One of the fringe benefits of being assistant editor of Leader to Leader magazine is that I am usually able to wrangle press passes for some very interesting events. For the past several years, I have used the power of the pen to get a pass into what is possibly the world's largest convention for lovers of pop culture: Comic-Con. Born 40 years ago in San Diego, Comic-Con has steadily grown over the years into a four-day extravaganza that draws lovers of comics (and science fiction, fantasy, superhero, supernatural, and horror films, television shows, blogs, websites, and most any other form of media you could ever imagine) from across the country, and around the world. And while only 300 people attended the very first Comic-Con, last year 126,000 showed up.

The point is that this is one area of the economy that doesn't seem to be directly impacted by the recent downturn. More exhibitors are registering to show their stuff, more film and television production companies are attending to show previews of the Next Big Thing (the film Twilight was the Next Big Thing last year, and the Twilight sequel New Moon, and the upcoming Johnny Depp film Alice in Wonderland are the Next Big Things this year), and the media is paying more attention to this celebration of strange. And attendees are spending their hard-earned cash on souvenirs and tchotchkes as fast as they can pull it out of their wallets.

Recession? What recession? Not at Comic-Con.

In every economic climate -- both good and bad -- there are opportunities to be had. The key is to tune into them, create products and services that people want to buy, and price them at a level that drives demand while leaving you with a nice profit for your trouble.

May the force be with you.