Troubled Times Hit Small Business Owner

By John L. Fischer, Personal Finance Writer   

If you look at the current economic conditions in terms of simple "cash flow," the bottom line is that there isn't enough money to go around. Lately, in fact, it seems like there's not much flow at all. And for small business owners, today's challenging economic conditions require improvising: Doing everything from cutting staff to reducing the number of suppliers and partners — even to driving 50 extra miles (daily) to help balance the overall budget.

For a specialty sandwich shop owner/operator in Fairfield County, Connecticut, what's happening in the economy has left him worried — and spread more than a little thin. "Right now, business isn't predictable," he says. "It's exactly like the market."

One way the sandwich shop owner has had to improvise includes doing the shopping himself. "Since May of this year, I've been buying my own produce," he says. "Everybody is in the same boat. We all have to do what we have to do."

His two stores, part of a larger operation headquartered in the southeast U.S., depend on both counter business and a catering arm, accounting for about 60% and 40% of the overall take, respectively. Each one of the franchise's most successful stores (which included both of his shops in 2007 — with sales figures in the top 10% of the main franchise's more than 180 U.S. locations) may take in as much as $500,000 in annual sales, with most of them located in strip malls in large suburban or urban areas.

With sales down nearly 10% this year, though, he's had to do additional juggling. For example, he's been forced to give his suppliers less business over the last six months. Preferring to give them less business rather than cutting ties with them altogether, he's tried to adopt more of a "team" approach. "If I think about 'me' all the time, I can't grow," he jokes.

And his suppliers and his employees are no doubt appreciative. Even with the drop in sales, he's managed to maintain working relationships with his main suppliers and hasn't had to fire any of his own employees. "I can't give them raises right now, of course, but I can do whatever I have to do to accommodate them," he says.

His decency may be eclipsed only by his work ethic. His two stores are open seven days a week from 9 am to 7 pm, and he insists on being around as often as possible. "I think people like seeing the owner," he says. "It's human nature to think negatively. Besides, [the main franchise's] ownership has been more than fair with me. It's amazing how fair they are, actually."

So for now, he's keeping things running — literally with his own two feet.

"The bottom line is that we all have to take some hits. We'll just have to see what happens," he says.