Even Warren Buffett lost money.

VERVE decided to write about money long before the economy went into a tailspin. And for proof that it has truly been in freefall, look no further than billionaire Warren Buffett’s annual letter to investors, released in late February, explaining why his company, Berkshire Hathaway, reported a 62 percent drop in net income in 2008.

Sometime last year, before the pandemonium set in, we sketched out some broad topics we thought Western North Carolina women would find irresistible—like love, money, adventure and food. We tackled love in the January/February issue, and in this issue, money. The issue would have been poorly timed if, like most national media, we were offering stories full of anxious hand wringing about the sorry state of the economy. But we’re not.

Instead, we found veteran businesswomen to tell us how they survived past downturns and how they think new business owners (and everyone else) can thrive in this one. We talked to local businesses that get a boost in downturns (think shoe repair, auto repair and pawnshops), and we came across creative ways for people to get the goods and services they need whether they have cash or not (see our story on Asheville’s Local Exchange Trading System, or LETS).

Formalized local systems like LETS are a great idea, but local people trade services in less formal ways all the time. For example, I drive a great old red ’79 Ford pickup. On occasion, Lucy the truck decides not to start. A few weeks ago, lucky for me, she happened to break down near an Auto Zone store, and even luckier, a man who also drives a ’79 Ford happened to be working on his truck in the Auto Zone parking lot. After taking one look at my truck, he knew exactly what was wrong, and he agreed, without hesitation, to fix her up on the spot for free. All I had to do was promise that next time, when I see him by the side of the road with his ’79, nicknamed Cornbread, I would stop and pick him up.

It’s proof that, even in the worst downturn in decades, people in the local community realize we’re all in this together and are willing to help if you ask.

Happy reading,

Jess, jess@vervemag.com