Staff Photo by D. Patrick Harding Stylist Summer Eller gives a cut to client Andrea Barnes at Hair a Go Go on the North Shore. Despite the recession some businesses are still seeing lots of activity.
By thinking out of the box — and about her clients’ needs — salon owner Elizabeth Tate has found herself busy at a time when other businesses around hers are suffering.
She admits that she owes some of Hair A Go Go’s success these days to the fact that no matter what’s wrong with the economy, people still care about the way they look.
“You wear your hair every day,” Ms. Tate said. “It makes such an impact on your perception of yourself, it can make or break a day.”
But instead of closing on Sunday and Monday like most salons, Hair A Go Go is open seven days a week. She also has 15 stylists on staff, so that as busy as she is these days, the salon still accepts walk-ins.
By tweaking her salon’s business model, she has prepared her business to weather the current economic crisis. While few businesses are recession-proof, entrepreneurs like Ms. Tate are proving they can make their businesses recession resistant.
Chad and Lindsay Wolford own high-end jewelry store the W Gallery, where business has been surprisingly good for the past several weeks. There has been an overall decline of more than 30 percent in the sale of luxury goods this year, according to SpendingPulse, a retail information service provided by MasterCard Advisors.
The price point for jewelry is lower than it had been when the store opened in April, but people still spent between $200 and $2,000 this Christmas, Mrs. Wolford said.
“It seems like ladies are definitely very cautious about what they tell their husbands they want,” she said. “Everybody is definitely watching price points.”
The Wolfords credit their success during tough economic times to some hard work on their part. Since opening this summer, the Wolfords have held numerous open houses and put their products in front of as many people as possible, Mr. Wolford said. Since November, they have held at least one open house each week to drive traffic flow.
“It’s worked well,” he said. “The bottom line from our point of view is when you get into times like this it just requires a bit more effort.”
Some businesses benefit from timing, like marketing and design firm Southside Creative Group. Since it’s the end of the year, many companies are working to use up any remaining funds in their marketing budgets, said Steve Hammecker, partner and creative director at the firm, which is the result of a recent merger between Parallel Creative Group and Southside Marketing Group.
Business “has been great for us,” Mr. Hamaker said, who added the firm also has benefited from remaining small and keeping its overhead low.
And then there are the businesses that actually benefit from a bad economy and consumers looking to save, like consignment shops or shoe repair shops. Reginald Cousin of Kenton Shoe Shop said he and the store’s other employees have been working hard to keep up with the volume of business these days.
Mr. Cousin said people are trying to save a few bucks by looking in their closets and getting shoes resoled and fixed instead of putting up big bucks on a brand new pair.
