Faces
By
Kevin R. Spence
Bolts and Quarters Quilt Shop
What made you decide to buy the Parkersburg Sewing and Quilting Center to open your business, Bolts and Quarters Quilt Shop? I've been quilting for about 10 years. I've worked the past 2 years at a 2nd part time job at Joann Fabrics. In addition to working 2 jobs, I've been working on creating and selling quilts and wall hangings as a hobby, on the side. So I decided to combine all of my interest and activities into one main goal - to turn my hobby into a business. The opportunity came up and I had heard through the quilting grapevine, that Sheryl, at PS&QC was interested in talking to me. So we met one evening, talked for 3 solid hours, and came to a mutual agreement. She was ready to retire, and I was very ready to open my own quilt shop. Two months later, I am buying her business and converting it into mine. All of the inventory and merchandise in PS&QC will be integrated and added to all of my own new items and new quilting fabrics! How many jobs will result from this decision to open your business? Thanks to the support of the WV Small Business Development Center and the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council of Wood County, I have received a low interest rate "micro-loan". This uniquely designed economic development loan will be used to assist me in purchasing the PS&QC, as well as create three new part-time jobs. These 3 new positions will start out as part time employment, and depending on the success of Bolts & Quarters Quilt Shop, could potentially turn in to full time jobs, and/or additional jobs. Do you project possibly increasing the number of potential jobs in the future? Yes. See above. What can the citizens of Parkersburg and the Mid-Ohio Valley expect at and after the ribbon cutting ceremony on February 6th? Our ribbon cutting ceremony, thanks to Jill Parsons at the Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley, is scheduled for 2pm on Saturday Feb 6th. I have invited the Mayor of Parkersburg, as well as my local City Council Representative, Sharon Lynch. My WV-SBDC Business Coach, and the Executive Director of the MOVRC will be in attendance. I have invited WTAP News, as well as the Parkersburg News & Sentinel as well as the Marietta Times. Other fellow members of the Chamber of Commerce will be in attendance as well. We will serve light refreshments and allow visitors to tour & shop at Bolts & Quarters Quilt Shop. From February 7th - 9th, we are excited to invite the general public to visit us during our Grand Opening Weekend! During our weekend long event, customers can sign up for drawings of several door prizes, special discounts and showcasing brand new fabrics. For example, we'll be showcasing the Downton Abbey Collection of newly designed fabrics that are not available anywhere in the entire Mid-Ohio Valley, and within a surrounding 90 mile radius. Stop in and see what's new! Will there be a way for customers to place orders online or is it strictly an in-store kind of business? Starting out, we'll be just a brick & mortar kind of store. However, I will be meeting with my new webmaster to develop my business' website. Future plans are for setting up an online e-commerce section so that we can sell fabric and merchandise online. We do plan to have the classes and workshops calendar available online as soon as possible. An online registration form will be available for interested participants to reserve their spot for a number of classes soon to be available. Several classes will be listed, and will be offered at different days & times. Stay tuned! How long had you considered this prospect of opening this business before actually going through with it? I had talked with my quilting buddies on and off over the past few years about opening a quilt shop. This past summer, with the support and encouragement of my quilting friends, and coworkers at Joanns, I was finally convinced to move forward with this idea. Back in June of 2013, I attended a two hour "Business Fundamentals" Workshop with my business coach. This workshop was offered at WVU-P and was offered by Donna Schramm, from the Wheeling Office of the WV Small Business Development Center. Ever since then, she has guided and mentored me throughout this whole process. And 7 months later, here we are at getting ready to open Bolts & Quarters Quilt Shop, LLC on February 1st, 2014 at 9am. What advice would you give to the readers on how they can open their first time businesses? I would suggest that you be ready and willing to commit LOTS of time, effort and energy into researching, developing and putting together a business plan. I would highly recommend that you attend a Business Fundamentals Workshop offered by the SBDC. And then stay connected with a business coach, that can guide and support you throughout this endeavor. If you may be interested in starting a new small business, be prepared to provide all kinds of personal financial data and credit information, as I have learned that any kind of financing, business accounts, and any business-related activities are primarily based on information that you provide about you personally. It is ironic that a business, even as a Limited Liability Corporation, is independent of an individual business owners' financial liability, it is it absolutely reliant on that individual business owner's personal financial information throughout the whole process of getting your business created and started. What do you think of the progress of the gay community in recent years? I am very proud to be a member of the GLBT Community of the Mid-Ohio Valley, as well as an employee at Ohio University. I believe that regardless of a person's orientation, we all have many opportunities to succeed, even as a new business owner. Personally, I have had nothing but support and encouragement from folks of all walks of life, throughout this entire process of getting my new business started. I am very encouraged and very glad to say that my orientation has no bearing one way or the other, and know that my customers, and future customers are more focused on the quality of what I sell, the variety of products and merchandise they'll be able to buy at Bolts & Quarters Quilt Shop, and the rewarding and enjoyable shopping experience they will have, without worrying about who or what I am. I am a professional business owner, and I want to be treated as such, in the same way I know that my customers and employees and all the many volunteers that have helped support my new business, want to be treated themselves. What products & services will you offer at Bolts & Quarters Quilt Shop? We will be offering and continually expanding all kinds of quality quilting fabrics, batting and backing fabrics. We'll also be offering all sorts of threads, scissors, needles, rotary cutters, etc. We'll also provide longarm quilting services as well. New patterns & quilt books will also be available. Janis McConkey of Jan's Sewing & Repair will be housed within Bolts & Quarters Quilt Shop. Janis will continue to offer certified sewing machine service & repair, as well as apparel alterations, embroidery and monogramming services. Several classes and workshops for beginners to expert quilters will be offered every month. Please stop in to see what's being offered and when. These classes and workshops will be offered at various times during the day, evenings and weekends to accommodate participants that have to work and/or are only available on the weekends. Let us know if you have a particular quilting or sewing technique or pattern you're interested in. When do you open and what will be your hours of operation of your new business? Bolts & Quarters Quilt Shop will be open for our first day of business on February 1st. Our hours of operation will be Monday - Saturday 9am - 9pm, and on Sunday from 10am - 6pm. Stop in and check us out at 1809 Dupont Rd, Suite 1. We're located in the blue building next to K-mart in South Parkersburg, across from AutoZone. ------- Brian McCoy, Owner Bolts & Quarters Quilt Shop, LLC 1809 Dupont Rd, Suite 1 Parkersburg, WV 26101 304-428-4933 www.boltsandquartersquiltshop.com www.boltsandquartersquiltshop@yahoo.com boltsandquartersquiltshop@yahoo.com
