Everything is made in China. From cars to chairs, computers to pianos. Boats arrive to our docks full of pallets of merchandise, and return to China empty. If everything is being made by the Chinese people, where do we make our money from?

The US economy is powered not by goods, but by ideas. Steel mills have closed down years ago, car companies are going broke, factories are a thing of the past. Those have all been sent overseas, where cheap labor is plentiful. But smart people, with ideas, cannot be outsourced.

B&H Photo sells billions of dollars of camera and other electronics every year, and they make a ton of money doing so. There is nothing unique about the products they sell. 90% of what they sell is easily found in other stores, both online and off. So what is so unique about their business that causes pro photographers and amateurs alike to flock to them with religious zeal for their gear?

The answer is the “shopping experience.” The camera is not unique, but their ideas on how to sell the camera are. And that alone is worth billions in annual sales, allowing them to employ 1,600 people in the process.

Ideas are the currency of today’s marketplace. Don’t invest in products, they can be found anywhere. Instead, invest in creating a sales process that is unique. It may be more difficult to create a new idea than a new product, but ultimately, it is the only way to make money in today’s marketplace.

Because good ideas are the only things not being Made in China.

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This is the harsh reality. However, it is readily overcome. Frum Jews, at least those who work, tend to have higher levels of income and wealth than average. On the surface, that seems counterintuitive. Frum people, who are bound by Torah and Mitzvos, are faced with innumerable restrictions. No work on Shabbos or Yom Tov, davening 3 times a day, kvius ittim l’Torah (hopefully). Add to that the kinds of businesses that one is not allowed to engage in, such ascertain food items, shatnez, ribbis, ona’ah, etc. Couple this with the high cost of being a frum Jew, from yeshiva tuition to the high cost of kosher food, from the large families we tend to have to the huge expenses associated with marrying off a child. Don’t forget maaser obligations to our numerous mosdos of Torah and Chessed. There are social obligations such as dinners, parties, summer vacations, and clothing costs. Even though we are encumbered with all these challenges, many of us manage to overcome them, producing vast sums of money in the process.

The cards may be stacked against us, but we have what it takes to break through it all and win. Take for example the famous B & H. They increased their sales through the worst recession in years, as competitors such as Circuit City went bankrupt. (Joel Spolsky wrote a great piece on how they withstood the devastation all around them.) To top it off, they close their store – and their cash generating website – over Shabbos and Yom Tov. At least 1/7th of the week, they are closed – no sales, no orders, nothing. And yet, they are making money like never before.

If they can do it, you can do it. Face the challenge head on. You have what it takes to win.

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