Hope Miller Wellness Shop
For Hope Miller, wellness started with a personal turnaround and became a three-decade commitment to helping others feel the same. “I wasn’t looking for a business when I started Shaklee. I was looking for answers,” said Miller, owner of Hope Miller Wellness Shop. “Within a few days, my energy returned, my symptoms disappeared and I started to feel like my old self again. I can’t keep this big secret to myself. That’s how I started my business.”
Miller runs an in-home office and an online store, blending consultations with simple ordering and pickup. “My office is for consultations and getting people started in the right direction to better health,” she said. “I also have a porch pickup bin on my patio so people locally can just call any order.”
Her product mix centers on nutrition and home cleaning. “Having a healthy home and getting the chemicals out of your home also affects your health,” she said. Miller cites the company’s testing program and “beyond organic” standards, explaining that “they confirm purity and potency from harvest to the finished product.” She also directs customers to published research and a money-back guarantee.
Miller keeps the personal touch with e-newsletters and mailers. She said customers can save through a $15 lifetime membership that provides 15% off and free shipping with $150 consolidated orders. “We also have a loyalty program,” she said. “Every dollar you spend is a point… and when you accumulate 25 or more points, you can turn that in for free products.” She plans to run her own Black Friday specials through November and expects additional company promotions around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Her pitch for Small Business Saturday is straightforward: “Changing brands can change your life,” Miller said. “I’m here to help people… tailor a program that’s specific for each person based on their symptoms and wellness goals.”
For more information, visit www.hopemillerwellness.com/
Fisher’s Shoe & Saddle Shop
At Fisher’s Shoe & Saddle Shop in Madisonburg, the team leans on craft, fit and repair. The storefront traces its current chapter to 2006, when the family took over a business with roots stretching back decades. “We offer to measure your feet and have the shoe fit to your foot and we do repairs, custom repairs,” Sarah Lapp of Fisher’s Shoe & Saddle Shop. “We still repair shoes the old-fashioned way… and there’s not many around.”
Leather goods are a point of pride. “Our belts are all leather and our wallets and handbags,” Lapp said. “It’s not the belt that you buy at Walmar and then it cracks.” The shop also makes custom knife sheaths and phone cases, repairs zippers on jackets and keeps purchase records to make gift giving easier. “You can purchase your work boots and we keep a record so you can come back and we always know your shoe style and size,” Lapp said.
Community events keep the doors swinging. “In the spring we have our field day and in the fall we have it with the antique show out in Centre Hall,” she said. “We had our best show days in September that we had yet.”
For the holidays, Fisher’s will run a Black Friday sale with 10% off all insulated footwear through Dec. 6. After that, December brings 5% off handbags, belts and wallets, with a standing set of markdowns. “There’s always 20% and 50% shoes here if people want to come and browse for a bargain,” Lapp said. The goal into the new year is simple: “Continue with our hands-on service and provide what the community wants.”
For more information, visit justplainbusiness.com/fishers-shoe-saddle-shop/
