By Matthew George

With the economy the way it is, you'd think a majority of businesses would see a financial shrinkage. But there have been a number of companies that have either remained the same as far as their revenue, or have seen a drastic change. Whatever the case, business owners agree that there needs to be some sort of change to keep sales either constant, or at a higher level than what most are at now.

It's an entire mess," says Lori Bakotic. "I used to have customers buying three dozen caps; now they're buying only a dozen." Bakotic says her business has suffered more of a quantity decrease than anything else. Although her customers are still leaning toward more name-brand apparel, Bakotic has observed a noticeable change in the quantities sold.

But for some businesses, there are no indications of diminishing sales. Wanda Matzdorf, says her sales haven't been impacted at all. "We haven't had much change over the past couple of years," she says. "We might be down a couple hundred to a thousand here and there, but that's about it." Matzdorf says the only change her business has seen has been a greater amount of screen printing than in 2007 - she thinks her customers are more interested in screen printing because they're looking for ways to keep costs down.

Still, business owners would like to have their phones ringing a little more throughout the day. A great way to get more exposure for any company would be through additional advertising efforts.

Bakotic has been handing out fliers with her company name and complete list of services to just about anyone who crosses her path. "I tend to 'special' a particular product, but that doesn't mean I'll discount all my prices," she says. "By using fliers, I can highlight an eye-catching product so customers will come in and make a purchase."

But with shoppers looking for a bigger bang for their buck, owners will have to think of even more ideas to keep cash flow coming. And for the ones who may not think their company will see any sort of drastic change, they may want to have a backup plan just in case.