Local Business Struggles to Hang on in Las Vegas Economy

January 31, 2008 - The immediate economic future does not look promising for valley business owners. Local experts say it'll be at least another year before businesses start to recover from the economic slow down.

Customer service takes on a whole new meaning for Rejuvenate Coffee Shop owner, John Abbas. Abbas says that friendly relationships keep his guests coming back for more -- and every little bit helps.

"We have our morning rush and our evening rush for our concerts, but from noon to 6 p.m., it's a little more sparse. I guess just because of less people going out and spending money," said Abbas.

Business owners like Abbas can expect much of the same for this year. Jeremy Aguero with Applied Analysis says the business economy won't pick up until 2009.

"I think the business owners have to wait out the storm a little bit. They have to be as fiscally responsible as they can, look for ways to cut expenses in 2008. They're going to have to adjust their expectations somewhat," said Aguero.

Aguero says the valley saw a hit in residential construction as well as a loss of jobs in that area. The one shining point -- the Las Vegas Strip -- which expects a record breaking 40 million visitors this year.

But that does little to help Abbas. Aside from new menu items to offer, he has to figure out his own ways to keep afloat. Customer relations is his selling point.

"The number one thing is just establishing a relationship with everyone that walks through the door, asking what they do, getting to know them, emailing them, having a newsletter we send out every single week -- just updating them," said Abbas.

He can only hope it's enough to get him through.

While economy experts don't expect things to turn around until 2009, they do expect some signs of improvement this year.