Vine Ripened

The principals at Grapevine Communications realized they were on the verge of a small crisis when 2008 came to an end.

One major client filed for bankruptcy and stiffed the Lakewood Ranch-based marketing, branding and public relations firm on a $120,000 bill. Not only that, but the client, a commercial and residential developer with properties on the Gulf Coast and several states in the Northeast and Midwest, had been billed up to $160,000 a month during the boom.

Other issues began to creep up. For example, at least one-fourth of the company's client base was connected to the real estate industry in some way. Then, in early 2009, a second client filed for bankruptcy.