Question from a reader:”Any statistics on positions that closed and reopened again?”
Good question and specifically no. I do have some insight on cyclical employment, boom-bust scenarios and how they affect business and some various observations that I can share.
When a country (or in this case countries) are in a depression (and for the sake of our discussion, a lot of us are way beyond recession and have entered depression territory) you see a lot of closure signs. People can’t afford to pay their rent on storefronts, buy the goods they need to manufacture, bake, cook, sew,mend, construct – you name it, if they can’t afford to do it, they will shut down.
The literal million dollar question is will they ever re-open? That is actually on a case-by-case basis by for the most part, unless it was part of something cyclical, say tax offices that are closed 8 months out of the year and then are open only Jan-Apr, I think a lot of store owners or business people move on. I haven’t seen out here in California a lot of “GRAND RE-OPENING” signs for companies that have closed up shop.
If they have undergone reconstruction, the signs fly, the wiggling air powered streamer men are placed outside and you will see a barrage of ads and balloons. Let’s face it, the business spent a lot of money changing things over to get you into the store and they want you back inside – and fast.
If a business person closes up shop, they generally move onto to something else to make money. In this current economic situation, it turns out to be taking another job and working for somebody else (usually the choice of last resort for a sole proprietorship type of person), living off of savings or moving to another place and trying to open up again.
In today’s changing economy, it depends on the type of business they have as to whether or not they will open up again. If you are a baker and have killer recipes, you may just need a different venue or maybe some place with a lower rent. That may be enough to get you back in the black and all you need to do is let your customers know that you are back in business. If you are making high priced pastries, you may need to rethink your business model if there aren’t any hotels, caterers, etc who are buying your delicious and savory treats. In tough times, there are a lot of people who move from designer food to supermarket food.
In the previous scenario, maybe you want to reopen with a different series of recipes or something a little more mainstream and a tad less upscale. If that is what the market wants, you might be in a great shape to give them what they are clamoring for and then slowly introduce your premiere food products back into the menu.
For businesses that were relying on certain market conditions, like the realty business, there will still be people buying and selling homes, the difference is that it will be a lot harder. I’ve talked with some people still in real estate who deal with short sales. They are making money but they say that it is very time consuming, is aggrevating and not as lucrative as it use to be. Fair enough but at least they are still working and making cash.
If there was a business that closed near you and you are interested in it re-opening, did you think about running it or buying it yourself? Approach the owner and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Kim Isaac Greenblatt
Hey, Kim, once a business closes, does it ever reopen?
Very usefull post.
Thanks.
P.S. I like your writing style.