Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | December 11, 2023 | wbjournal.com Act now, before it's too late Worcester small business owners are ringing alarm bells over high costs and lower consumer spending, saying current trends will lead to closures BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Staff Writer W hile corporate profits have surged to near record levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economics Analysis statistics released in late November, operators of prominent small businesses in Worcester have not seen the same growth. In fact, it's quite the opposite, as a perfect storm of rising costs and lower consumer spending have owners deeply concerned about the future of the local small business community. Despite hesitance to break the facade of positivity and pleasantness required to operate a locally owned business, they are beginning to sound the alarm bells over concerns the current economic climate could lead to the eventual disappearance of some of Worcester's small business staples. Small businesses sound off Higher costs. Stingy customers. Event fatigue. In a meeting ahead of November's Small Business Saturday, these were just some of the frustrations owners expressed at the No Jerks Small Business Summit, a forum held at Redemption Rock Brewing in Worcester. e intent of the summit was to provide owners a chance to vent and find solutions to the seemingly endless list of challenges that emerged during the coronavirus pandemic. e main message from attendees was a simple one: If residents and city officials are as proud of Worcester's small businesses as they claim, they should consider doing more on a day- to-day basis to support them. "It feels like everyone is just heads down, trying to survive," said Dani Babineau, CEO and co-founder of Redemption Rock and co-organizer of the event, regarding her conversations with other small business owners. "ere are a lot of people I know that are in really bad shape." e idea for this No Jerks event started when Amy Chase, owner of the Crompton Collective and Haberdash retail stores in the Canal District, made a social media post about a store on Cape Cod going out of business, Babineau said. e store's closure prompted comments from customers who said they loved the business and were sad to see it closing, despite the fact many of those same commenters admitted they hadn't been to the store in months. Babineau agreed with Chase's sentiment this flood of aer-the-fact appreciation was disappointing, saying it showed a lack of understanding from the general public of how they have to frequently shop at local businesses if they want to see them survive. "e public in general doesn't necessarily see [businesses struggling] from the outside," Babineau said. "We're essentially selling fun, we're selling positivity, so you can't let the veneer down." Business owners are feeling the squeeze from the rising costs of services and raw materials, a factor made all the more difficult by consumers tightening their belts. "When you raise your price by a dollar and someone comes in and says, 'Oh my god, this is $17,' it takes everything in me not to say, 'It should be $25,'" said Jessica Walsh, owner of Worcester Wares, a gi shop on Commercial Street selling locally made souvenirs and clothing. Attendees agreed the dramatic changes in consumer habits have forced businesses to throw out their pre- pandemic playbooks. "Everything leading up to the pandemic was great. You had your data, and you could use it to make predictions," said Sean Woods, owner of Sundown Bar in the Canal District and co-owner of the deadhorse hill restaurant on Main Street. "en it was like we started over. I have no idea what makes people leave the house anymore." Hosting events has been the only way to consistently draw crowds to their businesses, the attendees at the No Jerks meeting said. "We lean hard into events to try to get people out here. If you look at our calendar, I think we have events every day," said Babineau. "Basically nobody goes out anymore if they don't have an event to go to." FILE PHOTOS | WORCESTER BUSINESS JOURNAL Dani Babineau, Redemption Rock Brewing Amy Chase, Crompton Collective and Haberdash

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