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Kudos
for Smith Entrepreneurship
 Smith’s fledgling entrepreneurs will be well represented
at an annual banquet of the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation’s
Entrepreneurship Initiative held at the Log Cabin in Holyoke
on Tuesday, April 15.
Six Smith students and
an alumna will be honored at the banquet as winners this
year of Entrepreneurial Spirit Awards for their business
ideas. In addition, Lilith Dornhuber deBellesiles ’08
will participate in an “elevator pitch” contest,
in which she will give a 90-second presentation of her business
idea in competition with students from 12 other regional
schools for cash prizes.
The Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, based in Springfield,
encourages entrepreneurship among young people in western
Massachusetts.
Here are snapshots of the Entrepreneurship Spirit Award
winners:
Crista Burke '10
Business Name: Expressive
Videography
Spirit Award: $1,000
(Spring 2008)
For the past four years, Expressive Videography has provided
low-profile, unobtrusive filming services for weddings, bar
mitzvahs, and other events. Through this business and with
the assistance of her one employee, Crista has filmed more
than 30 events in western New England and upstate New York.
Building on Expressive Videography's past success and potential
for future growth (the company already has multiple jobs
lined up for summer 2008), Crista seeks to increase the company's
capabilities and profits by purchasing the equipment they
use most frequently. While the renting model has proven feasible
to date, the expense of renting equipment for each job significantly
cuts into profits. Once past the initial capital costs of
the equipment, Expressive Videography will yield increased
profits, enabling additional monies to be reinvested in the
business to purchase more and better equipment.
Jennifer Connor ’AC10
Business Name: Jennie
Blue
Spirit Award: $2,000
(Fall 2007)
Jennifer, an entrepreneur for the past two decades, ran a
successful retail store in Jamaica, Vermont. Her shop offered
various gifts for the home, including pillows, specialty
soaps, quilts, lamps, paintings, and area rugs. Her one-of-a-kind
commemorative ceramic creations comprised the heart of her
business. “My pieces are all unique, commissioned works
of art that capture and preserve specific life moments,” says
Jennifer. When she enrolled at Smith College in September
2006, after the youngest of her five sons graduated high
school, she continued to run her retail store on the weekends
while painting as many ceramics as she could during the week.
In 2006, Jennifer grossed $18,000 in sales of her ceramic
pieces alone. Therefore, in August of 2007, Jennifer decided
to close her retail store, opting instead to offer her art
through another retail store in Vermont as well as on her
own Web site.
Jessica Harwood ’05
Business Name: FEAST:
Farm-Fresh Environmental and Sustainable Sustenance
Concept Award: $500
(Fall 2007)
According to Jessica’s research, many people opt for
the easiest and least expensive choice when it comes to eating,
sometimes at the risk of their own health and the health
of the environment. The United States, in particular, is
suffering from an obesity epidemic, with the rates of high
cholesterol and diabetes higher than ever. Beyond the effects
of American eating habits on our individual health, the average
distance food travels to reach an average consumer’s
plate in America is 1,500 miles. This means that for every
meal we eat, we have a profound impact on the planet from
the emissions and gas used to get our food to us. However,
people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance
of eating whole grains, fruits, and vegetables for their
own health, and of buying locally grown produce for the health
of the environment. Recognizing that purchasing only locally
grown food can be inconvenient (many of our grocery stores
simply do not carry local produce), Jessica’s solution
is to enable residents in Western Massachusetts to make healthy
and environmentally conscious produce purchases by delivering
fresh, healthy, local food to their doors. Customers will
be able to select from a variety of vegetables, meats, grains
and dairy that Jessica will deliver using a biodiesel-powered
truck. In addition, Jessica plans to work with an established
chef whose specialty is “ecologically sensitive, whole-foods
cooking” to offer prepared dinners and baked goods
that will be boxed and delivered within a 50-mile radius
of the FEAST kitchen.
On Thursday, March 27, Jessica competed in and won the UMass
Executive Summary Competition, earning a $2,000 spirit
award to help launch FEAST by June 2008.
Rachel Imhof ‘10
Business Name: 410
BC, Clothing Company
Spirit Award: $1,000
(Spring 2008)
In the summer of 2007, Rachel successfully started an online
clothing company, www.410bc.com,
with her business partner Nicole Giambalvo ’10,
a Mount Holyoke College student ($1,000 was also awarded
to Nicole this Spring). 410BC offers one of a kind hand screen-printed,
limited edition t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. In addition
to their artistic flair, Rachel and Nicole are committed
to taking an environmentally friendly approach to producing
their clothing: all designs are printed on 100 percent organic
cotton, sweatshop-free, American Apparel shirts. According
to these owners, “410 BC is a strong, recognizable
brand. We believe in paying attention to every small detail…by
personalizing each sale, we are able to build memorable experiences
for our customers,” which keeps them coming back. A
growing percentage of the company’s sales are to repeat
customers who have begun collecting the limited edition designs.
Launched in August of 2007, their Web site initially attracted
a mere 40 unique visitors a month. Traffic has steadily increased
and since February 2008 continues to capture over 7,000 unique
visitors per month. Though 410 BC clothing is sold primarily
online, select items are also available in boutiques in Northampton
and San Francisco.
Ellen Kreitmeier 'AC08
Business Name: I & I
International Farmers
Spirit Award: $1,000
(Spring 2008)
Ellen began I & I International Farmers as a landscape
design business on Cape Cod in 1988. The business has
been successful, both with profits and with recognition:
one of its client's gardens received the Wakefield Award
Gold Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in
2003. In 1998, Ellen noticed an untapped niche in the cut
flower industry and, desiring to enhance her business, developed
a new business plan to shift the focus of the business to
cut flowers, while retaining long-term garden design clients.
By 1999 she began growing and selling ornamental grasses
to the Boston wholesale flower market. The grasses produced
abundantly and were well received at the market. Almost completed
with her degree from Smith, Ellen plans to revitalize I & I
International Farmers after graduation, expanding its direction
yet again, this time to grains. Her next steps for the business
include hiring an excavation contractor to increase the amount
of cultivatable land on her property and then planting this
land with fast growing and hardy heirloom grains. Based on
her recent market research, Ellen has determined that the
flower merchants are looking for plants that are abundant
and unusual, with rich texture and good durability. To meet
this demand, she plans to plant ancient grains such as kamut,
spelt, millet, barley, and rye; she will choose heirloom
varieties of seed to ensure a unique product.
Jennifer Sheria Little '10
Business Name: Dorm
Designs
Concept Award: $500
The focus of Jennifer's business concept is decorating and
organizing college students' rooms, in addition to decorating
themed parties. Based on her experience at Smith, Jennifer
notes, “Dorm rooms at Smith come in all shapes and
sizes and many students don’t know how to use the space
they have in the best way possible. Moreover, many Smithies
have a hard time decorating their dorm rooms in a way that
represents their personalities while still conforming to
the regulations of Physical Plant. Dorm Designs provides
dorm room designs that reflect a student’s personal
style, while keeping the room functional, organized, and
compliant with College policy.” Jennifer brings a natural
eye for interior decorating and significant experience decorating
her own room and those of her friends. She has suggestions
for how to make rooms brighter, more inviting, and more conducive
to studying and/or relaxing. Building on her familiarity
with Smith College students and policies, Jennifer plans
to start her business at Smith College, but hopes to expand
to the Five Colleges or even throughout the Pioneer Valley
once her business grows. With 2,500 students at Smith
alone, housed in more than 35 different campus houses, Jennifer
clearly has a large initial market, and can easily expand
from there. Longer term, she plans to launch a Web site to
show examples of her work, especially highlighted in before/after
photos.
Judith Shumway 'AC09
Business Name: Vintage
Revival
Spirit Award: $1,000
Since 2002, Judith has owned and operated a vintage clothing
business in Newport, Rhode Island. She purchases unique pieces
of clothing and accessories (jewelry, pocketbooks, shoes,
etc.) from private sellers and public venues, predominantly
charitable organizations. After buying the product, she refurbishes
the items for resale; this includes alterations for an up-to-date
look, washing, mending, and pressing. She sells fashions
ranging from the 1930s through the 1980s. The store is a
popular costume shop for local high schools and non-profit
agencies that produce fashion shows and theatricals. For
such groups, she often lends clothing or charges only a small
rental fee. Most of her advertising to date has come from
these types of productions. She has also done fundraising
fashion shows for autism and breast cancer. Environmentally
conscious, her business is built upon recycling and reuse.
Vintage Revival has proven a successful business to date;
last year's gross income was $26,000, netting $12,000 for
the business. Jennifer has been fortunate to sell items to
costume designers from the major motion picture Evening the
HBO movie Empire Falls and the HBO series The
Brotherhood. |
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