NORTHSIDE, Sask. -Rural business will survive and thrive by giving customers something that large chain stores do not, says Sask-atchewan entrepreneur June Derby.
“You have to keep on top of what they’re looking for,” said Derby, general manager of Northside Lumber near Christ-opher Lake.
“My customers tell me what I’m going to be doing.”
Derby said locally made folk art and crafts bring people into her store, are a complement to the wood and hardware she sells, and bring in extra money during slower winter months.
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It’s an “added value” product for lumber piled behind the store, she said.
Derby also hosts a large craft fair around Christmas, and is renovating unused storage rooms to accommodate more crafts in the future.
“You’re not going to find that in big box stores,” said Derby, an accomplished carpenter who builds wooden garden furniture and shelves. Bedding plants, craft supplies and pre-cut wood products have been added in recent years, and she hopes to add rustic items like peeled log furniture.
Larger stores are also unlikely to cut in half and drag a derelict 5,400-square-foot building across a frozen lake to a new highway site. The maple dance floors of the Sunnyside Beach Dance Hall, which once hosted entertainers like Bobby Curtola and the Guess Who, now house rows of nails, glue and snow shovels.
“Locals were happy to see it not torn down,” she said. “People want to see it preserved.”
Derby grew up around rural business. Her parents operated a farm implement dealership at Grenfell, Sask., and she worked in construction before setting up Northside Lumber and Hardware in 1981.
Her business challenges have been with banks and with being a woman in a non-traditional role. Banks fear lending money to rural businesses in small markets, she said, because of the difficulty recouping their investments should the operation fail.
Derby also had to establish credibility with male suppliers and contractors.
“Men come in looking for the boss. I can help them as well as anyone else,” said Derby, who operates a forklift, makes deliveries, draws up house plans and saws lumber.
She came to the Prince Albert region to start a construction business with her first husband and received a certificate in general accounting. The lumber and hardware store grew from a need to supply their construction side.
“It just kind of snowballed. If I had time to think about it, I may not have done it,” she said of her half-million dollar company.
Vacations are rare, said Derby, who now lives with her new partner above the store.
“I have to prepare for weeks on end in order to go for a week.”
She uses casual help sporadically in winter, but hires four workers in summer.
Her business caters to a large market of do-it-yourselfers and hobbyists, she said, noting fixing and repairing are more common than building new.
The community swells in the summer with traffic passing by en route to cottage country around Prince Albert National Park. The local community has grown in recent years to include many retirees and young families looking for a home life away from the city.
Derby said locals are loyal and enjoy the personalized service of the small-town store, but larger chains set the standard. That means small businesses juggle low prices and steadily shrinking margins. They also have to offer free delivery, installation and estimates to keep and attract customers.
“Small businesses are dwindling because competition is too close now. Everyone is willing to drive to get what they need and do all their shopping in one place.”
Sitting behind an antique oak desk surrounded by picture cards promoting perseverance, determination and attitude, Derby said life is good for now.
“I enjoy what I’m doing. There’s not a day that you don’t learn something from customers.”
If opportunity knocks however, she will respond, but not retire.
“If I decided to sell, I’d be working at something else.”
