I live in Slidell, Louisiana. Check that – I *used* to live in
Slidell, Louisiana. Slidell is now really nothing more than a
collection of abandoned and flooded buildings that over 35,000
people used to call home.

With all the media attention on New Orleans, it’s easy to forget
about the smaller, more rural areas that have also been
destroyed, and will most likely never fully recover… areas
like my town of Slidell.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it became very apparent
to me that my decision to work online full-time thirteen months
ago has saved at least my sanity, and most likely my future.
People who live in the suburbs of New Orleans generally fall
into three categories.

Commuters: Folks that live in Slidell, and
commute to New Orleans to work. These poor people most likely no
longer have a house or a job. Sure, the ones that work for big
corporations will most likely be able to get a transfer to a new
location, but the ones working for small business are no going
to be so lucky. The bridge from Slidell to New Orleans is gone,
so even after all the cleanup is completed, and *assuming* that
the small business they worked for still exists, how are they
going to get to work each day? There is another bridge from
Mandeville to New Orleans, but that’s going to add 20 or 30
miles to their commute each way… A good majority of these
people will simply not be returning, because they live
paycheck-to-paycheck, and cannot afford to wait 2 or 3 months
for the infrastructure to be restored.

Business Owners: There are quite a few people
living in Slidell who own a business either in Slidell, or in
New Orleans. Chances are, these people are not living paycheck
to paycheck, but their source of income is now gone. The ones
whose businesses are downtown can’t even get there to try and
salvage what they can. The ones whose businesses are in Slidell
are not much better off – if their business survived the storm
and flooding, there is no electricity or water, so they are
going to have to wait for the infrastructure to be rebuilt
before they can open for business again… however, because a
majority of the commuters are simply not going to return, will
there be enough of a customer base for their businesses to
survive? These folks have thousands, or hundreds of thousands of
dollars invested in their businesses, and although insurance
will cover their direct losses, the loss of potential customers
will most likely force these business owners to close their
businesses forever.

Locals: People that live and work in Slidell.
With no infrastructure, living and working in Slidell is
currently impossible. The mayor of Slidell announced on CNN that
it will most likely be 12 weeks before the electricity comes
back on… who can sit around for 12 weeks without an income?? I
don’t expect there to be many of these people left when the
lights come back on, either.

Now, consider the overall financial devestation that is about to
take place for all of these middle-class, working Americans. You
have no power or water for 12 weeks. Your job no longer exists
(nor any job, for that matter). The bridge to where most of the
jobs are is destroyed. Consider the mass exodus that is about to
take place among the middle class from the New Orleans region,
as they look for new jobs and homes.

Tell me – what is that going to do to real estate values in this
area – even the real estate that was not damaged by the storm?
Houses that were worth $150,000 two weeks ago may be worth
$30,000 when the lights come back on. With no jobs, no easy way
to commute to the jobs that may exist, and few businesses able
to remain open, who is going to want to live anywhere near
there? Remember, real estate is a supply and demand market -
there is not going to be any demand… but there is going to be
a TON of supply as people who have moved to new locations try to
sell off their houses… because they can’t afford two mortgages.

In 6 to 12 months, you’re going to see a huge rash of
bankruptcies and foreclosures because these people can’t pay two
mortgages, and can’t sell their houses for anything near what
they owe on them. I haven’t seen anyone talking about this…
but it is going to happen.

Now, let me explain exactly how Internet Marketing saved my
life. I work online. I create software and other products, I run
multiple money-generating websites, and I assist other people
who are attempting to do the same. I quit my job thirteen months
ago, still $80,000 in debt. Today, I’m debt free (with the
exception of a mortgage), and make a decent amount of money each
month. I’m not physically dependent upon anything but a laptop
and an internet connection.

In fact, after evacuating for the storm, my entire business was
back up and running 100% within 8 days – and that 8 days was
spent finding a house in Texas to rent and getting a broadband
connection installed. Because of the nature of online business,
I actually made money during these 8 days while not being able
to actively work.

Now contrast that with the vast majority of folks who will be
out of work, and possibly homeless, for quite some time -
depending on government, or family, or charities for their very
survival for many months.

My house was not destroyed… in fact, it was hardly even
damaged. But with the upcoming exodus that I see happening, I
fully expect that house to be practically worthless for quite
some time. However, because I laid the groudwork for the past
couple of years, I’m in a position where I am able to keep
paying on my mortgage, while renting another house, as I wait
for normalcy to return to the Greater New Orleans area.

When things are “pretty much back to normal” in Slidell, I’ll be
able to return to my house, without having to worry about trying
to find a job, or commuting to the city… I’ll have the choice
to either return to Slidell, or stay in my new town… many.
many people will not have such a choice.

Please don’t take this as me “tooting my horn” or anything of
the sort. No one was expecting anything like this to happen,
least of all me. I’m trying to point out that, if you have been
trying to establish an online business of any sort, keep at it!
It’s not easy, and it can’t be done overnight – but it
definately can be done. If you’ve thought about starting an
online business, but haven’t yet gotten started, do so! If a
massive disaster hits your area, you may just find that internet
marketing has saved your life as well