When...not IF

Dear John,
 
I’ve lived in Miami for 12 years. During that time, we have only had one major hurricane. Irma knocked out power in my neighborhood for six days. Most of the families in our area went to stay in a hotel after the storm or evacuated in advance.
 
I didn’t. 
 
For me, the lack of power was inconvenient, but not uncomfortable.
 
My home was our “family shelter.” By that I mean we had my immediate family and 11 relatives and 2 dogs staying with us.  Our home was built to the most stringent building code in the country, with a roof designed to withstand category 5 winds. We are in a small area that is not designated as a “flood zone,” and we are almost literally in the center of the State of Florida – 55 miles from the East Coast and 70 miles from the West Coast of the state.
 
But the reason all my family members trusted me during this natural disaster (the storm made landfall as a category 4) was because I had been preparing for this event for ten years. I have two generators (one runs on propane and the other on gas) and a chainsaw. I keep 100 gallons of drinking water rotated and stored in my garage at all times. Every room in my home has battery operated lamps. I have a 700 square foot bedroom with a 15,000 BTU air conditioner that can be run off a generator. And we have two refrigerators and three freezers that were packed with enough food for a month.
 
For the better part of 10 years, during the beautiful Miami weather, I accumulated supplies and equipment. I tested it dutifully every three months and took inventory every June (the beginning of hurricane season).  Everyone laughed at me for 10 years and then on September 10, 2017 they stopped laughing and came running to stay with me.
 
This is where you are right now.
 
But not with the weather, with the economy.
 
There is an economic storm brewing the likes of which we have not seen since 2008. 
 
Within the next 18 months we will be hit with a recession that will be devastating for people who are unprepared. 
 
I know. You’re laughing at me and that’s fine. That’s because you can’t see past the bright sunshine outside today.  But make no mistake, a storm will come. It is not a matter of “IF.” It is a matter of “WHEN.”
 
There are some things you can do to prepare for this economically inevitable event and I’m already working with my clients to do them.
 
If you’d like to determine how vulnerable you are to an economic downturn, give me a call and we can do a quick assessment of your ECONOMIC RISK INDEX (this is a proprietary audit I do with my clients). 
 
I’ll ask you a couple of preliminary questions and we can see if you’re slightly vulnerable or if you run the risk of burning through your savings at a rapid pace.    
 
Keep in mind, I’m not a financial advisor or an economist. 
 
I’m just a guy who knows how to attract business in a bad economy (I founded my firm in 2008).
 
You can call me at 888.444.5150 or you can ignore this.
 
Just remember, the storm is coming, and I have a limited amount of room in my shelter.
 
Enjoy the rest of your week.
 
Regards,
 
Dave Lorenzo