What a grand journey – We covered 3,400 miles, hit some great back roads and were able to visit many friends and acquaintances within the framing, art and gift industries.  Most importantly, we were able to visit them on their own turf and got to see how their personalities reflected into their own retail business.

In this summer of 2014 we got to see and learn how each of these retailers has kept their business moving forward in these difficult times.  As we all know, since 2007, we have been in the longest running and deepest impacting economic recession since the Great Depression, and yet every one of the retail shops that we visited is not only still in business and surviving, but in fact many are thriving.  All reported a steady increase in sales and profits over the past 5 years.  Many have also expanded or diversified in this time frame. Keep in mind that a number had just opened their doors two to three years prior to the start of this current economic downturn – a most critical time for any new business venture.  So how do they do it?  What sets them apart from the many retail shops that have disappeared from the retail landscape? Continue reading →