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Entrepreneurs Assess the Oil Spill's Aftermath
By Chris Prentice
One year after BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, business owners along the coast in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are still reeling. Having weathered Hurricane Katrina and the Great Recession, they report they are finding it harder to rebound from the BP (BP) spill —the world's largest-ever accidental oil release into marine waters. Many who depend on tourists or seafood buyers, such as Frank Randol, who owns a 70-employee seafood processing plant and restaurant in Lafayette, La., say the Gulf Coast's image is their biggest stumbling block. Others, including Brandy Moore, who owns a five-employee tour boat operator in Biloxi, Miss., say they are challenged by a lack of transparency in the $20 billion compensation fund. Flip through this slide show for snapshots of 15 small businesses that have struggled along the Gulf Coast.
