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doing business in today's economy challenges workers, owners

Story and photos by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

In light of today’s economic situation, The Messenger decided to find out what Catholic business owners are saying in different parts of the diocese.

Four owners/operators were asked to talk about the economy, their business and what they expect to do in the coming year.

They come from St. Boniface Parish in Germantown, St. Mary’s in Mt. Carmel, St. Joseph’s in Marion and SS. Peter and Paul in Waterloo.

The automotive industry has been receiving a lot of press lately, and not because the car industry is swimming in black ink, just the opposite.

As the nation watches the CEOs of the three major American car manufacturers drive their hybrids to Washington, D.C., asking for a bailout, one car dealer is holding his own.

Mike Jansen and his wife, Debbie, go to work at Jansen’s Chevrolet every day, just like they have been doing for more than 20 years. Jansen said, This is a ‘mom and pop’ business.”
How’s business at Jansen’s? “New car sales are down by about 25 percent, Mike Jansen said.
Some people just can’t afford to buy a new car or can’t qualify for a loan.

However, his service and parts departments are doing better business with people bringing cars in for maintenance and repairs so they can keep them running longer, he said.

Jansen bought the dealership from his uncle in 1980 when he was 29 years old, “with a lot of help,” he said.
At the time, interest rates were hovering around 15 or 16 percent. Loans were given for a maximum of 24 months, Jansen said.

Now, people can extend loans for periods longer than the car might last, and fora time in the recent past, it was “too easy” to get a loan for almost anything including homes and cars.

“Overall, business (which includes his presence on the Internet) is good,” Jansen said, but “If you’re very dependent on new car sales only, then your business is suffering a lot,”

Internet sales have netted Jansen customers in Bloomington, Ill., Orlando, Fla., and Omaha, Neb., to name just a few.
Although new car sales have been less than brisk, Jansen said he has no plans to lay off workers.
Jansen said he has good workers, and he sees his job as empowering them and dealing honestly with his customers.
“Honesty is always the best policy,” he said.

And sometimes that honesty keeps him from selling a car. “Customers sometimes need coaching,” he said about how much they can afford to borrow, especially those who have a sizeable credit card debt.
Selling cars, like other big-ticket items, takes longer than other types of sales. People may shop for a car for a few days or weeks, often doing research on the Internet, he said.

A former athlete, Jansen said he enjoys competition in the marketplace. “It keeps you on your toes.”
The worst part of doing business, he said, is losing a good, long-time customer. “We take it to heart,” he said.
Sometimes the loss comes from misunderstandings or misdirected communication.
In a small community like Germantown, Jansen said he knows most of his customers.
“We try to help people as best we can,” he said.

In Mt. Carmel, the Kieffer Brothers Construction Co., is another family business, started by Dean and Doug Kieffer’s grandfather and his brothers.

These days, Doug goes out for bids on jobs and Dean fulfills the contracts.
The older Kieffers are turning over day-to-day operations of the business over to the younger ones, Don Kieffer said, with brother, Jim, president of the company.

Doug makes estimates and does bidding for the company, and Dean said: “I do everything he doesn’t want to do.”
With seven family owners, six members of the family work in the business.
Last year, the Kieffers said, business was better. With commercial and utility contracts, they said business is steady and definitely not as bad as residential contractors are doing.

The company depends on municipalities, they said. And municipalities count on motor fuel taxes for their road projects. With people driving less, fewer projects will be put out for bids.
Don remembers the 1980s when “we had a similar situation. We had to go lean and cut any unnecessary expenses.”
Dean said the company would postpone purchase of new equipment.

Equipment and labor are the company’s biggest expenses, and higher gasoline prices earlier in the year made an impact on their bottom line, but the recent lower fuel prices have helped.
The company will continue with their on-going projects, with their goal “to keep all our employees working and make a profit.”

Although the younger generation of Kieffers has taken over to face some tough economic times, Don, part of the “senior” generation doesn’t seem worried.
“My generation surprised our parents, and these guys are surprising us,” he said.

Surrounded by designer labels and lots of bling, Stella Karl of Marion said: “We’re holding our own” at Stella’s Consignment Boutique, her consignment shop in Marion. In fact, the St. Joseph parishioner said she has seen a slight upswing in business.

In business for 26 years, she has seen the cost of doing that business escalate recently with everything from utilities to plastic garment bags going up.

Her business grew out of her experience with people having rummage sales. However, she said it took five years for people to understand the consignment business with folks bringing in items for her to sell.
Stella makes appointments with people; they bring in the items they want to sell — clean and clothes on hangers — and she chooses the items to put in the shop. Stella prices the merchandise and keeps it for 60 days, “reducing the price to facilitate its sale,” she writes in instructions to those bringing in items.
The economy, she said, has brought consignment shops “into their own.”

At 71, Stella enjoys the business, and she employs what she describes as seven “desperate housewives” as part time staff. They want to get out of the house, have something to do and earn a little money.
While Stella loves her work because “people are fun,” sometimes “it gets a little hectic.”

With the downturn in the economy, more people are shopping at Stella’s for Christmas gifts, she said.
Mothers “may bring in their children to shop for holiday clothes,” she said. “One mother was so excited because her daughter found a holiday dress for $12.00.

Stella used to carry one line of apparel — prom dresses — and stopped when other area stores began carrying them. Now, she has decided to start selling them again. The dresses can be terribly expensive, and girls don’t want to wear the same dress to a number of events. If they shop at Stella’s, they can make a purchase at a more reasonable price — 25 percent of the retail cost if the item is brand new — and perhaps have enough money to buy more than one dress.

While Stella admits the business is a lot of work because she has to account for every item in the store, she doesn’t see retirement in her immediate future.

Again, the economy has affected her, just like almost everybody else. Shrinking assets give her a reason to look for ways to cut her costs. “For the first time in my life,” she said, “I’m clipping coupons.”

And Stella worries about the local economy in the Marion area. Last year, a Maytag plant closed, and now Circuit City has gone into bankruptcy. The area has a large warehouse in the area.
The consignment shop gives people an opportunity to realize a return on their merchandise. “We are providing a service to the community,” she said.

Stella sees those who bring in items to sell as her “business partners,” people who should be “treated like royalty.”
When they come in to drop off items, they probably do a little shopping as well.
One customer and employee, Andrea Arnold, said: “Consignment shopping has always been a great idea, and now it’s smarter than ever.”

In Waterloo, Tom Clark has been in the retail business since he was a young man when his father owned the television store on a corner near his present location where he owns Clark’s Country Oaks.
Country Oaks, across the street from SS. Peter and Paul, was at one time a grocery store. Tom had a vision and the store was transformed.

During the first seven years, Tom saw the business grow. He deals with local craftsmen making Amish furniture that is made to order, and not just in oak.

When an order is ready, Tom picks it up and brings it back to the store for the customer. He deals with craftsmen mostly in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

Gasoline prices that spiked earlier this year had to be factored into his costs.
Gasoline prices also impacted his customers. “When gasoline prices hit $3.00 a gallon, they stopped coming,” he said.

Lower gasoline prices now should help, but business is slow.

The election and the constant media bombardment has stifled business, he said.
People need to understand “we are the economy. If we all stop spending money, we will all be in the unemployment line together,” Tom said.

Tom takes pride in the craftsmanship of the furniture, and knowing the people who built it makes the sale more personal. Some of the craftsmen sign the pieces they build, he said.
The furniture may be purchased by one family, but the quality gives it a timelessness. It can be passed from one generation to the next, he said.

Fulfilling people’s needs and helping them find a piece of furniture they want is satisfying, he said.
“One couple said they had been looking for a particular piece of furniture for 10 years, and they found it here.”
Most of the furniture is made to order. Customers can choose the wood from about eight varieties, and they can have the piece built to their specifications, a little larger or smaller than what they see in the store.
What’s new? Tom carries a line of outdoor furniture, he said, that respects the environment. Again, the Amish craftsmen supply the furniture.

The poly vinyl furniture is made from recycled plastic bottles. “It’s the new green,” he said, noting that everybody wins. It is maintenance free and uses recycled materials.

Although business in this economy is difficult, at best, “I tell myself every day: It’s a new challenge, it’s a new day.”
Jansen Chevrolet is located at 116 Munster in Germantown; Kieffer Brothers on Division Street in Mt. Carmel; Stella’s at 1602 West Main St. in Marion and Clark’s at 110 S. Church St. in Waterloo. Or, you can find Jansen’s, Clark’s or Kieffer Brothers on the web.