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Business Focus Weekly

A publication focused on helping your business to grow and become more focused.

Table of Contents

Interviews:

Jacob Powers with The Refueler

Pennie Collinson with Coeur d’ Alene Photography LLC

Tony Baird with The Woodshop

Jhon Goodwin with Lost Boys Garage

Facebook live with Jim Reincke - Things that make you go Boom!

Interview with Jacob Powers

The Refueler

AC: Tell us about your business.

JP: We opened our business in April of this year. It is a multi-functional facility. There are not a lot of gathering places, coffee shops, or meeting centers in Airway Heights. We created an iconic place for meetings and gatherings. The name behind the refueler has to do with the military – refuelers. Coffee “fuels” life. helps people stay on missions, where people can connect with the community. Motto: Our coffee, your story, life connecting.

AC: Who is your target customer?

JP: The community of Airway Heights and the airforce base. We also cater to business people that need coffee to go. We have a space for a small band where we can host music and other events.

AC: What has been the greatest impact of covid-19 on your business?

JP: Covid had a way of magnifying anything that was already challenging. It made current challenges like communication, meeting with people in person, building supplies, and equipment delivery delays even harder than normal.

AC: What are one or two actions you have taken to make a difference?

JP: It has taken more time to be strategic because there was so much unknown. Planning more and figuring out backup solutions had to become much more intentional. It forced us to communicate better with each other in the business.

AC: What is one mistake you have made along the way that other people can learn from?

JP: Visited a lot of similar types of shops that did not work and closed their doors. Asked them questions, learned from what they did that didn’t work. I’ve learned that people always come first – they are the greatest asset. Investing in people will create a stronger organization.

AC: What is inspiring to you today?

JP: Seeing people’s excitement! Also our staff – we have hired such an amazing team of individuals. Our community is excited to see something like this in Airway Heights as well – it is all inspiring!

OFFER: Mention the newsletter or our Facebook ad and receive 20% off full order.

Contact:

Jacob Powers

509-919-4190

refueler.org

Interview with Pennie Collinson

Coeur d’ Alene Photography LLC

AC: Tell us about your business.

PC: After spending many years at Sears portrait studio in CDA and Spokane Valley, I decided to start my own photography business. My dad is a photographer in California, and at 6 years old I started using a camera. The employment at Sears and my own photography business overlapped for a few years until I was able to get out on my own. I started my business in 2003.

AC: Who is your target customer?

PC: Pretty much everybodya when you’re trained in photography – like Sears, you’re trained to photograph anyone. I have shot everything from weddings to the 2012 US Olympic trials for women’s boxing at Quest Casino! I also do free photography for many non-profit organizations such as The Children’s Village and Citizens of Idaho Against Domestic Animal Abuse.

AC: What has been the greatest impact of covid-19 on your business?

PC: A lot! When covid happened a church reached out to me and formed a group to go out and do Porch photography for free. That was fun! A lot of events I normally shoot were canceled and I lost thousands of dollars from that.

AC: What are one or two actions you have taken to make a difference?

PC: I used Wedding Wire, and a lot of people are doing outside weddings, so I have been able to help some of those people do wedding photos. Also, with family photos, we are distanced so I’m able to give people that memory that they needed. For business headshots, I‘m able to do those outside against a whitewashed wall.

AC: What is one mistake you have made along the way that other people can learn from?

PC: Watch your words! A lot of people will take words and comments and make them into something they weren’t meant to be. You have to be careful about what you say. It can be difficult but keep things business-related. Keep your friends close and talk to them, but with business connections, keep things professional. You have to separate business from personal. Another mistake I’ve seen is not having all the paperwork, preparations, and insurance in place before you start taking in clients.

AC: What is inspiring to you today?

PC: Breathing! Waking up every day knowing I’m still alive! My family, pets, and friends are important to me! I like to make people happy while helping them.

OFFER: Mention this newsletter and receive a free 8x10 with sitting!

Contact:

Pennie Collinson

208-765-0498

cdaphoto.com

penniec@cdaphoto.com

Interview with Tony Baird

The Woodshop

AC: Tell us about your business.

TB: Before I started the business, I worked for KXLY in sales where he learned a ton about marketing. After I left, a lot of people would ask questions about marketing help, sometimes even giving proposals to take on their marketing. Then decided to open a business with Jeremy McGee – who is also an entrepreneur. We are a full-service advertising agency (design team, content team, and marketing team).

AC: Who is your target customer?

TB: We try to reach as many customers as we can. What makes us different is that we’ve put ourselves in a position to act for the client by being an extended part of their team. We find out what is the best for them, then build their marketing – no premade sales packages.

AC: What has been the greatest impact of covid-19 on your business?

TB: Covid drew us closer to our clients. We were getting phone calls from clients who were in tears because they didn’t know what the future of their businesses would be. We listened to their needs and worked out areas we could help them. It gave us a chance to all come together and make it work. Our company grew and I attribute that to the relationships we have with clients.

AC: What are one or two actions you have taken to make a difference?

TB: Our clients were insistent on finding solutions as opposed to looking at the negative effects of covid. Commute times changed, which caused clients to rely less on the radio – so we constantly looked at the placement and messaging, without relying on old habits

AC: What is one mistake you have made along the way that other people can learn from?

TB: One mistake was comparing my business to other businesses. What I know now is that people put their best foot forward. Truly knowing what I wanted out of all of this and knowing what my goals were and my own “why”, that made it easy to stick to my plan.

AC: What is inspiring to you today?

TB: As a business owner, transitioning from technician to business owner is the reason I enjoy what I do. I am in a position where I can help others create opportunities for themselves.

OFFER: We are currently open to schedule a free marketing review. Let us know where you’re at in your marketing plan and what your struggles are.

Contact:

Tony Baird

509-217-0754

thewoodshopnw.com/portfolio/

info@thewoodshopnw.com

Interview with Jhon Goodwin

Lost Boys Garage

AC: Tell us about your business.

JG: Lost Boys garage was started in July of 2015 by me and my high school buddy. I had been dreaming about opening a restaurant like this for more than 20 years. The building was previously an old transmission shop turned burger joint. We decided to turn it into a family-friendly bar and grill with upscale bar food. Our goal is to serve top-notch food with absolute exemplary customer service. We have been very fortunate over the past three years and despite the last year are ready and excited to open a second location on the South Hill.

AC: Who is your target customer?

JG: Families! We are a bar, but during the day families are very welcome. We added a door to the side of the dining room so we could allow children out there. It is a neighborhood place where anyone feels comfortable – any walk of life from plumbers to lawyers. We also get a lot of happy hour business from people driving from downtown and stopping by on their way home.

AC: What has been the greatest impact of covid-19 on your business?

JG: Just like every other restaurant, we have had to figure out how to pivot. We had to learn how to be a drive-up and added the drive-through back. This meant uncovering a previously established drive-through window.

AC: What are one or two actions you have taken to make a difference?

JG: We started using every delivery method we could think of (GrubHub, Door Dash, Treehouse, and Uber Eats). We increased our Facebook presence to show people that we were open and had food to go.

AC: What is one mistake you have made along the way that other people can learn from?

JG: Probably the first mistake was not knowing how long it was going to take to get our business open. Our soft opening took everything we had to get up to speed with customers. We did not expect the large number of people that came in the door.

AC: What is inspiring to you today?

JG: Watching our community come back from the last year. How they have supported locals so strongly. I am blown away and humbled by the amount of support we get from people patronizing our establishment. Their supportive comments are the most common comments I get these days!

Contact:

Jhon Goodwin

509-443-5023

lostboysgarage.com

Jim Reincke - Things that make you go Boom!

Current & Future Events

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SPRING SESSION

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Useful Business Thought of the Week