Lansing Women in Business group is all about supporting one another and the local community - especially now


Taking care of business - and each other ... Some members of the Lansing Women in Business group recently gathered at Coffee on the River in downtown Lansing. From left: Fawn Brickman, owner of Driftless Travel; Wendi Eiden and Diana Wilson-Thompson, co-owners of Coffee on the River; Sammi Scholtes, with Mosaic; Jana Schoh, co-owner of Red Geranium Floral and Gifts; Lesya Ryzhenkova, co-owner of The Good Life Gallery and Frame Shop; Jennifer Davis, with Eastern Allamakee Community School District; and Maryann Baldwin, owner of Lansing Fitness Center. Pictured in the three inset photos at the top of the photo above are other Lansing Women in Business members who shared their thoughts on the organization and what it means to them. Left to right in those submitted inset photos are Michelle Stiehl, owner of Polished on Main; Valerie Reinke, Executive Director of Allamakee County Economic Development & Tourism; and Elissa Strobel, owner of Driftless Gypsy Boutique. Photo by Julie Berg-Raymond.

Group will host ‘Light Up Lansing’ Saturday, December 12 to collect food for LIFT

by Julie Berg-Raymond

On a recent evening in downtown Lansing, a forecasted snowfall had instead delivered a cold, late-autumn rain. Where Main Street meets the river, a light fog was obscuring the Black Hawk Bridge from view; and lights sparkled in the windows of a former grain elevator - home now to a coffee shop and wine bar, Coffee on the River - where, inside, several masked women were busy wrapping colorful, holiday-themed paper around large boxes that would be distributed in shops around town in the coming days.

The boxes are food collection bins, part of an event called “Light Up Lansing” set for Saturday, December 12 designed to help collect over 1,300 pounds of food for LIFT (Lansing Iowa Food Trust) food pantry. The event is being organized by a group called Lansing Women in Business (LWB) - an organization of women in the Lansing area who conduct or operate their own business in the community and who are committed to giving back through community events and charitable giving.

“Without the Canadian Pacific holiday train event, where we’ve collected food in the past, the Lansing Women In Business are hoping to make up for the event and cover the needs of our community,” says LWB member Maryann Baldwin, owner and operator of the Lansing Fitness Center at 51 North Fifth Street. “Between 4 and 7 p.m., we’ll have live music on the plaza at the corner of Main and Third, and stores will participate with shopping specials, treats and warm beverages, and double punches for those with Main Street Madness shopping cards.”

ABOUT THE GROUP
LWB is part civic organization, part business network and - given the effects of a global pandemic that reached the United States less than a month after the group’s formation in January, 2020 - part support group for small business owners working together to meet the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic.

Women in the group work in a range of fields - from government and education to the arts, the hospitality industry, and retail. Among the members are a dentist, an attorney and a realtor. They’re owners of salons and spas, photography studios, restaurants, and clothing and gift shops. Their businesses also include a printing company, an art gallery and framing shop, a travel agency, and a fitness center.

In fact, of the 53 businesses located within the Main Street Lansing program boundaries (roughly Front Street to Fifth Street along Main Street, with some properties a block north or south of Main Street), 20 of them - or, 38 percent - are owned solely by women, according to Main Street Lansing Executive Director Andy Kelleher.

“You could safely apply that number to the entire community, maybe even slightly higher than that, because women tend to have more home-based businesses than men,” he says.

National figures vary; but, depending on who is defining the criteria and compiling the statistics, the percentage of businesses in Lansing owned by women is either at or slightly below the national percentage. In any case: “Women-owned businesses in the United States continue to grow at a faster rate than any other demographic,” according to information compiled by businesswomen.org.

BEGINNINGS
Baldwin noticed several years ago how many women owned businesses in Lansing and thought about the benefits of working together with a common cause for the community. “But it was Diana (Wilson-Thompson) and Wendi (Eiden) at Coffee on the River who had the vision and energy to bring us together,” she says.

“We wanted a way to reach out, connect, lift each other up when needed, and just in general be there for each other,” Eiden says.

“The group started organically,” says Val Reinke, executive director of Allamakee County Economic Development and Tourism. “Diana at Coffee on the River wanted to get the women together to support, network and brainstorm. I started the group on Facebook January 31, 2020.”

“We had just started meeting when the pandemic hit,” Baldwin says. “When we couldn’t meet in person, we met via Zoom; and at the beginning of each meeting, we’d each share something good that happened and something that was challenging us. For those of us who joined the meetings, it was super helpful just to know that we were all going through the experience together.”

Reinke, too, sees LWB as a source of support and collaboration for its members during a difficult time. “The group laughs,” she says. “They get excited.”

So far, LWB has two completed projects: May 1/May Day, during the COVID-19 shut down, the group created 150 May Baskets that were delivered to Meals on Wheels recipients; and September 9, the first-ever “Sip of Lansing” evening event was held, where Main Street businesses provided a variety of beverages to taste. Tickets were $15 and LWB raised nearly $1,000, some of which will be used to finance its “Light Up Lansing” event December 12.

MAIN STREET LANSING SUPPORT
Baldwin notes that, while the Main Street Lansing organization falls under the charter and funding of the Main Street Iowa program - which sets standards for specific economic development goals - “our group is more of a grassroots effort, building off of the passion we have for our community and patrons. We all give Main Street Lansing Executive Director Andy Kelleher a huge thanks for all the work he has done throughout the pandemic to keep Main Street business owners apprised of all the various mandates, as well as economic support opportunities, including grants.”

Main Street Lansing also has helped keep residents aware of the businesses that are open, hours and services available, Baldwin says. “Beyond that, the Main Street organization has helped to spur events to keep residents active with our businesses, such as Restaurant Week in September and the Sidewalk Sale in August,” she says.

“It has been great to see female entrepreneurs banding together and helping one another,” Kelleher says. “Along with long-term business owners, many new business owners in Lansing are women; so it’s good that they can be plugged into a solid local support network. The Lansing Women in Business are enthusiastic about helping Lansing thrive, and it will be encouraging to see what they accomplish over time.”

MEET SOME MEMBERS
One of the longest-running women-owned businesses in town is Red Geranium Floral and Gifts, a full-service florist which also sells home décor items, gifts, gourmet food mixes, coffees, apparel, jewelry and accessories. It’s owned by mother-daughter team, Jan Henkel and Jana Schoh. They opened the business in 1998 as a small craft/consignment shop on Main Street.

“We originally started because we were traveling to craft shows on weekends and thought there might be more out there than packing and setting up and traveling every weekend,” Schoh  recalls. In 2000 they moved to the grain elevator building currently housing Coffee on the River. They started the floral business in 2004 and moved to their present location at 201 Main Street in 2010.

Schoh says the pandemic has challenged them to come up with new ways to meet customers’ needs. “We’ve always shipped for our customers, but we’ve really started using Facebook more, to show off our product. Mother’s Day was our first big holiday during (the pandemic), and we were shut to walk-in customers. We did no-contact deliveries and pick-ups for those who were not able to see loved ones,” she says.

But, she notes, “it was scary to be shutting your doors and have no income, not knowing if or how long this is going to last. Once we opened back up, our customers - old and new - were so supportive. We can’t say thank you enough for the continued support our customers have given us during these challenging times. It’s so encouraging to hear ‘we’re so glad you are able to be open.’”

With COVID-19 numbers rising again, and in the face of the regular flu season, the immediate future remains uncertain. Schoh, who serves on the Main Street Lansing Promotions Committee, says LWB offers another avenue to promote each other’s businesses - and Lansing businesses, as a whole. “And our customer and community support is so important. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $10 item or a $500 purchase - if there’s something you can get locally, please try. If there’s something you can’t find in town and want, ask a business. I think we are all open to trying new products, and special ordering.”

A newer business, Driftless Gypsy Boutique, specializes in clothing, jewelry and accessories and is located at 231 Main Street. Elissa Strobel opened the business in May 2019. “I’m a Lansing native, raised here by my parents, Patti Wild and Joe Strobel,” Strobel says. “I have a love and appreciation for my small hometown and felt it would be fun to bring my passion to life right where I was lucky enough to grow up. Lansing has such a draw for people with its beautiful scenery and, of course, the river - so adding to this already great town was exciting for me. I want to see Lansing continue to grow and flourish and can only hope my business will aid in that dream for all of us.”

Strobel joined LWB because “the group has new, fresh, fun, exciting ideas with our town’s best interests at heart,” she says. “The women business owners in this town see the potential offered simply by our location and what was laid out, before us in the community. We want to capitalize on this. We not only have a desire for our businesses to succeed; we have found a community amongst ourselves where we get as much satisfaction from our personal success as we do from the success of women down the street. We survive because of each other.”

Strobel says the pandemic has been hard; like her colleagues at the Red Geranium, she has been figuring out how to meet the unforeseen challenges it has brought. “I am currently getting my online store up and running. This will allow people to shop the majority of products I have in store from the comfort of their homes,” she says. “I am constantly posting on my social media pages about sales, deals, promotions, etc. and I encourage people to reach out via email or a social media platform regarding anything they see and love. I am happy to ship anywhere.”

Strobel finds encouragement and support from the Lansing Business Women’s group. “This group knows and sees the importance of trying to pick back up (once allowed) and really give it all we’ve got,” she says. “None of us wants to throw in the towel and say we’re done. We’ve invested too much blood, sweat and tears and are willing to help each other where and when we can to get through this. Everyone is doing the best they can by sharing each other’s posts on social media and referring their customers to other local establishments.”

Michelle Stiehl owns and operates Polished on Main, a nail spa located at 353 Main Street. Though it, too, is fairly new to town - it opened in June 2019 - Stiehl is a long-time businesswoman. “I have 35 years in business and started my salon because I moved here to be with my fiancé,” she says.

Stiehl says she joined LWB “to help support our local businesses, male or female. And I am so thankful to this community and surrounding communities for supporting mine.”

Lesya Ryzhenkova is co-owner - with Michael Kolsrud - of The Good Life Gallery and Frame Shop, located at 249 Main Street. The Good Life has been open since November 2019, and it offers hand-beaded art, framed paintings and photographs, and custom framing.

Ryzhenkova, who is originally from Ukraine, moved to the United States 10 years ago and says “for me, this is my town, now. I’m so happy; I would like to help and to be a part of what is going on.”

Eiden says she and her family, too, are “very proud to call Lansing home. Honestly, for me, this is the first time in my adult life that I really understood what being part of a community means,” she says. “We look forward to many years of business and community and friendship.”