05/16/2007

Business shop strives to keep it local

Owner also does Leelanau expo, guide book

By AL PARKER

Special to the Record-Eagle

About The Business Helper

Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
Jackie Morrison owns Business Helper in Suttons Bay.

Address: 117 Broadway, Suttons Bay

Phone: (231) 271-4404

Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Employees: 11

Years in business: 13

In Business is a weekly feature on northern Michigan businesses. Next week: The Blue Pelican.

SUTTONS BAY — Jackie Morrison says the secret to her business success is simple.

"We have the world's best customers. They're loyal, faithful, good people,” said the owner of The Business Helper, a retail shop that serves not only businesses, but all sorts of special occasions.

Need invitations for a wedding or graduation? Or an oversized set of blueprints copied, then shipped? Need film developed, a resume faxed, or a fine-tipped watercolor paintbrush? Need help selecting a just-right greeting card from the largest assortment of cards in Leelanau County?

The Business Helper's team of 11 employees is there to, well, help.

Morrison opened her business 13 years ago in a 540-square-foot site just east of the Suttons Bay post office. After years of building her clientele and pouring profits back into the business, she relocated across the street into a 140-year-old building that once housed a sewing shop.

The move gave her about five times as much space, enabled her to stock much more inventory and expand services to her regular clients, which now number more than 450. About 85 percent of her customers are from all corners of Leelanau County.

"We have regular customers of all ages, all walks of life, all professions,” said Morrison, a mother of four who grew up in the Flint area and moved to Suttons Bay in 1990. "We like to think everything is business. When Grandma goes shopping or when Mom sends a package to a college student, it's business. And we're the business helper.”

As if running her retail operation isn't enough, eight years ago Morrison, who has a background as a technical writer, launched The Business Book and Visitor's Guide, an annual publication that is jam-packed with information about Leelanau County and its businesses.

Along with the annual guide, which is mailed free of charge to every home and business in the county, Morrison oversees a Web site that promotes commerce in Leelanau County: www.shopleelanaufirst.com.

"Getting people to shop locally is really important to me,” said Morrison, who is one of the driving forces behind the Leelanau Business Expo that is held every other year to highlight county businesses. "We want people to support their local businesses because that's their friends and neighbors. It's so important.”

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