Zipcode Owner? How many employees? Layoffs? How many laid off? Reduced hours? How many have reduced hours 2009 Sales Expectations (values) 2009 Sales Expectations (text) comments 98034 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 up 20% 0.2 "Electrical controls business for emergency generators in hospitals, airports and Alaskan villages. As a S-Corp for 15 years, mostly land based work until last year and now it has shifted to Marine and renewable energy projects. More work than the present arrangement can handle, have started another LLC for marine / renewables focus." 33766 Yes 11 Yes 2 No 0 down 33% -0.33 "unreal....been my own boss all my life, and always prided myself on being ""nimble"" enough to adapt, BUT THIS IS INSANE" 75002 Yes 6 Yes 3 No 0 -30% -0.3 "it has required us to develop new strategies to adapt to the current economy>> loss of customers, increased cost, lack of credit, drop in orders, more competation,." 01226 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 3 -50% -0.5 sales down 50%. no hope after holiday season 66049 Yes 18 Yes 4 No 0 -38% -0.38 I have had to dual source parts due to uncertainty regarding which of my suppliers may get through this catastrophic period. 11238 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 not sure yet 0 "I'm just not sure what will happen. i have no worked booked yet for 2009, but that has happened before (I'm a freelance sound editor, and apartment building owner)" 91436 Yes 250 Yes 1 No 0 we pray that they will be equal to if not better than 08 0 We are commecial real estate brokers. The lack of financing has had a negative affect on our clients (if not owner-occupied) ability to close escrows. 86406 Yes 30 Yes 5 No 0 -10% -0.1 Sales activity has leveled off and some of our customers have gone out of business. 38401 Yes 10 Yes 2 Yes 5 expect 5-10% drop -0.075 no growth.Would probably go out of business if local GM plant shuts down. 88310 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 Stay the same 0 has not affected at all we've made more money in the last two months than all year long. 49686 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 ? 0 "I am a realtor in the midwest. My business is down to 25% of what it was 2 years ago. In some cases it is taking more than a year for my listings to sell. My husband just divorced me after 28 years of marriage, partly due to financial stress, so this has clearly been the worst year of my life. And I have already survived more than the average person. (Long Story) I have applied for 12 different jobs and do have 2 interviews coming up. I have to find a job so I can continue to eat and pay my gas and car payment and insurance and utilites. I will probably lose my home to forclosure and it is quite discouraging to see the big guys get bailed out while I wonder if I will be able to cover my basic neccessities. I have debt that was incurred from putting two children through school. I would like to continue in Real Estate as I have been a realtor for almost 20 years but it is getting tougher by the month. It is such a shame that such unbridled greed is causing so much heart ache." 10022 Yes 25 Yes 3 Yes 10 lower by 5 to 10 % -0.075 "while the cash flow has weakened substantailly, there are still customers in our home furnishings buthe siness who are buying. are they staying home more ? are they nesting ? we will inevitably see our sales contract in the first quarter of this coming year, and the weaker competitors in our industry will fail. 2009 will be a watershed for businesses across the board." 10022 Yes 25 Yes 3 Yes 10 lower by 5 to 10 % -0.075 "while the cash flow has weakened substantailly, there are still customers in our home furnishings buthe siness who are buying. are they staying home more ? are they nesting ? we will inevitably see our sales contract in the first quarter of this coming year, and the weaker competitors in our industry will fail. 2009 will be a watershed for businesses across the board." 06902 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 "hopefully better, as 2008 was a disaster" -1 "My husband and I have a small business selling antiques in a major antiques center in Stamford, Ct. Sales are so sluggish that we have not even made rent let alone anything else this year. We are reducing our leased space, we are doing antique shows all over the east cost in the hope of raising some funds to pay bills, and I am accessing my credit line every month to help make ends meet. How long can that go on?" 97204 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 same 0 "I am a clinical psychologist, and most of my clients use insurance to pay for their therapy. My practice is neither more nor less busy, but overall my clients' problems have shifted in the past year to include more economic stressors, unemployment being the main one." 33426 Yes 2 Yes 1 No 0 2008 down 25% from 2007. 2009 may be down another 25% or more. -0.25 "We build single family homes & renovate single family and small multi-family buildings. 50% of the business in 2006 and 2007 was for NGO's in subsidized work force housing programs. In 2008 that proportion was 75% because of the drying up of custom and speculative jobs. We have scrambled to keep jobs coming, redeveloping small groups of lots and selling custom jobs on lots owned by the principals by taking a loss on the lot in order to get the construction work. Price per sq ft has been cut 15% by eliminating up-grades and going to subs and suppliers for lower prices. Everyone is so hungry for work that we are one of the only builders in the area that can keep them busy. If the current subsidy programs run out of money we will have a problem. Regardless of what you hear about affordable housing programs we have seen nothing but success in our own sales and with the non-profits we do work for. Looking back over five years, most of the original owners still live in our homes. We know of only two out of about fifty in these programs that have entered foreclosure. Overall, the purchasers are hard working city, county or base industry employees who went into 30 year loans or into a Land Trust situation where they were not subject to rate adjustments. We never took on permanent employees to keep our costs low so the two of us continue to do the work of six or seven so that we can keep it going. We have an excellent line of credit with a regional bank that was not involved in the subprime problem. They are dedicated to helping us qualify buyers and them to closing quickly. The news on reduced interest rates may have produced a new custom sale this week. Nothing is going to be easy for the next year. Only those who have cash and credit, low overhead and exceptional imagination in putting deals together will make it." 97210 Yes 100 Yes 20 Yes 15 -30% -0.3 "Retail business, so of course we'll be way down in sales. What else could one expect in this environment? If we're very lucky, we'll survive until things get better." 10538 Yes 9 Yes 3 Yes 4 10% contract -0.1 big slaes down. some sales lost completely. 95841 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 205 growth 0.2 "self-employed, power equipment parts & service two other shops have closed with an increase in mine" 91730 Yes 25 Yes 2 Yes 25 30% less -0.3 "Ours is a Bldg Material Business. Construction, residential and commercial, has taken a big hit and so have we and our sub cont. customers." 10538 Yes 2 Yes 1 Yes 1 down by 25% -0.25 "I own an art gallery in the middle of stock market/bank driven land. We are in Westchester County, NY. People are paralyzed. In our normally congested and bustling downtown, there are parking spaces on every block now, the merchants are personally greeting people, serving wine and hot chocolate, offering discounts and staying open additional hours. All to no avail. People are just not spending. The area is holding it's collective breath!" 01930 Yes 7 Yes 2 No 0 contract by at least half. -0.5 "We are working to build a small-business advertising empire. Our strength in superior systems building and creativity for small business has made us the very best ad-dollar value that exists. Over the past year, our company has picked up a lot of work from bigger clients because our work is standout. During the summer and into the fall virtually all of our local advertising revenue has dried up ($300k/yr). Fortunately we have been planning a film for a big event. That has just blown up in our face. Half of the event attendees have already called and canceled since the Bernie Madoff scandal broke. Apparently, our audience was his greatest group of supporters. Looks like the event is off. And it looks like I will have to lay off everyone and hibernate, hoping to stay afloat. Our plan was to use the $100k from the job to carry us through the next few months as we prepare a plan for adapting to the new economy. Now we will scramble to pay rent, insurance, etc. Still, my feeling about all of this is that it's a good thing. Most of the world lives without adequate food, shelter, education, and health care. At our worst, we are still far better off. But at our worst, we may very well find our best selves. That's my hope, anyway." m4m 2n8 Yes 7 No 0 No 0 ?? hard to say - I am guessing 25% drop -0.25 I run an IT recruiting firm and so far in Toronto the job market for IT is still strong. I think it will be slow 1st quarter 2009 and if the sky doesn't fall I'm guessing it will pick up and be an OK year. 70707 Yes 14 Yes 1 No 0 contract 30% -0.3 "we service industrial companies with remanufactured products. although we save them lots of money, they're driven by the general economy. lots of them are shutdown with no ide when they are going to reopen. since i don't have deep pockets i am going to have to lay off several people right at christmas, which sucks. i've been doing this for 28 years, have had a great year and have awesome employees. just not going to have the cash flow next month to keep the. some have been with me 20 years. i am suffering from high anxiety. it has broken my spirit in every way life can. i pray for my daughter and the life she will have." 10538 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 Remain Flat 0 I facilitate training programs that have been cut or delayed. I also write and will not be in the drivers' seat with publishers. 60521 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 3 Not sure yet. 0 I had to take a home equity line of credit and another additional loan and take money out of my SEPP account to keep the business going. 30324 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 Drastically -0.5 "As the owner of a graphic design firm, my business has never returned to the level previous to the ""dotcom crash."" I have limped along, using freelancers when needed, but closed my business last year. This year I have freelanced for my friends, but have had the equivalent of 3 months work for the entire year of 2008. In January, I am going back to school to get my Masters. With my experience in business, I predict that it will take at least two years for the economy to recover significantly. I'll be in college again (after 27 years) racking up student loans and waiting for a better time to re-enter the workforce." 90230 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 "50% contraction, maybe more, as 2008 was good" -0.5 "2008 was a very good year. I do not expect 2009 to do as well. Fortunately, we have a good cash reserve." 45069 Yes 23 No 0 No 0 "From our projections at this point and customer information we are looking at a pretty flat year over year growth, but building in a 21% increase in revenue from this year this is an acceptable return." 0.21 At this point we are cutting discretionary spending and trimming back our hiring plans for 2009 but so far we are on pace to set a revenue record this year. 02860 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 We have increased about 20% from last year. 0.2 "Since day one, we have considered ourselves a tight compact 'hub' of a large network of diversely-talented freelancers. We are IP and product creators by trade, who focus on core ideas and outsource what we need from skilled individuals we have worked with on prior projects. In many ways people reach out to us for unusual or difficult solutions. We are a pretty potent partnership, but the real strength lies in the collective. Vision + 'adaptivity' = customized solutions. Our approach lets us land the bigger jobs and 'share the wealth', as needed." 33710 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 4 -30 -0.3 Barely surviving. I would give up the business if I could find a decent job. 94121 No 2 No 0 No 0 Down roughly 30% -0.3 "We are a promotional products distributor and have a pretty diversified clientele: media, financials, real estate, government, and high tech companies. Our first three quarters were pretty good, but in October, the phones stopped ringing. Marketing budgets have dried up and we know that things will probably not change anytime soon." 33305 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 "big unknown, i'm guessing 30% down" -0.3 "I have a Bed and Breakfast in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Business has been down 30% with others in my business in 2008, but I look like I'm going to be equal to what I did in 2007. The hotels seem to be doing OK for the big week between Christmas and New Years, but as far as bookings for 2009, they are down around 50%. I am at a loss to predict what this season will bring. I, like the rest of America, am helpless to do anything about this other than ride it out, and hope I can at least make enough to pay the mortgage. I don't hope to make any money this year, my only desire is to be able to pay my bills and keep the doors open." 75071 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 1 -30% -0.3 We do electronics repair for semiconductor manufacturers. They have introduced 3 week shutdowns and reduced over time. They have also cut back on any non-critical repairs. 10033 Yes 4 No 0 No 0 Increase 20% 0.2 "More cash business, less insurance based business, more government insurance based business offers. My small business is a Medical office." 87530 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 I am not sure yet 0 I am an artist/studio potter. My income is generally in a state of flux so I try to add things like teaching or getting production contracts when things seem to be lean at my galleries or in my studio sales. I have to constantly search for new markets and revive old ones when things drop off locally. 04622 Yes 1 Yes 1 Yes 2 probably less 0 "I am a Mason contractor for the last 30years and have watched the slow down coming for the last 2 years, finally the bottom fell out in September , Two of the jobs i was on were shut down because of losses by the owners on Wall Street." 92587 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 At least 50% contraction -0.5 Need for contract training as diminished by 50-75% for early 2009. 33897 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 decrease by 30% most likely more -0.3 "We are an airport/seaport transportation company. With travel down more than 40% it has put a hit on income considerably. Also take into account fees, permits, gas prices hitting almost $5.00 a gal. took a huge chunk of income. If expenses continue to rise with income decreasing there will not be many other transportation companies surviving 2009-2010." 92024 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 We project 10% to 15% -0.125 "Ours isa retail yarn and knitting business..Our products, yarn and and classes teaching how to use the yarn, are 'comfort food'; threrefore, in a downtoiurn people have a need tostay close to haearth and home and turn to to knitting for comfort. They are more cautious buyers and do not spend as much as they did in years past, but they are still knitting." 11572 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 -25% -0.25 I am an automobile wholesaler. My inventory value plummeted as the stock market lost ground. 10010 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 "hard to say, still waiting to see if business drops off. Hopefully will be less than 2% drop." 0 "Not so far. I have lost a client or two, but have also gained a few and some existing clients have doubled their services. I expect clients in 2009 to reduce service but not to leave entirely." 80010 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 35 "Flat, no growth" 0 "Tax and accounting services. This industry has become very price competative. Long time clients are leaving,... abandoning relationships for discount offers. We will operate at a loss this year. We are cancelling new purchases of software and equipment and trying to renegotiate our lease. It's a chain reaction of personal survival. Sorry, but.... , I hate to do this, but....." 11375 Yes 3 Yes 3 Yes 3 39450 -1 we work with the NYC dept of education doing perfroming arts programs.... budget has been cut in general and also the principals are using the $ for other things and not arts. 98236 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 contract by 40-50% -0.45 as of 12/08 the contracts of my small general contracting bussness for small single family homes have stayed stable but the phone has stoped ringing. Because I am in a desirable area I expect some bussness but not at the volume of the past years. 10011 Yes 2 Yes 1 No 0 a fourth or fifth of 08 but who knows basically -0.25 Real estate has been obliterated by the artificial run up in prices and the resulting crash. 97540 No 30 No 0 Yes 2 maintaining current sales. Expect growth 0.1 "Regional, brand name organics, food distribion. People have become aware of the hidden cost of food production and transportation. I have noticed an an increase in positive resonses from retailer about the benefits of supporting with sales the local producers. Some of the brands we carry are nationally know in the ""health food "" industry. Lower fuel costs, more personal attention, more information about where grown, etc, circulation of money within the region." 94558 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 0% 0 Because we are an IT support business we have seen an array in the effects of the recession on our clients. Most of them seem to be in good shape; almost all of us are apprehensive about future business growth. 60610 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 20% down -0.2 "I'm a successful artist, was making 150,000 selling greeting cards out of my home. Now many orders are being cancelled, still had a good year because I have a ""green"" company-but worried very much gift stores will have to go out of business-people aren't buying even greeting cards. I have to be careful of expenses as oppose to the years before." 77010 Yes 6 Yes 2 No 0 yes 0 I have a small law firm and I work for companies who are stuggling in the current economy. THe companines are cutting back on the work they give my firm. 97130 Yes 20 Yes 6 Yes 10 Hoping to stay flat at least. 0 No one in our small town has money to spend. My husband and I are considering working all shifts by ourselves - about 16 hours a day - to get by. 38668 Yes 9 Yes 1 Yes 3 -25% -0.25 Sales on big ticket items has been slow all year. Now since November everything is slow. People are just not spending money. Credit for customers with strong credit rating is still out there and at very good rates. Credit for those with marginal credit ratings in nonexsistent. Personally I believe the bailouts are just prolonging the inevitable. As much as it will hurt I think those companies in trouble should be left to fail and restructure if they can. Lets go ahead and find the bottom and work our way back out from there. Also the attempt to assign blame is counterproductive and needs to end. 14850 Yes 50 No 0 No 0 100% 1 Green energy business supporting retrofits of existing buildings gthomas@psdconsulting.com 18901 Yes 3 Yes 2 No 0 flat 0 "We have lost four of our eight clients in the past 60 days, including three this month." 55379 Yes 12 Yes 3 No 0 About even 0 "I have a customer who has owed us $46,000 since July. They are a developer hit by the credit crunch which has given a little company ($800,000 rev) major cash flow problems. I had to lay some people off to make payroll." 75035 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 maybe 10% increase 0.1 There is something wrong with this text box. The letters keep vanishing. 97222 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 2 we are down 60% -0.6 My partner and I own a small bamboo clothing company and we are barely able to hang on this year. I don't know if we will survive and it is a shame! 28741 Yes 10 Yes 4 Yes 10 10 % growth 0.1 "We are in a very high-end retail market..we have had a retail furniture business for 20 years and had trememdous growth for 15, the last 5 years has been down about 5% each year until 2 years ago and now we are down about 50%.. the recession has trickled up to the higher income bracket.." 92840 Yes 1 Yes 2 Yes 1 "Business is flatlined, it's all up from here." "Last year I ended up with a $1400 cash surplus, happy days! Then along came January( 8 days of work ) and February( 5 days of work ). So long surplus, hello deficit. In home improvement these days, people only call if it's sparking,spraying or caving in. The moulding guy at Ganahl Lumber told me to pray for a wet winter. Not to mention everyone wants a deep discount. With funding so hard to get, even my best clients are sidelining projects as their investments are looking dim and they don't want use their savings. I'm glad I stocked up on canned and frozen food whenever there was work." 49203 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 1 Just hope to stay afloat. It is crippling our business. 15131 Yes 40 No 0 Yes 20 Same 0 "It is the lack of credit! We have had huge amounts of credit just disappear! We are a seasonal business, so we rely on loans until the season begins. The cancellation of credit cards has been random, not based on anything. Sometimes were not even notified!" 93001 Yes 5 Yes 2 No 0 -40% -0.4 Its a catastrophe for our downtown area. 08609 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 1-2 percent down -0.0015 "i own a check cashing store in trenton, nj. more and more customers who previously cashed paychecks and NEVER cashed unemployment checks have been laid off and are now cashing unemployment checks. the unemployment compensation is much smaller than the payroll checks they received previously. my revenue is down as a result, but i'm just glad i still have a job to go to, unlike many of my customers." 21211 Yes 6 No 0 No 0 "I have no idea what 2009 will bring - wish I had that crystal ball. But, I expect sales to remain the same or grow by 10%" 0 Actually 2008 was a very good year for our business - educational marketing and communications. The recession has colleges hesitant to start fund raising campaigns but they are moving forward. Online marketing has taken a large leap forward leaving print a bit behind but not eliminated. 33896 Yes 15 Yes 1 No 0 "we're launching our software commercially in 09, expect huge growth" "It's harder to get VCs to part with their money; pussies and lemmings when times are good, they've got no cojones now. We're going to private banks for funding." 33029 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 -40% -0.4 "I own a micro business where I am the sole employee. Lately, I have had to go and obtain part time employment because business has been down. When the economy goes south, health is the first thing that people cut on unless they absolutely have to." 09410 Yes 4 Yes 1 No 0 "Contracted by 25% in 2008, expect flat 2009 or 10% drop." -0.05 People have cancelled or not followed through on contracts. Not many people hiring management services these days. 91750 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 +20% 0.2 no 29640 Yes 10 Yes 3 Yes 7 20% fall -0.2 n/a 97403 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 "i'm afraid they could dramatically contract, however, the ominous uncertainty is worse." "customers are delaying, reducing and canceling orders; financing for purchases and inventories is difficult or unavailable" 19462 Yes 4 No 0 No 0 same 0 it's a medical practice. no effect so far 93955 Yes 4 No 0 No 0 40% growth 0.4 auto repo business is doing well in this area 33441 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 Same 0 It hasn't - yet. Fingers crossed. We just signed a new year-long contract that will keep us going for now. 11215 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 Expect to contract by at least 25% -0.25 I'm a freelance writer/editor. Several projects with regular clients that would have gone to me have been kept in house. I'm seeking clients in different industries to make up the difference. 94945 Yes 40 Yes 10 No 0 50% contract? -0.5 "I run a construction company and with the current conditions we may have to eventually lay off up to half of our employees. Only time will tell but I think for sure that 2009 will be a very bad year for my business. Very, very tough to look at your employees whom have been with you for years and tell them they no longer have a job. Where will they get another job in construction? Won't happen. They all have children,mortgages along with all the other monetary commitments. So sad. Al" 21227 Yes 27 No 0 Yes 27 "equal to 2008, 35% less than 2007" 0 "A small/ medium business with sales of 14 mil in 2006, 11 mil in 2007 and 9 mil in 2008..27 employees, $18 k in property taxes, $290k in sales taxes selling small construction equipment in Baltimore metro, owned the business for 20 years, doing all the right things with medical and other benefits for employees, traditional finance sources have disappeared or curtailed their lending leaving us with no where to go through no fault of our own, the mailbox is devoid of any bailout check and the money BOA and Wachovia got certainly is not coming to us..want a story of the disappearing middle class business?.. call 410 -977-8550 Thom Drescher Security Equipment Co." 32966 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 -45% -0.45 Sales of our construction-related products are down 45%. 53007 Yes 2 Yes 1 No 0 60 % down over 2007 -0.6 "I'm in Adverising and Marketing. Everyone has pulled back. I can't get any more loans even though I've always paid my current loan payment on time, the bank won't even redo our loan to give us some relief. I haven't paid Health Insurance this month and U.P.S. has cut us off. I sold some stocks at a 50 % loss just to survive and make mortgage payments. It's looking grim." 55079 Yes 5 No 0 Yes 2 about the same 0 The greatest impact on our business is that clients are stretching out payment on their accounts. The last 1-2 years we've also seen an increase in clients going out of business. 26041 Yes 7 No 0 Yes 7 I have no idea how we will do. It's a scary time. "We sell custom cabinetry. In times like these, no one is remodeling or buying custom anything. If we don't get a big customer soon, we will have to close our doors and we've been in business for 27 years." 78660 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 grow Gas was a major impact on my trucking business. At $145 a barrel the cost of diesel was outrageous but large businesses still refused to budge on what they paid per mile to deliver product. I almost went under because larger trucking businesses that made profit off of volume of trucks could afford to make pennies on the dollar. 14425 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 Grow "I've been living in a personal recession for years- a poverty spell brought on by having children. I'm a self-employed mother of 3 small children. Come the Fall of this year I will no longer have to pay a large portion of my salary for child care because all of the children will be enrolled in public school- providing me with enough hours to work. So any dips in workload would probably be offset by the ease on my child care budget. I did have to drop my out of pocket health insurance though. That scares the crap out of me. A friend of mine, another work from home mother, is in a similar situation- the irony of course is that if we had only a small bit of this bail out money offered to offset the cost of child care- we could have expanded our businesses sooner. She's looking at possibly hiring 3 people over the next year. Might not seem like much- but those are jobs that aren't going to get shipped away, and money that will be more likely to stay supporting other local businesses." 38654 Yes 3 Yes 1 Yes 2 0 0 Bank not providing loans for business..can not get inventory 10036 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 I hope it will grow by at least 10%. 0.1 "Contracts which were promised have not been signed. There is much more regulation from my clients' corporations as to how my clients can allocate their budgets. This means that not only will contracts come under more scrutiny (which is fine), but also makes the sales cycle longer." 03801 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 2 decline very slow receivables.less work 92688 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 half again. -0.5 I am a golf teacher at a private country club in Southern California. Even those people have lost a great deal of their wealth and are cutting back on things like golf lessons. 95603 Yes 12 Yes 3 Yes 2 down 25% -0.25 "As a small community newspaper, advertisers seems unable to pay their bill in a timely fashion, if at all. Cash flow is a huge problem. Our profit margin is thinner than ever and when this converges with cash-flow, it is ugly. Three checks we deposited bounced so one of ours did too — that's how tight it is. Not sure we will make it through this." 81301 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 30% increase 0.3 My business has done well in this recession. Some new clients have waited until they are in do do before getting their accounting act together. Also my location does not follow market trends as it is a resort town. 32948 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 3 - 30% -0.3 "We do mainly restaurant supply - paper goods, smallwares, janitorial supplies. Our customers have taken a huge hit from the economic downturn, as a result so have we." 90077 Yes 3 Yes 3 Yes 3 contract by more than 50% -0.5 I'm a small publisher of a travel magazine. Advertising has been cut drastically. Many of my clients are small business in retail and real estate and they have had a huge set back by the recession. I'm probably going to have to cease publishing and close down completely. It's very frustrating because I've put in a lot of hard work and money to see it all go down the drain. Is there a bailout for the small business owner? 92037 Yes 27 Yes 3 No 0 down 15 - 25% -0.2 "we're in the service industry (an interactive marketing agency) so we've experienced huge issues with our client base slashing all their budgets, killing projects, and worse yet, simply not paying their bill. everyone is sitting on invoices and waiting 60, 90, 120 days or more to pay us, so it's killing our cash flow." 80218 Yes 2 Yes 2 No 0 sales in 2008 were down 400% from 2006.. I can not predict "I am in real estate investing . This is the 3rd economic downturn I have been in . The first one, I lost my architecture practice and had to do short sales on 2 properties. The second one, I had to file bankruptcy. This one, I have lost more money in a shorter amount of time than at any point in my life. I am also on the verge of losing my residence to foreclosure or short sale or deed - in - lieu. Then there is the emotional and psychological downfall. I feel I am a failure. It is difficult to get excited about anything work related. I have worked on 4 major projects in the past four years- I have spent my time, my money, and my talent on them. And not one of them has come to fruition. This is a tough tough tough time . And really it has already been 4 years of a downturn." 98119 Yes 40 Yes 3 Yes 20 down 5% -0.05 "we're a food manufacturer with sales to food service distributors around the usa. the distributors, in turn, sell exclusively to food service operations (hotels, restaurants, delis, cruise lines, school cafeterias, etc.) most of our sales are concentrated in the northwestern usa. until may of this year, our year-to-date sales compared to last year were UP by 5.5%. in the last six months, our year-to-date sales have fallen 2% below the same period last year. obviously, our business' fate rests to a great degree on people's willingness to go out to eat. since that's been declining, so have our sales." 92014 Yes 2 Yes 7 Yes 2 Hopefully remain the same. Grow: Not at all. 0 "My advertising used to bring phone calls daily requesting our cleaning services. Now, and for the last 18 months, I have received 5 (five) phone calls for our services. No amount of money spent will bring me positive results. Nobody needs us now." 78362 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 -30% -0.3 "Orders are down. Revenue down, Purchases down...." 48033 Yes 48 Yes 14 Yes 48 -15% -0.15 "Our main market, residential construction, has collapsed entirely. Luckily we built up a strong financial and human base during the good times. We are going to survive and come out stronger by using those resources and poaching market from our weaker competitors." 02108 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 Expect a major decrease. "We did not replace an employee who resigned. There will be no holiday bonuses or raises this year. I'm looking for ways to cut back without cutting hours or benefits, and have reduced my own compensation." 91384 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 2 minus 25 - 30% -0.275 "We are a Mom & Pop (and son)business who services refrigeration equipment for local restaurants, markets, franchise restaurants, schools, and such. When their business is down, so does ours. So when people don't go out to eat as much, it affects everyones bottom line. Our clients don't have the extra money for upgrades or new equipment. Also, we have to go around and collect checks from many customers, who never had a problem in the past with mailing a check. Everyone is nervous." 80904 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 up 15% 0.15 "We are very fortunate. We are a small specialty retail store that sells bbq grills and supplies. The products that we sell do not comptete with the big box stores. We are in our third year of business and the recession has slowed our growth, but in these times, we consider any growth a true win. People are eating out less and are finding that home grilling is fun, social and less expensive than going out. I am very glad that this is not our first year in business, because we have had the chance to grow a very loyal customer base by providing the best customer service that we possibly can. We work harder AND smarter." 77077 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 "significantly lower, maybe 25% less" -0.25 "Customers are delaying and shelving projects, and we service the oil and gas industry, which is somewhat insulated from the recession." 19010 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 "Don't know -- 2008 vs. 2007 was a -15% year, but we're too early for 2009 projections" "Well...I am worried. My A/R is fine, but I'm getting paid really late -- my Net 30 customers are now 45+, and our only reliable cash flow has been our COD and credit card billings. We will be offering a 3% discount for any order paid Net 30 for 1st quarter 2009 in hopes of picking up our cash flow. 2009 will be a challenge -- I am taking to 2 weeks off before Xmas to think about my staffing needs. I may have to cut back hours of my current employees -- I want to keep them, but the paychecks are a big expense to cover each week. Needless to say, I am taking no salary for the short term -- as the owner I get paid last. I do think that the change of administration will help us tremendously -- the country needs some sense that things are changing for the positive. And my business (I'm a fashion designer of women's clothing) will tick up as soon as my customer begins to feel more optimistic. The last time we went thru anything that remotely rhymes with this was the aftermath of 911 -- when no one made purchases because she didn't want to look like she was being extravagant at a time of national mourning. And that customer came roaring back with plenty of purchasing power when she became confident of the safety of the world. I think we are of a similar mindset now. My business is uniquely poised right now because we are small and do all of our production in America. We can contract and expand with our suppliers based on a very short turnaround schedule. Fortunately, we will be able to respond, both positively and negatively to the new buying trends. But I do see some of my industry leaders, both competitors and suppliers, getting hit hard and going out of business in the near term. It is very frightening." 60626 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 contract 15-20% -0.175 my largest customer is Whole Foods Markets and their traffic and same store sales are off noticeably. 30022 Yes 1 No 1 Yes 1 Lower by 20% -0.2 Small businesses hit a brick wall in October 2008. Sales died. Receivables aged past 60 and 90 days. Customers are taking longer and longer to commit and even longer to part with their money. 07306 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 15-20% 0.175 It hasn't affected it. 97224 Yes 20 No 15 Yes 15 down by 20-30% -0.25 "2008 was already an off year, 10-20% because of the housing debacle, but literally the day the Washington Mutual went under, our sales died. October 2008 was down 35% from October 2007. Fortunately we have not had to lay anyone off, but only because one employee moved out of state and we did not replace her. We are an independant bridal boutique." 10014 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 I expect them to go down 20% 0.2 Our clients are mostly corporate marketers. They appear to be frozen into inactivity. 52401 Yes 0 Yes 0 Yes 0 contract by 25 percent. -0.25 the company has experienced a 20 percent decline in gross revenues during the last 6 months of 2008 due to customers' expense reductions. 22015 Yes 8 No 2 Yes 8 "about the same, but income will be down" "Fairfax County VA is looking for more tax revenue so they are seeking out additional taxes from sole proprietors. this is cutting into my meager income. It's not fair, and this pain is courtesy of the GOVERNMENT, not the private sector." 74081 Yes 7 No 1 No 3 varies according to business. Feast or Famine Hasn't really had any noticable impact. I still make it most of the time. Did well enough for a Merrry Christmas. 27516 Yes 5 No 2 No 0 -40%? We're a language school and are having more and more people say they can't continue or start. We may well have to close next year. 94552 Yes 72 Yes 0 Yes 0 We've closed our doors. We were never a VC backed company so we were at a disadvantage to begin with. But being in a market with 3 other larger Entertainment firms is tough. We knew that from the beginning. But companies are no longer putting money out for events. It's just gotten from bad to worse. 20003 Yes 6 Yes 0 Yes 0 Sales in 08 were down over 07. I expect 09 to be flat. "I am in retail and I own two stores. I'm closing one, an ecoboutique because no one is buying except at 75% off and who can stay in business at that? The other is holding on but just barely." 24018 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 3 We are out of business. "I used to employ six full time, 3 part time. Now, the business is closed. I was the last one standing, paying myself and last employees from my ""retirement"" fund. The retirement money ran out, so now I'm unemployed, and broke. Hmm. . . I couldn't help but notice that the ""managers"" of some of the funds in which I had invested retirement money are still working -- because they were BAILED OUT using tax money I, and my former employees paid. Something is wrong with this picture." 44705 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 75% -0.75 "I am a real estate broker, belonging to a local Board of Realtors, an association of around 1,000 real estate salesmen and brokers. I will tell you this: about 12 years ago, the Ohio Assoc Realtors began teaching Realtors ""how to avoid predatory lenders."" People made up seminars and traveled the state, informing one and all of the pending collapse of the mortgage industry. Eight years ago, I stopped referring home buyers to a certain lender who was selling zero-down mortgages, with $1,000 back at closing. ""Buy a house, put nothing down, walk out with a grand."" For the most part, real estate agents are highschool grads. Some are college, but as a group, they are not a sophisticated group. And for 12 years, there has not been one of them who could not accurately read the fraud coming out of the lending industry, and warn of its disastrous outcome. In time, the fraud got so entrenched that it look normal. Some agents gave up selling realty and went into the loan business. Today, one look around any NE Ohio city will show you what looks like a war zone. Homes foreclosed on, vacant now for years, weathering, collapsing, destroying themselves and their neighbors. Assets of, say, $100,000 worth now exactly nothing. And blocks of such properties, cities full of them. Tens of thousands of them in Cleveland alone. (est. 45,000) All the mortgage lenders whooped it up, made money hand over fist. Where they formerly made, say, 1,000 in fees for originating a loan, they were now making $10,000. They all got rich. And they all fled from one loan shop to the next. No tracing them now. Call the company that put together a no-win loan, and their automatic answer is ""he no longer works here."" Do they know where he now works? ""No."" These people were no more than itinerant thieves. If they can be found, they should be prosecuted, tried, and fined an amount approximating they ill gotten net worths. Congress should pass legislation creating a nation wide licensing of loan originators. The license number should appear on the closing documents. Every time a loan is packaged and sold, it should contain an affidavit showing the license numbers of the sellers and buyers. These muckety-mucks like Paulson do not know what is going on, but real estate agents out on the street can recite it all for anyone who cares, and they can create a seminar out of the facts and spellbind incredulous audiences. So at the end of this year, I am now out for good. Real estate license now cancelled after 36 years. Thank God, my property is free and clear. To hell with the whole lot of them. Davey Witmer, Canton OH" 07042 Yes 0 No 24 No 24 Level 0 "We're a single physician office. While we haven't laid anyone off, we haven't hired anyone for positions vacated by employees who moved or retired. In 2001 we had 5 full-time people and 2 part-time; we now have just 2 people, my husband (the doctor) and myself. We work 7 days/week and work at least 12 hours/day on weekdays and at least 8 on weekends. We'd like to be able to hire more people but aren't able to in this economy. Expenses have gone up but our income hasn't." 99701 Yes 6 No 4 No 6 70% -0.7 "Between the increasing costs of goods and the already high tax burden, we will not be adding employees until we have a larger tax reserve; that means we will not add insurance benefits or hire other employees until 3Q 09. If taxes increase, we will not add benefits or employees." 32937 Yes 1 Yes 1 Yes 1 -70% -0.7 We are a product of offshoring. Now that the economy is crashing the importers are dumping over bought items on the market at below product material cost prices. Panic time. 77066 Yes 9 No 0 No 2 "We have no way to predict. We are hoping for growth, preparing for contraction." "To be truthful our business has been ""in recession"" since late 2000 or early 2001. 2008 was just a continuation of the overall bad business climate in the US. We are a business to business company and large corporations have not spent on professional services outsourcing as they did in the 1990's." 11951 Yes 12 No 8 No 0 "improvement, 20%" 0.2 "We were dead from October to June 2008 then in June it picked up. We have been very busy since then. We think it mainly has to do with our change in strategies, tightening up of our focus, and greater relationship networking as a result of our having had our severe downturn a year ago. Things are going good now but we are prepared for it to stop. But fully expect a turn around end of the 1st quarter of 2009. Have gone through recessions before. Previously was an owner-partner in a larger organization and walked away from it 6 years ago for a father-son hybrid construction consulting business focused on historic preservation. Working directly to provide support services to architects and structural engineers in the NYC environs during their pre-construction design work." 93012 Yes 3 No 4 No 1 Contract "Were were on fast growth track until August, when we started to see the bottom fall out. We went from record sales months in June and July to just barely making ends meet by November." 99504 Yes 6 No 0 No 0 Flat 0 It has kept my business from growing at what I projected. Other than that it's all good. 33042 Yes 0 Yes 1 No 0 -50% -0.5 "I am a general contractor and business has dropped drasticly, with 2009 looking extremely grim." 60643 Yes 2 No 0 No 2 -30% -0.3 "People are sometimes not willing to do even basic preventative maintenance items on their homes, leading to bigger, more costly repairs." 10036 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 Do not know People have stopped spending 22901 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 1 Unsure Class A General Contractor and Plumbing and Heating Contractor. There is no construction (we basically remodel and renovate usually upscale homes). Plumbing has slowed and most work is related to repairs or appliance installations. 60618 Yes 4 No 0 No 2 projections for 2009 bookings are down about 30% -0.3 As a photographer I have a set fee but some of my return clients are asking for a rate reduction or are hiring someone cheaper with no experience. No one seems to care about quality or service anymore. It is all about finding the cheapest price. M6G 1R1 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 -50% -0.5 "Lost my biggest contract, reduced to one quarter of billables" 02474 Yes 3 No 3 Yes 3 -25% -0.25 bummer all around 48116 Yes 1 Yes 0 No 0 contract 30% "We have been in business for 21 years. We bought an existing business doing approx. $90,000 gross annually. We grew that business to it's high of $500,000 gross annually employing 7 people at it's peak. Within two years time we have laid off 4 and 1 person retired due to declining sales. We are literally a Main Street business. My husband and I own an art gallery, custom framing store and deal in both retail and commercial sales. We own the building we are in and live above our building on Main Street. We are both in our 50s my husband at 57 and I am 53. We are now in danger of losing everything. Our home, our business, our building, our retirement, everything. It could be very easy to be bitter, but we know that if we allow that to happen things will only get worse. So, at the end of this month we will have to make a decision to try to keep going, or shut down and walk away from it all. It is so sad knowing that there are millions of people out there just like us who have worked hard all our life to have it all fall down around us. I have to ask the question why is Wall Street more important than Main Street? How can the government give a blank check to Wall Street, only to have nothing change as far as the frozen economy goes, yet turn its' back to the citizens who have supported government all these years. How can our government give a blank check to Wall Street and allow the auto companies, with its millions of associated jobs go down the tubes? I agree that there has to be a plan from the auto companies to move into the 21st century building fuel efficient, safe vehicles, but why was there no plan demanded from Wall Street? I resent giving Wall Street a blank check using our taxes. As I see it, our only hope will happen on January 20, 2009. I only hope it is not too late." 83843 Yes 45 No 0 No 0 Very unsure how we will be affected. Sales down in Oct and Nov Being very conservative this business has no debt. Will draw on line early next year for about 6 months. 10010 Yes 3 No 0 No 1 "-50%, at least" "Business has been down since January, and almost non-existent since the end of September, with the exception of what I assume will be a short-term up-tick right now in advance of the holidays. All my advertisers are reporting that their businesses are suffering as well, although none have dropped their ads - they're afraid to. Please note I lied about my zip code - that's not information I want you to have. I'm in New England." 13126 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 10% 0.1 So far very little we are in Upstate NY it has been a rescesion here for more than a decade. Homes did not go up so they did not fall. No MFG to speak of so the same. 60067 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 1 stay the same or contract 15% "Being a land surveyor, I have been hit since 3Q07. My 50 yr old business has endured its worst year on record! No debt yet, but I hope to be here Christmas 09." 15090 Yes 1 Yes 0 No 0 contract by 40% "Rising health care costs, longer sales cycles, clients slower to pay, and clients not willing to expand business with our company - these are the primary ways in which my company is being impacted. It's frankly been devastating for us. I vowed that I would always offer affordable health care for my employees - we just received an increase of 40%. Fortunately, we have not had to rely on any credit to date. Although I am projecting we will access our line of credit at some point this spring. I just pray that we are able to hold on through this and bring back the people I've had to let go." 97007 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 2 Flat to slight up (5 percent) "I own a restaurant, which means I’ve been on the front lines of downturn. I saw the first signs of today’s economic troubles in April 2007, well ahead of last summer’s bad news. Back then, I lost customers who teetered on the edge of personal economic failure, living beyond their means in houses they couldn’t afford. Without the “sub-prime drop-ins,” I counted on my core customers who still felt secure in their jobs and investments. However, Wall Street’s meltdown and the resulting impact on the economy and credit markets have changed that picture dramatically. The volatility and unrest now have even my most affluent, fiscally prudent customers are running for cover. Times are tough for them, too, as job losses mount and their investment portfolios dwindle in value. As consumers cut back on spending and banks stop lending, that leaves small business owners like me in a bind – i.e., not generating enough revenue to cover expenses and having no access to working capital to get by in the meantime. It's been very tough to stay in front of customers and constantly convince them that it's OK to spend their hard-earned cash and to support their local neighborhood restaurants, retail shops, service providers, and other small business that are so vital to the long-term viability of our communities. Add to that a winter storm that brought snowfall and freezing temperatures to the Portland, Oregon metro area this week which has shut my operation down as people ""run and hide."" I really didn't need another excuse that people could use for not going out and spending any money." 92024 Yes 6 No 0 Yes 6 Probably the same Customers are spending less. 40511 Yes 6 No 0 Yes 4 Incalculable at this time; down 50% at least "We build and sell non-essential luxury goods (race horses). At this point in time, for most people, if it's not a necessity, it's not being purchased." 87123 No 6 No 0 No 2 expect them to be about the same More competition. 90404 Yes 6 Yes 0 Yes 0 "given what we've been experiencing, i would expect sales to keep dropping. we have lost more than 60 percent of our business" "I am the owner of an art gallery in Santa Monica, California. December 8, 2008 was the 17 year anniversary of the gallery. I cannot overstate how profoundly sad I am to have had to lay off staff members and reduce the hours of those who remain. I have been working like mad trying to figure out a way to survive in these enormously trying times. I've always provided our staff with health insurance benefits and year's end bonuses. Right now I am unable to even pay our monthly bills. 80 percent of our clients have discontinued their art collecting activities. It is unfortunate that those who still have plenty of funds do not understand that by their lack of support in these trying times, many of the galleries they have frequented over the years will no longer be around when the economic landscape changes. This will be an unfortunate outcome, not only for collectors but for the majority of the folks who frequent galleries to view works by local and international artists. What will happen to the cultural life of a city? I am quite distraught, not only for my own dire financial situation and the affect it has had on my staff, but also for those who have made a point of frequenting RoseGallery over the past 17 years to view exhibitions by internationally recognized artists as well as emerging ones. What will happen to the artists we represent? How will they survive without regulary presenting their work in the gallery? I know art is not equated with food, clothing and shelter, but it is enormously important to our well being and our understanding of other cultures. Three years ago we held an exhibition of photographs taken in the sixties of the civil rights struggle in the south. Classes of kids from all over the city came to view these pictures. They gazed with disbelief at images of police officers chasing folks with clubs and turning on fire hoses on crowds to disperse them. ""You mean this took place in America?"" one of the students asked me. The kids left with packets of information about the show and each came up to me, shook my hand and thanked me. This is just one example of what our gallery has brought to Los Angeles. It seems we will most likely close in February of 2009." 10024 Yes 100 No 0 Yes 100 "contract, perhaps by 30%" "We provide consulting services to non-profits. Everyone is nervous and reducing their budgets and as consultants, we are often the first to be cut." 95616 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 down 10 - 20% "Sales are flat for the fall, expect them to be down in spring." 44107 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 major decrease "I am an IT Consultant and generally only employ myself, but work closely with a small number of other independent consultants. We mostly worked for Sun Microsystems, but that link has totally dried up. In fact, I've taken a permanent position with Eaton Corporation to try to get through this downturn. It's strange out there in the IT world. There seems to be just about as many entry-mid level consulting engagements, but no high level engagements. Yes, high level does equal high-dollar, but we like to think that the ROI of our services more than offset the extra cost. For the past 5 years, I've been flying Monday-Friday to engagements around the country, but that totally dried up too! I'm looking into turning my consulting business into a product oriented software business. I'm thinking that product demand will still be high, but personnel demand will be shrinking for the next 3+ years." 75693 Yes 9 Yes 3 Yes 6 100 % contract Went out of business. 85260 Yes 20 No 0 No 4 I expect them to grow 100% - if not more "I am a distributor with Isagenix, the World Leader in Nutritional Cleansing. Because it is word of mouth marketing, we are not adversely affected by the economy. In fact, network marketing companies thrive in recessions when people simply cannot find jobs. The Isagenix product is super food and reasonably priced, which allows people to use their grocery budget to try it out. The results of better health, more energy and less stress (along with weight loss or gain) create an emotional impact that everyone they know wants to duplicate. Thus, a business is born and grows. We are making our own economy, but it does depend on how hard you work your own business as to individual results." 49085 Yes 1 No 1 Yes 0 contract by 15-20% My last four months (August through November) have shown a 25% decline in revenues from the same period of last year. 77441 Yes 7 No 0 No 0 same I'm in a green technology and now is when companies spend money to save energy......when they have to. 10028 Yes 2 No 0 No 1 About the same "We are a market research firm specializing in studies of how the economy is affecting Americans, especially in health care. So far, the stories are terribly sad but we've been spared." 32503 Yes 5 Yes 2 No 0 - 5% -0.05 "We provide experts to high end business to business litigation. Our clients (law firms) clients have slowed the litigation process and are not assigning as much work to the experts, particularly the pre-trial portion of the process." 03870 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 Sales are up over 50% in 2009 We ship live Maine lobster all over the U.S. through out website SagamoreLobster.com. The price of lobster has crashed and we can now offer more affordable prices to our customers. We have used this to help local fisherman by buying more of their daily catch. 93036 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 0 We will contract by about 75%. We bought a business that sells a nd fabricates vinyl fencing. Our customers are contracter who install fences. We bought the business in the first week of July and had a terrific month. Sales slowed in Aug and the bottom fell out when the market crashed in Sept. Some of our contractors have laid off most of their and some have gotton temporary jobs at places like Costco. 98225 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 down by 50% sales down dramatically 66202 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 down about 30% we're in furniture repair and restoration and the refinishing side is down significantly while the repair side is up slightly. We have made a conscious effort to increase our web presence and that has provided a new income stream (albiet just a trickle so far). Since it is relatively cheap to promote on the web it is something we will continue to push even as the economy improves. So maybe the downturn pushed us into the web market faster than we would have moved without the extra motivation. 32931 Yes 1 No 2 No 1 We expect a 30% growth but who can really say? "We have had to severely limit marketing expenses because sales have not been there. We pay commissions to our independent salespersons, but sales have not been there because clients cannot get financing." 94111 Yes 1 No 2 No 3 Increase by 40% Impossible to get working capital/bank financing. Very difficult to support the sales cycle (sales to A/R to collection) without financing. Relying more on extenede terms from vendors. 10003 Yes 4 No 4 No 4 up 25% Greater focus on marketing our professional services 75074 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 somewhat smaller "We've been declining slowly in sales for years (peaked in 2001) but that's the industry we're in. December has been our worst month in a long time but January is usually bad for us. We'll see if this is a trend or just an ""early January""" 37919 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 About 20% lower "Customers are not spending at the rate that they did last year. They buy smaller items, and fewer items. I am in the antique business, and it is depressed more than I've seen in 30 years." 50309 Yes 4 Yes 4 No 4 -7% jul-nov 08 vs. 07 no 53534 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 2 70% less than 2008 "I'm a designer goldsmith. My work has decreased by 65% this year compared to 2007. The increase in gold prices and the layoffs in my area ( janesville, WI ) due to GM closing their plant here, and the closing of several companies that supply to the GM plant, the sales of jewelry and jewelry repair has becomes virtually nonexistant." 23226 Yes 3 No 3 No 3 conract 20% "I have a small travel agency. my ""employees"" are commission agents. thankfully, they have been able to wait for their pay checks. i cashed in my 401k in order to have cash to live on. i have not taken a salary in 2 months. I am single, 50 years old and scared shitless." 92335 Yes 5 Yes 0 No 0 CONTRACT BY 20% "This business is an auto dismantling business. We sell recycled parts to insurance companies, body shops, garages and to the public. Our volume of telephone calls has dropped considerably, and of course, it affects sales. Most body shops we contact say their shops are slow too." 81224 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 2 -30% -0.3 "Our business is construction-related. Because this is an upscale area, economic slowdowns don't really affect the building business. However, even the rich are not spending their money right now. We may not survive 2009." 63645 Yes 28 Yes 12 Yes 28 horibly contract by 3/4'sl "We own a automatic,2 bay car wash. For 5 years,we have had a good business. We cannot meet our bills. December is always a great month. $11,000 last December. For the first 2 weeks this month $800. There is no discretionary money in this town, so many business have closed in town this month. It is heartbreaking." 44460 Yes 18 Yes 0 Yes 0 2008 was a disaster; 2009 will be worse "We are reorganizing to sell off our production equipment. We may sell the entire business, we haven't made a final decision." 10012 Yes 12 No 0 No 0 Grow 15-25% "I am fortunate to be a physician in private practice so I have not seen as much of a drop off (actually have had some growth). Unfortunately, some of my friends in the business/wall st world have reduced the schedules or have been laid off." 83713 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 Increase by 100% I am an insurance broker; the recession has caused people and businesses to quit being lazy about their finances. They are now shopping for better rates and coverage. This shopping stimulates providers who now have to rethink the way they do business. Businesses that cannot survive did not survive because they quit changing the way they do business. 28801 Yes 75 Yes 0 No 0 down 60% since Oct 1 We sell upscale tools & more for woodworkers. People must be postponing their projects or shopping on-line at discount retailers because they're not coming in! 15905 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 0 will not grow. We are a nonprofit and we will work parttime on a volunteer basis "Our Board of Directors who funds our overhead have taken a huge hit in stock market and we had to close down operations as we can not insure that we can meet payroll and we cannot take on any liabilities. We have fired our staff including me - I work in Brazil but pay US taxes. We let our Brazilian staff of two go. This means that all vendors in Brazil are out of work and that our projects will not be getting the funding that we normally raise for them. We will keep a very small operation working on a volunteer basis, but it does not really matter as individual and other donations have come to a complete standstill. We are a small non profit that raised USD$500,000 for and provided services to grassroots projects in Brazil." 82001 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 grow Credit Lines Cut... In case of Amex... to zero... 81252 Yes 120 Yes 2 Yes 45 "I expect 2009 sales to be a fraction of 2008, partly due to discontinuing the production of a large part of our product line." "I have a small manufacturing company in Colorado. We manufacture hand-crafted Western-themed home decor items, most are welded spurs and horseshoes. My customer base is primarily small Mom-and-Pop gift shops along with a few larger catalogs. Many many of my customers have gone out of business in the past year; many other can not pay their outstanding invoices. Steel costs have soared and, as most of my product line consists of heavy steel items, this past year's outrageous fuel costs have added to the problem - shipping product to customers as well as having raw materials shipped to me has become unacceptable. As a result, I have given up my manufacturing shop and the overhead that goes along with it and suspended my welding operations. I am continuing to run the company with my greatly reduced product line consisting of items that my employees already make from home as well as items that other local craftsmen make. We'll see how it goes..." 94555 Yes 3 No 3 Yes 4 contract 30% For us it has only just begun. We expect a real downturn next year. We anticipate closing 2 of our 4 locations. 30033 Yes 3 No 1 Yes 1 contract by 40% "I am an executive search consultant having worked at Korn/Ferry for 14 years and as a Partner in smaller firms for the past 7. My business has remained steady or grown over the past five years. I decided about six months ago to start my own firm and move away from working for others. In August, I booked a couple of searches with several more on the horizon. By September/October, it became apparent that my industry (Biotech, pharma, medical device) was going to be hit hard by the economic times as people were being laid off rather than hired. I have worked through bad times before and found that life sciences maintained a steady stream of business. This is not the case now. A year ago, my business was good and continuing to grow while now it has stalled for the foreseeable future. My hope is that it will pick up and clients will begin to hire again as venture capitalists invest in newer technologies but the near term looks bleak. The continued turmoil in financial services has created a nasty environment for growth making it a difficult time to be a small business owner. In spite of a strong client base, my business has deteriorated from factors beyond my control - and,a actually, to a large extent, beyond my clients' control as well. My husband is a consultant so not really safe from this volatile employment environment either. I have two kids in middle school and we had saved a significant chunk of money in our tax deferred vehicles for retirement which have been hit really hard. It is depressing to put so much money away for so many years and watch it decrease by the tens (or hundreds) of thousands in a short time with no real confidence that it will return. We have a vacation house that we planned to sell this year as well. That house has dropped in value to the point it isn;t worth selling so any hope of alleviation of financial pressures through the sale of that house have, in effect, disappeared. And we have kids entering college soon with high tuition fees to be paid. This is the worst possible scenario for us. But I know it isn't just us, it's bad all over." 34243 Yes 11 Yes 8 Yes 3 Expect 25% contraction "We are a small law firm which represents injured people. The insurance companies are so concerned about their own liquidity that they are stalling on negotiation settlements. Cases which have clear liability and small insurance limits, which would have been settled in six weeks, are dragging out for month after month." 20001 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 2 I expect them to decline. One of my clients (a nonprofit) had a significant portion of its endowment managed by Madoff's firm. They laid off consultants such as myself even before the Madoff scandal due to a general decline in their investment portfolio outlook. The Madoff scandal only makes things worse for them. They may have to lay off employees soon. 60033 Yes 1 Yes 2 Yes 0 -50% -0.5 not really at all 90405 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 1 -90% -0.9 "My business is a technology development company. For projects we start in-house, we need an outside source of funding (investors, industry partners, government projects). Those sources of funding have disappeared. Also we rely heavily on my personal credit and some of those lines have been closed by the banks as they consider small businesses too risky." 94708 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 equal I have had orders delayed into 2009 because of budget restrictions in the current quarter (Q4'2008) 90272 Yes 63 No 0 No 30 "can't tell, but I expect contraction" 2008 business is off by 15% from 2007 15201 Yes 9 No 0 No 0 grow 10% We work in corporate events and trade shows. One show has dropped off so far for 2009. We will see! 04101 Yes 9 No 8 Yes 0 30% less "We have come close to closing our doors many times in the last few months. As a 'retail style' professional services business, if customers do not begin using our services more soon, we will have to close." 94105 Yes 3 No 1 No 0 -20% -0.2 "I'm a one-person business, a graphic designer. I've been in business for 30 years, and have had up to 5 employees in past years. Since the last recession after the dot-com bust, I have trained myself to be proficient in the design programs so that I can handle all the work for which I used to hire people to do. That has allowed me much greater flexibility in managing my business expenses, and greater quality control over the work that my business produces. In fact, my business has grown slowly but steadily over the last few years. Currently, however, I expect my revenues to decrease somewhat, as I hear my clients discuss belt-tightening at their offices, and transforming trends that are pressuring my main source of business, the publishing industry. Another category that I work for, nonprofit and charitable organizations, are suffering from significant drops in donations and grants because of the recession, and therefore are canceling, delaying, or shrinking publishing and communications projects. I don't have a sense that I can improve the situation by proactively promoting new business, as pervasive as the belt-tightening is in reality." 12020 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 "sales grew though against no backdrop data, as this was our first year in business having opened our doors in 12/2007..I expect a modicum of growth in 2oo9 if we can keep our doors open" "I opened a distinctive, earth friendly,retail, card and gifts shop in 12/07 with the best intentions, and though gas prices were climbing, and I was underemployed in my chose career as a librarian...an expensive MLS Masters degree that has not even begun to pay for itself, My wife and I pursued an entrepreneurial dream. we financed most of our upfront costs on credit cards, the interest rates were far superior to SBA loans, and there was far less red tape to navigate..the cash was available...we watched throughout the year as gas prices climbed and the whispers of credit calamities began to roar louder, not knowing how it would directly affect us...after a dismal summer, well below expectations and a sharp turn down from the steady growth expected of a new local business that was getting the word out and growing its customer base...Sept and Oct saw a precipitous drop in our incoming sales, opening orders receipts were due to the vendors and they weren't extending any more credit...the credit cards were altering their interest rates and people were visibly shaken...I say scared, they were all talking about the economy and wondering how we were doing...there is an earnest support for the local business versus the big box store..but we cannot compete with the slash and burn sale, discount pricing they have been offering people this year to draw them in....we've had some good days...but we need many more of them if this yule season will not be our last..." 33773 Yes 16 No 0 No 0 probably flat or a little lower "My husband and I have a small retail store, clothing and adult products. About 1/2 of our customers are 'exotic dancers"" When business is slow for them, they buy less. Usually only the necessities." 95405 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 40% 0.4 there has been a tremendous halt to enrollment in our student travel programs thru the months of oct and nov. We expect jan and february to be better. 10014 Yes 4 No 0 No 0 Down 80% "I am involved in Architecture and Real Estate in New York City, two sectors that have been greatly affected by the contraction of the credit markets. My own work is severely impinged, and anecdotally, all of my fellow small scale practitioners and RE Sales agents have been greatly affected. Architects are laying off staff and RE sales in Manhattan are down 75% from this time last year." 32459 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 Down 50% from 2008 Tourists are down dramatically and not shopping. 95008 Yes 6 Yes 0 Yes 5 Sales have shrunk by 50% "We're a small PR agency servicing high-tech clients in Silicon Valley. In November, we lost 50% of our business due to client cuts in PR budgets. The cuts were directly related to the current economic crisis and what we all believe will be a truly dismal 2009. As of Jan. 1, all employees will cease receiving salaries and health benefits and will move to an hourly wage." I sell all over USA Yes 6 No 0 No 0 Sales will be down at least by half. "Absolutely. And I sell to the rich. I sell caviar, smoked salmon, foie gras, truffles, and mushrooms. Reagan was my best years, but I was doing okay until 9/11, when I lost 2/3 of my business. I had built back half of what I lost, and now I have lost that and more. I'm down 75% from pre 9/11. Bush has been nothing but a disaster for my company. If I didn't have savings, I couldn't keep my company open." 66012 Yes 2 No 0 No 1 down 20% or so My family runs a small internet retail operation out of our basement. Our customer base is holding suprisingly steady - our big problems right now are credit and flaky (Chinese) suppliers. 95076 Yes 5 No 5 Yes 5 hopefully will not decline more than 10% "Credit lines decreased, bank interest rates and fees increased, almost impossible to get loans. On the customer end, more late payments which delay our payments to suppliers, in turn affecting our credit rating adversely; projects and orders delayed or cancelled. High level of anxiety and stress." 01923 Yes 4 No 0 No 0 10% decline we are reducing salaries to prevent layoffs 30087 No 2 No 0 No 0 We expect our unrestricted fund receipts to shrink by at least 20%. "We are a non-profit home builder for the underprivileged. In 2009, as many as half of our homes will be built with government funds rather than private donations from businesses. We're grateful that we have that resource, but it doesn't help our operating budget. I feel sure we will have layoffs in 2009." 90066 Yes 6 Yes 0 Yes 6 contract by additional 30% "i am a two part story. I am a direct mail print producer and have previously worked on large quantity (500M-3MM) programs. Over the past few years, the web has replaced many of the direct mail programs I have worked on. I see my situation influenced by the recession and also by a changing focus of paper marketing and communications." 60654 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 Contract 10% "I am bracing myself for 1st quarter and not with a big hug but an armoured shield. As a wholesaler, my customer the retailers are just dead quiet and paying net 90, not net 30 and they are scared!!!! I try to remain positive and look ahead to a brighter future with our new President. All you can do is remain positive." 10003 Yes 12 Yes 2 Yes 3 I expect them to grow "In May, I moved my business a few doors down to a much bigger and nicer retail space. While the sales are up in gross, the profit is way down. We are barely hanging on. I am, however, thankful that our market share seems to be increasing and that gives us a better shot to at least make ends meet. I am in vintage goods retail." 63146 Yes 1 Yes 0 No 0 down 20% We provide business to business services for managing the storage and retreival of documents. Several of our regular customers have decided to hold off on any new projects and new prospects are just not doing anything. 12790 Yes 7 Yes 0 Yes 7 down by 10-20+% "We are in an extremely poor county in upstate NY - we had glimmers of a revival on its way in the next few years which will not materialize now and we are all scaling back in anticipation of no growth, increased taxes and more un- and under employed. When speaking to colleagues from closer to NYC, we are seeing less impact but started from a much lower baseline. The looming NYS budgetary disaster is the most terrifying." 94122 Yes 0 Yes 0 Yes 0 -20% -0.2 "The thinning of clients is coming, so I hope we have enough to weather the next 9 months or so." 94015 Yes 36 No 0 No 0 Sales will be down by about 15% X!? 95032 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 2 50% -0.5 I am a vendor to the building industry and my sales are now off nearly 90% 60625 Yes 18 No 0 Yes 0 contract My husband and I are freelance production professionals for corporate live events. Our billing is down 40% since June of 2008. 48912 No 2 No 0 No 2 10% 0.1 . 10028 Yes 7 Yes 0 No 0 -70% -0.7 We are event planners. No one wants to look like they are spending money and no one wants to look like they are celebrating. 32413 Yes 4 No 0 No 10 Stay about the same 0 We design web sites. The amount of new business has almost entirely dried up. Our existing clients are what is keeping us going for now. Smaller companies we do web sites for (particularly real estate firms) are closing their sites and businesses down. 77024 Yes 17 Yes 0 No 4 Expect about 1/3 less -0.33 "We are a small, mainly business-to-business marketing and branding firm. Our biggest problem is that our clients are large firms who are having problems getting credit, therefore are cutting back on projects and are slow to pay due to cash flow problems. We saw this coming in September-October and responded quickly by a 20% layoff. We're now taking additional steps to cut back on overhead while also concentrating on new business development. One of the advantages of a small business is its ability to respond quickly and effectively when action is necessary. We are cautiously hopeful about 2009." 75206 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 -35% -0.35 no 91202 Yes 5 No 5 Yes 5 Contract about 30% Hard to hold on to old clients as they too are cutting back. New clients are almost impossible. We have been in business for 30 years and this is the worst I've ever seen it by far! 28804 Yes 15 Yes 3 Yes 0 2008 was agreat year 2009 should start well enough but 2nd half??? We will have to take on the work that we had hired a third worker for. 28804 Yes 135 No 40 No 0 grow 10% "YOY Sales per customer down 12-20%. Making it up by increasing customer base, but it's all uphill." 90036 Yes 1 No 1 No 0 15% 0.15 "I own a commercial janitorial business. In 2009 I expect to continue growing. The recession has made customers more price sensitive, but that has not affected my growth plans for 2009. In fact in 2008 I had two former customers come back because they could not get the same level of service from other low priced competitors! I expect a good year." 60160 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 flat "There is relentless pressure to lower the cost of goods. So while our movement is up, casewise, our revenues are flat. But as the case movement increases so do our costs. So there is pressure on the margins. As an importer the huge swings in currencies is forcing everyone to evaluate on a frequent basis the advisability of continuing to provide goods for the US and other markets. The stability of basic trade of infrastructure has been thrown out the window and we are too small and so are our suppliers to get involved in risk hedging mechanisms. In any case they don't seem to have worked in our areas" 95685 Yes 75 Yes 0 Yes 0 contract by 25% "We are in the entertainment business - we own the Sutter Creek Theatre, a small historic theatre in a small historic Gold Rush town - Sutter Creek, about an hour southeast of Sacramento. We depend on out of town visitors (Sutter Creek pop 2500). Once gas hit $4 earlier this year, our business dropped 60%, and is still not back yet, but has come back some. We have a small cafe and winebar in the theatre. We have closed the cafe an additional 2 days a week, and the wine bar is now open only when we have shows in the theatre, usually once-twice a week. Our credit lines have been cut back even though we have never been late - the banks don't like the amount of debt and are seeing reduced income, and we're hearing that's happening to a lot of merchants we know, not just us. We know other business owners who can't buy inventory because they can't get credit. We used to be open 6 days for the cafe and had local business people for lunch (like 8 real estate agents from the broker down the street). Now lunch business is almost gone, the real estate office has one agent, we are open 4 days a week, and business for the cafe is off 60%. We took over this business in Oct 2003, and every year until now we have done better, even though the economy has gotten worse every year since 2003 (lower housing prices, higher gas, higher everything). So this year it finally caught up with us, and I think it will continue to be bad for at least another year, probably two. People are losing jobs and homes and not spending money on entertainment. We have 2 kids in college - student loans are much harder to get now. We used to get patrons from Stockton Ca, about 45 minutes away, sometimes as much as 40% of our audience. Stockton is the worst city in the U.S. for foreclosures, our Stockton patrons are no more. We have day jobs in addition to our business, or we wouldn't make it. My wife and I also work for the state of Cal. Now we are looking at pay cuts and lay offs at the state as well. We were in a Macy's last night in downtown Sacramento- buying Tshirts for my nephew - 2 weeks before Xmas and it was nearly empty, it should have been packed. Almost no homes have Xmas lights out in neighborhoods where almost all the homes would have lights, and usually be competitive about it. Very scary." 33618 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 -25% -0.25 retail is in a dismal state. We are trying to stay solvent in very difficult times. 60602 Yes 1 No 1 No 1 -100% -1 "I offer consulting services to real estate developers. Most(80%) of my clients can't get financing. Therefore, my business is almost non-existent." 90026 Yes 1 No 0 No 3 our business is media production and fluctuates all the time. "Some say the entertainment business is recession proof. We do manage to keep working, but we have stopped spending and re-investing in infrastructure (software, hardware, equipment, etc)" 60612 Yes 26 Yes 3 No 16 -25% -0.25 Yes 23113 Yes 3 No 1 No 2 down by 10 % customers tighting budgets and using less services 98103 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 2 less by 20% No story. Just a slowdown in construction. 97862 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 I don't know. "I provide graphic arts and communication support to large corporations. My largest client is experiencing cutbacks...trickledown, trickledown...I'm hoping they don't go belly up. If they do, I do. Things are getting tight, but so far not desperate." 94598 No 3 No 1 Yes 0 no idea I think we are very worried about the 2009 outlook 11780 Yes 8 Yes 8 Yes 8 Down 30%-continue to contract "We own a full service car wash. We noticed a slight downturn in business starting Nov. 2007. Since then we had a huge drop-off when gas prices went up over the summer. It was just showing signs of rebounding when the credit crisis hit. Our business is weather related so at times we have to borrow to make payroll. That was cut so we are at present 3 weeks behind on our pay.(employees are paid promptly). We depend on car dealerships with new car preps to keep our detail shop busy, which is crucial in a weather related business, to keep money coming in reliably. Since September more than half of the dealerships in this area have closed and the other half we have only seen sporadic business from. A car wash is one of the first things scratched from the family budget and with the fall-back detail business from the dealers dropping off a cliff, things are tough." 90404 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 I expect a slowing of about 30%. "I have a new business that was moving along well -- lots of press, hits on my website, interest in the product. But Christmas was a lot slower than these factors would suggest. However, I am managing to stay afloat keeping an extremely low overhead." 48708 Yes 12 No 2 No 0 contract by about 20% I will be laying of staff in Jan 2009 -- 2 61081 Yes 5 Yes 5 Yes 0 We are just not sure what to expect for the next year Huge increases with gas prices and other price increases for materials and supplies. I had to increase the price of our services. This has resulted in not as many jobs for the employees. Clients are not able to except the bids. But lower the prices any more would mean that there would not be enough to cover the cost of doing the job. 77084 Yes 4 No 1 No 0 -50% -0.5 sales declined 50% 47460 Yes 4 No 2 No 2 CONTRACT 60% "We had a great 1st quarter in 2008, but nothing since. We will get by with what supplies we have and just ride it out. No new projects or designs." 10512 Yes 8 No 0 Yes 3 contract "We own a home improvement design-build firm. Two projects valued at $200K and $75K respectively were cancelled by the owners this Fall directly due to the performance of the financial markets as people became reluctant to spend money in these uncertain times. This represents a loss equal to the expected gross income of the company for the entire year of 2008. One of us remains employed full-time in the construction industry and we are the classic example of people who have ""done the right thing"", but are literally one paycheck away from serious trouble." 92677 Yes 2 No 1 Yes 0 reduced by about 50% I'm a well educated (graduate degree) self employed architectural design consultant hardly working at all at the moment compared to 40 -50 hrs a week. Many large and smaller projects are on hold pending financial stability and / or unable to get funded. 04493 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 contract 25-30% "Clients have basically stopped calling, the only work we have is left is finishing 2008 projects." 02667 Yes 22 No 21 No 0 24% less sales "Sales were fine until the end of July, when gas hit $4.00/ gallon. Even though I have strictly an internet based sales company (selling baseball caps), sales dropped off in August and are gonig lower each month. Christmas sales are off 50% this December vs last December. I've been in business for 14 years (longer than Amazon.com) and this is the frist time sales are lower than the previous year." 98122 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 0 50% reduction "I started my company in 1995 and have experience several down turns, but this is the first time I'm looking at shutting down." 94710 Yes 5 No 5 No 5 tbd "since the market collapse, business has actually gone up. I have more than I can handle. And I'm not totally sure why. Possibly, people are trying to make sure their 2008 budgets are spent. Won't really know how this will affect me until we get into 2009." 32714 No 3 Yes 0 Yes 0 "Forcast for increase, however reality is contraction." "Drastic decrease in sales, layoffs and decreased spending on essential items." 92127 Yes 6 No 2 No 0 grow Fortunaltely we are in the healthcare staffing sector. Business is steady. 92129 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 -15% -0.15 "I have survived layoff in my field, and started my own business. Estimated to equal my previous salary, but next year doesn't look too good. Housing ind. slowdown has hurt entire construction sector in San Diego." 55344 Yes 7 Yes 1 Yes 2 Unknown "We're an Architecture design firm. Our business has stopped, frozen. None of our clients are doing new work. Some because the financing didn't make sense others are simply sitting tight waiting to see what happens before making a move. Our business is built on growth, people need new buildings to accommodate expansion. A contraction is always tough. This is as bad as 1974 and 1980, the two oil embargoes. I am preparing for the possibility of closing our doors after 30 years, we're running out of cash. We're trying to hold our breath until the new administration which, unlike the current, may do something about the economic situation. I met with a bankruptcy lawyer yesterday. From my perspective this recession is a catastrophe. a manmade one at that, the result of Bush, Gramms and their idealogues." 08330 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 1 50% reduction. "My husband and I own and operate a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. We began two years ago. After seeing a 50% increase in our business after the first year, our customer base and our sales have dropped by nearly 50% since August, and we are not a seasonal business. Three of my employee's spouses have been laid off in the past three weeks. We're trying to wait until after Christmas, but we're going to have to lay off our cook soon, as well as our dishwasher. We are already open 7 days a week because we can't afford to close. Payroll taxes are killing us. Our suppliers are all also seeing a 50% reduction in sales. Even Coke and Pepsi are worried. And because we live in NJ (and love it here) we pay in one month what my mom, in Pennsylvania pays in one year for property taxes. Oh, and the cost on ONE child's college loans? $60,000. And that's not grad school. If you think about these things too much, you make yourself sick. If you don't think about them, you can't act to improve things. I'm just trying to remember: breathe." 62025 Yes 1 Yes 0 No 1 contract by 15% "We're having to borrrow to stay afloat. We've cut staff to the minimum level needed to continue operations. Healthcare costs have been killing us for years, and now with the economy in recession, we are desperate for business." 78751 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 probably down 10-15% Difficult to plan for the future. V9K 1S8 Yes 3 No 0 No 3 Grow by 15% "Orders for Christmas are smaller, two tourtiers instead of three, one pound of lemon squares instead of two that kind of thing. But more orders. In biz 5 years." 80301 Yes 8 No 2 Yes 3 "I hope remains the same,or a small growth" I service the real estate industry by the most part and my business has been hit along with them. The economy here in Colorado is not as bad as esle where...but we are seeing a slow down 92262 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 10% growth "I am working harder, as is everyone, for the same or less money. Everything, healthcare, rent, materials all have gone up. My retail store has many people coming in to look, but now they hesitate to open the wallet." 01089 Yes 9 Yes 0 Yes 1 0 0 "We were a mortgage broker. our last application was in April 2008, Our last closing was May 2008. I surrenderred the mortgage license in August 2008 after accepting a job with a large national company. Articles of dissolution and the final corporate return will be submitted end of December 2008. We were in business from March 2001. I have been a mortgage banker since 1982. Started as an originator, became a branch manager, then district manager, then a VP before becoming self employed. Now I am a Jr. Loan Originator working straight commission. All creditors of the company were paid in full, every contract for services have been honored and paid such as Yellow Book, Pitney Bowes, Verizon etc. My personal credit shows no lates, however, my 401ks are gone. Half in 2007 (lack of revenues but met payroll) and half in 2008 due to no income and expenses associated with shutting down. Interstingly shutting down properly takes nearly as much attention as running, maybe a bit more as it is easy to want to be distracted." 29640 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 1 contract by at least 50% "the same story, banks I have dealt with for over a decade that won't lend money making a mess of short term cash flow. cut my own salary eliminate benefits and paid vacation days. just trying to survive with no help in sight" 24211 Yes 4 Yes 1 Yes 4 already have contracted by 70% another 50% In 09 "My business won't make it. I probably should have already closed the doors, but I haven't been able to find a job. I've been looking for 6 months." 91605 No 4 No 0 Yes 0 One third less. Most of U.S. customers have slowed or stopped buying. Most of customers are now foreign. 15239 Yes 3 Yes 0 No 1 anticipating much lower sales in the auto industry "to put it bluntly, we are now eating our seed corn just to stay afloat. lost our financing of 16 years (was never late on ANY payments.) had to get bridge financing at usery rates." 33614 Yes 4 Yes 0 Yes 4 "I suspect that it will be less or, at best even...our sales for 2008 are off 40% from 2007" "We provide outdoor advertising promotions for Grand Openings, sales promotions, special events. Grand Openings have dropped off as many businesses are not starting up in this environment -- both with national chains and with local independents. As far as sales promotions are concerned, if businesses barely have the money to keep their doors open, where will they get the money to use an outside promotion company? And, finally, special event expenditures are down as promoters and sponsors seek to trim costs. Our business has historically done a good business with auto dealers and home builders -- auto dealers are closing and going bankrupt and home builders are - well -- this is Florida...you get the picture. We have worked with newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations...their financial situations are such that they have cut back radically. In the 20 years, I have been in this business I have never seen conditions this bad...while it had been slow at times (for example, the '91, post dot-com collapse, and post 9/11 periods), this downturn seems to be more pervasive in its effect. I don't see any end in sight at this point since Florida has been overly dependent upon construction and population growth to fuel its economy and there is not enough diversity in our economy to overcome the effects of overbuilding and realty related job loss. If this downturn lasts too long, I am afraid that we will be seeing a lot of business closures and bankruptcies -- even with well managed, established businesses. (Mine may well be one of them!) This will only contribute to a further downward spiral." 55343 Yes 9 No 0 No 1 minus 20% in 2009. After a 10% decline in 2008 "Though we have not yet laid off anyone, we expect that will change within 3 months. Were we truly cold hearted, analytical and looking out for what is best for us personally, we would have laid off at least one and reduced another to part time already. We're dopes. We are endangering the very existence of this company. Hope (false?) trumps reality." 96746 Yes 6 Yes 3 No 0 down 30% small retail shop...no shoppers OR noone wants to spend.everyone is depressed ...can barely make utilities and tax payments and loan payments....not much money for food...no new projects going forward...just rehashing old ones....shrinking inventory..cancelled orders...afraid of equipment breaking... 30337 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 "If we're lucky, they'll stay steady." "Closing deals has gotten harder, people are being much more careful with their money. Additionally we've seen several clients go under, meaning we've had to hustle to find new work." 34983 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 0 Hopefully sales will grow at least 50%! "Everything is slow, but we didn't expect the severe drop." 98112 Yes 3 No 1 Yes 3 i hope they grow by at least 50% I'm an Interior Designer - that would be classified as a Luxury item. I saw business begin to decline in the fall and go down from there. I'm looking forward to February of 2009 as the beginning of a turnaround. 33160 Yes 30 No 1 Yes 7 Down by 60% We don't know if we will survive to see 2009. 98116 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 decrease I am an interior designer and owner of my business. Nearly all of my projects have been halted or scaled back because of the economy. I have been looking for outside consultant work to subsidize the lack of projects I currently have. I have over 20 years experience in my field. 60523 Yes 5 Yes 1 Yes 2 fallen about 50%. We are closing as of 12/23/2008 We have a home appraisal business and our orders dropped dramatically in early summer. We have not broken even since May 1. We are closing at Christmas. At the beginning of 2008 we had 4 contract employees and I ran the office. My husband is an independent management consultant and he is being let go from a 3 year project on 12/23/2008. 95472 Yes 3 No 1 Yes 3 "Too early to tell, but antipate a 25% reduction" "Video productions are down, even tho I make the videos for small business websites. Even with lower rates than TV advertising, business owners are pulling back on their advertising which affects me and my crews. I usually hire two to three assistants, including an editor, per project." 37918 Yes 8 No 0 No 2 grow 10% no effect 02910 Yes 1 No 1 Yes 0 unsure due to economy "We live in Rhode Island, and the economy here is literally frozen in place. Dead, no movement. There is no money on the street, mall and retail traffic is weak, and people are holding on to what they have and spending sparingly. Our business is a quasi-legal one, Divorce Mediation, and yes, it usually slows down before the holidays, but even though we offer a much less expensive route through a Divorce, people have hunkered down and are sticking it out in their present situation due to fear over money. We have seen a number of articles reporting this lately. Our Attorney associates confirm this as well, as their business is even slower than ours. Other retailers and businesses we know are hurting like never before. It's going to be a long, tough winter here in the Northeast. Heck of a job, Bushie'. And Congress hasn't been any help either." 40517 Yes 2 No 0 No 2 unknown We are selling less gift certificates this year and see clients not returning as frequently. 23434 Yes 0 No 0 Yes 0 down 75% "I have a small independent art and book store in a redevolopment area in Southern Virginia. I started three years ago and may have to sell my building this year, but since the economy is so bad, I may loose everything we put into the renovations and development of this business if something doesn't happen soon. We have already lost all savings and retirement and no health care." 94127 Yes 15 No 5 No 10 down 25% Everything has slowed down. It's tougher to make sales than it was in 2008. 10002 Yes 14 No 0 Yes 8 unknown "Sales contracted over 45% in 2008. We are a family run travel business, rising value of Euro in 2008 killed our business." 14414 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 "Hoping for sunshine, preparing for rain." "I'm a home handyman/maintenence man. I employ older veterans, people on welfare/SSI/SSD/wanted criminals, (all under the table). I'm a people recycler. Mostly right now, I'm having enough trouble finding ANY work, even for myself. I'm sitting around depressed most of the time, starting to gain weight eating crappy high carb, high fat food that is all I can afford on my miniscule food stamp payments. I've never been on welfare in my life. Gotta love them beans. I've tried to find volunteer work just to keep fit,and busy. No luck so far. FYI, I am a 52 yo disabled Nam era veteran" 60026 Yes 11 No 0 Yes 0 unknown By business open in November of 2008. 84770 Yes 6 No 0 Yes 0 minus by 25% loss of construction workers has hurt alot 60156 Yes 4 No 1 No 1 better "We opened a cabinet and top shop in June....If the media would just shut up with all the negativity,,, Let us go after our own energy... Stop with the hysteria of global warming ,,Let people know there is money to lend and borrow" 08109 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 down "Our customers have been hammered and, therefore, we've been hammered, too - we create ""good to have"", not ""must have"" products" 94103 Yes 4 No 0 No 0 -10% -0.1 "We're a small cafe and inflation killed us this year. While the ""serious people"" were saying there was little inflation, our receipts showed a very different story." 78209 Yes 1 No 2 Yes 2 Same "Clients are opting out of projects that have been planned for months. The projects that come to fruition have had budget reductions. I am scrambling to find clients that are not affected by the recession as much. I am also worried about 2009. I may struggle, but I will survive." 79706 Yes 10 Yes 3 Yes 0 down 30% "We sell horse trailers, Inquires are down 50%. Sales are down 30%-40%" 63125 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 0 about the same some decrease in patient visits 33029 Yes 25 Yes 0 No 0 -50% -0.5 "For the first time in my life, I have had to go on unemployment." 98070 Yes 1 No 1 No 1 Up by 20% "We are involved with education, essentially K-12, but also some involvement with higher education; also involved with green education. We have partnered with companies and organizations who will continue to help underwrite our activities." 46714 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 -40% -0.4 Phones aren't ringing. Clients talking openly about money problems. 02917 Yes 1 Yes 0 No 0 lost at least 25 - 50k We are considering bankruptcy 86351 Yes 6 No 0 No 2 Same I am a web designer for non-profits and creatives. I have not seen drop in work. 13031 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 about the same daycare buisness seems unaffected so far 33301 Yes 15 No 5 Yes 5 -25% -0.25 "I am an Acupuncture Physician with a practice in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately the economic problems in South Florida are so murky and deep it will be a long time before small business will stand on its feet in this economy. Until our Government gets a floor under the housing market, limits CEO pay and compensation, works for the people and not for the Wall Street and the banks that got us into this mess, it will be years before the word prosperity crosses the lips of South Floridians. I have a whole closet of shoes that I would readily like to heave at W and he corrupt band of clowns." 94556 Yes 3 No 0 No 3 sales will stay the same "I'm a college admissions consultant. My business (new clients) seems to be the same, if not slightly better, than last year. Families who have retained their children's colleges funds still seem willing to spend them on professionals who will help them navigate the complicated maze of admissions and, now, financial aid." 19122 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 Who knows? "Design company sitting in epi-center of investor start-ups, mostly doing business in gentrification zone for real estate-related investments. Mergers are occurring with other start-ups in attempt to improve chance of survival. With credit markets choked off expenses are difficult to meet, with clients unable to move on necessary marketing. Circling drain." 80210 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 1 ???????????????? "We remodel----our average job is $40,000. That's a lot to spend in today's financial landscape for most people, especially considering their portfolio has shrunk by 40% with no end in sight. Plus, the small jobs----$3,000 to $10,000 range------just aren't around anymore. I was down at the Denver Building Department and the person who issues permits says everything is pretty slow except for the big $ projects. Oh, I looked at one small job ($6,000) the other day, but that was because a drunk plowed his car into somone's brick porch and demolished it. I've got one big job ($200,000) to start any time. However, I've gone back to selling books (""Psychotic Remodeling,"" available through Amazon.com and at http://www.pulpville.com because they are only $15 each and most everybody seems to be able to scrape together $15 for something they want. ------Rick the Remodeler" 60616 Yes 5 Yes 0 Yes 5 Sales contract by 50%+ "We are an alternative healthcare clinic. Our clients use their after-tax cash to pay for our services. Very few of our services are covered by insurance and those that are covered, have very low reimbursement rates. Therefore, as the economy has shrunk, our clients have less disposable income and our business has fallen off dramatically. It has been painful. We are moving the business into our basement in the hope that in a year or two we could return to a regular office again. We'll both (my husband and I own the business) will have to get part-time or full-time jobs or do consulting. Whatever we can find to supplement what's left of our business. Thank you for asking this question." 02135 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 grow 5% "I'm in health market research and it seems minimally affected, pharma pushing for faster cheaper projects is the main effect. Only my 4th quarter numbers are down, otherwise the year was strong." 42376 Yes 1 No 1 No 0 "We expect to grow by 50%, we sell fresh vegetables" "We are in the business of selling fresh vegetables and honey and bee hive products. Our business is growing because people don't trust the commercial food markets anymore. Everyone, even in a depression need to eat and we give away food to those who can't afford to buy. We are two retired people who are doing our part to get through this mess in which we find ourselves." 54016 Yes 20 Yes 5 Yes 3 unknown "8 years ago we had 20 employees. this recession started for us in late 2005 when we had 10 employees. by the end of 2006 we had 8 employees as the building industry slowed. we carried 6 full time people in 2007 and 2 college students part time. in the beginning of 2008 we dropped to 4 main people,and did not hire the part time people back.by june of 2008 we cut hours from 40to45 hrs. per week to about 35 hours average. i laid off 1 more full time person in august. our landscaping season ended in early november as opposed to december in 2008. at that time my main emmployees,one who has been with me for 24 years and another 12 years had lost 33% of they're income and no bonus checks. in the 8 years our revenue has dropped by 75%.others in my industry say they lost more than 33% in 2008.one says they will close after 22 years in business. in my 26 years in busines i have seen many companies come and go in western wisconsin.we are in the center of a building boom area and in the wealthiest county in the state. we have 2 dozen new buildings that are at less than 50% occupency. new busineses fail hare every month. 2009 should not look much different." 68508 Yes 2 No 1 Yes 1 Down 15% "We may have to close our coffee shop, as we run on a very narrow margin, and peoples spending is down so much. We are working 65-70 hour weeks, because we cannot afford otherwise." 02338 Yes 5 Yes 0 Yes 5 i had to get another job so 2009 will be far less productive for my business residential carpenter.i mainly built new homes and now there's no new homes being built so i'm essentially out of business 11201 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 -40% -0.4 "Sales started sagging first quarter 08. A lot of things could have been to blame. Some new competitors, our lack of advertising, etc. But it was also clear money was getting tighter. We operate in an affluent area, our customers are still well off, but the mood was down, people no longer felt good about shopping. In fact, I think they shopped less in order to feel better about themselves. Christmas sales are decent, and I suspect we'll be OK next year. Fingers are crossed, though." 33624 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 3 Down 30% "We provide computer programming to auto dealers. While we still have ""orders"" for work, payment for services has slowed to a disturbing level. Our GM and Ford stores the slowest. We are a very small company (gross revenues under $200K, so every invoice unpaid means no money to pay the light bill! Just having some idea that GM will be saved will restore confidence to the market...people may buy a car and we could get paid! I have been looking for work in an unrelated field, (I have a degree) and it's very competitive. There are PLENTY if jobs...just no offers YET! We remain hopeful... let us affirm that this craziness ends soon. Perhaps the HP could start a new page called ""Good News in this Economy!"" The CONSTANT doom and gloom is scaring people MORE AND MORE and making the problem worse. 93% of Americans are working. Families are spending more quality time together. Gas is under $2 Lowered prices at the mall is GOOD for consumers. Trade schools and private colleges are seeing a boon in their business!, etc!!! PLEASE!" 90631 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 2 -28% -0.28 Looking to move manufacturing to Malaysia. Down turn of business coupled with the prospect of even higher taxes (Fed and California) essentiall forces some sort of move. 33313 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 -2% -0.02 Has not affected my business 77802 Yes 4 No 2 No 1 "I expect some growth, but new competition may change that." None yet. Texas A&M University provides stable workforce and stable if not growing home sales. 99344 Yes 19 No 0 No 0 Hopefully sales volume will increase "My father-in-law and I operate a cattle ranch - we raise registered Angus for breeding stock. We've been increasing the size of our herd for the last couple of years so will have more yearling calves available for sale. Although the spike in fuel costs last year doubled the price of feed (hay & grain) and fertalizer, it also resulted in a higher market price for livestock. Because we grow our own hay and our cattle are strictly grass fed (no grain), the increase in market price for our cattle offset the additional cost to raise and harvest the alfalfa. As long as the market price for beef doesn't drop below what it costs to raise each animal, we will be able to increase our profits simply by having more animals to sell - up to the point that we maximize the number of animals the property can support." 94901 No 2 No 0 No 2 better 20% We are a franchisee/ low cost health club $10/month...we expect business to grow as members leave higher-priced health clubs. 98103 Yes 2 No 2 No 2 -50% -0.5 no 07093 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 Contract 40% "I subcontract to large firms in New York City in design and architecture. Almost every firm I work with has laid off due to projects cancelled or put on hold. In 1993 there was work for freelancers to make up for short staffing. I'm hoping this downturn will be the same. And as in 1993, as firms downsize they will likely need redesign of office space to accomodate the contraction in space. I'm working hard to provide exemplary service." 10003 Yes 1 Yes 3 Yes 0 down by 15 -20% restaurant business in nyc.need i say more? 29501 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 0 contract by 45% "I have a real estate title search firm. Prior to July 2007, our main revenue stream was closings on refinance and home purchases. That part of our business has declined to less than 10%. The majority of our title searches today are for foreclosure, REO (real estate owned by banks) and civil litigaion such as mechanic's liens." 94530 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 1 flat "Difficult to borrow money to publish first in a series of prose+comics scrapbook novels, now previewing @ http://TheConcreteJungleBook.com. A deal to publish the series blew up when Wall Street melted down and the publisher chose not to go forward with the project." 98382 Yes 5 Yes 0 Yes 4 -75 -75 fucked 16510 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 -50% -0.5 "auto related business. lending, lack of , for auto industry has cut my business 70-80% the last 3 mys." 30344 Yes 1 Yes 0 No 0 No sales in 2009 "We were the owners of a national real estate home buying franchise. We purchased homes at a discount, renovated and resold them at fair market value. Unfortunately we bought the franchise in August of 2006 right when the real estate market started tanking. We did not understand what was happening with the market. However, for a while things seemed ok but not great. We were only losing a little money every month and people were still buying houses until Oct. of 2007. At that point retail customers could not get loans to buy the houses we had for sale. Soon, we were losing a tremendous amount of money every month. We went out of business in June of 2008, barely 2 years after we started. Part of the reason for our failure was the economy but we should have been able to read the market better. We are deeply in debt. The houses that we do own are rentals and the tenants are having a hard time paying the rent because of the job market. We keep a positive attitude and have a plan to get out of debt. We discuss what went wrong and try to separate out what was our fault and what was out of our control. We saw first hand how many people are affected when a small business fails. We did not have a lot of full time employees but we did business with a lot of venders, like painters, answering service companies, carpet companies, ect. All of these people and companies were affected when we shut down. For example, we paid our painter $60,000 in 2007. Now we have no work to offer him. In the meantime I have gone back to salaried work but my husband has not been able to find a job so we live on one salary. We are battered now but have hope for the future. That's our story." 95476 Yes 5 No 3 Yes 2 flat for the year. the last 3mos have been down 50% from last year. if it keeps up I will have to either change what I do or make drastic changes. right now I'm barely paying the bills. 01749 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 0 same or slight increase (I pray) I am a licensed professional home inspector. Business has been in the toilet for over 2 years. I expect business to improve if only because many have left the profession in this area and the license is a barrier to quick entry. Reduced competition. 60506 No 3 No 0 Yes 0 down 30% "We are a profitable company dependent on a line of credit to fund operations. The credit problems caused a lender to pull a loan offer in August. I had to scramble to secure another lender, but the loan has not closed. We are in the midst of an expansion which is employing numerous contractors, electricians, etc., as well as having the multiplier effect inherent in purchasing $4mm worth of industrial equipment (mfg in the US), and which will result in 17 additional jobs (27% increase for our company). The risk characteristics of our company are good - in a normal credit environment banks would have fought over loaning us the money. Our customers are also slowing down due to the credit problems." 75040 Yes 1 No 4 No 1 Expect overall growth First two quarters of 2008 were particularly brutal before a mid-year turnaround. We expect similar business in 2009. 54201 Yes 3 Yes 10 No 0 We are anticipipating a down swing of 30% this next year. All but one employee is laid off. The two owners have not taken an income for 12 months. We are specialty retail in a tourism community. Tourism is stagnant and expendable income is not available. We rely heavily on the Chicago vacationing/second home traffic. 11211 Yes 0 Yes 0 No 0 -40% -0.4 business was trending up untill oct. of this year credit lines have been reduced or eliminated and the ability to finance new inventory is non existent. am considering closing my doors. 34772 Yes 3 No 4 No 3 Down by 70% "I own an information technology consulting firm. While it seems there is no better time to upgrade hardware than now, nobody is budgeting any money for I.T. upgrades this year." 04101 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 + 100% 1 "It has not affected us very much, if at all." 12138 Yes 11 No 0 Yes 2 Expect them to be down about 1/3 "This is going to have a ripple effect. We import Himalayan crafts, supporting a family. Import costs are up -- sales are down (altho US$ is up -- good). Just now paying for 3 girls of a Nepalese family to go to school. Will be able to continue that by not making a buying trip this year. Which means people we buy from will suffer." 07663 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 60% down "All salaries have been voluntarily reduced to minimum wage in an effort to save the business. We are hoping to just ride this out (hopefully in less than a year), rather than go out of business. We are in our 21st year in business and up to September 15th, everything was fine. Then the bottom just totally dropped out and sales slowed to a crawl." 60660 Yes 5 No 4 No 5 stay the same "2007 was down 10%, but 2008 is up 30% over 2007. 2009 should equal 2008." 92833 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 %20-30 "Business is down, costs are up. Clients are slow to pay. We are having trouble making payroll, paying workmans comp and leases on equipment. We have cut employee hours and may end up having to lay off people. Something we have avoided in the past. Our employees are like family. Most have been with us for several years. We are trying to give them as many hours as we can and still stay afloat. To cut costs, we the owners, are working most weekends to save on payroll costs. My husband started this business 20 years ago. We've weathered recessions before, but they were never like this. We always believed that this business would be handed down to our son. Now we aren't so sure that we will survive this downturn. Lots of sleepless nights around here." 12561 Yes 10 No 5 No 10 grow by 20% "I have been a headhunter and have thrived through up & downs since 1987. I have owned my business since 1991. The key is to keep calling current and prospective customers, and never get complacent. Companies are definitely slowing their hiring now, and their use of recruiting agencies as well. At this point in the growth/ recession curve, they have enough hiring to continue into justify internal recruiting teams. If conditions deteriorate further, they will lay off those staff people and rely on outside sources like my firm more, not less." 19355 Yes 9 No 2 Yes 0 hard to guess -- we don't actively plan our sales Our customers are spending less. 21797 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 2 hopefully the same- DC market will be helped by administration change Worst I have ever seen- 23225 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 0% either way. As a private dental practice November of '08 was a very bad month but I believe the downturn was not directly related to the financial collapse but rather in part related to campaign/election burnout!!! December is picking up and so far is about even with the last several years. My concern is for '09 when those who have lost jobs will also have lost their dental insurance benefits. The first quarter will be very telling. SB 44236 Yes 9 No 0 No 4 We are not sure. We HOPE it will stay the same. "We had planned to add a person but will hold off to see how some of our client are doing. A few lost business and we anticipate will be down in 2009, which of course will impact us. We are in the automotive aftermarket and every thing is really a chain reaction to the auto industry. We can control our expenses pretty well with the exception of health insurance, which increases usually 20% or more each year without any reason. As a small business you don't have many options and they know it." 83340 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 1 0 0 worried sick 11221 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 2 "exponentially, off the chart in or out of a recession" "In many ways I think it will and is a bit already, helping. First, it's a new product that most people have never even heard of the idea at least in the u.s. market but quickly and easily ""get it."" While it is the premium priced product in the market segment, i've managed to make an ""affordable"" version that retails for less than $100 ($99.99). My major price point is $149.99, an extraordinary value for something that can last generations and be used everyday. And it's beautiful! And it makes you healthier, every time you use it in quantitavtive and qualitative ways. While I'm currently pruchasing my raw material from china-grass-I have my product manufactured here. When I capture the european and chinese imaginations I will move manufacturing for those regions to the appropriate place. also, the recession has made consumers rethink their priorities, and once again, they are number one on their ""important"" list. family comes next. What's good for them, what's not. All will see that my product is one that is good for them and good for their families. My product can be shared with other occupants of your home or office. So the recession is giving me a way to stand out, when people are not as in undated with the need for all things they could truely do without. If you want to know more you can contact me, Matthew Fraser directly, at 917.664.0372 or ask Erica Heller, she writes for you folks all of the time. Or you can watch the Tyra Banks show on the 18th or re-run on New Year's Day, watch for the sculpture that makes you healthier when you put your feet on it. Keep up the extraordinary work all of you responsible for the huff, including your fearless leader, without you I don't know what I would do. good health, matthew fraser" 33773 Yes 5 Yes 0 Yes 5 "I wish I knew. SInce we started in Dec 07, I guess they have to be higher - but we have not closed a single deal since Oct." We provide reverse mortgages to seniors - a very good idea for lots of seniors. Things were going slow (due mostly to home depreciation) but steadywell until October. People have gotten scared and are afraid to act. They seem paralyze by all the uncertainty. 86301 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 2009 sales predicted to be down "No new clients. Old clients pay slow. Still working hard, might fail anyway." 18938 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 down 15% "We are an online retail store. The number of sales has stayed nearly the same, but the average sale is down considerably." 18901 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 contract by 10-20% "I have less clients since one of the services I offer is perceived to be an ""extra"" rather than a necessity (i.e., my dating coaching service)." 72205 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 "We are looking for growth, but there are no guarantees" "companies are delaying decisions to engage our services - it started with waiting until ""after the election"" now they are waiting until ""after the first of the year."" Some of our clients have had major slowdowns or layoffs. This of course affects our business as well." 59923 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 2 contract by 30% Our store appeals primarily to tourists and people moving into the area and building new homes. This holiday season is shaping up to be one-half of last years business. 53703 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 5% 0.05 We are seeing our manufacturing and service based clients struggle to some degree. Fortunately as a technology company we are able ride this economic storm as people still need to pass and access information. We should be fine - 84319 Yes 5 No 0 Yes 0 33% lower People are less willing to spend in general. I'm seeing a growing trend of customers who book first then back out later. 11422 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 -20% -0.2 Thus far we have been maintaining (kow) due to the fact that our service is directed at entrepreneurs. With so many people needing extra income our monthly transactions have been relatively consistent. Growth is going to be difficult but if we can maintain our current position we should survive...even as the economy worsens. 33579 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 -25% -0.25 Business has slowed in both we own. Harder to pay bills and credit card debt is increasing. 56026 Yes 0 No 0 Yes 0 decrease 40% due to commodity price drops We would have had to lay off employees if one hadn't passed away & another gone to jail w/o release. Health insurance and work. comp. are huge concerns. 02857 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 0 0 I have lost clients because many of them are small businesses themselves and they are closing their doors. 27410 Yes 0 Yes 0 Yes 0 unknowable "I am a remodeling contractor. I hardly need to say more, but I have so much rage and confusion built up, and I feel that people should know. It's no fun to find yourself the ""canary in the coal mine"". Summer of '07 saw over 300 new and unsold homes in my county. I started beating the bushes then.I had a project going that lasted until November but warned the boys in July of '07 that things didn't look too good after that, and I was right. The better funded, better advertised remodelers were sweeping up the last of the pending jobs, and since November of '07 there has been no money to lend and no confidence for people to use the money they had on hand to improve their rapidly devaluing properties. The only building going on in Central North Carolina were large ongoing projects that had already been funded; the only builders operating were national concerns with contractual ties to lenders. My men were unable to find jobs there because the nationals largely have Spanish-speaking foremen and use undocumented aliens exclusively for all the familiar, and in my opinion treasonous, reasons. My field has become crowded beyond belief. Engineers from manufacturing and master woodworkers from the furniture industry are hungry, too. It's a buyer's market: anyone with cash can buy a fabulous home cheap and have it fitted to jewel-like perfection with the available talent. My trucks are gone. I wish I had bought a warehouse to store my tools instead of rental properties because the rent is due on all, and there's no money coming in anywhere. And the taxes I have to pay, lest I lose everything I've built up, are going to pay ""retention bonuses"" for the greedy, clueless bast*rds that got us into this mess!" 60611 Yes 11 Yes 1 No 3 10% contraction It really is the true ripple effect. We have two small B2B magazines that cater to civil and structural engineers. The manufacturers who have their products specified by our readers are very scared unlike I have ever seen before. Smaller ad budgets mean fewer editorial pages. 20879 Yes 3 Yes 0 No 3 10% growth "I am in real estate. We have a classic good news/bad news scenario: dozens of agents have been laid off or quit the business because of decreasing home sales, but the foreclosure business has created a small ""boom"" for a select number of agents. For 90% of my agents, sales will be down 20-25% - after a 30% slide in '07 and a 20% slide in '08. For those specializing in foreclosures - a relative handful, sales will be up 20-40%. The agency, which has about 6 foreclosure agents will struggle to help the remaining agents, not to mention to keep the doors open." 48103 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 not applicable "For twelve years I operated a successful violin studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The community supports instrumental music education for all public school students and many parents supplement with private lessons. My business peaked in 2002 and declined steadily from there, down 50 percent by 2006. Michigan's economy has never recovered from the recession of 2002 and, in fact, continues to decline according to all measures of economic activity. The relatively affluent of Ann Arbor are finally feeling the pinch, cutting back on non-essentials. I was one of many private instructors whose enrollment dropped precipitously over the last six years. I relocated to another state after successfully selling my house/studio in Michigan's depressed real estate market. I expect better times in my new home state" 77861 Yes 1 No 0 No 8 zero percent "I am in agriculture, farming and ranch. Fuel costs earlier this year have caused major cost increases for production. That is better now though the high prices for feed and ferterizer have not dropped at the same rate as gasoline. Of course the depression or recession or whatever anyone wants to call it will affect the sale of agriculture products but who knows how much or for how long. It is a wait and see affair all the way around." 10118 Yes 2 No 0 No 1 15% 0.15 "It hasnt as of yet. We are in the remittance business and are not overly exposed to the Mexican market. That market is expected to decline by 4.8% as a result of decline in construction jobs. Our markets, which mostly consist of Africans have not declined and new immigrants continue to come into the country. We are cautiously optimistic." 37774 Yes 3 No 0 No 3 0 0 profits have shrunk considerably. 30 to 50 percent 80113 Yes 7 Yes 0 Yes 0 will decrease by half "My interior design business is in the Denver area. Custom home building is down and pre sold building is almost nonexistent. I am almost solely redecorating people's existing homes instead of designing new ones. I have had to lay off my one employee and had been poised to hire another, but that will not happen either." 08021 Yes 6 No 0 Yes 4 "My 2009 forecast is excepted to grow by 10% from this year, 2008." "I own a graphic design boutique that specializes in creating presentation materials in a variety of formats. It's interesting that during this recession only small business that ""sell stuff"" seem to be highlighted. I work with a lot of New York advertising companies, as well as San Francisco, San Diego, FLorida, and New Jersey. I have pharmaceutical advertising / medical educational advertising clients that are ""hiring"" and keep me busy around the clock. The draw back from the recession is that I've taken to doing all the jobs myself now. I don't want to be caught without funds in case busines dries up. The one employee I have is a ""gal Friday""-type employee who does the billing, taxes, etc. to get for my accountant (another expense). So, I guess there are industries, like my tiny business, that are actually pretty steady, for the moment and those folks are hiring. One caveat, they are ""skilled"" jobs; i.e., graphic artists, marketing specialists (pharma / med ed), desktop publishing experts. Oh, and one more thing, a lot of the employees, like myself, work from home. Ditto that for my West coast clientele, too. Working from home, keeping my skills top-notch, and always creating something interesting to offer my clients to offer their clients. It's keeping me afloat during this tough time. That's pretty much it. PEACE ON THE PLANET Chelsea H. Lindenwold, NJ" 39601 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 0 -50% -0.5 Lost Wal-Mart account because they went from 53 vendors nationally to 11 in Lawn & Garden. Only very large companies were retained. 28405 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 2 We are up about 30% only because only opened 2 years ago. "We have a very high overhead and the fact that the banks won't work with you at all is maddening. They get a huge bailout from the feds and they are not passing it on to the consumers. They are buying other banks. It's disgraceful. Plus all my credit sources are cutting credit limits. How are you suppose to purchase supplies, etc. Everything is predicated on credit, now there is none." 85220 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 0 50% lower "I own a small bead, gem and mineral shop in Apache Junction, AZ we depend on our winter visitors for the biggest part of our income. This year our customers just are not buying beads. I have noticed that there are a lot less visitors here this winter as well. Last year we were so busy I did not have a day go by when I wasn't ordering new stock this year I order maybe every other week. Last year I had 3 part time helpers this year just 1. I am desperately trying to pay my rent 4 months ahead this winter. if this winter is this slow I can't imagine what the summer will bring when our visitors go home. Scary times for a small business in Apache Junction." 84017 Yes 1 No 1 No 0 we expect business to contract by 50% "We are builders of high-end custom homes in Park City, UT an area which would normally be considered recession-proof because of the wealth of the homeowners. While we are currently employed; we don't have another job lined up after the current job is completed. Apparently even the wealthiest among us are not too keen to build their vacation homes in this economic climate. Many of our subcontractors are looking for work--that's a first in over ten years. Usuallu we would have to wait weks to get a sub on the job, now it's hours. It is very unsettling that at this end of the construction industry, friends and associates are already out of work. We fear that unless things turn around quickly, we too will find ourselves out of business next year--or sooner--if our homeowner decides to stop construction." 68114 Yes 4 Yes 0 No 2 Don't know Concert ticket sales are off by 25 to 50%. Ticket prices have been forced down. Promoters are afraid to buy shows. 30571 Yes 4 Yes 1 Yes 0 out of business in 2005 "my business had served 7 southern states. after katrina, i took everything my business had and went to hattiesburg, ms for a long cleanup as asked by bush. my company cleared the path from hwy 10 to bayview, ms for the national guard and red cross pro bono. my business liability insurance was cancelled at thanksgiving for (and this is the kicker) 'WORKING THE GULF COAST AREA'. now i am less than a step from homelessness. between 1985 and 2005 i had 4 very successfull national and international businesses. the only redeeming thing i can say is that i am glad that i don't own them at this stage of bush's carnage. thank you for the forum. john r. mcclenahan jrmcclenahan@yahoo.com" 85281 Yes 6 No 2 Yes 0 20% less I own a personal chef service. The recession has caused 3 clients to cancel my service and I am having difficulty finding new ones. 94117 Yes 2 Yes 0 No 2 Contract 30% It's worse than 1982 and almost as bad as 1974 02053 Yes 4 Yes 0 Yes 0 shut down Out of business. 11753 Yes 3 Yes 0 No 0 down at least 15-20% "We are cutting back all non essential travel, reducing phone lines, communicating via e-mail, stopping most marketing and newsletters. Combines 2 positions. Reduced our benefit plan and will not be making a pension contribution this year." 10037 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 40 40 "My business started to decline during the summer. Of course, I assumed that things would pick back up so I increased advertising, eliminated slow moving items, and reduced inventory. However, while we saw small uptick of 10% over the summer numbers, we are still down by 40% from where we were last year. What I need now is working capital to keep us afloat for the next six months but as it is for all of us small business owners there is no credit to be had from our banking masters and no bail out from the government. So, onward we go with only hope as our companion." 31092 Yes 0 No 0 Yes 2 down 30% People are being so careful about every purchase. I feel that it gets a lot worse. 48103 Yes 1 Yes 1 No 0 We expect revenue to be down 30% "We have a financial planning business and our revenue depends on dollars managed, not commissions. In good times, this works great, but in this market, where all asset classes have been clobbered, we are getting badly hurt. Usually some stuff goes up while other stuff goes down so you can move things around and come out ok. That is decidedly not the case this year." 35244 Yes 3 No 2 No 2 Uncertain; situation in flux "I'm a clinical psychologist. At least a quarter of my clients/client families have been affected by the recession. Several families I'm now seeing pro bono. In order to pay my own bills, I've taken on additional clients on my day off. In addition, I've purchased medication for several clients with life-threatening health conditions, who are unable to do so themselves. In one case with a recently laid-off mother of two, I purchased some emergency groceries to bridge her over until she could qualify for food stamps." 94949 Yes 8 Yes 0 No 0 I expect my business to just stop at any time. "Until 2007, I had a business for over 30 years in California. I manufactured hand made art jewelry that I designed. My employees were mainly refugees from Laos and Vietnam. I closed the business in Dec. of 2006 and moved my business to Bali in Indonesia where I now manufacture. I continue to sell my jewelry through distributors in the US. The main reasons for closing my business in the US: I couldn't afford to pay for health care for my employees anymore and I am totally against the war in Iraq as well as the war in Afghanistan. I marched in every anti-war march in SF during 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Finally, I gave up. I am much happier in Bali. However, I don't believe that American art businesses/galleries are going to survive in the coming chaos. It's not reasonable to think that people will buy ""art jewelry"" when they need to buy food for their families. It's a very scary time for artists." 11215 Yes 3 No 3 No 3 -10% -0.1 Slightly. We're in the writing end of corporate communications and bad stories need to be told just as much as good ones. It's just that people don't want to pay quite as much for the words. 32118 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 1 0 0 We had a small Interior decorating business that used to average about >500K sales. We had to close in Nov. 02671 Yes 5 No 0 No 2 Sales have already dropped 30% since September 08. I expect that will continue We have become more efficient and are tightening out belts. Laying off people or cutting benefits is the LAST thing that will happen. We are all partners in this enterprise-- that's how I view my employees- and we will weather this together and equally. 30318 Yes 0 Yes 1 No 0 "I have no idea. It's going to be bad, but it might be horrible. We might not make it." "Wholesale flower business. Market has gotten increasingly tough as the grocery chains and other places have gotten involved, but in the past couple months, people have just stopped buying flowers. We're throwing tonnage away. It's tough selling a product with a short shelf life. I'm thinking of getting out, but what else will I do?" 33415 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 1 -40% -0.4 I sell handcrafted jewelry. People just don't have discretionary income. Business is way down. 55306 Yes 1 Yes 2 Yes 1 contract 50% "Just in the last two months (Nov., Dec.) revenues have turned south to about half of previous months." 01238 Yes 4 No 1 Yes 0 "Perhaps, stay the same - only because we had a good summer season." Our retail store has noted an steep decline in business since Labor Day. Christmas season is off at least 50% from last year. People are depressed. Many are looking but not buying and those that are seem to be buying much less. 53714 Yes 3 No 1 Yes 3 2008 was the worst year since I started "I am a one person company which designs circuit boards for high tech companies, some in my area, others in other parts of the country. In 08 all of my customers cut back on how much R&D they did, which resulted in less design work for me. At least one customer laid off some engineering employees. It has been a very tough year of barely scraping by." 38478 Yes 5 No 0 No 5 -5% -0.05 Less people are eating out.Buying less when they do. 92120 Yes 15 No 0 Yes 0 We expect 2009 to be worse than 2008. We saw this Recession coming a year ago. Our sales for the year are currently down about 40% but should be around 30% after the Holiday 'rush.' 33071 Yes 6 Yes 4 Yes 0 down 40 percent I have a hard time paying the rent. I have had to make business loans and now have tapped out on that o ption 90404 Yes 7 No 0 No 0 "Impossible to determine it, but I barely get by as is. So ANY decrease is rather fatal, to my business and person." "I am an acclaimed entertainment photographer. I'm the most published photographer in my genre. I have supplied photos to various editorial and commercial clients, as well as collectors. My prices are very low compared to other, lesser-known photographers. I don't know if I'll be able to continue. This invaluable archive and my work might stop, and a great deal of cultural history gone. I'm not sure what I shall do. I am a very good website programmer, using a difficult software. I'm going to prepare a package to email to major web firms and hopefully pick up some work. Other than that, I don't know what I shall do. I am not entitled to unemployment or other government assistance. I'm 58, very skilled, but unemployable due to my age (I'm always ""over-qualified""), female and the prejudice against hiring entrepreneurs. I have many bumper stickers on my car, but my fave is: ""If you are not outraged, you have not been paying attention."" I certainly have been outraged since 1980. America's current state of affairs comes as no surprise, but there was nothing I could do to mitigate the damage to my business and my person. It is what it is. Good thing I had a lot of fun taking my early punk rock photos!" 12401 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 0 "We hope to grow at least 20%, but expect more like 10% growth in light of this recession" "We started our business in the summer of 2007. Our first year's sales were much lower than we expected, but we contributed that to being a start up. Our second year sales (starting in the 3rd quarter this year) were strong--at least a 40% increase over our first year. However, starting in October, our sales started slowing. By December, our sales were flat-lined with the previous December. Ouch! We have close connections with several of our competitors, and we know that they are experiencing NEGATIVE growth from the previous year--as much as 50% lower than last year! Many people in my business are cutting back hard. However, we are holding steady and expect to continue our growth. We attribute that to our strong sales team and our great new product. We also have a very strong customer service mentality and in this day--that is becoming increasingly important to our clients. We do not expect to lay off anyone and in fact, look to grow the positions we have." 19063 Yes 2 No 11 Yes 2 -10% -0.1 not as much as others as I am in the energy conservation business 28659 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 down by 1/3 "As a analysis firm for company data, many are not able to contract for help in this area." 33508 Yes 6 No 0 No 1 grow 20% "What recession? It is just impacting big Execs Bonuses, Inefficient car companies and investors who bought rental properties. real people are just fine, they just get confused by the media crying gloom and doom." 48324 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 30% contraction We are an expedited freight company. With the Big 3 slowdown and the effect an all of their suppliers we could be in trouble soon. 10013 Yes 3 No 2 Yes 2 contracted by 10% already "we are a wine importer/distributor delivering to select restaurants and individuals, we have been in business since we started in the depths of the early 90's recession and have been growing at 20%/year. We won't lay people off unless it is either we have to do it or we fail, but everyone is extremely nervous for the new year which is always a very slow period. I believe we owe it to the people who help make our business profitable in the good times to stay with it during the bad. This year their is no christmas party, no bonus and everyone has taken a substantial wage reduction..." 49512 No 1 No 0 Yes 0 don't know "I am an independent contractor, and just had my hours cut from 40/week t0 10/week." 10001 Yes 11 Yes 0 No 0 "up 20%; We should have been growing. Now, who knows?" "We were on a trajectory to vastly increasing profits. Now, we're not sure if we will be operating at a major loss next year." 19333 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 contract by 10 to 15 percent. "In one word: India. We are highly skilled typographers who are losing business to unskilled, uneducated workers in India who, because they don't know what the hell they're doing, have driven down prices across our industry. U.S. clients are lured away by the smell of cheap labor. Europe has the Value-Added Tax (VAT). Why are there no U.S. restrictions in place to prevent cheap bad imports from driving out better-made domestic products?" 94110 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 20% growth things have definitely slowed but i am bullish in '09. 80205 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 0 "2009 isn't here yet, but probably not as good." "It has affected it in the way that we are ""estate gardeners"" and our clients have been hit hard. Everything is relative, but we just lost a job because our client can't sell one of their houses and has eaten 1 million dollars. Another client has halted all new work and we are in ""bare necessity"" mode with them; they are in the oil business. The problem is, unless employees have saved enough for winter they are in trouble. Most years gardeners get part time winter jobs, but those are very few and far between this year. It is virtually impossible to get into the service industry (waiters, bartenders, retail) in Denver right now. In the 80's I was part owner of a construction company and it was really bad. Profit margins were low and interest rates high. I'm super glad I'm not in the construction business now. I have a line of credit at my bank, but they have raised rates and said they could take it away if I don't use it for a year. I am investing in a duplex rehab in a cool little neighborhood near downtown and the bank we are dealing with is backing out of the construction loan. Luckily we have back up. Banks are pissing me off right now and I'm glad I'm not at their mercy. Live and learn. One good thing is that I'm not getting refinance offers EVERY DAY in the mail. I'm almost sorry I didn't go after the easy money." 91311 Yes 4 Yes 0 Yes 0 30 -0.3 Profitability has barely been maintained by consistently reducing costs as business has shrunk. We're running out of things to cut but sales continue to shrink. More important than profitability is the fact that the diminished cash flow is making it impossible to keep up with payments on existing debt to suppliers. They are experiencing the same cash flow pressures and as a result are threatening to cut off the flow of merchandise unless we pay old debt faster than we are buying current product. 98002 Yes 2 No 0 No 1 Down by 80% at least. "I am an artist. Art does not sell when gas, food, prescriptions and housing take all of your paycheck, if you still have a paycheck. I am fortunate enough to have a little income besides my art, but the lack of interest and sales can be disheartening. And finding the money for entry fees for exhibitions is getting tougher. I guess I have to see this as a time to draw back and create in spite of the economy . . . but I am running out of space to hang or store my work! And I usually give some of my proceeds from sales to charity, which is bothering me even more than the lack of interest in art right now. For many reasons I am ready for this to turn around . . ." 92262 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 10 -28% -0.28 "If anyone has any extra money, he would be a fool not to save it. I cannot blame anyone for feeling this way. I do, too!" 49660 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 0 off by at least 70% I own a small boutique in a resort area. I carry beautiful upscale lines. December is a month I count on to see me through the slowest months to follow. This year it is below the slowest months. NO ONE is shopping and the media keeps telling everyone to make gifts and to buy a resell shops. I do not see my business survivng through the winter! 22401 Yes 100 No 10 Yes 50 -5% -0.05 "it is a restaurant, so smaller customer base." 89020 Yes 1 Yes 0 No 0 i have no idea "i cannot make plans, i don't know what to expect, afraid projects may be cancelled" 91354 Yes 6 No 2 Yes 4 -25% -0.25 "small and medium business are very reluctant to start any software development projects; there are no new projects, only maintenance tasks." 95602 Yes 40 No 0 Yes 4 I expect them to drop 20 to 40 percent "This is the first month in 25 years that I have not had any sales. I'm now a one man show selling custom silkscreened apparel. Although I've been moving toward retirement for a couple of years and letting sales slide some, I have noticed that even my regular customers are ordering less or not at all. Many of my customers are in construction and in our area it's dropped off to nothing. T's for the staff and the customers are not high on the list of necessary expenses. I'm applying for early Social Security tomorrow before those suckers raise the age to 67. I wish I knew how this all turns out. Kind of like being trapped under water and never knowing just how far above me is the surface. Thank you for making this forum possible to speak into. I wish there was a bailout for us too." 90806 No 5 Yes 0 Yes 0 grow 5% "I do sales for a fresh juice company in southern California, most of my clients are small business owners, coffee houses and cafes. I have lost 35% of my customers in the last three years, they haven't discontinued my product, they have just gone out of business. A paticular cafe had gone out of business in downtown Long Beach, the people who were taking over the space asked if i could supply them with our product. The new cafe only lasted 8 months and was gone before they could even get their liquor license. Our biggest competition is Naked Juice and Odwalla, which are both owned by Pepsi and Coke respectively, a business of 15 employees against two of the largest companies in the world....wish us luck." 46324 Yes 0 No 0 Yes 0 down 25% "I have a freelance writing business. Our major clients are travel agents (who can afford to travel), home improvement websites (who can afford to renovate) and realtors (need I say more?) We seem to be affected most by people just not having discretionary funds anymore. One area that does not seem to be affected is motivational, self-improvement writing. More than ever people need direction, comfort and self-esteem to get through this recession." 87107 Yes 17 No 0 No 0 contract 14% "fewer people buying pottery, smaller orders, smaller pots" 90212 Yes 5 No 1 No 5 "I don't know, but 2008 profit will be 20% less than 2007" "I own a compounding pharmacy, my volume has dropped by 15% and as patients lose their jobs I expect a cut-back in refills and new prescriptions. Patients won't be seeing their doctors as often." 98115 Yes 2 No 0 No 1 We're projecting a 25% increase. Our sales are up 70% from 2007 to the end of 2008! 92078 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 0 0% 0 "We are a small business expecting to do about 1/4 million in 2008, will not get there and don't expect to do it in 2009 either. Expect no growth for 2009 and remaining at the same level, hoping not to go down." 32086 Yes 250 No 50 No 80 do not know My husband and I own and operate a small retail bead shop in northern Florida bussiness has decreased by 50% since last year. We are contimplating closing after 5 years in bussiness. If bussiness falls in 2009 we will close as we will not be able to maintain our operation financially. 06880 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 contract 25% "re-aligned business focus, caused change in business model" 06824 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 lowwer DLaldfk;LAKDSF;LKASJD;ks 10011 Yes 21 Yes 5 No 21 down 40% it's brutal. it hurts to cut people you love to work with who have been so dedicated 60532 Yes 3 No 0 No 3 Zero growth to a significant decline. Unable to launch new product line due to inability to get financing. 95060 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 "Sales are down by 20% to 50%, depending on the service." "We are an Internet Service Provider. The recession so far hasn't been nearly as hard on our business as deregulation and health insurance costs have been during the Bush administration. Deregulation of the telecommunications industry has all but killed small entrepreneurs in our business. We are actually looking more forward to the next few years, as long as the economy doesn't completely bottom out. (We survived the dot.com meltdown, too. Small businesses often aren't as leveraged as large ones, and can weather storms better.)" 98402 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 unknown It is clear that fewer people have discretionary funds available. 27278 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 at least 20% "Medical practice. Clients are waiting until they are very sick to call and come in for treatment as opposed to 'nipping it at the bud'. On the brighter side, folks don't want to spend money on Rx so they are suddenly open to what they can do for themselves in terms of diet/food therapy, exercise, meditation, guided essential oil self application." 91355 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 doesn't look good. Now new RFP's "I'm a freelance landscape architect. I am busy right now but have no new projects lined up for next year. Most of my clients are municipalities and other consultants who contract with municipalities. We have all noticed a major slow down in both public sector work. That said, I expect some municipalities to increase development next year in order to take advantage of hungry contractors that are becomming aggressive with their bids. Cities that develop with grant funds should be able to purchase much more for less." 66801 Yes 37 No 0 Yes 0 +15% 0.15 2008 has been one of the worst in my 25 years in business here in the Great Plains (professional service business). Income way down and expenses way up. I have great people and have had to cut my own salary & borrow just to keep our doors open and to retain my employees. Obama's pledge for infrastructure improvements and credits for employer medical insurance will be very beneficial to me. I need help now. 92117 Yes 1 Yes 1 No 1 I expect to have to work a lot harder to make the same amount in 2009 as I did in 2008 "I'm an independent teacher/trainer. For most of 2008 I have taught 4 classes a week rather than 5. I'm hoping to increase that back to 5 in 2009, but it will take a lot of marketing to attract that many students. Here in Southern California, sufficient people seem to have jobs and disposable incomes to keep me in business, but a few students have either dropped out of my classes as their income has dropped, asked me to run a tab until they get another job, or have left the area to find work. So the recession has had a small but finite effect on my adult student population." 90210 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 10% contraction of sales "Money is tight, the availablility of money is non existant. Suck my cock please." 95476 Yes 4 No 16 Yes 2 ? I have seen sales decline. Our sales were off 25% from 2007 96720 Yes 7 No 5 No 0 10% 0.1 "At this point in time demand for my service remains strong to moderate, prices are weakening slightly" 91602 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 contract 25% deferred decisions as people focus on spending for basics or holding on to their cash 87508 Yes 65 No 0 Yes 65 fall - who knows what percentage??! November and December (so far) are down by about 50%. We will see what happens in the new year but it doesn't look good. 87701 Yes 450 No 0 No 0 20% -0.2 "so far I have not been impacted. I am up about 6% for the year , but anticipate a decrease in sales for 2099" 11801 Yes 12 Yes 0 No 0 Who knows? "Because of the slowdown in my business, I had to lay off an employee who had been with me for 10 years." 95355 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 0 -10 -10 We are in the retail nrsery and small scale landscape trade. the landscape trade is off 50% and the retail trade is off 15 to 20 % getting worse. 55345 Yes 0 Yes 0 Yes 0 -45% -0.45 No retail business construction. 85016 Yes 15 No 10 Yes 5 contract by 50 percent "We are a family run pool and spa repair, service, and remodeling business in the Phoenix metro area. I have been in business since 1987 and never have experienced such a dearth of new business. Our phones used to ring so much that i welcomed the weekends of silence. Now that silence is an everyday occurence. We have been going entire weeks where the only calls are telemarketers or banks calling about refinancing. It seems that things ground to a halt in July of this year, which is usually our crazy busy time. Fortunately we have a solid customer base, so far, and I have not had to lay any one off. I dread having to face that because my employees have been with me a long time. I feel like they are family, and they have families. I hope it does not come to that. We did a lot of work with the real estate industry here and that is dead as a door nail I am concerned about the coming year as I see a long downturn ahead." 91001 Yes 6 No 0 No 0 Grow "No affect so far on profits as large customers have not cut back, but increased use of contracted services." 57039 Yes 1 No 2 Yes 1 contract It's hard to get paid. People are nervous and can't make up theri minds. 02079 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 2 Projecting 2009 sales of 20% less than 2008 Things have to get better. 90019 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 down--18% "I am a landscape designer. The credit crisis halted the flow of HELOC money which people used for home improvements. I also was told in October by a prospective client that due to the ""world financial situations"" she will not be revamping her San Marino property. This November and December have been the worst ever." 95556 Yes 5 Yes 0 Yes 0 slow down 25% wine sales have slowed in the $25-40 range our $12 bottle is going strong 25015 Yes 7 No 0 No 0 >15% "Fortunately, the recession has yet to affect my business. My business is natural gas production as well as engineering services to the oil & gas industry. The warning signs predicting the difficulties the country is now experiencing were visible in early 2007. We have strategically positioned our business for this downturn. However, if energy prices fall below the 2005 benchmarks, we could begin to experience some problems." 54868 Yes 0 No 0 Yes 0 20% 0.2 I own a auto body repair shop. I have 1 person that works for me. I have watched my business decline every year that Bush has been in office. This past year has been the worst. No one is buying new cars and they are not fixzing the ones they have. Even new ones with dents in them. I have never had to advertise. My business has always been by word of mouth. 95306 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 2 we expect nothing more and most likely less (of our worst year) have not issued an invoice since Sept. 2008. There is NO business. 10017 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 -30 -0.3 bad 01060 Yes 5 Yes 5 No 0 Hopefully better. 25% growth "Closed the factory, sold most equipment, moving out of my rental apartment to stay with friends while I reinvent my business with very little overhead. I am quite optimistic that I will do better with a fresh start but anticipate an even further decline in the economy as a whole. Many more crises to follow." 55419 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 grow by 75% "I'm so small, even in tough times I can grow. Right now, I'm making it my mission to insource things that were previously outsourced to China. I get better quality, and it seems to be working." 92020 Yes 0 No 0 Yes 0 90% drop "I do small business marketing consulting. When small business finances get tight, consultants are usually the first to go. I am now looking for employment and will probably close my business down in 2009." 92103 Yes 9 No 0 Yes 0 Better; +10% "Mostly in the early part of the year, as fear more than reality guided things. Really bad middle as actual crunch happened. Much busier now than in other times as it seems the shoes have dropped & customers need to get things done." 92707 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 0 down by 40% "i have a dog day care/dog walking service. i also provide care for pets while owners are out of town. I am a returning college student changing careers. I rely on this business, since i go to school part-time" 10003 Yes 16 No 0 No 2 I expect a 20 percent decline. -- 18974 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 -50% -0.5 Lost ALL my high income customers 62901 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 up 10% "This fall, we've been down about 18% from 2007" 19475 Yes 5 No 1 No 5 Definitely contract by probably 20% We have a house call only companion animal veterinary practice. Many of our clients are declining their routine appointment and only contacting us for sick visits. Others are declining elective surgeries (spay/neuter) and diagnostic procedures due to lack of funds. We have also had many more requests to perform euthanasia due to money constraints when the pet is ill. 92807 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 hope they stay the same. afraid will go down "As a contractor and cabinet maker, I can say with certainty that the recession for the building industry in California started about a year ago...so the current bad news is nothing new. All my employees were laid off except my son who is working 1/2 time. This years gross income is about 60% of the prior year's gross...and the last few months has dropped from there. I'm hoping to survive the recession, but will shut the business if things don't pick up by Summer." 95401 Yes 1 Yes 0 No 1 contract 75% Can't get credit to pay for equpment. Customers are leaving for cheaper providers. 94605 Yes 10 No 2 No 0 grow Was affected in the early part of 2008. Not sure if it will affect 2009 or not. 40507 Yes 2 Yes 1 Yes 0 35% down I'm in the apparel biz....nuff said. 48161 Yes 19 No 3 No 1 Contract about 15% "I write Internet content and sell oujt-of-print books on the web as well. Book prices have plummeted, so I have to spend a lot more time looking for books, adding them to inventory and re-pricing them to lower prices. Prices for original writing are at rock bottom. We're being paid about $10 per article (around 600-800 words, research required). I'm almost seventy and will probably have to go back to school for LPN training at this rate." 78703 Yes 5 No 0 Yes 0 down 5% My credit lines are being reduced as I pay them down. I will be unable to respond to business opportunities if they come up. 84027 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 about the same We lost a bundle in the stock markey which affects retirement. We deal mostly in government contracts so we think that will be steady. Thank you. 97045 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 -60% -0.6 Small home services company just big enough to think of franchising after 20 years reduced to Mom & Pop status. What we once thought of as recession proof is one step from the grave. Both owners have returned to full time university to obtain completely new degrees at the age of 45 while raising 4 children and no health insurance and income week to week just working on faith. 28732 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 -50% -0.5 I own a sign shop catering largely to realtors and developers. They're selling nothing so I'm making nothing. 53207 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 contract 25% "Small non-profit theatre. Contributions are down. Attendence is down. Whether actually affected by the current economics, people are behaving as if they are. That means they are not spending the $20.00 a ticket to see a play. Foundations have had their endowments shrink, which means less granted. Governments are barely paving the roads, which means no support for the arts. Regular folks are either not donating anything, or are supporting organizations that do more crisis based work. The theatre can't afford to put on as many shows, or shows with larger casts. The restaurants that depend on our patrons will have less traffic....the cycle will continue to spiral until no one is left." 02101 Yes 7 No 5 No 5 0% if lucky. -10 if unlucky. "Sales have just started declining this month for us. We don't have Xmas type products which means that sales always slow this time of year, but this time they have dropped off the cliff." 60586 Yes 12 No 0 Yes 0 - 40% -0.4 Can't find any new customers. Can't keep the existing customers. This is as bad as I've seen business in 50 years. 60190 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 0 contract by 15-20% "I have contracts with clients through June 2009, and none have renewed contracts as of the end of December 208. Usually my clients are on 18-36 month cycles. After July 2009, I could have nothing." 34239 Yes 1 No 1 Yes 0 -35 percent "hanging on by a thread....started w/everything we had ever saved in 2004, just really getting it going & was expecting to see our first real taste of profit & success in '09 & then bam, sept '08 hit - damn the de-regulators & political cronies! should have known!!! hope obama is up to the task he was voted for...." 95032 Yes 1 Yes 0 Yes 0 "I cannot even guess, but probably down." "I have had multiple clients push out contracts or indicate that they will not take a bid. I now have former colleagues (more than 4 already) calling me to see if they can work with me, but I can only offer part time projects if even that." 89081 Yes 25 No 0 Yes 0 Contract 20% "I expect my sales to contract, but I honestly don't know by how much. I am at the point where, if they contract more than 20%, I am going to have to close my doors. My sales contracted by 50% in 2008 compared to 2007 and 75% compared to 2006. I cannot take much more reduction. I may not survive until the summer. We'll see." 92701 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 0 down by 70% "I am an owner of a small surgery center that specializes in elective plastic surgery. My story may not be as interesting as others, but we have employees, overhead and inventory, just like many other small businesses. Even wealthy people are not having plastic surgery right now. It is certainly one of the things that is not necessary and can be put off until a later date. I was getting ready to layoff my Administrative Assistant, but she resigned, because she was accepted into nursing school with the ultimate goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist (the greatest profession there is). Our surgeons are hurting, my nursing staff is looking for other work, and the fear about the future is rampant. Plastic surgery was over promoted in the past and everyone, whether qualified or not, got into the act. Now they are looking at hundreds of thousands worth of unused and antiquated lasers and endoscopes and are trying to figure out what to do. I am fortunate that all of my equipment is paid for, and that we have a very strong cost containment program that works. For example, we do our own laundry instead of sending it to a laundry service and only order enough sutures, drugs and supplies for the month ahead. I can't imagine how the other places are surviving in this atmosphere." 90293 Yes 10 No 2 No 1 I expect a 10-20% drop I find more reluctance to spend money 21286 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 contract 20% "As a tutor, focusing on English and Study Skills, I have recently found that some families are cutting back or even stopping altogether. I have never had to do much advertising, but if I have more cancellations, I may market my tutoring services more aggressively. Many of the families I tutor, even the quite wealthy, are nervous about their financial situations." 27609 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 higher I am a psychologist and am as busy as I have ever been with very stressed out people and relationships. 10009 Yes 5 No 5 No 5 not sure "Sales have definitely slowed down in the New York market, but may be offset by entry into the Boston, Chicago and Denver markets in 2009" 28792 Yes 0 No 3 Yes 2 Contract 25% "Slower commitments to bids, reduction in scope of bid work, slightly slower payment, less resistance to higher prices" 94115 Yes 14 No 1 No 0 same "I repair and maintain apartment buildings for property managers and owners. Here in San Francisco, the vacancy rate has not gone up that I can tell. People still want to live here even if they work in Silicon Valley or the East Bay. About the same number of units become vacant each month and they are all rented in a week or two. I have not seen any downturn in my business. Things do not stop breaking just because there is a recession. I also post delinquent rent notices and surprisingly these have not gone up in number in the past couple of months. This month, they actually went down from about 3% of the total apartment units to about 1%." 48362 Yes 1 No 0 No 1 Decrease by 5 to 7% "No new orders, receivables at an all time high. Most of our clients are 30 to 90 days late. Only relief has been the gas prices declining. With all other expenses, especially health care increasing 15 to 30% per year I expect to cut hours in the near future." 94965 Yes 6 No 2 No 4 50% 0.5 "Nothing to tell really, we are a small start up, so our sales will rise as we put forth the effort." 94117 Yes 6 No 1 No 1 About the same "It's been a good year, so far. But with the constant drumbeat of bad economic news it's had to believe next year with be as good. I deal in hard to find collectibles, and so far, people are still spending for quality items in the $15.00 to $200.00 range. Next year? Who knows...." 98253 Yes 3 No 3 No 1 Our business is dead in the water since the credit crunch We make rocks and trees for zoos and museums. Our business has come to a complete stand still and we are living on our savings which should last about 5 months if we are careful. 18630 Yes 2 No 0 No 2 Volume up by 7.5%. Gross receipts down by 12.4% "I am a dairy farmer. That is, contrary to the ignorance revealed in the nature of the questions in this surbey, a small business. (Gross Annual Revenue average for last 10 years = $280,000.) However, due to arbitrary pricing laws, we have been dealing with recessionary conditions since 1987. Energy and fertilizer costs have crippled our business to th epoint where we are probably going to shut down and sell off all assets in 2009." 20774 Yes 5 No 1 No 0 0% growth "I own a small publishing company. Authors pay for services, and get their book in return. Customers aren't buying books from any of my authors, and I haven't gotten a contract in a while to produce a book. Folks cannot pay the fees." 94710 Yes 3 Yes 0 Yes 0 -20% -0.2 "we are in construction-the market has collapsed, what we are doing was already in the pipeline- the future is dark" 32825 Yes 9 No 0 Yes 0 20% less "Yes. We deal with public and private schools, whose budgets have been reduced. Less schools are using our services." M4Y 1R7 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 "Overall down 50%, but sales of core product up by 50%" "We're finishing the second year of a new consulting firm that provides practice management advice to professionals in the form of workshops and seminars. We were very nervous in September, but prospect calls and workshop bookings are up. It seems that clients aren't as busy now and have the time [and the incentive] to improve their businesses. If the trend continues we could double our workshop sales in 2009." 95060 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 8 I expect a 50-70% reduction I make equipment and tools for jewelers and metalsmiths. We are the canary in the coal mine. www.knewconcepts.com 80120 Yes 2 No 0 Yes "Just me, the owner. I have not wanted to reduce staff hours" 20% 0.2 Fewer people walking through the door. 87120 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 3 -50% -0.5 Our Segway sales are half of what they were last year. 01742 Yes 7 No 0 No 0 15% growth "We are green building consultants - business is booming, although some of our clients are a little slower to pay than in the past" 49004 Yes 6 No 0 Yes 4 -16 -0.16 the economy in our area has been soft for several years but the last 12 to 15 months have been extremely difficult and in oct sales have fallen off a cliff. business/commercial customers have stopped spending in a way we have not seen in our 30+ years in business. the consumer has found themselves with no money now that refi's on their homes have become a thing of the pass. granted the banks are not lending but so what...our ability to repay a loan is near zilch. things are very scarey and sad. 62034 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 Reduce by 10% "I am a sole practitioner attorney, formerly a corporate lawyer for Citigroup. I have always focused my private practice on helping small business people. For the last few years many opportunities for helping form, finance, and build businesses were available. Today, over 90% are asking about exit strategies and insolvency. They still have to pay me, but have less to do so hence my revenue decrease projection." 553432 Yes 2 Yes 0 Yes 2 down 40% "Material costs up, freight up, sales down. Slow pay customers, no pay customers. Consumers cutting back." 10013 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 "we are hoping they will be better, but we are bracing ourselves for the worst" "We are a commercial production company - we work with advertising agencies. Their budgets are being cut, so they can't hire us as often, and they can't spend as much when they do hire us." 01245 Yes 1 Yes 1 No 0 -50% -0.5 We are self-employed artisans and havve very wealthy clients...All have pulled back on commitments made. 78741 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 2 not sure We are doing more service jobs. Contracts are taking much longer to complete due to the extended length of time clients are taking to sign off and to pay. 02748 Yes 4 Yes 1 No 0 grow 10 percent We will have to work harder just to stay at the same level next year. 28269 Yes 6 Yes 2 No 0 contract by at least 10% "I own a very small cake shop. We specialize in high-end special ocassion cakes and wedding cakes. As people lose their jobs, parties and weddings get postponed, or people elope to save money, or offices just don't celebrate anymore. This means people don't need cakes, or if they do get a cake, they go to Sam's and get something really cheap. Weddings are trending smaller and cheaper. This hurts the cake business." 94541 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 2 minus 10% we owe more of our vendors than ever before. We have used credit cards to make payroll twice. 40205 Yes 4 No 0 No 0 We project they will be down by 10% "Our travel business has been hopping - through the heart of the downtown, with fantastic sales, even this week. But we just had our first big trip of the year cancelled by the supplier. This is a loss in project of more than $30,000 to us. We are glad we can refund every traveler 100% for the trip they won't get. But our journey -- despite its being almost full -- was cancelled because a huge tour operator cancelled many departures of its tours using the same supplier. We are just trying to plot how we can work the cash flow dilemma -- we never borrow money -- but it sure would have been great to have that $30,000 profit to start off the year. What we will do: we will hang onto our staff no matter what. Owners will whack our pay in half before we would let anybody go. Also, we'll keep our health insurance for everybody. Our staff works so hard, through thick and thin, and they are loyal. We are loyal to them. I am sure we will take a deep breath and come out on the other end better than ever. That's what happened after 9/11. I feel confident it will happen this time, too." 04108 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 +1000% People seem more hesitant to buy. 33063 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 worse every day "Work for myself...import shop...had to close...now trying to unload leftover merchandise on ebay. Disaster. If I had a mortgage, rent or a car payment I'd be living on the street. Also I've lost 75% of my investments, but I'm not crying about it. There are alot of people around here much worse off and the foodbanks are running low. I feel that we are fast, and I do mean fast, becoming a third world country, and I think it's beyond even Obama and his team's ability to do something about. He'll have to declare an economic ""state of emergency"" the minute he takes office and print up alot and I do mean alot of money, and bail out half the citizens. What other choice does he have?" 98105 Yes 0 No 0 Yes 2 uncertain "Oddly, our big crunch this year was in the first part of the year. Since July, we have had a ton of work and have made up the earlier shortfall." 20707 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 don't know I am relying on old customers for work and fighting harder for new ones; I'm not sure what will happen in 2009. 03801 Yes 3 Yes 2 Yes 2 contract by 50-75% "yes. as a vendor to major retailers, they are unilaterally extending terms and demanding price reductions or cancelling orders." 51632 Yes 8 No 0 No 0 not sure depends on several factors Has not been a problem yet. 90013 Yes 3 Yes 3 Yes 3 N/A "I own a web development company. My revenue in 2008 was below that of 2006. I had several of my clients default on their balances, which in turn has left me carrying a huge debt. This coupled with the economic downturn and rising expenses has forced me to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, both corporate and personal. Honestly, I don't feel so bad about it. My clients treated me like a bank; they defaulted on me, and now I'm defaulting on my debt to the banks. The banks will be fine... they are all getting bailed out. All I get is a trashed credit rating and all my savings down the tube. The good news is I will be starting over and I have some new clients to work with. I'm hopeful. I learned some hard lessons and will be doing things very differently this time around. I have learned to live with much less than I ever have before and I'm loving it." 33145 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 1 2009 Should see an increase in sales. Projected growth is 20%. "Fortunetly, we service a middle sized market. Prior to the recession many of our new leads for business came from companies growing into our targeted space. Now most of the leads come from businesses looking to downsize into our space." 02539 Yes 5 No 0 Yes 2 grow by 10% "we are struggling to pay bills, we are in a service industry, and people are fearful, and stop using the services we provide, but others are still plugging along, so we have no idea what to expect for the next few months." 95949 Yes 0 Yes 1 Yes 1 They are down 27% in 08 and I expect 50 or 60 % in 09. We make horseshoe nail sculptures . Orders have increasingly declined as stores fail. Inventory doesn't sale as it did so there is no need to reorder. 98122 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 1 Contract about 25% We are an interior design firm specializing in restaurants and high end residential. We have had an outstanding 2008 but mostly as a carryover from jobs that started in 2007. We saved the money we made earlier in the year to get us through to the beginning of the next - 2009 - paying down debt along the way. We have been in business nearly ten years. We learned from the effects of 9-11 on our national economy. We are optimistic about the future but using are money and credit wisely. 33314 Yes 1 Yes 2 Yes 1 Contract 75% "Small, family wholesale plant nursery that was steady before the real estate boom, soared during, and has now withered to bare survival." 94127 Yes 4 Yes 1 No 0 down 30% People not buying homes and cars has put a dnet in my insurance business. 98250 Yes 3 Yes 1 Yes 3 expecting 30% less "AS the owner of a contemporary art gallery for 23 years, most people will think of ART as frivolous, when the reverse is true. We need color, texture, wonder and the ability to marvel , to enjoy ,to be pleased in such a negative environment. My belief is just because I have been in business for 23 years on a small island, San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest, this does not meet I will continue to be in business without the support of my community ." 87112 Yes 5 No 0 Yes 5 Down 25% "I work fixing up rental houses for real estate agents. Our business volume has increased, but there is downward pressure on prices, so we are doing more for less, but at least there is work. It appears that some of the labor force has been forced to leave the country, either because of lack of work, or because of increased enforcement." 19002 Yes 15 No 0 No 0 +10% due to an expansion - want +25% We expanded our business doubling our service capacity this past summer. We are in the black but running 20% below our operating projections. We were on track through mid-October but sales have dropped since - particularly on the retail products revenue line of our business. 08204 Yes 6 Yes 4 No 0 "0, closed business" "We had to close our family retail and service business of 30 years due to the bad economy. The downturn in the economy started well before 2008. In my opinion it started in early 2006. The other factor for our Mom & Pop business failing was due to the influx into our area of the BIg BOX stores, wallmart, Homedepot, Lowes. The other reason is the use of illegal?? immigrant labor by subcontrators who work for these Big Box stores." 36830 Yes 7 No 0 No 0 uncertain We have been successful in a rough sea because we have prepared for the recession the past two years. My concern is that we have prepared for a storm but not the tidal wave coming our way. 24011 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 20% down "I own a hairsalon well established in the area.People are stretching out the time between visis, opting for less expensive services.The local economy is suffering layoffs, a trickle down affect.Oddly enough the more afluent clients seem to be ,for lack of a better term,bigger tightwads ." 90291 Yes 2 Yes 11 Yes 2 not sure "Everything seems to be in paralysis. Nobody is moving forward. If you have business, make it last as long as possible." 55102 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 I expect retainer and consulting fees to drop by about 10% in 2009. "I am a sole practitioner communications/media relations consultant whose gross revenues dropped by 30% last year and will drop an additional 10% this year. My clients, most of which are non-profit organizations and associations, are facing declining membership and dues revenues, greatly reduced attendance at income-producing events and conferences, and big losses from endowments, reserve and investment funds. They are cutting budgets for non-essential outsourced services, deferring production of new educational and promotional materials, cutting back on meetings requiring travel, and reassigning tasks previously performed by consultants to in-house staff who may or may not be qualified to perform those tasks." 01269 Yes 6 No 0 Yes 1 "unknown contraction," "My husband and I own a small pub since 2000. This year has been the first year that we have had to cut back staff hours, and work more hours ourselves. We have tried not to increase our prices, and have absorbed the increases in prices that our suppliers have passed on to us. We have tried to trim our budget as much as possible without sacrificing service to our customers. I am very concerned for the future of our family business." 31324 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 contract "I am a computer technician and although I have maintained the same amount of billable hours, payments from clients are coming in at a very slow pace. I have see the effects at the offices where I do business. One law office had twenty employees are now down to nine. Another law office just laid off one of the staff. A gated community had laid off many employees and will close their equestrian center. It is going across the board." 90403 Yes 2 Yes 2 Yes 2 Who knows ?- expect contration "Our sales started to go down in March after the demise of Bear Sterns. Business has continued to go down since then - with September and October very low. We've had only one ""normal"" month since last March." 85254 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 "expext lower is 09, hopefully less than 10% lower" "Property management of single family homes. About 30% of my clients have let thier properties go into forclosure in 08. This leaves tenants looking for new homes, my firm with less income and an abandoned property in a once thriving area. Losing 30% has been really hard. i have increased marketing and been able to find a few new clients. I am not sure how stable those clients are." 04037 Yes 11 No 0 No 0 4% growth "I own and operate a campground - a seasonal business. Our market changed last summer with high gas prices and the beginnings of the recession, but we still grew overall because we are about the cheapest vacation people can take. Gas prices have come down, which will expand our market again, and we will still be offering the cheapest way a family can take a vacation. Those who have lost their jobs, or are fearful will stay home, but the larger market area should offer the opportunity for modest growth again." 44691 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 I ahve no idea I know that the last half of 2008 has been sloer thatn expected "Sales are down. I mainly finance my business with 7 credit cards and a couple of signature loans ( at high intrest rates) . In the past I was able to pay many of the credit cards off in full each month avoiding intrest charges. Now I am not able to do that so Im paying a very high rate of intrest on credit cards. I had to borrow $40,000 from my mother when American Express, without notice, reduced my credit line ( amount I could charge per month on My revolving charge card, not a credit card.) I have only been able to pay her back $20,000. I am hanging on but it is scarry things have to pick up or I can not continue. I read of reports that credit card companies may further reduce the credit lines. I do not know how I could continue my business if this would happen. At this moment my costs are higher than I can continue to support. I have a lot of inventory with fairly good turns during good times but now inventory is sitting. I have spent a lot of money training and establishing a good relationship ship with my2 employees. If I lost them the thought of the expense and time required to train someone else is frightning. My whole life is invested in this business. If it goes under I will have nothing to show for all my years of work. I am 55 years old. My retirement savings is now at about $3000.00 due to the stock market decline." 91775 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 40 contraction "My wife is an acupuncturist and I run the money. We noticed the recession about Sept., 2007. We end the year off 40%, but still in business. After reading the story about the MD who is now out of business in the LA Times today, we feel fortunate to be able to continue providing alternative medicine at a reasonable price ($75 per session)." 10003 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 lower by 20% "As a literary agent, I have already not been able to sell projects which would have most definitely sold in an earlier climate. And editors are telling me that they are being instructed to pay less, and buy fewer projects." 78702 Yes 4 No 0 No 0 +50% 0.5 "We tried to ""recession proof"" our business about a year ago by expanding into new markets and diversifying our client base. It's still touch and go, but so far it looks like our timing has been pretty good." 84049 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 1 -50% -0.5 "We have a decorative woodworking business, and nearly all of the construction here has come to a halt, so our products are no longer needed. I don't expect the construction industry to do anything but get worse next year. We have moved into sub-contracting for a property-management company to do residential building repair work. We got LUCKY! I don't know what we would do without that opportunity." 75230 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 10 down 20% My word of mouth and referrals are saving me. Advertising is just not pulling new business 30030 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 even year over year "sales have slowed quite a bit. and, what we are mostly seeing, is that the decision periods are much longer. People are questioning their capital spending in much greater detail." 94526 Yes 100 Yes 10 Yes 50 - 20% -0.2 We are in the printing industry and things are very slow. We are finding that clients have cut and are cutting back on current and future projects 59212 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 contract--10% "I run a tax & bookkeeping service--no employees, just me. I expect people to be using volunteer tax preparers or the irs website with free efile etc. The only problem with volunteers is that they are not trained like EA's or CPA's and most likely will cost their clients by missing deductions etc." 21224 Yes 6 Yes 2 Yes 4 Slow through Q3. About 50% off from 2008. "We're a small software design company. We had our largest customer stop paying because an important client of theirs went bankrupt. Our creditors declined to raise our borrowing limit against future receivables, so we were forced to reduce staff." 60091 Yes 40 No 0 Yes 4 30% increase We provide a discretionary service. We are a new business expecting to grow dramatically during this start up phase. The economy has stifled that growth; growth I am counting on to reach breakeven. If we do not come out of the recession in 2009 we will be out of business. 98004 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 I expect to grow in 2009 "I see that people are reluctant to spend money. We have to market more aggressively to bring in more customers, so I have had to hire a marketing person in response to falling sales. But so far so good. Fortunately though we live in a pretty healthy business region of the country. The other shoe might yet drop." 91105 Yes 9 No 0 No 0 50% less "sales stopped ,people stopped comming in and who ever comes, in you feel thay are just looking or they want a bargain,If you except it and deal with whats going on you fill more in control." 60622 No 17 No 0 No 0 zero growth predicted "Although we have a small staff of 17, when a long time employee leaves in January we will not be filling the position. That leaves a lot of work for the rest of us to pick up on." 30082 Yes 5 Yes 1 Yes 5 Down 20% "Business is insolvent, I am trying to sell it." 28792 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 1 +20% 0.2 "As we are metals intensive the drop in material costs has been good for us. Most of our projects are ongoing with financing already in place and draws available as needed. This may not be true after the thrid guarter of 2010 when those projects are finished. Since these particular projects have been dependent on construction the liklihood is that this part of our business will disappear. We are also working on alternative fuels and with our partners have grant monies available to us. What will happen in 2010 is anybody's guess. We are hoping to expand and it looks as if that is a real possibility. On the other hand none of us (partners) are giving up our regular paycheck jobs until we are certain the business will grow and that we can provide health insurance, as well as a regular income for our families." 94117 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 Grow 10% "Sales in the US were down about 50% in 2008 compared to last year. We compensated by growing more than 50% in Europe and the rest of the world. Now that the rest of the world is melting down too, we can't expect to keep growing as quickly there." 75093 Yes 250 Yes 50 Yes 80 down 15% "Our restaurants have seen sales slide from 2 to 25% (depending on location) from the day gasoline hit $4.00 and they have not recovered. At the same time, our cost of commodities and utilities have climbed roughly 10-12% with no relief being forcasted." 45202 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 0 0 gross sales down 25% over 2007 08108 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 contract by 20% "I have a small clothing boutique in a downtown, Main Street area. It seems like no one is shopping anymore. Small stores in our town are hurting badly and many may have to close their doors. People are looking for inexpensive items and speciality stores are no longer in the buget." 33319 Yes 21 Yes 5 Yes 21 -25% -0.25 we will close our shop in feb 09 unless the ecoomy turns around 48212 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 3 -15% -0.15 "We are a small group tied to the automotive industry. Although this year started out great, the last two quarters have been brutal. We are trying our best to reduce our expenses in every way we can, with the belief that time heals all wounds. We are utilizing better technologies to get the same amount of work done in less time. These cost cutting and productivity measures will help us in the long run, so long as we can make it until then." 11231 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 still unclear "It's still unclear. I did have one client bail on a contract for 2009 due to a change in their circumstances, but I think others are taking a wait and see approach before committing to expenditures. I'll have a better idea of my overall situation by March." 97701 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 "We expect growth, are introducing new products, and have no idea how much they will grow. The financial melt down has affected our rate of growth, but we are still growing. So all I can say is might have grown faster without it." "We provide print material to a group of sales distributors for a moderately expensive nonessential product. It's quite likely that the recession has slowed the growth of sales of this product, but we are still selling our material and plan to introduce new titles because it is desperately needed. Our material increases sales when used, so our best guess is that our customers will continue to buy. We are working on ways to provide more value and create more loyalty in 2009. We look at 2009 as a time to solidify our customer base, stay afloat, and be ready to rock and roll when the economy rebounds. It makes us more careful about what we spend money on - will it give us a boost in revenue - and we don't plan to add any employees (just use independent contractors as needed.)" 94010 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 We hope that they remain steady. "There are only two of us in the business. Since we don't know what to anticipate within our industry (landscape architecture), we've decided to cut our salaries starting in January so that we can build up some savings to help carry us through a slow down." 05468 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 Gross rev. should be up by 25% more or less. Up about 20% this year. The current recession has led to an explosion of work and increased revenue. May have to increase staff hours or add additional staff 55901 Yes 37 No 0 No 0 We will likely stay level in 2009. "What your survey doesn't ask is about the reductions in staff we have already made. We have let staff go through attrition. Over the past year we have not filled 4 full-time and 3 part-time employees. Of the 37 people in my current employ, four of them have spouses or children who have been laid off. We may not be able to continue to ensure spouses and children when our health policy renews in April We will feel lucky if we can continue to insure our employees. We have rearranged responsibilities internally using managers in what were staff positions with salary reductions. We are a credit union --- a full-service not-for-profit financial cooperative serving 10,700 customers. We've been in business 75 years. Our loan demand is almost non-existant and our delinquencies, bankruptcies and foreclosures are skyrocketing." 15143 Yes 1 Yes 1 Yes 1 50% contraction The per item purchase has decreased to under $50. 75248 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 Hopefully better...It certainly can't get much worse. "I was an advisor with Merrill Lynch and knew things were getting shaky by the end of last year. I was laid off in April when the meltdown began and haven't been able to find work since. I started my own business because if no one else will hire me then I'll do it myself by my bootstraps... but I'm WORRIED. My home is 1 month from going into foreclosure, my savings are wiped out, and I'm starting over completely from scratch. As a ""financial advisor"", I feel personally embarrassed at my situation and ashamed that my industry has fallen so far so quickly. All I can do is hope for a better tomorrow, keep my chin up, and keep moving forward. I know there is an opportunity if I just maintain a positive attitude and keep faith in myself, my fellow man, and my God. But, it's definitely becoming more and more difficult. Happy Holidays, BC p.s. (As a moderate) At least Obama won so thankfully we can come together and deal with this crisis as a nation of intelligent, competent people and not remain polarized due to neo-con absurdity." 60640 Yes 4 Yes 16 Yes 2 we expect to contract by 70% "I have owned an retained search firm for the past 6 years, started in the jobless recovery in 2003. We grew to 8 employees in the first year and to 33 by 2006. In 2007 we felt the economy contract a bit and lost some employees to attrition and did not replace them. By December of 2007 we were at 20 employees and our clients, mostly Fortune 500 companies were moving toward ""strategic hires"" and leaving positions open to reduce costs. We began to feel the current recession then. In 2008 our 47 clients pared back extensively, and it is important to note that we have an 84% client retention for five years running, and only 10 of those clients were active in 2008. I called every one of clients and asked if the economy were different would they still be using us and every client save for one said ""yes"". I asked every client if they plan to use us when the economy picks up again and all but one assured me that we are a part of their staffing function when it is funded. In the last year I have had to have separation discussions with 16 employees, some of whom have families to support, some of whom have still have not found new employment. We have enough capital to survive until next June without any work and are using the company's savings to pay existing employees through then (we used most of the savings paying employees this year and severances). We pay 50% of their health insurance and full matching 401k and have maintained that practice despite using the savings of the company to do so (we carried employees whilst they were looking for new employment in many cases, and had a lawsuit on an unrelated matter that was essentially thrown out after 137k in defense fees). I have gone weeks and months without compensation and can continue to do so for seven more months. If the recession continues through the entire year of 2009 we may be forced to consider other options. We bought a building in 2006 and despite putting 100k down are in negative equity in the building so we cannot draw on that nor can we get a loan despite the 100k investment. Some of our problems are definitely mismanagement and a lack of diversification of clientele, which I of course accept full responsibility. Our five years of savings will be wiped out in a year as a result of this recession. What I should have done was let everyone go immediately, not paid severance, eliminated healthcare and 401k and that would have saved me tens of thousands of dollars. But for those I laid off, from their perspective, I should have saved more to carry them through this difficult time. This recession has caused me to hurt families with layoffs, fracture friendships I had with employees, and created friction at home as my wife wanted me to get rid of everyone sooner and look out for our family (4 children). Recessions do more than slow the economy, they break hearts, divide families, make childrens' lives harder because their parents are stressed about finding work and how to pay the bills. Recessions are a natural part of the ebb and flow of the economy, but the lack of investment in our country by the current administration and gross negligence in failure to have constructive oversight made this recession considerably deeper and more prolonged. I should be ok, but for every one of the 16 people I had to let go, whether they found work or not, they have had to go through a serious and painful experience, financially and emotionally and as a small business owner you cannot help but reflect on your complicity." 34952 Yes 7 Yes 5 No 0 50% less "I have run a successful, profitable staffing service since 1987. I grew to three offices and a staff of 14. Our community is listed as the 2nd worst community in the country. I have cut costs to the bone and 5 employees, and I didn't replace several positions. Summers are typically slow here and I knew this would be no exception, but I held onto my trained, motivated staff through the summer in the hopes that in the fall it would pick up. Then the stockmarket went wild, wall street lined up for handouts and no one in our community has the confidence to hire staff, either temporary or regular. Lines of credit have been cut and it is very likely I won't make it. Don't think there is a bailout coming my way. I played by all the rules all my life and now I am in danger of losing everything." 98113 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 same "The recession hasn't hit me at all. I'm a freelance designer, and people are still buying my product." 20166 Yes 65 No 0 Yes 65 we expect 25-40% less business than 2008 "We cater to upper income clients and have difficulty collecting AR's which has a very bad effect on our bottom line. We will reduce subcontractors, limit raises and try to reduce costs so that we can scale down to 75% of 2008 income." 19154 No 450 No 0 No 0 "Contracted 6% in '08 from '07, expect to contract another 5% in '09" "So far, it has hurt profits for sure, but not yet to the point where we are cutting back staff. It certainly limits our growth and planned renovations. We must account for every single dollar now more than ever. The recession certainly ups the anxiety of all employees. Facing the unknown economic future of the country is the owners inner turmoil so far." 27608 Yes 12 No 0 No 0 Stay the same "We've had a great year and were planning to grow: new equipment, larger building, more people. The economic news is too scary and we decided to plan for survival, rather than growth. Customers are slower to pay and our creditors are on edge and demanding quicker payment. Money is no longer cheap." 78628 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 + 8 0.08 "We had sales growth of 15+% per month through August, then saw declines of that amount through November. Looks like December will be flat comp. to last year." 87107 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 "Early projections, about one half; will reevaluate on a monthly basis" "Severely curtailed spending, business and personal" 40206 Yes 15 Yes 10 Yes 5 "about the same, but margins much poorer" "We are a small electrical contractor in the midwest. We specialize in commercial and industrial work (no residential) Most of our work has been Goverment related, the private market, with the exception of several big projects has really dried up. We started the year well but around Sept. We really fell off, our market has become very competitive driving down margins. We will lose money this year, but I have secured a fair amount of backlog for 2009. Philosophically I have taken the stance that I just need to survive for hopefully a better future. I'm probably a natural pessimist anyway, but listening to NPR all day really adds to my negative outlook of the future. My retirement is in the dumps, but at this point I'm more concern with the real (present) world than I am the future." 29169 Yes 6 No 0 No 0 plus 20 % "our business has been stable the last year. we are in the exterior cleaning and truck washing business.the price of fuel this last year has hurt us terribly,both in our cost of doing business and the amount of business our clients had had to cut back on our services due to high fuel cost. we have picked up a large national account in the last month that should boost our sales by 20% next year.i think we need to drill for more of our own oil .thank you" 97132 Yes 1 Yes 2 Yes 1 -40% -0.4 "23 years in business, no 24th" 19363 Yes 4 No 0 Yes 2 hoping to stay even "Overall, business is down about 15% for 2008 versus 2007. People are spending less on purchases and we don't see some people anymore." 89133 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 "Not entirely sure, but I expect to keep growing...even if at a more leisurely pace." "My business has very low overhead and has always been run in as thrifty a way as possible. I think that's been excellent training for dealing with cash flow ups and downs. Since I also create information products for folks who are or wish to be self-employed, I've been preaching a Small is Beautiful message for a very long time. I also think the problem-solving, idea-generating skills we acquire as entrepreneurial thinkers are going to serve us well no matter what craziness is going on around us. In fact, I am convinced that for many folks 2009 is going to be a stellar year...providing they're noticing the unfolding opportunities around them." 30097 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 grow "It has killed us, on one front, on the other it has helped, I own a mortgage company & an insurance agency, I bought the agency as a hedge against the mortgage industry last year, we opened soft, there initially was no urgency to buy the insurance, shure we were saving them 300$ a year, but again no urgency. Now just the opposite, save $50 & we make an immediate sale. Not raking in the coals , yet in the black in the 1st year of any new business is ok. The mortgage co took a big hit, personally, yet the employees income actually grew a little. I got very sick last year & they(employees) picked up the ball when I was down, so its my turn. Its batten down the hatches time, but everyone is on board & is making the effort to stay profitable." 95521 Yes 7 No 0 No 0 unwilling to speculate "Last year was our best year to that date. This year has been even better (we are a small clothing retailer 1/2 consignment, 1/2 new clothes) This month is the first time we have been a small amount down from last year (1-2% as opposed to 10% up). Another interesting question might be; what % of downturn could you bear ? For us it would probably be 10% to 15% which is a little scarry." 90031 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 increased sales by 10% my husband and i have a small mom/pop bakery and business has gone up as our prices are cheaper than the bigger bakeries and people tell us they want to support smaller businesses so it's been good for us. 98075 Yes 3 No 0 Yes 2 stay even "sales are off, and customers are taking longer to pay on their invoices." 90035 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 +20% 0.2 "I started my own business selling organic botanical skincare. I've been telling myself for the past 3 months that I'm probably going to have to get a part-time job to supplement my income but so far I haven't had to do that. I think this recession is actually helping me. People buy soaps and facial cleansers on a pretty regular basis and I think they like the fact that I'm home grown. People are shying away from large corporations, they want to support individuals. Its becoming chic to do so. Its more personable. I think this perception of corporate greed is doing wonders for small businesses like mine and (fingers crossed) it will stay that way!" 57793 Yes 5 Yes 5 No 0 -%100 -1 "We are a small historic preservation renovation contracting firm. Our clients typically pay out of savings, and since we are talking $150,000 plus for a typical job, the savings are mostly market based. We had three jobs cancel or postpone, emptying the chute of jobs, and we decided to close down rather than struggle in competition with the low quality contractors in the area. I'm struggling to keep my house and pay off all my vendors etc. Lots of ten dollar an hour jobs out here, but costs are similar to the cities of the midwest. I won't be back." 36303 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 down by 1/2 I am a contracted computer software consultant and have been only working part time since 9-15-08. Usually by now I have had another full time position. There are hardly any positions available now and what are available are paying approx. 1/2 the hourly wage I made before. 50125 Yes 0 No 0 No 0 I expect them to contract "I am a freelance photographer/journalist. The papers are laying off, other agencies have more money to generate visibility into the main stream of the media. No one wants to pay for images, they think that they can do it themselves. I also bit for grants, the funding in going down while those who request money is going up. It is not what you know but who you know, through this economy. The same goes for grant money. The world is changing." 70115 Yes 9 No 0 No 0 -20% -0.2 I am a breakfast/lunch business and though weekdays are down substantially weekends can be good. Here in New Orleans we were forced to downsize after the Levee Failure so we are probably in a better position than most 60605 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 Wish I knew. It will have to be down. "We are architectural technical consultants to mainly high rise and large scale construction projects. These projects are years in the making so we are still very busy finishing the last batch, but for new start ups we are seeing only things from the Middle East and local government projects. The developers of the existing high rises are behind on their construction loans and subsequently not paying us, some are as much as 6 months behind on our invoices. I expect to see many of these guys go under eventually after the banks stop extenting their loan repayment time. Maybe one of the reasons we are busy is because it feels like we may be doing it for free." 91324 Yes 16 No 0 Yes 2 "We had great growth during most of this year, until Sept./October, we've had a significant loss." We have seen a significant drop in our business which has caused us to cut hours for our employees. 97211 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 I expect that sales will grow by 10% "My business is selling wine. The downturn has helped sales on my less expensive wines, but hurt in the $30-$50 range. My speaking engagements and private events have also been hurt. That being said my sales are up about 35% over last year, with plenty of sales coming since Sept when most of this was really starting to get media attention." 01245 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 Given that we are seeing a rise in sales online and at bookstores we should see a small percentage gain. "We are a multi-media company producing audio books for niche markets--classics such as Henry James, psychology, ecology, poetry and Native American storytellers. We also occasionally venture into film and video but the bulk of our products are audio. We distribute through an online website, Amazon, Audible and through independently owned bookstores. We had been contracted to produce audio of back lists of two major publishing houses and when the economy tanked both cancelled. It was a big loss and we are very concerned about the future. Yet at the same time, oddly our Christmas sales have increased this year. We are doing much better than last year. About a month ago we began to see an increase in online sales and purchases from bookstores and libraries. The only conclusion we can come to is that with the downturn in the economy more people are staying home and looking for entertainment and our products are the kind of books that have lasting value as they are works that can be listened to again and again. With the publishing industry in such turmoil it's hard to know what will happen in the next year and we are naturally concerned and thinking carefully about what new products we will offer and how we will spend advertising dollars. With every new piece of bad news in publishing and media my stomach churns because we don't have a big line of credit and don't normally operate in that manner. We are very reliant on sales and contractual production work in order to survive. One of us also works as a free-lance editor and ghost writer so we have other income and if necessary the other owner will look for freelance production work as well. We are located 3 hours from New York City so that is a plus for us. Hopefully we will be able to hunker down, stay smart and survive. Sometimes smaller is better." 11725 Yes 5 Yes 1 Yes 5 2008 was down 65% from 07. 2009 may be off 99%. The clients who do pay now stretch 30 days net to 60 or 90 and some have gone out of business. I can't get a business loan to make payroll and pay fixed expenses. I am selling personal items just to stay afloat. 14072 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 I expect 125% growth. Made me more aware of just how much harder and smarter I will have to work. 80205 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 Expect 30-40% loss I've lost about 30% of my business since Sept and expect that figure to grow over the next year. 32826 Yes 10 Yes 2 No 0 -20% -0.2 "It has had a tremendous impact on our sales. We are on the verge of going out of business. The landlord won't lower the rent, and the consumer expects deals and discounts" 91101 Yes 1 Yes 1 No 0 Off by 20% Finding Capital and clients who have cut back on products ordered. 92240 Yes 19 Yes 3 Yes 19 -20% -0.2 "We own a small babysitting agency in the Southern California desert resorts area. Business has been off for the past year, and the bottom has dropped out in the past month, excepting Thanksgiving weekend. We paid mortgages on two houses, but the bank just foreclosed on our rental; we are desperately trying to save the house we live in and do business from. We are both in our sixties and suffer from disabilities. I was an activist in the sixties, fighting for equal rights and an end to the Viet Nam war; I never thought that our economic system would careen so out of anyone's control that it would destroy everything we had, but that has become the case. My wife is Canadian, and we are thinking that if, and when, we lose this house, we will move to Canada where we can get free health care and low-cost housing. That is the only way we will be able to survive on the small money we get as compensation for our disabilities; all we have is that. Everything else is gone. For a smart guy, I don't seem to have done too well, eh?" 94501 Yes 5 No 0 No 0 grow by 15% "we all took a 10% pay cut. I was going to give a year end bonus, I am not doing that. I hoped to hire 2-3 more folks, I won't be doing that either." 85716 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 They will probably contract. "The demand for handmade jewelry and artwork is way, way down." 55073 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 My work is month to month..sales in 2008 were better than 2007 It has not affected it yet. 65018 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 My sales are significantly down I'm a full-time watercolor artist and work out of my home studio/gallery. My sales have taken a dramatic slide since last December - I went from my best year in sales to my worst in 2008. 95219 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 About the same "Surprisingly, it is difficult to find sales people -- even the less-than-successful ones who presumably have been swept out the door." 88061 Yes 7 Yes 5 Yes 5 I expect a 25% to 35% drop for the restaurant "I saw this recession coming and did my first 3 layoffs in March of 2008. The other two were 10 days ago. We are a casual fine dining restaurant in Silver City, NM pop. 11,500. Big tourism town and that was first down due to gas prices and now due to the economy. Off a good 50%. Big layoffs at our copper mines have made things worse. By mid-January 2009 we will be down to my co-owner waiting all the tables, myself cooking and baking alone, and as warrents, a part-time dishwasher. We will give out layoff letters so that my employees can collect benefits immediately. We have offered spare bedrooms in our house if they can not make it any other way, and will find a way to feed then if things get 1930's or, more likely, 1873 depression like." 28305 Yes 12 No 0 No 0 100% 1 "Not yet; somewhat insulated because my firm does work for DoD. It's coming, though" 85205 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 Decrease 70% n/a 33433 Yes 1 Yes 1 No 0 -20% -0.2 "Our business is down 30-50%, no money to borrow customer expect yo to work for free health Insurance cost going up and can't close the business because I need insurance and no one is hiring with a insurance package. Since I'm a person shop the hours I work has doubled with less paid and orders take longer to produce since you try to be 3 people" 27612 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 -50% -0.5 There are very few individual buyers and the larger corporations we have partnered with in the past are either reducing their relationships or delaying any new ones until some time in 2009. That used to be over 60% of our revenue. Now it's down to a trickle. 11001 Yes 25 No 0 No 0 Grow 13.5% "We are a small environmental company with local government contracts making up the bulk of our business. So far, our workload has been in line with past years. We are somewhat seasonal, so our ""field"" staff is part time and therefore never needs to be laid off - they don't work when things are slow." 06118 Yes 2 No 0 No 0 -20% -0.2 "We have good years, we have less than good years - for over 25 years now. We don't make a fortune, but are able to run our own show. No complaining here!" 04429 Yes 10 Yes 2 Yes 1 -20% -0.2 "Yes, Our business is home furnishings. It has been declining for 5 or 6 years. We are now off 38% from our peak. We are going to lay three more employees off this week. I don't know if we can survive much more of a down turn. It looks like we are going to find out." v5x3h8 Yes 1 No 0 No 0 20% 0.2 "Not yet. There seems to be more work lined up for next year. However, my concern is that my client's client may suddenly pull back. Although clients have set their budgets and say they have money, until you get paid, you haven't seen the money yet. So although there is a promise of some work, who knows of they will change their minds 6 months down the road when their clients' didn't pay up. Seems rather important to get a non-refundable deposit or retainer at this point in time." 49090 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 -20 -20 "When big companies stop buying, small companies stop selling!" 97034 Yes 5 Yes 5 Yes 5 zero sales "My business is already closed. A food business. Food prices went up, people stopped spending money on luxuries. Although we weren't technically in a recession (although now the government tells us we really were), all indications on the ground screamed RECESSION! Unfortunately I don't think we are yet near the bottom of this way too long cycle..." 91711 Yes 0 Yes 3 Yes 2 50% less "Kindred Spirits Wellness Center is our business. People are not buying nor are they attending the class we depend on to pay our rent. Landlords are trying to make up their losses on the backs of their tenants and my husband and I work 7days a week with no medical insurance for the last 15 years be cause it is too costly for us. The problems this has caused are too numerous to list. This is awful. Worse that after 9/11. We are hard working people with a dream of helping others and we can not even keep our own boat afloat right now. Family businesses are never talked about. We are the people that do with as little as posible to keep our dream alive. We have no one to help, no one to bail us out and no money available from the banks. Because we are a family bus. we will not give up or let it go under. We just keep tightening our belts and doing without for our selves. Thanks for listening. Persis Newland, Kindred Spirits Wellness Center" 70707 Yes 14 Yes 1 No 0 Contract 20% "2008 was the best year my company has had in a decade. We were going gangbusters til mid November and then it contracted about 20%. I reinvested every dollar in my own business cause it always gave me the greatest return of any investment I could make. Now all my apples are in my little boat, hurtling towards oblivion. I go from no work to wide open, so the moment I decide to let people go, i have to respond to my clients, who expect nothing less than immediate service. Each sale counts. I fear for my daughter who is 1 year from completing high school. She has applied herself with great determination to excel at school. And I don""t know if I'll even have a roof over my head in a couple of months. My clients are spread across a variety of different heavy industries, who are for the most part, idling or shutdown. A pox on all the wise ass bankers and MBA's who put us in this mess. Their greed for the dollar has been the ruin of us all.I know I have used too much debt but it was always manageable til this recission. This is different. I have been in business for 28 years and I don't see how we are going to get out of this one. Ya'll take care." 60174 Yes 1 No 0 Yes 1 same "I'm a real setate agent specializing in relocation - my sales this year are 2% of last year - relocation has largely dried up with the rest of the market. Of course, not eligible for unemployment compensation..." 91709 Yes 6 Yes 2 Yes 4 -10% -0.1 Everybody's scared and the media makes it worse. 32807 Yes 6 Yes 1 Yes 1 "2008 was 50% less than 07, we hope that 09 will remain steady if not grow." "We are in the construction industry in Florida. Hardwood Flooring. We are directly impacted because many view this as a luxury even if they need new flooring. Carpet and tile are cheaper so they are going with those options more and more unless they actually have money. We are also being hammered by others in this trade who are untrained, unlicensed and not doing business legitimately and are able to do jobs more cheaply. It is in two words ""very scary"" we are hoping that we will not have to close the doors altogether in 09." 91607 Yes 3 Yes 3 Yes 1 down 42% "We are a ""Made in America "" clothing company. It has become increasingly more difficult to get orders...never mind get paid on placed orders from all the small boutique stores across the country. Many of them have closed (without returning or paying for goods) We are unable to pay our providers on time, as we don't get paid on time. The domino impact is terrifying...Many of our small suppliers won't release our goods until they get cash, we can't get the money from the bank ( after 20 years) to pay for our goods, the stores who are still in business cancel the orders when they are not on time. It almost feels intentional on the bank's part. We have a stellar credit rating and yet they have pulled all our credit! We will soon be out of business---and so will all the people we help employ as contractors and suppliers. How can you pull yourself up by the boot straps when the have taken away your boots?" t8a 3z4 Yes 2 No 0 Yes 2 -40% -0.4 Sales of new furnaces has dropped 80% compared with last fall. Luckily we picked up some contract work at a nearby factory. 18017 Yes 5 Yes 1 No 0 - 33% -0.33 "Definitely. We sell industrial supplies that are directly correlated to industrial and construction activity. When times are tough, we feel it directly." 12723 Yes 3 No 0 No 0 We hope to stay the same or increase slightly "Business is probably down 30% from first half of year. This is sort of a re-invented business and was doubling sales every 6 months for last couple of years, so it's hard to gauge where we would be. Hoping to grow in next year by introducing new lines of products." 06355 Yes 9 No 0 No 0 -15 -0.15 HAVING VERY DIFFICULT TIME GETTING BANK CREDIT