(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This program is made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.

(upbeat music) - [Speaker] It's Your Business with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE PBS and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation, with funding provided by the Rural Re-imagine Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

- Every big decision needs thought and planning to have success and starting your own business is definitely a big decision.

But when the thought and planning process begins, it may seem overwhelming as you begin to see all that is involved.

However, the process can be made much easier and manageable when you have help.

And that is what we strive to do.

Show you where to find the help in becoming an entrepreneur.

Join us as we help you find those that are eager to help and those who have received much needed help start their business and learn from their examples.

(upbeat music) When the Gibson family began to outgrow their small farm, they found the perfect home in Gainesboro, Tennessee.

Not only did they find the perfect piece of land to let their growing farm expand, they also found the opportunity downtown, just right on the square of Gainesboro to start a storefront where they can now show off their incredible products and make them available to a much wider market.

(upbeat music) We're here in Gainesboro, Tennessee, speaking with Tara and Greg Gibson, owners of Gib-Flo Farms.

Welcome to the show.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- So let's get things started.

Tell us about Gib-Flo Farms.

- We started out in Murfreesboro in 2018, bought our first goat and one goat turned into, now I believe we have 51 goats, that's including 26 babies.

We outgrew our property in Murfreesboro and it got really busy, so we decided to find a place in the middle of nowhere, where we could buy more land and have more goats.

So we ended up buying land out in Pleasant Shade and we came around the area and found this town.

And over the years after building our house and getting settled in, we decided to open a store.

- Very good, so goats, why goats?

- Well, they're cute.

And the Angora goat have the highest butter fat content, which we make cheese and soap and all sorts of products out of the goat milk, so it's good for that.

My favorite to make is mozzarella, which you know, then you can use it for anything.

And my daughter's favorite is when I make like a Parmesan, which we usually do for birthdays.

Some of them are really easy, you just add vinegar to curdle it and then others are pretty hard and kind of like follow directions.

- So y'all moved up here in 2018, you started the goat farm, you started making cheese, started making milk, what made you all think, you know, let's start a store?

- Well, we come up here and ate breakfast one morning and we were sitting there discussing future business ideas and after we ate breakfast, we walked around the square, convinced her to look at a store or two, found a number in a window, called it, four minutes later the guy was here showing us the building.

We really liked the space and the location and decided let's try it, let's try opening a storefront.

Because the crafts fairs had been shut down for a while due to Covid, so there was a couple of years there, not much happened.

1st of December was our official opening date, and the city, the county, everybody's been great to us, so it's been awesome.

- So let's think about what does it actually take to start a store?

So y'all are doing the farming, you're making milk, you're making cheese, but you know, opening a retail location, that's a whole different ballgame.

Tell me a little bit about from the moment you all decided to do it, what actually happened next to get to what we see here today?

- Well, it was about, do we have enough products?

What are we gonna make in the store?

What are we gonna be all about?

And basically we wanted to still, first we're a farm first, so we wanted our whole store to be about our farm and about what we do and we wanted everything to be homemade.

So that was, let's get to work, let's make stuff, what else can we make?

What can we learn how to make?

So we just kind of kept on going and kind of figured it out as we went.

- So what are some of the challenges y'all experienced when going from the farm to the store?

- Dividing up the time between the farm and setting the store up, getting everything going.

Now we've gotta divide and conquer where she had been just staying home, taking care of the farm, now she's gotta run the business because I work also.

- So that's gotta add probably a little bit of stress to yall's life, obviously you're enjoying what you do, but you know, how do you really strike that balance between farm, between some retail location, personal life, kids, how do you do it?

- We work together, we figure it out.

We might get up an hour or two earlier, stay up a little later, but we all work together.

- So in working together I'm willing to bet you all probably have maybe some differing but complimentary skill sets, walk me through that.

- Well I guess I'm the muscle to a lot of it around the farm, run the tractor, taking care of the heavy stuff, fencing, things like that.

And she's more the focused on taking care of individual goats, you know, if one gets sick, she's the one that steps in and takes care of it.

We just try to make it as fun as possible and still have everything roll smooth.

- So, you know, and speaking of rolling smooth, you know, now you're operating the store, how do you all actually do this day in and day out?

You've got accounting, you've got products, you've got inventory and so much more, how do you do this?

- Well actually there's been some online classes that we've taken advantage of, to learn how to do like our accounting and different things like that.

We actually really reached out to a lot of different people for a lot of their knowledge on how to do things 'cause we basically jumped in not knowing anything and kind of had to just figure it out, which has been kind of cool and nerve-wracking all at the same time but, - Scary.

- Yeah, but we definitely are figuring it out as we go as well.

- Well you know, entrepreneurship, it's all about taking risk and it can be scary at times.

What are some of the things that you found the most scary and more importantly, how did you overcome them?

- Oh, trying to figure out how to pay taxes, who to pay it to, how much to pay.

That was all, you know, 'cause you have your sales tax, you have your federal taxes, that all have to be paid on time, you don't want to get in trouble with them, so she has really done a lot of research online to figure out how to do all that and get set up on it.

And actually when you call the places, they are very helpful and they will walk you through it while you're sitting there on the computer, so it's helped a lot.

- So really the moral of the story is, don't be afraid to reach out for help.

- Right.

- So let's talk a little bit more about your products now.

Some of the things that you're all really passionate about.

So you know, you're utilizing the goat's milk, you're making cheese, you're making soap.

Tell me, you know, I understand that you know, there's a really big push right now for natural products, for farm to product, why is that so important to you all?

- I have very sensitive skin and so does all of my family actually.

So having things as simple as possible is very important.

Keeping everything easy and the least amount of ingredients in a product is what I strive for, just so I can put it on my face or I can put it on my body.

It doesn't matter what you're using it for, you can use it for anything is kind of important.

We also sell our goat milk candles and we sell goat milk lotion as well.

- So I'm also looking around and there's various other products in addition to, you know, goat products.

What else do you sell here?

- We do sell t-shirts, antique silverware jewelry along with repurposed leather.

Everything here is made mostly by my daughter Sarah and I.

And all the art that's made on the towels is pretty much drawn by one of my family members or a picture of our animals.

We try to do everything ourselves.

We do have a few friends that are in the store, but mostly everything is made by us.

- So you've opened up here in rural Gainesboro, Tennessee.

What does it mean to you all to be able to provide additional workforce and additional store to an area like this?

- Well, I just like being part of a community and feeling like we're part of a community.

- Yeah.

- And here I think we've been treated so well and taken in by the community and everybody has shown such enthusiasm and has been shown that they're so excited for stores to be opening up here in Gainesboro.

- So what this store is really helping to do is adding to the revitalization of downtown Gainesboro.

- Yeah, originally when we came down here and looked, there were so many empty buildings, but we had heard that several were gonna be opening up new businesses and I wanted to be a part of that, you know, to help get something new on the square.

- So as small business owners, you know, speaking to the leadership, whether that be Jackson County, state of Tennessee, you know, there's a lot of support out there.

What can leaders do to help a small business like yourself?

- Well, I think they're doing it.

They're always reaching out and sending out emails or offering services.

The chamber here in Jackson County has been doing a great job of that.

I feel like if we need help, I know where to go to get it and I'm pretty happy with how everything's going so far.

- So bringing it back now to people that are thinking about starting a small business, you know, they're watching you all, they're thinking, you know, y'all have been in it for three months, if they can do it, I can do it.

What advice would you give to them?

- Just do it.

Just go ahead and just jump in and do it and figure it out as you go.

- Yeah, the city and county has been amazing, very supportive.

Everybody is excited about having something new here.

- So one question that I love to ask everybody, thinking about three months ago when this all started, what do you all know right now that you wish you knew then?

- I wish we knew more about accounting and more about how to take care of the math part of everything.

- Yeah, inventory also is a big thing.

Having to keep up with that and know when you're starting to run low on something, you need to order it, how far in advance to get it in, so you don't have that break in your products.

- So how are you all actually managing your inventory and accounting?

- I use QuickBooks for most everything.

It really has been such a big help so it's been, and Square, those are the two things that I use.

- So last question for you.

Thinking to the future, what does the next three months, the next three years hold for Gib-Flo Farms?

- Well, I just hope that we're still here and I feel like we will be, 'cause we're definitely supported here and just keep on making and updating new products and enjoying what we're doing.

And it's just fun being able to meet people every day and see all the people from around where we live, it's kind of interesting.

- Greg, Tara, thank you all so much for being on the show.

- Thank you - Well thank you (upbeat music) - When it comes to the automotive industry, it pays to find your niche in the market and strive to be the best at it.

That is the story behind TC Remanufacturing, as they saw the chance to take used tort converters and make them like new, all while recycling and reusing every aspect of the process to do their part in being good stewards of the environment.

(upbeat music) We're here in Gainesboro, Tennessee, talking with Harry Schmink and Don Looper of TC Remanufacturing.

Don, Harry, welcome to the show.

- Thank you Michael.

- Thank you Mike.

- So let's get things started off.

Tell us about TC Remanufacturing.

- Well, TC Remanufacturing, you know, our name is not all that creative, right?

Because we are a torque converter remanufacturer, and that's literally how we came up with the name.

It was very simple.

We just call the company TC Remanufacturing.

We came to Jackson County, Tennessee because this is sort of the center of torque converter remanufacturing in the country, right?

With the great Jim Hall originally being from Jackson County and his company Deco next door in Putnam County.

- So torque converters, you remanufacture them.

Let's start out with what is a torque converter and why would you wanna remanufacture one?

- Well a torque converter basically replaced a standard clutch.

It's in automatic transmission and it has fluid flowing inside and turbines, the faster the fluid gets, it starts turning the turbine, which turns up transmission parts, which goes with the axles to the tires.

- And so you remanufacture these things, what, tell me about that process.

- So the great part about what we do right, is it keeps this part essentially out of the landfill, right?

We take the defective or used torque converter, we open it up, fix every component inside, make it look pretty again, and sell it back to, you know, resellers like AutoZone, like O'Reilly, other distributors we have around the country.

- Now as TC Remanufacturing.

Is this a brand name that I could go and buy it in AutoZone or walk me through that?

- At AutoZone, our name is on the product.

We have other customers who private label, we put their name on the product and we'll do either.

- Now you mentioned Jim Hall earlier.

Tell me a little bit more about who he is, what his significance is, and then tell me about how y'all actually got the business started.

- Yeah, so as we said, Jim was originally from Jackson County, Tennessee, right where we are today, right?

And Don, if I remember correctly, he went to Dayton, Ohio to work for General Motors.

A lot of people left Tennessee to go to work in the auto industry back at that time.

And he was working for General Motors in Dayton, Ohio, and acquired a company called Dayton Air Compressor Company, a small company.

But what he really did was he took that company and started remanufacturing Torque Converters and brought the company back to Putnam County.

- Tell me a little bit more about maybe yall's skillsets and how those work as a compliment to really run this business.

- I worked in the plant as a kid, you know, a young adult in 77, and worked in the plant three years, then went on to sales, did that for 20 years, and then to manage it sales for the remainder of the time, over 40 years.

- Don heard me say this many times, and honestly it's no exaggeration, Don has sold more torque converters than anyone in the history of the world, and that's just true, right?

Because he was the leading salesperson at Deco, right?

For 20 years, and then he was the VP of sales at Deco, right?

And Deco was the largest torque converter manufacturer in the country and so essentially in the world, right?

And Don was the guy leading the sales, so, - And now you're here.

- He's been doing it for over 40 years and we're still doing it.

- Wow, so let's talk a little bit about your employees.

You know, you mentioned when you're making this transition, you've got some employees that know how to do it, but I feel like there's a little bit more than just, they know how to do it, you were really on a mission here.

- We had a plant manager and a production manager that were highly respected, really highly respected, here locally.

And so we just had all the faith in the world in them that they would execute.

We literally started the company with nothing.

We didn't have a machine, we didn't have a part, we didn't have employees, but with those two guys right, we knew they would make it happen.

- So what does it mean to you all to be able to employ people here in Jackson County?

You know, obviously jobs are so important to the economy, so important to personal lives, how does that make you all feel?

- We feel lucky to be here, honestly.

You know, people say, you know, you're in Jackson County, we say, yes we're in Jackson County, right?

The company would not have happened, we could not have launched this company had we not found this facility, and the people that we employ from Jackson County.

Half of our employees are from Jackson County that we're very happy to be here, we would honestly, we would not want to be anywhere else.

The people we have have the right skills, the right attitude, they just want to get it done.

You know, just on a weekly, daily basis, all we have to do literally is tell our great people what our customers need and they just do it, right?

So if we need to run this number this week, they just do it.

- What type of leader do you think that you all are and how do you all really motivate your employees to get things done like you said?

- We don't have a lot of structure.

We don't have a lot of meetings.

We just, everybody just, we just go do every day.

So we all work together all day long, but we both work in the warehouse, right?

Our CFO works out in the plant as well.

Our head of purchasing that we hired actually from, that went to Tech and is from Jackson County, you know, she's in the plant all the time.

- You know, there's a balance.

You know, you've gotta be the leader, you know, you're working on sales, you've got a business to run, tell me a little bit about, how do you make that balance?

I mean, that's gotta be a little stressful, right?

- Well, no stress at all that I see.

I enjoy doing different things, you know, driving the fork truck, rapid skids, cleaning the line, you know, and I think other people's able to see, you know, the employees able to see us out there touching stuff, and that helps all as well.

- Our really stressful time has passed us, thankfully, right, right?

We're in a good place right now, the company's doing well, our people are doing well.

- What do you find as, you know, as a new business owner, calling it back to when you were first starting and things may have been a little bit more stressful, walk us through what were some of the challenges that you faced, and more importantly, how did you overcome those?

- So the initial risk is financial, you know, the owners have to decide are we're gonna take this financial risk so that obviously adds some stress.

And then you're, you know, for the first several months, right?

There is no cash flow incoming, it's all outgoing, right?

So you just have to work through that.

- And of course you'd being VP of sales, you know, you're on the forefront of bringing that first sale and that 10th sale and so on and so forth.

What are some of the strategies that you brought from your previous sales experience over here?

- The big guys is what you wanted, the O'Reilly's and ended up getting O'Reilly's on board and we're working on advance right now and some private label we've got on board and getting over that hump to where, you know, you start making a profit as Harry said, you know.

- Tell me more about your strategy to cultivating those relationships and more importantly, keeping them.

- It's all about being honest and the customer's always right.

I know it's hard sometimes you have to bite your tongue, but I think it's, that's the two big things that I do and the company does as well, is the customer's always right.

It's yes, yes, yes and never no.

- So well in thinking about, you know, customers and thinking about business owners, you know, a lot of people on this show are watching it, they're thinking, I've got an idea for a business, but they just haven't crossed that fence yet for whatever reason.

What advice would you all give to them having been in the field and done this?

- It's a lot of experience, you know, again, you know, I've got in over 40 years myself and that's all I've ever done.

So I think having your employees have that experience is just gives you the edge.

- When we launched this company, you know, some people looked at us and said, you know, you're investing, creating a new company and investing some of your own resources into a company that's in a declining industry, and that was absolutely true and we knew that.

But we came in knowing that, you know, with our eyes wide open and as Don said, it was only because we had that core group of people that we knew could execute and could bring customers and also deliver the product.

- Well, so you mentioned a declining industry.

Tell us a little bit more about what that means, but also, you know, what are you gonna do to mitigate against it?

- Yeah, so there is no torque converter in an electric vehicle, right?

So that's why we're in a declining industry, right?

So, you know, our product goes into a vehicle with an automatic transmission and you know, an internal combustion engine, primarily rear wheel drive vehicles is where most of our business comes from.

You don't tow your boat and your RV with a front wheel drive Toyota, or vehicle like that, it's primarily, you know, GM, Ford, Chrysler, rear wheel drive vehicles, that's what really drives our business.

That business is gonna decline right now.

So what we're working on right now is, you know, what is the next product for our company.

- But there is some time, 'cause if you replaced every car today electric, you know, we get in after the warranties over with, so there's, it's down the road, you know?

- It is.

- So, but it will be a gradual decline.

- What do you all as businessmen here in Jackson County, what would you all like to say to the local leadership?

- Primarily what I'd like to say is thank you, right?

They've been nothing but supportive.

When we call, you know, they answer the phone and they do anything they can to help us, right?

They really do and it's been that way since we started.

We really do feel lucky to be here, you know, even though we thought we were gonna start somewhere else, we're very happy to be here in Jackson County.

- Well what a great place to be.

Harry, Don, thank you all so much for coming on the show.

It's been a great interview.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Hey there, my name is Ellie Buckner and I'm the graduate assistant for Rural Reimagine, the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation.

Rural Reimagine is dedicated to developing and supporting the success of rural areas throughout Tennessee in a way that can be replicated to help rural areas throughout the nation.

We aim to engage individuals, faculty and students alike within every academic discipline to establish a variety of expertise and foster environment of collaboration in our efforts.

I'm going to elaborate further on the specific responsibilities of my role and how it impacts our community partners in the Upper Cumberland region.

I'm the current graduate assistant for Rural Reimagine.

I manage our communications student workers and academic interns.

In doing so, I mentor, teach and encourage while delegating our client projects.

Our purpose is twofold, to manage communication efforts for Rural Reimagine while working hand in hand with the Business Resource Collective to provide technical assistance to local entrepreneurs and startups.

Our interns are trained to help with writing, editing, website creation, social media management, and various kinds of content generation.

Ultimately, I work to make successful connections between our interns and our organization with our faculty members on campus, as well as our clients throughout the Upper Cumberland region.

Rural Reimagine is unique as it's mutually beneficial.

It provides students with confidence, paired with opportunity to gain real world experience while simultaneously utilizing their education and skills to aid the community.

I've enjoyed my time at Rural Reimagine.

It helped me to finalize my educational career pathway, develop new capabilities, and most importantly, provided me with a useful and unforgettable university experience.

If you're a student, business or local entrepreneur that wants to learn more about us, please visit our website at www.TNTech.edu/grand-challenge.

(upbeat music) - Hey, my name is Haley Kincer and I'm a student worker for the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation.

As a student worker, I'm connected with small business owners from Tennessee.

I assist them in any way I can, but I've mostly worked on creating new or updating old websites.

I've also helped write and edit blog posts for clients, as well as edit documents created by my fellow student workers.

I've had a wonderful time working for the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation because I've been able to apply the skills that I've learned from my time at Tech to help real people in the community.

I can be creative and help people's ideas come to life.

It is always great to see how much the clients love the projects I complete.

I've worked with small businesses right here in the Upper Cumberland area.

I believe that we can help people in the community that may not have experience in the field they need help with.

In my experience, I've helped a few small businesses build their websites.

So we are helping them create their dream website while they worry about the important stuff.

For more information on how you can get students to help you, you can visit our website.

(upbeat music) - Thanks for tuning in to It's Your Business.

For more information on today's topics, please visit the WCTE website.

To learn more about free small business resources and expert assistance, visit the Business Resource Collective website.

Until next time, I'm Michael Aikens.

(upbeat music) - [Speaker] It's Your Business with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE PBS and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by the Rural Reimagine Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.