Small Biz Spotlight: Tiptoe Studios

Six years ago, three moms decided to leave their jobs and open a business of their own. Tara Showen, Jennifer Gustines, and Lisa Mercer created Tiptoe Studios, a classy, modern, boutique photography studio that has been operating in downtown Charles Town, their hometown, for four years now. 

  
The three women were working at a bank together and began to consider photography when their families started growing. “We didn’t want to work for someone else anymore,” Jennifer said. There were not a lot of photographers around, and they saw an opening. Six years later, they have a successful business, and two other employees, Ande Compton and Beth Williams. Their studio is located at 217 W. Washington Street.

   

“We rely on each other so much. We wouldn’t want to do it alone,” the ladies explained.

They are friends, but they are also business partners. Though business has sometimes run slow during the winter months, Tara, Lisa, and Jennifer have never had to support Tiptoe out of their own pocket. It has always been Tiptoe supporting Tiptoe.  
   
They pride themselves on being true professionals, taking classes, and perfecting their skills and workflow. Their customer service is excellent, and their prices are competitive.

 
As mothers and wives, they understand what people want in a wedding photographer or the nerves some moms may have on family picture day. Tara expressed that the most rewarding feeling is getting good feedback or knowing that they provided a great experience for a client. They also love meeting new people through their business, and providing a fun experience for their clients. 

“When we’re here with kids, we’re jumping around and laughing and making faces. It’s fun and goofy.”

When they aren’t working, the ladies like to spend time with their families at home, catch up on reading and television shows, go to the gym, and shop. “WE LOVE SHOPPING,” they said, “If we weren’t photographers, we would probably be professional buyers,” Tara elaborated.

Tiptoe Studios is an inspiring story of three entrepreneurs and moms that took advantage of an opportunity, perfected their skills, and started a successful business that allows them the flexibility they need to be devoted to their families. When asked to describe their brand of boutique photography, Lisa said they “strive to be professional and very classy.” They are very modern, fun, and upbeat.

Tiptoe can be found online on their website as well as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

www.tiptoestudios.com

Small Biz Spotlight: Ortega's Taco Shop

Ortega's Taco Shop is a brand new authentic Mexican restaurant that opened in our neighbor city Ranson, very close to the Charles Town line, in July of 2013. This family run business specializes in making fresh tacos, chips, and salsa daily. Each and every week, Ortega's Taco Shop offers a popular deal where customers can purchase their delicious street tacos for only $0.99 each. Many of their regular customers that know and love Ortega’s never miss this deal. It is brilliantly coined, “Taco Tuesday” or on social media, “#TacoTuesday.”

                
Ortega’s is proudly owned by Mave and Eric Greene. Their daughter, Natalie, is an essential part of their culinary team. The restaurant is named Ortega's after Mave’s maiden name. The building in which Ortega's is nestled was formerly a pizza place and changed hands numerous times before Ortega’s opened in that location. The Greenes are West Coast transplants who want to bring Baja California-style food to Eastern states, specifically the Ranson and Charles Town areas.

                
Before the grand opening of Ortega's, Natalie Greene was working two jobs. She graduated from Shepherd University with a degree in communication. She currently stays busy doing marketing for the business in addition to daily food preparation at Ortega's. Natalie said, “running a business has its ups and downs”. So far, business has been booming at Ortega’s. Natalie’s mother, Mave, said, “expenses can seem high, but it's worth it to have fresh food”.

               
 In the near future, the crew at Ortega’s would like to expand their business into catering. According to Natalie, their idea is to hire what they call a “Taco Lady”. Natalie said, “This person will bring her grill to events such as parties, graduations, and backyard barbecues to do all the cooking." They also sell their mouth-watering breakfast burritos at the Charles Town Farmer’s Markets on Saturdays during warmer months. This act alone generates more and more customers every week.

                
Ortega's is no stranger to social media. Natalie operates the Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter with great success. The owners are proud to say that they have regular customers that come in on a weekly basis.

Ortega's is located at 211 S. Mildred St. in Ranson, WV and can be contacted at (304) 728-4321. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the restaurant is closed on Sundays.

Small Biz Spotlight: Skipper's Downtown Dips and Deli

Skipper’s Downtown Dips and Deli is a well know establishment in Charles Town. They first opened in September 2010, owned by Kathy Skinner and Tara Perry.

This is a truly special and unique place because it offers many different things to its customers.

Not only is Skipper’s a great place to cool down and grab

a scoop of your favorite ice cream, but it also serves deli sandwiches, salads, and pizzas all made behind the counter.

Skipper’s delicious ice cream is provided by a local dairy farm, which makes it all the more special.

For more fun activities, Skipper’s has its own paint-your-pottery center that allows customers to pick ceramic pieces and paint them however they’d like and to take home! They have a variety of pieces to choose from, all equally adorable!

This is a great place for family fun or even children’s birthday parties and special events.

Skipper’s provides customers with wi-fi for those who want to sit and browse the internet or work on projects.

This store is a special part of Charles Town that creates a fun environment for the public to visit. If you want delicious ice cream, or spend the day crafting a new masterpiece to take home, Skipper’s Downtown Dips and Deli is the place to go!

Water color by Andrea Burke http://www.watercolorsbyandreaburke.com/street-scenes.html

Reflections of #SmallBizSaturday

When I considered opening a storefront in Charles Town, WV, I had visions of creating a fun, vibrant place where friends would bump into each other and strangers would become friends.  I wanted life to slow down a little bit once customers walked through the doors.  The soundtrack would be music, laughter and bits of “where could I put this?” and “they would love to have this”.   November 29, 2014 is the date my vision became a reality. 

 

Small Business Saturday is a day we ask our community to rally behind shops. Thank you, Charles Town, for loudly answering this call.  Customer after customer proudly walked in with bags from other shops almost like an “I Voted” sticker.  There were newlyweds shopping for their first home, new parents picking up items for their children’s nursery, grandparents and parents filling their bags with Christmas presents for their family members, and even a few husbands buying gift cards for their wives.   Thank goodness my mother came to help because for the first time since we’ve been open, there were long lines at the register!

I hope enough of a buzz was created on this day to give us a taste of what a small town main street can offer a community.  I know that I won’t forget this day any time soon!  So, thank you to each person who walked into our doors on Saturday.  I hope Small Business Saturday was as much fun for you as it was for us!   

Brianne @ B.Vintage

Socially Speaking

Friends of Charles Town Now,

Or should I say Followers? Friends? Likes? Who are you anyway? In the ever evolving world of social media, I'm just trying to keep up. In late 2013 I created @CharlesTownNow as a simple twitter profile. The goal then, was to simply create more of an online presence for the town I lovingly call home. I did so by actively searching for 'mentions' of Charles Town on twitter, and interacting with the user one-on-one.

It wasn't long after I created this account, Angela Kable-Johnson and Mary Burns realized it's potential and urged me to partner with Discover Downtown Charles Town. Today, the Charles Town Now brand is the public face of a very talented group of incredible volunteers. I couldn't be more proud of the work we've been able to do; highlighting all that makes Charles Town a wonderful place to live. Most of our merchants have created or enhanced their social media platforms to further reach potential customers and further tell their story to help visitors and residents alike, discover all that is here. Some of them I got to know solely by helping them set up their business accounts. It's been a true joy to watch this town come alive online.

Recently, Discover Downtown Charles Town was granted 501(c)(3) status. For us, this is a huge milestone toward our Main Street goals, which is our largest endeavor as an organisation; however, with that status, comes some subtle changes that I think are worth mentioning to the public.

Until now, Charles Town Now on Facebook and Twitter has promoted any and all events sent our way. Banners, signs, videos, tweets, statuses, or a combination of all these were posted from our Charles Town Now accounts. While we very much look forward to continuing awareness of all that is going on, we will be doing it with a slightly different procedure.

“A 501(c)(3) organization’s activities should be directed exclusively toward some exempt purpose,” said Richard Crom, Staff Assistant for IRS Exempt Organizations Customer Education and Outreach office. “Its activities should not serve the private interests, or private benefit, of any individual or organization (other than the 501(c)(3) organization) more than insubstantially. The intent of a 501(c) (3) organization is to ensure it serves a public interest, not a private one.”

We invite all of our merchants and non-merchants alike to continue sharing their events on our website's Events page. These events will be added to a calender which we will continue to push through social media. We will also continue to share your Facebook and Twitter posts. The difference from before, is 'our call to action'. We will promote your event with a "public service announcement" approach, informing our followers of your event without a plea to attend. We are going to be leaving that up to the businesses. Which, its seems you are all more than capable of.

I am especially grateful for the receptiveness most of you have had to the idea of Charles Town Now, and even more proud of the work many have done to bolster their online content. It's really been incredibly fun to watch, and has caught the attention of small towns around the country. I look forward to growing what we've started. Charles Town was great before, it's even better now.

Van Applegate

Discover Downtown Charles Town

CharlesTownNow.com is now the homepage of Discover Downtown Charles Town. Over the coming months, CharlesTownNow.com and DDCT will be revamping the website to include local businesses and promote events within the Charles Town area. In addition to website improvements, social media efforts will be combined. @CharlesTownNow will interact with followers and provide a direct link to the website.

All of this is in an effort to centralize the incredible work that DDCT and CharlesTownNow.com has done to promote local businesses in Charles Town. This will also provide visitors and residents alike with a one-stop-shop for all things Charles Town, West Virginia.

This effort is in cooperation with local business owners and citizens. If you have an idea that you think could help Charles Town's online image, please let us know.

Spring Clean Charles Town: April 5th.

Spring Clean Charles Town: Set for April 5th

@CharlesTownNow is organizing a group of volunteers interested in cleaning up the downtown area and roads leading into and out of Charles Town. The first scheduled event is set for Saturday, April 5th 2014. Volunteers are asked to meet in the Washington High School parking lot at 9am. There, trash collection supplies, safety vests, and collection routes will be distributed.

Everyone who participates will get a voucher for a free taco at Ortega's Taco Shop in Ranson, WV.

If you plan on attending, please wear bright colored clothes. We will have vests on hand but would like for volunteers to be as visible as possible. Jefferson County Sheriff Reserve will provide traffic awareness.

It is our hope to build a better Charles Town, starting from the ground up. Cleaning the roads that lead into it are just part of that venture. We thank you for support.

If you are interested in volunteering, or donating supplies for Spring Clean Charles Town, please contact van@charlestownnow.com - Follow @charlestownnow on twitter, #SpringCleanCT