Grandma Said…

Two Dollar Bill
So… Grandma loved you very much. In fact, to prove it she bought some stock in a Blue Chip and stuck it away where it could grow and grow and grow.

You see, Grandma was an astute and wise investor.

The date was December 30, 1974; GM’s share price had tanked, and picking up 5000 shares at $11.30 per share was the biggest no-brainer of the year. “Of course the stock will come back, it always does.”

Grandma was right! You thought about cashing out in May of 2000 when the stock closed at $93 a share; a gain of $408,500… but you didn’t.

Fast forward.

One month ago today while attending a leadership conference in Denver, a business owner from the Chicago area approached me to ask about the market crash two days earlier. If you recall, short selling had returned to the market on October 9th… and returned with a vengeance; at least for those who invest with the thought of share prices going up.

So it was that GM’s stock closed that day at $4.76 a share, the lowest since 1950. Ouch.

“But now is really the time to buy,” he said. “I mean, it can’t go much lower… it’s GM for Pete’s sake!”

The company’s stock has fallen another 40% in the last thirty days, closing today at $2.92 per share… the lowest since 1943. As owners and entrepreneurs, it’s time to embrace new tools, and lead in the new ecomomy. Placing faith in old industries and even older thinking suddenly seems downright dangerous.

Of course, the stock could always come back. At least, it always did.

 

Question: What is your team doing this week to leverage the power of interactive technology and social media to grow your business?

 

Photo Credit:

Doublep1