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Jeffers the winner of the Brooke Pitch contest

By LINDA HARRIS 8 min read

WELLSBURG -- Kelly Jeffers burst into tears Friday when she found out she was the big winner for the 2019 Brooke Pitch contest.

"It's the best night ever," she said. "It was so exhilarating to win this contest. I worked so hard to get to this place in my life."

Eight local entrepreneurs vied for the judge's prize, $5,500 in cash to help take their business to the next level. To be in the running, each of them made a 10-minute presentation focusing on where their businesses are at now -- and where they could be with an infusion of cash.

Jeffers, who started Green Earth Custodial in 2016, said afterwards she "wanted to present who I am and what I'm doing, and I wanted it to reflect how committed I am to my business."

A single mom of two, Jeffers said she'd been working "two, sometimes three jobs" to make ends meet before deciding to be her own boss. She started Green Earth because, "I knew I had a gift for cleaning."

Her home-based business offers affordable, eco-friendly cleaning services geared to professionals -- doctors, lawyers and office buildings. Her clients are currently focused in Weirton, Follansbee and Steubenville, although she has some in the Robinson area and hopes to build a bigger presence in the Pittsburgh market.

While she's currently doing all the work herself, she told the judges she would expand her business -- buying a professional quality machine so she could add floor cleaning services, a tremendous market opportunity -- and hire another, highly motivated individual with the same knack for cleaning that she has. Buying that floor cleaner "will take me to the next level," she said, adding that incorporating it into Green Earth Custodial is "going to be amazing."

"I think I could generate almost $25,000 (more) in profit by adding those services," said Jeffers, who told the judges she'd been able to "advance my life financially, I bought my first home" since going into business for herself three years ago.

"When you're driven to work and you're determined to succeed, nothing can stop you," Jeffers said. "But it takes a lot of dedication…there were things I didn't really want to do, but I knew it was the recipe for success."

Jeffers, though, wasn't the only business owner making a strong pitch: Also doing their best to pique the judge's interest were David Cline, This-N-That Virtual Shoppe, Weirton; Olivia Best, LivaLittle Community Center, Wellsburg; Aaron Quattrochi, 88's Deluxe Barber Shop, Follansbee; Laura Sheetz, Kackling Hen Paint & Craft, Follansbee; George and Michelle Slates, Homeland Firearms, Weirton; Shari Beckstrand and Jacie Ridgely, Central Park Antiques, Wellsburg; and Michael Traubert, Farmers Market, Wellsburg.

Cline said This-N-That, a video game store and arcade retroshop, told the judges some of his fondest memories as a kid were the Saturday mornings he spent playing arcade games like Pacman with his father, and he wants to offers the youth of today that same opportunity in a safe, fun and alcohol-free environment.

Currently based at 3356 Pennsylvania Ave., Weirton, Cline said winning would have helped him add inventory and build a "retro" arcade at a new location. He said his goal is "to enhance everything in our community. I want them to feel like its a (great) place to hang out as a kid."

"I started this as a hobby," Cline told the judges. "I never worried about making money. But it grew into this."

Just 23, Best told the judges she's been planning her first business venture, creating an inviting space for community members, "for such a long time."

"Community needs are what's going to shape this business and allow it to continue to grow," Best said.

Located at 806 Commerce St., LivaLittle specializes in workshops, private parties and event planning, rental spaces and face painting. Down the road she'd like to include things like a community garden, picnic tables and a family game area for things like corn hole.

"There's something for all ages," she said, telling the judges her user demographics are broad.

If she won, Best wanted to buy supplies and boost her inventory of chairs and tables, as well as purchase a commercial grade printer, technology and advertising.

While she's focused on building partnerships with schools and local organizations, Best said eventually she'd like to start a learning academy that would focus on learning opportunities public schools don't have the time and money to pursue, like teaching kids a second language.

A judge said with all her plans, "it almost feels like it's a dart board."

"Absolutely not," Best replied. "I feel like the community is going to shape my business. There's a lot of opportunity for it to be what they want it to be."

Quattrochi, a crowd favorite, told the judges he wanted to be able to beef up his shop, which has been located at 928 Main St., Follansbee, since 1954.

He said barbershops traditionally have been as much about the communal experiences as it is haircuts.

"I try to have information on all my customers, to guide them in the right way," he said. "I get people looking for jobs, employers looking for workers, I get it all."

Winning would help him take the business to the next level, he added.

"I'd like to put in a new little lounge area," he said. "It definitely needs a new floor, some new chairs. And my shop needs WiFi."

Sheetz told the judge's her home-based business is "an opportunity (for people) to do all those Pinterest things you pin and never have an opportunity to do."

"People don't want to buy things, they want to buy experiences," Sheetz said, telling the jobs she averages about three classes a week and works primarily in wood, wreathes and seasonal decor.

"I'd like to be able to offer more but would need to invest in larger equipment and materials," she said. If she won, Sheetz told the judges she'd like to add some bigger tools, get insurance and necessary licenses.

Michelle Slates and her husband, George, said they'd like to diversify and expand their business, Homeland Firearms.

In addition to offering a broad range of firearms, Slates said they also want Homeland Firearms to be known for the range and quality of its training programs, including some designed to teach people how to avoid becoming victims.

"We'd like to procure an adjacent space" and prep tit for the business, she said. That would involve getting utilities turned on, getting it cleaned and installing shelving.

Michelle Slates said first responders told them they'd like to be able to get uniform items closer to home, so she and her husband would like to have stock on hand for customers to choose from, and, if need be, could order other sizes in. A seamstress herself, Slates said she could do any necessary alterations.

"We want to make a difference in our community by assisting local emergency responders and being a leading resource for training and safety needs," she said.

Slates said they'd like to grow all three phases of their business.

Shari Beckstrand and her business partner, Jacie Ridgley, said they want their new shop, Central Park Antiques, to be part of a community of shops.

"The more shops you have, not just antique shops, but galleries and restaurants…the better," Beckstrand said, adding the idea is to encourage people from outlying areas to see Wellsburg as a destination.

Central Park Antiques, she said, will open in September and will include rental spaces, some as small as a shelf or display case.

"It's all about having stock in, keeping it fresh," she said. "You don't want it to get stagnant."

Beckstrand told the judges if they won, they'd love to apply the prize money to their start up costs, which are around $4,200.

Traubert said he's hoping to use aquaponics and aeroponics to reshape the Brooke County economy,

Aquaponics combines conventional aquaculture (raising critters like snails, fish, and crayfish in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water), while aeroponic growing systems are soil-less relying instead on nutrient-infused mists to feed plants.

"It's a whole new concept for growing food," he said. "It may take a long time to turn a profit doing that."

Winning would allow him to establish a supply chain so the farmer's market could take root, he said.

While the judge's were tallying their votes, the audience chose its favorites and Luke Diserio, president of the Brooke County Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Brooke County Economic Development Authority, convinced spectators to dig deep to match or exceed the $500 he contributed on behalf of one of his companies, American Energy Exchange.

Audience members pledged roughly $1,300, giving organizers about $1,800 to divvy up 70-30 between the top two vote-getters -- Quattrochi's 88's Barbershop and Best's LiveALittle Community Center.

The official judges were Gene Coulson, executive director of EntreEd, the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education; Nancy Trudel of Trudel Law; Jay McLaughlin, vice president and general manager of accounting and finance at Wheeling-Nisshin; Dennis McMaster, vice president of Finance and Cheif Financial Officer at Bethany College; and Michael Simon, partner in the law firm of Frankovitch, Anetakis, Simon, Decapio & Pearl.

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