"Necessity is the mother of invention. By not being tied to the grid, it makes me think outside the box." – Paul Wengerd
Most businesses depend on the electric company, computers, cell phones and, more recently, social media.
However, four businessmen from the Amish community spoke Friday morning at the Geauga Economic Leadership breakfast about how they manage just fine without all the modern conveniences.
Greenhouse Nurtured by Customers
Sam Fisher, owner of Pleasant Valley Greenhouse, said the sub-zero temperatures this winter have been making life at a greenhouse difficult. The solar power they use most of the time isn’t sufficient to keep the greenhouse viable in the depths of winter when vegetable seedlings need to be started.
But there are other ways.
“I have a boiler with hot water to heat the greenhouses,” Fisher said, adding their tomatoes will be ready for planting, thanks in large part to his six daughters who work hard in the family business.
“With our lifestyle, we could be limited,” he said, but alternative energy has helped make the greenhouse a success, even in record-setting cold.
Everyone has a different definition of success, Fisher said, adding financial achievement is important.
“Profit is not a dirty word,” he said. But over his 19 years owning a business, he has learned customer service, quality and advertising are significant, too.
He recalled when a customer complained a $100 tree he’d bought at Pleasant Valley a year earlier had died. Although he didn’t have a replacement on hand, Fisher said he sent a man and a truck to pick one up for the customer. The man was so pleased he came and spent three times what he originally spent on more trees.
“To me, that is success. If it wasn’t for my customers, I wouldn’t be in business,” Fisher said.
Doughnuts Keep Market Rolling
Ray Detweiler, owner of Nauvoo Family Market, said he started his business to keep his children working at home and because he got tired of construction in the winter.
They started small, but the operation now includes a bakery, deli, hardware store and equipment rental department in Middlefield, resulting from a partnership with Dan Yoder’s family.
“We see people from all over because of the bakery,” Detweiler said, crediting the women for their talents and family recipe for huge doughnuts that draw the morning crowd.
“I have no idea how many we sell,” he said, adding the doughnuts are called wagonwheels because they are so big.
The equipment rental side of the business is nearly a year old and, so far this winter, the need to move snow has brought in most folks.
“It’s challenging, keeping all machines running. Some people are real good with equipment. Others, well, you know how it works,” Detweiler said.
The nine employees are fine with no computers or standard electricity, he said, but there are items like cash registers that require some power.
“We use solar power and batteries,” Detweiler said. “It’s kind of a challenge setting it all up so it works right.”
Alternatives to the Grid
Paul Yoder of Northern Engine in Middlefield has made keeping the Amish off the electrical grid his business — literally.
He started sellng and servicing alternative power sources 15 years ago with diesel engines and air compressors, advanced to standby generators for homes and now is into renewable energy systems.
Yoder’s off-grid energy system comes with a battery bank to store the energy from solar panels and use it to run office equipment.
He recommends solar energy because the return on investment is met much sooner than with wind power, and he has found his customers prefer it to wind power.
“Ninety percent of our sales are for Amish, but we’ve sold one or two systems a year for non-Amish,” Yoder said, adding his customer base stretches to Akron and Cleveland.
Business Leads to Expo
“I don’t really think about not having electricity,” said Paul Wengerd, owner of Pinecraft Storage Barns in Middlefield.
He wanted to stay in the construction business, like his father, but work at home.
When he noticed no one was building sheds in the area, Wengerd started his business in the garage about 11 years ago, he said.
Despite mistakes — a back-road location, not charging enough, trying to do too much himself — Pinecraft made headway and now has five employees, a yard full of custom-made displays and a dealer in Mentor.
Wengard said he has learned the value of advertising and getting to know his customers.
“Our customers are out greatest teachers,” he said. “If a customer has a problem, It’s best to try to take care of it as soon as possible.”
In 2006, Pinecraft held a grand opening. From that sprang their annual Small Business Expo where roughly 30 vendors set up in about 6,000 square feet for two days. Wengerd compared it to a home and garden show on a smaller scale, drawing visitors from a four-state area. This year’s expo is April 10 and 11.
As for running a business without electricity, Wengerd said it has made him more creative.
“Necessity is the mother of invention. By not being tied to the grid, it makes me think outside the box,” he told the crowd.
In his shop, he runs an air compressor with a diesel engine, supplying enough energy to power the shop’s equipment.
They only need electricity for the copy machine and boiler thermostat, provided by a small battery pack charged by alternators on the diesel engine, he said.
