Business lessons from the Great Depression

Metrowest Daily News 2/21/09: Business lessons from the Great Depression. In Wayland, Lewis Russell, owner of Russell’s Garden Center, remembers the Depression was not severe for his family, who started a roadside retail stand in 1925 with vegetables and a few field-grown cut flowers. “I think the real reason is, they were people of the field. They grew their plants and flowers, and it was easy enough for them to survive,” Russell said. A combination of factors kept Russell’s Garden Center vibrant during the Depression, he said: it provided something people needed – food – and was well-situated on Rte. 20, as it is today. His family remains “cautiously optimistic” about the business in this economy, Russell said, noting that sales are slightly down, and likely to be down for a while. The Russells expect an increase in vegetable and herb sales this spring, as they did last year, he said. “People are turning back to the land, as they should,” he said. “This recession is a wake-up call that people have been living beyond their means and spending too much and not paying close enough attention. We need to get closer to the earth, and closer to basics, and that’s a lot of what our business is about,” said Russell, who, at 76, still rides his bicycle to work.

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