Local women business owners speak of success and struggles

A cohort of local women business owners were invited to be on a panel for Rural Leadership North Dakota, who held a two-day conference in Valley City and the Nome area, holding a question and answer panel, touring local landmarks and hosting an all-day event at the Nome Schoolhouse.

The two-day events kicked off with a panel at the AgCountry Farm Credit Services in Valley City, where six local businesswomen answered some questions about how they’ve thrived in a small community market.

Diane Hochhalter, owner of the Diane J. Hochhalter Studio, which does photography in Valley City, spoke on leadership opportunities and their impact on business:

“I think when you are involved in the community … it gives you an opportunity to see the demographics of a community, issues, concerns, opportunities for growth and development that you couldn’t see if you weren’t involved,” Hochhalter said. “Anyone can set up a photography business, so for me personally, being involved in the community … it helps legitimize my business. I have a storefront, I’m involved. This isn’t just a side hustle for me, it’s the real deal … I think it shows the com

munity that I’m not just in this for my own self, but for the greater good of the community.”

Loni Trapp and Alison Kasowski, who own the Ivy Real Estate Group, shared some of the key skills needed to succeed in real estate:

“There are very vigorous standards for real estate industry and that’s a good thing because everyone wants their realtor to be on the up-and-up,” Kasowski said. “Multi-tasking is very important. We get calls from our agents asking questions, while also making sure the paperwork is correct … I feel like we’re constantly doing ten or twenty things at a time … the next greatest skill has to be communication, because if you’re not communicating with all those people then something is going to fall through the cracks.”

Trapp and Kasowski also emphasized the importance of knowing what you do well – and what you don’t.

“We realize we’re not the best at a lot of things. So we ask those people to help,” Kasowski said. “So we don’t do our own accounting.”

Megan Zarbano, who runs Handy Home & Hardware in Valley City, spoke to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government lockdowns and the hurdles of bring a brick-andmortar store in the age of Amazon delivery.

“It’s very challenging, definitely. The one thing about my industry is, when you need it you need it,” Zarbano said. “When your toilet is broke, you don’t wait a couple of days for it come to your doorstep.”

Hardware is a “need-it-now” kind of thing, and as an essential business, Handy Hardware didn’t need to close its doors in 2020 or 2021.

“We survived and were able to help people when they needed,” Zarbano said, noting that in some areas, demand even increased as housebound people finally got to work on DIY projects they’d been putting off. That said, Handy’s has suffered from the growing pressures on the supply chain.

“It was unlike anything we’d ever experienced,” Zarbano said. “And being the lower man on the totem pole for the supply chain … I’ve chosen to be with the smaller (company) because it’s more intimate and family-oriented, so for us when it comes to allocations (of supplies), True Value, Ace, Menards

… they’re all going to get those allocations of products. That’s caused problems for us as well.”

Customers, she said, have had trouble adjusting.

Penny Wolla of Blush Boutique spoke to how the community has supported her – and vice versa.

“The community has supported me by a lot of encouragement, a lot of appreciation for my store, for what we do, who we are,” Wolla said. “There’s a lake about 20 minutes away from

here, so I cover a lot of Ashtabula merchandise and people love that. I have a

lot of faith-based merchandise, graphic tees...the community has just really embraced us since we opened, that’s what’s really helped me keep going.”

She urged conscientious consumers in the community to consider careful

ly where to spend their coin.

“As far as what I’d like the community to know when supporting small businesses is, when you’re considering where to shop, where to eat … where to spend your dollars, I think you need to look at who has invested in your community and what risks they have taken,” Wolla said. “All of us on this panel have a storefront. We have invested … hundreds of thousands of dollars into our community. So there’s the risk of financial

loss, there’s the risk of failure, which is hard. There’s the risk of the community not embracing you, not supporting you … but the rewards are, we can give back to the community. We not only give back in the tax dollars, but we give back in so many other ways, like the donations.”

Carol Huber talked about how she’s managed to build a name for her coffee shop, Alley Beans, in the over three years it’s been open in Valley City’s downtown.

“My husband and I decided we wanted to be a destination, not another coffee shop but … you

know those destinations in your life? ‘I want to go there, I want to see that.’ And our service model has always been ‘I want to meet you where you’re at,’” Huber said. “Whether that’s our drive-through or our customers in wheelchairs or our Tuesday morning groups that are over 70, they come in and

sit down … our service model has always been, we want to be there for you and serve you. Just as our mission statement has always said: serving God, serving coffee, serving you.”

Carol emphasized the importance of keeping a clean storefront and in treating your employees right.