Here’s a collection of interviews from local business owners with amazing insights into today’s challenges.
ActionCOACH’s Mark Phelps virtually sits down with fellow members of the Solon Chamber of Commerce and dives into what’s happening in the community.
Check out their inspiring stories for tips on how to cope with and successfully recover from this pandemic, and learn how to avoid making common mistakes. Be sure to check out special offers from these businesses. We can all use a little extra help right now!
And, most importantly, visit the company websites. Reach out to those who offer services you can use.
Yours Truly Restaurant Co-Owner, Larry Shibley
Yours Truly Restaurant is a family-owned, breakfast, lunch, and dinner full-service concept with locations in and around Solon. The Solon location has full-bar service and features a pick-up window. Come check out and enjoy their four-season outdoor bar and patio which features a firepit and other amenities.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Larry Shibley (LS): We envisioned ourselves in the 80s as a restaurant for everybody, regardless of demographic, income, or clothing. It’s intended to be for everybody. We’re not an upscale dining experience and we’re not the crummy corner diner that people are intimidated to go to because it may not be clean. We feel like there’s a time and place for everybody to visit Yours Truly. Our concept is to complement that with extremely healthy choices and also very indulgent choices, depending on your mood.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
LS: For a while, we had to close our dining rooms. That was a huge impact. Fortunately the government has provided some assistance which has made a big difference. It’s a whole list of small situations that make it more difficult, such as the time it takes to turn a table because of the sanitation process that you have to go through. The limited seating. We are trying to maintain 6 feet distance and barriers so we can’t have all of our seating available. Not to mention the cost of the barriers over time and other items such as the masks and thermometers. Everything is an added cost and the costs related to COVID protection are going up.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
LS: We’ve done the maximum allowable by the state of Ohio and health department regulations. When they said, “you can only do carry-out”, we did carry out. We initiated curbside service and did more delivery services, etc. As soon as they allowed us to package alcohol and alcoholic drinks to go, we attempted to do that, and are doing it now. The day the dining rooms were announced they could be open, we were prepared. We had our barriers up. We opened all dining rooms for all hours, and did the very best we could.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
LS: I think in the COVID situation, as we look back as a team on everything we’ve done, we feel like we’ve been proactive. We were the earliest to get the PPP money. We had our application in immediately to get disaster funding when the city of Cleveland had riots. If we look back, maybe we could have created a strategic stockpile of inventory of non perishable items in case something happens. Overall, it’s all worked out.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
LS: What’s most inspiring to me today is to see that there’s a strong will by people to get back to normal. And perhaps a realization that you can go out and function without being at risk, assuming you’re taking all the recommended precautions. I’m seeing people do it more and more. It’s inspiring to see that things come back to normal and of course, the vaccine and all the other things that are happening to mitigate the situation are very inspiring.
Contact: You can reach Larry Shibley by email at ls@ytr.com, by phone at (216) 469-3232 and online at https://ytr.com/.
Gino’s Awards, Inc. Owner, Gino Zavarella
Gino’s Awards, Inc is a manufacturer and retailer of awards, corporate gifts, personalized and recognition products. Excellence in all aspects of their work – from a client’s first contact to product delivery – is their commitment. They are distinguished as a manufacturer – not a reseller – and have great flexibility in design, creation and delivery of products.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Gino Zavarella (GZ): We service large corporations whose names are household names like the Cleveland Clinic or Eaton, as well as small organizations like churches, golf leagues, soccer leagues, little leagues, and high schools. A kid might be on the football team and get shown in the local paper or even the Plain Dealer and we memorialize that article on a plaque. An organist at a local church may be retiring and people will come and buy personalized retirement gifts or a plaque recognizing their services.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
GZ: Being shut down and having other businesses shut down has had a financial impact. We’re lucky in that a lot of our customers continue to buy awards and signage. By far the biggest impact was a member of our team got COVID. We’re a tight knit group here, so that was pretty personally devastating to us. We followed his progress and he wasn’t doing very well for a while, but thankfully he’s not only cured, he’s back to work.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
GZ: We’ve increased our online business and are reaching customers more through email. I don’t know that everybody loves shopping online as much as our being in our showroom, but of course it is what it is and we have to make the best of it.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
GZ: We were not as prepared as we should have been for the technology shift. We’ve now made the shift, but it was more uncomfortable and challenging than it might have been.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
GZ: My father passed away this past March and it is his legacy and his model of leadership that is most inspiring to me today. He led our company with love and created a tight knit culture where everyone working here is like family.
Contact: You can reach Gino Zavarella by email at info@ginosawards.com, by phone at 216-831-6565, and online at http://www.ginosonline.com.
Best Choice Insurance Owner, Anu Giri
Best Choice Insurance is an independent insurance agency and represents multiple companies. They offer a wide range of insurance products from home and auto to life and business. Their aim is to provide customers the optimal insurance they need by matching coverage needs with the best prices.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Anu Giri (AG): We like to know our customers before we sell insurance. We want to build a long term relationship and make sure that we understand the customers and their business very well. We are like a bridge that connects their needs to the best that the insurance world has to offer. Our target customer is in Solon and around the greater Cleveland area.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
AG: Early on we closed our office on Solon Road. Then, as restrictions slowly lifted, we stocked up on masks and hand sanitizer so we could begin safely meeting with customers again by appointment only. Overall, the greatest impact on the business has been a significant reduction in customers and reduced hours.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
AG: We’ve been communicating with our existing customer base as well as potential clients to let them know about all the increased incentives that the insurance companies have rolled out since COVID struck. Also, we’ve been moving everything we do to the digital world. We’ve replaced physical, face to face conversations with phone calls or zoom calls.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
AG: You plan and prepare for a lot of things, but you always need to keep in mind that there could always be something which is totally out of the blue, that you don’t expect. Businesses usually prepare themselves for the known stuff but I think we don’t prepare enough for the unknown stuff. This is because we don’t know how to prepare for it. However, we need to have some kind of contingencies in terms of budget, in terms of what we can fall back on, in case the sky falls.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
AG: The most inspiring thing is how, as a community, we can help each other out. No matter what happens, I think there’s a lot that we can achieve when we do things together. Our customer base is like a community for us and we try to take care of them because the business we are in is so personal.
Contact: You can reach Anu Giri by phone at (440) 364-3004, by email at anu@insureatbest.com and online at www.bestchoiceinsurances.com. Be sure to ask them about their referral specials!
Solon Collision, LLC Owner, Tony Adams
Solon Collision LLC is an auto-body repair shop located in Solon, OH. They work with all insurance companies, and promise a life-time guarantee on all repairs. They are a full service body shop, and your one-stop-shop for any and every car or truck repair needed! They fix mechanical and cosmetic issues and get your vehicle back to pre-loss condition.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Tony Adams (TA): We work with insurance companies whose customers have been in an automotive accident. For example, State Farm sends their customers to us to do damage estimates. 99% of the customers we do estimates for will leave their vehicles with us to do the repairs.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
TA: People not driving. With the lack of cars out there, there hasn’t been as many accidents and that means less business.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
TA: We’ve been contacting organizations with fleet vehicles to become their preferred auto-body repair shop. For example, dealerships send us work that they can’t handle in their body shop.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
TA: Never let money come between friends or acquaintances. I’ve completed work for a friend with the expectation of being paid and have been burned. Have in place policies that protect the integrity of the relationship.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
TA: I would say the police and emergency workers with what they’re going through. And just how they keep plugging along with all the stuff that’s against them. They just keep doing their job, even though they’re getting beat up. They’re wonderful, just the stuff that they do for the people no matter the environment they are in.
Contact: You can reach Tony Adams by phone at (440) 903-1009, by email at tonya@soloncollision.com, and online at www.soloncollision.com.
Howard Hanna Agent, Teresa Whitham
Teresa Whitham is a Howard Hanna residential real estate agent who has lived in Solon, Ohio for 16 years. Teresa is licensed to work anywhere in Ohio but focuses on the east side of Cuyahoga County as well as western Geauga county, Summit County, Stark County and Portage County. Call her at (440) 263-0504 to talk about your real estate needs.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Teresa Whitham (TW): I target sellers right now. It’s a seller’s market. We don’t have enough inventory in the real estate market. So any homeowner who wants to get their home listed, now is a great time.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
TW: The biggest shifting of gears is how I had to do business on a face to face basis when it wasn’t safe to enter other people’s homes. We were doing a lot more video. We were doing a lot more virtual showings where I would grab my cell phone and turn on a live video and literally do the walkthrough, narrating it room to room so you felt like you were going through the house even though you weren’t in the house. Our office was also doing zoom meetings with open houses where you could go from one open house to the next without missing a beat.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
TW: One of the actions I’m taking is shooting video and it’s working really well for me. I’m finding that if I am posting videos on social media – whether it’s just me giving my narration on what I think the market looks like right now, or whether I’m actually walking through a particular property and going through the features of the house – I find that I’m getting people watching my videos and watching them all the way through.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
TW: I think the first thing my industry taught me is everybody is going to have a different comfort level with the safety measures that we are taking for COVID-19. And I had to be very respectful of that. We all can make our own decisions. And I make mine and I just have to make sure I give it great thought, make a business policy, and stick to it.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
TW: What’s inspiring to me today is I am working with a few first time homebuyers. First time homebuyers have such a heart to want to own their own home. Sometimes I get bogged into the business and the negotiations and the competition of my industry, but it’s so inspirational to take a step back and think about the fact that you’re part of somebody’s story of their home and their family.
Contact: You can reach Teresa Whitham by phone (440) 263-0504, by email teresawhitham@howardhanna.com and online at https://teresasloweywhitham.howardhanna.com. Be sure to contact Teresa about selling your home. Interest rates are the lowest they have been since WWII.
Enterprise Controls Group LLC Owner, Jerry Gray
Enterprise Controls Group designs, implements, and maintains the most complex enterprise building automation systems. They strive to make client’s buildings better and challenge the status quo through design, implementation and maintenance of building automation systems.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Jerry Gray (JG): Any commercial building space. There’s the industrial sector, there’s the commercial office building sector, there’s the school market (K through 12 and higher ed), and there’s hospitals. Our largest customer up here is Cleveland Clinic. We do work all over the country.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
JG: The negative impact has been a lot of the contracts moved until maybe next year, until we get past this crisis. But on the other side, a lot of other customers like schools, K through 12 schools for example, are like, “Hey, we shut down early. The buildings are open. Now’s the time to spend some of our money on the maintenance on our systems. Let’s get in here and let’s get some stuff upgraded. Let’s get ready to go for when we’re open again.” So that’s been a big positive for us.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
JG: We’ve been letting people know that they have a smart building. We educate people on how to be safe from hackers, protect their customer data, and to pay attention to all the smart features of their workplaces. With COVID, we’ve been helping customers understand and improve their airflow patterns to make the building safer.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
JG: I think the biggest mistake that I made – and it’s more apparent because of COVID – is that we were focusing only on the healthcare sector. Crisis or not, you need to diversify and understand there’s other markets out there. Another major mistake is people don’t invest in their people. We need to find the talent, keep them happy, keep them focused, and keep them trained.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
JG: When I sat the team members down, and told them I don’t know where this is going, but we’re going to try like hell to make it through this. It may dry up, it may not. And I tell you, everybody pulled together, they all rose to the occasion, and that was really promising.
Contact: You can reach Jerry Gray by phone at (216) 533-8447, by email at jgray@entcontrols.com and online at http://www.entcontrols.com.
Our Community Hunger Center, Inc. Executive Director, Terry Piteo
Our Community Hunger Center in Twinsburg, Ohio aids our neighbors in need with food assistance, paper and household products, personal hygiene items, and clothing, as well as with guidance in securing other assistance.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Terry Piteo (TP): First, people who need food. And secondly, people who raise awareness that we’re here. So, I would say we’re targeting people for monetary donations and food donations.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
TP: Not being able to fundraise through drives and therefore not having the food and the hygiene products coming in like they were in 2019 and prior. We’ve had to furlough all of our volunteers here and it’s made it tough.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
TP: We’ve been utilizing social media more to make our followers more aware of our needs. It’s the best free tool we have right now and we’re up to over 900 or so followers! With fewer volunteers and not being able to let people come inside, we have shifted to just distributing once a month with the focus on protein and vegetables and fruits.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
TP: It’s a learning process. As you go along, you streamline things. Look at how things are done and think about how you’d do them differently and make the change. It’s hard to believe how far we have come, but that’s what you do with a business, whether it’s nonprofit or not. You want to make it as efficient as possible without spending a lot of money in the process.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
TP: That we are here. We are doing good things. That we are helping people. And it inspires me to hear the recipients say, “We don’t know what to do without you.” That’s what keeps me going every day. That’s what brings me here every day.
Contact: You can reach Terry Piteo by email at tpiteo@ochc-food.org, by phone at (330) 963-3663, and online at http://ochc-food.org.
Ohio Awning & Manufacturing Co. Owner, Andy Morse
Ohio Awning and Manufacturing Company has been providing customers in Ohio and the surrounding states with custom manufactured canvas awnings for nearly 150 years. They have been serving their residential customers by providing unique ways to not only beautify their homes, but also help reduce energy costs and increase living space.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Andy Morse (AM): Our first target audience is the homeowner who really wants to expand their living space and take enjoyment of their backyard and just enjoy the Northeast Ohio weather and all that we have to offer there. People flourish in the outdoors, whether it be their cooking, whether it be with their kids, whether it be next to the swimming pool, whether it be just enjoying that glass of wine at the end of the afternoon or the evening. We enjoy bringing joy to the homeowner. We also enjoy working with businesses, whether it be an awning to bring awareness to their store or their commercial operation, or whether they are looking for signage and getting noticed.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
AM: It’s had a twofold impact. One is everybody’s home and we’ve seen a lot more activity and sales for people’s backyard simply because the family is not going on their trip this year. They are living in the backyard and looking to spruce it up. So we see a lot of improvements of gardens or water features to go with that outdoor living. On the commercial side, with businesses being shut down, it’s caused a real hardship. Although, we have had some work helping businesses improve their outside appearance.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
AM: One of the biggest actions we’ve done is probably in the shop here just trying to be conscious of safety. We’ve focused on the safety of our employees and our customers by following all the CDC guidelines. We’ve also pivoted to making masks…We made almost 200,000 for the state of Ohio.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
AM: I’ve made quite a few mistakes along the way. Some of those have been to choose to do different operations or different avenues of business that we thought were probably pretty good. Some have worked out, some have not. Those that have not, we learn from it. We learn by being able to analyze a little bit better what opportunities exist out there.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
AM: With respect to just everything going on right now, this is an exciting time. I’m the optimist that says from this period of time, we’re going to have some change. Things are going to be different. It’s going to be a road mark, no different from some of the other important road marks in our country’s history. I think 2020 is going to go down as being that. I don’t know exactly what the final change is going to be right now. I don’t think any of us do. I think we hope for the best.
Contact: You can reach Andy Morse by email at andy@ohioawning.com, by phone at (216) 861-2400, and online at http://www.ohioawning.com. Be sure to ask about their specials on retractable awnings!
Seneca Logistics Group, LLC Owner, Chris Kavanaugh
Seneca is a third party logistics company that contracts with carriers (trucking companies) to help manufacturers move their product from point A to point B. Seneca handles everything from negotiating rates, setting up appointments, and ensuring timely pickup and delivery.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Chris Kavanaugh (CK): I’d say the food and beverage manufacturing industry, along with any building materials, raw materials, any sort of manufactured finished product. We do 18 wheelers, flatbed, and refrigerated cargo.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
CK: The whole transportation and supply chain market is disrupted. Early on, there were a lot of manufacturers and companies that we would work with that either shut down or would be producing less volume of the product because their customers wouldn’t be ordering as much product. We saw about a two months stretch to where the truckload rates to the carriers were the lowest I’ve ever seen. Then, once companies started opening up again, there was a huge surge in demand. Rates per mile were really jacked up and my biggest challenge was keeping on top of all the changes and educating customers as to what was going on and why.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
CK: The first thing was informing our customers of the trend that we’re seeing. It’s a tough pill to swallow if we’re doing a consistent route from Ohio to Michigan for $700 and then out of nowhere the rate goes up 30%. We have different software that analyzes trends and explains why certain areas of the country are shifting in one direction or the other with truck capacity and what parts of the country it is going to be harder to find trucks. We tell our customers exactly what’s going on and why.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
CK: Well, there’s a lot of mistakes that happen throughout any facet of business. The best thing I do is, if I make a mistake, I hold myself accountable for it, and I expect all my co-workers to do the same. We do everything in our power to make sure that we did everything right and to make sure that we communicate any issues with our customers. We don’t keep anyone in the dark.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
CK: What really inspires me is knowing that I have a great core group of coworkers and friends here. I have a great core group of long lasting customers. I have the fullest amount of confidence in everybody working here and everybody that we work with that we’re doing everything in our power to get through this. I have confidence that we are going to get through this, and, to me, it’s been really good to see how loyal customers and carriers have been with us throughout this.
Contact: You can reach Chris Kavanaugh by phone at (567) 207-3708, by email at chris@senecalg.com, and online at www.senecalg.com. Be sure to call them for a free assessment of your logistics operations!
North Coast Winery & Club Owner, Dave Sabo
Born out of their love for fine wines and delicious food, North Coast Wine Club has become the premier location for making fine wines in Northeast Ohio. They are dedicated to making only the most exceptional wines from the best sources of grapes. They have taken great care in assembling a team of experienced winemakers and staff.
Mark Phelps (MP): Who is your target customer?
Dave Sabo (DB): Fine wine lovers. Not your ten dollar bottle guy. We’ve had younger people, but the majority of our members are over 50. They definitely know wine, know about wine, and have collections themselves. We’re trying to bring some young people in, but they like that sweeter stuff. We don’t make anything sweet. We make dry wines.
MP: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
DB: We haven’t been able to do any of the educational things we would like to do. We can’t do any of the wine tastings. We can’t do any of it. We had a summer party we couldn’t do. We’ve got a fall party we usually do. We’re probably not gonna be able to do that. So we’re missing out on that. At least now we can have people come around. We couldn’t have anyone in our winery for a few months.
MP: What are one or two actions that you’ve taken to make a difference and how have they worked out?
DB: Actually, our sales are up. We’re focused on getting to-go orders and offering curbside service. Call up and say what you want and I’ll meet you at the driveway. Or go in the back and beep your horn and I’ll come out. That’s worked out fairly well.
MP: It’s been said that smart people learn from their mistakes and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes you’ve made over the years that other entrepreneurs could learn from?
DB: Don’t paint the floor of your winery tan. That’s the biggest mistake I’ve made. Also, my biggest mistake is not doing this 20 years ago. But I have made countless mistakes. I guess make sure you got enough money or resources for money. You don’t have to have your money – you can have other people’s money. You need good sources of money or financing, or you’re not gonna make it. I have good lines of credit and that’s how I made it through this COVID stuff. Finally, join associations. That’s my advice. Join associations and stay local. Be involved. Go to conferences. I’ve been to four of them now and I’ve learned a ton of stuff.
MP: What is most inspiring to you today?
DB: I am on a quest to make the best Pinot Noir in the area and put Ohio on the map as an AVA, which stands for American Viticultural Area, meaning it’s designated as a region that grows wine grapes. I’m trying to put Ohio on the map as a premier destination for Pinot Noir.
Contact: You can reach Dave Sabo by email at ncwcllc@gmail.com, by phone at (216) 215-2586, and online at www.northcoastwineclub.net. Be sure to stop in and check out their oak barrel room!
