Are you attempting to locate a business that won’t be badly affected by the present economic downturn? Everyone else is! So, grant me the privilege of sharing just one essential piece of advice with you.

Purchase a liquor store.

Liquor stores are amazingly recession-proof, perhaps even more than any other sort of retail business. With experienced management on your part, you can sustain solid profits from your liquor store, even in really tough times.

People will still buy alcoholic beverages, even in a tough recession. Liquor sales stayed solid through the economic downturn of the mid-1980s, and they’re holding firm in the current economic market. People still regularly buy wine, liquor and beer, even when times become really tough. But let me put forth the following consideration:

Currently, people are spending carefully. The days are in the past (or at the very minimum, they’re on pause) when most buyers wouldn’t give a second thought to paying $40, $50 or more for a bottle of wine to have with their dinner, but don’t concern yourself over this, that trend puts you in a great place keep your profits solid, because:

The liquor business lets you adjust and adapt to buying patterns. You can stock a wide variety of excellent low cost products that today’s customers really want. If you are a particularly creative merchandiser, you can fill your stores with an interesting variety of well prices wines, beers and other alcoholic beverages, so your customers always get great value for their money and always feel satisfied. After all, they can still enjoy the adventure of buying and drinking interesting products, while saving money too! Just keep in mind that you have to shop intelligently for these products, while not forgetting to:

Supercharge your profits with low-cost, effective marketing. You can receive a $30 profit on a case of inexpensive priced Chilean wines, vs. $10 on just one bottle of more costly French wine – and the marketing expenses are identical for both selections! With the right kind of low-cost marketing (through sales flyers in local newspapers, or via an email newsletter that you send to your clients), you can sell a lot more inexpensive products in these tough times. Your customers will value you as an individual and the superb value which you deliver. You can easily increase your perceived value even more by implementing this next strategy:

Use great service and advice to increase sales dramatically. More customers these days are looking around for alcoholic beverages that are inexpensive, yet still really good quality. (This can be summed up with the simple word, “Value.”) This spells opportunity for you, the proud new owner of a thriving liquor store. You can study wine yourself, hire top notch salespeople or just order selectively from the low cost wines that you see listed in popular trade magazines. Just don’t forget to lure in customers with some creative marketing strategies, such as sending your customers classy email newsletters that include specific discounts for selected products.

There are no small retailers, only retailers with small ideas! If you’re looking for a flexible, resilient business that will bring in solid profits in the current recession, and make even more money when the current recession goes away – look no further than a liquor store!

Richard Parker is the author of the How to Buy a Good Business at a Great Price series. As President and founder of Diomo Corporation – The Business Buyer Resource Center, his materials, seminars and consulting have helped thousands of business buyers realize their dream of buying a business.