2019 Economic Impact
Originally inspired by an instagram post by Fireplay’s Nick Whitehouse, I thought I’d take a few minutes to add up some numbers from 2019. Financial figures on just how much money I spent directly and estimates of how much money I had a part in contributing to the US Economy in 2019.
In 2019, I had 70 flights, most for work. I rented 27 cars. I stayed in 11 hotels, 4 AirBNBs. Total impact to the transportation industry? $15,507.
I worked on 32 projects in 17 cities across 8 states for a total of 33 weeks. Assuming a meager $10/meal, that’s $7,000 put into the restaurant industry, most of that at small local coffee shops like this one, the Muddpuddle Cafe in New Paltz, NY.
2019 was a “light” year for me in hiring subcontractors – I’ve fortunately been able to get producers to hire my team members directly. Still, I paid $6,865 directly to other workers.
I paid $649 in insurance, $1,586 in professional dues/fees, $4,550 on utilities/communication, and $900 in advertising/promotion. All of those things went directly to other industries in the US.
Not all projects I did last year had rental budgets, but I estimate between those that did, I directed about $102,000 in funds to rental companies. I consulted on some renovations, directing roughly $24,000 in purchases & labor.
Added up, I was personally responsible for roughly $163,000 in revenue for various industries in cities all over the United States.
Compare to 2020? I’ve had two flights, two shows, one project management, one 1-day consulting gig in town… and that’s all. Nothing currently booked until at least March 2021, and that’s a best-case-scenario.
It’s hard to estimate how many patrons viewed shows and events that I worked on last year – but between some large scale environmental events and theatrical work, it’s over 100k people. Every one of them spent local money to get to the venue, many spent money on parking, dinner before the show, on babysitters, on clothes to go to the theatre for a night out. They spent money at local bars after the show. It’s not a stretch to say that every patron spent at least $10 on SOMETHING. That’s $1,000,000 in revenue alone that I had a small part of contributing to the US economy last year.
I’m just one person. Scale my numbers to the 1000s of people just like me who are without work. Us being out of work doesn’t only affect us. It affects countless other people and industries that need our work to succeed.
We need YOUR help to survive.
mikewoodld
