Possibilities - America's Small Businesses Struggle Under Joe Biden

In 1933 Mrs. Cedar’s Great Uncle founded Carney’s, a clothing store in Lincoln Maine. The town of Lincoln located in the North Woods was a thriving Mill Town, known often by the unfortunate moniker “Stinkin Lincoln”. 

Carney's Circa 1998

The mill is gone and so is the “stink”, but with the loss of the mill the population also declined. To some degree the mill and associated businesses have been replaced by tourism. 

The Lincoln Lakes Region brings nature lovers to the area for hunting, fishing, hiking and water sports in the summer and snowmobiles and cross-country skiing in the winter.

The Carney family sold the store in 1998 but Mrs. Cedar’s fond memories linger on.

Fast forward twenty-five years and the store remains as “Possibilities” an eclectic mix of gifts and home goods, art and flowers. Mrs. Cedar and I are both huge fans of the business and frequent the store often during our summers in Maine.

Because of all of this we are both sharing this open letter from the owners of Possibilities to their customers and friends. This is the reality of Joe Biden’s policies and the effect on American Small Business:

We keep full transparency with our customers, also known as our friends. 

We like to keep it real and always give you our true pure self. That’s the beauty of our brand. 

In the 25-year history of Possibilities, the original founders closed for parts of the winter. Their successors closed for the month of February and then we closed for the month of January. 

This year is a bit different as we restructure, adapt, and pivot, to allow us to continue navigating in this constant changing economy and business environment. 

We will be closing this Saturday January 13th with a grand reopening for the 2024 season on May 1st.

Possibilities has always operated in the red for the first quarter of the year. 

Possibilities tucks away funds through the busy tourist/summer season to purchase inventory for Christmas and then the profits from Christmas carry the business through the down months in the first quarter. 

In 2023 Maine’s tourist industry was largely impacted by a large amount of rainfall that kept the limited amount of tourists who could afford a vacation in this economy to stay home. This limited our purchase power, layered with less money in everyone’s pocket this year for Christmas gifts. 

We even had to change the items we sell due to the inflation driving the cost of goods up to a cost that our customers would never pay. 

When we purchased Possibilities in 2019, we had no idea that we would experience a global pandemic, shipping crisis, multiple ongoing wars, geopolitical shifts, and the world splitting into two economies. 

We have overcome and worked tirelessly to keep Possibilities on Main Street as we promised to the previous owners at purchase and for the community we serve. 

It’s been a rugged road that has suffered a large decline in sales every year. 

A large percentage of small businesses in America have closed their doors and filed for bankruptcy. Multiple home decor gift shops in the greater Bangor area have closed their doors. We are still here, paying debts and re-investing every dime back into Possibilities, in hopes of being here for a very, very, long time. 

This winter we will be living in Hawaii with our daughter, son in law, and grandson. We will be working full time jobs that pay five times the amount of jobs in Maine to make the funds necessary to keep Possibilities alive. 

A 40-hour work week is a slow week for us. With our free time we will be emerging ourselves into the art community of the island while working on our own personal art. 

We will even tackle our to do list that gets put aside due to daily demands in the shop. We will utilize this time to come back ahead of the game and stronger.

This decision was not easy but is what must be done to have a sustainable luxury goods business model in rural Northern Maine in 2024 and beyond. 

As we adjust our sails, we will have all of you in our hearts. 

Thank you for all your continued support and encouragement. We would have never made it thus far without you and we will not make it to our completed vision of Possibilities Floral Studio & Designs without you. We will miss you. 

A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.

The Owners of Possibilities January 2024

(Edited for grammar and clarity)