Dreams Come True in Cadillac with Heirloom Furniture
Amid anxiety and speculation, coupled with support from husband Matt, Jennifer Logan summoned the courage to take a step not uncommon for many successful entrepreneurs.
She stopped by the business of her dreams to see if rumors were true about it being up for sale.
It was.
A Cadillac Michigan resident, Jennifer had earned a retirement teaching 2nd grade at Cadillac Public Schools. She loved this noble, meaningful work but the pressures and ever evolving rules and measures for student achievement were cutting into time dedicated to her passion: the art of teaching. She felt she was ready for a change.
As for husband Matt, he said: “This is it.”
He was right and, with help from Venture North Funding and Development, Jennifer is now the immensely proud owner of Oak Heirlooms, a 35-year-old business that features beautiful furniture, many handcrafted, built by Amish artisans.
Venture North, a nonprofit source of low-cost loans and no-cost consulting, provided a $185,000 loan that Jennifer used to refinance inventory and pay off the previous owner and founder of Oak Heirlooms, Susan Martz, a friend of Jennifer’s since age 5.
The transition for Jennifer was not easy.
Jennifer Logan, the new owner of Oak Heirlooms, and just a sampling of what they carry at the showroom in Cadillac
“On the first day of school, I felt lost,” she says. “In a week, I got beyond those feelings as the whirlwind pace of business took over. I enjoy being the master of my own schedule. The workload is heavy but I set my own daily ‘to do’ list. I like that.”
Jennifer trained with Susan for the first two months, learning the ropes of the business processes blessed, she says, with an experienced, dedicated salesforce.
“I love my job,” says senior salesforce member Dawn Welsh. “I’ve been here for 17 years following many years of experience beginning at age 19 selling furniture on ‘furniture row’ in Grand Rapids. It’s great to not lose a beat with a new owner filling Susan’s large shoes. Jennifer appreciates and values what we’ve done to support the business.”
“I am honored to follow the tradition and place great value on the people who have molded the business,” says Jennifer. “I’ve been able to focus on the financial side of the business while learning about business planning, forecasting and financial management from our partner with Venture North, Annie Olds.”
“Jennifer is a serial entrepreneur,” says Olds, Business Development Manager with Venture North. “Even though she is new to the industry, she acquired long-term employees who understand the business and have been teaching her the ins and outs of selling furniture. And we want to give a special salute to the Alliance for Economic Success and Niki Schultz for steering Jennifer to us.”
“Our experience with Venture North and Annie was simply great,” Jennifer says. “I never thought all of this was possible, but they made it all happen – from financing to technical assistance. I would recommend them to anyone.”
“We’re so pleased to have Jennifer and Oak Heirlooms as client partners,” said Venture North President Laura Galbraith. “They’ve made great use of our loan and consulting services. We also want to thank one of our funding partners, the Walters Family Foundation, who granted us funds for consultation services targeted toward Wexford and other counties.”
Jennifer and her team work with over 60 Amish builders located mainly in Ohio and Indiana who construct much of the furniture they sell.
Furniture is available in Oak, Cherry, Maple, Elm, Walnut, Hickory and quarter-sawn Oak as well as other woods. There is furniture for the bedroom, children’s room, dining/kitchen, living room, office and outdoors and custom furniture to match your dreams and unique circumstances. See the details at oakheirlooms.com.
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Contact: Tim Ervin - Ph: 231-794-0089 - Email: timervinassoc@gmail.com
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