Business Spotlight: DC Marketing Services LLC dba Gold Minds

Owner: Steven Diullo

Founded: 1996

Address: 3354 S. National Ave., Springfield, MO 65807

Phone: (417) 890-1926

Fax: (417) 890-6402

E-mail: stevensells@hotmail.com

Products: Children’s toys and educational supplies

2007 Revenues: $400,000

Employees: 7

In many ways, the experiences of Gold Minds owner Steven Diullo have groomed him for his unexpected career since childhood. He works well with children, enjoys education and is still an avid player of tabletop games.

Maybe at heart, Diullo is just a big kid.

Diullo entered into the toys and educational products retail business with his 2002 acquisition of Gold Minds, creating for him something of a dream job.

“I had formerly owned a property management company in Branson,” Diullo says. “I got a teaching certificate and tried teaching, but I was looking for something else. A friend said I ought to buy a business. This was a good fit for my experience and teaching knowledge.”

Branding knowledge

Diullo is a 1992 political science graduate from Drury University’s Honors Program, and he earned a teaching certificate from Missouri State University in 2001.

After making the purchase under the banner of DC Marketing Services LLC, Diullo promptly moved Gold Minds to 3354 S. National Ave.

Relocating was just the first of his changes.

Diullo has worked to develop a knowledgeable staff and a brand identity for the shop, with the help of some outside forces. Graphic artist Shannon Perryman helped develop the logo, and musician Mark Bilyeu of Big Smith wrote the store’s jingle. Along with the increased traffic, those efforts helped make the shop more visible. But keeping customers is a matter of service, according to Diullo.

Rachel Zegar is a manager at Gold Minds and says knowing the toys is very important.

“Basically, people don’t know what they are looking for when they come into the store,” Zegar says. “They know what the child likes, but they don’t know what that is in a toy. They know that the staff is knowledgeable, but not what to get.”

Zegar says management often quizzes the staff, and training takes several weeks.

Victoria Smith is a home-schooling mother of five and finds herself in Gold Minds quite often. She discovered the shop five years ago and fell in love with the knowledgeable staff and the unique selection.

“I don’t think a box chain store takes care of you quite the same way,” Smith says. “They have a lot more variety in specialty toys and educational toys that aren’t run of the mill. Their toys initiate more wholesome play, rather than feeding the kids entertainment constantly.”

Big discovery

The biggest change for Gold Minds occurred in August 2006, when Diullo took over the Discovery Center gift shop. He leases the space and provides the Discovery Center an undisclosed profit percentage, so both entities have a reason to see the business succeed.

Charlotte McCoy, Discovery Center’s marketing and special events director, is very pleased with the arrangement.

“Thank God that he was here,” McCoy says. “It was a load off our shoulders. We are a nonprofit with a small staff, and nobody here knew retail. … In the first year, there was a profit on both ends, so he was happy.”

McCoy says the shop lets Discovery Center visitors take some of their experience home, and Diullo’s contacts and experience were invaluable in helping them find educational toys.

McCoy adds that the shop is open without admission and is the only toy store downtown.

“I don’t think that people know that they can just drop in,” McCoy says. “We’ve been trying to get the word out.”

For Diullo the businessman, the Discovery Center smoothes out his cash flow.

Last year, Gold Minds’ Discovery Center store sales amounted to about 10 percent of its $400,000 revenues. That just made up for a downturn in sales at Gold Minds due to toy recalls from China, such as the popular Thomas the Tank line of trains.

“Toy recalls really affected my bottom line,” Diullo notes. “We were down, and the Discovery Center made up for it.”

Zegar says the second location also gives Gold Minds room for excess stock and is focused more on science, where the store on National is focused on imaginative play.