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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
The "Business Girls" of Oakland: Supporting a Stronger Downtown
Three distinct businesses, three unique services, three individual owners, and one philosophy of offering what they enjoy most themselves. That's the link, besides friendship and pride in the area, between Winnie Robbins of Mum's Flower Shop, Karla Cary of Kozy Cottage, and Barbara Clark of Belgrade Vacation Rentals. In its sixth year in Oakland, Mum's Flower Shop Describing her work as "a vehicle to meet people," Winnie says her success is a lot of repeat customers. They love the uniqueness and casualness and the way she puts them at ease. Karla, who sells an amazing array of antiques, collectibles, furniture and hundreds of unique items at her Kozy Cottage More and more people are trying to shop locally, Karla says. They like the large variety, reasonable prices, the quality that's affordable, the helpful suggestions she offers about interior décor. A lot of older people just browse for the nostalgia. "It's very rewarding," Karla states. "Who is as lucky as we are to get to do our passion and make others happy." Barbara, who owns the seasonal cottage rental business, Belgrade Vacation Rentals "It's a friendly area to do business," she states. Focusing on customer service, her business, which includes rentals on all seven of the Belgrade lakes, is up 20% in spite of the economy. "The gateway to the Belgrades," is how Barbara describes Oakland, where her office on Main Street is across from Mum's and a short walk from Kozy Cottage. Three distinct business, yes, but three that work together to strengthen downtown Oakland and to enjoy a friendship that includes sharing with their customers a love of what they do. | ||
