On the road to success

The weekend of Sept. 24, 2004, the first two Go Convenience stores opened at former Git-N-Go locations, 1925 E. Bennett and 2006 N. Broadway.

Owners Mike Hyde and Chris Estes, former president and vice president, respectively, of Git-N-Go in Springfield, have about 30 years combined experience in the convenience store business.

In a year, the company has grown from five employees to 25 and from two convenience stores to three convenience stores in Springfield and three convenience stores with gas stations in outlying areas.

Estes said there are no specific revenue goals for Go Convenience, but he feels the business has been successful in that it has had sufficient capital to be able to take on additional locations without accruing much debt.

“We’re very comfortable with where we are for no longer than we’ve been doing it,” he said.

Duane and Prudy Bone opened db Design Salon & Gallery March 30 at 326 S. Campbell Ave. in an art gallery setting. Such a setting allows Duane Bone to display and sell his thrown pottery along with jewelry by a local silversmith and hanging art by international artists.

Not only does the art bring in revenue, it also brings in people during the First Friday Art Walks, Bone said.

Since opening, he has added one hair stylist to bring the total of independent contractors to three hairstylists and one nail technician. Bone fills the fourth hairstylist position and employs two receptionists.

Bone said there is no set revenue goal, but business is good. He is considering expanding his retail art and hair products.

Masoud “Max” Mohseny and Shahram Aminzadeh, who opened Ahmady’s Persian Rugs May 16 at 1901 S. Glenstone, Ste. E, set a revenue goal of $300,000 the first year, and Mohseny expects to reach half of that amount despite setbacks that came from opening during the slow summer season.

Ahmady’s imports, sells, cleans and repairs Persian rugs, and the owners and three employees work toward the main goal of customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction also is a key goal at The Classic Golf Shop.

Owners Rand Henslee and Steve Wadman opened The Classic Golf Shop on April 8 at 1829 S. Kentwood, Ste. 104. The store offers used equipment for sale and trade.

With revenues having increased weekly and month over month, Henslee said the store is on target for revenue goals, but declined to give an amount.

“I just want to be successful in the single unit I have at this point and build the customer base, and provide exceptional customer service,” Henslee said.

Identity issues

Building a customer base and establishing an identity have been the two main challenges faced by the entrepreneurs. For Go Convenience’s Estes, the key to achieving those objectives presents another big challenge: finding the right employees.

“We’ve been very fortunate through continually working to promoting from within and really keeping our eyes open for sharp people to recruit,” Estes said. “We’ve come across some really great people who have helped us build our business.”

With Henslee as the sole employee at The Classic Golf Shop, finding the right people isn’t the problem, but rather it’s the “obscure location” that has hindered the establishment of the business’ identity. The Classic Golf Shop is nestled about a half a block from the intersection of Sunshine Street and Glenstone Avenue, across from Nearly Famous Deli and Pasta House. However, the low overhead of the location makes up for any hindrances, Henslee said.

Both Henslee and Mohseny of Ahmady’s used advertising to combat their challenges. Ahmady’s Persian Rugs needed the publicity to counteract the slow nature of the season.

“We had to do a lot of advertising for public awareness, and other than that, everything’s been great,” Mohseny said.

Overall, business has been good for the entrepreneurs, and all four said that if given the chance to do it again, they’d generally do it the same way with only minor changes.

For Estes, if he could do it all over again, the accounting would be handled a little differently, saving him some frustrations, but “all in all, we’ve had a great year,” he said.

Artist/stylist Bone, like the other three entrepreneurs, said he has been pleased with his business. Being downtown, parking was the expected challenge that has turned out not to be an issue. The summer heat, however, has been.

“The west (sunlight) exposure is a little bit of a challenge when it gets warm on those 100-degree days, but other than that, I really can’t say there’s anything I’d change,” Bone said.

“I’m just real thrilled to be downtown and be involved in everything that’s going on down here.”

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