Business can be booming, even in these times

I recently saw an interesting article about recession-resistant businesses, and it came to me at a perfect time. I had just driven from New York to New Mexico and back through the South, staying away from big cities and major highways. Many towns I went through had busy strip malls outside of its historic downtown, which was almost always dilapidated and full of permanently closed businesses.

Clarksdale, Mississippi is known as the home of the Delta blues. It's busy seasons are during the spring & summer music festivals, but the rest of the time it's a lot quieter. We had a hard time finding anything to eat downtown (only 2 places were even open), but the highway outside of town had a Burger King, McDonalds, Domino's, and even a Walmart. We saw this sort of thing as we drove through New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee, and other states. I'm so spoiled - living in Beacon where the downtown has plenty to see, and there's no highway full of strip malls outside of town where all the residents have to go to get groceries, bedding, food, and other necessities. We almost have it all (a better grocery store would be nice, though)!

It was a great relief to see this article on 5 types of businesses that are doing well, despite the crunch so many of us are in. I realized that I support all 5 on a regular basis, and that all 5 are some of my most favorite businesses to support because they're sustainable. They are:
1) Bicycle Shops
2) Zipcar
3) Thrift Stores
4) Tailors & Cobblers
5) Green Building 

I also realized that these types of businesses weren't all that visible on my 6000 mile trip. I hope more people who live in small towns get together to share resources and extend the usability of products while saving money.