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Local biz owners forecast

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Staff

Margot C. Lester

Enough about last year. What does 2010 have in store for the local economy?

“I think at best that it will be a year of very slow growth,” says Brad Broadwell, Orange County’s economic development officer. “Some exceptions for moderate growth potential can be found in the areas of health care and in enterprises that drive technology development through federal grants and research dollars or contracts.”

Dianne Reid, president of the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation, notes positive signs too. “Locally, we see some companies expanding hours for their employees, going back to five-day operations, beginning to consider expansion possibilities.”

Some sectors probably won’t experience much improvement. “New construction, retailers selling luxury items and high-end personalized services will continue to struggle,” Reid notes. “Consumers will continue to insist on value and to save more of their earnings than in previous decades. In addition, highly leveraged businesses will continue to struggle because credit has not loosened and is not likely to in the near future.”

So what do local business owners expect? We asked a few to get out their crystal balls and tell us what they foresee for this year.

“I’m sworn to silence about 2010. Not that I’m superstitious, but, yes, I’m superstitious.”
Damon Lapas chef/owner/manager The Barbecue Joint, Chapel Hill

“The summer of 2009 was the slowest time on record for our electrical business, [but] we finished the year struggling to keep up with demand for our services. I predict a busy year in 2010. Gas prices are high and I expect people in our area to be avoiding travel and investing in their homes. I could be wrong about 2010, and if the tough times continue I want to be prepared. Therefore we will resist the temptation to grow the company. We do not plan on hiring more people right now, but we are expanding our services to include more of a focus on solar power, geo-thermal and energy efficiency. We hope that by offering assistance to home and business owners who are interested in investing in long-term energy savings, we can help our company grow while doing our part to keep energy costs down for everyone in our area. Another coal power plant is not the answer.”
Brad Bonneville, owner Bonneville Renovation & Repair LLC, commercial and residential electrical/power contractor, Carrboro

“We are anticipating nice growth in 2010. People may be drinking less-expensive wine, but they are still drinking wine, and our products are a fun and inexpensive way for people to have a fuller wine experience. We have a brand-new website and we will be working to integrate various social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs, into our customer relations.”
Ashley Atkins, Southeastern U.S. regional sales manager Oenophilia, wine accessories and barware wholesaler, Hillsborough

“2010 will be the year that Piedmont Biofuels comes out of ‘startup’ and becomes a full-fledged business. Stand by for solid growth in fuel production. 2010 will also be a high-water year for our research and analytics endeavors, in which we will release a new technology that will change the way biodiesel is manufactured and will eliminate expensive co-products from the equation. We also anticipate growth in our design-build projects. [This] will be the year that our eco-industrial park expands. With nine individual businesses ‘inside the fence’ and an increase in tour traffic, we will see more building permits pulled and more structures rise from the earth.”
Lyle Estill, vice president of stuff Piedmont Biofuels, biodiesel producer, Pittsboro

“I think there will be some improvement in the economy in 2010, albeit gradual. The past 18 months, we have seen declines in sales primarily due to customers having less disposable income. I was in Atlanta at the January Gift show and it was encouraging to see an increase in buying activity. As employment opportunities improve, there should be an uptick in sales, but we will still need to manage our cost of goods sold and watch other expenses. We look forward to hiring additional design staff as the sales improve.”
Charles House, owner University Florist, Chapel Hill

“After an average dip in sales across all 50 states of 30 percent in 2009 and painfully deep expense cuts, we enjoyed a healthy rally in the fourth quarter thanks to special promotions, a national event involving 235 stores and some exciting online activities that promoted our stores. We expect 5 to 10 percent sales growth in 2010 over last year for our VIETRI Outlet Store in Hills-borough (retired and slightly flawed products and samples at discount), our full-service VIETRI retail store in Fearrington, as well as at three very important local customer locations. We’ll increase web-based marketing on www.vietri.com, Facebook and Twitter.
Frances Gravely, co-founder and co-owner VIETRI Inc., importer of Italian handcrafted tabletop and gift products, Hillsborough

“In 2010, we hope to reach out to new customers [with] selective marketing. We also hope for us and all our neighbors here in downtown Carrboro that the new parking space on the old Andrews-Riggsbee property will be a benefit for our businesses. We’re going to be letting new customers and existing ones know that Carrboro has a nice, new public space for parking. We’re putting our best face on for new shoppers who can now get here and park.
Matt Neal, co-owner Neal’s Deli

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