Small-business owners’ outlook bleak
Soft sales, job cuts and weak capital-spending plans have owners hunkering down for continuing economic pain. How do you feel about the economy?
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DiggI also have a small business. We sell from Childrens clothes to Sports wear. Our business has always been good one day bad the next. I started buying travel Incentives to get more traffic to our door and it worked.
We put up signs and had ads saying we were giving away free 3 days 2 night certifiactes to everyone that came in.
These certificates cost us 0.35 cents each, so the cost wasn’t too bad. Within 1 day we had three times more people walk in then we would of had.
I been using these for awhile now and we haven’t has any complanits. So sometimes the smallest little thing can bring a business back on the map.
The company we use is http://www.increasebusinesssales.com
Good luck to everyone
I have a question about the quote by Mr. Dunkelberg in your article. It goes like this: “But if you still want to hunker down, Dunkelberg suggests resisting buying a lot of inventory, collecting customer payments quickly, and paying slowly on receivables.” It seems to me that you would be better off paying slowly on “payables” rather than “receivables”.
I have a different perspective. My partners and I run a small business that we think is benefitting from the economy. We sell used books as cheaply as we can (sometimes as low as a penny – http://www.thriftbooks.com ). We think that the down turn might be causing more people to try used books instead of new. We are expanding and creating jobs. Far from “weathering the storm” we are adapting to the economy and finding success.
I bet you could find several other businesses out there that are doing well in spite of the economy and it would make an interesting article. Feel free to contact me if you would like any more info.
Thanks — Mike
Mike Ward, C.I.O.
Your CNN/Money article, on the bleak outlook for small business, was timely. After four years of steady online growth, Banjo.com sales dropped for the first time in August 2007. To increase our presence in the community, we moved to a store inside a major shopping mall. The Christmas season was great, but our mall store wasn’t able to generate enough extra income to offset the extra expenses. After eight months we moved back to our original location in an industrial park. We’ll survive, but it won’t be our best year.
Our sister company, Unicycle.com, continues to grow. There must be more unicyclists than bluegrass musicians, or my wife Amy is one heck of a unicycle CEO!
Best regards,
John Drummond
http://www.Banjo.com
http://www.Unicycle.com
Since when did small businesses or anyone else for that matter have to pay on “receivables” (see last paragraph in the above article). Maybe you should try payables, it would help cash flow much better.
Robert (Cave Creek AZ)
Try linking in with tour operators, expecially those handling Japanese tourists. Market yourselves as the ultimate American experience. Afterall, what is more American than Nascar? Also try the Chinese and the Russians. Tourists are visiting the US in record numbers this year. Get your Nascar experience on the tour.
I WORK FOR A BIG PLAYER IN THE LOCAL MEDIA WORLD. I ALSO WORK IN A HIGH TRAFFIC RETAIL SMALL BUSINESS.I DO NOT SEE ANY OR DO I GET MAJOR POSTIVE FEED BACK WHEN I DEAL WITH THE PUBIC DAILY.THE SMALL AMERICAN BUSINESS OWNERS AT BISINESS MEETING SPEAK THAT I MAJOR TERROR ATTACK I MAJOR EVENT WHOULD LEAD TO MASSIVE LAYOFFS AND A SLOW DOWN UNLIKE ANY THING SINCE THE 1930S. WHILE THERE IS A LITTLE SPARK WITH THE DECLINE IN FUEL PRICES THIS WILL BE ONLY FOR ABOUT THE NEXT 65 DAYS.THE OUTLOOK I AM GETTING FROM SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS THE UNDER 50.000 PER YEAR FAMILYS IS FEAR. THE HEART OF THE AMERICAN SOUL WILL BE SHAKEN BEYOND REASON THIS WILL BE A TEST ONLY THE PREPARED WILL PASS. DO NOT THINK A OBAMA WIN WILL BE THE ANSWER GET READY THE BIG ONE IS AROUND THE BEND AMERICA WILL FALL LIKE FALLS FALLEN LEAVES
CNN is talking the economy down. Read the definition of recession again, you anti-american scum.
The American public has such a short memory. We were in the same place at the end of the first G.Bush’s presidency only we did not have an out of control war going. This Bush actually makes his father look good which is frightening.
I really don’t understand why people are surprised at the price of oil. When you elect oil people to offices where they control everything you can expect the big money grab we are currently seeing. Same with food prices. All the conglomerates, Bush friends, are in on the last big chance to rip off the public. Have you noticed the prices going down now that the election is near, just in time for us to forget the major rip off? Republicans are for the rich. Democrats help the average worker but both have forgotten who makes things work in America, the common man. If we buy they make money. If we work they do also. Never mind what happens to us when we are ill or old. We are disposable. Ask the hard questions before you vote this time and push them to the wall. I run a small business and see no help for us for a long time. Ending the mess in Iraq as quickly as possible is very important. I see Obama as our best hope this election.
Richard,
I agree whole-heartily with your idea of exporting. A believe a smart political candidate would make a tax incentive exporting program the center-piece of their legislative agenda…………
Small businesses need to streamline all facets of their operations to survive the current recession.Trim dead weight from their payroll,upgrade customer service,and reduce dead stock merchandise.
http://www.sellmyinventory.com
America’s economy has always depended on the small businesses.The large retailers can weather a recession while the smaller businesses cannot.Without the small businesses the economy will most likely see a downslide that will be prolonged or turn into a depression.
http://www.sellmyinventory.com
This is approximately 1972. The expensive War combined with a lack of reality-based funding is withing a few years of ending. Inflation is contained now, but growing. Our disillusionment with government is picing up exponentially, although the rot has been there for years. Still, some people made out quite well through the late 1970s and early 1980s… Follow their example!
I sell handmade items at shows. Attendance has been falling for years. With the cost of gas, I cut back on the shows I do, hoping that more local people would attend the ones closer to home. It’s not happening. You forget that the cost of heating and utilities have skyrocketed; everyone I talk to says they have no money left after paying bills, and that includes credit card bills. Every damn company has hiked fees and interest rates despite proof that the average American can’t afford it. Nothing will change until we throw out all the corrupt CEOs, politicians, lobbyists, and bankers and pass laws with teeth.
My business provides services to the printing industry in California. The whole printing industry here is definitely down about 30% from the high water mark in 2005. Bankruptcies and closures are common. Foolish low prices and poor quality are standard operating procedure for many competitors. People will take jobs at a loss just to get a job. Some days look bleak. The goal now is just to survive. When business finally turns around, probably in 12 to 18 months, the survivors will have been refined, and in a position to make money again. This is not a pleasant experience.
Housing & autos are in the dumpster. Consumers are living hand to mouth. Inflation is beginning to heat up. I don’t see anything on the horizon that will lead us out of recession. It may take massive govt. infrastructure spending or an energy breakthrough to fuel a recovery.
I own a company involved in the motorsports entertainment business that relies heavily on consumer confidence and discretionary income to power our business model. We’ve seen our monthly revenues drop almost 80% since July of 2007 and I do not forecast any significant improvement until well into 2010. I believe that the main reason for the economic downturn is less a result of the downturn in the housing market as the outrageous increase in energy costs.
Those increases have and continue to ripple through every facet of the economy at every socio-economic level. Our typical customer was a blue collar worker using their credit card to pay for the experience of a lifetime – driving a real NASCAR stockcar. Those days are gone for now and we have had to lay off 4 of our six employees and I have not taken any salary from the company for 8 months in an attempt to lower our monthly expenses.
We are a small chain of building material suppliers who cater to residential, property managers, repair and remodelers, and cash diyers. sales are down 60 to 70 per cent from the glory times of 2003/04. we have laid off, cut back on inventory purchases, worked our accts receivable harder and turned down more individual contractors who score is below 600 than ever before. I do not believe this will change until spring of 2010. every dealer i talk with in our area is in the same boat. selling to the regional and national track builder has got us into this mess which was fertilized by the banks and mortgage companies loaning money to every fly by night contractor to develop land and build houses. the market will return to a level better than it is now but never to a pace of 2003/04. I had a chance to sell and get out in the hay making time but was stupid and stayed in this market. I suspect there are many others like us. there is no magic theory on how to survive. we are very careful who we sell on credit and are sharpening our pencil when we bid on jobs. something is better than nothing from a customer who will pay. the government helped the homeowner but gave no help to the poor building supply and his employees who are trying to stay afloat.
US small and medium sized businesses do not export. I am an immigrant and I have worked for many s&m businesses here in the USA. Everywhere I go I suggest exporting and I put a plan down for the bosses. They smile kindly and say “Maybe in five years.”
The dollar is so low right now, the US economy would be booming if we had an export culture drummed into us from birth. Sadly a New York firm’s idea of export is to do business in Boston, or maybe even the East end of Long Island if they are feeling really adventurous.
We keep talking about the global economy, but small US firms can’t see beyond their noses, or they don’t want to. We cannot rely on the multi-nationals to earn overseas revenue for our entire economy; we all need to export, every single one of us.
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This article is a simple wake up call for those of us that are in the business of helping small service related businesses get back in the game and do it well. This economy really separates the men from the boys. Anyone ready to roll up the sleeves and go for it?