business Small owner speaks out in wake of recession, election.
Opening and running a small business is an intimidating idea in itself. Owning a small business in the wake of Americas economic recession is an even scarier undertaking. Lynda Rotelle, Owner of Canine Country Inc., an animal care facility, isnt too worried. Her grooming, boarding, daycare, and training services stay afloat during uncertain times, even if it means her putting in extra hours to save a buck or two. Rotelle has lived her thirty-nine years in Springhouse, Pennsylvania, a suburb about 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia. With parents like John and Dolores Del Rotelle, who were both very business-minded and politically active in the area, she was seemingly destined to be her own boss. Standley: How did you to start your own business? Rotelle: I wasnt exactly sure what I wanted to do with my life- I wanted to be that free spirit, but then said to myself, okay, Im ready for a challenge. My dad offered to help me build a business but went back and forth about it. When my mom got diagnosed with cancer, she really started to push my dad to help me out financially. Standley: So when did you open? Rotelle: I opened in 2001. It took us two or three years of planning prior. We had to deal with zoning, planning, and finding the property and building. We built it from the ground up. Standley: What was it like starting out on your own? Rotelle: The first month was just me. I didnt have training yet, so it was daycare, grooming and boarding. Daycare took almost two years to take off- it was the slowest service. Then within three months, I had two other employees. There were three of us for the first year and a half to two years. I had to do a lot of marketing- I did a mass mailing of brochures which I actually got the most response from. We took off fairly quickly for having just opened, specifically the grooming and boarding. Standley: How else did your business grow over the years? Rotelle: Now its grown to about seven total employees after about seven years. It took about five years to make a profit, which is the norm, but the business was always able to sustain itself. Standley: Sounds like it was a difficult process. Rotelle: [Smiles and nods her head] Many weeks and months I didnt take a paycheck, but you do what you have to do. I made a lot of sacrifices but I knew going into it I was going to make lots of personal sacrifices. I knew I would have no life for at least five years. Standley: of Speaking sacrifices, how has the current recession affected your business?
Rotelle: Business is definitely down from last year. In the late spring it was looking very grim when the gas prices skyrocketed. We thought people were not going to travel for the summer, but at the last minute business actually increased by about 5% from last year over the summer. That held its own. Recently, in the past three months with layoffs of peoples jobs it has been noticeable in boarding- its definitely down from last year. Daycare is down by about half, understandably so, when people lose their jobs they cant bring their dogs to daycare; thats very much a luxury. People are always going to get their dogs groomed; they cant really do that on their own. Canine Country is located in a pretty affluent area, and people that have money are still going to spend money. Standley: What is your plan to stay afloat? Rotelle: My plan is to run as is right now. If I have to fill in for only a couple hours a day, theres no point in paying someone else to do it. Its cutting little expenditures here and there. Just trying to tighten the ship. Standley: As a small business owner, you have a lot at stake in the outcome of the election. Who would you like to win and why? Rotelle: McCain. Hes a more business-oriented, levelheaded realist, who you can tell, when speaking, isnt making empty promises. Hes old, but hes experienced, hes been to war, hes knowledgeable, and has wisdom. I dont think Obama ...