Her vote goes to candidate who offers incentives, lower taxes

Even though the small local chain of consignment boutiques she founded is holding steady, something has to be done to help small businesses stay afloat, Psycho Sisters CEO Angela McLean said.

“Small-business owners support this country,” said McLean, who opened the first Psycho Sisters shop in 1993. The chain’s three stores, in Little Five Points, Sandy Springs and Cartersville, are separately owned, but McLean owns the corporation.

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Rich Addicks/raddicks@ajc.com

Even though her business is weathering the economic downturn, Angela McLean, founder of Psycho Sisters Consignment Boutiques, says she listens to presidential candidates hoping to hear ideas that will foster small businesses and help them provide benefits for employees.

PSYCHO SISTERS
CONSIGNMENT BOUTIQUES
• Founded: 1993 by Angela McLean
• Employees: About 10
• Estimated sales: $120,000 to $240,000 annually per store
• Service: The stores, in Little Five Points, Sandy Springs and Cartersville, offer high-quality used clothing and accessories, as well as some new items. The stores have separate owners, but McLean owns the corporation.

ECONOMIC CRISIS:
SMALL BUSINESS
• Engineers of nation's growth engine share election concerns
• Her vote goes to candidate who offers incentives, lower taxes
• Higher taxes are OK with him, but not waste, corruption
• Tax increases could cut into his growth plans

“We need to be encouraged to do what we do, in order to run businesses successfully and keep our country in sync with the freedom that the founders of this country presented to the people.”

McLean, a 43-year-old undecided voter, said she’s trying to decide which presidential candidate — Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama — will work the hardest to create incentives and lower taxes for small-business owners in a troubled economy.

She is concerned about health care, as well. She makes less than $60,000 a year and said she can’t afford to provide health insurance or other benefits, including 401(k) and pension plans, to the 10 employees at the Psycho Sisters stores. She said Obama’s idea for a national health plan exchange seems well-rounded, but she’s also skeptical.

“When I follow what Obama and McCain promise, I get more confused as to who to vote for,” she said.

“I really liked Ron Paul,” she added. “Perhaps I will investigate Libertarian ideas next.”

McLean said the Psycho Sisters boutiques, which feature high-end used clothing and trendy accessories, are doing relatively well, compared with some other small businesses in the area. Sales aren’t skyrocketing, but they haven’t slowed from previous years, either: Each shop sells about $10,000 to $20,000 in merchandise monthly.

“We have a win-win situation,” she said. “People shop here when they want to party and celebrate. But when there’s a crunch in the economy, they shop here out of necessity instead of leisure.”

Although two Psycho Sisters boutiques — one in Lilburn and another in Marietta — have closed in the last year, McLean said they failed because of their locations and changing demographics in those neighborhoods, not the current economic crisis.

Just this month, McLean launched another business, online decal shop myjollyfamily.com. Because of the credit crisis, it’s much more difficult to get funding these days than it was in the early ’90s, she said.

“It was extremely easy to get a loan for Psycho Sisters with very little paperwork,” she said. “Now, I cannot get a loan for myjollyfamily.com.”