community
The Financial Crisis
Is It Finally Over?
y
ipeeeee! It has been a long
was equally self-indulgent in its quest
road since November 2008;
for profit. The available credit fueled
51 months have passed
consumer spending, which drives
since the collapse of the auto and
small business and employment —
banking industries. Is the financial
and resulted in positive GNP.
crisis finally over? Are we
The economy spiraled
beyond the trauma asso-
upward — like a tornado.
ciated with high unem-
All was fine until it blew its
ployment, slow growth
stack, sucking up 16 mil-
lion homes, 8.8 million jobs
and depressed real estate
prices?
and wreaking havoc with
the American way of life.
I have no idea. If you
watch CNN, Fox News and
So the wise old Jewish
the rest — you can be con-
man asks, "Vhat didja learn
fident that they, too, have
from this?"
no idea. Two days after the
If you ask me, we have
sequester went into effect,
learned that we cannot
the pundits were saying
return to the days preced-
we're heading into the
ing the Great Recession.
abyss — another recession will spawn Available credit, while nice to have,
from reduced spending. Forty-eight
doesn't exist when a financial crisis
hours later, the stock market had
arises because the banks slash avail-
reached its record high and sustained
able credit in a panic regardless of
it for two days, and the same pundits
your stellar payment history.
declared the financial crisis over.
We know that equity in real estate,
Let's pretend that the crisis has
once thought to be a stable measure
passed. Does this mean we can return
of net worth, can simply go "poof."
to the good old days and resume
Our lesson? We need to save money
old habits? Is it time to head to
for retirement and have cash in the
Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor
bank as a cushion in case
and Best Buy this
the economy spins out of
Business N ews
weekend and have a
control.
grand old time? Can
Congress demon-
we check our retire-
strates to us daily
ment accounts every
that we cannot rely
day and watch them
on them to solve
grow? Should we
our nation's problems.
return to the old
The task is daunting — a
$16 trillion deficit that grows
days of feeling
secure so long
by $3.87 billion per day,
as we had ample
Medicare and Social Security
available credit
all need to be resolved. We
and not worry about
must take charge of our
whether we have sufficient cash in
future by establishing firm goals for
the bank?
saving and avoiding credit card debt
So what if our credit card balances
at all costs. Then, we can let the chips
creep up to $50,000 at 20 percent
fall as they may.
interest — and we pay $10,000 per
There is a drawback to this plan. If
year, after tax, on interest. Is that a
the consuming public becomes more
conservative in managing their per-
problem? It didn't worry too many
people back in 2000-2007.
sonal finances, then less spending is
While dreaming, just think — if
funneled to the economy. Less spend-
property values keep going up, maybe ing means less growth and employ-
we can get back to refinancing our
ment. So if you are the goose and the
homes and pulling the equity out to
economy is the gander, then, "What is
pay down our credit cards or finance
good for the goose is not good for the
our children's education. Let the good
gander." So be a smart goose!
times roll!
Ken Gross is an attorney with Thav Gross
Are you catching my drift? What
and host of the Financial Crisis Talk
led to the financial crisis was a frivo-
Center show that airs weekly at 8:30 a.m.
lous, self-indulgent, consuming pub-
Saturdays on WDFN 1130 AM, "The Fan"
lic that was fed available credit by the
and 1 p.m. Sundays on MyTV20.
mortgage and banking industry that
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32
March 14 • 2013
Derrick George, founder and CEO of On Go Energy, and Alkida Offer of
Sterling Heights from Leone Services
Ready, Set, Go!
Farbman Group's speed networking
events help to build businesses.
I
Jackie Headapohl
Managing Editor
F
arbman Group, a full-service
Southfield-based real estate
organization, hosted a busi-
ness-to-business networking event
for tenants and vendors of Farbman
Group properties on Thursday, Feb. 28,
in the first floor conference center of
the Southfield Centre building.
"Many of our tenants cross paths
in their buildings or drive past office
buildings en route to and from work,
but rarely consider the types of
companies occupying those spaces.
The speed networking events help
to initiate those introductions and
hopefully kick-start the relationship-
forming process that so often gener-
ates successful partnerships:' said
Andy Farbman, president and CEO of
Farbman Group.
During the networking event,
attendees rotated through a new intro-
duction approximately every five min-
utes to meet potential new customers,
clients and vendors. They learned how
other companies do business and took
the first step to establishing new rela-
tionships. An estimated 40 businesses
participated.
Andy Guttman, Farbman Group
CFO, said the company began doing
these networking events a few years
ago when the economy was faltering.
"We thought it was the best way to
help grow business for our tenants and
vendors:'
Speed networking events are held
every quarter in varying locations
that Farbman manages. The events
are open to vendors and tenants at
all Farbman sites, some 20 million
square-feet of office space in southeast
Michigan, Guttman said. Each event is
limited to about 100 people.
There have been a lot of success
stories that come from the network-
ing events, Guttman said. "You never
know who you'll meet or what oppor-
tunities will be presented"
Joan Schroeder, an SBA loan officer
at Huntington Bank, attended a pre-
vious Farbman networking event in
Troy. "It was one of the best network-
ing events I've been to, and I've been to
many:' she said. "The setup was very
personal, and it was easy to sit down
and talk with people
Some of the people she met at that
event, who were looking for busi-
ness financing, also became potential
customers for Huntington Bank, she
added.
"There were all sorts of different
people from different industries there
Schroeder said. "I'd love to see more
networking events set up like Farbman
does."
Derrick George, CEO of On Go
Energy, an energy drink manufacturer
in Birmingham, attended the most
recent networking event. It was his
first time going, and he said he would
definitely go back.
"It was a good use of my time. I met
all sorts of people, including an online
marketing guy who our creative direc-
tor is going to follow up with. I would
definitely attend another of Farbman's
networking events:' he said.
The next B2B Farbman Group net-
working event will be held in spring.
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