“It’s a change in mentality,” Ratajczak said. “Previously it was, ‘Let’s open (more) stores and find the money.’ Now it’s kind of, ‘I don’t want to be beholden to banks.’ ”

Consumers, who enjoyed their own borrowing-and-spending binge, also are feeling the consequences of too much debt, Ratajczak said.

“People have finally learned that credit cards are a bad source of borrowing,” he said. “And, of course, right now you really can’t borrow on your house.”

Still, many entrepreneurs are optimists at heart.

“I want to think positively,” said Kim Davis, co-owner of Dublin’s Travel Partners. “I think things are getting a little better as time goes on, maybe a little bit.”

But Davis’ business is down 15 percent to 20 percent over the past several months – not fatal, but worrisome, she said. She hasn’t cut jobs at her eight-employee office and is hopeful she won’t.

Bird said he’s adapting by taking smaller jobs the company wouldn’t have chased as aggressively in the past.

“People are scrambling for jobs they never would have, and even for projects outside their area of expertise,” he said. “Anything is better than nothing.”

The company also trimmed its payroll by nearly 20 percent in October, bringing its head count to 22.

Duhl’s business has been buoyed by new contracts, but revenue from existing customers has dropped by double-digit percentages in recent months. The drops have prompted the company to put the brakes on expansion initiatives, including a line of chef’s apparel.

“We are spending a lot of time looking at ways to look at our finance data, to make sure we’re doing the best things, and in the most profitable way,” he said.

Here is how several Central Ohio businesses are dealing with the "new normal:"

Less business travel means less revenue for hotel

The Crowne Plaza is adjusting to fewer business travelers during the work week, even as the downtown hotel’s staff works harder to attract leisure and group travelers to make up some of the difference. The president of Columbus Hospitality LLC, which manages the hotel, said the Crowne Plaza has seen its revenue dip an average of $10 to $15 a room as price-sensitive sports and church groups as well as leisure travelers become a larger part of the customer base.