Reset

A few mornings ago, a commentator on National Public Radio noted he preferred to view our current economic crisis as a "reset" rather than a recession. It should be duly noted that said commentator still has a job. But while the dozen employees of Evins Mill whom I've recently laid off or whose hours I've drastically truncated might see our economic plight differently, there is something to this notion of a reset. The Inn has certainly reset itself - and in earnest.

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From 2001 to 2007, business grew at an average annual rate of 10% - not sexy like an internet start-up but gratifyingly predictable, solid and steady. Small as our business is, the Inn could never afford to grow profligate in its spending, but I see now that we had become sloppy. Projecting a 20% drop in revenue for 2009, we drafted an austere budget to match the times. That projection may be sanguine but even so, we're managing to budget and then some - at February's end, expenses were 15% less than at the same point last year. So while revenue is notably down, our bottom line is a little bit better. And as that news will come as cold comfort to folks who once counted on working a shift, or to those who once sold us abundant wares and services, as a business owner, it does carry a modicum of reassurance.

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So I have multiple and conflicting feelings about this so-called reset. One, I'm despondent that folks who once earned a fair day's wage with us now have less or no work. Two, I'm encouraged to realize there was enough lard to shed and so help us weather the storm. Three, I'm slightly embarrassed for not managing our expenses more tightly all along. And four, I'm painfully aware that our streamlining contributes further to the economic malaise.

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That happier days will return is not in doubt. It's just with so many families and organizations simultaneously pressing that reset button, it may take longer than we like. However elongated, the Inn has internalized a lesson from this crisis, the first such downturn it has weathered in its fifteen year history. It will be better off for it - as will hopefully all of us.