Some amount of emphasis has been placed on the effect that the current economic problems have been having on consumers, however, we need to also look at the impact these lean times are having on businesses, particularly small businesses.

There are thousands of small businesses, mostly owned by minorities, that boost the US economy, and this is no different in South Florida. Some employ one or two people; others hire much more. Almost all of these businesses are dependent upon strong consumer spending to survive. However, as consumers spend less because of budgetary constraints, small businesses suffer. Already signs of this are occurring.

Discussions with several small business retailers at the Swap Shop in Sunrise indicate that there has been a significant decline in sales. One man, who employs his entire family – wife, two sons and daughter – to work with him in a jewelry business, told the National Weekly that his sales have fallen by over 50 percent compared to this time last year. “People just don’t have the money to buy items like jewelry now. The priority is food and petrol.” Asked if he thinks the recently announced economic stimulus plan will help, he shrugged his shoulders saying, “I doubt people are going to spend much of this money. I think they will try to pay off their debts, like credit card debts, rather than rushing out to buy things like jewelry.”

According to another small business operator who runs a chain of Caribbean restaurants in South Florida, who preferred to remain anonymous, he has already begun to downsize the business. “People are just not spending as much on cooked food as they used to, just a few months ago. The problem is people have very little money to spend outside of their basic domestic needs. It’s bad, but we have to cut our budgets to fit the times.”

An unfortunate effect of the lean economy is that many small businesses, because of the decline in their sales revenue, can scarcely afford to advertise. To not advertise is to starve the business of customers and clients.

Another sign of the economic downturn is that businesses like small nursing agencies that usually make substantial revenue in the winter months (November – March), when ailing senior citizens relocate to South Florida from the northern states, are struggling to maintain positive growth this winter. The problem is that rising costs have precluded large numbers of senior citizens traveling to Florida this winter.

On the other hand, some service businesses are thriving. Businesses in the auto-mechanics field are not really complaining. Rudy Jackman, a Jamaican auto mechanic in Perrine, told the National Weekly that business wasn’t too bad. “It may not be as good as last year, but since the economy is tight people are keeping there vehicles longer, and the older the vehicles, the more they will need repair.” Other mechanics also said that their business was “doing okay.”

Linda Myrie, flower shop owner in Kendall, said she is hopeful that the $50 million in tax cuts that is part of the economic stimulus plan announced last week will help small business owners. “I am also hoping that people will spend more on floral arrangements with their tax rebates. Since Christmas, it has been very slow, but we are keeping our fingers crossed that business will pick up significantly for Valentine’s Day.”

In addition to the $50 billion incentives proposed for businesses in the economic stimulus plan, other plans are being considered for small businesses. For example, Democratic Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, will soon put forward a bill to create more small business incentives, reduce fees on small business loans backed by the Small Business Administration, and increase the funding for micro loan programs.

However, what is really needed for the small business sector to survive is for consumers to spend much more money at these businesses than they have been doing for the past few months. They are hoping that the over $100 billion to be placed in the hands of consumers within the next two to three months will help, but some small entrepreneurs doubt if this will really help over the medium to long term.