Category Archives: Entrepreneurial Women

Marj DeVit Finds Challenges In Running Glens Falls Based Thermal Associates

October 15, 2020October 16, 2020

Marj DeVit heads Thermal Associates, a heating and air conditioning business in Glens Falls that was a pioneer in air source heat pump technology during the energy crisis in the 1970s and 1980s.
Courtesy Thermal Associates

By Christine Graf
It’s been more than 40 years since Marj DeVit and her husband, Marty, opened their heating and air conditioning business. The Glens Falls company, Thermal Associates, was a pioneer in air source heat pump technology during the energy crisis in the 1970s and 1980s.
During the 1980s, Thermal Associates was one of the first companies to introduce geothermal heat pump technology to the region.
Geothermal heat pumps can heat, cool, and supply hot water to a home by transferring heat to or from the ground. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the use of geothermal technology can reduce energy bills by up to 65 percent compared to traditional HVAC units. Because geothermal heat pumps require no fossil fuels to operate, they emit significantly less CO2 than traditional units. Approximately 40 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions result from the demand for heating, cooling, and hot water.
In the early years of the business, DeVit worked from home handling phone calls, scheduling service calls, and performing accounting tasks.

Sweet Beet Bistro, Closed This Year In Greenwich, Plans To Re-Open In Glens Falls

October 15, 2020October 16, 2020

By Jennifer Farnsworth
Sweet Beet Bistro, which closed its business in Greenwich, plans to re-open at a spot in Glens Falls in the spring.
According to bistro owner Johanna von Geldern, they are looking to re-open by Mother’s Day at the latest.
Von Geldern has found a way to create a bistro that values farm-to-table food and the community where it is grown. It’s a concept that she says she learned on the job . She is excited to bring it to her new location next year.
When COVID-19 hit in March, von Geldern said they closed their doors in Greenwich. With capacity limited to 50 percent and without outdoor seating, she said the business could not have survived. She then decided it was time to relocate in order to keep the business going.
In Glens Falls, she said, the new space will be slightly larger with its own bar area, a separate dining room and extensive patio space.

Melissa Brennan Goes From Running Daycare To Owning Health-Conscious Restaurant

October 10, 2019October 11, 2019

Fresh ADK, owned by Melissa Brennan, is expanding. The original space continues to serve as the kitchen, a pickup space for take-out and a popular smoothie bar.

by Andrea Palmer
Prior to opening Fresh ADK, a restaurant at 11 South St. in Glens Falls, Melissa Brennan owned and operated daycare centers for 21 years. In 2015, she became sick and gained weight.
It led to starting a business that pays attention to healthy eating.
“My body started to shut down, and I didn’t know why. So I left the daycare business. I literally thought I was dying,” said Brennan.
“I found out it was all food-related. I took time to figure out myself what was wrong, because there wasn’t a doctor who could tell me. I’d always wanted to try something new, and I knew there were other people like me who had food-related sickness. So I opened the restaurant,” she said.
Brennan chose to operate the business almost entirely by herself.

Briana Lyons Creates Wide Ranging Business Doing Photography, Social Media Consulting

October 10, 2019October 11, 2019

Briana Lyons started The Yellow Note as a small shop that sold stationery. It evolved into a multi-faceted business and studio at her home, involving her photography.
Courtesy The Yellow Note

By Rachel Phillips
In a digital world of iPhones and social media, one local woman started a business to help people connect “the old-fashioned way.”
Briana Lyons started The Yellow Note in 2013 as a small Etsy shop that sold stationery and custom address stamps. Though rewarding, her career in social work had left her lacking a creative outlet, inspiring her to open her store.
As a means of promoting her products, she created an Instagram account where she shared photos of her family and lifestyle along with her products. To her surprise, her photography became popular, and The Yellow Note, located out of Lyons’ home in Glens Falls, has since evolved into a multi-faceted business and studio.

Study Commissioned By American Express: Women-Owned Businesses Fuel Economy

October 10, 2019October 11, 2019

Women-owned businesses continue to fuel the economy and now represent 42 percent of all businesses — nearly 13 million — employing 9.4 million workers and generating revenue of $1.9 trillion, according to an annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express.
In 2019, U.S. women with diverse ethnic and geographic backgrounds started an average of 1,817 new businesses per day between 2018 and 2019, down only slightly from the record-setting 2018 number of 1,821.
The annual report, based on U.S. Census Bureau data adjusted by Gross Domestic Product data, found that women-owned businesses continue to trend above all businesses. Over the past five years:
• The number of women-owned businesses increased 21 percent, while all businesses increased only 9 percent.
• Total employment by women-owned businesses rose 8 percent, while for all businesses the increase was far lower at 1.8 percent.
• Total revenue for women-owned businesses also rose slightly above all businesses: 21 percent compared to 20 percent respectively.
“The face of entrepreneurship is evolving to include all women, regardless of demographics. Even more impressive is that women are starting businesses on their own terms, whether it be their full-time focus or a part time activity,” said Courtney Kelso, senior vice president of American Express. “The economic impact of women-owned businesses is undeniable, from the trillions they contribute via revenue to the millions of jobs they provide. We are committed to backing these women entrepreneurs because when they win, we all win.”

Minority, Women-Owned Businesses Won Billions In State Contracts In FY 2018-19

October 10, 2019October 11, 2019

The utilization rate for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) on state contracts increased to 29.13 percent during the 2018-2019 fiscal year, achieving the highest rate in the nation, state officials said.
In total, MWBEs won more than $2.93 billion in state contracts during the 2018-2019 fiscal year, officials said.
“In New York, we know that diversity is a strength, not a weakness. And when we empower minority and women-owned businesses to compete for state contracts, we create a better New York for all,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “Our nation-leading utilization rate reflects the unmatched pool of MWBEs in the Empire State and our concerted efforts to create a more equal playing field for these companies.”
“We are breaking down barriers for aspiring entrepreneurs and providing opportunities to ensure the growth and success of minority and women owned businesses,” said Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. “The renewal and expansion of our robust MWBE program is advancing New York’s nation-leading MWBE goals, with the utilization rate climbing to 29.13 percent. We are committed to encouraging and supporting minority and women owned businesses across the state, creating jobs and strengthening the economy as part of our overall efforts to promote diversity.”

Rachel Dutra’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Moved Her Into The Spice And Food Business

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018

Rachel Dutra and her husband, Dave Dutra, opened Rachel’s Café and Spice Co.

By Maureen Werther

Growing up, Rachel Dutra, co-owner of Rachel’s Café and Spice Co., resisted the entrepreneurial urge that seems to run in her family’s DNA. Her grandfather opened Castaway Marina after serving in the U.S. Navy. Her father also started his own business, with the family eventually opening and operating the East End Eatery in Glens Falls until they retired about a year ago.

“I always said I wasn’t going to go the entrepreneur route. I intended to do the ‘safe’ thing. But I was just really born to run my own business,” said Dutra.

Rachel and her husband, Dave Dutra, opened Rachel’s Café and Spice Co. in September at the site of the now closed East End Eatery 240 Warren St. Her background includes a master’s degree in education and teaching. Her husband was involved in the amusement park industry, working for Charles Wood and eventually working in the food operations at the Great Escape for about 12 years.

When her family asked her to come back seven years ago to help out at East End Eatery, Dutra cautioned them that it would only be temporary. “But here I am, seven years later,” she said. Within six months, she had helped double the business and made some big changes.

Deana Endieveri At NEPROMO Promotes Brands With Environmentally Safe Items

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018

Deana Endieveri is the managing partner of NEPROMO in South Glens Falls.

By Susan E. Campbell

NEPROMO is a locally owned promotional products company that has the distinction of being operated by four people who have been friends and business partners since their college days in the 1990s.

Deana Endieveri, managing partner, and her friend Kindra Chamberlain, had one table-top printer back then and sold silk-screened T-shirts dorm-to-dorm. Now the two women, along with their co-owning husbands, Mike and Jim, have seven embroidery machines and five screen printers Production takes up the entire former Coca Cola bottling plant at 95 Main St. in South Glens Falls.

NEPROMO is a company that will put a name or logo on just about anything to help build that client’s brand, as long as the product has been tested to be safe, lead-free and ethically made.

“Never did I think I was going to own a business and be a managing partner,“ said Endieveri. “Things just happened in this collective of ours.”

Endieveri was a communications major in college and heading to be a journalist, she said. But when she was exposed to a friend’s business she realized “we had something in front of us that had potential.”

Tammy Aust Has Co-Owned Parker Machine Company In Fort Edward For Some 16 Years

October 11, 2017October 11, 2017

Tammy Aust, president and co-owner of Parker Machine Co. Inc. in Fort Edward, along with co-owner Patrick Whaley, bought the company in 2001.

By Maureen Werther

Like many successful people, Tammy Aust, president and co-owner of Parker Machine Co. Inc. in Fort Edward, recognized an opportunity when it presented itself and didn’t shy away from the challenge.

In 1993, Aust was the office manager for Parker Machine and her partner, Patrick Whaley, who is now co-owner and vice president of the company, was the shop foreman. Aust had started her own bookkeeping business on the side and when the owner of Parker Machine decided it was time to transition into retirement. He offered to sell the business to Aust and Whaley.

“It was never something I expected to do,” said Aust. She said the employee stock option plans were “really big” at that time and, between the package being offered by her boss and the bank, “it all came together.”

Aust and Whaley bought the company in 2001. They are now celebrating 16 years in business. They were named a Small Business of the Year in 2015 by the Washington County Local Development Corp.

Mary Jeanne Packer Finds Opportunity For Business In A Traditional Niche Industry

October 11, 2017October 11, 2017

Mary Jeanne Packer owns Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill in Greenwich, one of the few commercial-scale milling operations in the U.S. The business has expanded, she says.
Courtesy Deborah McCabe

By Rachel Phillips

Most people don’t put much thought into where yarn is produced, but Mary Jeanne Packer of Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill hopes to change that.

The mill, which operates out of Greenwich, processes wool and other fibers from farmers across nearly 500 miles, and serves as a supplier to yarn retailers across the country.

Packer had aspirations of owning a yarn mill ever since she’d visited Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, Vt., in 1982, but wasn’t able to make it a reality until 2009. A resident of Vermont, she is also the partner of the Vermont-based GWC Inc. consulting firm, through which she discovered Washington County.

Upon realizing the enormous potential for a yarn mill in the upper Hudson valley, she decided to capitalize on the large fiber industry of the region.

According to Packer, most commercial-scale milling operations in the U.S. have gone out of business. Now, most textiles are milled in China or India, from wool farmed in New Zealand. Battenkill Fibers has offered consumers an alternative option sourced much closer to home.

The demand for Battenkill Fibers’ products has been proven by the success the mill has seen since it first started. Recently, it signed a multi-year contract with Quince and Co., a major yarn distributor, as a supplier. Also in the last year, the mill has expanded to enable a broader range of custom dyeing services in order to better meet demand.

“More and more people want to know that their stuff is ethically sourced and locally processed,” said Packer.