Monday, August 15, 2011
Downtown West Orange Alliance video grant helps bring in new customers
Schneider Hardware is the oldest family-run retail business in West Orange and was the first business in town to participate in the Downtown West Orange Alliance’s grant program to help businesses create promotional videos. The grant is available to businesses in the Special Improvement District. I spoke with Roger Schneider, one of the two-brother team that owns and operates the third-generation owned hardware store. “For the past eight months, the video has been bringing in new customers,” Schneider said, adding the video has broadened the store’s exposure to other counties. “We recognize our customers, even if they haven’t been in in years, and we recognize a new customer coming in for the first time,” Schneider said. “We’ve had a lot …
Monday, August 8, 2011
It all started in 2002 with four bags of groceries
Charitable non-profit organizations are businesses, too. Instead of marketing, they rely on public relations; instead of paying many salaries, they rely upon a few paid administrators and the work of volunteers. They don’t pay taxes, but they do have to keep records and file tax returns. Unlike for-profit businesses, they don’t aim to please their shareholders; they aim to fulfill their mission of service. This week, my son was invited to a birthday party, where the parents requested that instead of gifts, guests bring canned goods to donate to the West Orange Food Pantry. This is the second birthday party we’ve been to with this request. (In both cases, we were assured that the birthday boys would be getting plenty of gifts from relatives…
Monday, August 1, 2011
Etsy.com: A great place to shop or to set up shop.
The reason I love going to craft fairs is because I love to find unusual gifts. I get sick of seeing the same things in every store. It seems that it gets harder and harder to find unusual gifts because everywhere you go, you find the same stores. I remember going on a business trip to Toronto once. A colleague and I had a few hours to ourselves and wanted to spend it shopping, in the hopes that we would find some only-in-Toronto boutiques. We found all the big department stores that you’d find in any mall in the United States. The only truly unique shop we found was Lush, a store that makes homemade cosmetics. We snapped up gifts for everyone. That was years ago. Now, Lush is in 41 countries and has three stores in Manhattan alone. The …
Monday, July 25, 2011
Will self-serve be coming to the local ice cream shop?
Mark Orenstein & Julie Orenstein are the names behind Mark & Julie's Homemade Ice Cream at 476 Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange. I spoke to Mark, one half of the husband-and-wife team that has made the store a success since 1994. Mark, a native of Verona, was laid off from his job in New York City in 1991. He and Julie were looking to start their own business. They considered buying a franchise, but decided against it. "You can't really make much money in a franchise," he said. "A family friend who owns an ice cream shop down the Shore taught me the ice cream business," Mark said. Then he and Julie set out to open a store in the area. Seeing a need for an ice cream store in West Orange, they found a space available in the small strip …
Monday, July 18, 2011
Salon services and an old-time barber shop feel
Recently, I've been writing about businesses that have been in West Orange for a long, long time. This week, I'm happy to report on a newcomer to the West Orange business community. I've passed it on Northfield Avenue many times. The storefront is crisp and bright. Sharp yellow and burgundy graphics tell you all you need to know, and the most important information is found in the name. When are they open? The 8 to 8 Barber Shop tells you right up front. "Home of the $8 haircut" is the slogan, and in case you forget, even the phone number ends in three eights. I spoke to owner Jason Robinson, who opened the shop in April of 2011. Robinson became a barber back in 1988, and then went on to work in other industries. "I worked in real estate, …
Monday, July 11, 2011
Helen Hirsh's Great Shapes
Since I've started writing about businesses in West Orange only a few months ago, I've found that there are many long-standing businesses in our town. And I don't mean just the businesses that lasted past their first 10 or 20 years or so. West Orange is home to more than a few small business old-timers. Pals Cabin will be celebrating its 80th year next year; the West Orange Pharmacy started 64 years ago; Starlite Restaurant & Pizza has been in business for 50 years; Supreme Bakery has been here for 35 years; and even with a brief hiatus, Marty's Shoes comes in at 30-plus years. And those are just the businesses I've learn about so far. This week, I've found another long-standing West Orange business: Helen Hirsh's Great Shapes at 457 Mt. …
Monday, July 4, 2011
This new site brings you the deals as they support local businesses, hire local moms
The first thing I do when I open my email each morning, is sift through the 10 or so deal and sale emails I get. I delete most of them, but I'm hesitant to unsubscribe from the sites, because I might miss out on that one great deal. Group discount offers seem to be popping up all over. Even stores are starting to do group buying or deal offering emails. I got one the other day from a site I used to pay for a race registration. They've started their own group discount email for high-end gear. The upside for consumers, of course, is a constant stream of discounts come our way, with very little effort on our part. The upside for merchants is that they can reach a broad new audience. It's easy. You sign up, which is free and only takes a …
Monday, June 27, 2011
Free advice from retired executive volunteers
When my partner and I first had the idea for our product, we didn't realize how much there was to learn about starting a business. You just make something and sell it, right? If only it were that easy. One of the earliest and best bits of advice I've received is that we should "get help from everywhere" we can get it. I started with a stack of books on business from the library. Then I read blogs and business magazines, telling everyone I could that we were starting a business. I asked the opinions of friends and family. I asked the woman who owns the store where we first bought fabric. Everyone has been so helpful and eager to see us succeed. But one of the best places you can get business — and in particular a start-up — advice from is …
Monday, June 20, 2011
98-years-old and still going strong
It's time for us to open a business checking account. But one of the tenets of our business that my partner and I are committed to is that we will support local businesses as much as we can. So, we couldn't very well open an account at Citibank or Bank of America. I shopped around and decided on the most local bank we could find, Llewellyn-Edison Savings Bank. When I first walked into the J. Robert Duff branch office, it was like walking into the past. The décor was sparse and looked as if it hadn't been redone in years. Not that it wasn't pleasant, just that this bank had not been spending its money on constant renovations and expensive, slick ad campaigns. I met with Edward Enginger (pronounced, "Eninger," the first "g" is silent) vice …
Monday, June 13, 2011
Internationally-known mezzo-soprano Kathryn Krasovec builds her private voice studio
Not every business has a storefront, so you may not have heard of this West Orange business. Did you know that West Orange has its own classical voice studio? Meet Kathryn Krasovec, internationally-known mezzo-soprano, West Orange resident and vocal instructor. Classically trained, Krasovec completed several young artist apprenticeships, including an apprenticeship at The Juilliard School. A mezzo-soprano (a voice between soprano and alto), Krasovec has performed around the world. Krasovec became assistant teacher to her own voice teacher (whom she chooses not to name) after training with her for years. "She is probably one of the top three vocal coaches in the world," Krasovec said. After working together several times and over the course…
Cynthia Cumming
3:43 pm on Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Jennifer, thanks for the great article! more ›