Your BottomLine Text Version

SeaComm Business Newsletter

4th Edition 2019

Business Spotlight: 3 Bears Bakery

Chris Durand, the owner of Three Bears Gluten Free Bakery, has had a wide range of experience working for many different companies. His favorite job would be that of making others laugh. As Cubby the Clown, Chris along with his wife and working partner Faye Ori, also known as Cuddles, have had illustrious careers as comic entertainers.

During one fateful event, Chris (as Cubby the Clown) was working a local party for children when he came across a child who was not able to participate in the enjoyment of the snacks provided at the event. After a quick discussion, Chris learned that the child was unable to eat all the treats because she had celiac disease. Chris was able to relate on a personal level as he also has celiac disease.

“Children shouldn’t have to worry about food….They should just be children,” he states. From that point on Chris and Faye gathered their means and put it towards the opening of a store. This soon led to the birth of the Three Bears Gluten Free Bakery in downtown Potsdam.

The Three Bears Bakery serves a full menu with breakfast and lunch sandwiches, pizza, wings, soups, dinners and more. You can also enjoy sweet treats with standard flavors like death by chocolate, Reese’s peanut butter brownies and even some exotic flavors. Faye is the creative force behind some of the delicious flavors such as ‘Faye’s Fusion’, which is a peanut butter-chocolate chip cheesecake cupcake, swirled with chocolate cake and frosted with a peanut butter and cream cheese swirl.

When asked about the process for baking gluten-free, Chris states “Creating the gluten-free (treats) are a blend of things.” In the first year of business they had to learn how to put ingredients together and make it work. In addition to the ingredients, gluten-free baking can be a timely process with the water temperature, humidity, and oven temperature becoming important factors.

Eating gluten-free is not just for those affected by celiac disease. According to Mayo Clinic, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder caused by a reaction to eating gluten; a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. While some may have a gluten-sensitivity and feel the benefits from eating a gluten-free diet.

The Celiac Disease Foundation lists several other serious conditions associated with celiac disease such as arthritis, IBS, crohn’s disease, Type 1 Diabetes, and thyroid disease. For more information, visit: celiac.org.

Eighty percent of the bakery customers are not gluten-free, and Chris attributes that to the way he interacts with his consumers. “We treat people good, much like SeaComm, [the employees] treat you good.”

With the passing of its fifth-year anniversary, the store is doing well. With glowing reviews of the “amazing food” and being a “must-visit destination” Chris firmly believes “When you do things for the right reason, you’ll be okay.”

In addition to Chris and Faye, the Three Bears boasts a terrific staff. “The staff is a dedicated and hardworking team,” Chris says, adding that his biggest requirement for his staff “Is that they treat others with respect.”

The current hours are Monday and Tuesday 8:00am-5:00 pm, Wednesday and Thursday 8:00am-7:00 pm, and Friday and Saturday 8:00 am-8:00pm. Which may be effected by the upcoming aim of adding wine slushies, gluten free beer, and cider to the menu. The objective is to offer a nice atmosphere for everyone to be able to come to the café and to have a relaxing and pleasurable experience.

The ongoing plan for The Three Bears Gluten Free Bakery is to continue growing, open other locations, but most importantly, to help change the world a little at a time. A unique undertaking includes custom cards that place an emphasis on kindness and are given out when a good deed is witnessed. “If you teach a child to be kind, you can change the world,” Chris says, “And this idea is a keystone to the Three Bears Bakery, as we truly desire to treat people well.”

To place an order or to learn more about the Three Bears Gluten Free Bakery please call (315) 274-9308 or visit them online at www.3bearsglutenfree.com. However, the best way to explore their offerings is to stop in and taste for yourself.


Liven Up Your Trade Show Booth

In a trade show, salient branding is crucial to devising a booth that will draw traffic and be remembered in the future.

Branding advances your company's message and distinguishes it from the competition.

According to SpeedPro.com, however, even super-efficient branding is but the first step toward creating a trade show booth atmosphere that's interesting, informative, and often fun.

To generate interest and excitement in your trade show presence, launch a social media campaign months before the show begins. Talk up your booth, what it will feature, and why people should visit. Once the event opens, maintain social interaction with constant updates about your booth, its activities, and the show itself.

Since visitors and attendees spend so much time on their cell phones, provide a free charger at your booth. It will attract visitors, if only by necessity, and surely open time for a conversation about your business.

Still another way is strategically placing postcards around the venue just before attendees and visitors arrive. Each postcard alerts its finder that he or she has won a prize. To redeem it, they must visit your booth. Naturally a cordial conversation will follow.

Using the trade show's hash tags, post the game's winners on social media. It will make the game, your interactive booth -- and your business -- all the more memorable.


Discover what SeaComm can do for your business!

Jerry Manor

Business Development Manager
Direct Line: (315) 764-0566 ext. 546
jmanor@seacomm.org

Jonathon Manor

Business Development Representative
Direct Line: (315) 764-0566 ext. 814
jomanor@seacomm.org


Quick Tip:

Be confident in what you're saying.

Check out more business tips at www.seacommblog.com


The Impact of Target Marketing in Small Business

Target marketing, according to Inc., is collecting information to determine your ideal customers among those who also need and will pay for your product or service.

For these purposes, you need their age, gender, family size, education level, and occupation. To find out where they are, you need their zip codes, size of the area, its population, and climate.

How does your ideal customer decide to make a purchase? The answer helps you determine why they buy what you're selling, how much of it they need, and how often they must buy it.

Most social media profiles for your business provide a free demographic breakdown of customers like yours. Zip Codes can furnish vast amounts of info from the U.S. Census Bureau.

If you're currently in business, your sales data clearly show what your customers are buying, when, and their purchase prices, among other data. For the essential feedback, talk to them in person or on the phone, conduct a few customer surveys. You don't need a ton of responses to acquire a pretty good sense of your customer base.

In addition to the basic demographics, these should be among the takeaways from your target customers:Is the distance to your location a problem? Parking? Public Transportation? Do, or can you, deliver?

How do they make a living? Knowing what your primary customers do can help you adjust your hours to fit their needs or devise special offers. Having an idea of the money they can or are willing to spend can help with your pricing. With this kind of information, you can confirm some of your assumptions regarding your customers and dismiss others.

Practical target marketing is almost always beneficial. And genuine interaction with your patrons -- plus giving them what they want -- is almost always a pathway to loyalty and future growth.


"All humans are entrepreneurs not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA." -Reid Hoffman, co-founder LinkedIn


Manager's Notebook

What Not to Share with Employees

It's lonely at the top and managers or leaders of a team can find themselves tempted to overshare information, but some things should never be discussed, according to Forbes Magazine.

Key idea: Never share information you know to be confidential or personal.

First, never discuss personnel matters. Don't talk about another employee's personal life. It's appropriate to say a team member had to take a day off for personal matters. It's not appropriate to say their child is having discipline problems at school and they had to meet with the principal. Your team may be friendly with each other and they might even know the situation, but you should never discuss matters an employee told you in private.

Similarly, don't discuss an employee's work performance. If you have an opinion about that, discuss it with the employee, never one of his or her co-workers.

Second, never discuss your own work challenges, performance or aspirations. Don't engage employees in your own quest for advancement. Never discuss your personal life in a way that compares your life to that of your employees. Getting a new car because of your new job? That's your business and yours alone.

Third, never discuss company challenges or your own opinion of the company leadership with employees. Doing this threatens your own career since confidential information will quickly circulate and it will be traced back to you. Even the most loyal employee should never be trusted with confidential information. Don't complain about company decisions.


Locations

Main Office

30 Stearns Street
Massena, NY 13662

Malone Branch

3349 Route 11
Malone, NY 12953

Potsdam Branch

6 Sisson Street
Potsdam, NY 13676

Canton Branch

101 East Main Street
Canton, NY 13617

Ogdensburg Branch

3001 Ford Street Extension
Ogdensburg, NY 13669

Plattsburgh Branch

139 Smithfield Blvd
Plattsburgh, NY 12901

So. Burlington Branch COMING SOON!

1680 Shelburne Rd
So. Burlington, VT 05401


Branch Managers

Joanne Langdon

30 Stearns St. Branch Manager

Rick Maloney

Malone Branch Manager

Danielle Uppstrom

Ogdensburg Branch Manager

Barb Bessette

Canton Branch Manager

Theresa Torrey

Potsdam Branch Manager

Yvonne Alterie

Plattsburgh Branch Manager


Business Development

Jerry Manor

Business Development Manager

Jonathan Manor

Business Development Representative

Emily Bristol

Member Business Loan Officer

Kevin DeCausemacker

Member Business Loan Officer


315-764-0566 / 800-764-0566
www.seacomm.org


Let us Spotlight your business!

We are proud of our business members and want to share your story! Contact Jerry Manor for more information. Call (315) 764-0566 or toll-free (800) 764-0566 or email jmanor@seacomm.org

SeaComm

30 Stearns St
Massena, NY 13662