Iowa Small Business Stories

After recognizing a need for small electronic repairs in 1922, Gerald Farnsworth founded Farnsworth Electronics out of a chicken coop in New Hartford, Iowa. Later, Gerald's father would join him in the business as the bookkeeper and later, they moved operations to Waterloo, Iowa. Fast forward to 1970 and Gerald's son, Jim, took over the family business after returning from Vietnam. Selling stereos, televisions, replacement parts, speakers, and PA equipment, Jim saw the opportunity to shift gears … [Read more...] about Farnsworth Electronics Beats Radio Shack

The pandemic has brought many new challenges to our daily lives. But there has been a silver lining for Brenton Croll and Seth Johnson from Shenandoah, Iowa. The two started making candles to pass time during quarantine.  And what started as a hobby turned into a successful candle company now known as No Coast Candle. Our original idea was to just make product for ourselves and close friends and family. Within a month, we had many people requesting products and we decided to sell our products … [Read more...] about No Coast Candle is on Fire

There's no such thing as too much coffee when it's coffee with a cause! Jumpy Monkey is coffee with a cause, a phrase that has become synonymous since 2003. This Sergeant Bluff, family-owned coffee roasting company is mission driven; providing meaningful employment to individuals with disabilities. Over the years Jump Monkey has been able to expand their reach. Collaborating with nonprofits, coffee shops and businesses throughout the Midwest, they have found employment for over 100 … [Read more...] about Jumpy Monkey – Coffee with a cause

CocoRoo's founder, Iowan Jill Howarth, was frustrated with all the added chemicals, water, and unnecessary ingredients in most skin care products, so she took matters into her own hands. Her journey began in Australia where she lived for 14 years. Living in the warm Australia sun is great for year-round fun, but also hard on your skin.  This, in addition to her passion for organic products, inspired Jill to create a natural and more effective way to moisturize and hydrate skin. She wanted to … [Read more...] about CocoRoo Natural Skin Care – Made with love in Iowa

Brooke Happe stepped away from her career as a Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2015 to stay home with her two boys and soon to be newborn daughter. She wanted to keep her hands strong, as she used manual therapy for most of her rehabilitation techniques, so she challenged herself to learn something new for this new season of life: crocheting. After countless yards of yarn and many hours of teaching herself to crochet via the internet, she made her first hat! She continued to practice the … [Read more...] about b.e.happe Designs – Bringing happiness to children in hospitals

Did you know that Mason City is home to the last remaining hotel designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright? Wright on the Park, Inc., is the nonprofit organization that restored, owns and preserves the Frank Lloyd Wright’s Historic Park Inn Hotel. The iconic building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and originally opened in 1910. The design greatly influenced architecture in Europe and is as striking today as it ever was. According to an article in the Des Moines Register, the building … [Read more...] about Wright on the Park – Preserving a legacy

Abby Restko, founder and owner of Glassando Jewelry in Iowa City, discovered her love of Murano glass during college while studying abroad in Venice, Italy. I brought back all of this lovely Murano glass jewelry for my family and friends,” she said. "They were getting stopped by people on the street remarking on how beautiful the jewelry was and how they'd not seen anything like it before.” - Restko Realizing she found something in-demand and unique, Restko opened her jewelry store, Glassando, … [Read more...] about Glassando – Handmade unique jewelry for every occasion

We all know that not all small business owners can survive on just their small business alone. Chelsea is a full time accountant by day, and a small business owner of Simply C's during the rest of her spare time. Simply C's has provided Chelsea with a creative outlet to express herself & her ideas through her unique clay jewelry designs. Her Story City based business has been bringing trendy and unique clay jewelry to customers for a year and a half and maybe someday it will become a full … [Read more...] about Simply C’s Earrings – Anything but simple

Inked Regards, a Dubuque based, online handmade greeting card store is bringing simple tokens of kindness and the joy of snail mail back to the present. Initially, Inked Regards owner, Melissa Chipperfield, used her creative skills to make clean and simple greeting card designs to share with fellow crafters. As time went on, she noticed the need for truly unique cards in an overly saturated market of mass production. After designing for several stamp companies and having a design … [Read more...] about Inked Regards – Kindness isn’t complicated