Questions about the economic situation in 2024? Well, not to worry. The Clermont County Chamber of Commerce hosted its Economic Breakfast with Connor Lokar, a Senior Forecaster at ITR Economics, as the presenter. The event was scheduled by the Chamber of Commerce as part of their “Economic Breakfast” series, with this one being the 16th.
The event started at 7:30 a.m. on March 7, with a meet and greet. This part of the event took place in the main room of the Crossroads Church in Eastgate, where there was a section for coffee and soft drinks and another station that had breakfast foods for the people who were attending. People were flooding in the doors, and several guests were interacting and having conversations with each other. Some guests were even talking to staff members who were helping to set up and manage the Economic Breakfast. At 8:00 a.m., we were required to move into a massive room with a stage (for Lokar to present), and an incredible amount of seating.
The event started shortly after. Here are some key takeaways from Lokar’s presentation.
First of all, Lokar acknowledged that 2023 was an awkward year, and stated that 2024 would also be an awkward and complex year. He stated and explained multiple times that it will not be stressful or problematic like with the pandemic years, but instead, just needs a little bit more planning than the previous years. “The economy isn’t going to do it for you,” he claimed at the start of the presentation, referring to the economic aspects of 2024. He again explained that there is going to be a need for more planning.
However, towards the middle part of the presentation, he explained that 2024 is going to be the year to invest. He explained that he was not talking about stocks since that field isn’t his field of expertise, but he was instead talking about steps to move forward or goals that you may have as a business. What he means by this is two things. He elaborated on this topic for a great deal of time, and he explained that what he generally means is that if you, as a business, have a need that you have been looking to do for the past while, act on it sooner, rather than later. Basically, if you were looking to purchase/build a new office, or if you were looking to purchase new materials from anywhere from trucks to materials, do it this year. He explains this to us because he believes that the cost of these things will start to rise after 2024.
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