(gentle music) - [Announcer] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] "It's Your Business" with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE PBS, and the Center For Rural Innovation with funding provided by a grant from USDA Rural Development.

This series was produced under an agreement with Tennessee Tech University Center For Rural Innovation.

(upbeat music) - Many entrepreneurs follow their passions when starting a new business.

And when those passions involve a love for their community, everyone wins.

Small towns begin to grow while the locals get the opportunity to show off the hometown that they love.

In this episode, we'll meet two entrepreneurs who are doing their part in revitalizing the communities in which they live.

(upbeat music) When growing up in a rural community, many people feel the need to look elsewhere or travel further away for high quality entertainment.

But our first guest had the opposite outlook.

He wondered why can't we bring high quality entertainment right back to the community.

And that's exactly what he did.

(country music) I'm here in Smithville, Tennessee with Burt Driver, owner of the Burlap Room and Harvester Event Center.

Burt, welcome to the show.

- Thanks, man.

I'm glad y'all are here.

It's always fun to promote the Upper Cumberland.

And I think that's why we're all here, to do it.

- That's exactly why we're here.

So let's start out.

Tell us about your businesses.

What is the Burlap Room?

What is Harvester?

- That's a pretty good story.

You're standing in a very historical building here as well.

It was the DeKalb drive-in movie theater.

It's still an entertainment venue now for us, it's morphed into more than that.

We are a functioning nursery.

I grew up in the nursery industry here thinking I wouldn't be back in Smithville very soon.

I did come back and bought this property in, we opened in 1997 as a nursery garden center.

The building, again, that we're in, built in 1956, has lent itself to be the epicenter for all that we do here.

It is the nursery office.

It's also become a tap house and it can also be a live music venue for us in the wintertime.

This room can accommodate a nice vibe for those that wanna be close and cozy.

Ongoing thing.

Also here is a hemp dispensary.

We've been growing hemp since 2017.

It's still a burgeoning industry here in Tennessee.

So it's all wrapped into one.

And I think I mentioned to you earlier, the motivation behind the tap house and the live music was the drive into Nashville was getting a little strenuous.

We love live music.

So that was our motivation here.

And there's really a great family in Sparta called Calfkiller.

Don Sergio and Dave Sergio, and all of his family developed Calfkiller beer.

So along that line, we started doing a Earth Day event, going way back to 2012, I believe is when our first one was.

Live music, introduced the craft beer to this community and have some fun with it.

It was something to give back to the community and our customers.

So that sparked the idea.

There was another brewery that opened up in DeKalb County.

So we wanted to feature that once we pulled the beer license, we started building the stages and hand over hand.

This is our fifth season as a legitimate concert venue.

It's much more than that though.

It is a family-friendly, kid-friendly, dog-friendly facility.

So when you show up here, you can roam the grounds, have a craft beer, bring your family, bring your animals, listen to great music.

Shop for plants, hemp products.

We've just tried to make it easy for anybody to show up on the property and enjoy their day here.

It's kind of a one day festival is our formula.

We like to talk about a local vibration because it is authentic.

We've hammered that word, local, the artwork, the craft beer, the music, the sound engineers, the hemp products, the trees, the artwork, the photography, anything that you can think of.

It's right here in our area.

And I'm proud of that.

So, not just in Smithville, DeKalb County, but the entire Upper Cumberland.

- So you've got so much going on here with the Burlap Room.

Like you said, the nursery and everything that goes with it.

Now you're in downtown Smithville with Harvester Event Center.

What's going on there?

- That one's, I have a love for things of the past.

And this building was built in 1948 as a tractor dealership.

All the commerce was around the town square at that time, just like Cookeville and Sparta, and every, Carthage, all the towns around here, Highway 70 led travelers into the downtown with hotels and cafes and pool halls and all kinds of really neat things.

So when they built all the new highways and they built Walmarts on the edges of the towns, it pulled everything away.

And what we've noticed over the past decade, if you look around, it's kind of rediscovered all the downtowns and they have real value.

It feels good to be in those streets, in those old buildings.

So we spark the idea that maybe we needed an event space in downtown Smithville for a change.

We don't have to go anywhere else.

It's the same argument, it's local.

So, we beefed it up and had a great design for it.

It was a long arduous project because it was a very fluid project.

And right on the beginning of the pandemic, we were already going.

And then it happened.

I think many of us could tell those stories.

We've all got some pandemic stories.

I was blessed with a lot of local artisans, and everything that happened in that building, and the products and the craftsmanship and the beautiful bar setting.

That's all right here, too, man.

I'm a very blessed person to have a really talented group of people to help me pull this off, It's a cool building.

It's very chic.

It's a mid-century modern with some vintage chandeliers in it, open door spaces.

We won't change the Burlap Room formula.

It's working for us.

We love being out here.

We have a bit of a consortium of people who follow us called Burlappers.

We've cranked out a newsletter in the past few months and that's going really well.

And that gives us a stretch for our concert season, from the end of October.

Now we've got October, November, December, January, February, we've got nearly five and a half months to schedule things there at the Harvester.

Again, rain, sleet, or snow.

And if that's weddings or a celebration of life, if somebody wants to renew their vows or have a concert, we're not pigeonholed into one thing.

We can offer you about anything you can dream up.

We're arguing very good that, "Hey, you don't need to go anywhere else.

You got everything you need right here in the Upper Cumberland."

We talked about a five mile radius.

We'll just go out to about a 30 mile radius, how talented these people are with the new eateries, the live music, the brew pubs, the restaurants, the recreation, and the sheer beauty of Center Hill Lake, and all the rivers that follow it.

Micropolitan is a word that I've learned recently.

And if you look at metropolitans around the United States, there's a big target on this one, how positive it is.

And that's what we wanna celebrate and talk about.

That's why we're doing it.

That's our motivation.

Just to show it off.

That's how proud we are.

- Well, I love that you're keeping things local.

You love the Upper Cumberland.

What it really took is an entrepreneur like yourself to make this happen.

What does being an entrepreneur, especially here in a rural area, what does that mean to you?

- Yeah, again, I guess it's pride.

I'm proud of this community and I've traveled all over.

I've lived in many places and I came back here.

So again, that's my motivation to be able to go right down the street within a five mile radius to anything that I need or want.

It makes life a little simpler.

And that gives us more quality time with whom?

Our family, and our friends, and my children.

And being here is we get so much screen time and windshield time that having nothing to do is kind of underrated.

And if we don't have to spend all that time on the road, again, as an entrepreneur, I want that to be here in Smithville and the Upper Cumberland.

That is the motivation.

And again, timing's everything.

It's a very exciting time.

I know we have challenges on this Earth right here right now, but at the same time, has there ever been this kind of amenities, in all of our lives, right here.

And that just makes me smile, man.

I'm proud of it.

- So things are clearly happening here in Smithville.

You got the Burlap Room, you got the Harvester, we've got music going on.

We've got broadband.

There's a lot of great things happening here in our rural Upper Cumberland.

What do we need next?

Speak specifically to the leaders, the policy makers.

What do we need to move forward?

- At the top of the list, I would say infrastructure.

Water systems, more broadband, electrical, rehabbing those things.

Focusing on our infrastructure, I think is strategic to keep the commerce going.

To keep that driving force there, because we have really nice facilities, but if we don't maintain them, rehab them, that's gonna be struggling too.

The lake and the core of engineers are doing their job to work on the bridges, to work on the dam, that infrastructure's hopefully being focused on with big dollars.

Those are real investment dollars, And each city and county is gonna have to do that as well.

Going forward though, we don't wanna play catch up again.

And I think that for me, from behind the scenes and how government works and the tax dollars work, that's a worthwhile investment.

I'm talking about local dollars and state dollars.

If we can grab the federal dollars too, that's fantastic.

But from the local levels, I think to keep this rolling is to beef up the infrastructure and keep that happening.

The other thing that follows normal traditions of construction and pandemics are what?

Recreation.

Tons more recreation.

Outdoor activities.

And that includes restaurants and bars and entertainment venues.

We have some fantastic facilities in this area.

We just need more.

- Well, what I'm hearing is there's so much opportunity right here in the Upper Cumberland.

What would you say to a potential entrepreneur that's thinking about making that investment, but just hasn't gotten over that yet.

What would you tell them?

- I'd say, come on and do your research.

Look at the tax base and the tax structure here.

Historically, again, if you look at growth and look at pandemics, even over the past thousand years, there's always a real springboard for innovation and services, and that's where this market is ripe.

- Bert, This has been a great conversation.

Thank you so much for being on the show.

We really appreciate it.

- Man, thank you.

I appreciate y'all being here.

- Absolutely.

- Appreciate y'all very much.

(chill country music) - For many people, Coffee is a necessity to get through their day, but some simply love enjoying a delicious cup of coffee with friends in a cozy coffee shop.

Our next guest truly has a passion for coffee and wanted to bring that cozy coffee shop atmosphere to the community she loves.

(gentle music) We're here in Gainesboro, Tennessee, at the bustling Haven on Hull with owner Casey Clark Jackson.

Casey, welcome to the show.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- To get things started off, Tell us who is Casey and what is Haven on Hull?

- I am someone who loves coffee.

I'm obsessed with coffee.

I have various coffee makers that range from like, vacuum press and arrow press and things that you don't normally see.

And that's something that I've always had a love for.

My husband is a small business owner and we both have just loved running small businesses in the past.

This has been a labor of love for about 10 years.

Just kept losing out, on a space.

That was all that we were waiting on was a space.

Still kind of put a bug in Randy Heady's ear, the mayor, the county mayor, and he was determined to get us a space.

He knew that a coffee shop would do well in this county.

He knew the need and he just kept putting feelers out and finally got us a meeting with someone.

That meeting was just wonderful.

There are people who want to see this place grow and helped us in so many ways to get this place open.

- Well, obviously you do a lot of coffee here, but it's much more than just that.

Tell us about it.

- We do breakfast and lunch specials.

We have quite a few sandwiches.

Our hot ham and swiss is very popular.

We have a great baker on staff, Lindsay, who does an amazing job.

We are becoming famous for our muffins, which I thought muffins would be just kind of a nice add on.

Muffin and coffee goes well together.

But from day one, everybody just loved them.

And so we've expanded upon that.

We have strawberry cream cheese muffins, and blueberry and all kinds of different things.

We do sweet rolls.

For example, today, the special is a cookies and cream sweet roll that looks incredible.

So we've really expanded on that quite a bit.

We also do catering on the side, as well.

- Now you mentioned that being in a place like Gainesboro, having a coffee shop, a place like Haven on Hull is very important for the community.

Tell us a little bit more about what that actually means right here in Gainesboro.

- We learned that people were driving to Cookeville because you can't get espresso drinks in the county, or you couldn't at that time.

And so when we're initially talking about this, we talked to a lot of people and said, "Hey, what do you think about this?"

And everybody just was in love with the idea.

We had people approaching us, wanting to help in so many different ways.

We just couldn't get that building, but we finally did.

And everybody's been so supportive.

- What has it really been like for you as an entrepreneur behind the scenes?

- My job is mostly just outreach, getting the name out there, making sure people know that we're still here, posting on social media and things like that.

Just making people aware that we're here.

I also work with local artisans.

We try really hard to feature local artists in this area.

So you can see the artwork behind me.

We also have an area full of merchandise and it's all from local people, local potters, local wood workers, and things like that.

So I reach out to them and, and try to partner with them as well.

- As you've owned this business, clearly you've learned a lot, even in the short amount of time that you've been in business.

What do you think are some of the most important takeaways that you've learned so far?

- I love this town for its sense of community and the fact that we all band together.

We have great relationships with the other business owners here.

We can walk to each other's door and talk about different things.

We currently are providing The Stolen Coin with cold brew on Sundays for their Sunday brunch.

They have provided us with bread in the past.

So those partnerships are just wonderful, not only with them, but with our customers, knowing that they can come to us if they don't like something, or if they want to see something on the menu, they can come to us and talk to us about it.

And we try to make those changes.

- So you opened up about three months ago.

What do you know now at this point that you wish you knew then?

- Opening day was overwhelming.

And so unexpected.

This place was packed with people on opening day.

That was something that I did not...

I did not realize the amount of support that we were really gonna have day one.

I mean, we had a line out the door, down the sidewalk.

I was boohooing like a baby because I was just overwhelmed.

So that was a big one for me is just to truly realize and feel the community that's in this area.

- And I guess at that point in time too, you also realized this is real.

- Yes!

- So I- - So don't mess it up.

(both laugh) - Yeah, so, as an entrepreneur, you have to balance feelings like that, right?

How are you dealing with those things?

- I am an eternally grateful for everything that comes our way.

I am so grateful for the staff that we have here because they run the show.

I don't really have to worry about much because I know that they can handle it.

And that is worth gold.

I mean, it's just amazing.

- Well, clearly your staff is going to be key in everything, just like you've said.

And you also mentioned earlier, you've got a home life.

You've got another job.

As an entrepreneur, how are you balancing all this?

How are you balancing your life?

- I don't have kids, which helps.

This is our baby.

So, I go to my day job during the day.

And then, in the evenings, when I get home, I'll check and see what the sales were for the day.

My managers know that they can call me anytime and mostly it's I need, I need, I need.

And that's great.

That's what I need is for them to take charge and say, "I need you to get me these things so that we can succeed."

- Now, you mentioned your husband's an entrepreneur.

You all kind of have this lineage, but you started this on your own.

How did you learn how to be an entrepreneur?

A small business owner?

- My whole family is full of entrepreneurs.

My dad has started countless businesses over the years.

He's now an author.

I've always been extremely independent.

And so taking the lead and doing things and learning how to do things on my own is just kind of in my nature.

I love it because I get to make the decisions.

I don't have to wait on someone else to make the decisions, which is really nice.

- So, a lot of people that watch the show, they're thinking about starting a business, they've always had that idea, but they just haven't made it over that fence yet.

What would be your advice to them?

- My advice is look at the numbers.

I'm also a certified bookkeeper.

And so I looked at the numbers long and hard before we did this.

How much do we need to make in order to break even, every day, every hour?

What does that look like?

I would suggest getting a good accountant or bookkeeper.

And then a great resource is the Small Business Development Center.

They were fantastic in trying to help us get all the paperwork together and things like that.

They were just wonderful.

- One thing that I always see with our small business clients at the Center For Rural Innovation is they always ask us, "How do I project the demand?"

Cuz that's always the big question.

How did you go about that?

- That is a hard one to pin down.

It's very difficult.

We talked to other business owners in the area and said, "Hey, how much are you doing?"

And just said, "Hey, we're thinking about doing this.

Based on your experience, How much do you think this will pull in?"

And we kind of based it off of that.

We looked at other businesses as well in Cookeville and surrounding counties.

Of course Cookeville the volume is completely different than Gainesboro, but it still gave us a good indicator of what we could expect.

- Like you said with Cookeville, completely different.

We're in a more rural area here, down in Gainesboro, but clearly there's a market as well.

So, in thinking about being an entrepreneur, a small business owner right here on the square, how does it make you feel that you're committing to the revitalization of this area?

- I love that.

I love being able to make a difference in this community.

It's one that we've lived in for 15 years now and love it.

My husband grew up here.

We have a lot of ties here, both family and friends, and to be able to see the difference that we're making is huge.

- So moving forward, what does the future look like for Haven on Hull?

- We just wanna continue to grow so that we can continue to support the community.

We wanna be able to support the high school more and local businesses more and just continue to reach out to them and provide support in any way that we can.

- Well, Casey, this has been a great conversation.

I want to thank you so much for being on the show.

- Thank you so much for having me.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) - Throughout this season, we have heard and learned from business owners and experts on how to become a successful entrepreneur.

As a recap to this season, I wanted to highlight the free small business resources right here in the Upper Cumberland region, how these contacts and connections can help your small business not only survive, but thrive.

A team of community partners have impacted the Upper Cumberland region by joining forces and creating what is called the Business Resource Collective.

Comprised of the Biz Foundry, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Upper Cumberland Development District, Tennessee Tech Center For Rural Innovation, and WCTE, the Central Tennessee PBS affiliate.

These organizations understand that the journey to becoming an entrepreneur is different for everyone and can seem scary and overwhelming in the beginning stages.

To take those first baby steps, The Biz Foundry is an excellent resource.

They're an entrepreneur center that is dedicated to helping you turn your business ideas into a reality, and also aid nonprofit organizations as well.

The Biz Foundry is a nonprofit themselves.

So they understand the need for free and affordable small business help.

And they can provide just that.

Most known for their startup workshops, start your startup and test it before you invest it, the Biz Foundry will give you the tools to build a strong foundation as you begin your small business.

And the Biz Foundry.

Isn't only a place for startup businesses who are looking for supportive connections within an entrepreneurial ecosystem, but they also offer rentable co-working spaces.

If you prefer not to work from home, or if you just need a space that is affordable and provides everything you need to be successful, a co-working space is perfect for you.

These spaces provide colored printing, a private phone booth for important conference calls, room to host your business events, or your basic conference rooms to meet with your customers or colleagues.

Connecting with the Biz Foundry is a great place to start if you're not sure where to begin.

And they also have multiple locations, depending on where you are located here in the Upper Cumberland.

Being an entrepreneur can bring on so many rewards, but also comes with its own challenges.

You don't have to face these challenges alone due to the small business resources available right here in the Upper Cumberland.

For example, another great organization resource is The Small Business Development Center located at the Upper Cumberland Development District.

The TSBDC offers free business coaching for any phase of business.

Your personal advisor focuses on helping your small business overcome all the challenges and roadblocks you may face during your journey as a new or seasoned entrepreneur.

Your personal counselor can also help you refine your business idea, give you the tools to create a business plan, help with assessing your finances, and even give you important funding information, or even assist in the loan application process.

If you've already successfully grown your business and are ready for a retirement, the TSBDC can also assist with your legacy planning as you prepare for a new life of retirement.

Whether you're looking to grow scale, maintain, or transition out of business, connecting with the TSBDC is a fantastic free resource to take advantage of.

Our Upper Cumberland region is a great place for entrepreneurs to start or expand their business due to the tremendous growth in tourism, economic development, and overall prosperity.

There's free technical assistance available for our local entrepreneurs and organizations in our rural region that can assist with a variety of business needs.

So you may be thinking what exactly is technical assistance?

Well, technical assistance is providing support to an organization or a small business with a development need or issue.

Our community has benefited from the help and technical assistance that's provided by Tennessee Tech university.

Tennessee Tech developed the Center For Rural Innovation Program, whose goal is to create companies and build economic development by providing technical assistance to Main Street businesses and entrepreneurs within the tourism, technology, innovation, retail, agriculture, and many more sectors.

The TCRI for short has been able to provide interns to small businesses and different chambers of commerce right here in the Upper Cumberland.

These interns have created tourism branding packages, logos, marketing materials, and have even built websites at no cost for small businesses.

If you're a small business or a nonprofit that is focused on saving money, especially when it comes to needing these types of services, but can't afford to pay a big company price, the TCRI is a perfect fit and comes at no cost to you or your business.

We've had a fantastic season here on "It's Your Business."

And I want to thank all of our viewers, guests, and the organizations who continue to provide amazing resources for our community.

And a very special thanks to WCTE, the Central Tennessee PBS affiliate, who gives us a voice and a supportive platform to inspire education, foster innovation, and assist in the strengthening of the vitality of our region.

For more information on today's topics, please visit the WCTE website.

To learn more about the free small business resources and expert assistance, visit the Business Resource collective website.

Until next time, I'm Michael Aikens.

(upbeat music) (bright music) - [Narrator] "It's Your Business" with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE PBS and the Center For Rural Innovation, with funding provided by a grant from USDA Rural Development.

This series was produced under an agreement with Tennessee Tech University Center For Rural Innovation.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.