That's a hard question these days when it seems everything from manufacturing to services to retail is suffering hard times. But not everyone is singing the blues. I can think of one in-demand business that is raking in the cash.

And the worse the economy gets, the more money many of these people earn. Let me illustrate:

Recently I spent some time surfing through the cable news channels, listening to all the sad news about downturning stocks, unemployment, and sagging retail sales. If you only watched the news, you would think America had returned to the Great Depression.

When noon rolled around, I headed over to my local pizza restaurant to grab a bite. It was still early, so there weren't that many customers in the store. I got to thinking maybe these guys were experiencing slow business, too.

But that wasn't the case. In a few minutes things started to heat up. Three construction workers came in and ordered big meals. A group of nine came in from a nearby office. Then a mother with her two kids, a retired couple, and group of teenagers came in. Meanwhile, take out orders were being picked up right and left.

I remarked to the owner that his business was looking solid."Never better," he said. "No recession here!"

No matter how deep the recession gets, everyone still needs to eat. These days most people are extremely busy and don't have the time or inclination to cook. Eating out is not only an option, but a frequent necessity.

We are also a culture that eats out to have fun. Enjoying a good meal and company at a restaurant ranks at the very top of what people say they enjoy doing most.

OK, so you now see just how solid the food service industry is, even in a recession. But how can you get into your own restaurant business without spending thousands or borrowing millions.

It's true the average corporate restaurant franchise is worth at least a million dollars. Setting up even a small mom and pop eaterie can still run you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That big investment is probably why you see some restaurants fail from time to time. A big investment means you simply must earn big amounts of money day after day in order to pay your equally large bills.

That's why the real money is being made by a simple business that ISN'T a restaurant, but taps into massive food industry profits. This business is spreading from coast to coast like wildfire. It combines the success of restaurants with the must-have needs of millions of consumers.

Best of all, this business does NOT require a big investment. You don't need years of experience in a commercial kitchen or a degree from a culinary school.

You only need a desire to own your own business, to earn a LOT of money, and to tap into the TRILLIONS of dollars being spent on restaurants.

This business is called the food delivery business and can be started for a small investment, have no overhead and be run from a small office or even your home.

You don't have the investment a restaurant has and since you can deliver food for 50 or more restaurants, it doesn't even matter to you which restaurants are most popular.

That's the ideal business - one that prospers in any economy, costs very little to start, has no overhead and thrives when consumer preferences change.