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American Business Brokers & Advisors Founder & President MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS BUSINESS VALUATIONS
FEBRUARY 2026
TERRYMONROE.COM
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The Future of the Job Market
... And I Am Scared
It is the beginning of 2026, and I am scared. I am not scared for myself, but for the future of my nine grandkids, who are just getting started in life, and how they will be able to live and support themselves. The reason I say this is due to the information being disseminated by the media regarding artificial intelligence. As we know, the talk about artificial intelligence is everywhere. I could use artificial intelligence to write my articles, but if I did that, it wouldn’t be me. You would not get the real flavor of how I talk to people, and if I were talking to you, instead, you would say, “That’s not
And then we had this thing called COVID-19 that really turned the job market on its head, where people who could work didn’t work, and we don’t know where the people who wanted to work went. Now, we have artificial intelligence show up on the scene, and everyone is all riled up about how it is going to save the world and make our lives easier, which, in my opinion, is b.s. Recently, a good friend of mine, a successful real estate developer in Naples, Florida, shared with me that he writes a letter to his children every year about the future and their family. It is sort of like a state-
the guy who wrote that article, because the article sounded a lot more intelligent than how Terry would talk.” When I was growing up, the future didn’t seem so scary because your choices were pretty simple. Either you went to college after high school, or to the service in the military, or you went to work as a tradesman, being a plumber, an electrician, a truck driver, or a carpenter, to name a few, or you got a job in the factory. A lot of my family members migrated to the factories, where they made car parts, air conditioners, and worked in the printing industry, to name a few. It seemed that finding a job was always easy, and you were able to earn enough money to support yourself and your family. (Maybe this is why my mom always said we were just as happy as if we had good sense.)
of-the-union address, but to his kids. It’s a pretty good idea that I am going to have to engage in. But this year, he said it was more of a gloom and doom letter because he cited a recent article in The New York Times titled “The Job Apocalypse,” where they talk about a call center that a venture capital firm had purchased. They had just deployed artificial intelligence into the business and replaced 80% of its workforce, putting thousands of workers who depended on those jobs to pay for food, rent, and medicine out of work overnight. Fortune magazine recently reported that throughout 2025, corporate America has engaged in a frantic restructuring of the labor market, cutting more than 1.17 million jobs in the first 11 months of the year, a 54% increase from 2024. From the 14,000 corporate cuts at Amazon, 15,000 at Microsoft, 11,000 at Accenture, to the
But now the landscape of getting a good job has changed. The factories have been long
nearly 300,000 federal civil service reductions, the narrative driving this contraction is uniform: They are shedding excess labor to make room for the streamlined, high-margin future of artificial intelligence. Continued on Page 2 ...
gone for over 30-plus years because everything was outsourced to other countries that could do the job cheaper than we could in the U.S. Some people used to blame it on the unions, and some people blame it on the politicians, but regardless, those kinds of jobs are gone.
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The Power of the Upside!
has plenty of stuff, and they ask themselves, “Why am I thinking about buying this service or thing? I don’t need it.” Since I used to have “dealitus,” where I could not pass up a deal and would buy a property or business without a second thought, I have used the “What is my upside?” question whenever I am faced with a potential opportunity to buy more stuff. The question I ask myself is, “Am I buying this opportunity or stuff for the thrill of doing a deal, or do I really need this opportunity or stuff? And if so, what is my upside if I go forward with this purchase?” What I found out is that by asking myself this simple question, I have been able to increase my productivity, improve my financial situation, and reduce potential grief in my life by not buying whatever I was thinking about purchasing. The next time you are faced with an opportunity or a thing you don’t think you can live without, take the time to have a talk with yourself and ask yourself the question: “What is the upside for me if I go forward with this opportunity or purchase?” Because we all know it is easier to buy than it is to sell. Once you take everything into consideration, I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much asking yourself the “What is the upside?” question will make a difference in your productivity, financial situation, and overall happiness going forward. And you won’t have to get more space for the stuff you were thinking about buying!
The mindset of most Americans is that of a buyer. We love to buy stuff. It really doesn’t matter what it is. We just like to buy stuff, and if you are like me, you are guilty of this concept, too. I know I am a great buyer but a terrible seller. In America, we are known to keep buying more stuff if we have room for our stuff. This is one of the reasons mini storage buildings were invented, so we can have more room for our stuff. This concept is most prevalent where I live in Florida. People are always moving to Florida from up north and think they need to bring a
lot of their stuff with them. Then, when they get to Florida, they realize they don’t have enough room for everything, so they end up renting a mini storage space, which we call the “Black Hole,” as in outer space, where things go in but never come back out. Research has been done on the reason why Americans love to buy stuff, and it appears to date back to when we were children. When we were children growing up and in our formative years, it was our parents’ job to teach us good habits and how to behave and get along with people. How they did this most of the time
was to reward us with an allowance or give us money to buy candy or things. Subliminally, we ended up relating the happy feeling we got from buying things, or stuff, and carried this practice with us as we grew older. Saving money was not considered a fun thing, but buying stuff was fun. How does the idea of being an avid buyer play into the power of upside? There comes a point where a person
–Terry Monroe
... continued from Cover
Morgan Stanley warns that over 200,000 banking jobs are at risk by 2030 as artificial intelligence reshapes their operations.
We all know that everything in life is about timing. You can do everything right and have the best laid plans, but if the timing is not right, you are doomed. However, there are other times when you are just lucky, and your timing is good, and things turn out great. From what I see for the future of the job market, I can’t find where you will have good timing unless you pivot and focus on the trade industry or maybe the service industry, like a convenience store. Again, scary stuff for someone coming into this world wanting to find a good job to support themselves and a family. If anybody knows where the good jobs are, I am all ears. Send them over, and I will share them with the rest of the world because I am running out of ideas. –Terry Monroe
I have grandkids who are in grade school, high school, college, and some who have graduated from college and are starting to look for a job. Who is going to hire them, and if they do get hired, who is to say the job they find will be around in five years because someone in the organization decides artificial intelligence is a better way to do things? I recently read a book titled “The Preparation: How To Become Competent, Confident, and Dangerous” written by Doug Casey, a noted financial bestselling author and graduate of Georgetown University who cites that a college education is not worth the money they charge and how you should prepare oneself for the future ahead of us and the upcoming job market by learning useable life skills rather than an education that will not be applicable in the job market.
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HEADLINE
SUDOKU (SOLUTION ON PG. 4) Take a Break!
Clear the Shelves in anticipation of Terry’s new book coming out in 2026! Get your FREE copy of “Selling with Certainty” by Terry Monroe by simply emailing him at Terry@terrymonroe.com with “Straightforward Advice” in the subject line. With “Selling with Certainty,” Terry Monroe has written the go-to book for anyone who has
considered, is considering, or may consider selling their
business. Monroe provides friendly, appealing, no-nonsense advice to business owners about how to avoid the common pitfalls of selling their businesses, while ensuring they get full value from the years of hard work they've put in. Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming 2026 book project! MARRIAGE QUOTES FOR A HAPPY LIFE “Remember that creating a successful marriage is like farming: You have to start over again every morning.” –H. Jackson Brown Jr. “A friend just told me that the key to a successful marriage was to argue naked.” –LeAnn Rimes “I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed, too — for being married so many times.” –Elizabeth Taylor “We were married for better or worse. I couldn’t have done better, and she couldn’t have done worse.” –Henny Youngman “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.” –Jim Carrey
Have you ever been cheated or shafted in a deal and wondered why you trusted the other party when you knew better? Maybe the following story about the scorpion and a frog will help you to understand why some people do what they do. THE FROG & THE SCORPION
The Frog & the Scorpion
A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting him, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that he would drown too if he stung the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung him despite knowing the consequences, to which the scorpion replies: "I am sorry, but I couldn't help myself. I am a scorpion, and it is my character."
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INSIDE
Sudoku Solution
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The Future of the Job Market ... and I Am Scared
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The Power of the Upside!
New Book Coming in 2026!
Inflation-Proofing Your Estate for the Future
Inflation’s Hidden Impact on Your Estate The Price of Planning Ahead
Most of us notice inflation when we check out at the grocery store, not when we think about our estate plan. Prices for everyday items are creeping up, but those same price changes can also impact the value of what we own. When that happens, our estate plan may need a second look. Inflation means that money doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. A dollar today buys less than it did a few years ago. Homes, cars, and investments all fluctuate in value due to inflation. In the 1950s, the average home sold for about $7,400. Today, it’s well over $370,000. Wages have also increased, albeit at a slower pace. That gap explains why inflation matters when estate planning. When the cost of goods and property rises, the total value of our estate rises with it. That sounds positive, but it can also push an estate closer to federal or state tax thresholds. A house valued at
$1 million today might be worth $1.5 million in a few years, and that extra half-million could create new tax questions. Families sometimes find themselves paying more in taxes, only to watch those assets drop in value soon after. The best way to handle this issue is to plan early and keep plans updated. We can start by reviewing our estate annually and comparing it to current tax limits. Adding beneficiary designations to accounts, such as life insurance or retirement funds, keeps those assets outside the taxable estate. Giving modest gifts to family or charities can reduce overall value while allowing us to see the results in our lifetimes. Inflation is constantly changing, and our plans should adapt to it accordingly. Reviewing what we’ve built every year helps ensure that our loved ones receive what we intend, without unwelcome surprises when the time comes.
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