St. Johnsbury Business Resources
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Jeff Paquet, Business broker |
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Joel Schwartz, Director |
Business Opportunities in St. Johnsbury, Vermont
St. Johnsbury is a small town with a large reservoir of resources for businesses. It is centrally located at the intersections of Interstates 91, 93 and US Route 2, northern New England's road corridor, making it a great place to do business!
The town has its own economic development office, which provides information for prospective business people as well as information about the region and town.
There are also many government and private programs to help small business owners start out and succeed. Here are some links to agencies and programs that provide information on business start ups and ongoing support for small businesses:
Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA)
Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA)
Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC)
For general questions about doing business in St. Johnsbury, email jschwartz@town.st-johnsbury.vt.us
Kennedy’s Jewelers is back in business in St. Johnsbury, just a few doors down the street from its old location. The store was one of several businesses affected by the tragic fire that took place July 9, 2009 and devastated two buildings on Main Street that housed three businesses and a number of people who lived in apartments on the second and third floors.
“We’re glad to be back, and we’re doing it without any fanfare,” says Jim Kennedy. “Just back to work, same as before.”
Kennedy says he was out of business 14 weeks because of the fire. 
“We were lucky to find this location right away,” he says. “But we had to wait a while to get in here, and then we had six weeks of renovations.”
The store looks remarkably like the old Kennedy’s Jewelers, both inside and out. The windows display jewelry with a seasonal theme, and the cases in the store have the same kind of merchandise Kennedy’s is known for:
watches, diamonds, men’s and women’s jewelry, clocks, and plaques. Plus, there are the “personal touches” that always makes looking around Kennedy’s lots of fun – Jim’s golfing trophies and photos, pictures of his family and postcards of places around the world.
Jim Kennedy (l.) with Lucinda Bean and customer Dottie Morton (r.)
“It was really important for me to stay on the hill with my new location,” says Kennedy. “My advertising, my stationery, it all says ‘on the hill’ in St. Johnsbury.” In fact, Kennedy has had three locations in St. Johnsbury over the past 20 years, all within about a half block of each other! He began in a storefront across Main Street for two years, and then moved to his next location, where he remained for 18 years. Now he’s just down the street and even his sign hasn’t changed. “I like that the sign looks like it’s been here for a long time,” says Kennedy. “I’m glad we could bring it over.”
Kennedy is a great supporter of the local community. Each year he helps raise money for the Kiwanis club through the organization’s annual auction as well as during the Super Bowl. Kennedy’s has sold tickets to all the plays held at St. Johnsbury Academy for many years.
Right after the fire, Kennedy was given 20 minutes to grab what was most 
important from the store. “I got the personal and customer stuff out right away,” he says. “Over the next five days, we got whatever was salvageable – basically, the inventory in the safe and some of my tools. That was it.”
Joel Schwartz, St. Johnsbury’s Economic Development Director, says that the site of the fire, which is now completely cleared, will be developed at some point in the future. “The property owners have received some interest in the site,” he says. “The town will help in whatever way we can with looking to outside sources for funding to make a deal happen. It’s still early in the process, but we’re hopeful for development there down the road.”
Grand Openings in St. Johnsbury
With the Governor!
The governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas, was here Monday, October 19, 2009 to celebrate the grand opening of three new businesses in St. Johnsbury. Katrina Meigs, Executive Director of St. Johnsbury Works, coordinated the events, and Town Manager Mike Welch and Economic Development Director, Joel Schwartz, attended the openings with many well-wishers to welcome these new businesses into the St. Johnsbury business community.
The first destination for Governor Douglas was the
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| (l. to r.) Katrina Meigs, Eric Wilson, Jim Grimes, Gov. Douglas, Tabatha Marcotte |
Next, the governor opened Points North Real
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| (l. to r.) Katrina Meigs, Gov. Douglas, Connie Sleath |
Finally, the governor gave the opening nod to the Bagel Depot, located in the Creamery Shops at the intersection of Hastings Hill and Route 5. The Bagel
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| (l. to r.) Jeremy Bressette, Jocelyn Bressette, Gov. Douglas, Katrina Meigs |
Thanks to Governor Douglas and other local dignitaries for attending the openings. Our best wishes for great success to the owners of these three new St. Johnsbury businesses!
St. Johnsbury’s local independent bookstore, Boxcar & Caboose, is among the first booksellers in the U.S. who will be featuring the Espresso Book Machine in the store. The new device, which was named one of Time Magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2007,” prints books directly in the store in a matter of a few minutes.
As Scott Beck, owner of Boxcar & Caboose, describes it, “What 
Gutenberg's press did for Europe in the 15th century, digitization and the Espresso Book Machine will do for St. Johnsbury in October 2009.”
The Espresso Book Machine has been called “an ATM for books that automatically prints, binds, and trims library-quality paperback books, directly at the point of sale.” Through the EspressNet, the machine provides the bookstore with the capability of printing millions of out-of-stock books, making it far easier to find and purchase books.
Beck is very excited to be able to provide the services of the Espresso Book Machine to aspiring authors in Northern Vermont and New Hampshire. “Now someone who has written a book has a simple way to get it published, printed, and distributed,” says Beck. An author brings his or her manuscript to Beck, and can have Beck assist with editing and other support services. “For a very reasonable cost,” says Beck, “we can help an author produce copies of his or her book using our new Espresso Book Machine.” The Espresso Book Machine allows authors to distribute their work worldwide via the EspressNet. Detailed publishing and self-publishing information is available at Beck's publishing division website, railroadstreetpress.com
Beck is offering free informational seminars in the bookstore every Friday at 6:00 pm to explain the publishing potential of the new device. Feel free to join him to find out more about the revolutionary Espresso Book Machine.
New Executive Director of St. Johnsbury Works
Katrina Meigs has been named to the post of Executive Director of St. Johnsbury Works, effective September 1, 2009. Meigs’ background is in Human Resources, most recently working for the Ginn Company at Burke Mountain. She has also worked at Weidmann Electrical Technology and at the Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, both in St. Johnsbury.
Meigs replaces Linda Fogg, who has been Executive Director of St. Johnsbury Works since 2006. Fogg will work with Meigs to assure a smooth transition and she will stay involved with St. Johnsbury Works.
Meigs is excited to be starting her new job. “It’s great to be working in the same community where I live,” she says. “There’s so much variety in the job as Executive Director of St. Johnsbury Works.”
Meigs has been involved with St. Johnsbury Works for several years, serving on its Economic Development committee from 2004 to 2006. Most recently, she volunteered to head the Promotions committee when its leader moved away from the area. She led the recent SummerFest held August 8 in downtown St. Johnsbury.
Meigs was selected after an extensive search by the Selection committee. “Katrina has the background and set of skills needed to lead St. Johnsbury Works,” says Dave Redmond, Chairman of the Board of St. Johnsbury Works. “We’re delighted to have her with us.”
Over 80 percent of all businesses are family businesses. If you own or work in a family business, you’ll want to hear local business consultants and authors Janis Raye and Neil Raphel of Raphel Marketing discuss their brand new book, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to a Successful Family Business.” The authors are part of a family business themselves. Raphel Marketing was started by Neil and his father, Murray Raphel, over 20 years ago. Murray and his wife Ruth are still involved with the business in New Jersey, while Neil and Janis,who are husband and wife, lead the firm here in Vermont.
Family businesses can be a small as the mom-and pop grocery store down the street, but some of the world’s largest businesses are family businesses, including the behemoth Wal-Mart, as well as Ford Motor Company and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. No matter their size, family businesses have much in common.
Neil Raphel, co-author
“Family businesses have a number of issues that non-family businesses never encounter,” says Raphel. “The chief issue for most family businesses is succession – who in the next generation will take over the business when each generation is ready to retire.”
Raphel and Raye note that the most successful family businesses often
try to operate without regard to the family relationships. “When a business is compelled to take in an unproductive family member, the business will suffer,” says Raye. “The best-run family businesses use the same hiring standards for everyone, no matter what their position is in or out of the family.”
Janis Raye, Co-author
But being a family business can have some distinct advantages for the business. For example, Raphel notes that there can be a shared value system among family members that drives forward the purpose of the company. A family business, particularly one that maintains a majority ownership of the business, can operate the company based on long-term business goals instead of requiring short-term profits. And customers often prefer to do business with a family as opposed to a more impersonal corporation. “Vermont has more than its share of family businesses,” says Raye. “It’s seen as a positive by many people here.”
Raphel and Raye’s new book will help anyone with a family business operate the company more smoothly and more profitably. Besides the advice offered throughout the book, it also includes an appendix of resources for family businesses and a number of anecdotes about family businesses across the U.S. that illustrate the concepts in the book.
“Weighing In” on Fairbanks Scales
The history of St. Johnsbury, Vermont is inextricably linked to the Fairbanks family, and to the Fairbanks Scales company that began here in 1830. Today, Fairbanks Scales is still a strong presence in the St. Johnsbury community, and is a thriving business, manufacturing up-to-date versions of the weighing instruments on which the company was founded.
products range from scales that weigh (to name a few): livestock, parcels, trucks, railroad trains, and of course, humans. The company even makes scales that weigh items while they are in motion.
Business Success in Tough Times
Their brand new book, Business Success In Tough Times (co-authored with Adrienne Raphel), tells the stories of several area businesspeople who conquered the odds when they were forced to deal with business hardships. From the hundreds of businesses they researched for the book, they highlighted nine strategies for business success that were common across industries. These are: Adaptability, Collaboration, Customer Service, Diversity, Growth, Loyalty, Niche Marketing, Perseverance, and Planning. Each chapter ends with five ideas businesses can use to succeed when they face tough times.
In the chapter on Diversity, they profile St. Johnsbury Academy at the time 30 years ago when the school needed to bolster its declining boarding program. Faced with the challenge of whether to eliminate the boarding program entirely, Headmaster Bernier Mayo and Admission Director Jack Cummings made what was a bold step at that time -- going to the Caribbean and Asia to find new students. Their efforts paid off for the school far beyond what they had anticipated.
The St. Johnsbury-based business, Classic Designs by Matthew Burak, is offered in the book as a prime example of Niche Marketing. The company moved from its roots as a custom furniture maker to a manufacturer of table legs. Over the years, the business has grown tremendously, and sales from their catalogue and Internet site, tablelegs.com, continue to increase despite the weak economy.
St. Johnsbury broker Larry Cippolone helped Raphel obtain an interview with the head of the national brokerage firm Edward Jones. Jim Weddle, CEO of Edward Jones, speaks frankly in the book about knowing who their target customer is and meeting their needs. The philosophy of Edward Jones is to do what they know well, and not try to be all things to all people.The book also profiles other North Country businesses, such as Lancaster,
New Hampshire manufacturer P. J. Noyes, the business district in Gorham, New Hampshire, and a group of Hardwick entrepreneurs. Their stories about Planning and Collaboration are interesting examples of how small businesses can compete on a larger scale.Business Success in Tough Times also looks at companies across the U.S.
The businesses in the book span a wide variety of industries, including real estate, high technology, retail, medical, travel, hospitality, and many more. Large nationwide companies such as Netflix, Disney, and Hilton Hotels are profiled, along with small businesses such as a coffeehouse in New Jersey, a printer in Texas, and an insurance agency in Michigan.Raphel and Raye have presented a seminar on the topic twice in the local area, at Lyndon State College and at the NVDA office in St. Johnsbury. They continue to address more audiences throughout 2009 on the topic.
Contact Neil Raphel at neil@raphel.com for more information.
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Open for Business!
Estabrook House
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| Maurine Hennings in the foyer |
The house was built in 1896 for Warren Estabrook, a
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| Estabrook House |
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| one of the B&B's bedrooms |
The Estabrook House B & B has four bedrooms and can handle up to six guests
Mill River Furniture
Skip Gray of Mill River Furniture is a huge fan of the local area. Born in Connecticut, Skip moved to Danville in 2002 when he saw the beauty of the Northeast Kingdom. “I have to pinch myself sometimes when I think how lucky I am to live here and be able to raise our kids here,” Skip says. “In Virginia Beach, where we used to live, I would spend hours every day waiting in line and in traffic.”
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| Skip Gray (l.) with customer Julie Murphy (r.) |
Mill River Furniture in located at 166 Railroad Street, in the building that for years was occupied by Lynaugh Roofing. Although you would never guess its former industrial use when you step in the colorful, bright showroom, Skip is pleased to have been able to renovate an existing building. “We think it’s a great location,” he says. “We’re on a street with lots of traffic, and it’s easy to give people directions to where we are.”
The store sells furniture for most rooms of the house – sofa, chairs, loveseats,
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| Skip in the St. J showroom |
You can reach Mill River Furniture in St. Johnsbury at 748-1515, and Maurine Hennings at the Estabrook House at 751-8261.
Mobile Medical Brings Help
All Around the World
In the field of creating medical surgical facilities that can travel to wherever they are needed, Rick Cochran is a visionary. Cochran has spent the past 27 years refining his idea of bringing healthcare to underserved areas. It has culminated in his company headquartered here in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, Mobile Medical International Corporation. And, by the way, Cochran is a local guy who grew up in Walden and West Danville, and went to Danville High School.
“It started with a law passed in 1980,” says Cochran. “The Omnibus Reconciliation Act made the now-common practice of ambulatory surgical centers possible.” At the time, Cochran was working with a company that manufacture
St. Johnsbury Chamber of Commerce
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