Small Biz Stories

It’s that time of year when everyone goes crazy for warm sweaters, pumpkin carving and, depending on your location, apple picking. Here in New England it is the busiest season for apple orchards. Andrew and Chelcie Martin are third and fourth generation farmers at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow,… The post Honey Pot Hill Orchards – Small Biz Stories, Episode 8 appeared first on Constant Contact.

Holly Furgason is motivated by many things, but comfort isn’t one of them. As the owner of Blue Sparrow Pilates, Holly has learned how to overcome major challenges — from dissolving a business partnership to weathering a major financial crisis. Listen as she shares what it takes to keep a business running for over a decade and how to build a loyal audience. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Holly: I would say that I’m… first of all, I’m never comfortable. So far, there’s very few time periods, not even a month where I’m like, “Oh, this is so comfortable. I feel really good about where we are.” So I’m always looking at what can I improve. When I travel, when I go places outside of the Bay Area and within the Bay Area, I’m always doing more education for myself. I’m reading books about business. I read online blogs. I’m looking to other masters in the field of Pilates, like what are they doing in their neck of the woods, and how might that influence what I’m doing? Dave: Meet Holly Furgason, owner of Blue Sparrow Pilates in San Francisco, California. Like many of the business owners we've spoken with during our first two seasons, Holly is motivated by many things. But comfort isn't one of them. Today, in our season finale, Holly shares the story of her studio. From the initial inspiration to the trying moments when she wished she could skip town and leave it all behind. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Many of us are consumed with the thought of starting our our business. But what's the difference between people who think about going off on their own and those who actually do it? As Holly describes the days before owning her business, listen for three important things: conviction, creativity, and commitment. Holly: I grew up as an athlete, playing soccer, all kinds of things and then found dance and became really sort of pre-professional dancer and traveled all over to compete in dance-type conventions and competitions. And was convinced that I was gonna move to New York and dance professionally. And somewhere along the way, I found Pilates and Pilates has always been associated with dance because Joseph Pilates’ original studio was really close to Broadway and a lot of dancers found it and realized how much it could benefit their dance career. And so I found Pilates and completely fell in love with it and knew that I needed to become a teacher. And I’ve jumped back and forth across the country several times but came to California to go to grad school for dance at Mills College just here in Oakland and had started a studio. Dave: A dance studio? Holly: Pilates studio, yeah. I did my teacher training in Michigan and when I moved to California, I was already teaching Pilates and I worked for sev...

Holly Furgason is motivated by many things, but comfort isn’t one of them. As the owner of Blue Sparrow Pilates, Holly has learned how to overcome major challenges — from dissolving a business partnership to weathering a major financial crisis. Listen as she shares what it takes to keep a business running for over… The post Blue Sparrow Pilates — Small Biz Stories, Episode 15 appeared first on Constant Contact.

When Barbara Felix started her business, Felix the Cook, over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Finding her sweet spot with custom-made sugar cookies, Barbara has attracted big name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons. How can your business do the same? Listen as Barbara shares her best secrets for attracting and delighting clients. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Barbara: I've spent plenty of time working in offices thinking, “How can I get out of here?” I am not a paper person. I don't care what industry it's in, I cannot stand sitting behind a desk. So with cookies, I just love being the boss and being the creative person. I get physically ill if I cannot create something. Dave: Meet Barbara Felix, owner of Felix the Cook. Like so many businesses owners, Barbara became her own boss to avoid a boring, cookie-cutter career. Starting a business of her own, Barbara has the freedom to spend her days as she likes — which in her case means delighting customers with custom-made sugar cookies. If you've ever wondered if you have what it takes to start a business — or if you've already started and you're wondering how to take things to the next level, listen up. Today, Barbara shares her secrets for how a one-woman operation can use customer relationships to land big-name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons.More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Many small businesses start with a combination of passion and necessity. When Barbara started her business over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Listen as she describes her early attempts at finding the right fit and how an early mentor helped point her in the right direction. Barbara: Well, my dad was a cook. My dad always cooked at home. And I loved to play in the kitchen. I loved making things and my mother let me do whatever I want with butter, sugar and flour. So I have absolutely no fear of sweet stuff. And I grew up, got married, got divorced and decided I needed a career because I've been to high school, of course, but not much college. So there I was, a single mother with two children looking for something to do and I thought well, maybe I can take a cooking class and instead I decided to take the full program at the California Culinary Academy and do 16 months and come out as a chef. So I worked at a really fine restaurant for a couple years and then found it was just too difficult as a single mother to keep the hours of a kitchen, which were pretty brutal, and mind my kids. So I quit that and got into private chefing after a stint of making desserts for restaurants. There were a couple of small restaurants I worked for that didn't have the time or the space to do their own pastry. So I'd do that for them. Again, pastry was always my favorite. And with the kids, I would make cookies with them every holiday like Halloween. I can't get over it. That Halloween, I made black icing, my son was in heaven with black icing everywhere. So we'd do that and then one year one of my instructors was at the house for Christmas and she saw my cookies and she said, “Oh my God, Barbra, you have to sell these.” I said, “Really?” So because I trusted her, I pursued the cookies. I was private chefing at the time and I asked one of my clients what she thought. She suggested I get a year of cookies. So that was a great idea. So I designed 12 collections with 6 designs each to make up a dozen cookies for every month of the year, and got connected with a web designer, who started with that page, our cookies of the month. And from there it just grew. It was very word of mouth, very word of mouth. Dave: So, just talk us through kind of that inspiration for doing the cookies? Barbara: Oh! The inspiration was I can do this, and it's fun and people pay me! That's what it was. And that having someone whose opinion that I trusted told me they were wonderful. That's what I needed because I get in my own little bubble where I can't see outside. And if you go on cookies websites, it's amazing what people are doing. They're total artworks. And if you look at that, and then look at what I do and it's like, well I'd never measure up. The funny thing is, is that they're doing the same thing. Everybody is comparing, which is silly. But I wanted a way to make some money that wasn't as difficult, as private chefing can be. I wanted to do something that I was entirely comfortable with, which is pastry. And it's a fun job and it's a happy job. People are so happy when they can get on my schedule. They are happy to order their cookies they're anticipating, and they're happy when they get them. So I like happy uplifting things. That's why, I'm not curing cancer but I'm making people happy, nothing wrong with that. Dave: With cookie-making, Barbara found the sweet spot she was looking for. Now, she had to find something just as important — a loyal customer base.  Luckily, this wasn't Barbara's first business. Through her past endeavors, Barbara already had some ideas about her target market, what they wanted, and how best to reach them. Barbara: Now, I spent some time in Texas for 10 years and I had my own business there as well, making curtains and drapery and shades. And my first customer was a junior-league lady and I had learned very well. You tell a junior league lady, you're set because they all tell each other, they all call each other. So with that experience, with the cookies I thought, I got to donate to the junior league. And I did the same thing. I picked a couple different charities and I'd make a significant donation and people started calling. And that's how it started, with donations, because I had to get the word out. Dave: Did you set any goals for your business when you were first getting started? Barbara: Oh, I wish I could say yes! I wish I could say I followed my business plan to the T. I did not. My goal was to make some extra money. I'm a single mother with two kids, money was the ticket. So, with the help of friends, I thought it was important to get a website together and that was my first goal to get all those 12 months of designs made. Then to set up a photography booth or some way to get…I bought my first camera to do the photographs, my first little instant camera. And, to set up a business account, I set up a checkbook. The goals were very small and then to find charities where I could donate because I knew that's where my market was. See, I knew, from my experience of having my business in Texas, I knew what these ladies wanted. I knew what they were looking for and knew where they were. I knew my market. And I knew what they needed. And that's how I did it. Going for the upscale charity events and contacting people I knew in that area. Dave: What would you say makes your business different from others out there? Barbara: I would say the service. I mean, they love the taste of the cookies, there's that. They love the cookies, they love what I do. But I've had people tell me, “Oh, you're so flexible, and thank you” And it's personable, you know, people get excited when they can talk to the person who's actually making their product. It's not going through several layers. In fact, a few years ago, well in 2004, Gwyneth Paltrow put me on her Goop website for Christmas. And that's because I knew her driver. A friend of mine drove for her. I didn't even know he was driving for her but that was my connection. And I got a lot of orders and one person called to check on her order and it was so funny the way she spoke. It's like, “Can you go down on the factory floor and find the order?” and I said, “Ma'am I'm making your cookies.” And they're so excited. They're very excited to talk to the person. So I think that's it. There's no filter between me and the client. They call or they email or they talk to me. And that's the way I like it. And even as I grow, I don't know that I'll give away that part of the business. I think I'll still be the contact person. Dave: Barbara's success comes from giving her customers an experience they can't get anywhere else. By listening to her customers' advice, Barbara creates relationships that make other people feel invested in her success. It's no surprise that many of Barbara's best new customers have come directly from her existing customer base. Dave: Yeah. Is there, is there some place that you go for advice or guidance? Barbara: Oh gosh, yes! Gosh, yes! I guess I'm just a friendly person. But I know so many people who seem to be more successful than I am and their always eager to help me. I have one friend I met when I was doing cookies for a charity function and it was being held at Pixar. It was a very big deal and I got to see the Pixar office. I got to look at an Oscar, like two feet from my face, a real Oscar. That woman moved on to another company and another company and she's taken me with her every step of the way. So I've made cookies for her at every company and she's very into computers and marketing. And she helps me and she gives me ideas. Another friend of mine, again, it's a friend of a friend. He asked me if I could deliver cookies to his friend who manages a very big jewelry store downtown. And because of the timing, I thought, “Oh I'll just take him in myself.” And that was like a perfect thing to do. The fellow loved meeting me, he loved the cookies and he has sent me business and he has sent me a wonderful event planner that I work with constantly. And he's my buddy. He brings me to different events, he suggests things to do. He's got me working on a chocolate cookie now. He's determined to have a chocolate cookie place card with gold lettering. So I have ordered. I have been through the web top to bottom looking for a specific edible gold luster, which I've acquired. It's in the mail to me now. So they guide me, they tell me what you can do. Another friend of mine works at LinkedIn and he's helping me use that to meet other marketing people in different companies because that's where the cookie orders from companies come from. So, yes, I don't know, people like me and they talk to me and I talk to them and we chit chat. And yes, I have plenty of advisors. I've made cookies for Google Ventures and they're still customers. I did cookies for UPS. I did cookies for Tyler Florence a couple of times. And when he had his shop, my cookies were in his shop. Because one day, I walked in, and I happened to have my portfolio with me. And there was some sugar cookies for sale and I thought, “Oh my goodness! I can do better than that.” So I showed the sales girl. She got the marketing person to come down and we started a relationship and I had my cookies in there every holiday. Because I walked in and said, “Hey look at me.” Dave: Barbara's confidence in her product and dedication to her customer relationships have served her well in growing her business and reaching big-name clients. But that doesn't mean she's always as busy as she'd like. Dave: Was there ever a time that you felt like potentially the business wasn't gonna work? Barbara: Oh yeah! Oh gosh yes! Dave: Tell us about that. Barbara: Because I didn't have a budget for marketing. My budget was, “Can I pay my mortgage this month?” And some people would tell me, “Oh! You need to get better pictures. They don't do you justice.” And I didn't have the money to go up a notch. Packaging, when you start pricing packaging, you have to buy a lot for custom packaging. It's a huge investment for a small business. And there were times where I would get discouraged. And then the phone would ring and somebody would say so and so told me about you. And I would get all happy again. I really feed off my customer's happiness because it tells me I'm doing a good job. Dave: What have you found has been your most effective way to get or reaching customers? Barbara: Oh, really, Constant Contact because my email list consists of people who have already done business with me. They've already emailed me and bought purchased cookies so they're on my list. They're familiar with the product and the emails are just a reminder that I'm here, which is, as I said, for people that don't order cookies regularly. They need to be reminded, whether it's a birthday or an anniversary or something… Dave: Yeah. Tell me a little bit about your approach with email, like what do you? What do you send out? Like what do you do, how often? Barbara: I want to do it once a month. I try to do it once a month and I like to put up pictures of cookies they haven't seen, something new. Like I believe I did an email about painted cookies now, there's a big demand now for watercolor. You use the food coloring as the paint. So I did that. Mostly it's seasonal, you know. It's like, “Oh this is August, I'll send out a picture of my watermelon cookies” or whatever. Trying to think of what they might be doing and what they might need them for. We're very seasonal. I don't ever have sales, so there's nothing like that to do. I made a decision very early on that I wasn't going to discount my work, at all. And I don't. I don't care if you're buying two dozen or two thousand. The price is the price and that's it. So, there's no sales to advertise. It's mostly a reminder. Get on the books now because September's full. So, think about me now. Mostly to remind people to, order ahead. That's what I use it for. The email marketing is entirely affordable, entirely affordable, $20 a month? I mean, come on. It's a bargain. It's a tremendous bargain. And what sold it for me is the online help because I'm of a certain age. I need to speak to someone. I don't want to just tap on the computer. And every time I call, I get someone who is willing to stay there and help me and I've never gone away unsatisfied from a phone call. And I need that because I'm not computer savvy. I am not going to invest time in learning how to run a computer because I run a cookie business. I'm not a computer person. Dave: Rather than focusing on finding new customers, Barbara stays in touch with her existing customers — the people she already has established relationships with. By reaching out and reminding her customers what she has to offer, she sparks new interest and gets the phone ringing again. Dave: What is it that you would say that really keeps you going and your business successful? Barbara: Pride in what I do, that I do it myself, that I don't have to answer to anyone except my customers. Like I've mentioned, this is not my first business. My first business was making curtains, draperies and shades and it was the similar thing. I worked alone, I made a beautiful product, everybody was happy at every stage. And I loved being my own boss. I've spent plenty of time working in offices thinking, “How can I get out of here?” I am not a paper person. I don't care what industry it's in, I cannot stand sitting behind a desk. So with cookies, I just love being the boss and being the creative person. I get physically ill if I cannot create something, if I can't be refinishing furniture, or making a curtain or doing something creative. And the cookies give me all that. All my art, all my color, theory, everything I do is in there. And I love making people happy. I love making little kids smile when they get a cookie. I have pictures on my wall of the little kids holding my cookies, being happy. That's a nice thing. Dave: You'll notice Barbara's success is rooted in her own satisfaction, as well as her customers'. As she said earlier, she really feeds off her customers' happiness. While many small businesses are started by fiercely independent people — hungry to call the shots, make their own hours, and put their stamp on things — the successful ones never lose sight of the people they're trying to help. I'll leave you with Barbara's best advice for someone interested in starting their own business. Barbara: Oh, golly. Know your market. If you don't know where your market is and what they want, you have no chance. You need to know what people want. And once you figure that out, make what they need. It's the same classic advice, find a need and fill it. And because of my exposure to a certain crowd of people years ago, I knew what they were looking for. I knew what they liked to have and that's why I can still serve those people by making my product. You have to know your market, you can't just have a good idea that nobody wants to buy, if you're gonna do it for a living. I mean believe me, I love what I do, I love the art but make no mistake, and this is how I put gas in the car. I have to make money. Dave: We appreciate you listening and would love to hear what you think of the show. Please go to iTunes or Stitcher right now and leave us a review. Small Biz Stories is produced by myself and Miranda Paquet with editing by TwentyFourSound. You can contact us at podcast@constantcontact.com Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. The post Felix the Cook — Small Biz Stories, Episode 14 appeared first on Constant Contact.

When Barbara Felix started her business, Felix the Cook, over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Finding her sweet spot with custom-made sugar cookies, Barbara has attracted big name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons. How can your business […] The post Felix the Cook — Small Biz Stories, Episode 14 appeared first on Constant Contact.

When Barbara Felix started her business, Felix the Cook, over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Finding her sweet spot with custom-made sugar cookies, Barbara has attracted big name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons. How can your business do the same? Listen as Barbara shares her best secrets for attracting and delighting clients. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Barbara: I've spent plenty of time working in offices thinking, “How can I get out of here?” I am not a paper person. I don't care what industry it's in, I cannot stand sitting behind a desk. So with cookies, I just love being the boss and being the creative person. I get physically ill if I cannot create something. Dave: Meet Barbara Felix, owner of Felix the Cook. Like so many businesses owners, Barbara became her own boss to avoid a boring, cookie-cutter career. Starting a business of her own, Barbara has the freedom to spend her days as she likes — which in her case means delighting customers with custom-made sugar cookies. If you've ever wondered if you have what it takes to start a business — or if you've already started and you're wondering how to take things to the next level, listen up. Today, Barbara shares her secrets for how a one-woman operation can use customer relationships to land big-name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons.More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Many small businesses start with a combination of passion and necessity. When Barbara started her business over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Listen as she describes her early attempts at finding the right fit and how an early mentor helped point her in the right direction. Barbara: Well, my dad was a cook. My dad always cooked at home. And I loved to play in the kitchen. I loved making things and my mother let me do whatever I want with butter, sugar and flour. So I have absolutely no fear of sweet stuff. And I grew up, got married, got divorced and decided I needed a career because I've been to high school, of course, but not much college. So there I was, a single mother with two children looking for something to do and I thought well, maybe I can take a cooking class and instead I decided to take the full program at the California Culinary Academy and do 16 months and come out as a chef. So I worked at a really fine restaurant for a couple years and then found it was just too difficult as a single mother to keep the hours of a kitchen, which were pretty brutal, and mind my kids. So I quit that and got into private chefing after a stint of making desserts for restaurants. There were a couple of small restaurants I worked for that didn't have the time or the space to do their own pastry. So I'd do that for them. Again, pastry was always my favorite. And with the kids, I would make cookies with them every holiday like Halloween. I can't get over it. That Halloween, I made black icing, my son was in heaven with black icing everywhere. So we'd do that and then one year one of my instructors was at the house for Christmas and she saw my cookies and she said, “Oh my God, Barbra, you have to sell these.” I said, “Really?” So because I trusted her, I pursued the cookies. I was private chefing at the time and I asked one of my clients what she thought. She suggested I get a year of cookies. So that was a great idea. So I designed 12 collections with 6 designs each to make up a dozen cookies for every month of the year, and got connected with a web designer, who started with that page, our cookies of the month. And from there it just grew. It was very word of mouth, very word of mouth. Dave: So, just talk us through kind of that inspiration for doing the cookies? Barbara: Oh! The inspiration was I can do this, and it's fun and people pay me! That's what it was. And that having someone whose opinion that I trusted told me they were wonderful. That's what I needed because I get in my own little bubble where I can't see outside. And if you go on cookies websites, it's amazing what people are doing. They're total artworks. And if you look at that, and then look at what I do and it's like, well I'd never measure up. The funny thing is, is that they're doing the same thing. Everybody is comparing, which is silly. But I wanted a way to make some money that wasn't as difficult, as private chefing can be. I wanted to do something that I was entirely comfortable with, which is pastry. And it's a fun job and it's a happy job. People are so happy when they can get on my schedule. They are happy to order their cookies they're anticipating, and they're happy when they get them. So I like happy uplifting things. That's why, I'm not curing cancer but I'm making people happy, nothing wrong with that. Dave: With cookie-making, Barbara found the sweet spot she was looking for. Now, she had to find something just as important — a loyal customer base.  Luckily, this wasn't Barbara's first business. Through her past endeavors, Barbara already had some ideas about her target market, what they wanted, and how best to reach them. Barbara: Now, I spent some time in Texas for 10 years and I had my own business there as well, making curtains and drapery and shades. And my first customer was a junior-league lady and I had learned very well. You tell a junior league lady, you're set because they all tell each other, they all call each other. So with that experience, with the cookies I thought, I got to donate to the junior league. And I did the same thing. I picked a couple different charities and I'd make a significant donation and people started calling. And that's how it started, with donations, because I had to get the word out. Dave: Did you set any goals for your business when you were first getting started? Barbara: Oh, I wish I could say yes! I wish I could say I followed my business plan to the T. I did not. My goal was to make some extra money. I'm a single mother with two kids, money was the ticket. So, with the help of friends, I thought it was important to get a website together and that was my first goal to get all those 12 months of designs made. Then to set up a photography booth or some way to get…I bought my first camera to do the photographs, my first little instant camera. And, to set up a business account, I set up a checkbook. The goals were very small and then to find charities where I could donate because I knew that's where my market was. See, I knew, from my experience of having my business in Texas, I knew what these ladies wanted. I knew what they were looking for and knew where they were. I knew my market. And I knew what they needed. And that's how I did it. Going for the upscale charity events and contacting people I knew in that area. Dave: What would you say makes your business different from others out there? Barbara: I would say the service. I mean, they love the taste of the cookies, there's that. They love the cookies, they love what I do. But I've had people tell me, “Oh, you're so flexible, and thank you” And it's personable, you know, people get excited when they can talk to the person who's actually making their product. It's not going through several layers. In fact, a few years ago, well in 2004, Gwyneth Paltrow put me on her Goop website for Christmas. And that's because I knew her driver. A friend of mine drove for her. I didn't even know he was driving for her but that was my connection. And I got a lot of orders and one person called to check on her order and it was so funny the way she spoke. It's like, “Can you go down on the factory floor and find the order?” and I said, “Ma'am I'm making your cookies.” And they're so excited. They're very excited to talk to the person. So I think that's it. There's no filter between me and the client. They call or they email or they talk to me. And that's the way I like it. And even as I grow, I don't know that I'll give away that part of the business. I think I'll still be the contact person. Dave: Barbara's success comes from giving her customers an experience they can't get anywhere else. By listening to her customers' advice, Barbara creates relationships that make other people feel invested in her success. It's no surprise that many of Barbara's best new customers have come directly from her existing customer base. Dave: Yeah. Is there, is there some place that you go for advice or guidance? Barbara: Oh gosh, yes! Gosh, yes! I guess I'm just a friendly person. But I know so many people who seem to be more successful than I am and their always eager to help me. I have one friend I met when I was doing cookies for a charity function and it was being held at Pixar. It was a very big deal and I got to see the Pixar office. I got to look at an Oscar, like two feet from my face, a real Oscar. That woman moved on to another company and another company and she's taken me with her every step of the way. So I've made cookies for her at every company and she's very into computers and marketing. And she helps me and she gives me ideas. Another friend of mine, again, it's a friend of a friend. He asked me if I could deliver cookies to his friend who manages a very big jewelry store downtown. And because of the timing, I thought, “Oh I'll just take him in myself.” And that was like a perfect thing to do. The fellow loved meeting me, he loved the cookies and he has sent me business and he has sent me a wonderful event planner that I work with constantly. And he's my buddy. He brings me to different events, he suggests things to do. He's got me working on a chocolate cookie now. He's determined to have a chocolate cookie place card with gold lettering. So I have ordered. I have been through the web top to bottom looking for a specific edible gold luster, which I've acquired. It's in the mail to me now. So they guide me, they tell me what you can do. Another friend of mine works at LinkedIn and he's helping me use that to meet other marketing people in different companies because that's where the cookie orders from companies come from. So, yes, I don't know, people like me and they talk to me and I talk to them and we chit chat. And yes, I have plenty of advisors. I've made cookies for Google Ventures and they're still customers. I did cookies for UPS. I did cookies for Tyler Florence a couple of times. And when he had his shop, my cookies were in his shop. Because one day, I walked in, and I happened to have my portfolio with me. And there was some sugar cookies for sale and I thought, “Oh my goodness! I can do better than that.” So I showed the sales girl. She got the marketing person to come down and we started a relationship and I had my cookies in there every holiday. Because I walked in and said, “Hey look at me.” Dave: Barbara's confidence in her product and dedication to her customer relationships have served her well in growing her business and reaching big-name clients. But that doesn't mean she's always as busy as she'd like. Dave: Was there ever a time that you felt like potentially the business wasn't gonna work? Barbara: Oh yeah! Oh gosh yes! Dave: Tell us about that. Barbara: Because I didn't have a budget for marketing. My budget was, “Can I pay my mortgage this month?” And some people would tell me, “Oh! You need to get better pictures. They don't do you justice.” And I didn't have the money to go up a notch. Packaging, when you start pricing packaging, you have to buy a lot for custom packaging. It's a huge investment for a small business. And there were times where I would get discouraged. And then the phone would ring and somebody would say so and so told me about you. And I would get all happy again. I really feed off my customer's happiness because it tells me I'm doing a good job. Dave: What have you found has been your most effective way to get or reaching customers? Barbara: Oh, really, Constant Contact because my email list consists of people who have already done business with me. They've already emailed me and bought purchased cookies so they're on my list. They're familiar with the product and the emails are just a reminder that I'm here, which is, as I said, for people that don't order cookies regularly. They need to be reminded, whether it's a birthday or an anniversary or something… Dave: Yeah. Tell me a little bit about your approach with email, like what do you? What do you send out? Like what do you do, how often? Barbara: I want to do it once a month. I try to do it once a month and I like to put up pictures of cookies they haven't seen, something new. Like I believe I did an email about painted cookies now, there's a big demand now for watercolor. You use the food coloring as the paint. So I did that. Mostly it's seasonal, you know. It's like, “Oh this is August, I'll send out a picture of my watermelon cookies” or whatever. Trying to think of what they might be doing and what they might need them for. We're very seasonal. I don't ever have sales, so there's nothing like that to do. I made a decision very early on that I wasn't going to discount my work, at all. And I don't. I don't care if you're buying two dozen or two thousand. The price is the price and that's it. So, there's no sales to advertise. It's mostly a reminder. Get on the books now because September's full. So, think about me now. Mostly to remind people to, order ahead. That's what I use it for. The email marketing is entirely affordable, entirely affordable, $20 a month? I mean, come on. It's a bargain. It's a tremendous bargain. And what sold it for me is the online help because I'm of a certain age. I need to speak to someone. I don't want to just tap on the computer. And every time I call, I get someone who is willing to stay there and help me and I've never gone away unsatisfied from a phone call. And I need that because I'm not computer savvy. I am not going to invest time in learning how to run a computer because I run a cookie business. I'm not a computer person. Dave: Rather than focusing on finding new customers, Barbara stays in touch with her existing customers — the people she already has established relationships with. By reaching out and reminding her customers what she has to offer, she sparks new interest and gets the phone ringing again. Dave: What is it that you would say that really keeps you going and your business successful? Barbara: Pride in what I do, that I do it myself, that I don't have to answer to anyone except my customers. Like I've mentioned, this is not my first business. My first business was making curtains, draperies and shades and it was the similar thing. I worked alone, I made a beautiful product, everybody was happy at every stage. And I loved being my own boss. I've spent plenty of time working in offices thinking, “How can I get out of here?” I am not a paper person. I don't care what industry it's in, I cannot stand sitting behind a desk. So with cookies, I just love being the boss and being the creative person. I get physically ill if I cannot create something, if I can't be refinishing furniture, or making a curtain or doing something creative. And the cookies give me all that. All my art, all my color, theory, everything I do is in there. And I love making people happy. I love making little kids smile when they get a cookie. I have pictures on my wall of the little kids holding my cookies, being happy. That's a nice thing. Dave: You'll notice Barbara's success is rooted in her own satisfaction, as well as her customers'. As she said earlier, she really feeds off her customers' happiness. While many small businesses are started by fiercely independent people — hungry to call the shots, make their own hours, and put their stamp on things — the successful ones never lose sight of the people they're trying to help. I'll leave you with Barbara's best advice for someone interested in starting their own business. Barbara: Oh, golly. Know your market. If you don't know where your market is and what they want, you have no chance. You need to know what people want. And once you figure that out, make what they need. It's the same classic advice, find a need and fill it. And because of my exposure to a certain crowd of people years ago, I knew what they were looking for. I knew what they liked to have and that's why I can still serve those people by making my product. You have to know your market, you can't just have a good idea that nobody wants to buy, if you're gonna do it for a living. I mean believe me, I love what I do, I love the art but make no mistake, and this is how I put gas in the car. I have to make money. Dave: We appreciate you listening and would love to hear what you think of the show. Please go to iTunes or Stitcher right now and leave us a review. Small Biz Stories is produced by myself and Miranda Paquet with editing by TwentyFourSound. You can contact us at podcast@constantcontact.com Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. The post Felix the Cook — Small Biz Stories, Episode 14 appeared first on Constant Contact.

When Barbara Felix started her business, Felix the Cook, over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Finding her sweet spot with custom-made sugar cookies, Barbara has attracted big name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four… The post Felix the Cook — Small Biz Stories, Episode 14 appeared first on Constant Contact.

What am I doing to make the world a better place? That's the question that motivated Brian Beckon to leave the corporate world in the hopes of building a more democratic and just economy. As a securities lawyer and Vice President of Cutting Edge Capital, Brian has the knowledge and passion necessary to help entrepreneurs raise funds from both wealthy and community investors. Listen as he shares the most challenging parts of enacting change — from overcoming skepticism to applying solutions that have never been done before. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Brian: And there’s something kind of amazing that happens when you really believe in what you’re doing. If you’re just doing a job, and you’re working hard for a long time without a break, you can burn out. But if you’re doing something you’re passionate about, you almost never burn out. You may get discouraged, but you keep on going. Whereas, if it’s just a job you get discouraged you quit, you find another job. That is probably more than anything what has gotten us through difficult times. It’s just that focus on something much bigger than any one of us or even bigger than the firm itself. It’s something really huge. We feel at the risk of sounding cocky or arrogant, we feel that we need to keep doing it because if we don’t do it who will? Dave: That's Brian Beckon, Vice President of Cutting Edge Capital — a consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs raise funds from both wealthy and community investors. Like so many business owners and entrepreneurs, Brian strives to make a difference by doing work that he believes in. As a securities lawyer, Brian left the corporate world in the hopes of building a more democratic and just economy. Today, he shares the most challenging parts of enacting change — from overcoming skepticism and growing an audience to applying solutions that have never been done before. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Have you ever felt like you're not living up to your potential? In Brian's early days out of law school, this became the rock in his shoe. Rather than sticking to a clearly laid out career path, Brian tried a few different directions to find something more meaningful. Listen as he describes how he discovered his passion for building a more democratic economy. Brian: How far back can I go? I’m a lawyer. I’ve been practicing in law for about 25 years. I went to law school back in the late 80s because I was trying to figure out what can I do to you know, make the world a better place. And I didn’t really know what else to do with a humanities degree, and I figured well, I’ll go to law school. And I came out of law school, and did the obligatory Law Firm. I was in the law firm for about five and a half years, kind of burned out I said,

What am I doing to make the world a better place? That’s the question that motivated Brian Beckon to leave the corporate world in the hopes of building a more democratic and just economy. As a securities lawyer and Vice President of Cutting Edge Capital, Brian has the knowledge and… The post Cutting Edge Capital — Small Biz Stories, Episode 13 appeared first on Constant Contact.

When Susie Coliver started ARCH Art & Drafting Supply at 24 years old, she never could have anticipated how her business would evolve over the next 38 years. From skyrocketing rent prices in San Francisco to the rise of digital drafting tools, Susie keeps her store going by facing trends head on and maintaining strong relationships with her customers and staff. Listen as she shares how to stay relevant in a changing market and how she’s built a dedicated customer base that keeps her business going. Find us on Stitcher Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Susie: For me, I think that we have all learned to be so efficient in the way we transact our days. We’re able to multitask so completely. We’re able to do so much from our desktop or our laptop or our telephone that you can actually go through days and days and days of never actually talking to anybody. From my inexperience, but long-term perspective, we all lose out in that equation. That being human, we need and want the connection. Dave: You just heard from Susie Coliver, an architectural designer and the owner of ARCH Drafting Supply. Since starting her business over 38 years ago, Susie has faced challenges within an evolving San Francisco and architectural community. From skyrocketing rent prices to the rise of digital drafting tools, Susie's store remains a cherished part of her community because of the connections she's developed with her customers and staff. Today, she shares how to stay relevant in a changing market and how she built a devoted customer base. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Susie's path to becoming a business owner is an interesting one. While many people start a business to pursue their passion, Susie initially started her store as a way to finance the work she loved to do. Listen as she shares how she decided to start ARCH Drafting Supply at just 24 years old. Susie: I came out of a very people-focused architectural education. Right out of school, I started doing architectural community organizing in an underserved neighborhood in San Francisco called Bernal Heights that was starting to undergo gentrification. And there was an effort being made to provide opportunities for families who had always live...

When Susie Coliver started ARCH Art & Drafting Supply at 24 years old, she never could have anticipated how her business would evolve over the next 38 years. From skyrocketing rent prices in San Francisco to the rise of digital drafting tools, Susie keeps her store going by facing trends head… The post ARCH Art & Drafting Supply — Small Biz Stories, Episode 12 appeared first on Constant Contact.

When Libby and Brad Birky decided to start Colorado’s first pay-what-you-can restaurant, So All May Eat (or SAME) Café —  no one thought their idea would work. Now, after ten successful years in business, Libby and Brad share their story on the today’s episode of Small Biz Stories. Listen as they share how they transformed a unique idea into a thriving business. Find us on Stitcher Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. You can also read the transcript below: Libby: I would say most people were really polite… Brad: Yes. Libby: …and listened and cheerleaded us. And I’m certain that as soon as we walked away, they were like, “Those morons.” Brad: Yeah. To our faces it was, “Oh, good for you guys! That’s great!” As soon as we turned around, “That’ll never work.” Libby: We’ve at least had one person admit to it. Brad: Yeah. Libby: Yeah. Who, you know, probably three or four years ago came back and said, “When you told me you were gonna do this, I thought you were nuts and that would never work. And here you are.’ I’m like, yeah, see. Dave: Ten years later. Libby: Yes, yes. Brad: Ten years later. Dave: That's Libby and Brad Birky, co-founders of So All May Eat (or SAME) Café. Colorado's first pay-what-you-can restaurant. Today, they'll share what it takes to run a successful nonprofit restaurant. From their early sacrifices to the life-changing moments that make it all worth it, you'll learn how they transformed a unique idea into a thriving business. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: SAME Café sits on Colfax Avenue — the longest commercial street in the United States. Walk along this 26-mile street and you'll come across a variety of mom and pop shops, including independent bookstores, record stores, iconic bars, and famous bakeries. But SAME café still manages to stand out. The café's cornfield yellow walls, freshly cut wildflowers, and window tower garden take you out of the hustle of the city and into a place of comfort. Listen as Brad describes how he and Libby were first inspired to start their business. Brad: Let’s see. So Libby and I, we’re college sweethearts. We started dating when we were both in college in different states, did the whole long distance relationship thing, but we grew up within 20 minutes of each other. Our parents actually kind of knew each other. They were in similar fields. Our dads were both in road construction. Moms were both school-related workers. And so we just kind of fell into each other and started dating. And as soon as we graduated from college,

When Libby and Brad Birky decided to start Colorado’s first pay-what-you-can restaurant, So All May Eat (or SAME) Café —  no one thought their idea would work. Now, after ten successful years in business, Libby and Brad share their story on the today’s episode of Small Biz Stories. Listen as they share… The post SAME Café — Small Biz Stories, Episode 11 appeared first on Constant Contact.

Traci Brown is a body language and persuasion expert whose winning mindset propels her business to success. Today, on episode 10 of the Small Biz Stories podcast, Traci shares her best stories — like the time she got a product deal with Kevin Harrington, a Shark from ABC's hit show Shark Tank — as well as her biggest setbacks. You’ll hear her unexpected journey from champion athlete to body language expert and her best advice for other business owners. Find us on Stitcher Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Traci: Here’s the thing: If you’re waiting for someone to give you some kind of approval, you’re way behind the curve. And I can’t always say that I’ve been the most successful person that there is, but I can say that I’ve learned a few things about how to not quit. Dave: That’s Traci Brown, body language expert, keynote speaker, and former champion athlete who knows: if you don't play, you can't win. Welcome back to Small Biz Stories! This season, we're back with businesses — from a pay-what-you-can restaurant to a capital raising consulting firm — to find out how they turned their dreams into reality. Today, Traci shares how her unlikely path led her to a product deal with Shark Tank's Kevin Harrington. And how a winning mindset can propel you to victory, even in the face of setbacks. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Have you ever met someone unstoppable? Someone with so much drive and energy, the room can hardly contain it. Sitting in Traci's home in Boulder, Colorado, her energy and confidence is tangible — which explains how she can command a keynote stage and work a packed room. Listen as she shares her unexpected journey from winning athlete to body language and persuasion expert. Traci: it’s funny how one really…life kind of unfolds if you just follow it. And I raced bikes for, gosh, 12, 14 years and I got pretty good at it. I won three national championships in college and I rode for team USA. And through that time I knew one thing about myself is that I was the wrong size to be a cyclist. I was too tall, strength to weight ratio wasn’t there for me. But I knew that I could outsmart my competition if I watched them really closely and started to anticipate what they were going to do. That gave me the information that I needed to raise my game and beat them on certain days.

Traci Brown is a body language and persuasion expert whose winning mindset propels her business to success. Today, on episode 10 of the Small Biz Stories podcast, Traci shares her best stories — like the time she got a product deal with Kevin Harrington, a Shark from ABC’s hit show… The post Traci Brown, Body Language Expert – Small Biz Stories, Episode 10 appeared first on Constant Contact.

Dawn Noble is the owner of La Provence in Rockport, Massachusetts. Since taking over the store 10 years ago, Dawn has learned what it takes to be a successful small business owner. Listen as she shares the unexpected way she became a business owner, her biggest challenges and lessons, and her best advice for others looking to start their own business. Find us on Stitcher Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Dawn: Just knowing that the harder I work, I was going to benefit. You can work like crazy for somebody else, but they’re not going to appreciate you, necessarily. And just knowing that all the hard work I was doing was going to come back to me. It was going to pay off. Dawn Noble is the owner of La Provence in Rockport, Massachusetts. Like all the owners we've spoken to in the first season of Small Biz Stories, Dawn has a gift. From the moment you enter her store, you're transported by the vibrant colors of French linens and bright bread baskets. The French-milled soaps fill the store with smells of Jasmine Ginger and Rosemary Mint. It's the type of place you could spend hours exploring each and every detail. Since taking over the store 10 years ago, Dawn has learned what it takes to be a successful small business owner. Today, in our final interview of the season, Dawn shares the unexpected way she became a business owner, her biggest challenges and lessons, and her best advice for others looking to start their own business. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Becoming a business owner can take months, or even years, of careful planning. But for Dawn, the journey started unexpectedly. Dawn: It was sort of happenstance — it was completely by accident. I was working at what was then called The Greenery Restaurant, and I was about to start graduate classes. I had finished college, and it was my favorite store in town, La Provence. I had tablecloths from there, I had soap, I had colognes. I loved the owners, they were great guys. And Bill, one of the previous owners, Bill Chisholm, came into the restaurant one day and he just said…they were trying to sell the business, one of the owners was really sick. It wasn’t an ideal situation for them, so they were looking basically for an exit strategy from the business. It had been there baby for 10 plus years,

Dawn Noble is the owner of La Provence in Rockport, Massachusetts. Since taking over the store 10 years ago, Dawn has learned what it takes to be a successful small business owner. Listen as she shares the unexpected way she became a business owner, her biggest challenges and lessons, and her… The post La Provence – Small Biz Stories, Episode 9 appeared first on Constant Contact.

It's that time of year when everyone goes crazy for warm sweaters, pumpkin carving and, depending on your location, apple picking. Here in New England it is the busiest season for apple orchards. Andrew and Chelcie Martin are third and fourth generation farmers at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, Massachusetts. In this episode, they share what it's like to be part of a family business, how to deal with things that are out of your control, and what it takes to be a successful manager. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Andrew: As with any business, if you’re not morphing, and changing, and growing, you don’t have to be growing huge but growing, you’re slowly dying. Everything’s in change all the time, and so we try to look at what we can do better, or what we should add, or what might make a place more attractive to people. Even if it’s just something as simple as what variety mix we need to change and what type of trees we want to have for the future. People have the idea of a big old apple tree, but that isn’t really the future of apples. Much smaller trees is the future of apples. But also, we don’t want to change that too fast because people have this idea in their head of what apple trees should be when you come to pick apples. Dave: Andrew Martin is a third generation farmer at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow Massachusetts. If you live in New England, you know how satisfying it is to taste the first apple cider doughnut of the season, stuff a bag full of fresh apples, and find new ways to eat apples for weeks to come. Our trip to Honey Pot Hill came with the added benefit of speaking with business owners Andrew and his daughter Chelcie. Sitting outside, listening to enthusiastic children and cicadas — yup those annoying bugs you just heard in the opening quote — Andrew and Chelcie shared the rich history of their farm and how they plan to keep the business going for generations to come. Today they share what it's like to be part of a family business, how to deal with things that are out of your control, and their best management advice. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Andrew's grandfather bought the family farm in 1926 af...

Kellee Twadelle, owner of Rose & Dove Specialty Gift Shop, is proud to own her own business. In this episode, Kellee shares how support from her local business community, quality staff, and loyal customer base keep her business going strong throughout various industry changes and personal challenges. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Kellee: It was nice sort of being in charge of your own destiny. Then again on the flip side, there’s so much pressure in wanting to make it succeed and that always in the back of your head, that chance of failure. I think seeing my father and how successful he was, that fear of failure, I sort of had this drive. “I’ve got to just keep going and running with this and changing and mixing it up and evolving.” I think anyone who goes straight to starting their own business has got such great moxie. My hat is off to them because that’s pretty amazing, too. At least I’ve got a base, a foundation of . . . I was a project manager, so I kind of knew how to approach certain things and events and I’m like “Okay. I can kind of use that template.” But someone coming, brand-new, that’s pretty incredible. Dave: Earlier this year, we surveyed small business owners to hear about the sacrifices and rewards of owning your own business. It shouldn't come as a surprise that 59 percent of those surveyed agreed that the freedom to try new things, make your own mistakes, and control your destiny is the best part of running a small business. As important as personal freedom is to many owners, listening to their stories has shown that no successful business is truly self-sufficient. Today you'll hear from Kellee Twadelle, owner of Rose and Dove Specialty Gift Shop. Kellee shares how support from her local business community, quality staff, and loyal customer base keep her business going strong throughout various industry changes and personal challenges. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Unlike a few of the other business owners we've talked to, Kellee didn't start off her career as an owner. After spending over a decade working in the corporate world, Kellee shifted her focus to explore other talents.

Kellee Twadelle, owner of Rose & Dove Specialty Gift Shop, is proud to own her own business. In this episode, Kellee shares how support from her local business community, quality staff, and loyal customer base keep her business going strong throughout various industry changes and personal challenges. Small Biz Stories tells… The post Rose & Dove Specialty Gift Shop – Small Biz Stories, Episode 7 appeared first on Constant Contact.

Jim Kilroy, owner of Danish Country Antiques, knows what it takes to be a small business owner. Listen as he shares how he's stayed motivated for over 30 years, his best advice, and what it really means to think like an owner. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Jim: There was no hard part. You just did it. You had to do it. There was no choice. I wasn’t going to go apply for a job. I just had to do it. And I had to succeed one way or the other. My wife was pregnant. You know what I mean? I had no money. I had to succeed. It was as simple as that. And I did. I was lucky. Dave: Jim Kilroy, owner of Danish Country Antiques, is the sixth business owner we've interviewed for Small Biz Stories. Since starting the project three months ago, we've talked to people like Andy and Jackie, who sold their home to start their own artisan bakery. Then there was Peter, a man who loves cheese enough to roll a 400 pound wheel of it down a red carpet during his annual cheese parade. We heard from Marie, who keeps her business going by displaying her talent both online and off. And most recently, Jason and Chris shared how their efforts contribute to community development and make a lasting impact. With each story comes a new adventure, shaped by the owners and their unique points of view. But look closer and you'll start to see some unmistakable commonalities. These are people who hit the ground running on day one, and have followed through ever since. Their motivation comes from a strong desire to call the shots, as well as an unwavering belief in the value of what they do. Like a handcrafted Danish cabinet from the 1760s, these traits can't be forged or copied. When you see the real deal, you just know it. Today Jim shares how he has stayed motivated for over 30 years, his biggest business regret, and what it really means to think like an owner. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Starting a small business, it doesn't take long to realize what you're up against. Listening to Jim talk about the early days of his business, you'll hear his determination, as well as the importance of having a support system to make it through some early challenges. Jim: I was going to do an antique store one way or the other. Dave: What year was that when you started the shop? Jim: That was in ’84. Dave: ’84?

Jim Kilroy, owner of Danish Country Antiques, knows what it takes to be a small business owner. Listen as he shares how he’s stayed motivated for over 30 years, his best advice, and what it really means to think like an owner. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some… The post Danish Country Antiques – Small Biz Stories, Episode 6 appeared first on Constant Contact.

In episode 5, you'll meet Chris Iousa, owner of Destaré (http://destare.com/) martini bar and Chaibo (http://chaibo.com/) coffee and tea house in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Listen as he shares how small businesses have the power to transform Main Street and revitalize communities. Small Biz Stories (http://constantcontact.com/smallbizstories) tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us on Stitcher (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/constant-contact/small-biz-stories?refid=stpr). You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp). Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing (http://www.constantcontact.com/email-marketing). Find out more at ConstantContact.com (http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp). Chris: The chasing of money, it actually bores me. It's just not something that intrigues me. It's difficult for me to be around a lot of other business people. They're talking about their profits and their return on investments. It doesn't inspire me. It's like, what have you done? What have you created? What difference have you made in the communities that you're in? By default, the businesses do make money, but that's never been my passion. It's been really about engaging with customers, engaging the neighborhood, hoping to help make people feel a little more pride in their community. Dave: Chris Iousa remembers the first time he drove through Fitchburg. The old mill town architecture and Victorian homes awoke an excitement that hasn't left him since. Driving down Main Street, Chris saw an opportunity to revitalize a community and reclaim Fitchburg as the destination spot it once was during the peak of its industrial and commercial prosperity. Like many small business owners, Chris is passionate about his local community. He knows his customers' names and their favorite orders. He listens to his staff and gives them opportunities to directly contribute to the business. Above all, Chris holds a strong conviction that small businesses have the power to transform communities. Today, Chris shares how he overcame doubts and challenges to create profitable and influential businesses in his community. He'll share how his approach as a business owner has changed over time and his best piece of advice for those just starting out. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Chris's interest in community development stems from a background in real estate. For years, Chris has made lasting impact by renovating space and stimulating neighborhoods. Chris: My passion is transforming space. Prior to acquiring this building, most of my development activities were looking in the most desperate of residential neighborhoods. I'd find the worst house in the neighborhood and I went in and renovated it. We did a full development of the space of the building. I watched on a small scale that our efforts on one building in a neighborhood would start getting. I'd send my crews down there. The landscapers would go out and do their thing. Then I'd watch the next weekend a property that had been completely unmaintained for years and years and years, now the other person, a neighbor was out actually raking the leaves that had been accumulating for many, many years. I looked at that and I said, "You can't count on the neighborhood transforming but you can make a difference."

In episode 5, you’ll meet Chris Iousa, owner of Destaré martini bar and Chaibo coffee and tea house in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Listen as he shares how small businesses have the power to transform Main Street and revitalize communities. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people… The post Destaré and Chaibo – Small Biz Stories, Episode 5 appeared first on Constant Contact.

Meet Jason Talbot, co-founder of Artists for Humanity. Jason shares his views on how to transform ideas, individuals, and the greater community. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Jason: I could feel it happening to my mind, to myself, to my self-image, to my vision for my future that I wanted to continue. I wanted to have an art show in that gallery every weekend for the rest of my life, because it felt that good. And that’s why we do it, because it makes that effort worth something. Dave: If you own a small business, you're probably familiar with this feeling. There's a moment when all the hard work and sacrifice you've put into something finally pays off. You feel a true sense of accomplishment. As any small business owner can tell you, you'll need hard work, focus, and discipline to take full advantage of the opportunities available to you. Today, Jason Talbot, co-founder of Artists for Humanity, shares how a strong work ethic has the power to transform your idea, self-image, and community. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Artists for Humanity is a nonprofit that started off with an idea: to address the lack of arts experiences in Boston's Public schools by employing urban teens to provide creative services to clients within the local business community. Jason has been involved in this program since the beginning — first as a student of the program, and today as a co-founder and Special Projects Director for the organization. Dave: So I guess let’s look at the history starting there. You’re in a unique position where that you’re kind of a product of the program, I guess, before it was a program, right? Jason: Yeah, yeah. Dave: Tell us a little bit about how that all started. Jason: Well, Artists for Humanity, it started in a real organic way. Susan Rodgerson, our executive director, saw what was going on in the Boston Public School System. Saw art programs being slashed and really took it upon herself in a real entrepreneurial way to make sure the young people got the enrichment that art brings to their lives. And she wanted to make sure that there was art in schools, that kids had that experience. And so she had this plan to paint a big, giant painting with a bunch of kids and sell it off to a corporation for lobby art to then fund the next painting.

Meet Jason Talbot, co-founder of Artists for Humanity. Jason shares his views on how to transform ideas, individuals, and the greater community. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you’ll ever meet — small business owners. You’ll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their… The post Artists for Humanity – Small Biz Stories, Episode 4 appeared first on Constant Contact.

Join us for episode 3, where we share the story of Marie Mouradian, owner of Window Designs Etc. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Marie: How I determine success? Jeez, I don’t know. To leave everything more beautiful than it started with. And everything is different; each job has a little different twist on it. Dave: What is it about success that makes it so hard for us to pin down?  Maybe the biggest reason is that success looks and feels different for each person. For Marie Mouradian, owner of Window Designs Etc., success is not something to be accomplished, but something to constantly strive for. As her own boss for over 33 years, Marie has pushed herself to stay at the top of her craft within a changing industry. Today she'll share where she gets her inspiration, her biggest challenges, and advice you can apply to your business. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Stepping into our office, it's clear that Marie's passion for design and aesthetic are not only part of her business, but something she lives and breathes each day. There's an attention to detail in the way that she presents herself. I started our interview by asking Marie where her love of fashion and design comes from and how it translated to starting her own business. Marie:  Ever since I was really small my mother and my grandmother taught me how to sew. And so I started sewing clothing when I was probably about seven. And that’s what I have my degree in, is clothing and textiles. And then I went into fashion merchandising, into the retail end. And that was when stores started opening on Sunday, and I was working way too much for schlepping all kinds of clothing all over a store. And so I started doing things on the side. And it was through encouragement of my family, my friends, my then-fiancé who said, “You really just need to start a business.” And so at the ripe old age of 22 I went into business. Did I have a business plan? No. Was I crazy? Yes. But I was very fortunate that I had people who believed in me. Dave: For Marie, the doubts and uncertainties of starting a business were overpowered by a desire to pursue something personal and meaningful. Marie: Fabric makes my heart sing, and color and texture and all the types of style and design. Dave: Tell me a bit more about that. What about it makes you so excited? Marie: That you can take something flat, a flat bolt of fabric, and you can create anything, anything. Anything that gives you a feeling. And, of course, as it transfers onto windows, it absorbs sound, it creates all other functions. Whether you’re going to block out light or add some style,

Join us for episode 3, where we share the story of Marie Mouradian, owner of Window Designs Etc. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you’ll ever meet — small business owners. You’ll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the… The post Window Designs, Etc. – Small Biz Stories, Episode 3 appeared first on Constant Contact.

In this episode, we visit The Cheese Shop in Concord, Massachusetts to meet Peter Lovis. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Peter: He says, “Why? How much are you . . . ” He’s looking around a small little store and said, “How much you gonna buy?” I’m like, “15, 20 wheels.” His eyes popped in the back of his head. He says, “Well, you know they make a 400-pounder.” I’m like, “Well, I’ll buy a 400-pound wheel.” I know I’m gonna sell it. Right? I know I’m gonna sell that many pounds of this one cheese. I’ll buy a 400-pound wheel of cheese. Dave: How many people do you know with that kind of confidence? I can surely think of one — his name is Peter Lovis, owner of The Cheese Shop in Concord, Massachusetts. But even with Peter's confidence, that doesn't mean there haven't been moments of doubt. Today, you'll hear from Peter as we explore how he got started in the cheese business, the day he thought he made his biggest mistake, and how he pushed through to continue to grow his business. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: When you first meet Peter, you can see you're meeting a man in his element. Half cheesemonger, half magician — he is the Willy Wonka of cheese. Standing behind the counter, handing out generous samples, those of us waiting in line, hold on to our numbers tightly as if we're clutching our very own golden tickets. Watching him in action, I wanted to know how he first got started. With almost 40 years in the cheese business, he remembers his first day like it was yesterday. Peter: Well, I wanted a job. So I went downtown to the Green Grocer in New Jersey, Green Grocer and hardware store and deli and cheese shop and asking people if they’d give me a job. I was 15 years old. My first day was October 16, 1976. I just loved it. I’m still in touch with Mr. Knowles. He’s a great guy. He’s 90 this year. Dave: Mr. Knowles was Peter's first boss, and is still the inspiration for a lot of Peter's own management style. Throughout our interview, Peter brought up a few lessons he learned from Mr. Knowles early on. Peter: So, I started in October, October ’76. February of vacation week, 1977, February ’77, I hadn’t even worked there for six months. I was not even 16 years old yet. He said to me, “My wife and I are going to St. Bart’s for a week. Will you take care of the store?” So I was 15 years old. I had the keys to the store. I ran the store all by myself, all week. Peter: Because of that investment that he put into me, that really drives that inspiration to continue to invest in young people and frame them.

In this episode, we visit The Cheese Shop in Concord, Massachusetts to meet Peter Lovis. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you’ll ever meet — small business owners. You’ll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us… The post The Cheese Shop in Concord, Massachusetts – Small Biz Stories, Episode 2 appeared first on Constant Contact.

Join us for episode 1, where we visit A&J King Artisan Bakers in Salem, Massachusetts. And if you’re in their area, get about one newsletter a month outlining their seasonal specials, upcoming events, and other fun happenings! Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet — small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Jackie: Where do you go for advice? Sometimes you feel all alone, “No one will understand I don't even know where to begin to explain it.” Dave: You just heard the voice Jackie King, co-owner of A&J King Artisan Bakers in Salem, Massachusetts. If you own a small business it's likely you've felt something similar. Off on your own, with limited time and resources, unsure of where to go for help and guidance. This is why we started SMALL BIZ STORIES. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Stepping inside Andy and Jackie's bakery, it doesn't take long to realize you're in for something good. The display cases are filled with freshly made earl grey scones, almond croissants, and coconut meringue tarts. The staff is friendly and focused, and the walls show off the many framed awards the bakery has received since opening its doors in 2006. Maybe most impressive is the energy of the bakery. A quick survey of the room reveals that everyone — from the people behind the counter to those seated enjoying their meal — look satisfied and at home. After speaking with Andy and Jackie, I'm not surprised their bakery has this effect on people. Growing up, both agreed to have inherited a powerful love of food from their families. But it wasn't until they tried to pursue other, seemingly more practical careers, that they began to feel like they were missing out on something. Jackie: I went to college, and then two years into that I was doing fine but I was totally feeling like I had missed out on doing what I really wanted to do. So I left traditional college and went to New England Culinary and just said, “I feel like I’ll be upset if I don’t try this.” Dave: Andy, who graduated with a music degree and started working at an educational center, described a similar realization. Andy: I remember one day I was biking through Palo Alto through the Stanford campus, because this was on the West Coast, and I saw a cafe with a bunch of professors eating and talking. And then there was the back door to the cafe where there was a bunch of cooks sitting and laughing and smoking cigarettes on their break. And I just knew I’d rather be them. Dave: It was at the New England Culinary Institute where the couple first met. After their graduation and getting married,

Join us for episode 1, where we visit A&J King Artisan Bakers in Salem, Massachusetts. And if you’re in their area, get about one newsletter a month outlining their seasonal specials, upcoming events, and other fun happenings! Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you’ll… The post A&J King Artisan Bakers – Small Biz Stories, Episode 1 appeared first on Constant Contact.