Joyce Aros and her daughter Charlotte opened Clanton's Coffee Saloon and General Merchandise last October despite the worrisome economy.

"I really thought, 'Oh my God, how much coffee can I sell?'" Aros said. "I was just going to hold my breath."

For Aros, the choice to open a business was a matter of necessity. Aros drove a school bus for nearly two years before she got cancer and had to get treatment, leaving her unable to drive.

"It actually wasn't even a really good time to open, but it was a necessary time for me," Aros said. "I needed to get it started because I needed to be able to pay my rent and I didn't have an income."

But the economy isn't the only challenge that Aros' business faces. Clanton's Coffee Saloon is located off the tourist track, on Fremont Street.

"The problem we have here in Tombstone, especially in this location even though we're on the highway, is all the activity is on Allen Street and that's where all the visitors go," Aros said. "It's hard to get the visitors down here."

With people spending less during the recession, serving a luxury item like coffee could also be problematic for a business, according to Sandy Klasa, an associate professor of finance at The University of Arizona's Eller College of Management.

"Basically, the more your product is some sort of luxury product the worse you're going to be hurt," Klasa said. "In a recession, anything that is a luxury-type business is going to be hurt more."

Aros, however is optimistic about the shop's future.

"The economy is a worry, there's no doubt about it," Aros said. "But as it turned out, after a month or so, it worked out OK. We've built a pretty steady clientele."

While Aros' small business may be taking off at a risky time, there's still hope.

Small businesses employed 65 percent of new employees in Arizona from 2003 to 2006, and make significant contributions to the state's economy, according to the Small Business Association. The association defines a small business as having less than 500 employees.

In 2007, there were almost 390,000 small businesses like Aros' in Arizona.
Seven out of 10 new small businesses last at least two years, while half survive five years, according to the Small Business Association.

Aros cuts down on business costs by running her shop out of her residence.
"Fortunately, because I live here, I don't have much overhead so I can keep my prices down," Aros said.

Aros turned her dining room and a bedroom into a boutique where she sells various old-fashioned home furnishings.

"I had to make myself a job," Aros said. "So what I did was give away all the living room furniture and went yard sale-ing . . . and opened up the coffee shop."

Aros hopes that the posters around town advertising Clanton's Coffee Saloon will help to attract the visitors that are essential to nearly all businesses in Tombstone.

"If we're able to get more visitors, I think we'll do alright," Aros said. "So far, we're holding our own."