The Fittest Survive

When business owner Sue Paul saw a major customer laying off employees, she started to panic. Paul feared that the sad state of the economy would undercut her company, Sue’s Safety Supplies Inc. in Fort Myers, which sells first aid kits, hard hats, fire extinguishers and other safety gear to companies. Her worry and negativity began to overwhelm her business, and conversations with employees and her father made her realize her attitude was harming morale. Paul forced herself to push away the doom-and-gloom mentality and to learn to expect the best, but plan for the worst.

"It took a few months after [the housing slump] hit to say, ‘OK, there are still people out there that like us, and they’re doing business with us and they’re paying the bills,’" she says. "We kept paying the bills, the employees hung in there. That was the turnaround."

A more optimistic outlook alone won’t ensure survival, though. Paul and other area business owners are taking steps, from diversifying and outsourcing to streamlining their budgets, to guarantee they will still be in business at the end of the year.

Spending Wisely
In past years, Vincent Salon & Spa’s budgets were reviewed every month or so to make sure sales and expenses were on track with projections. That process has been shortened—to weekly or biweekly—and the salon’s staff has become more cautious about spending.

"We’re paying closer attention to what our personnel is doing and we’re paying closer attention to what our budget guidelines are. [We’re] basically trying to tighten our belts and weather this out," says Chris Lewis, vice president of the Fort Myers business. "We agreed to be very tight and strict with our budget."