Brand Reboot

Jim Miller's million-dollar e-commerce Amish furniture business hit a crisis in April 2011.

The algorithms for Google's search engine shifted, and the Sarasota-based company fell from fifth to 15th in the pecking order on a search for “Amish furniture.” The virtual knockdown for the firm, which sells and ships Amish-made furniture to customers who spend, on average, $1,600 an order, had real-world outcomes: The company's online traffic, recalls Miller, dropped by 35% almost overnight.

A big decrease in sales quickly followed, and a few months later Miller was forced to cut the payroll from 13 people to six. “That was a dramatic shift,” says Miller. “It hit us hard, and we were really hamstrung to react.”