(ABC 6 News) -For small businesses, the biggest impacts of cold conditions like these can affect their bottom line.

“Some of the vendors who are not here have a longer distance to travel to get here than what I do. I mean, I’ve got 18 miles, that’s not bad” said Pam Benike, a local business owner. “Some of them are doing more like 40 miles and 40 miles on bad roads that gets a little bit iffy, whether you want to risk that or not.”

And it’s not just travel time that becomes a factor when a winter storm settles in, just ask Cathy Moenning, owner of family-run Moenning Meats.

“The snow fell differently in different areas. And so some of those people we’re planning on coming this morning, probably just had drifts that they couldn’t get [in],” said Moenning. “I mean, you can talk about having extra travel time but then when you also have to unearth your driveway and your vehicles and another friend had ice uphill into their shop, so there’s those other challenges too.

Benike says it’s always a challenge navigating a winter landscape.

“So this morning, we had to get up extra early and clear snow out of the driveway so we could get our truck out. And then of course, you know, there’s always the issue of what are the roads going to be like, so you allow extra time,” said Benike. “So it’s a much longer process for us to get here.”

It’s not all bad news, these Minnesotan locals are up for the challenge.

“As a small business, there’s not as large a staff to deal with. You just have to make concessions for more time, more forethought,” added Moenning. “But otherwise, we’re a pretty hearty bunch and that’s what I think small business people are accustomed to being.”