|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
BY PATRICIA BOLAND
February 1997
"Love what you do, and do what you
love," is the message from the women entrepreneurs in Fairfield,
whether it is baking bagels, selling sewing machines, designing
houses, or mailing out lingerie. For a town of only 10,200, Fairfield
has more than its fair share of creative and entrepreneurial
businesswomen who are servicing local, national, and even some
international needs. They're also contributing to making the local
economy stable and creating jobs.
While these women find their pursuits fulfilling, it hasn't always been easy. Up to 90 percent of small businesses fail in their first year, and our Fairfield entrepreneurs have overcome this start-up challenge. But, like all entrepreneurs, they're finding they need to be committed to what they do, be prepared to work long hours, and know how to deal with seasonal fluctuations in sales. But added hindrances women experience are possible prejudice in arranging finances, simply not being taken seriously, and missing time spent with their families. Despite challenges, these women each found a definite market niche and overcame difficulties in different ways.
Learning the Jargon of Business
Zadie's Bagels started in Ellen Chroman's kitchen in January 1993 with an output of 80 boiled, then baked, bagels a day. She couldn't find a decent bagel in Fairfield after she moved here from Los Angeles in 1986, and, knowing there were a lot of other people here from big cities who would want them, started baking the "real thing" for this specialized market. But she had a lot to learn: "I didn't even know how to make the hole in the middle!" says Chroman. After six months, the demand was so great that baking moved to her garage to allow 300 a day. After 18 months, Zadie's moved to its present location at 306 West Burlington. Here, Zadie's bakes around 900 bagels a day. With this sort of success, it's hard to resist the observation, "That's lot of dough!"
But when it came time to finance the equipment and new location she needed for expansion, Chroman initially had problems. "Now that I look back on it, each time I went to one bank, I learned from that bank," she says. Chromin feels that she didn't know enough about business terminology when she submitted her first borrowing proposal. She wrote her own business plan using a standardized outline and used a small-business advisor to put together the figures for her existing and projected operation. But the first banker refused it. "He thought I did not know what I was doing," she says. Undaunted, she set about learning the jargon. "So the next time I went I had learned about all that stuff, because I asked my friends," Chroman says. Unperturbed by a second refusal, she then approached Norwest Bank in Ottumwa. With some assistance from their lending officer (this time a female), Chroman's financing ultimately included a small grant from a scheme to support women and minorities in business.
Looking for a New Challenge
"I've never had any difficulties raising finance," says Joann Fritz, who ended up buying a building to relocate the Sewing Room after she lost her lease on the square. Her idea to cater to a niche market, selling quilting fabric, craft supplies, and sewing machines, originally came when she was restless with her life. She had been working as a registered nurse in Fairfield since 1987, after widowhood and farming for many years near Brighton. Annoyed one day when she couldn't find anywhere on the square to buy thread, she had the idea to set up her store. She opened in June 1989 and in 1995 had revenues of $120,000. "The bank was accommodating. Maybe they should say no now and again," quips Fritz, who moved to the new location on Highway 34 last August. But raising finance to buy a building is a lot different than having only a good idea as a starting point for a venture.
Adapting to Mail Order Fluctuations
Lila Williams resorted to a cash advance from her boyfriend's credit card for her first source of finance. In October 1985, Williams established Panty of the Month, a mail-order subscription service, in New York City. Her business carved out a niche in both the lingerie and gift markets based on the insight that men can't gift wrap and "would die a thousand deaths" if they had to walk into a lingerie store. She found it much easier to get a loan here than in New York, but added that her needs were comparatively small--the purchase of a high-tech phone system.
But the challenges don't end with financing. Coming to terms with the seasonal fluctuations in sales is yet another obstacle Williams has had to face, along with other women entrepreneurs. "Mail order is dead in July and August. The colder it gets, the busier it gets," she says. "It used to drive me crazy." She adapted, and decided to use those summer months to plan her Christmas catalog.
Coping with Seasonal Ups & Downs
Pamela Macey, owner of a gift shop and gallery just off the square called Sweetbriar, is still combating the seasonal nature of her business. The store, with its tastefully appointed decor, features the work of local artists alongside bric-a-brac with a Victorian flavor. "The biggest obstacle is retailing in general--having enough consistent business all year long," says Macey. "It's still the challenge that I have."
Identifying Special Customer Needs
Carol Morehead, owner of Carol's Apparels, also faced this problem, but she started and continues to expand her business by being able to identify specific needs, and was able to find stock to counter seasonal effects in her sales. In doing so, she carved out her niche in retail clothing.
A dancer at heart, Morehead started a small shop in the Broadway Building in 1994 selling dance wear because it couldn't be bought in Fairfield. She later identified another need for good-quality outerwear at reasonable prices. Sales expanded, she moved to South Main Street, and quickly outgrew that location after she started stocking women's clothes. Sales continued to expand and she again relocated to a much larger store on the square in late 1996. She attributes her success to having been able to correctly identify needs: "I think it's because when I see a need I fill it," she says. "I naturally expanded into ladies' clothing because of my love of fabrics; there was a need for providing high-quality natural fibers, and I really try to keep my prices down."
Specialized Services Create a Niche
Combating seasonal effects is a bigger challenge in the field of architecture, which also encounters cyclical swings. But architect Carmen Quinton, principal of Chelnov & Quinton, has been able to establish her niche and counter downturns in the business cycle with the help of her specialized knowledge. Building activity is very much dependent on the business cycle and the level of activity in the economy. "If people have the money to build, then we prosper," she says. However, Quinton can't complain about the current level of demand for her services. With a lively local economy, the demand for architectural services in general is high, and Quinton is qualified in a very special area. She is one of the few people in the United States qualified to design and advise according to the principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda. Quinton describes these principles as being for "building in tune with nature." More than just ecologically and environmentally sound construction, Sthapatya Veda insures that "every part of the environment is enriched," she says.
These principles require building in tune with the individual nature of home owners, and Quinton makes sure she spends time getting to know her clients. Also, because details of their likes and dislikes are so personal, people respond more to her as a woman." We work as a team when we design, and I really listen," she says. "I keep saying, 'Talk to me,' so that I know who they are and I know what they like." So being a woman in business not only has its challenges, but also its advantages.
Offering Teamwork and Integrity
Monica Hadley is another successful entrepreneur who has established a niche for her business. She offers high-quality, computerized support services for small businesses at rates lower that those of CPAs. She established Fairfield Accounting Services over 12 years ago, offering payroll processing, tax advice, financial services, and catering to specialist investment partnerships, such as stock, commodities, and hedging funds. She attributes success to "Being good at what we do," and "always being responsible for the work that we produce."
Hadley, a graduate of Fairfield High School, now has two partners, employs eight, and, with around 300 clients, has gross billings she estimates at $350,000 a year. The firm was one of the first to have a Novell computer network in Fairfield, which meant it could offer state-of-the-art, and cost-effective, service. Their customer service is also supported by "a really good team," which Hadley wants to keep well trained--most likely one of the reasons why they have never lost a client through a mistake.
Inner Fulfillment from Work
Despite the challenges of being women in small businesses, one thing they all agree on is their deep feeling of satisfaction about their work. "My outlook on the whole thing is that I am fulfilling a dream; and if I don't succeed, then at least I have fulfilled my dream," says Ellen Chroman. "People should follow their dreams and their heart." Lila Williams would agree with this. "I feel strange when people say I own a business," she says, because "My business is my life.
But almost without exception, the women entrepreneurs experience the downside of being in business--working long hours and time away from their loved ones. "It's all on your shoulders," says Carol Morehead. "There are certain things that get sacrificed." Joann Fritz, now a grandmother of two "very precious" grandsons who live with her daughter in Dallas, agrees. "It is very time consuming," she says. "I don't believe a woman can do justice to a young family and run a business."
Chroman, who works six full days a week, gets around this by never being far from her two daughters--both now work with her. "I think they really enjoy it. It's like a family business," she says. Morehead, who has two children, manages to balance business and family life and lauds her supportive husband.
But this question of the needs of home and hearth simply lays down another challenge: it opens up and paves the way for Fairfield entrepreneurs to another specialized market. The next market niche is for an employment agency providing part-time and permanent domestic workers. But since many women have been trying to get away from that area, maybe the gentlemen would consider catering to the ladies for this urgent need.
