SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Simple Box Storage Solutions

Difficult times inspired change

SMALL

BUSINESS

OF THE YEAR

Simple Box scrapped plans, relied on core values for direction

Tony Moceri

Heading into 2020, Ross Black, the owner of Simple Box Storage Solutions, was looking forward to executing his plan for future growth. Business — providing storage containers for rent, purchase and to help people move — was on an upward trajectory, and he had no reason to think that would change.

“We were poised to have our best year ever,” Black said.

That sentiment would quickly change as the world entered the pandemic.

“March 6, we held this all-team meeting, scrapped all the goals and just said we have one goal, and that’s survival,” Black said.

He and his team rapidly made changes to their daily operations, allowing them to thrive in this new environment.

Communication became the team’s focus. With the business spread out among seven locations and multiple states, Black had to figure out how to keep everyone on the same page. They began using Voxer, a walkie-talkie app that allowed people to communicate instantly. He also instituted morning meanings, which Black leads himself. As he and his team meet virtually, he ends every morning meeting with a slide that says, “How Can I Help?” Black’s instincts to increase communication were correct.

“Teamwork just seems to be the No. 1 thing that just skyrocketed in 2020,” he said. This teamwork mentality has showed through not only in the success of the business, but also in the actions of the team. Many people offered to take pay cuts to help the business and their co-workers. Black was inspired by these selfless acts, and in what was shaping up to be a challenging year, he doubled down on his team. He instituted a profit-sharing model that will continue with the company even after the pandemic is over. This has created a level of ownership among the team that took 2020 from surviving to thriving.

Simple Box now has people working all over the West and is doing it better than ever. Black upgraded the team’s equipment and set them up to work remotely, improving efficiency.

“Overall, we ended up probably hitting every one of our goals as far as expanding and increased revenue,” he said. “It just looked so much different than we thought it would.”

In a year that looked much different than anticipated, Black has learned not to hold too tightly to plans. He thought Simple Box had great strategies going into 2020, but those were only good if the world didn’t change. Instead of working from a plan, the team at Simple Box now work from their values and daily habits, which will hold true no matter what happens. Black is still concerned about an economic impact that could be looming due to large inflation, which is why he continues to streamline operations to be prepared for whatever comes next. He believes unequivocally that the events of 2020 made Simple Box a better business. He could not be more impressed with his team and is thrilled that the company is better positioned than before to help people with their storage needs in 2021. ■

Ross Black Dave Black Founder, CEO Owner/Business Development

Tidal Vision

Even a pandemic can’t slow Tidal Vision’s chitosan

SMALL

BUSINESS

OF THE YEAR

Demand sticks for natural polymer made from seafood waste

Tony Moceri

Craig Kasberg Co-founder, CEO Zach Wilkinson Co-founder

2020 created new challenges for all businesses, but for Craig Kasberg’s Tidal Vision, the year was more about adapting to change than dealing with major setbacks. The company makes chitosan, a biopolymer made from seafood waste, which can be used in a variety of products. Its uses include in water treatment, textiles, agriculture and food preservation; the Tidal Vision website boasts of more than 400 products on the market today that include chitosan.

“(Chitosan is a) natural alternative to a wide range of synthetic chemicals, and we target industries where we know we have something not just greener but also lower cost, easier to use, and better performance,” Kasberg said. His product is in high demand, so when the shutdown happened, his challenge was keeping production high enough to meet customer requests. To keep production going, Tidal Vision instituted protocols designed to help ensure the team stayed healthy. In addition to providing personal protective equipment at work, Tidal Vision made it easy for people to stay home if they were not feeling well. “We gave everyone a couple extra weeks of paid time off so that if anyone even felt like they had a tickle in their throat, they could take time off without losing any of their paycheck,” Kasberg said.While the company did experience a slowdown in March, it was able to do so without laying anyone off, actually adding to the team overall in 2020. Company leaders made changes to accommodate people working from home and now have some full-time remote workers, something Kasberg sees as a permanent change that may even increase in the future. What could have been a major setback ended up being a moment of inspiration.

“Our employees adapted to accommodate different styles of work and quickly built the systems in a way that works for everyone,” Kasberg said. Tidal Vision was able to achieve 100% growth in 2020, and team members learned a lot about themselves in the process.

“When things don’t go according as planned, we know that we were capable of making changes quickly and adapting not only to survive but eventually grow, as well,” Kasberg said.

The success the company was able to achieve in 2020 has it positioned well in 2021. Tidal Vision is expecting continued growth as it gets its chitosan into the hands of more industries that can benefit from using a product able to replace toxic chemicals.

Tidal Vison is growing its operations throughout Whatcom County — and across the country, with a warehouse now in South Carolina — and positioning itself to better serve national and international customers. This growth means the company will need more help to keep up with demand. Leaders are looking to grow their team with people passionate about the mission “to create positive and systemic environmental impact by advancing chitosan chemistry solutions.”

Now with a proven track record of overcoming challenges — and looking at a great deal of opportunity in the future — Kasberg is optimistic about Tidal Vision’s ability to further its mission while growing the business. ■

VanderYacht Propane

VanderYacht Propane turns focus inward for positive results

SMALL

BUSINESS

OF THE YEAR

Residential growth, team focus help company beat 2019 numbers

Tony Moceri

As an essential business, VanderYacht Propane didn’t have any downtime in 2020, which meant the company had to adapt on the fly. Denver VanderYacht, the company’s sales and marketing manager, began the year anticipating a 10%-15% growth in sales, like recent years. However, while they did still beat their 2019 numbers by approximately 2%, those sales did not look how company leaders had expected. In a normal year, providing propane to restaurants and campgrounds is a large part of the business, but with those sectors operating at partial capacity, VanderYacht Propane saw commercial sales drop significantly. What allowed it to edge out 2019 was the large number of new residential customers.

“Construction has been busier than ever,” VanderYacht said, “and we’re still setting tanks for all of our contractors we’ve partnered with. That part of our business has not really slowed down, because people are still wanting to move here to Washington state.”

Due to the continued demand, VanderYacht Propane didn’t have to lay off a single employee and is now looking to add drivers and service technicians to the team. Without a pause to figure out what quickly became a new world, VanderYacht focused on making sure his employees and customers felt comfortable with the new safety precautions. Using social distancing and personal protective equipment, employees were able to fill tanks and conduct gas checks without jeopardizing anyone’s health or safety. VanderYacht said he does not see these added precautions leaving anytime soon.

During such a strange time, VanderYacht said he was touched by the team’s response: “employees letting us know that they were grateful how we were able to employ them through this pandemic and have that stability.”

While he had always been appreciative of his team, he said, 2020 shed additional light on how important it is for a business to be able to adapt. Without such a great group in place, he said, nothing he could have done on his own would have mattered.

“We’ve really learned this year to just focus inside out, to take care of our employees, make sure they’re good, and then it’s really going to show to our customers,” VanderYacht said.

Making sure the company was able to provide essential service was critical. With many customers facing challenging times, VanderYacht said he appreciated his loyal customer base, making a point to work with those who were unexpectedly out of work and needed a little more time to pay bills. As so many people were struggling, company leaders focused on being part of the community and doing their best. It is this type of approach, VanderYacht said, that has allowed the company to grow from the little delivery company it was in 1989 to now providing service throughout multiple counties.

In 2021, VanderYacht has a message for those with propane needs in Whatcom, Skagit, Island and Snohomish counties: “We’re here for you, and we’ll do anything in our power to accommodate your needs.” ■

Denver VanderYacht Sales & Marketing Manager Bryan VanderYacht Co-Founder

Mary VanderYacht Co-Founder Drake VanderYacht Driver

Stephen Bates CEO, Hempler Foods Group

Hempler Foods keeps employees a top priority

BUSINESS

PERSON

OF THE YEAR

CEO says ‘change is neutral; what matters is how you handle circumstances’

Kyra Planetz

As COVID-19 hit Washington state in full force nearly a year ago, many companies had to adapt to a new way of doing business. Changes, either positive or negative, had to be made. However, Stephen Bates, CEO of Hempler Foods Group, doesn’t believe in such a black-and-white outlook. To him, the pandemic has proved that change is neutral; it all depends on how one handles developing circumstances.

“We’ve faced a lot of challenges, but nothing quite like the effects of what happened in 2020,” Bates said. “Through it all, I’ve definitely learned that we’re more resilient and stronger when we work together as a team.”

After 86 years in Whatcom County, Hempler Foods has stayed true to its values: maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit while caring for others. Bates said he is inspired by this enduring culture and by his employees, who define what it means to be essential. He gives credit to his entire team for producing quality products for the community, state and country despite the health concerns of living in a pandemic.

“Our company was really built on family values,” Bates said. “It’s always been in our culture, our first priority, to protect our workers and their families (and) keep them safe and in good health.”

The CEO said the way his company has adapted throughout this past year has encouraged him to continue developing a high level of work ethic beyond the pandemic. Not only has Hempler Foods kept its employees healthy by installing safety gear in its facilities and kitchens, but it also sent many nonessential workers home to work remotely, something that has had a positive impact on those employees and their families, he said. Hempler Foods will keep protective safety measures and online meetings in place for the foreseeable future, Bates said.

“The way we’ve leveraged digital technology today will survive not just this last year, but I think it will forever change how we live and work,” he said.

In addition to ensuring employees’ physical well-being, Hempler Foods also provided mental health services to help them cope with the stress of the pandemic. Bates said the company created resources through its health care provider, ensuring that all employees, as well as their families, had access to services like counseling. He believes it was a very important decision because it opened up a healthy discussion about mental well-being, he said.

“The greatest blessing out of this difficult experience is being able to speak more openly about stress, anxieties and the impacts on our mental health, for all of us,” Bates said.

Despite the pandemic-induced challenges Hempler Foods has faced, Bates said the company experienced a “truly unprecedented” demand for its product. In terms of sales, Hempler Foods saw double-digit increases, producing more food in 2020 than any other year in the company’s history. Bates said Hempler Foods continues to show its appreciation to its employees by keeping pandemic bonuses in place until the crisis ends.

With its success in 2020, Hempler Foods Group has committed to expanding its Ferndale facility by late 2022 or early 2023. The expansion will effectively double the size of the company ’s capacity. Bates said more announcements about the upcoming project are expected soon.

“Bottom line, we’re investing in our people,” Bates said. “That’s what our founder, Dick Hempler, did for so many years. We’re also investing in Whatcom County. We’re hopeful and optimistic for this beautiful place we get to call home.” ■