Coping with Downturn

American Tire Distributors sells tires to mom-and-pop tire shops across the country.

When shipping traffic dropped late last year at the UPS Store on Fairview Road in Charlotte, owner Peter McCranie started considering how he could boost other areas of his business to compensate.

A Charlotte architecture office is hoping to beat the downturn by tapping two distinct markets: overseas projects and firms wanting to downsize their offices.

For almost a decade, Tim Mullaney's northern Charlotte printing shop churned out retirement book covers and other materials for Evergreen Investments, a division of Wachovia Corp.

After moving their business to Ballantyne 10 years ago, the owners of the Cubbyhole gift shop watched as the area boomed.

After a restructuring claimed her job as a Bank of America vice president in February, Veronica Guns looked for another corporate position.

Tough economy forcing families to consider selling family heirlooms.

Charlotte's economic downturn forced the owners of Paper Twist to adapt and innovate to stay in business.

Geoff Owen hasn't let the recession keep him from turning bagels into bucks.

Mitzi Bess doesn't just run a store specializing in the secondhand – the owner of Bel-Holly Trends applies recycling to her business practices, too.