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by Martha Hall
Staff Correspondent
ANDERSON -- Unlike "Old Lonely," the bored
and lonely Maytag repairman, Lora Herner's life in appliance sales and
repair has been full, busy and varied.
Herner was raised in the appliance
business. Her father, Joseph D. Rich, started his own appliance
business in 1963. His daughter started working for him when she was in
high school.
Herner got her first experience in
business by answering the phone and doing paperwork for her father's store.
Then she and her sister started doing home shows, setting up displays and
providing information at the booths.
After graduating from high school, Herner
worked for her father and then decided to open up her own business. In
1972, she opened up her own appliance store, Barr Rich Appliances, in
Yorktown. The business later moved to Anderson. Three years ago,
she expanded her business, opening up a store in Muncie. In a few
weeks, she will be opening another store in Castleton.
Carrying on the tradition of running a
family business, Herner has had all three of her grown children working for
her.
"All the children were in business with me
about three years ago, for about a year," she said. "It was
wonderful."
Herner's two sons now live in Colorado,
but her daughter, Jana Hiestand, runs the Muncie store.
Herner said her experience has helped her
business succeed. "I just learned by doing it." she said. "It's
what my family had always done. For the most part, it's |
my 23 years of experience that has helped me succeed."
Her daughter has also helped her expand her business.
"My daughter graduated from Ball State with a major in
human resources, and she has a lot of experience on the computer." Herner
said. "She does a lot of employee relations projects, such as the
training, creating the handbooks and sales manuals. She also takes
care of the business trade shows."
Herner's sister also works for her, and most of her staff
are women.
"We have women in the sales department because we women
really use the appliances." Herner said. We've found that women
relate better to the customers."
Now that her business is successful. Herner can
enjoy other things.
"When I first started in the business, I worked a lot,"
she said. "Now I find that community involvement is very important.
I gave up working six days a week, and if you have responsible people
working for you, you don't have to feel like you have to be here every day."
Herner is involved in Rotary Club and the Chamber of
Commerce. " I sit on the boards of Rotary and the chamber. I've
found that taking time off for fun is very important."
What's also important is the way she runs her business.
"As long as we are knowledgeable about the products, offer a competitive
price and give them extremely good service, we will continue to be
successful." she said. |
