Surviving sluggish economic timesSurviving sluggish economic times


In the dramatic stock market fluctuations of the past weeks, economists have been warning that the United States may be heading into a second, more severe recession than the one our nation suffered in December 2007. We business owners and franchisees around the country are bracing for the worst and will strive to keep our businesses thriving in the months ahead. As chief executive of Apple-Metro Inc., a company with 34 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants in the New York area, I was able to grow my business in the last recession — opening 10 new restaurants since 2008.


I offer the following 10 tips that I used as a guideline in the last recession to grow my business. And given the current economic forecast, these rules will b...