As children, we envision ourselves becoming all sorts of things – when we “grow up.” Some kids want to be garbage collectors and ride a noisy, green truck. Others want to be teachers, imagining what fun it would be to boss everyone around. A few children, finding the pediatrician’s stethoscope “necklace” intriguing, dream of being doctors. And some children believe that driving a big rumbling bus is the ultimate in power!
Then we become adults and reality hits. Being a garbage collector, teacher, doctor, or bus driver no longer seems exciting or even practical, and the ways we find ways to support ourselves turn out to be very different from our childhood fantasies. Some of us become accountants, speech therapists, or mechanics, but others find unique ways to use their talents to support their families.
Although traditional Mom-and-Pop stores still exist, today’s small business people are more likely to use “in” words like “entrepreneur” and “niche” business to describe what they do. And technology has so revolutionized the nature of doing business that it is possible to work from anywhere in the world and to reach customers across the globe. Many contemporary businesses would not have been possible even 20 years ago, because the technology simply wasn’t there.
Here are some local entrepreneurs who have spun businesses out of their creative ideas.
Website Publishing
The internet has changed the world so dramatically that it is hard to grasp. No longer does a business have to rely on its own city or state; customers can live in Australia, South America, or Japan. In fact, many Americans make aliya with the understanding that they can continue their work from Israel.
Samuel, a friend of mine, is a successful Baltimore-based website publisher with customers all over the world. The specialized content on his website appeals to people with a specific interest, allowing him to sell space alongside the content to advertisers who want to reach his niche audience (similar to placing an ad in a magazine). Samuel deals with “ad networks,” companies that act as middlemen between the advertisers and website publishers. He gets paid by the middlemen according to how many people view those ads. He therefore needs the visitors to be in the thousands, not in the hundreds.
“People think I do nothing but sit and watch the money roll in,” says Samuel, “but that is not true. It would be hard to duplicate my success. You can’t just put ordinary content on a website and expect Google to list you high in its search results, especially when you have competition. You have to use ingenuity, creativity, and thought.”
Samuel explained why it has become more difficult to be successful in web publishing. “Google has changed its algorithm. It used to be there was enough traffic for everyone, but not anymore. The best sites get all the traffic and the best sites are determined by a computer algorithm. If you’re not the best site in your niche, you are notified by a drastic drop in traffic; up to 90 percent of your Google traffic is gone from one day to the next. There is no one to complain to; nobody cares. You were getting a ‘free lunch,’ and now someone else is.
“If you want to start an information-type website these days, don’t bother unless you have a new idea that will make you the clear number one in your niche. Also, if the information you want to publish can be answered in a few sentences, you are now competing against Google. Do a Google search for ‘when is Mother’s Day,’ ‘symptoms of the flu,’ or ‘convert Fahrenheit to Celsius,’ and the answer is now in a box at the top of Google Search. For more than a decade, websites watched millions of dollars roll in by answering those types of questions. Now Google answers them, and those website publishers are finished.”
So, new kinds of businesses have their risks and problems, which, though different from old-fashioned businesses, can be just as difficult to surmount. Despite these difficulties, however, Samuel has managed to be successful and support his family in a way that could not even have been imagined years ago.
Soft and Cozy Baby
Even though much business today is done through the internet, there are still actual brick-and-mortar stores. One of them is Soft and Cozy Baby, started by Bayla Berkowitz five years ago. The idea occurred to her when she was expecting her own child and wanted to buy cloth diapers, which she felt would be healthier for her baby and better for the environment. “Many people are amazed to see modern cloth diapers,” she says. “They are nothing like the flat pieces of cloth that were used in the past. These are designed to fit babies’ bodies, and can grow with the baby through the use of Velcro and snaps. They have colorful waterproof covers built in and are easy to launder.” She adds, “Cloth diapers are ideal for frum families, because they are very cost efficient. You buy them once, and can use them for several children.”
With no place in Baltimore to buy these snazzy “engineered” diapers, Bayla bought them online. She was so enthusiastic about the product that she decided to sell them from her home. Customers found her through her website and through online forums like diaperswappers.com. Word spread quickly, and the business soon outgrew her home. It is currently in its second retail location, at 915 W 36th Street, in Hampden, about 15 minutes from Pikesville. Cloth diapers are the biggest sellers, but Mrs. Berkowitz also sells diapering accessories, such as creams, natural detergents, and liners; nursing and breast pump supplies; car seats, strollers, and a wide variety of baby carriers; as well as eco-friendly toys and products for the whole family. She also has a website, www.softandcozybaby.com, where she sells the same products. In addition to her business, Bayla, who is a midwife, offers childbirth classes, support groups, and workshops on diapering and other baby care topics at her store.
Soft and Cozy Baby fills a special niche in the area, catering to parents who want the very best products for their new babies. But, Bayla notes, people need to support such local businesses: “One thing that really hurts a small business is when people come into the store, look around for the products they want, and then go home and order online. A big store like Target can handle that, because they deal with such high volume, but it really hurts a small business.”
Mehudar
In the past, most artists had to rely on middlemen to sell and distribute their work. Today, thanks to the internet, we see the rise of artists who are able to market their own work.
Aharon Myers has decided to use his talents to create beautiful objects of exotic woods and silver to make mitzvas more beautiful. He fashions mezuza covers, tzedaka boxes, besamin boxes, menorahs, and other Judaica. Each is made of many different kinds of wood, like curly maple, walnut, bloodwood, cocobolo, and purple heart wood. These woods, which are imported from all over the world, are unique in their natural colors, and the difference between objects made from them and those made of inexpensive wood or fiber board is astonishing. When the light shines on one of the objects Aharon has made, you can see the grain and all the gradations in color. The wood looks like it has ridges, but it is actually completely flat.
Right now, Aharon is selling his contemporary and very unique creations on a website called Etsy.com, accessed through his website Mehudar.com, but he hopes to distribute his art work through Judaica stores in the near future.
A Resource for Artists
Mr. Myers is also planning to feature his artwork on a website called Kickstarter.com, which helps people raise money to fund art projects. (Another, similar, website is called Fundable.com.) Since Kickstarter’s inception, 5.5 million people have pledged $945,000,000 to fund 55,000 creative projects. A person posts a project on this website and sets a goal of how much money he wants to raise and by what date. He promises to reward the people who pledge to him with various items, like a special copy of what he hopes to produce. But if the goal is not met – if he is just one dollar short – the artist doesn’t get any money at all!
Looking at the website is fascinating. For example, one of the projects is a game called City of Iron, Experts and Engine. Their goal was $5,000, but they have already raised $15,000, with 27 days to go. On the other hand, another project called Matter Meter: Wave, has only raised $462 of its $5,000 goal, with only 21 hours left. It looks like they won’t make it.
“Projects get the most pledges by social networking and bringing people who know you and your work to the Kickstarter site,” says Aharon. He is hoping to raise money for Mehudar so that he can expand his business.
Schwab Design
Chaiah Schwab, another Baltimore artist, has been making art for many years; she drew pictures for her first grade classmates when she was six years old! Chaiah lived in Eretz Yisrael for 20 years, where she raised eight wonderful children, painted olive wood pieces, and made decorative lamp shades.
Today, Chaiah makes unique three-dimensional artwork called wall sculptures. Her pieces are jig-sawed out of masonite, then sanded, layered, textured with acrylic polymer emulsion, painted with acrylic paint, and decorated with beads, shells, seeds, and other found items. She takes orders and can custom make a piece using your ideas and colors to match your home or office.
When I browsed through Mrs. Schwab’s website, I was amazed at the beautiful and unusual pieces. Some of the items are already sold, but some are still available, and new works can be seen in her home studio. Chaiah also gives art classes on such topics as calligraphy, Japanese brush painting, and elements and principles of design, which includes basic drawing. She has developed and taught classes for children and adults.
You can see Chaiah’s work at her website, SchwabDesign.net; at Etz Chaim on Ford’s Lane; in the lobby of Yeshiva of Greater Washington in Silver Spring; and in her home at 3310 Marnat Road in Baltimore. She can be reached at hschwabchaiah@gmail.com or by calling 410-484-2163410-484-2163.
The Hattery
Not many of Baltimore’s home businesses have been in business for more than 30 years. Mrs. Shulamis Juravel, from The Hattery, explained how it started. She was looking for a way to supplement her husband’s income as a rebbe but didn’t want to work outside the house. The Juravels also wanted to sell something that no one else was selling. They came up with men’s hats. In the beginning it was hard to find manufactures willing to work with a small home business, but they did find some.
The Hattery has been here for so long that it has outfitted a boy with his bar mitzva hat, shirt, and suit, and then sold him his children’s bar mitzva attire. The success of The Hattery demonstrates that one does not have to be on the cusp of the latest technology to command the loyalty of customers. The Juravels’ business exemplifies the timeless values of successful businesses everywhere: selling a good product while catering to the consumer with warm, personalized service.
Goat Milk Mama
Rina Bethea has a unique idea which she hopes to turn into a profitable business one day. The mother of three boys, Rina gravitates towards a natural way of life. She gave birth to her children at home, plans to homeschool them (although her oldest is only three), and never thought she would have to give her baby formula! But things do not always turn out the way we think. Her first son Avial was born weighing about eight pounds, but a month after his birth he was only six pounds. It was obvious that he wasn’t gaining weight with his mother’s milk and something needed to be done right away.
Mrs. Bethea’s midwife suggested that she give her baby goat milk formula. Although the composition of goat milk is the closest to that of human mother’s milk, it is lacking certain important nutrients, which must be added. The midwife gave Rina two formula recipes. One had four ingredients and one had 14. She chose to make the recipe with 14 ingredients, which included such components as nutritional yeast, probiotics, acerola powder, coconut oil, and sunflower oil. It was a lot of work and very expensive to create the formula. Rina had to go all over town to purchase the ingredients. But when she finally got it all together and fed it to her baby, he began to gain weight.
Realizing that other women might be interested in a goat milk formula, Rina decided to produce a kit with all the needed ingredients! She and her sister-in-law, who is also her business partner, did a lot of research to make sure that their kit contained all the nutrients required by the FDA, and made sure they were from natural sources. Their actual recipe is top secret, but the ingredients are listed on the label.
Rina and her partner created a website and found stores that were interested in selling their formula kit; they focused on stores that already carried pasteurized goat milk in liquid or powdered form. That way, a mother could purchase the kit and the milk at the same place. (Another option is to buy fresh goat milk from a farm.) By combining the milk with the contents of the kit, a mother can produce a day’s worth of formula!
Rina sterilized a corner of her basement and was creating kits there, filling the two packets with dry and liquid ingredients, packaging them, and mailing them to mothers. However, she and her partner have decided not to continue filling orders right now. In order to grow their business, they want to outsource the manufacturing to a plant equipped to make large runs. They have written a business plan and calculated that they need $250,000 to distribute their product across the country to all the women who could use it. If this idea has piqued your interest, and you are in the position to invest, you can be in touch with Rina Bethea at info@goatmilkmama.com.
Fanny Zigdon’s Interiors
Another business that has evolved and changed because of the internet is Fanny Zigdon’s Interiors. As an interior designer, Fanny gets to know her clients and helps them understand their vision for their space. Together they work to achieve their dreams. “Our environment affects our sense of belonging and serenity,” she says. She helps choose wallpaper, drapes, art, and accessories, and then arranges for their purchase and installation. Fanny explains that, even on a small budget, a home can be made more beautiful and functional just by figuring out how to place the furniture, chose different colors, or take other small steps.
Today, most of Fanny’s clients come from the internet. “People go to the site Houzz.com and see some of the rooms I have created. If someone is looking for an interior designer in Baltimore, my name will come up. They can see photographs of my work, and if they like it, they call me.” Fanny also uses social media platforms such as Instagram. She has 38,000-plus followers on Instagram, where she tries to post an inspirational design photo every day.
As an extension of her business, Fanny has recently launched her blog, called Homeontherunway.com. She hopes to expand the website and collaborate with other businesses to showcase their brands by styling products in interior vignettes to inspire her followers to imagine them in their own homes. As an interior styling influencer, she hopes to be what fashion bloggers have become to the world of fashion: the fashion blogger of interior design!
Looking to the Future
From this small sampling of businesses run by Baltimoreans, you can see that the way one supports one’s family can be even more exciting than driving a garbage truck or bus, and more diverse than being a teacher, doctor, accountant, or therapist. Who would have imagined that a professional in any field could have tens of thousands of “followers” interested in what she has to show, as Fanny Zigdon does, or 100,000 “customers” as Samuel does? And who would have ever thought of funding a business by simply asking people for money, as Kickstarter does?
Talking to these business owners was eye opening and informative. Hopefully, their accomplishments will inspire others to find their own creative ways to succeed in the brave new world of business. I am looking forward to reading the WWW in 2034, and learning what kinds of businesses will be around then.
.
sidebar
Talking Finances
Essential ingredients in starting any new business are financial backing and good business advice. In Baltimore, an organization called JET, Jewish Entrepreneurial Trust, was established to help new businesses get off the ground and be successful. “Eighty percent of new businesses fail in the first five years,” says Daniel Ely, one of the people involved in the program, “and another 80 percent fail in the next five years. We try to help the businesses that come to us become part of the 20 percent of successes. We offer an interest-free loan of up to $25,000 to qualifying businesses, as well as mentoring from experienced businessmen. We also offer bookkeeping advisory services and accounting and legal services.” JET is currently working with about 20 businesses a year.
