Bussiness
‘Purely awful’: Holland business owners say, without help, many of them won’t survive 2024
HOLLAND — The official start of the holiday season is coming soon. For a growing number of Holland business owners, it’s their last chance to sell enough product to keep the doors open.
No fewer than six local businesses have taken to social media over the last two months, imploring customers to shop small and being brutally honest about the consequences if they don’t.
The posts have proved fruitful for most — Mario’s Pizza and Spaghetti House, EcoBuns, Bliss Bakery, The Poppy Peach Low Carb Grill and The Gritzmaker have all managed to survive, and in some cases grow, since posting.
But what about the businesses that haven’t posted? And how long, realistically, can the boom last?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 18% of small business fail in the first year. That’s not the worst statistic. A whopping 50% of small businesses fail within five years, and 65% within a decade. By that math, only 35% of the start-up businesses we wrote about at The Sentinel in 2024 will still be operational in 2034.
But why, business owners are asking themselves, has 2024 been so terrible? EcoBuns, Bliss Bakery and The Poppy Peach survived the COVID-19 pandemic, after all. Mario’s has weathered the Great Recession. Could the election year curse, when consumers tighten their purse strings, be the problem? Is online shopping finally taking a full share of the market?
Or, as customers are quick to point out, has inflation left fewer shoppers with a choice? It’s great to shop small, but at what cost?
Heather Ten Harmsel owns The Poppy Peach, a jewelry and clothing shop that moved downtown five years ago. Ten Harmsel recently took to social media to verbalize the pressure the store is under to survive.
“This year is awful,” she wrote. “Purely AWFUL.”
Ten Harmsel said sales year-over-year are down 18%, while expenses have increased. During a recent annual event called “Shop Til You Drop,” the store’s sales were $1,000 less than in 2023.
“I’ve heard that election years are always tough , but I don’t understand why,” Ten Harmsel said. “Any business I talk to downtown, their sales are down and they’re struggling. I also think it’s because of inflation. I know costs have gone up.”
Ten Harmsel said supporting local businesses remains vital regardless, because they’re the ones donating to local schools, sponsoring events and making donations to nonprofits. Because she’s located downtown, Ten Harmsel also employs Hope College students.
“This is definitely, by far, my worst year,” Ten Harmsel said.
Bubs and Betty’s, a pet-focused shop that opened this spring on River Avenue, responded to Ten Harmsel’s posts, citing challenges of their own.
“It’s been a real struggle these past six months, especially being off Eighth Street on River Avenue,” the business wrote. “Tough to know if we’ll be able to make it.”
If costs are up for customers, they’re up for business owners, too. Merchandise is more expensive, rent is higher, payroll is boosted and utilities require bigger budgets.
“It’s hard when your costs are going up but your sales are going down,” Ten Harmsel said. “Where do you find that medium?”
Marissa Berghorst, co-owner of EcoBuns, also took to social media to save her business in November.
Berghorst said, for her shop, the problem was several years in the making — starting with supply chain issues during COVID. Shortly after, there was a surge in customer support as locals rallied. But that surge has largely dropped off.
“So many of us thought that trend was going to continue,” Berghorst said, admitting it was difficult to be vulnerable and ask for help. And yet, two days after baring her soul, the business was back on its feet.
“I think people need to remember how important small businesses are,” Berghorst said. “Their purchases do matter.”
Does one item really matter? Yes. According to Berghorst, $20 can be the difference between sending an employee home early and keeping them on.
“A lot of small businesses run really small cash flow windows, especially during certain times of year,” she said.
That’s also true for restaurants, which have long struggled on razor-thin margins — and a tough year is affecting longtime brands, experienced owners and newcomers just the same.
The Gritzmaker, for example, made their plea online just four months after opening in downtown Zeeland.
The restaurant, in part because of construction on Main Avenue, never saw the opening push it expected.
“I am reaching out humbly to see what we can do (to) better serve the community,” the post read. “We are a family-owned and operated business. We want desperately to ingrain ourselves into the community. Please let us know what we can do.”
Fortunately, in the wake of the post, the response was overwhelming.
Mario’s Pizzeria and Spaghetti House has found similar success since reaching out to the public over a month ago. The business, on Oct. 4, admitted they were operating on a day-to-day basis and would likely close. They hoped to make it through the weekend.
It’s been over six weeks, and the restaurant remains.
Berghorst and Ten Harmsel emphasized they’re not closing, and do have optimism moving forward — but they’ll only continue to survive if their customer base shows up.
“If you want us, and other small businesses, to stick around, please shop,” Ten Harmsel said.
— Contact reporter Austin Metz at ametz@hollandsentinel.com.
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