Northern Lights - Issue 16 - December 2022
CHOCOLATES, BIKES, MASSAGES AND MORE: Venture North Entrepreneurs’ Great Gifts, Gratitude and Goals for 2023
By AMY LANE
At Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire, holiday treats abound: Tins of best-selling peppermint bark, eggnog and peppermint gelato, snowflake lollipops and classic truffles and bon bons that are the shop’s mainstay.
They’re a sweet ending to a year of growth, with more lying ahead. And as 2022 comes to a close, Northern Lights has checked in with Grocer’s Daughter and other clients of Venture North Funding & Development, to reflect on the year and beyond. Whether selling confections, bicycles, assorted items and gifts, or massages, there’s one thing the small business owners share: Gratitude – to employees, customers or communities that have helped them succeed.
Take Grocer’s Daughter, where 2022 brought the July opening of a gelato shop that was an “all-hands-on-deck effort,” said Jody Hayden, who with husband DC owns Grocer’s Daughter. Key help in taking on the growth came from three women managers; “without them and our staff, there’s no way we could do this,” Hayden said. “And we are so thankful for our customers and our community and how they embrace Grocer’s Daughter.”
Hayden said the gelato shop exceeded expectations, becoming a destination with its own following and customers that would visit three or four times a week -- popularity to the tune of nearly 15,000 scoops of the frozen treat by seasons’ end.
Gelato has now become one of the top three products across the entire business, but that’s not all that was new in the year. A lineup of boxed cookies freshly baked to order has launched, and other offerings like house-made ice cream sandwiches are in the works for 2023.
Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire
Don’t Rest
“We don’t rest. And I think it’s in response to what we see our customers enjoying or asking for,” Hayden said. “I think we’ll continue to offer new things. It’s fun for us to have new items to share with people.”
Also new: Two one-bedroom rental apartments above the gelato shop, stocked with chocolates, cookies and pints of gelato. The apartments, labeled milk chocolate and dark chocolate, were steadily booked from August through October, hosting industry friends and chocolatiers, tourists and others.
“We love hospitality, we really do,” Hayden said. “Both the chocolate shop and these rentals are a way of extending hospitality to our area. I think that hospitality is something that is really wonderful, and not practiced all the time.”
Upgrades to the look and functionality of product packaging are underway, which could allow expansion into regional and national store chains. And Grocer’s Daughter is looking at all-compostable materials – a move that may seem small but is “tens of thousands of dollars in investment,” Hayden said.
The New Year will also bring a look into frozen shipping for gelato and cookie dough balls and an early-June trip to Ecuador, Hayden’s first since the pandemic and an opportunity to revisit valued relationships with partners and Ecuadorian farms from which Grocer’s Daughter sources most of its chocolate.
Over the nine years since the Haydens purchased Grocer’s Daughter the business has grown exponentially, with Venture North providing loans, grants and other assistance along the way. And in November, the Grocer’s Daughter turned 18, Hayden said, “a great milestone.”
For other Venture North clients, the milestones are just beginning.
At Coastline Cycles in Frankfort, husband-and-wife owners Ethan Przekaza and Meg Doby have notched their first months as a bicycle rental, sales and repair business along a 22-mile Benzie County biking and hiking trail. Opening in the spring and moving through a busy summer and into fall ordering of 2023 bike inventory, “it’s been a great year,” Doby said.
“We had a lot of fun. The community was really welcoming, there was a lot of excitement to have a full-service repair shop right in Frankfort. We stayed really busy, did well on rentals, and the service department exceeded our expectations for the first year.”
Coastline Cycles in Frankfort
Turn Dreams into Reality
The two had long dreamed about owning their own business and Coastline Cycles built on backgrounds: Doby as a manager in several small retail businesses and Przekaza with years as a full-service mechanic in bike shops and a passion for cycling.
They started working with Venture North in 2018, receiving technical assistance to develop and eventually cement a business plan, and a loan to pay for bike inventory, tools, parts, accessories and computer/office setup and sales system. Venture North has reached out with planning, marketing and website help, and its grants for professional services can be valuable, Doby said.
“We’re very, very grateful to Venture North. This is all a pipe dream without them,” she said. “I would love to see more people migrate to Venture North, for their small-business needs. So many more people could be business owners, if they knew Venture North could be there to support them.”
Doby said the first year has brought constant adjustments to business thought processes, brands and inventory, as the duo learned the community’s needs. She said it’s rewarding to see the excitement of customers who pick up their bicycles after repairs or upgrades, remarking “wow, that is just like a brand-new bike.”
After opening a business “and being there every day, talking to people…I really feel like I’ve become deeper-involved in the community and I’d like to expand on that in the coming years,” Doby said. She said she and Przekaza would like to be part of more community events and also offer clinic-style learning experiences, where Przekaza could teach a few basics of bike maintenance.
For the holidays, they’ve ordered a few extra youth bikes and accessories and 2023 goals include additional storage space and boosting rentals.
“We’re excited to keep this momentum going,” Doby said. “It’s been everything we hoped for. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of fun, it’s been a great learning experience. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
— Meg Doby, Coastline Cycles
Resilence
“We’ve been really trying to get our name out there and get people aware that we’re here,” said Shai Harter.
And as they look ahead to the New Year, meeting community needs and desires remains strong. Said Natalie Harter: “I think our biggest goal is just to be able to remain open and serve the Kingsley community.”
Become Known
At Elemental Compass LLC in Traverse City, owner Beverley Fryer has had a big year. After starting off on her own two years ago with the therapeutic massage business, she expanded in April into a new space, assisted by a Venture North loan that helped with renovations and furnishings. And with the new location, came four new therapists Fryer brought on board through an apprenticeship program for massage therapy education and training.
“It was a pretty ambitious goal to try to get four brand new therapists with no clientele to be fully booked by the end of the year…we’re at about 60 percent capacity. So, I’m pretty happy with that,” Fryer said.
“It’s been a ride. We had some things that happened that were unexpected, but I think despite that we have really come around and we are really starting to hit our goals for 2022, and I think for 2023 we are going to kick off with a strong start.”
One early setback: A longer-than-expected licensing process for the therapists, as Fryer prepared to open the business’ new doors. Elemental Compass “did a ton of advertising, had a grand opening, people lining up to book, and then we weren’t able to book because they weren’t licensed yet,” she said. “We lost a little bit of momentum.”
Redefined in Kingsley
In the New Year, she said, “it’s keep growing, keep learning, just keep providing this service to this community.”
Serving community resonates with Natalie and Shai Harter, co-owners of a Kingsley shop called Redefined. Opened in May 2020, Redefined offers a selection of home décor, antiques, bulk novelty candies and gift options, including items from some 40 local vendors. Customers can find candy from their childhood, collectibles, locally made goods such as paintings, photos, soaps, clothing, sterling silver rings, teas and salves, and a changing selection of vintage items – a mix of offerings to fill customer tastes and wants.
“We have lots of locals that are appreciative that we are there; they don’t have to run into Traverse City to pick up a gift,” Natalie Harter said. “I feel proud of what we have accomplished and the fact that we’re still here. We have a lot of things coming to Kingsley that we hope is going to build the area, and the business as well.”
Venture North has helped Redefined in a few ways: A grant through the Regional Resiliency Program COVID relief initiative for small businesses, a loan, and technical assistance for bookkeeping and the shop’s website.
Effective Social Media and Creativity
But from there, business has grown and the goal of full bookings is close at hand, Fryer said. Also near: The launch of the business’ website, thanks to help from a professional website developer.
“Our main goal in 2023 is to get visible,” Fryer said.
Elemental Compass specializes in deep tissue Swedish massage with a focus on neuromuscular techniques. “We’re very centered around client care and working with conditions to alleviate pain and to help people achieve their best self through massage therapy,” Fryer said.
Elemental Compass in Traverse City
Defining and Achieving Success!
She said the look on client’s faces, when they feel better after getting a massage, speaks volumes.
“There are so many rewarding things about massage,” Fryer said. “The biggest one, how fulfilling it is knowing that I helped somebody that day, made a difference in their lives” – positivity that spreads to that client’s personal circles and community.
For the holidays, Fryer has gift certificates and gift boxes with self-care products like soothing balms, soaps, candles and pain-relief creams, and she’ll also bring holiday massage to workplaces, transporting massage chairs and therapists to temporary new settings.
Reflecting on the year, Fryer said, “I think I’ve learned a lot. And going from jumping in and learning to be a business owner on the fly, to be an employer on the fly…that was quite an experience. And I have so much fun doing it, really truly.
“I have an amazing team, we have an amazing work culture at our office, and all of them really support our mission. As I reflect on this year, I just don’t know how I got so lucky.”
At a time of wish lists, Fryer’s is simple. “My wish list,” she said, “is just to see us succeed.”
Amy Lane is a veteran Michigan business reporter whose background includes work with Crain Communications Inc., Crain’s Detroit Business and serving as Capitol correspondent for nearly 25 years. Now a freelance reporter and journalist, Lane’s work has appeared in many publications including Traverse City Business News.
