9 of 9
BACKNEXT
Prepping for a bad year
Jim Scharett, owner
Taylor Rental Center

February is a historically slow month for equipment firm Taylor Rental, so Scharett isn't surprised customers aren't coming through the door. But he's been in the rental business since 1983, and he knows what recessions do to his industry. He's bracing for 2009 to be a very weak year.

The four-person firm rents construction equipment, and that part of the business is now not pulling the weight it used to. Scharett is relying on the strong sales of his party rental division to carry the business through.

"My corporate accounts have dwindled, and the home owners and trade contractors are not coming in as often," he says. "But just because the economy is bad doesn't mean certain events like graduations are forgotten about."

Scharett believes that he's been cautious with his business, and he's prepared to ride out a slow peak season, which will kick off in April. "I don't have any debt, so right now I'm not worried about the business, but I am worried about the country. We're in a domino spiral and there's no stop to it, which is scary."

To adapt to the down economy, Scharett has taken a hard look at costs such as advertising. He's pulled his Yellow Pages ads and has invested more in an Internet presence. But he's nervous about what will happen to his company in the next few years if business doesn't pick up.

"The stimulus is not a solution," he says. "I realize it needed to happen, but it's really just a band-aid - not a cure. We'll be paying big time for this, and our children will pay for this. I'm very patriotic, but this whole crisis really makes me wonder in what direction we're headed."

More galleries

LAST UPDATE: Mar 02 2009 | 11:06 AM ET
Sponsored by
In one town, recession helps bridge cultural rift Framingham's immigrants always felt like outsiders. Then the downturn began forcing the town's planners and entrepreneurs to work together to save imperiled businesses. More
A small town weathers the downturn Scenes from Framingham, where small businesses struggle to stay afloat in hard economic times. More video
What do you think of Framingham's challenges? More
Sponsors

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.