Illustration by Rich Hauck
Ah, 2013.
Miley Cyrus straddled a huge wrecking ball, Walter White came to his bloody end, and we were all dancing Gangnam style.
Good times.
It was a big year for Harrisburg, too. After several rough years, the city had a less-than-ideal plan to emerge from its financial crisis, brought on by decades of fiscal inanity.
It wouldn’t seem like an ideal time to start a business in a city still buried under a mountain of debt, whose fate seemed uncertain, at best.
Yet, in Midtown, a number of bold entrepreneurs did just that, and at least three remain in business today—despite hell, high water and a society-changing pandemic.
For any small business, a 10-year anniversary is cause for celebration, as most fail within a year or two. A few-block stretch of Harrisburg, though, boasts three marking that milestone this year: Pursuit Coworking (formerly StartUp), Yellow Bird Café and Pastorante. I set out to find out why.
I caught Steph Perry just after the lunch rush, as she emerged from the back kitchen area to graciously share a few minutes of her time. Yellow Bird opened in February 2013 and has been supplying creative soups, salads, sandwiches—and giant cookies—to hungry Harrisburgers since.
So, what’s behind her business’ longevity?
As any long-time owner will tell you, it’s complicated, with a multitude of factors contributing to the secret sauce of success.
Steph, though, was able to isolate one factor that she thought stood out in the Yellow Bird story: know your community and your customers.
“We’ve tried really hard to get to know our patrons,” she said. “We just try to make people feel welcome.”
Before they opened, Steph and her husband, Ammon, quizzed the community on what they’d like from a neighborhood bakery/café and even let people sample their future offerings. That led, Steph said, to lots of good will and to an understanding of what would work in that neighborhood, as Midtown residents comprise much of Yellow Bird’s daily patrons.
“We tried really hard to have a wide variety on our menu, so we attract a wide variety of people,” she said. “We have everyone from meat lovers to vegans who can eat our food.”
Making my way down 3rd Street, I interrupted Sri Kumarasingam as he was finishing up a to-go order of one of his signature homemade pasta dishes. Like Steff, Sri kindly interrupted his busy workday to chat about his recipe for success.
“Good food, good service—it all it goes back to basics,” he said. “My employees are so good with people—that’s essential.”
Sri explained that, before opening Pastorante, he had worked for Wendy’s, where legendary founder Dave Thomas taught him the value of a great product paired with great service. Over his decade in business, Sri said that he refused to make compromises, even after a core ingredient of fresh pasta—eggs—spiked in price post-pandemic.
“Don’t take shortcuts with food,” he stated, bluntly.
Also, look for a niche.
“I did fresh pasta. No one was doing fresh pasta at that time,” he said. “The second thing is—make sure you know how to do it right.”
A block away, Adam Porter ushered me into a small conference room so we wouldn’t disturb the folks pounding away on their laptops at Pursuit Coworking, which celebrated its 10th anniversary with a big bash at the end of March.
Sitting in the beautifully restored, former Harrisburg Moose Lodge, Adam said that he was in the right place at the right time, as post-pandemic office flexibility proved to be a boon for Harrisburg’s first-ever co-working space.
Besides the favorable climate, Porter said that he’s benefited from focusing on relationships within the greater Harrisburg community.
“Building relationships takes a lot of time and a lot of work, but, the more people you get to know, the friends you make along the way, the more they want you to succeed,” he said.
As per advice for a budding Harrisburg entrepreneur—make sure you have enough capital on hand to survive those lean weeks, months or even years until your business catches on. Adam advises carefully calculating the amount of money you think you’ll need going in—then doubling that figure.
Then, if you have the connections and the capital, go for it.
“Poking and prodding and hemming and hawing over it isn’t going to make it happen,” he said. “Just rip off the Band-Aid and do it.”
As it happens, TheBurg celebrates our 15th year in business this very month, and I could bend your ear for hours about how we got to this point.
First of all, I agree with Steph, Sri and Adam. Business success requires such things as product quality, community engagement, relationship building, customer care and a double dose of cash.
I would add this: total dedication. Running a successful small business is no part-time job. It’s a full-time job, plus another full-time job. If you’re not willing to give it your all, almost obsessively, you should remain on someone else’s payroll.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe you feel that working for the state is, well, meh, but then you’ll have vacation time and benefits and, presumably, a more balanced life. There’s a lot to be said for that.
But some people just can’t help themselves. They got that itch, and they gotta scratch it. So scratch away. But do so with your eyes wide open, with an understanding of what you’re getting into, and with the powerful will to make it succeed.
In 10 years, I just might come knocking, pulling you out of your kitchen or your office to ask how you managed to make it so long. It’ll be 2033, TheBurg’s silver anniversary, and you’ll have to forgive me if I “accidentally” let that slip.
Lawrance Binda is publisher and editor of TheBurg.
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