To Better Days!

Eric Herman

I imagine that many of you said “good riddance” instead of “farewell” to 2008 – and that almost as many of you might want to skip right over the looming uncertainty of 2009 completely and head directly into 2010.

Nobody can jump ahead in time like that, of course, which leaves us in the here and now to decide how to proceed through our current economic predicaments as individuals, companies and nations. Speaking for myself, my plan is to call on my reserves of native optimism and to face the coming year without fear or abiding worry about conditions that are beyond my control. To do otherwise is to invite sleepless nights in place of much-needed energy and hope.

Fact is, most of us have been around long enough to know that economies swing on pendulums between booms and busts and that we have no choice but to make things work until conditions start swinging our way. In the meantime, there’s a commonsense need to recognize that, as things change, the surest path to survival (and eventual success) involves finding ways to keep moving forward.

On the bright side, I’ve spoken with enough people to know that the demand for watershapes of all sorts has seldom been stronger – but that it has proved for months now to be almost impossible for interested consumers to find the financing that is so often needed to turn dreams into reality. The messages aging Baby Boomers continue to hear about the fantastic health benefits of swimming and hydrotherapy will eventually rekindle the pool and spa market, just as certainly as the increasing awareness of the glories of watergardening will endure right through hard times and ultimately carry us to a time when pent-up demand will be unleashed upon watershapers everywhere.

We should also be mindful of the fact that, despite the grim news, lots of watershapes continue to be commissioned, designed and built. Even during hard times, affluent people buy beautiful homes and adorn them with custom enhancements including pools, spas, fountains, ponds and streams. Indeed, I’ve spoken with many watershapers who have seen no fall-off at all in their businesses and are in fact just as busy as ever – if not more so.

It is in this phenomenon that I find the ultimate reason for optimism.

As I see it, the persistence of activity through these troubled times is an immense tribute to the ever-more creative and dynamic projects watershapers have generated through the past decade – and that this achievement, this uplifting of watershapes from mere commodities to custom treasures, is ultimately what will pull us through and should be driving a shared optimism about the future.

As a result of creative expansion, the watershapes market has far greater value than it once did. Through your own efforts you’ve set the table for success, and even if current conditions have temporarily scattered the flatware, there is little to undermine the progress that has been made. Consumers mostly want what they see, and you’ve given the world enough to look at and desire for years to come.

Here’s to a better 2009: It’s in all of us to get through it, and to do so with confidence and style.