Small Businesses Week Celebrated in Jackson
This video is no longer available.
NORTH JACKSON — It’s national small business week across the country, and businesses in West Tennessee say getting started isn’t an easy feat. Matt Childress, owner of Woodstock Bake Shop in North Jackson, says getting the shop open took a leap of faith. “You talk about it for so long and then finally we just need to sign the lease, then we’re committed,” Childress, 24, said. “Then once we’re committed, we have no choice but to make it work and figure it out.” The bake shop has been open for a year and a half and now has two locations. “It’s a big financial commitment and you have no idea what tomorrow’s [going to] bring,” Childress said. Other small business owners like Charlie Havner at Havner’s Frame Shop say being a small business has its advantages over corporate retailers. “I’m third generation, and a lot of the customers I see come in the building that I saw when I was a child, so I’ve never not known picture framing; it’s always been part of me,” Havner said. With three generations of owners, he says even with the eb and flow of an economy, he keeps his business. “If you provide a great product at a great price and you treat your customers well, you really don’t have to worry that much,” Havner said. It’s estimated nearly 80 percent of employees in Tennessee work for a business with 500 employees or fewer.
