TRAVERSE CITY -- Mike Mahn, owner of Golden-Fowler Home Furnishings in Traverse City, personally oversees the image of his business as he gets ready to advertise for the holidays.

Part of that includes knowing what people are looking for especially when money's tight. Mike Mahn says, "There are a lot of people buying single pieces that they need to go with things they might already have."

Knowing that and having a grasp on the company's finances, like keeping expenses under control, have helped Golden-Fowler survive the recession

In fact, they've been able to expand to include a new mattress store.

Mike Mahn says, "We've opened a small store across the street that includes custom hand-made mattresses made in Northern Michigan."

Just up the road, the Bill Marsh Auto Group has also been able to expand with the purchase of the Dan McCormick dealership in Kalkaska that includes the Ford brand. Bill Marsh, Jr. Says "We believe that the acquisition, particularly the Ford franchise that was something that could really help this company."

Bill Marsh, Junior says one of the reasons his family of dealerships has been able to make it through the economic downturn is planning.

They were proactive and saw the potential for a slowdown coming a few years back and decided to focus on the customer's experience. Bill Marsh, Jr. says, "Our success, our destiny, our growth, our future depends on the quality of experiences that we create for people."

And as these businesses expand, there's a sense of optimism that the economy will turn around early next year and that put them in an even greater position in that market.

Mike Mahn says, "I really do believe that this Spring people are going to start building homes again and that's going to be a great opportunity."

Bill Marsh, Junior says, "I believe that the psychology of people is such that when people realize there's a bottom...we've sort of bottomed out thing start to pick up."