Published on: Thursday, October 06, 2011

By Helen Hocknell

As the economy limps along, small businesses across the country are struggling to stay afloat. But here in Montgomery County, not everyone is having a tough time of it. Some businesses have found a niche, others are riding a consumer trend, and some are simply blossoming because of the altered economic climate.

At Boomerangs, an upscale women’s clothing resale shop located in Derwood, budget-minded shoppers can find lightly used clothes, and even make a bit of cash by clearing out their closets – if they’re patient. The waiting list for consigners to drop off clothes is about 6 weeks.

“We couldn’t have imagined how well it was going to go,” said Boomerangs owner Helen Murdoch, who opened the shop with her husband Scott in December of 2006. Growth was as predicted for the first three years, but sales jumped by 12 percent in 2009, a bump Scott Murdoch attributes to the recession.

“It seems that it’s picked up a lot with the downturn in the economy, and our sales patterns support that,” said Scott, who handles the payroll and taxes while Helen runs the “guts of the operation.”

“People are looking for ways they can make a little more money,” explained Helen. Boomerangs carries lightly-worn garments ranging from blouses and belts to boots and cocktail dresses. Consigners make 50 percent of the sale price of any item, which is automatically added to their account.

“The more money I make here, the more I buy,” said Sandy McCoy, a Derwood resident who started consigning here in February. “My mother is a shopaholic, and I was helping her clean out her closet when a neighbor told me about this place,” she explained. She said she rarely leaves Boomerangs empty handed, a sentiment echoed by other shoppers.

“It’s like an addiction,” said Monica Flores of Rockville. “I come here every week and find the cutest things.”

“I want to have a place where people can find a cute new outfit without breaking the bank… so I work very hard to keep the prices down,” said Murdoch, who donates any clothing items unsold at the end of two months to charity.

“Traditionally the strongest local industries have been Professional and Technical Services, Health Services, and Federal Government,” explained Nouné Sekhpossian of the county Department of Economic Development. “This is a very well developed area in Montgomery County that has benefited from the federal government’s presence and highly educated workforce.”

With the current county unemployment rate at 5.4 percent, Montgomery County’s rate is one of the lowest in the state, according to county economist David Platt. Maryland’s unemployment rate is 7.4 percent.

“During the early stages of an economic recovery, business spending grows at a faster pace than consumer spending in anticipation of future increases in consumer spending,” said Platt.

“The outlook for FY12 is that employment will increase at a modest rate – both resident employment and payroll employment, housing prices should continue to increase at a very modest pace, but housing sales may continue to struggle during this fiscal year,” explained Platt.

On a local level, the impact of the recession varies, according to Amanda Wilson of Rockville Economic Development Incorporated, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening small businesses in the city of Rockville.

“It always depends on who you talk to,” said Wilson. “We meet with around 54 businesses in one week, and when we ask where their business stands in terms of the recession, some say ‘it’s been terrible for me’ and others say they’ve never been affected.”

“We’re as busy as can be,” said Burt Kahn, managing director of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, a law firm based in Greenbelt that opened an office in Rockville in 2009. They had expansion plans in the works when the economy took a nosedive in 2008.

“We thought about whether it was a good idea to do it then, but thankfully our firm is primarily litigation,” said Kahn, explaining that people don’t stop suing one another in a recession. “If anything, that goes up,” he added.

“We saw the economy as an opportunity,” said Kahn. Many struggling law firms were forced to resort to layoffs, resulting in a large number of highly qualified – but unemployed – lawyers. “We wanted to take advantage of that talent pool,” explained Kahn.

David Bulitt, who runs the Rockville office, said they started with two partners when they opened in 2009, and now have seven lawyers with expertise in a variety of practice areas including real estate and commercial business. The office also employs a number of support staff.

“As a firm, we’ve grown by about 20 percent over the last few years,” said Bulitt. He says they’re happy with how things are now, but that they will likely continue to expand in the coming years.

People in Montgomery County certainly haven’t stopped suing one another or getting divorced in this uncertain economic climate, but couples aren’t shying away from heading down the aisle, either.

Business has been so brisk at Cake Dreams in Rockville, Owner Michele Kenno has had to turn away custom cake orders, and is currently preparing six wedding cakes for this weekend.

“September and October are the busiest time of year for weddings, so I’m getting pretty grouchy and tired,” explained Kenno. She’s been in the wedding cake business for more than seven years, and opened Cake Dreams in January 2010. Around 75 percent of revenue comes from custom cake orders for weddings and other events, but they also have baked goods available for walk-in customers, and typically sell around 250 cupcakes on a given weekday.

“It’s been going great!” exclaimed Kenno, who attributes the success of Cake Dreams to filling a previously unsatisfied niche in this area. “Cupcakes are underserved north of Bethesda, and as far as custom cakes go, this county is very underserved if you’re looking for quality baking from scratch,” Kenno explained. She has already doubled her staff since opening 18 months ago, and is planning to expand further.

The cupcake craze is a hot culinary trend right now, and Kenno is happy to ride the wave as long as it lasts, but her passion is still for bigger creative challenges. “The cupcakes help pay the rent… but I love the artistry of wedding cakes,” said Kenno.