One of the biggest difficults in life is to manage growing your patrimony and income, when earning minimum wage and living in poor areas where opportunities are scarce, as is the money circulating in the local economy.
Last week I watched a youtube clip about homesteading published by someone in a poor area who said it took them 20 years to find a way to become profitable through DIY agriculture in their off grid farming setup. They started a seed company, did communal gardening, sold their produce at local markets. Tried other approaches. Apparently none of that worked and it took two decades to generate profits, which proves how difficult it can be to generate income as a producer without the benefits of a strong consumer market.
That said, I think there are often angles or opportunities, even in poor neighborhoods where people lack access to raw materials, equipment and resources. It is difficult to identify and recognize them when we see them. But they are definitely present. Everyone wants to get ahead and do better. Most of us simply do not know where to start, or how to get there. In that sense I think
identifying opportunities is important.
Having good information and guidance is also important. Most of the information offered as advice trends towards being generic and diluted.
Even in poor neighborhoods with weak consumer markets there are always opportunities. They simply happen to be things that no one wants to do. Or they break with routine in a way which people find uncomfortable.