I sensed that Flagstaff small business owners had confidence and pride in their accomplishments. I also believe in small businesses, especially in towns like Flagstaff. They are what create this town's unique character.
I paid attention to my experience and decided that I wanted to be a small business owner in downtown Flagstaff.
My criteria for creating a Flagstaff business here was five fold. My business would:
- Be "Flagstaff-centric" without franchise fees or inventory bought from outside the community.
- Meet a currently unmet need or niche.
- Be recession friendly, especially for starving students, growing families, etc.
- Be green.
- Promote healthy joy and participation in our community's life.
I was volunteering at Flagstaff Middle School when a friend and mother of four blurted out, "Not having a 'Play It Again Sports' in town is killing me. I just spent $600 at Big 5 for one sports season and I'm not even done getting everything they need". I felt a "pop" in my brain and Flagstaff Uniform & Sports Exchange was born. I came up with the name because I like the acronym, F.U.S.E. . I think is implies coming together.
I began collecting inventory at moving sales and thrift stores. I found some amazing cleats, shin guards, soccer balls, baseball and softball bats, mitts, balls of all kinds and was able to sell them for 50 to 90% less than retail.
I was inspired by the "Play It Again Sports" and the "Bookman's" concept of offering trade credit or cash for good inventory that people brought to me. (I now get a truckload of cool stuff almost every day. Thanks everybody!I recruited my friend and mother of three active kids, Kristin Brown and we set up a huge tent and held "sales events" in the parking lot of the Flagstaff Athletic Clubs, both eastside and west through the summer.
In early August, I drove by 19 W. Aspen, a beautiful building right on the corner of Aspen and Beaver, next door to the Orpheum Theatre. I spun around the block, parked and pressed my nose on the glass of the vacant building. It had been Odegaard's Sewing Center. I knew Van Odegaard built and owned the building. His business outgrew the space, so he moved to 2107 4th street right before the recession hit. It had been empty for a year.
I wrote Van a proposal to keep his building on the commercial real estate market but allow me to move Flagstaff Uniform & Sports Exchange into the building for a fraction of the rent plus a percentage of my gross income. He accepted my proposal. I'm so grateful. F.U.S.E. has been there two months now.
The community has responded enthusiastically to F.U.S.E.. Without fail, every customer has commented about how badly Flagstaff needed this kind of store and how wonderful my inventory is.
In response to feedback from customers, we also carry medical scrubs, camping gear, martial arts and wrestling gear, and we recycle Flagstaff Middle School logo clothes as well as offer new items printed by Claudia at Cheap Clothes and Shirt Co. We have been asked to recycle logo clothes for all the FUSD middle schools.
I also continue to write copy for small business websites at TrailsWeb. I'm crazy busy but I can't tear myself away from TrailsWeb. It's the friendliest, funnest workplace I've ever experienced.
Thank you F.U.S.E.. Thank you Flagstaff. Thank you TrailsWeb.
Kathryn Peterson
