16 of 65
BACKNEXT
Kevin Harrington: Lifeline under threat
Kevin Harrington: Lifeline under threat
Kevin with his wife, Kerry; daughter, Piper; and son, Charlie
Restaurant owner, 38, Johnson, Iowa

I took a calculated risk seven years ago to venture into the world of owning my own business. With some help from my father-in-law, I purchased a pizza restaurant.

I am at the same salary as I was when I started, which is only $5,000 more than what I made with my previous employer. We have shown a profit in the last two years but all was reinvested into a very old building and new equipment that is incredibly expensive.

Small business owners are being pinched so much that one of two scenarios is happening. In my geographical region, the Midwest, now more than ever, we are either closing our doors because we can't keep up with the inflation rate, or thinking about selling our business and giving up on our dream before we have to go through bankruptcy.

I used to think that my wife and I would not have a problem putting our kids through college and keeping a decent roof over their heads. But now I wonder if our restaurant, OUR LIFELINE, is going to survive this recession or stagnation --whatever you want to call it.

NEXT: Laura Martin-Wilson: No jobs anywhere
Last updated November 15 2009: 6:21 AM ET
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.