Home sweet (first) home - Community Shoppers, Inc.

4 Stateline News Sunday, August 3, 2008
Business group sees
signs of improvement
According to Ken Simonson,
chief economist of the Associated
General Contractors of America,
the National Association of
Business Economics Industry’s
July survey showed more variation
than previous surveys, and
respondents were far from ebullient.
“More firms reported higher
sales, but also higher material
costs and lower profits in the second
quarter,” Simonson said. “Ten
percent expect the economy to
shrink between now and
December. Yet nearly half said
they have become more pessimistic
than in April about the
year as a whole.
“More respondents than in the
past two surveys said tighter
credit-market conditions have
affected their business negatively
for the most part.”
The report, issued July 21,
presents the
responses of 101
NABE members to
a survey conducted
between June 19
and July 10 on
business conditions
in their firm or
industry, and
reflects secondquarter
2008 results and the
near-term outlook.
Some highlights of the report
include the fact that 44 percent of
NABE panelists expect inflationadjusted
gross domestic product
to grow at an annual rate above 1
percent in the second half of this
year; 45 percent expect sluggish
growth between 0 percent and 1
percent; and 10 percent expect a
decline in real GDP. In addition,
45 percent said they were more
pessimistic about the outlook for
the year as a whole, compared
with their views in April, while
13 percent were more optimistic
than before.
Data for goods and services
increased at 44 percent of respondents’
firms and fell at 19 percent,
a rebound from the dramatically
low levels of the first quarter
back to the modest ranges
reported during 2007.
A record 75 percent of respondents
reported paying more for
TOM OM BUTENHOFF UTENHOFF
TAKING CARE
OF BUSINESS
A record 75 percent
of respondents
reported paying more
for materials in the
past quarter ...
materials in the past quarter, the
largest number since the question
first was asked in 1994.
Respondents also said weakening
U.S. market conditions and
soaring commodity prices are
squeezing profit margins. For a
second consecutive quarter,
reports of falling profit margins
from 30 percent of respondents
outnumbered the 17 percent who
reported rising margins.
About 35 percent of respondents
said their firms raised
prices in the latest quarter, the
highest such share since April
2007.
Tight credit-
market conditions
appear to continue
to impact the economy.
Forty-one
percent of respondents
stated that
tightening credit
conditions have
negatively affected
their business; that’s up from 39
percent in April and 26 percent in
January.
The respondents found that
employment levels are holding up
reasonably well, especially in the
service sector. During the second
quarter, 27 percent reported rising
employment at their firms,
while only 12 percent reported
job cuts. Skilled labor remains in
short supply; 40 percent of firms
reported a shortage of skilled
labor.
These reports are interesting,
since the findings are a consensus
of what is being reported to
most of the chief executive officers
around the country.
The opinions above are those of
Tom Butenhoff and not necessarily
of this paper or Stifel Nicolaus.
Write to him at Stifel Nicolaus, 330
E. Kilbourn Ave., Suite 250,
Milwaukee, WI 53202.
BUSINESS
‘Imagination ... inspiration’
Women’s center has full menu of services, products
Business: The Banyan
Tree.
Owners: Wanda Faust,
Mary McGlynn and Sandra
Williams.
Address: 550 E. Grand
Ave., Beloit.
Web site:
www.banyantree05.com.
Phone: (608) 361-1358.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Tuesday through Friday.
Type of business: An educational
and social center for
women.
When business opened:
December 2005.
How did you initially get
into this business? It was
the imagination, creativity
and inspiration of six women
who were mutual friends.
They discussed having a comfortable
place for women to
meet new friends and explore
their creativity, spirituality
and enrich their general wellbeing.
What types of products
or services does your business
offer? We offer handcrafted
fair-trade items from
around the world, as well as
jewelry handcrafted by one of
our owners, Mary McGlynn,
and other unique items, such
BUSINESS
PROFILE
as rain sticks, singing bowls,
pendulums, etc.
We also offer yoga twice a
week, QiGong (pronounced
“chee gong”) hot stone massage,
Reiki therapy, one-onone
counseling and creative
writing.
We host two 12-step support
groups each week, and we
have special events, such as
our Psychic Fairs, Spa Days
and Women’s Expos. We also
have a membership program
with a discount for members
on merchandise and services.
What is the biggest challenge
you face in your business?
Raising public awareness
and support regarding
who we are and what we have
to offer to our Stateline community.
Because we offer such
a wide variety of services and
products, we don’t fall into any
one category, so people often
conjure up their own misconceptions
about who we are and
what we have to offer.
What aspect of your business
do you enjoy the
most? Being available to help
LYNN VOLLBRECHT
STAFF
The Banyan
Tree co-owners,
from the left,
Mary McGlynn
of Rockton and
Wanda Faust
and Sandy
Williams of
Beloit, arrange
merchandise
recently in their
Beloit store,
located on East
Grand Avenue.
women in the community who
are going through emotionally
challenging times, and seeing
the emotional growth and stability
they develop as a result
of becoming involved with
activities at The Banyan Tree
or using our one-on-one counseling
services with Kay
Jones.
We also enjoy that we have
been able to introduce “fair
trade” to many people in the
community, and educate them
about the programs their purchases
help support.
From what cities do the
majority of your customers
come? Rockton, Roscoe,
Rockford, Beloit, Janesville,
Madison and Edgerton. We
have even had some clients
from Chicago.
What are your future
plans for the business? We
currently are (once again)
working on the voluminous
application to become a notfor-profit
entity. We believe we
will be better able to serve our
community by becoming that
type of organization. According
to our pocketbooks, we’ve been
not-for-profit all along, but the
government just doesn’t see it
that way!
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