Jana Hayenga and Jo Michalski.

• Author: Armstrong, Amy M.
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Junior Achievement Alaska

Back in 1980, when the sister team of Jana Hayenga and Jo Michalski wanted to start a quilting store because they could not find the supplies they needed in Anchorage, they heard a lot of, "no and no and no" from bankers. Finally, one gave them some more feedback.

It wasn't what they hoped for.

"We were told: 'We are not here to fund housewives' hobbies,"' recalls Hayenga. The banker went on further to say, "We don't think that trinkets and blankets will be a going business in this town. Our recommendation to you is that you should go back home, volunteer in the community, and focus on your children."

As a parting commentary, the banker asked the two sisters, "Do your husbands know where you are?"

Perhaps it was the times. Perhaps it was the fact that the two sisters had no retail experience. Perhaps that banker didn't have a clue. They left the bank a bit shocked, the two admit. They thought they had a darn good idea. After all, quilting was an activity that plenty of the area's women did. Yet, at that time, Anchorage did not have its own store offering the supplies quilters needed. Quilters had to order supplies from the Lower 48.

The need for a local quilting supplier became apparent to Hayenga and Michalski when their grandmother died, leaving them with a large stack of unfinished quilt tops.

"We were going to have to send away--which we did--to get what we needed to finish those quilt tops," Michalski says. "But we thought, hey, there is a business idea here."

Well Earned Lessons

They finally went to First National Bank and received a positive response.

With a $10,000 loan from their parents and the support of FNBA, they launched Country Classics.

The two sisters admit that they made just about every mistake that a new shop owner could.

They laugh about it now as they share their story of spending a cold New Year's Day together and spotting a small house for rent in downtown Anchorage.

"We just looked at each other and said, 'Let's start a business,"' Michalski says with a knowing chuckle that only those who have been through the start of retail store can know. "We did absolutely the wrong thing. We went out and rented this house and paid rent on it for six months before we could even start."

The sisters had no inventory. They didn't have a business plan; they had no idea what to charge. But they did know to get help. They took a class with the Small Business Administration and they found a female accountant to mentor them.

Starting a...