I recently had the pleasure of talking with April McCrumb who, along with her husband Steve, runs three successful businesses: Catching Fireflies, The Yellow Door Art Market and a.i. paper design. April is not only the driving creative force behind these ventures, but she has a natural flair for marketing. She’s the reason this fairy tale success story exists – and she’s the first to admit it was a magical combination of creativity, luck, skill and hard work that made it all happen.

You’ve kept two retail stores  plus your wholesale business going, and opened Yellow Door Art Market, during the recession. How did you keep your businesses alive?

“You “right-size” things; we focused on our best-selling items, we cut some hours back. Our wholesale business was most affected by it. You re-evaluate. There’s always a conversation. We downsized our wholesale location; the wholesale biz is half the size it used to be. We were making smart business decisions. You have to hope for a turnaround, but we were prepared to make hard decisions, if necessary. In the end it made us a more fit business. That was a big factor in being able to open Yellow Door.

Opening Yellow Door Art Market was a huge boost for business, but there was pressure. Seventy people were depending on us. I had a background in art fairs, so I knew a number of artists & understood they were looking for ways to grow their business but I still secretly thought “I hope this works” – and it did! We gained a lot of customers. Since many of our artists are currently doing art fairs around the city, they pass out Yellow Door postcards which drive business back to the store. It’s a win-win. With the two stores, it’s a destination. The little lunch café near us has even noticed that they are benefiting.”

Speaking of the little lunch café, why did you choose Berkley? When you started Catching Fireflies, Berkley wasn’t exactly a hot spot.

“Berkley was just affordable and available. I didn’t know that Berkley would grow the way it has. I can’t say we thought through and strategized. We needed space to create our wholesale line of goods. I really didn’t believe in the power of retail at first. The only goal for the retail outlet was to pay the rent for the design studio in the back of the shop. Retail wasn’t my goal; it was a side dish that turned into a main course.”

I’ve been a loyal customer for years and I am consistently impressed with how you seem to always hit the mark with your online marketing. Your interaction with the consumer is creative and fun, while still laying the groundwork for the next sale…and the next. You use in-store promotions very effectively too. You haven’t dropped those in favor of online marketing?

“Yes, we still do in-store paper coupons. Customers are in the store already, so why not give them a reason to come back. The older clientele might not be as web savvy, so this helps us reach more people. We try to use all platforms. There’s construction in Rochester now, so we’re doing more incentives at that location. Even web sales get an automatic coupon for next purchase.”

One thing your stores do exceptionally well is cater to the “I need a really cool gift, right this minute” market. I know I can walk into Catching Fireflies or Yellow Door and find something unique and fun, at any price point, get it wrapped for free in one of your cute bags, and be out the door with a smile on my face.

“Some people love to shop for gifts, but for some it’s a struggle so we give them ideas to guide them along. We offer suggestions with e-news and Facebook, and when they get into the store our team takes care of them from there. We do free gift wrap. There’s free parking; you can just pop in. People are busy, so we remove roadblocks and give them what they need.”

So what’s next? Any expansion plans?

“There’s stuff in the works, but nothing planned yet. We always make business decisions based on putting money back into the business. We have excess funds that grow over time and we are committed to staying in this area and investing in the business. We don’t take loans; we use the excess funds to grow.”

Having gone from art fairs to wholesale to retail, do you mentor other artists to help them understand what’s involved?

“It’s much harder now to do what I did 10 years ago. I’m happy to give advice but it’s tougher out there now. As a gift buyer, I see the trends changing over the years. Many of the large gift companies are licensing artists to design product that is made in China & then it’s offered at a reasonable price. This makes it harder for smaller artists to compete on price since all their goods are made in the USA. I have thought about consulting artists; however it’s hard for many of them to find the time because most of them are one-man-shows. It’s hard to fit marketing into their business day when they’re also responsible for making the product, doing weekend art shows, balancing the books and more.

I do offer marketing tips for store owners on the a.i. paper web site, and I’m actually speaking at a new place in Ann Arbor which is a maker place. They’re doing a “Crafty University” course in July which is all about educating and telling people how to craft a small business.” 

Despite your success, is there anything you would have done differently?

“I’m pretty happy. When we out grew our original catching fireflies location, I probably wouldn’t have moved into the 6,000 square foot building for a.i. paper. . Now we’re in a building half the size and it’s a much better fit. We also had a Grand Rapids store for a few years. Both Steve and I are from Grand Rapids, and we opened that store on a whim. We learned a lot from that. Berkley was easy. Grand Rapids is a more conservative crowd and we thought we could crack that nut. It just wasn’t pulling in the numbers to support itself. If I would have moved to Rochester earlier, that would have been better. We ended up taking the Grand Rapids store and moved it into Rochester. From an advertising and word of mouth standpoint it makes more sense to expand in metro Detroit. I knew there was a desire for our product in Rochester from my experience at Art and Apples Art Fair, plus a lot of people from the Berkley/Royal Oak area have transitioned up there as their families grew too, so it was a natural progression.

I always like the whole “baby step” thing. For me it got started with the products that were selling themselves. People wanted cool handmade frames. People were buying them left and right, and if a lot of people liked them in Metro Detroit, then I could sell them in other places. a.i. paper fueled Catching Fireflies. Catching Fireflies fueled Yellow Door…

I didn’t strategically plan to be so diverse but I’m thankful I am. I still see room for improvement. You can’t be content. You always have to be searching for the next thing.”

Many of these entrepreneurs travel across the country to sell their products at seasonal markets and art fairs. Online marketplace sites like Etsy and Ebay  provide additional outlets, but it’s not easy to get noticed on these huge sites. A local location that is open on a regular basis offers artisans greater visibility and helps them build a strong customer base.

We’re fortunate to have several of these markets in, or near, the Metro Detroit area. These venues pick up where art fairs and farmer’s markets leave off. Not only do they offer an ongoing marketplace for local artisans to sell their wares, but they bring unique and diverse products to consumers who might otherwise purchase goods made outside our state, or outside our country. These artist and artisan markets recreate the excitement of an art fair shopping experience, but on a regular schedule. You’ll find everything from pies to pottery -and whatever you spend directly benefits the Michigan economy.

Yellow Door Art Market – Berkley, Michigan
Monday – Sunday

The Sunday Artisan Market – Ann Arbor, Michigan
Every Sunday from April – December (outdoor)

The Rust Belt Market – Ferndale, Michigan
Saturday and Sunday (and sometimes Friday evening)

The Russell Bazaar – Detroit, Michigan
Friday, Saturday and Sunday

State of MInd Art Gallery - Northville, Michigan
Monday – Saturday

There’s a huge benefit realized when we support local independent businesses. According to The 3/50 Project, if half of the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate $42.6 billion in revenue.  When you make a choice to buy something unique, hand-crafted and locally produced – whether it’s a jar of jam, a scarf, or art for your home – your purchase directly benefits the local economy. Your support of “small” business actually makes a BIG difference.

It didn’t take him long to realize he’d gone through the wrong door.

“If you are a small part of a huge machine, it’s hard to see the change you are making. I want my work to have impact. The only way I could think to do that was to start a company. You take the risk … but you control the results. In a big company you have external factors; GM went bankrupt while I was working there.”

It became clear to Sean that, even with this dedication and drive, he did not control the end result.

“We did all this work on the project but the vehicle it was going into was cancelled so it was all for nothing. I learned a lot, but the actual result was not good.”

So, Sean began to engineer a better future for himself. Unlike many small business startups, where an idea sparks a business, Sean and his friends went looking for an idea.

“It started with John and I talking about this for four to five months at lunch. Two other guys were added – one is my father. We broke every startup rule; don’t work with friends and don’t work with family.

We knew what we didn’t want to go after something that required a ton of upfront capital. It had to be feasible to prove out. We wanted to see if we could find a problem that we have the specialty skills to solve.

We were open to any ideas. We looked at some wacky ideas. We even looked at alternative energy stuff. We looked at over 100 ideas. The idea for the automatic transmission bike actually came from one of the non-engineers in the our party of four (Mark Simpson). Some mechanical based systems are out there now, but we knew we had the skills to design an embedded controller you can set for what you need. People will be able to interact with our bicycle. It will adapt to your riding preferences.”

I asked Sean to tell me more about how Autobike got started and how his team plans to “evolve the bike”.

As you started this venture, what was more difficult than you expected?

“Finding the right team – people, with the right skillsets, who have time, or make time, to help out – was the hardest thing but also the most rewarding. I looked for team members on message boards, went to networking events, etc. That was a long, difficult journey. In the end, almost all of them ended up finding me once I got the word out.”

What’s been easier than you expected?

“Easy? Nothing has been easy. I guess that people respond so favorably to the idea. When the article in the Free Press came out my phone rang off the hook from people looking to buy, invest or sell me stuff.”

Autobike is scheduled for consumer release in September 2012. What’s the biggest challenge as you move forward?

“We’re finding it hard to describe the bike in a way that does the ride justice. What keeps us going is that we built the products and we know how awesome the ride is. We can ride the bikes and feel what other people are going to feel – it’s an awesome riding experience. We maximize the comfort of the ride. We’re using a continuously variable transmission. You’re on the bike and it just feels right.

The consistent feedback is everyone likes the ride and then they offer new ways that it can be improved further. We have the capability to give everyone the canvas on which they can paint their own biking experience. Customize your ride to you – as much or as little flexibility as the rider wants.”

Do you plan to focus on a particular target market?

“There’s a broader range of appeal than we thought at first. We designed it for people who ride bikes casually and recreationally, but one of the guys in our group is a hard core rider and he said this bike is awesome.

Getting people on the bike will be our plan of attack. We’re finishing off 10 beta test bikes with our shifting system installed on purchased frame. We’ll be at every bike event we can this summer, getting feedback from test riders. We’re starting broad and then determining where our most loyal market will be – and where we will be able to find the most success on our shoestring budget.”

What’s next for AutoBike?

“We’re simultaneously collecting feedback, lining up sources for components and designing the bike. We’re going to assemble the bikes in Michigan.

We want to build a sustainable business, but also a company that will be a leader in new technology for everyday bike riders. There’s a disconnect between the bike companies out there today and the everyday bike riders. We want to try to get a community of people who like specific riding settings and share that. We want people to interact with the bike in a new way.”

Given, your experience, do you feel more college grads should think about starting their own business or working for a startup right off the bat?

“At least seriously consider it. I wish I would have looked for a startup. I didn’t know to do that. People want to start companies but have trouble finding other people who are willing to take the risk. I think that’s changed now. You’re not going to get paid a large amount, but you can be a part of something that is growing.”

What advice would you give to someone who wants to break free from the corporate world and go their own way, as you have?

“There’s always a way out and a lot of times people don’t look into all the different opportunities. Even if you fail, think of it as another piece of your education; it’s not a wasted effort. It’s an investment in a skillset you can apply in a number of ways.

Things are so compartmentalized in a large company. I’m never going back to that. I was so motivated and I thought I would make a huge difference. Then I was beaten down and I realized I had to do this.

I didn’t think it out rationally, that’s what stops people. Go with your gut and have supportive people around you. Be fearless, or stupid, or a mixture of both. If someone had told me that it wouldn’t have been successful at this point, I’d have still done it.”

For more information on Autobike, visit http://evolvethebike.com/
Sign up on their web site if you’d like to reserve a pre-production unit.

Carson Lyons used to be content with laundry detergent that “didn’t suck”. If it got her clothes clean she was happy. But then she had a child and her brother got cancer. She couldn’t help but think that little things like laundry detergent are more important than we realize.

“I got interested in organic food when I was pregnant with my daughter; it meant more to me because now another person was involved. My brother was diagnosed with cancer, and he’s younger than me so it seemed odd that he was sick for no obvious reason.

The more I learned, the more I realized how important everything is. We’re contaminating our food and water, and it’s all adding up. Chemicals are polluting the indoor air quality in your home and once released into the water system they have an impact there. There’s also a personal environmental impact. Your skin is in contact with your clothes and your sheets, so you’re in contact with chemical residue from laundry products 24 hours a day.”

Carson initially tried the “green” laundry detergents already on the market.

“I felt the prices forced you to choose whether to help the environment or save money. I was not finding it at the price I wanted and some didn’t work, or didn’t work effectively.”

Carson decided to make her own laundry soap and founded Squeaky Green, LLC.

“I looked on the internet – that’s easy and cheap – and searched for different formulas. I determined why each ingredient was important and only used what was necessary.  In order to be make it into my formula, everything I included had to be: (a) effective; and (b) necessary.

Once I had a basic formula, and an idea of what it was going to take, I started tweaking the ingredients to determine what was going to work the best, at the best price point.”

What made you think you could, and should, do this?

“I had no background in chemistry. I just have that kind of personality. I already had two careers before I became a ‘laundry soap mogul.’ I went to business school and was an accountant for a while. I was an accountant for a construction company and I was bored. I started looking over the buildings and plans and discovered I had a knack for finding issues. So I went to school again, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture and was in construction. Then I got laid off in 2009…

All it takes is research; you just have to do the work. You learn how to do research and how to figure things out. That’s how you make a cake, that’s how you build a building. As far as I’m concerned, I was building laundry detergent. Everything there is to know already exists, and I know it’s out there, so if I put it together that’s my contribution. I didn’t invent laundry detergent, I just figured out how to make it better.”

Has it been hard to promote your product and sell people on the idea of changing their laundry soap?

“I believe in it. I know it works. I’m not just hoping someone’s going to like it. I don’t have to talk anyone into anything. I’ve given out 200 samples; it’s easier for people to understand it if they use it. I never expected to have to talk about it but I was confident that this was an effective product. I did the trials. It’s not hard to talk about something I believe in and share what I found out.”

 What’s your production facility like?

“Right now I make the soap in my home. Sometimes I feel like I am making soap constantly. I keep inventory on hand and I have a regular delivery of the ingredients. I don’t want to make anybody wait.”

Carson gave me the scoop on what makes Squeaky Green Laundry powder different and eco-friendly:

• No extra ingredients, fillers, or dyes.
• Vegetarian ingredients. My earlier formulas had animal ingredients in them but I discovered that tallow is a bit sticky and prone to leave a residue. Now I use coconut oil based soap.
• Highly dissolvable – works in all water temperatures.
• Available in natural or unscented. The natural scent has no added or artificial scent; it just smells like the ingredients. Unscented that means they actually “de-scent” the ingredients.
• No giant box or bottle to lug home from the store.
• One bag washes 80 loads in a high efficiency washing machine (one Tablespoon per load) or 40 loads in a standard machine (2 Tablespoons per load).
• Environmentally and economically friendly when you ship and store. Why pay to transport and store water? You’re already adding water when you wash your clothes.
• The containers are PLA lined (corn products) recycled/recyclable paper bags.
• The bags are 25% post-consumer waste and compostable. I don’t want to just talk about helping the environment. I really want to be environmentally friendly.

Do you have plans to expand the line to include fabric softener or softener sheets?

“People have requested it, but the honest truth is if you put a half a cup of vinegar in your rinse cycle your clothing will be softer and static cling is caused by over-drying. I did extensive research into fabric softeners and they do three things: reduce static cling, smell good and soften. Vinegar takes care of the softening. Don’t over dry your clothes and you won’t have static. For scent, I just spray lavender essential oil on a cloth and toss it in the dryer with the tumbling.

I really need to focus on the detergent. I don’t want to spread myself too thin and do too much. I feel comfortable with the formula. I’m really solid on that and I just tweaked the packaging and the labels to make that even more environmentally friendly.”

What are your long-term goals?

“My goal is evolving as I go along. I intended to just sell it at the Farmer’s Markets but a chiropractic clinic offered to sell it after they did a seminar on how products affect our health. Zerbos health food store sells it too. It’s already bigger than I thought it was going to be. I also have a Facebook store. I never envisioned it evolving into this. I’m excited about it. I just have to make sure that I’m planning in advance.

Now that I’m in real brick and mortar stores, I keep putting it out there and pushing the boundaries further. I’m talking with Hiller’s Market. They have seven stores and they’re in Michigan, so I can do that – and learn what it will take to do more.

My goal is to make it environmentally friendly and not cost prohibitive. You don’t have to use a soap that’s bad for you to save money. You have to make choices in your life. My part of this can be laundry soap. If I can do that, I feel I’m doing the right thing.”

To learn more about Squeaky Green and where to buy it,
visit http://squeakygreenllc.vpweb.com/default.html

The truth is, like every other profession, there is a learning curve to becoming a successful entrepreneur.  In fact, the knowledge required to successfully start a business covers a wider range than what’s needed for most jobs. There’s marketing, distribution, management, advertising, accounting, state, local and federal law and much, much more.  Still, a surprising number of budding entrepreneurs try to “do it all” without guidance or help.

According to a post on Marketwire, a recent study shows that small business owners rated their time as their most valuable asset.

“Approximately two in five (38 percent) of small business owners say that their time is the most valuable asset for their business. Their computer was the second most valuable asset (36 percent).”

Your time is incredibly valuable, so why would you waste it trying to become an expert in every single aspect of starting and running a business?  Would you willingly put an inexperienced person in charge of your finances, your legal decisions or your marketing?  That’s exactly what you do when you try to do everything yourself.

You need a team of professionals who provide services and guidance for all aspects of business ownership.  A mentor, coach or consultant can help you assemble that team.  Skilled advisers expand your business network by using the leverage of their own network.  Most importantly, they will advise and guide you through the roller coaster ride of a business start-up.  Their real-world experience and knowledge is vital as you move your business plans forward.

Successful small business owners will freely admit that they had a lot of help along the way.  If you’re building a small business, you should also be building your support team.  Going it alone often leads to going nowhere.

You’ve heard the story a hundred times before; a little local restaurant decides to go big and franchise their concept. This isn’t that story.

This story begins with “If you’d told me ten years ago I’d be doing this, I’d have said you were nuts.”

John Bornoty sold his successful tech business and was in New York looking at another business opportunity when he stopped for lunch at a little deli in Manhattan. He noticed that the small salad bar in the corner of the deli was very busy. He started thinking about how hard it is to find a good salad. What if he built a restaurant around a fast fresh and casual concept? What if you could have a salad made for you – to your exact specifications – without the obvious drawbacks of the traditional salad bar setup? Rather than buy the business he’d come to New York to see, Bornoty took that lunchtime inspiration and started his own fast, casual food franchise.

Bornoty wasn’t afraid to reform the traditional model of a food franchise. First of all, he didn’t hire a chef – despite the fact that he had no restaurant experience himself. Instead, he did his own research, “I’d go to big cafeterias and see what people were eating.” He tried the top selling salads “everywhere from coffee shops to steak houses.” Then he created and tested his own recipes and sourced the freshest ingredients. The Big Salad currently offers eleven signature entree salads – or customers can ‘build their own’ salad and choose from an extensive selection of toppings and dressings. The Big Salad also serves up a variety of soups plus healthy and unique sandwiches. Everything is made to order. When asked if he had a favorite, Bornoty said, “I don’t have a favorite. I like them all. I created them all.”

He put together focus groups to help him define the perfect fast casual dining experience – from the food to the décor to the menu. Bornoty is passionate about quality and consistency.

“There’s a learning curve.  People aren’t used to a $10 salad, but then again, people are not used to salads that are as fresh or as “BIG” as ours.  but we will never sacrifice quality to have a lesser price point.  It takes people a few times dining with us before they really get it.  They’ll have a salad here, and then go somewhere else and it’s not as good.  They finally realize there are cheaper salads but nothing compares to our quality, size or abundance of choices.”

Bornoty put his tech background to good use designing processes that are easy to monitor and simple for franchisees to use. Even the management style is unique. No offices are allowed. Franchise owners and managers do their work in the dining room where the customers sit. Bornoty explains, “As you do your work, you see what the customer sees and experience what the customer experiences. That makes a difference.  Too many business owners run their business from the owner’s point of view when, in fact, they should be running it from the customer’s point of view.  What better way to give true customer service than to actually be the customer.”

Continuing his non-traditional approach, Bornoty prefers to hire people with no restaurant background. He explains, “The franchisee who owns our Royal Oak location was in marketing – he’s a people guy. We prefer people without food experience.” Even more surprising – there’s no cooking to do at his restaurants. Fresh ingredients are delivered daily, and the staff prepares the salads and sandwiches to order, but there is no grill, no oven, not even a microwave.

The first location opened in 2008 and there are now three successful locations in Michigan, with a fourth opening in the spring. Bornoty is ready to expand throughout Michigan and plans to open 200 nationwide locations in the next ten years – all because he trusted his instincts and his abilities.

There’s a quote on the company web site that says it all…

“Of course I was pleased that The Big Salad concept was a success,” says Bornoty. “But I also discovered that I was meant to do this.”

To learn more about The Big Salad visit www.thebigsalad.net