Business Spotlight: Megerian Persian Rug Co.

by Laura Scott

SBJ Contributing Writer

sbj@sbj.net

Nobody ever said mother-daughter relationships were easy. Add the dual role of mother/co-worker and things can get complicated.

Just ask Voncille Elmer and Heather Reynolds, co-owners of Megerian Persian Rug Co., which was founded 70 years ago. Elmer worked with her own mother, Pauline Megerian, for 24 years.

Elmer, the middle-mom in a third-generation business partnership, uses her perspective and experience with her mother as a blueprint to deal with the challenges, pitfalls and joys of a mother-daughter business venture.

"We have Megerian blood; we're all strong-willed women," said Reynolds, 38, who was a seventh grader when Elmer began working at Megerian.

When Vahan Megerian, Elmer's father and the founder of the business, died in 1978, Elmer left her job teaching kindergarten to help her mother with the thriving business.

"It worked because my mother didn't like selling. I did selling and she did repair. It was just the two of us running the business," Elmer said.

There were a few disagreements and frustration along the way, Elmer said. She said she has tried to learn from those experiences so she doesn't face the same challenges with Reynolds.

"Like any generation, there were age differences in how we thought things ought to be done," Elmer said.

While Elmer worked daily with her mother, she and Reynolds only work together one full day a week and a few partial days. They also take trips to purchase rugs together, something they enjoy. Reynolds joined the business in 1992.

"Heather and I split up duties since the business is bigger. She does the bookwork, while I do the selling, ordering and customer relations," said Elmer, 59.

Since this mother-daughter combo began working together, the company has enjoyed steady growth. Elmer said revenues were down somewhat in 2003, but each year before that the growth had been steady. So far this year it appears business is up again.

"Recently, we expanded our shop from 2,900 square feet to over 3,500 square feet," Elmer said. The company has two full-time employees and six part-time workers.

"We've worked at allowing it to grow. We're open to each other's ideas. Sometimes Heather had to get a little tough with me, like telling me to straighten up my desk," Elmer said with a laugh. "Sharing an office was hard, but now Heather has hers and I have mine."

They've learned to deal with the tension, Reynolds added. "When my grandmother was working here, it was very stressful to me because of the tension between the two of them. My grandmother wanted everything done like my grandfather did and didn't want to change anything," she said.

Elmer and Reynolds bought into the business about 10 years ago. "We bought Mother out when we moved to the Republic Road store," Elmer said.

The new store also offered some relief from the former cramped location at 412 South Ave. "We worked in such close proximity downtown and that made the tension worse I'm sure," said Elmer. "So I was glad when Heather came in with her ideas."

The personalities of the Megerian women have drawn repeat customers in generations over the years. "We've been in business so long that some of our customers were my father's customers. It's nice to have Heather here to work with some of the younger people," she said.

Times have changed in the business as well. "For Mother and I it was very unusual for women to run a rug store," said Elmer. "There were hardly any women in the business, and we're still in the minority but the majority of the buyers today are women."

The main thrust of the business is Persian rugs, but it also sells machine-made and tufted rugs. Megerian also has a few accessories including pillows, Oriental furniture, purses and bags made of Turkish kelims, Morrocan lamps, Indonesian wedding baskets, Bulgarian ceramics and clay pots .

"Most everything we sell is hand-knotted," Elmer said. "We handle imported rugs from India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Armenia and throughout Asia and the Middle East. There is more competition to deal with now because every place sells rugs. We offer service, something big stores usually do not. We allow our customers to take rugs home on approval. We also offer a cleaning service. Our customers are mostly honest people who know what they're looking for. We treat our customers like friends, and we enjoy the business."

The two agree that one reason it works between them is they can be honest with each other.

"We can be brutally honest with each other without hurting feelings," said Reynolds.

Elmer agreed. "We can be more honest with each other than Mother and I could be. That helps."

Elmer is adjusting to her new role as the matriarch of the business since Megerian died in August. Reynolds' daughter, 9-year-old Hannah, also is around the business with her mother.

"It's strange when you get to the point where your parents are gone. It's different. I can boss Heather and Hannah," said Elmer.

But the pair realizes this is a serious business relationship.

"I have to in my mind look at things differently between us at work. And when we're away from here, we don't talk about it. When we are here, it's nice to have somebody to talk back and forth about business decisions and not having it on one of us."

For Reynolds, the biggest challenge has been creating her own space. "I require a lot of space," she said. "I'm independent."

They nuture the friendship part of their relationship away from the business by dining out or taking trips to Kansas City. "We are friends. We live a mile apart. I consider Heather a good friend, and I hope she does me. She didn't in high school," Elmer said with a laugh.

Elmer was 21 when Reynolds was born. "I feel like we've kind of aged together," said Elmer. "I had some hard times with my mother, but I'm in a different relationship working together with Heather as mother and daughter. I know I can ask Heather and get an honest answer."