Mar 22, 2009

Bravery in the face of recessionBy Matt GlynnBuffaloNews.com

With consumers watching their spending, credit tougher to obtain and unemployment rising, this might seem an inopportune time to launch a small business.

Some local entrepreneurs are thinking differently. They say they are mindful of the economic swells but are determined to stick with their plans.

Last month, Ernie Torres and Peter McLean fulfilled a dream by opening Can Can Candy on Elmwood Avenue, a candy and gift shop reminiscent of five-and-dime stores of the past.

The downbeat economy, not to mention that it was the middle of winter, did make them question their timing. “We talked it through and decided to go forward with it,” Torres said.

Torres said the shop has received a great reception since opening before Valentine’s Day, and customer traffic has been building since then. “It really surpassed our expectations,” he said.

Keeping a start-up business alive past its first few years is notoriously difficult in the best of economic times. And while entrepreneurs are risk takers, isn’t the idea of cutting the ribbon amid a recession daunting even for them?

Not necessarily, says Tom Ulbrich, who crosses paths with lots of budding business owners as executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University at Buffalo’s School of Management.

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