Editor's Corner

These are definitely trying times we are in. Most individuals feel the rug of their future security has been pulled out from under them. As for businesses, most of the underlying market and economic assumptions on which their enterprises were built have either disappeared or radically changed.

However, every coin has two sides. The positive side of the coin: This is a great time of opportunity for existing businesses to reinvent themselves for the future. It's also perfect timing for entrepreneurs to start new businesses that will emerge at the tail end of the recession. Both will be poised to take advantage of increased and/or changed demand and fill the void left by businesses that failed to reinvent themselves and were killed off by the recession.

To help you get a jump start, we've included three articles addressing the theme of changes society is going through and the impact and opportunity this presents for location-based entertainment and leisure facilities. In our first article, we introduce you to your future customer, the grounded consumer. In our second article, we discuss the implications of a more educated society. Our article on Scheels addresses a rapidly emerging landscape of new competition for the consumer's leisure time and disposable income.

We also have a guest article by go-kart guru Peter Olesen, offer positive news about the performance of community-based entertainment, introduce you to Smashies and announce the May Foundations Entertainment University.

Should you wish to print out selected articles rather than our entire eNewsletter, you can do so by going to the Web version, Leisure eNewsletters.

Randy White
Editor