No. 2. Other Personal Services (Pet care, photofinishing, valet parking, other misc)
2008: -2.79%
2009: -1.83%
2010: +11.9%
“I’ve seen a steady incline in business. People who once were getting their pets groomed every six weeks cut back to eight or 10 weeks a few years ago, and at least that hasn’t gotten worse; it’s stabilized over the past 10 months. I was worried whether, with the economy going down and people worried about keeping their homes heated, they were going to continue paying to keep their pets cleaned. But January and February are traditionally very slow months, and this year business has been fairly steady. Three other grooming shops in the area – one shut down, one moved and one cut back to two days a week, so I’ve benefited from that. I’ve also seen a pickup in business with new dogs, so people seem to have enough confidence these days to take on a new pet.”
-Jayson Mence, owner of 4 Paws Pet Care in Stevens Point, Wisc.