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Businesses focus on details to weather winter doldrums
By Jim Cornelius

Winter is always a slow and scary time for Sisters businesses. The tourist crowds of summer and fall thin out and the cash registers stop ringing.

Combine the traditional slow season with a recession and post-September 11 economic jitters and winter looks pretty bleak -- even when the sun is shining.

Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce manager Clyde Stryker reports mixed impact on Sisters businesses.

"Some are saying it's bad, they're not surviving," Stryker said. "There are some that say, 'Hey, we're doing better than we were last year.'"

If there is a secret to surviving -- and thriving -- in tough economic times, it seems to be to focus on the elements that make a business succeed when times are good. It seems to amount to cultivating customer loyalty, retaining quality employees and being available to serve customers' particular needs.

Rosie Horton, owner and manager of Common Threads, attributes the longevity and success of the clothing shop to personal relationships with customers and staff.

Horton tries to become a "personal shopper" for her clientele, believing customers will come back again and again to a shop that offers unique merchandise and outstanding personal service.

She focuses not just on making the sale today, but on cultivating a "customer for life." Horton and her staff maintain mailing and phone lists and contact customers when items they might be interested in arrive.

Common Threads is an aggressive advertiser in a variety of media, including print (especially special section advertising) and television.

Horton also works to keep good employees and cultivate a team atmosphere -- and more.

"We're beyond teamwork," she said. "We're much more like a family."

According to Horton, when staff feel a sense of ownership, their creativity can provide great new ideas and their enthusiasm is communicated to customers.

"Employees, given the opportunity, can be (a business') biggest asset," Horton said.

Cutting back on staff is awfully tempting in slow times, especially in a seasonal economy.

After all, as Rod Morris of Sisters Storage and Rental notes, "wages are the biggest expense you have."

But for Morris, labor cuts are not a good option, especially for a small business. Morris refuses to hire and lay off seasonally and has avoided making cuts when work slows down.

"We tend to look at that as a last resort and we've never done that," he said.

Morris does pay close attention to the expense side of the business by watching inventory closely and avoiding piling up debt. But the staff keeps working. If there are fewer customers to serve, there's always plenty of maintenance work to be done.

Retaining skilled and knowledgeable employees is critical to providing the kind of service that keeps customers coming back.

"This is a small community," Morris said. "You lose one customer, it's a bigger percentage than if you live in New York and lose a customer. So you try to keep everyone you can."

Keeping loyal customers coming back has made a successful winter for Paulina Springs Book Company, despite an apparent downturn in customer activity over the holiday season.

"It felt slower, it felt like there were less people coming through," said owner Diane Campbell.

But the store doesn't depend entirely on foot traffic. Many customers seek out book recommendations from long-time employees. Staff recommended books are the best-selling category in the store.

Many summer-time customers rely on a monthly electronic newsletter for book recommendations and order over the phone during the off-season.

"Having the out-of-town relationships (and) special order business is really important to us," Campbell said.

Those relationships are cultivated in many ways, some not directly connected to selling books. Paulina Springs hosts music and other cultural events that bring customers into the store -- and also create a sense of community and loyalty.

If a visitor doesn't buy a book today, he'll remember the store a month from now when he does need one.

John Leavitt of Leavitt's Western Wear has been in business for 25 years, through good times and bad. The business does well consistently because Leavitt consistently provides goods his customers want.

Leavitt considers his inventory an effective "mix of basics and things people can't find anywhere else."

Leavitt is consistent in another area: the store keeps extended hours and sticks to them. Leavitt believes that staying open till 7 p.m. on weekends and at 6 p.m. on weekdays has been a boon to his store.

According to Leavitt, it's not just a question of making a couple of extra sales --although every thing helps and one sale can make your day. For Leavitt, the key is to let customers know you are there for them. Longer -- and consistent -- hours will, Leavitt believes, create an image in customers' minds of Sisters as a shopping destination.

For Sisters' successful businesses, weathering tough times and prospering is a matter of attention to detail and commitment to the business.

According to Common Threads' Rosie Horton, "you have to work on the business every day, from every angle."

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