Surviving as a Small Business in Ferndale

From residents to business owners, the effects of the economy are being felt all over the Ferndale community. So, as some businesses have closed their doors in Ferndale over the winter (House of Chants, , and The Post Bar, just to name a few), others have opened (, and , just to name a few more).

So what makes a successful business in Ferndale? We went asking.

“I think we have a very creative set of entrepreneurs who for the most part choose their inventory based on their knowledge base of their customers,” said Chris Hughes, Ferndale Communications and Marketing Manager.

Downtown Ferndale has a total of 400 business addresses with about 350 businesses operating out of those addresses, according to the Ferndale DDA. The area encompasses Nine Mile, from Paxton to Pinecrest and along Woodward Avenue, from Marshall to Oakridge on Woodward. Also included is West Troy and one block of Vester.

“You can’t just open your doors and expect great business,” Hughes said. “There is a whole variety of things that goes into a successful business.”

What separates Ferndale’s businesses

“What we lack in size we make up for in quality and detail,” said Michael Miner, 31, one of the owners of the Chicago style pizza eatery MiChigo Pizza. “No one quite has pizza like us. None of our meats are frozen and are veggies are freshly chopped its quality that separates us from the bunch.”

MiChigo Pizza opened last November and brings the taste of Chicago pizza to Ferndale. As you might have guessed, it's where it gets its name: Mi (chigan) and Chi(ca)go. The interior features photographs of iconic places in Detroit and Chicago.

As far as the economy goes, Miner said that MiChigo has “definitely” felt the effects, but, overall Ferndale has been good to the shop. “Everyone has been helpful," Miner said. "I think it was just a matter of timing and getting that timing right."

Heatherleigh Navarre, 38, owns the , a few doors down from MiChigo Pizza. Navarre has been part of downtown Ferndale a little more than two years.

“I see a lot of small businesses pulling together,” she said. “The more local businesses work together as a team the better it’s been.”

The Boston Tea has an older location in Wyandotte but opened another in Ferndale. “Ferndale was the best fit, most progressive as far as business and with a local feel," Navarre said. "Ferndale has been a very welcoming and inviting community.”

The importance of marketing and the mouth

Miner and Navarra said getting the word out about the business is the key to being successful.

“Marketing and advertising is the most important thing,” Miner said. “Everywhere we have advertised has helped us. In order to survive you have to do something that sets you apart from others.”

Navarre's biggest challenge as a small business owner has been just getting people aware of Boston Tea Room. “I still have people come in every day and say they had no idea we were here," she said.

Navarre gets a great deal of advertising from the events in the community in which she has participated, but said there is no better advertising than word of mouth. “We get everybody from high school students stopping in after school, to the elderly and people who are just fans of tea or our services," she said.

Location, location, location

There's an added incentive to Ferndale that many business owners say adds to their success: location. Ferndale has Interstate 696 just to its north, I-75 to the east and Woodward Avenue cuts right through the center of it.

“People come from all over the Metropolitan Detroit area to my store,” said John Fitzpatrick, 59, owner of . “Ferndale has a great location being next to the I-75 freeway and in between two great cities (Royal Oak and Detroit) ,so my clientele is not just from the city of Ferndale but all over.”

Fitzpatrick brought his business to Ferndale in 1984 and has been here since. Ask ask him how he's lasted 27 years and he said he's unsure. “How I have lasted so long?" he asks himself. "I don’t know. I think I have developed a long-standing relationship with customers and I also do classes. … I worked hard at it and I think anyone who has a business knows it’s not something you do part time. It’s a full -time job.”

If you're a small business in Ferndale and would like to be a part of this series, email Ferndale Patch editor Terry Parris Jr. at Terry.Parris@Patch.com