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GameStop in trouble?

There are 4-5 days/week when I try to commit to 90 minute work-outs.  Of course “work conflicts” end up breaking that discipline and I typically end up working out 2-3 times every week.

On the days I miss, I try to jump-rope, run by the park or crunch those abs in my ab lounge (yeah!).  All of this has changed since I came across the Nintendo Wii Fit.  Now, in the comfort of my home, I can stand in front of my tv, yogarcize in Warrior 2 OR get a decent cardio workout on my balance board.

Playing with the Wii also came as an opportunity to see the potential of gaming consoles and that of the industry.  CNN was one (of many sources) to offer their opinion on the gaming industry when they published this article back in April.  Of course GameStop, one of the largest gaming retailers with over 5K stores nationwide had been on my watch list long before April but this article (amongst others from financial analysists) made me feel I had finally located the only “recession proof industry” - gaming!  Reactions from kids across the world continued to enforce that opinion.

Not that I invested my life savings “on this hunch” but I made a minor investment to see if I too could see an 82% year by year growth on my stocks :->  GameStop is one company that has been on a roll since 2003 (and the launch of the new PS3 and Wii have only added to it’s success) making gaming more mainstream and less hardcore.  From about $4 in 2003 all the way to $62/share in late 2007, this is one company that seemed unstoppable.

But like every other industry in America, gaming got…..well, bitch-slapped!  GameStop is pure reflection of what happened to the industry.  Besides the $100 million made from GTA IV or the 80+ % profit jump over last year, GME shares have plummeted more than 60%!

So I may have lost a small amount of money - what I haven’t lost is discipline…. Using wireless internet on the Wii, I’ve figured out a way to see stocks (GME amongst others) plummet “in real time”….all this while I do torso-twists and jack knife on my Wii Fit.

Give me a f***in bailout!

NY times reports today that the steel industry is the next one to collapse….right after the automakers; nice!

If you’re fully recovered from NYE and half as sharp as your new President, you’d know what’s coming next……a Bailout!

W    T     F!!!!!! (please note the extra spaces that accentuate my rage).

The last post for 2008 from my man Om Malik described how we’ve learned to accept mediocrity.  The steel industry demanding a piece of the “federal stimulus” only seconds what Om mentioned is coming next.

On the plus side of things, I’m starting to dig the new politicabulary2.0 - federal  stimulus, palinode, car czar (I know it’s been around for a while but come ON)…the supply of new buzz words seems endless but there is not one word that describes a real solution. In fact, printing paper money and injecting it into large corporations with no solid plan for payback, reminds me of the 911 commission (remember that?). For a while it’s a hot subject, there are deadlines to be met, agencies to be scrutinized, independent audits to be conducted…. but it all cools off in a few years, there is another war we’ve started, another natural disaster has happened that takes away all the media attention.  Heck, at that point, it’s too late for even Miachel Moore to shake things up.

I think this is exactly what will happen with the stimulus plan.  We’ll loan a bunch of paper money and it will disappear without payback….so ultimately the plan will make us poorer? Totally Sweet!

So I’m thinking….what next? I think we just start a petition using facebook/twitter and get some personal reasons to get a personal bailout…say what?

Hear me out - all I’m saying is we’ve bailed out several evp’s and ceo’s who’ve made some bad choices (really bad choices)…why not do the same for the average Joe?

Brilliant, right?  I’m starting my list, let’s do the chain letter spam or the 1 million in 1 week facebook users on this one and who knows, we might just get lucky.

- My wife spent better part of her income at Union Square…..can she get a bailout? (and no, she is not willing to forfeit anything with a designer logo on it)

- My friend made some bad choices with his restaurant (mostly beyond his control)….can a brother get a bailout?

- My dad lost tons of money in the stock market…he’s a really nice guy. Bet he’s nicer than Ford’s President…can he get a bailout? He did nothing wrong - even when he went out of town, he was frugal and stayed at regular suites instead of the luxury ones.  PLEASE!

- Finally, my business is doing well; I’m just tired of flying southwest….crying babies, peanuts and soda, bitchy stewardesses and leg room designed for “lil people”…I’m done!  I’ve worked way too hard the last few years, and really need a corporate jet so I can fly up to Carmel and live it up using my platinum membership at pebble beach. I don’t “want it”, I “need it”.

You gave it to so many others…..now it’s time to give me a f***in bailout!

Secrets of a $110 million dollar man….

Recession, Downturn, Recession 2.0, Hustle 2.0, The Great Depression, Train wreck….what do these words have in common?  They all represent our current situation.  Lots of sub-prime mortgages, pieces of paper (aka treasury notes) in exchange for real imported goods and a few dumb policy makers have impacted the economy in a way that it will take years to recover.  Even Santa is looking for a bailout!

In the midst of this mayhem, I came across an article from Norm Brodsky (a “serial entrepreneur” and an industry veteran).  The article is an excellent read but beyond that, it truly outlines 10 things that are applicable to EVERY business, not just the ones going out of business.

I live in the Silicon Valley, where companies join the deadpool before they register a dba and others based out of basements get acquired for millions. Reading one article won’t help you survive or make millions but it might offer some good CEO level insight.  It’s no surprise that even successful businesses tend to overlook most of these.

A few of my favorites:

- Numbers run a business. If you don’t know how to read them, you are flying blind.

- Cash is hard to get and easy to spend. Make it before you spend it.

- You have no friends in business, only associates.

- The life plan has to come before the business plan.

Read the full article.

More hate against Indian Politicians for the Mumbai attacks