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

Thank you.

- [Announcer] "It's Your Business with Michael Aikens" is brought to you by WCTE PBS and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by the Rural Reimagined Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

- If you have a business idea that you believe strongly in, but are just afraid of the unknown, this show will help you see that there are plenty of opportunities as well as resources available to help bring your ideas to life.

We will be meeting with inspired small business owners who faced their fears and took the steps necessary to launch their business while also inspiring those around them.

Join me as we learn how to make the move from ideas to action in the world of entrepreneurship and small business.

(upbeat music) When two friends saw the opportunity to join forces and start their own business doing something they love, they jumped at the chance.

Now, these two friends use their talents and passions to help others feel better about themselves and send them back out into the world with more confidence as well.

(gentle music) We're here in Cookeville, Tennessee talking with Kisha Heady and Sue Scott, owners of Glow Med Spa.

Kisha, Sue, welcome to the show.

- Thank you for having us.

- Yeah, we're excited.

- Well, let's get things started off.

Tell us, what is Globe Med Spa?

What do y'all do here?

- Well, first we have Kisha, which is the co-owner, and she's the nurse injector.

So she provides injectables and filler.

So she's very much known in the area for her work.

And I am the esthetician, so I do all things skincare, lashes, waxing, and then we also have Sierra, which is our massage therapist.

And then we have a new member to our team, and she does laser hair removal.

- What really made that decision to say, "We're gonna start this business, we're actually going to do it," and more importantly, walk us through, once you had that idea, what were the next steps?

- Wow, so the next steps I guess would be just a confirmation 'cause she was moving back to Tennessee.

I already had my own business, but I wanted more of the medical aesthetic side of it, and we talked about it and kind of worked out a business plan.

We both agreed and here we are.

- So y'all decided we're gonna be in business, right?

So then you went out and got this amazing place.

Walk us through just a little bit of, you know, how you found the place, and then ultimately, how did you transform it into what we see today?

- Sue actually already knew of the space available, so she brought me over here and had me look at it.

There was actually nothing in this space whatsoever other than floors.

It was just a big open canvas.

There were only two businesses in the building at the time, and we could really see the growth that this area was gonna have.

Obviously, it's on the complete opposite side of town from everything else, and we just thought it was gonna be a great place for us and a really big potential for growth.

- So you know, obviously you've got plans for the space, you've got the vision there, but you know, speaking to the business side, you gotta do some business planning.

How did you really approach that?

I mean, that seems like a pretty daunting task.

- I pretty much made a social media, started working on a website, did a lot of business planning, spoke with a lot of people in town, reached out to all of my previous clients, and was like, "Hey, you know, we're gonna open our own med spa and we would love to have you."

Pretty much, it was just all word of mouth and trying to market ourselves.

- Walk me through just a little bit more of, you know, now that you've got your marketing plan out there, you're marketing your business, what was it like to get your first customers?

- For us it wasn't, honestly, it wasn't that hard because we already both had been in the business and we already had a large clientele.

It was just more about reaching out and saying, "Hey, I'm back.

I would love to have you.

Would you like to come in and see us?"

- Stepping into the arena of being a business owner, what are some of the differences that you've noticed, you know, coming from that world of nursing first to now a business owner?

- Well, I felt like I worked a lot before, and I work a whole lot more now.

So that's the biggest thing is that, you know, you have to think about a whole lot more and you have to put a whole lot more of thought into every single day life whenever you're a business owner.

It's not just about getting up and going to work and going home.

- Talk to me just a little bit more about, you know, some of the skill sets from the business side that each of you all bring, 'cause I'm willing to bet that each of y'all has maybe some different but maybe complementary skill sets.

- Well, I can say that Kisha is very good at the social media.

I mean, she built our website.

I feel like she's on top of everything.

- As far as Sue, she's one of my closest friends, and I think that's what complements us the most.

We had the same passions and we have the same desires.

We want to treat people the way they deserve to be treated, and we want to make people whenever they come in here feel like they've been seen and to be heard.

So that was something that we both really strive on, and we both have a huge passion for, and I think that's what complements us the most.

- So you're running a business, you're doing continuing education, I'm guessing y'all try to have a personal life as well.

What is your personal and work-life balance?

How do you manage that?

- So for me, I'll be 100% honest, it's hard.

I have a little girl that's two, and I do work a lot of hours.

I have people message me at 10 o'clock at night, 4 o'clock in the morning.

I just try to really take that time to spend with my little girl in the afternoons.

As soon as my phone dings though, here I am looking at it.

So I'm still working on that myself.

I think Sue has a little bit better of a work-life balance than I do.

- I've been doing this for six years, so I feel like I've kind of learned how to balance things, and I also have a child and so I do try to turn my phone off, you know, at a certain time at night, you know, because I need to give that attention, you know, to my family and it works well for me.

It keeps my stress level down, and when I'm at home, I'm at home.

- Let's think a little bit more now about, you know, the business aspect of this.

No one unfortunately can do everything on their own.

Now we're lucky here in the Upper Cumberland to have a lot of different resources like the Small Business Development Center, The Biz Foundry, Center for Rural Innovation at Tennessee Tech.

Have you all leveraged any of those resources?

- Yes, so I reach out to Tyler Asher, and he came over, he checked out our spa, gave me some marketing tips, and then he referred me over to Kelly, which in return helped get us connected with someone to look at our website, make sure everything looked good there.

And then we also worked with Ellie to help with social media.

We reached out to other local businesses and just asked for support.

We like to support other businesses, and we were hopeful that they would do the same thing for us and they definitely did.

- The good thing about Cookeville is they already have resources set up for new businesses, and we definitely took full advantage of those to help us open and grow, and we'll continue to use those resources.

- Absolutely, I mean, you know, having a network, particularly like you said, with other local businesses that you all can call on is so important and we hear that a lot on this show.

So, you know, speaking to the people that are watching this show, a lot of 'em are watching it and they're thinking, "You know, I've got this idea for a small business," but for whatever reason they just haven't done it, right?

What advice or what encouragement would you give to them?

- If you want to do it, I think you definitely should, but you need to be self-motivated.

If you're not a self-motivated person, you need to get someone in the door that's self-motivated to help you stay on top of yourself and to stay on your toes and to keep everything in line.

- You know, so being here in the Upper Cumberland, very rural area, you all could have done this in Nashville, Knoxville, an urban market.

Why did you all decide to open in Cookeville, and why is that so important to you?

- We wanted to support people who wanted to support us.

We wanted to keep local.

It all really boils down to the fact that this is our home.

This is where we love and where we want to bring value.

- What have you all learned along the way and really, ultimately, how did you all kind of dynamically shape and guide the business as you all were learning?

- We actually opened during the pandemic, so that was a huge stepping stone for us 'cause we didn't really know going in what to expect.

As far as learning wise, it's a continuous you have to put in the effort or you're not gonna get that back.

You have to be willing to, you know, do whatever it takes to make the business grow.

And you have to always continue to learn.

There's never gonna be a time that you know enough.

So we take a lot of time with continuing education to make sure that we're always on top of things.

- What does the future look like for Glow Med Spa?

- Yeah, we definitely are growing.

We just added on Melanie Black.

She is a aesthetician as well, and she is a certified laser technician.

She actually owned her own med spa, and we decided let's collaborate together and make this a one-stop shop.

And we're really excited about that.

- Well, that's amazing.

So last question for you, always my favorite to ask.

Thinking back to 2021, y'all just started to now, what do you all know now that you wish you knew then?

- I would say to not stress as much.

I think for me it was very stressful in the beginning because you want to do well immediately, you know?

But you need to take the time, get your name out there, meet new people, just take a breath and don't stress.

- For me, I would actually say that it's about trusting yourself and trusting your gut and knowing that you can do anything that you set your mind to.

You just have to believe in yourself.

- Well, sage advice, thank you so much Kisha and Sue for coming on the show.

We really appreciate it.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - Choosing the perfect setting for your wedding is high on the list of many couples about to embark on a new life together.

So when James Turner saw the chance to turn his hometown into the perfect wedding location, he made the move to start his own business and give couples the ideal place to start their new lives together in style.

(upbeat music) We're here in beautiful Granville, Tennessee, talking with James Turner, owner of Granville Mercantile and Weddings.

James, welcome to the show.

- Thank you, Michael.

- So I gotta know, what do you all do?

Tell us about your business.

- Well, this started out as a renovation of an old mercantile, an old store, and our first thought was to run it as an Airbnb, that sort of thing, weekend stays and so forth.

Granville's a very popular tourist spot these days.

We then decided to evolve a little bit more into weddings and events.

Our family owns the old Presbyterian church that's here on the same lot with us.

And we had a suggestion, probably the first suggestion I ever had that I really went, "Hmm, think about that," from a neighbor here who said, "You really should do weddings.

This is a great spot for rehearsal."

And so now we're doing the Airbnb thing still on some weekends, but also weddings and events.

- Tell us first, how did you get the idea for an Airbnb?

And then also walk us through what is it like running an Airbnb.

- This building, it was built in 1923 as a store, and it's right across the street from the historic TB Sutton Store.

So when we got this place, it needed a big renovation.

It was open to anything at that point, we could do anything.

And so we thought about at that time a lot of different options that we thought could be somewhat good for this area.

And so Airbnb just kind of came to us to do that.

The renovation then became a really big great room, but with two bedrooms, two baths, a full kitchen, so a family could come and stay for a week.

In fact, we've had folks stay for over a month.

Running an Airbnb is a different sort of, it's a different sort of animal.

In some ways, it runs itself.

We've had a really good clientele.

We've got some great folks that help us out and keep the place clean.

It is an endeavor to do that.

- So we've talked a little bit about the Airbnb.

Not many people also own a church too.

Walk me through the history of the church, how you all came to acquire it.

And you do weddings there now too?

- We do, yeah.

In the early days of Granville, in the late 1790s, my ancestor came to Granville as a Presbyterian minister.

And so in the 2000s, we were the last Presbyterians on this side of the county.

And so my grandmother wanted to be sure that the church stayed in great shape, even though that she was basically the last member of the church.

She was the oldest member of the church.

For 25 years, we basically, we kept it in great shape, but we never really had a use for it.

That was one of those situations where it seemed like it was just an obvious thing to do.

And then they said what a great combination.

- So tell me a little bit more about actually running a wedding business in combination with this Airbnb.

- We have to book a little bit out.

So there's a little bit of a challenge.

With a wedding, we have to start thinking about the church itself, the entirety of the lot.

Will tents be set up?

How will parking work?

Folks here have been very kind.

If we need excess parking or overflow parking, we work with the folks at Suttons, at Wildwood.

So that's the nice thing about Granville is that everybody kind of works together.

All the neighbors are very supportive.

- So you're doing the Airbnb, you've got the wedding venue.

How did you really get into this?

How'd you figure it all out?

- I was a traveling salesman for quite a while and traveled in the United States and Europe.

And so there were a lot of things that I realized what could work and what didn't work and what people wanted as far as comfort.

Safety is a big thing, to know that privacy is there, that type of thing.

So basically I just came in and with my mom and sister and brother, my dad, and we kind of looked at everything and said, "What would we want here?

If I lived here, what do I need?"

So we went out and we had fun shopping and I think eclectic, I think is a word maybe you used.

And that's kind of the feel that we have for the place.

- So how do you balance your work life, your professional life with your personal life?

- It's tough.

That's the hardest part of all of this.

I have the urge to be here 24 hours a day if I'm working on something, you know, that it must get finished.

And sometimes you just have to say, just let it go for a bit like that.

But it can be really hard to say, I need to do this and this.

- What does it mean to you to run a business here in Granville, and what do you think it really helps to give back to the community?

- Well, to me it's one of those things that I never would've thought would've happened.

I grew up here, went to school at Granville Elementary, and a million years ago was standing in this place playing pinball, you know, and shooting pool.

Across the street, there was a little auction house and the Sutton store looked like it was about to fall in and a lot of Granville looked that way.

I think there was an article back in the 70s about Granville being a ghost town, and so I grew up a half mile away from here and we'd ride bicycles in here and it felt like that.

So to see things bounce back has really been a big deal for me.

I mean, to be from Granville, be from Jackson County, and all the things that we've had help with, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, and Tech with the Rural Center, it's been a big deal for us where you feel like there's somebody out there to help you because there's no way that anyone can do everything and I can't know everything.

And you try to be a jack of all trades, and so it's really, really nice to see people come in and help.

- You know, you did mention that there is a support network out there.

You mentioned Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation.

I understand that they've helped you out a little bit.

Could you tell us about it?

- Well, a lot, a lot.

Probably one of the better things was just the ability to bounce back and forth with ideas.

But we had a lady that helped us with a logo as an example, some assistance on websites.

The assistance from top to bottom, just on business plans and those sorts of things, just taking a look and going, "Okay, it looks like you've got it," but it's nice to hear that.

I do some things really well and some things you just have to sit back and go, I can use some help, and we got it.

- Well, you know, sometimes people are aware of those resources, but you know, for whatever reason they don't leverage 'em, you know?

What would you say to them?

- You have to, you have to.

Don't think that you can do everything.

Don't think that it's embarrassing to ask for help too.

I think a lot of people say, "Well, I'd really rather not do that," or, you know, "There must be some catch," or something like that.

I mean, it sounded too good to be true when we first did it.

Like, there must be some catch, and, no, it's absolutely free.

It's a service that we provide to you, and it was, and it's the sort of thing that I would've seen myself paying, you know, several thousand dollars for this type help.

And it truly was provided as a service like that.

And it's local people too, and they understand.

"Do you know where Granville is?"

"Oh yeah, I've been to Granville."

You know, they know the place and they know who we are.

It was huge.

- You know, one thing about business that's clearly important is marketing and advertising.

How are you getting the word out?

- Well, that's been a struggle for me, and it's a little by little thing.

We have to weigh kind of your budget on that.

We're recently doing something with the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, where they're doing a kind of a rental of a billboard in Cookeville.

So that's gonna be a first step for us.

I've worked on website, the website type thing.

We've dealt with some Instagram, we've done some different Facebook ads and things like that, and it's really hard to take a look at those analytics sometimes and see where people are finding out about us.

It seems like, for the most part, it's still word of mouth.

- Let's focus now on the people that are watching the show.

Let's say that one of 'em is thinking about starting a business, but for whatever reason they just haven't yet.

What advice would you give to them?

- Well, my advice would be be sure that you have the time, and try to put those fears behind you though.

If you think you've got the time, you've got it written down, write down a business plan.

It can't be just a good idea.

Write down a business plan, put down a budget, add 20% probably to that.

But go ahead and do it.

There are folks that are out there that are supportive.

I think that for the most part, our regrets are the things we didn't do or we didn't try.

If I hadn't tried this, I think that I would regret it.

I would encourage folks to do that, to be in touch with the resources that I mentioned before, because they are out there to help.

Nobody's gonna be the greatest marketing or the best accountant or what have you, but take your idea and try to do something with it and give it a try.

- Thinking back before all this started, what do you know now that you wish you knew then?

- I guess I would tell myself fight your nature to make everything happen now.

It will not happen now, and it won't happen next week.

It takes a little bit of time, and you've gotta be sure to let yourself have that luxury of time.

Sometimes I'll be looking at my phone and it will say four years ago today, and I look at it and go, it could not have been four years ago, but it did.

The process in getting this building renovated was a long one, it took almost a year.

- Well, this has been a great conversation.

Thank you so much for coming on the show and telling us about your business.

- I appreciate you coming down here today.

Thank you very much.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Throughout this season, we have heard and learned from the business owners and experts on how to become and sustain the life of an entrepreneur.

As a recap to this season, we wanted to highlight the free small business resources right here in the Upper Cumberland region and 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 in creating what is called the Business Resource Collective.

The Business Resource Collective, or BRC for short, consists of The Biz Foundry, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center at the Upper Cumberland development district, Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation, and WCTE, central Tennessee's PBS affiliate.

These organizations understand that the journey to becoming an entrepreneur is different for everyone and can seem scary, even 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 aid nonprofit organizations as well.

The Biz Founder is a nonprofit themselves, so they understand the need for free and affordable small business help and can provide just that.

Most known for their startup free workshops, "Start Up Your Startup" and "Test It Before You Invest It."

The Biz Foundry will give you the tools and build a strong foundation as you begin your small business.

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 too.

If you prefer not to work from home, or if you 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 color 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 are not sure where to begin, and they also have multiple locations depending on where you're located here in the Upper Cumberland.

Check out their website and find them on social media to connect with The Biz Foundry today.

Another great organization and resource is the Small Business Development Center at the Upper Cumberland Development District, located in Cookeville, Tennessee.

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

If you have successfully sustained your business and are ready for retirement, the TSBDC can also assist you 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 your business, connecting with the TSBDC is a fantastic free resource to take advantage of.

Are you ready to connect?

Go to their website and schedule an appointment with your own personal advisor today.

Additionally, there's free technical assistance available for 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 benefit from the help and technical assistance that has been provided by Tennessee Tech University.

Tennessee Tech created the Center for Rural Innovation, 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, and agriculture sectors, and more.

The Center for Rural Innovation, or TCRI, for short, has been able to provide interns to small businesses and different chambers of commerce in the Upper Cumberland.

The TCRI interns have created tourism branding packages, logos, marketing materials, and have even built one page websites at no cost for small businesses or nonprofits.

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 Center for Rural Innovation is a perfect fit and no cost to you or your business.

We've had a fantastic season three of "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 Upper Cumberland community.

I want to give us special thanks to WCTE, the Central Tennessee PBS affiliate who gives us a voice and supportive platform to continue inspiring education, fostering innovation, and assisting in strengthening the vitality of our region.

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

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

Until next time, I'm Michael Aikens.

Helps the community around them achieve the goals of healthier lifestyle.

I like to live healthy, Craig.

The process can be made much easierable.

Why?

Why?

Why is that not a word?

I'm writing Oxford today.

I'm putting it into the dictionary.

(imitating dinosaur) Until next time, I'm Michael Aikens.

Nr nr nr nr nr.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] "It's Your Business with Michael Aikens" is brought to you by WCTE PBS and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by the Rural Reimagined Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

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

Thank you.