Main Street Wednesday – Entrepreneurial Lessons from the Great Recession

By Bob Coleman
Editor, Coleman Report

recessionMy consistent takeaway for those of us who’s careers survived the Great Recession is we’re all a lot smarter and risk averse than we were five years ago.

That is why I enjoyed this article from the Worcester, Mass Telegram about three Main Street small business owners who saw their businesses fail, only to come back stronger and smarter.

Frank Muscarello is out of the inventory business. Today, he acts as an equipment broker, and outsources inspections and refurbishing. He doesn’t need that $3.5 million credit line anymore.

Mark Viggiano’s restaurant is only open for dinner and closed on Monday. He dramatically reduced his overhead and labor costs. Now, he shops for the restaurant’s food, instead of having it delivered. Finally, he was able to renegotiate his lease.

And the three business partners of an appliance business shifted their focus on their income statement from the sales line to the gross profit line. The days of chasing sales growth are over. Reducing overhead expenses and negotiating better deals with manufacturers are their recipe for success.

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