Small businesses feel sting of wild stock market
NEW YORK - A modern, half-million-dollar-a-year small business is run out of an 18th Century house in upstate New York.
"Eighty percent of what we sell is pajamas," Elizabeth Allen tells CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano.
Elizabeth Allen started her high-end sleepwear company six years ago, and was just beginning to get over the financial crisis.
"We recovered from the depths of 2008, but it was not a rull recovery," Allen says.
Since the stock market began its wild ride, she's noticed a 30 percent drop in her online sales compared to last August. Allen is already worried about the end of the year - the holidays produce about 75 percent of her sales.
"What if we're down 30 percent in the 4th quarter," Allen asks. "That's really only my main concern."
Allen had hired a second employee because she expected a banner year. Her business also reaches beyond her home to New York City, where workers are putting together her line.
What keeps her up at night is the fear that the ups and downs in the stock market will scare her customers away.
According to Capital Economics for every $100 loss on Wall Street, it's estimated a household will spend $3 to $5 less on Main Street. Nationwide it could add up to as much as $140 billion in lost consumer spending since mid July.
"As soon as there is more work to be done, I would love nothing more than to hire someone else," Allen says.
"But it's not happening right now," Quijano asks.
"Not right now," Allen replies.
It's not clear when consumer demand will rebound and force small businesses like Allen's to start hiring. The most recent survey from Reuters and the University of Michigan puts consumer confidence at its lowest level in over thirty years.
