We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Phalen . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Michael with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I would have to say that my work ethic comes from my parents. From an early age I learned that hard work and determination will pay off in the long run. I watched my parents work very hard as I grew up to provide for our family. I also learned that for me over the years that working hard for other people didn’t pay off like working for myself. As I worked in the corporate world I grew to hate working for other people. We were constantly expected to do more work for the same pay and mostly without praise. Not that praise is a reason to not work hard, but it’s definitely an incentive to take on more work. I think for me growing up seeing my parents work hard for themselves led me to that point when I made the decision to leave the corporate world and come back to the family business and work for myself. Then after several years of working with my parents I made the decision to buy one of the two stores to keep it open and continue the legacy that they started. No one ever tells you just how crazy being a business owner can be but my strong work ethic and what it provides to my customers and community is what keeps me pushing forward.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I own and manage a roadside farm market that is open air. An open air market is an old fashioned farm market that doesn’t rely on air conditioning and a lot of the modern conveniences found in a grocery. We are open seven days a week and operate longer hours (9-8) to be more accommodating to our customers schedules. Most people work until 5,6,7 every day. It is hard for them to stop anywhere when a lot of places close between 5 and 6 and forces them to have to stop at the grocery which most people do not want to do on their way home from a long day of work. I sell fresh fruit, produce, amish made jarred goods, amish cheeses, amish baked goods, and a variety of bulk snacks and candies. I buy local produce while it’s in season to provide my customers with the best of what is offered across our state. I also look for brands and items you won’t find in your big box retailer. Niche items make my store more unique. The first year I owned it I continued to operate it seasonally and close during the winter because that’s what my parents always did but it wasn’t something I wanted to continue doing.
As I went into the second season of ownership I knew I wanted to change that and take my store to the next level in two ways. Each year I have continued to add more products to my dossier. I did this to add more offerings in my store as well as make my store marketable as a one stop shop. The more I can provide to my customers outside of fresh meat and milk the happier they are. I took over ownership at the beginning of covid and because we are a smaller open air market our business began to increase because of the size. People appreciated being able to come in and get what they needed and go on about their day and not be surrounded by a store full of people.
The second way I took my store to the next level was making the decision to keep my store open year round. This was good for my customers because it meant that they didn’t have to stock up as much on their jarred goods and other items. This meant that they could stop in as needed and pick up what they wanted without having to buy a grocery store version or travel to Amish country in the winter months. While there is not nearly as much produce available there is still produce being shipped through the winter months from the southern part of the country so outsourcing from out of country items is only limited to what does not grow here naturally or in the winter months.
There is an art to what I do. There is a specific look I want my store to have. Being a roadside farm market I want it to have an old fashioned feel to it. When people walk in for the first time or even after being there they are amazed at how everything looks in my store. I make it a point to display my items in such a manner that is inviting and makes it as easy as possible to find. Merchandising an entire store is a labor of love in and of itself. Having an eye for doing so is even greater. I have always had an eye and learned a lot about its importance when I was going to school for business. In doing all of this I feel like you see me in the store and feel more at home and not in a grocery store per se. The biggest complaint I have ever heard from people is that it seems like every time they go to a big box store products have been moved and they cant find things and I don’t want my customers to feel that way.
My store is sixteen years old this year and my fifth year of complete ownership. While there have been moments that have made me frustrated and want to walk away I can’t imagine doing anything else. I truly love what I do and am so excited for what the future holds.
With that being said I would like to formally announce that after sixteen years of being in the same location and five years owning my store I have made the decision that it is time for a change and I will be moving my store to a new location. While the thought initially was very scary and required a lot of thought it was made clear to me that if this is what I love doing and plan to continue to do so long term I have to put myself first. This is an exciting opportunity to grow my business in a rapidly growing area and to continue to provide quality products to returning customers as well as new customers. This wasn’t an easy decision to make and I hate to leave customers behind that have supported our family business over the years but some decisions have to be made that aren’t customer centric. My gaze is set to the long term success of my store as well as myself and its current location no longer provides that.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Being a small business owner is not for the weak. Life will throw things at you at every turn it seems and how you handle it and face those challenges can have a profound impact on your journey and success of your business.
The three most important qualities that I would say have been most impactful in my journey would be resilience, perseverance, and humility.
You have to remain resilient because things are going to happen that test your patience, your sanity and if you made the right decision to embark on this journey. Every challenge I have faced has required a certain amount of resilience. I have faced challenges that have had me ready to walk away and feeling defeated. You can’t allow those moments to take residence in your mind. Allow yourself that moment and then pick yourself right back up and come up with a plan on how to resolve what it is you are facing.
It’s not easy to just keep going when you are facing obstacles that may be hindering or harming your business success. Through that you have to have a sense of perseverance. Despite what may be happening or hindering your success you have to keep pushing on. This isn’t always an easy thing to do but when you are surrounded by people who lift you up and believe in what you are doing it makes it a little easier. Do not allow one setback to keep you from believing you will fail or won’t reach your goal.
Life has a way of humbling you when you least expect it. We are all going to have moments that challenge everything we believe and know along our journey. We are also going to have successes to celebrate and be proud of. Through all of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, I have faced on my journey I have remained humble through all of them. I have never been someone who has bragged about my successes. Through all of my challenges I have faced and will continue to face I have remained humble and given myself the grace to know that I may have failed, that failure is only temporary. If something doesn’t work out that doesn’t mean that I have failed or that I am a failure. To me it simply means that it wasn’t to be in the moment or that something better is yet to come.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
The most impactful thing that my parents have done for me is to teach me the value of hard work. I watched my parents work very hard for everything they had as I was growing up. It showed me what it meant to work hard for yourself and not someone else. When you work hard for yourself you directly see the results of that hard work. It teaches you to value and appreciate things far more than when you work for someone else. Not to say that working for someone else doesn’t have value, it just hits differently. When you work hard for yourself you directly see the return depending on how much effort you put into your work. It also taught me the valuable lesson that no one is going to work as hard as you do when you own a small business and that’s okay.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bambisfarmmarketii.com
- Instagram: @Bambison23
- Facebook: @bambison23
