“Our busiest two days are Valentine’s, but our busiest month is May,” explains the shop owner. “That month we have Mother’s Day, Graduation and Memorial Day, so May is like a marathon and Valentine’s is like a sprint.”
Betsy was working at the INL government site when her mother, who had worked for the Stakers for years, heard the original owners were preparing to sell the business. At the time, Betsy was pregnant with her second child and did not like working so far from her children. She cashed out her investment plan at the site and jumped into the flower business.
“I was married for the first five years and then I got divorced, so I was always looking for a way to find a balance between work and my daughters,” recalls Betsy, who credits the shop for keeping her family close. “They came with me to work a lot, all three of them grew up here and they learned to love the flower business.”
Two of her daughters still work part-time at Staker Floral while raising their own children, and the third daughter, who now lives in Utah, came back to help with Valentine’s Day.
Betsy’s daughters aren’t the only family members who have spent time at the shop at 1695 Ponderosa Dr., just off 17th Street. The long list of family includes her nieces who have worked at the shop over the years, her sister Monica, who currently works here, and of course, her parents and husband.
“My dad still delivers and he’s 84 years old,” says Betsy.
“There has always been a family member working here as long as I’ve owned the shop. I like to joke that my husband Don retired from his career so he would have more time to work at Staker.”
As a business owner, Betsy values returning customers. Their repeat business, driven by their satisfaction, is her greatest reward.
“We have customers where we’ve done their weddings and then their parents’ funerals,” explains Betsy. “There is a man who has bought his wife a dozen roses every year and he just passed away. At his funeral, one of his children bought a dozen roses for his wife. Return customers make the biggest difference for us as a business because it means they’re satisfied and I like that.”
On the surface, it may seem that Staker Floral offers beautiful flowers for any occasion, which they do. Yet Betsy sees her shop, that has been a staple in Idaho Falls for decades, as a family-run business that is serving our community.
“You don’t make a ton of money in this business,” concludes Betsy. “I could have stayed at the site and made five times more money. It’s a service industry and that’s what we like to provide: a service to everybody. We don’t just do high-end arrangements, we do flowers for everyone and we have something that everyone can afford.” (stakerfloral.com)
She began as a young girl invited to carpool to a ballet class with a friend. Though her friend later quit, Deborah says, “Of course I was smitten. And I haven’t stopped dancing since.”
After years of formal training, Deborah had an extensive career with the Harriette Ann Gray Dance Company and Ballet Oregon, and taught in respected training programs.
Though she never dreamed of starting her own ballet school or a business of any kind, an unexpected move landed Deborah and her husband in Idaho Falls and the opportunity presented itself.
“Some friends knew I had a professional dance background and they asked me if I would teach their children. That’s really how it started. I rented a small space and my classes kept growing,” recalls Deborah.
Though it’s difficult for her to count just how many students have studied at her ballet school, it’s safe to say the number is in the thousands. Currently, there are 170 students enrolled and Deborah is happiest when they stay with her for years.
Although some graduates have gone on to successful careers at companies such as Houston Ballet, many have no plans on becoming professionals. Deborah asserts that there are still wonderful benefits in learning ballet.
“There’s tremendous value in ballet training,” Deborah said.
“And while there are no short-term wins, the rewards are enormous for the student. Ballet is all-consuming as you work to blend artistry and athleticism, making your body do complicated things with elegance and grace.”
While many dance companies focus their classic spring recital on dance numbers separated by classes, Deborah doesn’t agree with that tradition. Instead, the Idaho Falls School of Ballet puts on massive shows with complete costuming, colorful sets, and dancers integrated across the musical numbers.
“We remember that ballet is an art form, so we are trying to tell a story through movement. We have an amazing set designer and talented choreographers. We want to transform the audience members by showing them the magic of ballet,” she said. (ifballet.com)
With just $200 and her husband Mike’s support, Clarissa launched her successful company in 2017.
“With two babies at home, I was searching for some personal fulfillment and started Gussy Up Bow Co. in my basement during nap time,” says Clarissa. “I have always had a love for accessories and cute things, so with two baby girls that I could use as models, I was led to a passion I never knew I had.”
Clarissa has experienced the typical ups and downs of small business ownership, but through hard work, she continues to build on her success.
“I tried a bow subscription service early on where I would send three bows to the customer each month, but I didn’t experience much success,” says Clarissa. “Then I ended up trying it again later, and the Gussy Up subscription club really took off. You just have to keep trying.”
The hair glitter gel is made in-house by her and her employees. Between shipping the orders and other responsibilities, Clarissa employs five part-time workers.
“Our in-house-made hair glitter is created with high-quality water-based gel that dries clear and never flakes,” says Clarissa when explaining why her hair glitter has become so popular.
She does some local business, but most of her sales come from online orders through her website or social media platforms such as Instagram. Her work hours vary, but mostly her business operates during the hours her four children are at school. It’s set up this way so when her kids are home she can focus her attention on being a mom.
“I have learned so much along the way and have found a new love for networking, product design and entrepreneurship,” concludes Clarissa. “Last year was a tough year for a lot of small businesses, but we’re still here so we must be doing something right.” (gussyupbowco.com)
“It was so overwhelming,” Jana says about being the mother of the bride and in charge of the wedding plans. “I thought, my goodness, I don’t want anybody else to ever be this stressed over planning a wedding.”
When she reached out to the community to see if there was a need for her skill set, she was inundated with requests for event planning. Now she’s seven years in and regularly plans upwards of 40 weddings each year as well as corporate Christmas parties and non-profit galas in the Idaho Falls area. Despite the complexity of managing so many details, the whole production is thrilling for Jana.
“I absolutely love it. Everybody has a different idea of what their dream day looks like and I love bringing that to life. It’s super rewarding to see it all come together,” she says.
Besides witnessing the excitement of the bridal party, another favorite moment for Jana is when the guests arrive.
“When I’m standing on the sidelines, I love overhearing the guests exclaim, ‘Wow, look at this!’ And of course, I love making everything stress-free for the family so they can just enjoy the day,” says Jana.
Sometimes she plans events about planning events, such as the recent Grand Wedding Showcase she put on in Idaho Falls in January. The idea was to bring dozens of vendors to one place, so couples could get inspiration and meet people in the industry face-to-face from florists and caterers to bridal attire and venue owners.
Another huge facet of Jana’s work is with community non-profits, especially those who benefit women and children. She plans the annual galas for The Village in Blackfoot and the Idaho Period Project, has renovated rooms at The Haven, and orchestrates service projects for the Distinguished Young Women pageant each year.
“I feel like there’s so much good we can do in our own backyard. Often, people will reach out to me with quilts or senior projects because they know I can connect them with the right service group. It’s super fun to help anywhere I can. It just makes me happy,” Jana said. (eastidahoweddingsandevents.com)
“I wanted to be there for my children and enjoyed working part-time at the salon,” recalls Shelley. “I worked four years at Vogue, then spent a year at Bella Capelli before the opportunity to buy the salon arose.”
The quaint salon at 446 Park Avenue has been in downtown Idaho Falls for almost 25 years. The original owner and close friend relocated to Utah, but she continues to commute to this day.
“She didn’t want the responsibility of running a salon; she just wanted to come in, work, and leave without dealing with everything that goes into running a business,” says Shelley. “I bought the salon because I wanted to always know where I was going to work. I didn’t have to worry about it selling or relocating; being the owner gave me stability. It was hard to find the money to buy it, but my husband was all in, so we did it. We were fortunate to get it paid off as quickly as we did.”
Shelley refers to her business as welcoming and a “drama-free” salon with years of experience, with no stylists or nail technicians fresh out of beauty school. In this business, it’s all about building your clientele and the stylists here stay busy with their regulars. Other than tourists in the summertime who may pop in for a manicure or a trim, the majority of their customers are repeat clients.
“You don’t own a salon to make a lot of money; you do it to build relationships. That’s what it’s about for me,” explains Shelley. “I love coming to work every day and I can see myself working another ten years. Maybe not full-time like I am now as I approach retirement age, but I love coming here, it’s my second happy place, it really is.”