Niche businesses buck recession

For some niche businesses in the Ozarks, the last year looks more like a Golden Age fit for the annals than a forgettable nadir never to be repeated.

Trux Trailer and Tractor Repair Inc. is one local outfit enjoying plenty of business. The company, which repairs trailers, distributes parts and sells new and used trucking equipment, posted a record 18 trailers sold in March, said new owner Scott Coleman, who acquired Trux through a deal that closed Jan. 1.

In one of the more extreme cases, Springfield-based insurance software developer Intuitive Web Solutions -- founded by cousins Phil and Chris Reynolds in 2004 - is projecting more than $1 million in revenues this year, a threefold increase over 2008. The firm's aggressive growth has been driven by BriteCore, a Web-based insurance processing system partially financed by mutual insurance companies now leasing the software and singing its praises.

These companies represent a bastion of businesses hitting their stride when many of their peers are crying uncle. Some are direct beneficiaries of their customers' cost-savings strategies. Others are defying gloomy indicators in their respective sectors by diversifying. All are cognizant of their unique status.

"I have a couple of good friends who own businesses that are struggling," Phil Reynolds said. "I think one of the principal virtues to keep in mind when this sort of thing is happening to you is humility. There's a tremendous amount of good fortune that plays into any situation like this."

Why they're on top

As is the case with many businesses, timing was everything for Intuitive Web Solutions, which is now reaping the profits of BriteCore.

Last summer, a group of mutual insurance companies using a Web-based quoting system developed by IWS approached the firm about building a comprehensive policy administration system. Securing a literal buy-in from the clients was crucial to the project's success, IWS executives say.

"We went from idea to contract in six months," Chris Reynolds said.

Word about BriteCore is now spreading throughout the insurance industry, added IWS Operations Director Eryn Cantrell.

"We've gotten in with a group of very powerful and very influential (companies) that basically do all of our sales for us," he said, citing Panhandle Farmers Mutual Insurance and Loudoun Mutual Insurance, which claims an A- financial rating by A.M. Best.

If 2009 revenues come in above the million-dollar mark, Cantrell said that would equal five times the revenues recorded in 2007. IWS has hired 13 employees in the last two years to keep pace, he said, adding that the staff could mushroom to as many as 25 employees by the end of 2010.

Some local businesses owe at least some of their good fortune to unfavorable economic conditions, or more precisely, the strategies employed by companies responding to those conditions.

Springfield-based Summit Safety Group, which provides safety training and compliance services, just doubled its office space, and first-quarter sales are up 17 percent to $189,000, said owner Mike Downie. Ironically, the majority of the company's clients fall into two industries reeling from the recession: manufacturing and commercial construction.

Downie described Summit Safety Group as an "outsourced safety manager" for small- and medium-size companies seeking an affordable alternative to a full-time employee with salary and benefits. Clients include Ridewell Corp., Prestressed Casting Co. and Diesel Exchange Inc.

Summit Safety Group lost some contracts in late 2008, but Downie said he recently landed a contract with the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to fill the void. While the state contract does not spell out guarantees, Downie estimates it will generate sales of $2,000 a month. Government regulation of workplace safety offers a degree of job security, he added.

"The regulatory burdens don't go away, even during down economic times," Downie said.

Trux owner Coleman said trucking firms -- like manufacturers - are doing what they can to control costs and grab market share when competitors go belly up. Many have moved into a full-blown maintenance mode reflected in the increased repair work at Trux, he said.

"They don't want to buy new equipment," said Coleman, who declined to disclose revenues. "And as long they continue to run used equipment, we'll fix one thing and another thing's going to wear out."

In it to win it

Village Flowers & Mercantile in Willard also has bucked the trend of scaling back in line with the contracting national economy, which shrank at an estimated rate of 6.1 percent in the first quarter, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Co-owners Cheryl Duncan and Pam Askren recently doubled the size of their showroom to 5,000 square feet to accommodate more than 40 vendors peddling artwork, antiques and collectibles. The move was in response to slow summer sales at the floral and gift shop, Duncan said.

"One reason we're doing what we're doing is to be diversified," she said.

Since opening in February 2008, Village Flowers & Mercantile has added the Back Porch Tea House, which has a full menu as well as a second dining room for parties. And when the hardware store next door went out of business, Duncan and Askren - an accountant - spoke with landlord Neal Wood at Morris Loan and Investment Co. about expanding into the adjacent suite. Wood agreed to make the necessary infill improvements and foot the bill, Duncan said.

Vendors now occupying the space pay Village Flowers & Mercantile $1.50 per square foot in monthly rent and a 10 percent commission on sales, Duncan said.

The moves have doubled March's year-to-year sales to more than $20,000. 2009 sales of $76,000 through April are promising, say the proprietors, who are of a singular mindset.

"Once you step out of the boat and the boat leaves and the shore's not in sight, you have only one choice, and it's to stay afloat," Duncan said.