Local entrepreneur Keri Suhy has a simple business strategy.

“Find great merchandise and put it in a convenient location,” Suhy said.

Owner of two women’s fashion boutiques, Bella Brie in Sylvania and newly opened Vivian Kate at Levis Commons in Perrysburg, Suhy credits her success to playing to her customers’ demands.

“It’s not just high-end merchandise. I try to stay price-conscious to tap into consumers,” Suhy said. “Customers appreciate that dynamic.”

Keri Suhy

Suhy’s business skills stem from her finance degree from UT, a stint on Wall Street as a risk manager and from helping power the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to the top of the sales bracket. Once Suhy and her husband discovered she was pregnant with twins, Suhy turned her attention to staying at home as a mom.

Suhy didn’t rest for long. After realizing there was a demand in Toledo for “reasonably priced high fashion women’s clothing,” she jumped on the opportunity.

“I wanted to open my own business because I wanted the stimulation of a career, but I wanted to work around my family’s needs,” Suhy said.

Bella Brie, her first store, is named after her 5-year-old twins Isabella and Gabrielle. Suhy honored her 2 1/2-year-old daughter Vivian Kate with the launch of the Levis Commons store this June.

“I felt opening a store at Levis Commons was really a win-win situation for me,” Suhy said, explaining she chose to have her second store at Levis because of the high-volume traffic and the similar tastes of the consumers there.

“Business has been awesome — I really feel like customers have responded favorably,” Suhy said.

Suhy said she appreciates that Levis doesn’t get wrapped up in the big business aspect to retail and opens its doors to local small businesses. The approach is working: The year-to-date sales at The Town Center at Levis are up 11.77 percent from 2009, according to Levis Commons Marketing Director Casey Pogan.

Good company

Suhy is not alone. The atmosphere and customer potential at Levis attracted locals Judy Church, owner of home decor shop Lily’s, and Jessica Necessary, general manager of the Blue Pacific Grill.

“They do a lot to help you and care about your success. The larger stores owned by corporations have an advantage, but Levis Commons gives you some of your power back,” Church said.

Church, a Toledo native and St. Ursula grad, longed to have her own business for the 15 years she was a stay-at-home mom. Since her father owned a car dealership and her mother worked in retail, Church attributes her drive to manage her own business to them.

“You kind of do what your parents do,” Church said.

In 1993 she opened her first store, Deck the Walls, in the then-Franklin Park Mall. Church said she made the top 10 in sales, but sold Deck the Walls to pursue the venture of her dreams.

“I knew it was going to have a brick front, and I was always looking when I would drive through small towns,” Church said.

Church knew that she wanted to name the store after her dad’s favorite flower, Lily of the Valley, and everything fell into place after that. Lily’s opened in May 2001 at a downtown Sylvania storefront before moving to Levis Commons in May 2009.

“Small business owners just bring more heart to the center. People can feel that, and come to enjoy that. It has a less corporate feel,” said Church.

Blue Pacific Grill’s General Manager, Necessary, also said she enjoys the way the Town Center has a lot of community events and constantly brings in customers.

Necessary, 30, has been in the restaurant business for 10 years. Although her original background was in Web design, once her position was cut she knew she had to look for a new job. After serving and bartending, Necessary began managing corporate restaurants.

While Necessary brought her experience with the structure of corporate restaurants to the Blue Pacific Grill, she likes having the power to make her own decisions.

“The structure’s kind of nice, but I like the flexibility. I can change the menu at will and it allows me the freedom to cater to my customers,” Necessary said.

Necessary’s father and brother purchased the Blue Pacific Grill from its original owners in 2007 and made it their own. Necessary worked part time at first, but eventually her brother handed her the reins and she’s been bouncing with ideas ever since. The restaurant’s create-your-own stir fry concept has established a solid customer base at Levis, Necessary said.

Respect for women

In addition to entrepreneurs, Levis Commons has an abundance of women business owners: Thacker-Martinsek and Bunda, Stutz & Dewitt, both law firms, are female-majority owned.

“I have a lot of respect for women in business,” Suhy said. “Women know what other women have to sacrifice.”

The Center for Women’s Business Research reported that between 1992 and 2006, the number of women-owned businesses grew from 5.4 million to 10.4 million, a trend local businesswomen have noticed.

“There are definitely more women in business — sharp, great, capable women,” Church said.

“A lot of people have a hard time taking women seriously. With the economy being how it is, women have to go back in the work force and have proven themselves as equal,” Necessary said.

As fellow small business owners and female entrepreneurs, Suhy, Church and Necessary share many of the same struggles in balancing their work and home lives.

“I’m in the store five days a week, and the other two I worry,” Church said with a chuckle.

The mom hat

Suhy balances her time among Bella Brie, Vivian Kate and their three corresponding namesakes.

“Sometimes I’m talking to vendors with one kid on my hip and another pulling on my pants,” Suhy said.

Although they may not sell them in their stores, all three women have alluded to the various hats they wear daily as daughters, wives, mothers and grandmothers.

“You don’t get to take the mom hat off,” Suhy said, explaining how she places importance on raising good children and having dinner on the table.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without good people working for me,” Suhy said.

Keri Suhy’s tips for women starting their own businesses

• Do your research
• Know your clientele
• Know what the demand is
• Talk to customers
• Be realistic: know the sacrifices you’ll have to make
• Know your weaknesses: hire the people who can do what you can’t
• “Go for it!”

Tags: Levis Commons

This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Entrepreneurs, Toledo Business Link.
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