Joe Fink pauses in mid-sentence to welcome customers into his Pearl’s Place antique shop in Arcadia. Sitting behind a glass case displaying antique baubles and assorted glassware and trinkets, Mr. Fink says his business has been “holding. You have to remember, we’re a want shop, not a need shop.” Full Story
Code name: Tinkerbell – Part 3
When Centennial Bank was first awarded bank acquisitions from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in March, the first one was in Orlando. As a member of the top-secret transaction, I silently assigned myself the code name “Tinkerbell” — back then we were all lumped in with spring breakers and winter tourists and it was difficult to get a rental car at the last minute. Full Story
Since the onset of the Great Recession (the name given to the current, prolonged malaise), thrifty behavior has become very much “in vogue.” Shopping for values and asking for discounts have always been behaviors largely characteristic of those impacted by the Great Depression, those whose childhood was economically harsh or those whose core values embraced such. Full Story