategy.

We will have more articles to discuss in detail how to prep for a recession. We will ask if Black people should consider “van life” and “stealth camping” as viable solutions. We are going to cover how to eat well and live well with high inflation. We will have a bigger theme about moving from declining areas and setting up in areas that are blowing up. But we are seeing a real theme and one piece of advice I will say that I explain over and over.

In 2022, I need you to get off the BS charlatan stuff, following folks on YouTube or Instagram – that’s some BS and you know it. You turn that BS off and live your own life right here and right now! This is your time, your moment, and how you survive these times. Do you pack up your car and move? Do you downsize? Do you start a new hobby you want to video blog about on YouTube?

Stop being the goofy loser idiot in a comment section talking about how “deep” Dr. Claude Anderson is and the person chattering is broke as hell and got no real plans, just keyboard typing in a comment section like those weak brothas on that Coli crap. Screw all that cheap chatter – meeting real folks out here making big and bold moves like yourself is the new way to out and enjoy life right now.

In this upcoming recession, the only survival plan is to keep grinding, keep finding a way and trust your people's legacy that we always find a way and don’t give up.