Rodriguez had no starting capital, so she took out a loan and put many of her start-up costs on credit cards. Now, after only four months in business, she is swimming in nearly $60,000 in debt, struggling to make even the minimum payments on her multiple credit cards. With banks not obliging her with any more credit and her business not yielding enough to pay the $4,000-a-month rent, even maintaining an inventory of fresh flowers looks like an expensive proposition. Her dream venture, Marilen Floral and Bridal Shop, has started to overwhelm her.
Banking on her close ties to the neighborhood, Rodriguez opened her store expecting business from the Spanish-speaking community in Jackson Heights. Depending on what she does for a wedding, her tab is anywhere between $500 and $1,800. That, she says, is reasonable.
“People say they don’t have money, but they still spend a lot of money on weddings,” Rodriguez said. She thought her bridal shop would be successful, especially since she had found a niche. It was all hunky-dory.
No one expected a recession.
Rodriguez came to the U.S. from Colombia 29 years ago in search of a better life. “I came for the opportunity,” she said. "And to be free.”
After years of hard work, she has sent both of her children to college. Her daughter is studying to be a teacher and her son to be an electrician. By any measure, she has achieved a lot and overcome a number of challenges. To have her own business would be the culmination of her successes. But, like so many small businesses owners these days, her future is uncertain.
Marilen Rodriguez is not someone who'd fit your idea of an entrepreneur. She is 52, a mother of two, a house-cleaner for most of her life. Still nervous about speaking English, Marilen came to the United States from her native Colombia 29 years ago. To her, this has been the land of opportunity. It still was until she opened her flower business four months ago in Jackson Heights, Queens. The economic downturn has all but wilted her sales. Massively into debt, Marilen has no exit strategy. She has equal faith in divine intervention and the new Obama administration. Either of the two, she believes, can get her business going.
—Parul Malik
After working eight hours in the shop, Rodriguez rolls down her storefront security grate and pulls out a second bunch of keys. She gets in her car, and drives down to a nearby medical clinic to spend the remaining part of the day hauling garbage bags and sweeping the floors. Despite her desire to quit cleaning, she still has to pay her bills.
“I don’t earn much,” she says of her moonlighting. “But because of this I can survive, a little bit.” After putting in another 10-hour day, she heads home to have a late dinner with her husband and children.
George Spetsieris, who's been a florist in Jackson Heights for 20 years, has these tips for running a flower business when people are spending less:
* Keep waste under control. This is fundamental even in good times, but especially when business is slow. With perishable goods like flowers, having too much in stock can mean that a lot of it goes to waste, so adjust your inventory daily.
* Try new things to draw in customers like displays and promotions, and keep your eyes open for new opportunities.
* Listen to your customers. Even when you are desperate to sell something, you can't force it on anyone. Give the customers all of the options without being pushy.
* Look for any way to be more efficient. Spetsieris tries to send out all his deliveries at the same time to reduce gas expenditures. He also consolidates his flowers into a single refrigerator when he can to save energy.
Spetsieris says that because flowers are a luxury, his business is the first to feel the pinch when consumers start spending less. "When you have a business you are always trying to do the best you can," he said. In an economy like this, doing the best you can is even more important, but it still might not be enough to translate into success.
