Success Story
Health Conscious Branson West Entrepreneur Practices Lifetime Calling with Nutrition Store
Branson West entrepreneur Edie Keil has worked many jobs in her life.
As an eight-year-old growing up on her dad's Kansas ranch she earned nickels exercising race horses. As a young woman in southwest Missouri she portrayed a dance hall girl in the show at a Silver Dollar City saloon. For 10 years she successfully ran a cleaning business in Branson. Next she worked in Maryland as a sales representative for a nutritional supplement company, where she gained a wealth of experience she would apply later in life.
But it wasn't until 1996, that Edie finally found her calling.
She was living in Jacksonville, Fla., where her husband Bruce was based in the Navy. One day she came home from her new job as an assistant at a local nutrition supplement shop proclaiming: "I finally know what I want to be when I grow up!"
Edie Keil showcases one of the more popular products – organic apple cider vinegar – at the nutritional supplement store The Herb Shop, which she owns and operates in Branson West, Mo.
What she wanted to be was the purveyor of healthful lifestyles by starting her own shop devoted to herbal and nutritional supplements for customers seeking a healthier way of living. In 1998, with Bruce's retirement from the Navy, he and Edie moved back to the Branson area. That's when she decided, with help from her husband, to put her plan into action.
With about $1,000-worth of inventory, Edie opened The Herb Shop around back and in the lower level of a strip mall in Branson West. The goods filled only two shelves and she had to borrow from her mother-in-law to ensure she had change in the cash register.
Business was passable, but not brisk. However, with Edie's ever-present philosophy of "always looking ahead" and buoyed by the faith and encouragement of Bruce, she determined to expand her business and move to a better location to improve customer traffic. But she needed money to grow.
Edie explored financing options. She found her best opportunity for backing was through the Small Business Administration's micro-loan program. However, pinpointing a source was one thing; applying for it was quite another. She needed help to pursue the loan application. That's when she turned to Tom Keohan, a counselor with the University of Missouri Extension's business development program.
Keohan helped Edie develop a formal business plan, a critical part of any business loan application. In addition he worked with Edie to incorporate realistic cash flow projections for the growth and nurturing of her business.
"I wouldn't be here without Tom," Edie says. "That micro-loan gave me the power to do what I wanted to do."
Today The Herb Shop, located in the front of Claybough Plaza at the intersection of highways 13 and 76, sports an expanded $28,000 inventory of natural vitamins, weight loss products, herbs, teas, books and literature.
And business is good, having increased significantly by the summer of 2005: "All of a sudden I felt like I had a tiger by the tail."
"My customers know I'm here to help them, because they know my heart is in it," she explains of her business success. "I don't rely on a Web site, because my customers come in for personal service."
Her customers seek help with a variety of health issues including arthritis, hormone levels, weight loss, cholesterol and blood pressure. However, Edie doesn't just offer products. She also encourages all her customers to consider lifestyle changes, in proper consultation with medical professionals.
In addition Edie will occasionally offer a 12-week workshop one night a week to introduce potential customers to the benefits of nutritional supplements. Enrollment in the workshop entitles participants to a 15 percent discount on store merchandise. It's just another example of her savvy approach to promoting her business.
So with a little help from a business expert, Edie Keil has succeeded in finding her life's work: "I had the training. I knew what I wanted to do. I just didn't know exactly how to get there until Tom Keohan showed me the way."
Your local Small Business Development Center can help with your business success. Appointments may be made for free consultations on small business issues by contacting the SBDC office near you.
This complete article with photos is archived at www.missouribusiness.net/success/herb_shop.asp
FY 2006 MO SBDC and MO PTAC impact - growing Missouri businesses:
- $70 million loans/investments acquired
- $172 million increase in sales
- $186 million in government contracts
Resulting in 6,055 jobs created.
Business Going Green
Premium market for wholesome pork ... this little piggy went green
Longtime independent pork producers in rural Missouri took a big step in 2001 to reverse a downward market trend. They organized the Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative of 52 family farmers to serve a growing market of consumers who care about how their food is raised.
From the start, Ozark Mountain's members have prided themselves on providing a healthier product. They produce hogs without added hormones or antibiotics and raise them in humane conditions.
"We provide the highest quality, most wholesome natural pork product to our customers," says Russ Kremer, president of the Mountain View, Mo.-based co-op. "It's been exciting to see a start-up expand its sales beyond regional markets in southern Missouri to become one of the top five U.S. suppliers of natural pork."
Ozark Mountain's customers include natural retail and foodservice markets such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Chipotle and Sysco. This pork has squealed all the way to New York City where it's made its way into posh restaurants.
"We did a blind tasting and we preferred Ozark Mountain Pork," said Adam Longworth, the sous chef at Gotham Bar and Grill in The Big Apple. "It's a superior pork chop. We put it on the menu right away."
The Missouri State University SBDC in West Plains assisted the co-op in acquiring capital for improving operations and the production plant, and with management and business evaluation.
Green business opportunities ... USDA grants and loans!
The United States Department of Agriculture announced availability of $176.5 million in loan guarantees and $11.4 million in grants to support investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements by agricultural producers and small businesses.
Loan guarantees cover up to 50 percent of a project's cost. Grants are available for up to 25 percent of a project's cost for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems. Details are available at www.usda.gov/farmbill.
Applications for grants must be completed and submitted to the appropriate USDA Rural Development state office by May 18. The deadline for submitting loan applications as well as for loan and grant combinations is July 2. For more information, refer to the announcement in the March 22 Federal Register at www.rurdev.usda.gov or contact any state Rural Development office.
Focus on HR: Behavioral Interviewing
Asking the right questions is an art and a science
According to Inc.com, more than 80 percent of job failures are due to attitudes and inappropriate behaviors. Why? Because we often fail to deal with them in the hiring process.
When interviewing prospective new employees, the right questions can help select the most appropriate person for the job. Once screening interviews are completed to narrow down the number of applicants, in-depth interviews are necessary to determine how well the candidates meet the needs of your organization. Behavioral questions focus on how the applicant previously handled real work situations.
"Behavioral interviewing can be effective for any business that needs to find the top candidate for the position," says Joan Smith, career counselor for the Missouri Career Options Project. "This interviewing tactic helps uncover a candidate's true abilities by asking for real situations of how their skills, strengths or weaknesses were demonstrated on the job."
The candidate is asked to give examples that illustrate past performance. The interviewer looks for three things: a description of the situation or task, the action taken and the result.
Smith notes, "Businesses should compile a list of core competencies for the position and ask questions about previous work situations in order to see if the potential employees have these competencies."
Behavioral questions, by their very nature, are more probing than traditional questions. Some examples include:
- Describe a situation in which you have coached a difficult employee. What was the result?
- Describe the last time you assumed responsibility for a task that was clearly outside of your job description. How did this work out?
- Can you give me an example of a high stress work situation that you experienced? How did you handle the situation?
- Can you give me an example of a time when you had to make a critical decision when your boss was not available? Were there some risks involved in this? What was the end result?
Note the specific linkage to concrete past experiences and situations. Behavioral questions tie responses to previous experiences and minimize the candidate's inclination to exaggerate. Therefore, you're increasing the potential to receive accurate and truthful answers to your questions.
More human resource assistance for the small business owner is available in the HR section of our resource library (see www.missouribusiness.net/library/management.asp#hr) and in the "HR for Small Business, Avoiding the Landmines," a new seminar series offered by many SBDC offices this year (see www.missouribusiness.net/training/hr_avoid_landmines.asp).
This complete article is archived at www.missouribusiness.net/docs/behavioral_interviewing.asp
At Your Service
Profile: Donna Leonard
Donna Leonard, Missouri Procurement and Technical Assistance Center director at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, earned a B.A. in communication from the University of Missouri-Columbia. As a student at MU, she was an intern at the SBDC. After graduation in 1994, she joined MO PTAC at UMKC, where she earned a master's degree in public administration.
Get to know Donna in the following Q&A.
Q. How would you explain MO PTAC in simple terms?
A. MO PTAC is a nonprofit organization created by Congress and funded by the defense department. The program helps business owners and managers learn about government contracts and navigate the associated paperwork.
Q. What has been the range of businesses that you have worked with that have won government contracts?
A. We've had clients of all types: IT businesses, machine shops, janitorial suppliers, manufacturing companies. The types of businesses really cover the gamut. The government is looking for a wide variety of products and services.
Q. What's your favorite success story?
A. I worked with a landscaping company that won a $4.5 million contract. It was one of my first contracts and I was amazed that there was that kind of money in government contracts. It really opened my eyes to what the government buys and the amount of money they'll spend.
Q. You teach a class about tips on selling to the government ... can you share a tip?
A. Know your customers. First of all, you need to do research to learn if the customer has upfront requirements. Federal, state, and local - all three levels - have their own registration forms. To do business with the government, you'll need to complete forms for each level.
Q. Why take a procurement class or visit MO PTAC for help?
A. PTAC can't make the paperwork go away, but we can help with the process of how to go through it. The orientation class gets everyone on the same page. We teach how to figure out what forms you'll need to fill out and how the process works.
Q. What else would you like people to know?
A. There are a lot of resources to assist you. For instance, in Kansas City, there is a non-profit called KCSourceLink (www.kcsourcelink.com) that is a referral network. In Kansas City, there are about 140 operations that offer business assistance. It's great that there is so much help, but it can be confusing to figure out which ones to choose. KCSourceLink will direct you to the business that specializes in what you need.
Donna assists small business owners in the western region of Missouri by providing counseling services on topics related to selling to the government. Sign up for her class, Winning Government Contracts: The First Steps, by visiting www.missouribusiness.net/ptac/winning_govt_contracts.asp. Contact Donna at leonardd@umkc.edu or phone (816) 235-2891 ext. 2.
Send this newsletter to a friend
Read the full stories and previous newsletters on our web site at www.missouribusiness.net/newsletter/index.asp
For more information about doing business in Missouri, visit the web sites at www.missouribusiness.net or contact one of our service centers. You can find a list at www.missouribusiness.net/sbdc/centers.asp
Subscribe to this newsletter at www.missouribusiness.net/newsletter_sign_up.asp. Unsubscribe information is found at the bottom of each eNews letter. We will never share or sell your e-mail address to others.
