These Robertson County Businesses Are Thriving (and Yours Can, Too)
In this Tennessee region north of Nashville, area entrepreneurs receive the support and resources they need to excel.
Robertson County is known as a great place to buy a home and raise a family. Entrepreneurs will tell you it’s also the perfect place to launch a business, thanks to standout resources such as the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce and Small Town Startup.
Theresa Dillard, owner of Gateway Printing Center, began her business journey after a conversation with Lisa Arnold, founder of Small Town Startup, which offers coworking space, digital marketing services and education and networking events in downtown Springfield.
“My husband, Robert, and I went to talk with her about the possibility of working together to promote Gateway STEM Center.” Dillard says. “By the end of that conversation, I had started thinking once again about opening a print shop here in Springfield. Lisa and the team at Small Town Startup have been amazing in helping me get the word out on my new, local small business.”
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Launching Robertson County Businesses
Lisa Arnold
Arnold launched Small Town Startup in 2018 and continues to help entrepreneurs like Dillard.
“More individuals were finding out that Robertson County was a hidden gem to move to, and they wanted to see what other opportunities were there outside of great housing at affordable prices,” Arnold says.
“Seeing new businesses open up and need training, education, marketing help and more made me confident that Small Town Startup would do great here, sincerely filling a need that the business community had.”
“I also worked heavily with the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce to craft my services to the needs they hear from their audience, since we serve the same demographic. They have been incredibly helpful as connectors to the business community for me,” Arnold says.
Expert Advice for Entrepreneurs
The Robertson County Chamber of Commerce offers more than 30 networking events throughout the year as well as marketing and media services and sponsorship opportunities to grow a public footprint – all at a cost that Robertson County businesses can afford.
Local businesses that have benefited from working with Small Town Startup and the Chamber of Commerce include Corbin Creek Greenhouse, Premium Food Delivery, Colorado Grill, Main Street Boutique, Volunteer Cards and Collectibles, and Mystic Picnic Wine & Whiskey Bar.
Small Town Startup provides a variety of services for small businesses, including a coworking space on the Public Square in Springfield complete with a podcast studio and photography studio for content creation, as well as on-demand meeting space.
“We also have retail incubators on the street level where small businesses can test out their business ideas in a mitigated risk environment, and once they graduate from our incubator program, we work with local landlords to secure them long-term placement at affordable rates,” Arnold says.
Small Town Startup’s digital marketing agency serves nearly 50 clients. Small Town Startup holds classes and workshops and offers one-on-one consultations for small business owners and leaders to learn the skills they need to grow in a small town.
“We even have an app, Small Town Starters, which provides on-demand learning, tool kits and templates, and text message consultations with certified business owners,” Arnold says.
Stay Caffeinated
Growing numbers of business startups are seeking assistance from Small Town Startup, which is exploring additional locations in Tennessee and Texas, Arnold says.
Dillard launched Gateway Printing Center in March 2022 with the goal of being a fast, affordable and local printing company that gives back to the community.
“We’ve lived in and around Robertson County for almost two decades as a family and wanted to support this wonderful place we call home,” Dillard says.
“This community loves to support local. They will go out of their way to support you before going elsewhere.”
Kyle Harman, Volunteer Cards
Kyle Harman sought advice from Small Town Startup and the Chamber of Commerce when he opened Volunteer Cards and Collectibles in Springfield in June 2022.
“This community loves to support local. They will go out of their way to support you before going elsewhere. Don’t be afraid that nobody will come. They will and they’ll be more than happy to,” Harman says.
One way of measuring growth is the amount of coffee Small Town Startup’s clients drink each month. Their membership comes with unlimited java.
“We go through about 10 pounds of coffee a month, minimum. We are slowly working up to about 12 to 15 pounds some months,” Arnold says. “We are lucky to work with some great suppliers who keep us caffeinated.”
Calling Young Entrepreneurs in Robertson County
Small Town Startup’s annual Junior CEO Summer Camp helps inspire young boys and girls to explore their creative ideas at an early age.
The weeklong Junior CEO camp, held in June in Springfield, is open to children in grades 3-6, with students building a business during the week and then learning how to pitch it by the end.
The camp’s goals are to help develop students’ leadership skills and build confidence, as well as learn about community service, entrepreneurship and technology.
Camp participants meet and interview local business owners and leaders, explore things such as photography and coding, and even meet with local politicians and city government officials to better understand how a city like Springfield operates. The week ends with a “Pitch Night” with students pitching their community-changing business ideas that they’ve worked on throughout the week.
Business Spotlight: Mystic Picnic
Whiskey production became a thriving industry in Robertson County when distilling pioneers Thomas Woodard and Arthur Pitt settled in the area in the early 1790s. Today, a new whiskey and wine bar called Mystic Picnic is keeping this piece of history alive.
The downtown Springfield lounge opened in June 2022 on South Main Street and is owned by business partners Zach VanNieuwenhuyze and Adam LaClave.
“We’re both from Memphis and have long worked in the restaurant industry, and we both love wine and once had the opportunity to move to California wine country,” LaClave says.
“I was working for Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse out there, but we both eventually missed our families in Tennessee and wanted to move back. We started looking for a house (in the Nashville area) and stumbled upon Springfield, and were attracted to the charm of the historic district. We also wanted to open an elevated wine bar, so we found the perfect space to renovate and opened Mystic Picnic.”
LaClave says when they learned about the whiskey history of Robertson County, the partners decided to turn their business into a wine bar as well as a whiskey bar.
“We don’t distill whiskey or make wine here – we simply offer the best wines from California, Oregon and internationally along with the top whiskeys produced in Tennessee and Kentucky,” he says. “It’s been great so far. People in Springfield and neighboring Robertson County cities have embraced us, and we’ve also had people come out from Nashville as well as Clarksville, Rutherford County and Williamson County.”
– Staff writer Kevin Litwin contributed to this article.
Get to Know Robertson County
Want to learn more about living and working in Robertson County? Check out the latest edition of Livability’s Experience Robertson County, Tennessee.
