By Hannah O’Neil, Summer Intern

We are elated to be sitting down with Andrea Gendron (Andi) to talk about a new event this fall that the Grassroots Business Exchange (GBE) is hosting. Andi is the manager of the Jefferson Inn and the founder of GBE. The GBE, formerly known as Local Small Business Entrepreneurs, is a community-based organization that seeks to uplift entrepreneurs in Coös County. The GBE regularly hosts a monthly event at the Jefferson Inn where micro-entrepreneurs get together and share ideas, called the “Snacks & Chats” mixer (previously known as the Local Small Business Entrepreneurs mixer). This fall, GBE will host a 3-part workshop, sponsored by CEDC, for local business owners to come together and learn about aspects of entrepreneurship that are crucial for confidence and success. The first event is free and takes place on Tuesday, August 29th at 5pm that focuses on innovative marketing strategies for your business.

CEDC: How long has the Grassroots Business Exchange existed? What inspired you to create the “small business mixers?” How have you seen your organization (and others) grow and change over the course of its existence? Finally, do you have other partners or people who assist you with the GBE, or are you a one-woman show?

Andi: I always wanted to run a Bed & Breakfast and it’s always been my dream for as long as I could remember. My happiest time in my life was when my kids were little and I was a stay-at-home mom. When my children grew up, I had no one to mom anymore, so I “mom” my guests. My mother purchased the Inn in May of 2019, and then we got into COVID so we never really got a chance to meet local business owners. As the world started to come to life again, we got really busy trying to run the Inn, and in January of this year, I decided that I wanted to start something because I wanted to make connections. In our first meeting we had four people show up and I knew all of them. Since then, we have had over 30 individual entrepreneurs come to the meetings.

I want to provide guests of the Inn amazing concierge services and say “let me give so-and-so a call.” I would love to talk to, for instance, a massage therapist who wants to pick up extra hours, and anyone who thinks that our guests will benefit from their services. But I also wanted to be able to offer things here for sale by artists in the community to see what kind of creative things we could offer people that would build both businesses. If you are coming to B&B, you are coming for the local flavor. The more I get to know people, the better I can offer to support their businesses by sending people their way. It’s a win-win and there aren’t any downsides. And, once a month I get to hang out with people like me that think like me, that are driven to create something and we get to chat about what’s working and not working. It is definitely a one-woman show, and I am the one who makes the snacks for the most part.

CEDC: I wanted to ask you about your background. How has being a female entrepreneur in a rural area impacted your network, motivations, and ideas?

Andi: It can be challenging to introduce yourself in a rural area. Although in our first couple of weeks here, we had neighbors stop in and bring us cookies and introduce themselves. You don’t have that in non-rural areas. People are always happy to meet us and they love to come into the open houses. We have met a lot of locals that way. It’s different when you are talking [about] business in rural areas. Sometimes people can be a bit protective of their rural way of life, and that fear of new means change which means bad. And I hope to help and be an intermediary to show people that new doesn’t have to mean bad. [I want to] bring life and vitality to such an amazing area. I don’t want to bring Massachusetts to Jefferson…that’s why I left! For all the people that grew up and lived in a rural area, they could make a sustainable living doing what they want to do and not have to move. But I want to find a way for people who live here to have a sustainable income without moving to a city. I like to look out my window and see what I see!

CEDC: What are some takeaways from previous events? What do these meetings entail, who can be a part of the events, and what are your expectations going into them?

Andi: For the mixer event, it is very lowkey: that’s why I call it “Snacks and Chats”. I wouldn’t call it a networking event because it’s not as hard core as that.

Last time, we got to do it in the barn with the doors open and the lights on and it was wonderful. It has been amazing to watch different businesses work together and entrepreneurs getting to know each other…and connections with the CEDC. The collaborations that have grown out of this is the coolest thing ever. Some people choose to come to the mixers every month and some people don’t. Even a new product was created from an inspiring conversation here!

CEDC: What inspired you to host these upcoming workshops? Can you share a little bit about the process behind organizing your events? What could one expect by attending these workshops?

Andi: I think that these training sessions will bring real value to the group. Perhaps people don't come to the mixers because they don’t have time. But maybe they can make time to attend an event that will directly affect their business in another way. Ericka and I have been talking about the casualness of the events. What I like about this is that you feel like you are coming into a house and there is no pressure. For the training events, we’re looking to captivate that same feeling [of casualness]. My intent is that the panel of experts won’t be behind a table, but that it’s a more casual conversation interaction. I would love to have people reach out to me with questions that they may have if they can’t attend the event. Or even advance questions before they come so that we have things to get the conversation going. All of the speakers are very engaging individuals and that’s the environment that I’m looking for – that casual, open, and real conversation. I want that because we entrepreneurs don’t want to be “talked at,” we really like that conversation. I watch it happen, and you can see that they are no longer present. I want everyone present. For organizing them, it has been a bit more labor-intensive than I anticipated, so a takeaway for the future is that I would do it in our off-season. I have never organized something like this, so it is a lot of firsts. I’ve done the hard part, so doing more of them will be easier.

CEDC: How did you first hear about Coös EDC and how have our resources helped your business?

Andi: We originally heard about the CEDC in the beginning of COVID and received some grant funding. More recently we received a grant for our beautiful new sign. It has become part of our new logo, so it’s been wonderful. What I love about the CEDC is that they really understand what it is to be from a rural area and try to grow and support a business. I love that they focus on the small businesses – the tiny, micro-businesses that struggle on their own. I do hope that I am able to work with the CEDC again and do more with them in the future. I really believe that they will bring value to the area.

CEDC: Do you have advice for small businesses who might benefit from attending your events that are not involved already? What advice do you have for other leaders looking to start grassroots organizations in general?

Andi: I truly believe that our hope for the future is in community and is in person-to-person connection. I think the best way to survive is to lean on each other and I would ask that anyone who is local and does anything to earn an income (other than for a paycheck) to attend. If you are an artist of any sort, I want to meet you (first of all) and see if I can help you and support your business by offering you a place to sell your artwork. We do craft fairs! Reach out, come to a mixer because it is so lowkey and you might meet someone you know. Even farmers…it is so difficult to run a farm. If you sell eggs on the edge of your road, I want to talk to you. Come to the mixers because maybe there are ways that we can help and support each other. It doesn’t matter how small you are - even if it’s just you - you are still a business and you could still benefit from connections. That’s what the Grassroots Business Exchange is all about: making those connections and seeing how we can help each other out.

CEDC: What is your vision? Can you share some of your future plans for your organization and upcoming events?

Andi: We will continue to do the once-a-month mixer. If I get feedback that people want more, I would be happy to host more. I was actually thinking about doing an offshoot of the mixers that’s an “artists hour.” Maybe having a craft corner for artists to come and hang out with other crafters. I want to find ways to bring groups of people together here at this beautiful property. I want to be a place that the community thinks of when they think about getting together. I dream of this [place] being a legacy for this area that continues on past my energies. I think that’s what most entrepreneurs have in our heart; that desire to build something that lives past us.

CEDC: Do you have any concluding thoughts or ideas that came up that we didn’t cover during this interview? Any questions that you have for us that I might be able to answer?

Andi: I want everyone to know that everyone is welcome. It doesn’t matter what you make or if you are doing it on your own, we have to help each other. My grandmother used to say that, at the end of the day, our purpose in life is to make this world a better place. And if all I do is improve a tiny, little corner, then it was a life well lived. So this is me trying to make this little corner a better place…and I make cookies!

CEDC: Thank you for speaking with us today! I hope that those reading this article will be inspired to hear about your organization. We are excited for these upcoming events that help businesses in the community!

To reserve a ticket for the event, go to the EventBrite to get your free ticket for Tuesday, August 29th at 5pm. If you are a small business entrepreneur looking to connect with other local business leaders, head over to the Grassroots Business Exchange Facebook page! You can also find out more about the Jefferson Inn on their Facebook page.

If you would like to have your business featured in our Small Business Spotlight, email us at execdirector@coosedc.org