According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other sources, 20% of new businesses close within their first year. Half fail within five years. And only one in four survives for 15 years or more.
So, how does a business keep turning a profit through years, decades, generations of economic ups and downs and emergencies of all types?
The presidents of two of the area’s most iconic businesses gave some valuable insights during a meeting Friday, Jan. 10, of the Historic St. Augustine Area Council of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce. The secret of their resiliency may lie in their ability — and willingness — to adapt and to innovate.
The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, owned from 1901 to 1925 by Luella Day MacConnell, was acquired by Walter B. Fraser after MacConnell’s death for $100,000. In 1934, facing a major challenge in the Great Depression, Fraser converted a portion of the park into an orange grove.
Later, with the start of World War II, he rented part of the property to the U.S. Navy.
An inventor, Fraser patented a new type of bomb that would split into multiple warheads. It is not known for sure whether his invention was actually used as the war ended soon thereafter.
What Fraser didn’t do was surrender.
“He didn’t sit there,” said his grandson, John Fraser, president of the park. “He didn’t fold up shop. He didn’t close the park.”
Instead, Walter Fraser built the first planetarium in the area. Then, when postwar youth began looking toward the stars, he found a way to bridge the gap between the great local history and the burgeoning interest in space.
He built a two-story fiberglass globe that rotated in a darkened room and illustrated the paths of Ponce de Leon and Columbus.
“In 1959, when it opened, the Earth had never been seen from space before,” said John Fraser. “You had a front-row seat right there. I remember as a 7-year-old boy how incredible it was.”
After his grandfather had a stroke, banks operated the park from 1964 to 1981. When that failed to generate sufficient money, John Fraser’s father wrested control of the park from banks and trustees.
“Then, the real rebuilding happened,” said the current president.
The family’s resilience has carried the business through hurricanes and a pandemic.
Friday’s other speaker, Lorna MacDonald, is president of Raintree Restaurant, which has been in business since 1980. What started as a somewhat formal restaurant had to adapt in the wake of the 2008 recession.
“It was like, OK, we have to reinvent ourselves,” MacDonald said. “We can’t require people to wear a jacket and tie. We need to have children in the restaurant! We had to change our concept.”
The restaurant was among those that survived the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic.
MacDonald, who successfully gambled on creating an outdoor patio for her business, emphasized the importance of faith in oneself.
Fraser added to that the value of communication and of preparation.
“You have to be prepared for the lean times,” he said. “You have to have a large reserve.”
