I'm trying to think of ways to profit off of the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. All chaos leaves opportunity... I know that home services and skilled tradesmen will be doing very well for the next couple of years. I'm sure insurance companies will be making a lot of payouts.

I'm making this thread as a way to brainstorm...

My one idea is a way to help contractors advertise and get in front of the people whose homes were damaged

There's a fine line between offering people in a desperate situation a much needed product or service and earning a fair profit for your time & effort versus price-gouging and taking advantage of them. I'm not suggesting that's your intent, I'm just saying that those are two different things & we should be clear on what we are talking about.

Here's an idea:

People are in dire need of housing. Buy a large used travel trailer or 5th Wheel in good condition, tow it to Houston and re-sell. What would be a fair profit? I have no idea.

If you wanted to be a humanitarian / good human being & simply "pay it forward", just recoup your investment plus a couple extra $100 dollars for expenses (gas, wear & tear on vehicle, etc.).

Well, not looking to take advantage of anyone obviously. But making a profit isn't an immoral thing... just looking to profit in ways that help people... for instance contractors who generally make a lot of money off of floods because people need new homes.

Roofing contractors salespeople are going to eat. Like really eat.

EDIT: I really need to go after my construction materials leads again. I wonder if any of them are near TX?

Do you have experience in construction/contracting? Or in, as you suggested, advertising? If not, I really don't know what you're going to be able to do. Being in the area would also help. How close are you to Houston?

About 12 years ago when all those hurricanes hit FL in a single season, I was living in Orlando. I took a second job with an arborist who was under contract with FEMA to remove damaged trees that were near the highways. It was nothing special though. I made $15/hr directing traffic around our work detail.

I'm currently watching a segment on ABC about some furniture warehouse who is housing people who are currently homeless. Seems like good way to get national advertising and actually helping people.

Flood damage inspector / claims adjuster.

[QUOTE=Pride of Cucamonga;52774108]There's a fine line between offering people in a desperate situation a much needed product or service and earning a fair profit for your time & effort versus price-gouging and taking advantage of them. I'm not suggesting that's your intent, I'm just saying that those are two different things & we should be clear on what we are talking about.

QUOTE]

Your not a business man with this thought process.
its all supply and demand.
A motel 6 in Daytona fl. is $49 most nights but $450+ during bike week and race week, are they price -gouging or maximizing profits during a peak high demand period.
Are airlines who charge triple for holiday travel gouging ?

a carpenter who makes $ 30 per hour will get over $100 hr for several weeks down there and insurance companies will pay it as they understand, its just business plain and simple!

Snow,

You might want to read up on what price gouging is.

There is a big difference between bike week and a natural disaster.

Exactly. They have a choice to go to Bike Week, and they understand in advance that it will cost them extra.

from a consumer/victim point of view this is correct.

from a business point of view its supply & demand

its called capitalism.


one mans gouged price is another mans college tuition for his child.

did we the taxpayers have any say when they build all those homes below sea level in Louisiana and it cost US billions after Katrina hit.
Do we the taxpayers have any say when millionaire's build on an ocean cliff and then want US to pay to have the cliff fixed from erosion .

Yes 50 inches of rain is unheard of and these people need help,

but to assume everyone should do a job at a loss because you say so is just plain @@@##$$%^.


Do you give money back to the player who calls the river all in with a 4 flush and opened straight on the board when he only has bottom pair?

Raising gas prices before the 4th of July is no different then raising them after a hurricane crushes a region. The same business principal applys.
supply and demand.
some Liberal wants to call it price gouging all the while hiding under his shell company he buys up stock in lumber and gas company's.

to answer op's question
anyone with construction skills , a chainsaw or backhoe can make great money these next few months. how about a food truck to feed all those workers, another great idea dump truck drivers, general labor etc....

they don't need much of this as when people see them working they get approached several times daily and ins. adjustors will take down and funnel work to those who are quick, reasonable and good at the repairs.

with all the cars damaged another idea might be to sign up as an uber or lyft driver in the region, folks will need rides for all sorts of things.

I agree that people who continually rebuild in a flood-zone areas or in areas known to flood every "X" amount of years or have hurricane damage regularly (thinking areas like North Carolina's Outer Banks) should not be bailed out by government (i.e., taxpayers).

But I never said (or even suggested) that everyone (or anyone for that matter) should do a job at a loss (though many will and more power to them!).

What I did say was that there was a difference between "price gouging" and earning a "fair profit" for one's time and labor. I didn't say exactly what that difference is, I just said there is a difference and we should be clear what we're talking about.

If a construction guy wants to load up his tools in his truck and head to TX and work his ass off & make double what he makes in his home state for next 6 months or however long, I have no problem with that. He's providing a valuable service, one that's clearly much needed & appreciated.

But there are others (Cajun Calvary) who voluntarily leave their jobs/family/etc., pay their way and just go try and help others. It's called having empathy for others & wanting to help them in a time of need. People do this all the time....you know, voluntarily donate their time and/or money to help others...it's called "volunteering" and people (even diehard Capitalist like yourself) do it all the time.

Funny you should say I am not a "business man with this thought process". First of all, not everything I do in life has to be about business or making money. But more to your point--I've been self-employed my entire life, just sold my business a few months ago....and retired at age 49. That doesn't make me better or smarter than you, but from my viewpoint it does indicate quite clearly that I am/was a "business man"--and more importantly--a successful business man at that!

Not for nothing, but your poker analogy was beyond absurd.

Your food truck idea, however, is a very good one, though not a particularly practical idea for the average joe to put into action.

Wow, so much non sequitur and strawman. Lol

I'm not attacking anyone.
Several thousands will donate time & or money, its their choice and I applaud them.
BUT OP asked for ideas on how to make money off this disaster.
As a self employed biz man I'm sure you donated throughout your life and worked hard.
My point was ; as in any business with chain supply economics its a supply and demand world. Maybe you or the next guy won't take advantage; but many more will see this as what it TRUELY is ;an opportunity to make major $$$$$$$$.
As you pointed out in areas where construction work is slow they will migrate to Texas for the chance to make a good living even if only for a few months.

If you or anyone else thinks , people with money aren't loading up on stocks that will soar from this, you got your head buried in the sand.
401k and mutual funds will be shifting positions to take advantage of this disaster.
White collar folks with money will profit greatly;
why shouldn't the blue collar guy doing the actual work prosper.

Yeah I'm sorry, but the profits some people will make off this storm are literally the only good thing about it. Storms happen.

All kidding aside I ****ing hate people who consider 'profit' to be some kind of dirty word. Yeah it feels a little bit icky to profit off of so much misery... But the people who rebuild Houston are going to need to be paid.

+1

and remember in Texas they have a state law that says 90 days after the incident the claim must be filed, so once waters recede and rescues are complete you're going to see claims folks flock down there like a modern day bonanza. great law BTW, helps displaced families get back in their homes more quickly IMO.

start with investing in the things flood waters damage. first is carpets. then sheetrock.
furniture, rental cars needed, disinfectant sprays, you get the idea.

find stocks that will benefit and buy those. your returns may not show for a year or so in the bottom line.

for those that want to travel and work tree cutters will do the best for a short time as they can get top dollar for emergency clearing.
also cleaning and sanitizing company.
next is all around handyman as most jobs require a person to fix multiple things.

lots to be made and none of it is gouging.

last hurricane katrinna people bought generators for retail and drove them down to sell for double what they paid. Louisiana a passed a law that said no item could be sold for over list price. so no one got generators that wanted them willing to pay a few hundred extra. because there was no incentive to bring them there.
electricians are prime workers as most systems will need some attention.