Hi Tim – I shouldn’t laugh, as you lost money. But every story you tell cracks me up.

There was a huge wave of mass hysteria going on between Diana’s death and the funeral, then everything seemed to go back to normal – which was bad for you. I’m guessing that means I won’t get much on ebay for my Diana Memorial Concert program then.

So we actually ordered 300 copies and got only got about half on day of release. Even so we sold out in about 2 hours. Some people were buying 10 copies! We HAD to sell the cd’s at cost which meant in reality we were losing money (about 30p per copy). The record company also had a no return, no privilege policy which effectively meant we were stuck with any copies we couldn’t sell.

Meanwhile newspapers and florists were making a bloody fortune from her death. One guy in Watford decided that enough was enough and started selling copies at 4.49 rather than 3.99 to cover his overheads. I can remember the headline in The Sun to this day because it was absolutely brilliant.

“SCANDAL IN THE WIND”

They toasted the poor guy for trying to avoid losing money! The hypocrisy.

To cut a long story short we had 300 copies turn up a week later and by then you couldn’t give them away and we ended up losing about a grand.

What was the question again?

So he was pleased to see her picture on the front of the local paper the other night. Apparently – she is in deep trouble and has even been banned from practising.

Hi Mare – I can understand where you’re coming from re. re-framing. And that could work for some people but not for me, as I really did hope people would be flooded.

Hi Valerie – that is a good point. I guess if you were buying a house where the owner got into difficulties, asking yourself whether they got into trouble through misfortune, or stupidity would help you make an ethical buying decision.

Hi Rita – isn’t it a fab quote. I was being stalked again, so felt inspired to put it up. It’s nice to hear this from a flood victim’s perspective. And as you pointed out – there’s many real ambulance chasers out there.

You’ve totally lost me with the email. Was it from the old email address, or the new one? Do you mean the bit about the viral book in red writing? That is honestly a really awesome product – it shows you how to make your own viral book and the great thing is, you can read it before you decide to buy.

There’s some awesome tools included to help you make your own viral book on any subject too.

But if it’s something else – let me know.

Hi Davina – I think it really depends on the person who is running the business. As you say, you don’t see that it is profiting from other people’s misery – so it may work for you. But I did feel that I was doing so, which made it less enjoyable for me.

Hi Tracy – a lot of sales and marketing techniques do prey on people’s fears don’t they? I can understand you not doing it that way. Appealing to a positive emotion does seem far nicer.

Hi Joanna – exactly – that is what I was trying to say. Different personalities will have opinions on how they would feel. But making the right decision for you personally, is the key.

Hi Evelyn – that is true – if you are providing a great benefit to your customers, it is far more rewarding.

Hi Andrew – luckily I sold the business, so I don’t need to do that. I can see what you mean – re hoping folk will come to you when they are in trouble – but that alone would not have stopped me from wishing disaster to happen. It may be enough for some people though.

Hi Jamie – I hear what you’re saying – that would work for some people .

Hi Betsy – Thank you. I must admit I’ve not got much reading done this week – I’ll catch up this weekend.

Your ex boss sounds really scummy. Luckily you were able to see that what he was doing didn’t feel right to you.

I like the way you explained what I was trying to say in a few words: “we need to know who we are and what we stand for, above all else.”

I worked for an ambulance chaser almost 30 years ago. This guy marketed himself to bikers – Hell’s Angels, Harley riders, and so forth – because “they get hurt the worst.” He also kept a slew of hospital chaplains on the payroll for referrals out of the emergency room, and we had a Rolodex of cooperative medical “professionals” who would “massage the file.” The biggest payday from a major motorcycle company’s insurer to a woman who had been severely burned into a monstrosity, yet lived. After all was said and done, he went back to her several months later and tried to renegotiate his fees. To 50%. When he stepped out to the men’s room, she looked at me and I shook my head “no” and didn’t say anything. Needless to say, she said she’d like to keep to the original arrangement, thank you very much. I could go on and on about this guy – the tax evasion, the barter arrangements that left defendants who didn’t want to go to trial in servitude, the tailored suits that were charged off as office draperies. It was awful, a fascinating and horrifying train wreck. I stayed way too long in his employ. Finally I came to my senses, left and blew the whistle in a variety of ways.

You just can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. This guy justified his professional activities as noble, getting victims what they deserved. Well, yes, to a point, but he profited handsomely on their pain as well. A wolf was in charge of the sheep. This man drank himself to death. So his conscience killed him in the end, when he wouldn’t listen to it.

We all know what we can live with, within ourselves, and what we’re comfortable calling it. You raise a valuable topic, because we need to know who we are and what we stand for, above all else.

Betsy’s last blog post..BAIL-OUT — YOUR TRAVEL BUDGET AND YOUR LIFE

Jamie Simmerman’s last blog post..A Second Helping of Wisdom from the Net

I would struggle with such a line of business personally. That said, provided that you provide an effective solution to the crisis, and that you provide a good quality service at an affordable cost, I do not see anything wrong with it.

Perhaps rather than wishing disaster upon others, you could wish that they turn to your business (as opposed to your competition) in times of trouble.

Andrew’s last blog post..Socially Responsible Investing part 9: Does ethical investing compromise investment performance?

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I don’t think of your business so much as profiting from misery. it kind is, but you’re also offering a valuable service and if you do it with empathy then you’re a great option for people who need that service anyway. Same with funeral directors. People are going to die. There will be floods and fires etc. That’s just life.

Personally I probably couldn’t have one of these businesses because it wouldn’t suit my personality. And I would prefer a business that allowed my optimistic, helpful nature to run free. A bit hard when you’re dealing in major life upheavals. I ahve a cousin who’s a nurse and I admire her greatly, but I could never ever do it. She, on the other hand, says she could never teach, which I was very good at. So I guess it’s wonderful we’re all different.

Kelly

Kelly@SHE-POWER’s last blog post..SHE-POWER Fiction: A Taste of Eve