Smoke Signals February 1993
Page 5
Entrepreneurs of the Month: Rick and Vivian McKnight
If you're going to be passing through Willamina, Oregon anytime soon, you may want to consider
making a lunch or ice cream stop at McKnight's Flowers & Deli, owned by Rick and Vivian McKnight
A unique combination of restaurant, florist, and gift store, the M cKnights are providing a service
that is currently unmatched in Willamina. "Our closest competition is the flower shop in Sheridan," said
Vivian. "But we have a very friendly relationship."
The restaurant portion of the business can provide hungry appetites with a large variety of
sandwiches and salads, and for the sweet-tooth, homemade cookies and 12 kinds of ice cream are available.
In addition, they have dozens of balloons and flower arrangements to compliment any event or
celebration. And they deliver within the Grand Ronde and Sheridan areas.
Currently there are lots of Native American gifts and crafts on display, and they are working with
the Tribe's Arts and Crafts Coalition to lease space to tribal members who want to sell and advertise their
products.
The McKnights are in their second year of business, which they were able to start through a grant
from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and loans from the Small Business Administration. Rick commented on
how the Tribe's Economic Development Department assisted them in their endeavors.
"When Wes Patterson was working with the Tribe, he and Mitch (Conley) were the ones who helped
us with all of our paperwork and applications. They really have a lot of knowledge about the details. That's
really what we needed help with...the details," he said. "We had to form projections, how we felt our business
could grow, etc. They gave us lots of ideas, and we'd try to give input back to them."
Now, the McKnights are working on advertising, and Economic Development is assistingthem with
the production of a billboard. And in a couple of weeks they are expecting the newest addition to their
business: an espresso machine. Said Vivian, "After I got two customers in one day suggesting I get an
espresso maker, I thought maybe it wasn't a bad idea."
This month, Rick and Vivian are gearing up for their busiest season of the year: Valentine's Day.
"Christmas was pretty good, Mother's Day is always busy, but when it comes to selling flowers, Valentine's
Day is the busiest," said Rick.
The McKnights don't have any employees, but during the busy seasons, their daughter Leanna
Norwood, helps out They also have two sons: Thomas and Jacob. In addition, Rick works nights as a security
guard. Needless to say, they don't have much spare time.
"This is something we've always wanted to do, but never had the opportunity," commented Vivian.
"Every day we learn more and more."
And when asked what business tips they would give to others starting small businesses, they both
agreed: Set aside some money for the times when things get slow. "Our off-season is in the summer. That's
when we need a little working capital," advised Rick.
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1
Fax Service
Computer Lab
Library-Magazines, books &
videos
Phone Message Center
Mail Center
Phone Service
Photocopy Service
Business Planning &
Management Assistance
Training in Management & -
Computer Usage
Location:
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, OR 97347
at the Economic
DevelopmentPlanning
Modular
flours:
Monday thru Friday 8:00 am
to noon & 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Specitl Tuesday Hours: 5:00
to 9:00 pm
Personal Taxes Class
Worried about your tax returns? Afraid that you
won't have all of the necessary forms? Aren't quite sure you
know where to claim of your income, and which expenses
you can deduct? The Small Business Development Center is
offering a "Personal Tax" class on February 16 at the Tribal
Community Center from 6:30 to 9:00 P.M. Bring all of your
W-2 forms, 1099s, and a pocket calculator. Elaine Moore,
staff member with the Economic Development department
will assist you in completing your tax returns. If you have
Federal and State tax forms, please bring them if not we
will have some available.
Small Business Development
Center Adds Computer Lab
A new service available through the Small Business
Development Center is the use of a three-station computer
lab. The lab includes three computer systems, a laserjet
printer, a dot matrix printer, and a wide variety of computer
programs. Lab users will have access to accounting, word
processing, database and desktop publishing software.
Small businesses can use the equipment to set up mailing
lists, create flyers and brochures, and maintain their
accounting system, among other things. In the next couple
of months we will begin training programs for those of you
who don't have computer experience. For those of you who
feel "computerconfident", feel free to drop by during business
hours, or call Debby Childcrs to set up an appointment.
Ten Hints For Successful
Time Management
1. Clarify and list your objectives. Set priorities. Make better
time management a habit.
2. Focus on objectives, not activities. Your most important
activities are those that help you accomplish your objectives.
3. Analyze everything you do in terms of your objectives.
Find out what you do, when you do it, and why you do it. Ask
yourself what would happen if you didn't do it.
4. Make a to-do list every day. Be sure it includes your daily
objectives, priorities, and time estimates.
5. Make sure that the first hour of your work day is a
productive hour.
6. Take time to do a job right the first time. You won't have
to waste time doing it over.
7. Implement a "quiet hour" to find large blocks of
uninterrupted time for your most important tasks.
8. Develop the habit of finishing what you start. Don't jump
from one thing to another, leaving a string of unfinished
tasks behind you.
9. Conquer procrastination. Learn to do it NOW.
10. Take time for yourself to dream, relax, live.
Development Center
Business
Class Schedule
All classes are on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at the Tribal
Community Center from 6:30 to 9:00 pm
21693 Personal Tax Class
31693 Marketing l--Preparing a Marketing
Plan
42093 Marketing ll-Positionlng your
ProductService
51893 Cash Flow Management
61593 Small Business Financing
For iron tnforeution conUct Ptbbt) at
S79-52U or I-S00-4MO2M