Alan Guttridge, owner, Coastal Printing
The cost of materials is going up, and the client expectation for what they should have to pay is going down, [plus] absurd competitive pressures are forcing pricing down. We have a whole litany of cost-cutting measures going on. We are forcing efficiencies into the system, reducing make-ready material consumption, for example. We are coordinating our deliveries on a territorial basis rather than going in multiple directions. We have had to reduce employees about 5 percent through attrition—we have about 55 employees right now—and we are modifying our marketing techniques to try to pull in more business.

Brynne Anne Besio - South Florida Museum
We’re just analyzing and reviewing our expenses and ensuring we’re making the right choices of vendors and products from a cost standpoint, and delaying what’s not needed right now. What are the critical items versus the nice to have and the vital to have and those we can wait for? It’s not profound; it’s holding your cards close, pulling in when you have to.

Todd Morton, co-owner, Morton’s Market
With all the prepared foods we have in the store, we’re trying to minimize the amount that’s actually packaged in plastic containers since the cost of those is directly related to oil prices. That means we’re offering a lot more selections in bulk. That keeps us from raising prices; in fact, it helps us lower them in some cases. We’re going to do a lot more of that in the future.

Steve Lanning, owner, Lanning Tires 
Tire prices are skyrocketing because 65 percent of new tire materials are oil derived. We used to see one price increase a year, now we’re seeing three and four; it’s jumping by leaps and bounds. Our mechanical business is holding up, but the tire business is slowing down. People aren’t buying them, and other suppliers across the state tell me the same thing. We have laid off six people between our two stores and seven have quit who we haven’t replaced, so we’re currently down to 38 employees. We’ve also cut back hours—after 34 years we now open at 7:30 a.m. We were probably one of the few opening up at 7 a.m. anyway. We’re cutting back on overtime, too. Because business is so sporadic, we can’t judge one minute to the next [when we’ll be busy], it makes it very difficult.

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