Sue Clark, co-owner of Clark Construction, in Bethel Park, Pa., first noticed the effects of the recession in late fall of last year. “We had fewer estimate calls than usual,” she says, “but it was hard to tell what was going on until we had a few big jobs cancel.”
But Clark Construction is meeting its 2009 first-quarter sales goals by continuing with the company’s strongest market: bathroom remodels. “We’ve been doing tons of bathrooms. Of the 12 jobs we had in January and February, eight were bathrooms,” Clark says, noting that the jobs ranged from $17,000 to $23,000.
After 29 years in the business and continued calls from its loyal customer base, Clark Construction has not had any layoffs. “But we used to have four jobs going every day and now we only have three,” Clark says. “It’s a scary time, and you can’t tell if it’s a bump in the road or what’s going to happen.”
Looking toward the future, Clark’s husband, Ron, adds, “We don‘t expect to see anything change much this year. We’re hoping that by early 2010 [the economy] will be stable. We’ve been here before when it was a 21% interest rate, but we just keep building houses.”