Small business owner Elaine Drago and her employees at Shears to You hair salon are feeling the effects of the recession – yet despite the economic struggles they’re making it work.

The cozy and welcoming independent shop on Route 611 in Doylestown has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

There are only four other stylists in the salon, each with over 20 years of experience. Courtney Schock, 24, a management major and a recent West Chester University graduate, has been working at the salon off-and-on as a shampoo girl since she was 16. “I want to get into human resources, but most entry-level positions call for like, eight years of experience,” Schock said.

Drago has been a hairdresser for 27 years, and has never seen a recession like this. “We’ve gone through other recessions. This one has been the worst one and the longest one,” she said.

Luckily, only about 5 percent to 10 percent of customers went somewhere with lower prices. Most clients aren’t leaving the salon, but are looking for ways to be frugal.

Clients stretch out the time between appointments, waiting six weeks for a cut rather than four weeks. Wives are cutting their husband’s hair at home. Women skip the hair dye and the permanents and get basic cuts.

“The cost of supplies, like permanent chemicals and hair color, has tripled,” Drago said.

But there’s something special about this tiny hair salon tucked behind a busy highway. They’re doing something about it.

In 2010, they moved locations to a smaller studio in the same shopping center. Much of the space in their old shop went unused, yet they were still paying for it. The new shop is more intimate and much more polished. Their rent went from around $1,500 to $750 a month.

“I reduced prices for customers that I know are struggling. Customers that have lost their jobs or their husbands have lost their jobs. I give discounts up to thirty percent,” she said.

She also gives a reduced price to single mothers as well as elderly customers, who are on a fixed income.

“I know that when they get back on their feet, they will reimburse me,” she said.

This kind of trust between customers and proprietors is what makes a small business in a community a great thing. It is something you won’t find anywhere else.

So why aren’t more people going to small businesses for the services? Matthew McShane, 19, an environmental study major at Temple University states, “Going to a Hair Cuttery is convenient and pretty inexpensive. I don’t know of any other hair salons.”

Advertising is an expense that most small businesses cannot spare. As for convenience and price, small shops like Shears to You offer the same, if not better, deals than big businesses like Hair Cuttery.

For example, Hair Cuttery offers a cut, blow-dry and style for men at $23. Shears to You offers the same for $24. Feeling at home, knowing your stylist has experience, and helping your community for only one extra bill sounds like a good deal.