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A Season for Shopping? Small Business' Point of View

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    Small business owners approach the holiday shopping season with caution

  • Duration 4:50
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It's a critical time of the year small business owners are hoping to cash in on the holiday rush many -- ramping up their marketing efforts even giving gifts to customers and deeply discounted products.

Griff Jenkins hit the ground to talk with small business owners.

Remain in Michigan and Washington State to Washington DC.

Small businesses across the country are open tis the season for a heavy dose of holidays yeah.

I'd say we do about.

And any of our yearly business we definitely see an increase in sales in December.

November -- I'm -- the holiday season is our number one season.

For retailers to November and December -- accounted for 19% of total sales last year.

And for some of them -- percentage can be as high as 40%.

According to The National Retail Federation.

And as we head into the holidays in companies keep their eyes on the prize the ghosts of the recession are still haunting sound.

Like Lindsay pusher the owner of urban chic and women's clothing store nearly.

No matter how many years go by -- from where you are -- now.

It's hard for -- to shake that nervousness I don't know that that's ever gonna go away into the back of my head out -- -- -- on the tip of my toe is worrying what if something happens again.

I'm constantly thinking about that and -- constantly have a back up plan and com because of what the last three years -- force has forced us to do I know how to fix things quicker.

And it's you.

Adjusts.

We've taken ahead just like -- one ounce as a small business.

It's more crucial for us to make those steady -- -- we don't have.

Money sit in the back.

Waiting to invest like larger companies.

So it's really important how to cash flow.

But some small business owners say things are looking at.

Our sales and margins are up were up about.

For the year 13% neat -- got to go up a little bit -- -- three years ago business dropped almost 40%.

So it's taking a long time to get back where we work but -- -- we've seen this kind of slow upward trajectory over the last.

Gears.

This year is a better year for us last year we had a few holes and our calendar this year it's looking really good consumer confidence is up the Allah cart diners are coming out.

They're not spending in the same way and the same goes with people are planning holiday parties are coming out they are planning parties it's just not they're not extravagant.

But we're finding ways to work people you know within their budgets if they can only do small station items in dips and spreads and focused on cocktails and we'll do that.

For some stores this sluggish economy has permanently altered the way they do business.

What it used to be much easier to be in retail.

Because you use to buy the goods you'd have 306090.

Days to pay for them but in the last couple years it's been so difficult for banks are putting the squeeze on everybody.

That a lot of them Torre has to be paid up front so you either have to have deep pockets or were you in the credit lines or something.

In order to do that or you cut it very close to the season like I do.

And you get the goods in kind of right before you need to sell.

My employees and where -- more than one hat.

More than Q a couple of them with buying we're evaluating our spreadsheets where we're looking that are designers and our margins and -- telling -- it's not telling we're marking down quicker.

If they're not moving fast enough.

To entice -- holiday shoppers in their holiday dollars.

These businesses are aggressively courting customers with sales in special incentives.

-- wizards take advantage of some of -- Internet.

Opportunities that people use like the Groupon and -- we tried scale model and -- allows allows people to come in and have an appetizer.

According to the bars and take advantage and try things out on the menu that they might not normally do -- better at get a break get a break now.

Black Friday we have I'm all for locations and 9 o'clock we're getting 30% off from nine -- -- And then we have lots of discounts and fun things off throughout the day so we had -- a stocking stuff for sale we have confidence that new years we have about stressed out we have on Tuesday.

We have -- -- -- -- that we email out to everybody coming on Tuesday is we have events constantly and we're always trying to get people.

How small businesses the engine of the economy in these donors and spoke to her putting their foot to the -- -- up.

Who hire more part timers for this time -- as you know we need them and -- were doing so much more business than we do.

Over the course of the year and for -- choice which just moved into a larger location.

They're new hires are here to stay.

Now we're hiring more because of expanded space.

Inventories increase let's get this that is prevents.

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