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Thursday, 09 September 2010 05:33 |
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 Business: Western States Insurance
Founders: Bob Wuttke and Mike Rooney, Founded 1981
Location: Headquartered in Missoula, we have 16 locations across Montana, as well as 14 additional locations throughout Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Product/s: Insurance Sales and Service
Business, Personal, Health and Life Insurance
Bonding, Group Personal Insurance, Medical Malpractice, School Program
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Last Updated on Thursday, 09 September 2010 05:38 |
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Friday, 03 September 2010 05:37 |
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 mtbusiness.com spoke with Christopher Burke of Morning Glory Coffee and Tea of West Yellowstone this summer. This is part 1 of a 2 part series.
mtbusiness.com
Chris, MGCT
Well, we started in June of 2005. We had moved, my wife and I, back from Hawaii. I had been working in the coffee industry for about ten years, and decided to give it up and get as far away from coffee as I could, and found myself in West Yellowstone where my wife and I had met, working at Old Faithful back in 1992.
We wanted to come back to Montana - and came to West Yellowstone. After about eighteen months or so I realized that, first of all, I missed what I did in coffee; and two, there wasn’t a coffee roaster or a coffee business model in West Yellowstone.
We started developing a business plan and discussing things with different people in town; going to town council meetings and planning board meetings, we wanted to see where people were coming from.
We put a business plan together, and along with a few other friends secured a down payment, went to the bank and obtained a loan, and found a place to put our business.
We started with a roastery in a very large space with very little product. But we wanted to get a few things off the ground right away; one was packaging our product and developing a brand that we could sell outside of the store, and a website that we could of course sell coffee online, primarily to people that have come to visit - hopefully they come to West Yellowstone, they have had a good experience; when they get home they want to have a fond memory of that and they like our product.
We got those initial things off the ground as quickly as we could and went from there.
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Last Updated on Friday, 03 September 2010 08:16 |
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010 08:15 |
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 mtbusiness.com: Kelli, tell us about Freeheel and Wheel.
Kelli, FreeHeel and Wheel:
Well, Freeheel and Wheel is all in the name. It's Freeheel stands for nordic skiing and Wheels for biking. Essentially we are a bike and nordic ski shop. We have both winter and summer outdoor activities taken care of! In addition to bikes and skis, we have a coffee bar inside our store. We sell tons women and men casual and technical clothing. Almost a bike and north ski boutique, have to say. Melissa and I -- Melissa's my business partner -- started the business 14 years ago, just right after college. We have shared the same concepts throughout the existence of the store.
mtbusiness.com:
Are you a seasonal business?
Kelli, FreeHeel and Wheel:
No, we're open all year round! We do close about a week of the year and we do have off seasons but the only off seasons we really have is suppose like late April - early May, and the latter part of October - early November. Some of our busier times over the year is thanksgiving week, and our winter is a little bit busier than our summer. Simply that.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 July 2010 08:20 |
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Thursday, 01 July 2010 05:39 |
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 mtbusiness.com
Elizabeth McNeilly, Equus & Paws
Well, Equus and Paws is a small family-owned specialty shop, a holistic shop as well. We do dog grooming here at the shop, and canine massage, levels I, II and III. This consists of canine sports massage levels I and II, therapeutic massage, and canine massage for canine seniors. The shop also carries a small variety of holistic dog food, dog treats, and some toys.
Everything that consists of going out of the shop is centered around Equine massage. I am a travelling practitioner. That is our design.
mtbusiness.com
Where are you located in Billings?
Elizabeth McNeilly, Equus & Paws
We are at 2059 Broadwater.
mtbusiness.com
And I assume that you take care of the dogs and smaller animals there.
Elizabeth McNeilly, Equus & Paws
Yes. It is a neat location because we are just small enough where we can still remain a specialty shop; your dog, if it has special needs, can have an appointment all by itself. Though big enough that your dog can get an appointment with a group of other dogs as need be, and I’m not shaken by the economy.
mtbusiness.com
Let’s focus on the massage aspect. You mentioned you specialize in canine and equine massage.
Elizabeth McNeilly, Equus & Paws
Yes I do. I went through Equassage in Round Hill, Virginia. I started in 2006 with a specialty here at the shop. Originally I was just a travelling practitioner, and I felt that people needed a central location to understand things more. So that is where the dog grooming was added as a service.
I travel in an approximate a two-hour range. However, if someone asks me to go somewhere further, or if there is something that is going on with their animal, I will definitely make the trip.
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Monday, 28 June 2010 00:00 |
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 Business: Yellowstone Wildlife Cabins
Principals: Cynthia & John Knapp
Location: 225 Geyser, West Yellowstone
Product/s: Nightly lodging
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Last Updated on Monday, 28 June 2010 05:24 |
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Friday, 11 June 2010 05:36 |
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mtbusiness.com spoke with Andrew Sponseller about the Vineyard and their product earlier this year at the 2010 Made in Montana Marketplace.
 Andrew, tell us about Ten Spoon the company, and the wine
Sure! We started out as Rattlesnake Creek Vineyard back in 2003 and operated with that name for three years. We then changed our name to Ten Spoon after we were challenged in a trademark dispute with some folks from Washington State.
We grow our grapes in the Rattlesnake Valley and we also access fruit growers from around the Flathead region - being cherries, and apples, and raspberries and so forth. And the balance of our fruit, which is about three-eighths to half of our wine production, is sourced from family organic growers in the Northwest.
At this time we are making about 4000 cases of wine. We have made as much as 5500 / 6000 cases to build up our aging inventory.
Right now we have three Vinifera wines which are your classic grape varieties. We have two wines - a red and a white - from our Vineyard in Missoula, and a line of five fruit wines which includes a desert wine.
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