Tough times for pricey perk providers
In tough economic times, expensive personal service providers are trying to find new ways to battle belt-tightening.
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| Joe Lupo and Jesse Garza co-founded Visual Therapy in 1995, now they say business is better than ever. |
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| Tara Riceberg operates a home store in Los Angeles, called Tweak, to supplement her private design services. |
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With gas prices spiking and the economy in a tailspin, the people who provide luxury extras are finding a once-lucrative gig is now a tough trade.
Customers with less disposable income are thinking twice about doling out big bucks for extras like house-cleaning and decorating, personal training and assistance. As a result, the people who provide those services are trying to find ways to cope.
High gas prices have taken a toll on Maggie Winston's cleaning business, TidyZone. After seven years of cleaning and organizing in the New York City area, Winston said customers have dropped off.
"About two-three months ago when gas prices started rising, clients said ok we can't afford it because we have other bills to pay," she said.
"It has been a problem because we have to pay to advertise more," to make up for the client drop-off, Winston said. The company's core weekly customers have kept TidyZone afloat but "if gas prices continue to rise, we might lose more clients," she said.
Five years ago, Tara Riceberg, entered the decorating scene with her version of home styling: Her business, called Tweak, encourages people to "live better" by helping them fine-tune their décor with slight modifications and rearrangements.
But with record high food and gas prices, "people aren't signing up like they used to," Riceberg admitted. Because Tweak's business has slowed down, she's had to tweak her own career as well.
She now operates a full-time store in Los Angeles to supplement her income from design services. And her customers often opt to buy a less expensive scented candle or vase instead of hiring her for a house call, which costs $150 an hour after an initial consultation.
Boyd Myers, a personal trainer in San Antonio, Texas, says he won't meet his clients for training sessions at their homes because the price of gas is too high for extensive driving around the city.
Myers has also focused his advertising on local outlets instead of regional ones, because potential clients are reluctant to drive long distances to get to his studio.
"People looking for a personal trainer aren't looking to drive, it's just not economical," he said. To maintain his business, he has decided to open another studio in one of the more affluent towns in the area.
"If they won't go to me, I'll go to them," he said.
And Jill Glist, founder of New York-based Lambent Services, a personal-assistant staffing firm, said the economy is starting to change the kind of tasks her personal assistants are asked to perform.
"They used to do things that were a little bit more sexy," Glist said. But her personal assistants are rarely asked to make pricey travel arrangements anymore. Now clients "will have their assistant take their car and drive to Costco in New Jersey."
To adapt to the changing economic climate, Glist says she has shifted the focus of her business. "Some people get spooked by the potential luxury of it," Glist explained. "If (our clients) see it as a luxury, absolutely they'll pull back."
"We're trying to shift the strategy away from the affordable luxury to something that's more practical," she said. Part of that strategy has included marketing part-time assistants to small business owners who didn't want to assume the cost of a full time employee.
For other personal staffers, there is an upside to the economic slump. Joe Lupo, co-founder of Visual Therapy, a high-end wardrobe-consulting firm based in New York, says his business is still strong and growing as customers realize they really can't afford to make shopping mistakes.
Lupo and his business partner, Jesse Garza, help clients update their look and "shop their closet," to find new possibilities and combinations without spending too much money on a slew of new clothes.
Despite the steep fee, Lupo says clients are more interested then ever in buying just a few items with their help then spending as much or more on unnecessary articles. Visual Therapy personal shopping services cost $300 to $450 an hour, or 15% to 20% of purchases - whichever is greater.
"It was the busiest spring we've ever had," Lupo said. 
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