Entrepreneurial

This is part of a series of personal accounts about small business and the recession. The writers are contributors to Associated Content.

by Shirley Thagard

The president of a northern Idaho Chevrolet dealership said she’s not particularly nervous about the closing of almost 1,200 General Motors dealerships.

That’s because Eve Knudtsen, the third-generation president of the family-owned Knudtsen Chevrolet in Post Falls, Idaho, did not receive notice from GM on Monday morning that her dealership would be on the automaker’s list of closures.

Even so, the economy has been tough on the business.

I have been a customer at Knudtsen Chevrolet for 20 years. I know many of the employees, so I was curious if they had to lay off any workers recently. She told me they started streamlining about three years ago.

“I wanted to get lean and efficient,” Knudtsen told me. “We did eliminate some positions then and have since restructured some management positions, but we have not laid off any employees recently.”

This is part of a series of personal accounts about small business and the recession. The writers are contributors to Associated Content.

by Jared Huggins

As I drive my new Chrysler 300 south on Alma School Road in Mesa, Ariz., I can’t help but feel a bit melancholy. Darner Chrysler Jeep, the 45-year-old Mesa-based business where I bought my new wheels, is among nearly 800 Chrysler dealerships across the country closing its doors.

I grew up less than two miles from Darner, one of Arizona’s oldest dealerships. My father bought his first new car, a 1968 Chrysler Newport, from Darner. The pearl white Newport was not so much a family car as it was a way to find women, dad told me. It was enough to catch the eye of my mother.

This is part of a series of personal accounts about small business and the recession. The writers are contributors to Associated Content.

by Michelle L Devon

If there is a recession going on, I hadn’t noticed. At Christmas, I was the only member of my family to purchase gifts for everyone. My mother said, “It’s been a hard year for everyone.”

“Not for me,” I answered. Business is going great for me.

That’s one of the good things about owning a small business that provides contract services. When a recession hits and layoffs happen, companies merge employee duties so one person takes on the role of two, without additional compensation.

This is part of a series of personal accounts about small business and the recession. The writers are contributors to Associated Content.

by April Hendrickson

I own and operate Pro Dyno High Performance, a 27-year-old automotive performance shop in Phoenix that I took over six years ago.

We provide automotive luxuries — custom exhaust systems, specialty engines, superchargers, etc. — mostly for GM vehicles.