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ONE WOMAN’S OPINION
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s s A d a B
Women Tackle
Jeannie Henderson
Owner of Jeannie Cleaning, Home & office sanitizing and cleaning services.
Katie Timber
Executive Director at SPCA Southwest Michigan, Not-for-profit, no-killl shelter.
Imagine riding the high of being a businesswoman with a new store that is due to open. You research everything, making sure that the inventory is being delivered, the bookkeeping is up-to-date, and your staff is in place—ready to go! Then the pandemic hits. It was enough to knock some off their feet. But it was not enough to stop Jessica Thompson. What about opening your business turned out to be much harder to accomplish than you expected? Henderson: One of the biggest challenges I have had to overcome is to create a positive, rewarding, and engaging work culture that attracts the best talent and improves employee retention. Business is always about the people and having the right people in the right seats. At Jeannie Cleaning, we started to get on the right track by defining our purpose and our values and we put them up on our wall for everyone to see. We live them out in every decision, every plan and every action. It has been so rewarding to work with our team now that we are all
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June 2020
3
Questions
Jessica Thompson
Owner of Bee Joyful Shop, Michigan’s first zero-waste market.
While much of the country hunkered down, restaurants switched to take-out only, retailers ramped up online sales, and women everywhere discovered the true color of their roots. This is the snapshot into the lives of three women who are a part of our community, and learning how to succeed while adjusting to our New Normal.
committed to the same set of values and headed in the same direction. Our business went from frustrating to joyful - just by going through the process of defining our values and then living them out. Timber: I think the challenging part is that most people assume we are part of the ASPCA or a nationally funded organization. We aren’t! We are your local No-kill shelter that exists thanks to the generosity of our community. Animals do not qualify for funding from most corporations and foundations. Partnerships, donations, adoptions, and volunteerism are the driving force behind the success of The SPCA of SWMICH.
Thompson: Obviously, the COVID-19 outbreak presented an unexpected roadblock because it kept the store from opening when I had planned. But I know that’s only temporary. Before COVID-19, the answer to the question would have been finding vendors who are strict adherents to a no-plastic philosophy, particularly when it comes to shipping their product(s). I’ve been occasionally surprised when opening a box of plastic-free product to find it wrapped or surrounded in plastic shipping material. Being plastic-free is intentional because in many cases, it’s not what we’ve been trained to do. So when I get product that is packaged and shipped plastic-free, I know that vendor and I are on the same wavelength.
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