Living in LoCo correspondent Val Cavalheri writes about the South Riding area and has this dispatch for us.

An earlier version of this blog post misspelled Kumar Iyer's name. We regret the error.

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In an atmosphere where it’s become commonplace to hear about companies shutting down because of economic difficulties, some businesses are finding new ways stay afloat. I recently went around to some businesses in South Riding and Stone Ridge to see if they would share with us what they are doing to try to stay open in this economy.

South Riding Market Square on Loudoun County Parkway (Photo by Val Cavalheri)

“It’s all about thinking out of the box,” says Rangoli Restaurant owner, Kumar Iyer.

When Iyer saw that people were not eating out as often, he decided to try something new and started offering substantial savings for take-out customers. He said he is also staying in better touch with other store owners – an effort that led Rangoli and neighbor Wine Styles to collaborate on an evening of dinner and wine.

“It was a new marketing avenue for both of us. But it paid off,” Iyer said.

The restaurant has also been working with community groups to help them plan their events there. Recently, it’s was used as a place for a local group to hold its monthly meeting and as a bingo benefit for a local school. On March 17, the Tiger Lilly Foundation will hold a karaoke fundraiser for breast cancer programs there.

Frank Maresca, owner of Moe's Southwest Grill, agreed that now is the time to reevaluate everything from menu items to pricing. The restaurant is trying both to cut costs and to cater to people who are also cutting costs. One concrete measure Moe’s took last month was to introduce a smaller burrito (called the Joey Jr.) with a reduced price of $3.99 (compared with $6.99 for their regular Joey burrito).

Gone is ability to put large amounts of money toward advertising. As a way of reaching customers, Maresca is going the higher tech route.

“We’re looking to grow our e-mail database and have more people in our network,” he said.

Ciro D’Agostino owner of Ciros Ristorante was more philosophical about the challenges: “If I’ve needed to change in this economy, then it meant I was doing something wrong before.”

What he has noticed, he said, is how people want to make sure that they’re getting value for the money they’re spending.

Anna Yu from Post Land said her business is concentrating on customer service to keep the customers coming in.

“I’m more conscious if someone doesn’t have enough to cover postage,” she said. “I tell them, ‘Next time.’ They are so appreciative that most of the time, when they return they give me more money than what I extended to them!”

Small and at-home businesses are also trying out various ways to market themselves.

Christy Borbidge of cb designs said she is targeting people who have been laid off and are starting businesses, anticipating their need for things like a logo and business cards.

“I hope to remain affordable and marketable to that audience,” Borbidge said.

She’s also getting ready to start using social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

Professional dog walker and pet sitter, Colleen Dixon from Suburban Tails finds that although her services are still needed regularly, she needed to accommodate short-term or even last-minute requests in order to continue to build her business.

“I've reevaluated my advertising vehicles and eliminated those that advertise too far to the edges of my service range to reduce gas/travel time, and I'm taking advantage of ‘free’ advertising like Facebook and Craigslist,” Dixon said.

Not everyone was as open and comfortable discussing the struggling economy, however.

One manager decided to take the “if we say it, it must be so approach,” telling me that his home office would only allow him to say, “Business was better than ever and that we are continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done.”

Do you work in or own a business in Loudoun? Let us know what you are doing to keep afloat in these tough economic times.