Business Focus Weekly
A publication focused on helping your business to grow and become more focused.
Dr. Cranney Family Medicine
Owner: Dr. Cranney

KW: Tell us about your business.
DR. C: We are a Direct Primary Care clinic, and we use a membership model as our primary fee. For one low monthly cost, you can get all the services a doctor normally provides within that fee. We have large discounts on prescription medications and laboratory testing. I have been at this practice since January of 2018, but I have been a physician since 2001.

KW: Who is your target customer?
DR. C: We serve a whole range of people. I have patients on Medicaid and some with no insurance. We help anyone from age 0-99. A Niche we do is providing pricing for small employers and provide employee pricing on an individual basis.

KW: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
DR. C: It has driven more interest in this form of care because we have some services and provide care that highlights our Covid precautions. For example, we were doing tele-visits long before Covid started. Our patients don’t have to sit in a waiting room, so that helps also.

KW: What are one or two actions you’ve taken to make a difference?
DR. C: With Covid, you have ongoing struggles to meet and greet, and go to businesses to do presentations. We have adapted to start doing online or virtual events.

KW: What is a mistake you’ve made along the way that other people can learn from?
DR. C: Don’t be afraid to spend money to get people who are experts in their field. When coming into a small business, you have this expectation that you need to be everything in the business. Finding people that are skilled in certain areas to help out is best.

KW: What is inspiring to you today?
DR. C: We have had so much that has come down this past year, and it’s nice to see the resilience of people and the outlook of hope.

OFFER: Mention this newsletter and receive 3 months of membership for the price of 2 membership fees.

Dr. Cranney Family Medicine
Owner: Dr. Cranney
509-673-7221
info@drcranney.com

By Kendra Wiiest
LINC Foods
Owner: Joel Williamson

KW: Tell us about your business.
JW: We are a worker and farmer-owned Coop that has been around since 2014. We have farmers that have a large variety of foods from vegetables to malt for beer. And we now do direct-to-consumer wholesaling. 

KW: Who is your target customer?
JW: We have two areas we focus. On the food side – someone that likes to cook and is really interested in accessing high-quality, fresh, region-rich foods. And on the malt side – We are doing really well with craft distilleries that make single malt whiskeys.

KW: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
JW: From the food side: we lost all of our wholesale business overnight. We had to transition to focus on direct to customer sales. Schools, universities, and hotels were no longer able to buy from us. On the malt side: We had a big decrease from breweries that no longer needed malt because their productions slowed or stopped.

KW: What are one or two actions you’ve taken to make a difference?
JW: Changing the whole model on the food side has been helpful. Selling direct to customers has actually made our business better than we ever knew it would. We will continue to use this model for sales.

KW: What is a mistake you’ve made along the way that other people can learn from?
JW: A big motif for us during 2020 was to realize there are multiple ways to grow. We can easily miss opportunities when we get tunnel vision working on the day-to-day grind. Covid was an opportunity for us to look and broaden our outlook and vision to make sure we can tap into new ways to make the business grow.

KW: What is inspiring to you today?
JW: Just being in a small business community. It is inspiring to see how we all help each other out. It says something about the resiliency of small independent businesses.

LINC Foods
Owner: Joel Williamson
Joel@lincfoods.com
509-230-1223

By Kendra Wiiest
Mojo Cyclery
Owner: Morgan Johnson

KW: Tell us about your business.
MJ: We are a full-service bike shop that started in February of 2017. We do everything from bike repairs to sales and riding. We are building a community through bicycles.

KW: Who is your target customer?
MJ: General enthusiasts that want to be a part of the bike community. Anyone who loves bicycles. We encompass any cyclers, but also focus on local community riders.

KW: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
MJ: Seeing new faces come through the door because there is not a lot to do. People have been finding new things to do like riding bicycles with their families. It has gotten people outside more and discovering more things to do.

KW: What are one or two actions you’ve taken to make a difference?
MJ: We have increased our product line to be more diverse in sales, because we are getting a more diverse (and often new) crowd.

KW: What is a mistake you’ve made along the way that other people can learn from?
MJ: Some of the bigger mistakes was putting faith and trust in things that weren’t there. Taking a more calculated risk before making a decision. You always have to try to be cutting edge in order to make a difference.

KW: What is inspiring to you today?
MJ: In this time of doom and gloom, the perseverance of people that come into the store who have a positive outlook. I have faith in humanity as a whole.

OFFER: Mention this newsletter and we will give 15% off anything in the store, including bicycles and trainers.

Mojo Cyclery
Owner: Morgan Johnson
509-443-4218
mojocyclery@gmail.com
www.mojocyclery.com

By Kendra Wiiest
AIA Magnum
Owner: Frank Mathison

KW: Tell us about your business.
FM: We are a promotional products business. We help you get your name out. We use hard advertising like pens, paper, etc. so businesses can give gifts to their clients. This helps them remind people where they are and how they got it. We have been in business for 45 years.

KW: Who is your target customer?
FM: Agriculture. Farmers need to wear hats on the tractors, so most of my business is selling to fertilizer dealers - especially hats with logos on them. We also do calendars, jackets, and other items. They are thank you gifts as much as they are reminder gifts...

KW: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
FM: We moved to Spokane one and a half years ago. For the first few months, I was able to go out and establish new customers. When Covid hit, we couldn’t walk in to see somebody. I do not have as much of an email or web presence.

KW: What are one or two actions you’ve taken to make a difference?
FM: Right now I’m working on a project that I haven’t done before. I’m putting a small package together for RV dealers to give to their clients. I have a can of wd-40 that has 6 yards of duct tape attached to the bottom of the can. There is also a screwdriver called a tip–click with several unique configurations. This tool contains 6-7 tools within it. And a thumb-drive that has 45 different uses for wd-40. These will be added to the package.

KW: What is a mistake you’ve made along the way that other people can learn from?
FM: After I took over AIA Magnum, I used subcontractor printers for my supplies. Those printers decided to call up my customers and take them away, so I bought a screen printer and put it in my garage. I taught my sons and myself how to screen print. They learned the machine, so I was able to go out and do sales and marketing. I took over that area of the business so I was no longer the middle man and didn’t need to use subcontractors. We did tremendous business out of our garage.

KW: What is inspiring to you today?
SD: With all the things going on, especially with our country’s changes, my wife is a very positive person. I have a daughter in Sandpoint that is very focused and solid. I enjoy being with her family because she doesn’t let things get her down. And the church because they know who’s in control.

OFFER: Mention this newsletter and we will waive the setup charge for first-time customers (up to $70 value).

AIA Magnum
Owner: Frank Mathison
509-531-1234
www.aiamagnum.com

By Kendra Wiiest
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