GRAND CHUTE — Andrea Hogan, owner of Home Things!, 1879 Casaloma Drive, said independent businesses like hers' gained a big ally in the 3/50 project.
"It seems to give local, independently owned businesses a voice," said Hogan. "It's giving us some tools and resources to help educate local communities about the importance of supporting their friends and neighbors who are the individuals who own these businesses in their communities."
Hogan was one of the first local business owners to register her support for the program conceived by Minneapolis consultant Cinda Baxter.
The concept takes the "Buy Local" mantra a step farther. It asks shoppers to choose three local, independently owned businesses they would miss if they weren't around and spend $50 each month between the three shops. If half the employed U.S. population spent that way, it would generate more than $42 billion in revenue annually, most revolving through the local economy, Baxter said.
The concept took off after Baxter, a professional speaker who used to run an upscale stationary and gift boutique, posted the idea on her blog March 11.
"We're not an all-or-nothing message," she said. "We're not asking people to stop shopping at big boxes or stop going to chains. We're asking about balance and that people just think about where they're spending their money."
For every $100 spent in locally owned "brick and mortar" stores (as opposed to home-based businesses), $68 stays in the same community versus $43 if spent at national chains like Wal-Mart, she said. The main reason for the $25 advantage? Gross receipts deposited in local banks, which tend to stay within the bank's revenue stream, where they're made available for mortgages, college tuition and car loans, Baxter said.
"That money recirculates back through the community," she said. "If it's a big box (store), at the end of the day when that deposit bag goes in, that triggers an automatic wire transfer so that within 12 hours those funds are transferred out of state and back to the corporate entity. And when you look at that piece of it, that $43 number is probably high."
Gail Giese, owner of Dinner Helpers, a meal preparation food service company at 654 Ridgeview Drive, also ardently supports the idea.
"I do send out a newsletter and I also have signage and handouts available for people who walk in the store," Giese said.
Whether it's the opportunity for diners to create their own meal choosing vegetables, meats, pastas and fruits combined with their own signature sauce, or the 6-foot flaming, hot grill at the center of it all, the Grand Chute HuHot continues to rank in the top two or three franchises in the nation.
More recently, the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry named it its 2009 Rising Star winner as part of its annual Small Business of the Year Awards.
"Selection of the winners is based on business performance. That's in terms of growth in sales, employment and overall success of the company over time," said Jim Schlies, vice president for economic development at the Fox Cities chamber.
The annual chamber awards recognize small businesses in one of four categories. A panel of five local business people with a background in small business development and performance determine winners based on a variety of criteria.
"When we found out, we were ecstatic," said David Lindenstruth, local franchise owner. "It was very surprising and we are greatly honored by it."
With little restaurant experience and an engineer by trade, Lindenstruth went through the E-Seed program through Fox Valley Technical College in 2005.
"The E-Seed program really helped me develop a basis for running a business," Lindenstruth said. "The program was the foundation for everything, all the different aspects financial, research, business planning, everything."
FREMONT — Louis Woods, owner of the Wolf River Outfitters Resort & Campground, keeps especially busy this time of the year
He maintains 12 housekeeping units at the resort, which are like small cabins, and 25 campsites. He also runs a bait shop.
It took a substantial chunk of money and time for Woods, 43, to launch the resort. He said he has $750,000 invested in the operations.
“I put the money up because I believe in this,” said Woods, who grew up in Fremont. “My whole life is wrapped up in this.”
Business has been brisk, running far ahead of last year.
“We’ve been sold out every weekend since the first of April and the month of April we were sold out completely,” he said. “I targeted the Milwaukee crowd and the Chicago crowd really hard this year. We pulled in a lot of people to come up and fish instead of heading up north or into Canada.”
He definitely gets by with the help of his family, like his aunt, Margaret Curtis, who left steamy Fort Worth, Texas, to join the business in October.
“It’s just a beautiful place, absolutely lovely,” she said. “People are friendly. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Q Small businesses are vulnerable in a down economy, yet you're doing pretty well. What's the secret?
A June Contreras: For our business, we're getting work by word of mouth and referrals from people who know us and trust us.
Ruben Contreras loads equipment at his Appleton shop Thursday. Contreras and his wife, June, own Action Painting & Carpet Care, a business that started with one ladder and Ruben. Also pictured is Ruben's brother Gilberto Contreras. Photo for The Post-Crescent by Wm. Glasheen
Ruben Contreras: The secret is that the first customer I had I tried to do the best job. More than he was expecting. In this economy, I think we're doing well because the customers are happy. A house I painted in 2006 ... I'm going back this summer to check how the house is.
Q What happens if you see something peeling?
A Ruben: I fix it.
Q Were you painting before you started this company?
A Ruben: I moved to Appleton in 1997 from Mexico because my brother was here before me. I went to Fox Valley Technical College for ESL (English as a Second Language). I painted in Mexico. My family has properties. People always said, "Hey, you're a pretty good painter." Here, I started to work in restaurants. When I was working at Zacatecas, an old guy from Mexico used to always come in with clothes for paint. He was a painter. I said, "How do you get jobs?" He said, "I ride my bicycle and if I see a business that needs paint, I tell them. That's how I do it." So I went to the Sherwin-Williams store every day at 7 in the morning, waiting for contractors. I said, "Hey, do you need help?" The manager said, "Ruben just give me your phone number. You don't have to come in every day." The phone rings when I was going to church on Sunday morning and it was a painting company. "Can you start tomorrow?"
Q You started your own business on a shoestring in 2005?
A June: Ruben quit his job. He was translating at the hospitals and serving in a restaurant. I think we had $250 in our savings account. I thought, "You're nuts." I was pregnant at the time with our first baby and I thought we'd be impoverished. Little did I know he already had jobs he'd lined up. We got a taxpayer ID and our insurance. We didn't even have a truck. He was driving my Ford Contour.Ruben: I told my customers, "Tomorrow we'll bring the ladders." I tied them on top of the Contour and drive at night so the customer wouldn't see it. The next day, we were already set up.June: Eventually we got a pickup truck.Q Two years after you started the business you took an E-Seed course. Why?A June: We took it together. I worked as a bookkeeper my whole life, but I didn't know anything about marketing and advertising. I learned so much. E-Seed was an eye-opener. Ruben: We had all the ideas, but not in order.