Which Business Sectors Did Well in 2010?

Here are some that saw growth during an otherwise dismal year for business.

As new car sales plummeted the last few years, the auto aftermarket sector saw increases. New car sales fell from $687 billion in 2007 to $488 billion in 2009. Franchised auto concepts saw an average of 5.2 percent sales growth. Sales at auto parts dealers reached $77.2 billion.

With businesses taking a cautious approach to their hiring practices, temporary staffing companies saw an 18 percent increase in sales in 2010. Spherion Staffing had system wide sales of $2.2 billion. Express Employment Professionals grew even faster, topping 86 percent growth and hitting the $1.9 billion sales mark. Link Staffing Services saw sales increase by 27 percent last year.

Companies that clean up after disasters did very well in 2010. These companies focus on water damage (most happens as a result of plumbing failure rather than disasters), fire/smoke damage and mold damage. ServPro grew 8 percent and Paul Davis Restoration grew 9 percent. Somewhat surprisingly, the cleaning sector also saw a good year. This includes companies that clean homes, businesses, air ducts and carpet. The sector reported sales growth of 6 percent. The commercial janitorial sector has run into some controversy. The low-cost has attracted people out of work, but the low per-unit sales results make it look like people getting into this business have just bought themselves low-paying jobs rather than a business that they can grow into a valuable asset. Per unit janitorial franchises saw a high of $56,000 in sales on average while the home cleaning franchise Molly Maid saw unit sales average of $360,000.

Consumers did not totally give up on pampering themselves in 2010. Personal services franchises saw sales growth of 5 percent. It looks like people kept getting massages in 2010 as a form of a personal vacation! Massage is also being recognized for its medical benefits. Several personal fitness systems grew as well. Snap Fitness saw sales growth of 19 percent. Hair care franchises also saw growth in 2010; Great Clips was up 8 percent, Super Cuts 2 percent and Sport Clips an impressive 14 percent.