Robert Kelly
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear."
— Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar," 1894
Look around you. Really look at the array of small businessmen who serve you. Without them the world would stop.
Face it, Americans are not as resourceful as they once were; and without those who have perpetuated manual skills we'd be in tough shape. It's easy to yell "Westward ho!" But first, somebody has to build or fix the wagon.
Entrepreneurs organize, manage and assume the risks of a business. They turn away from the security of 9-to-5 jobs and, with a "this-gun-for-hire" attitude, ride into the world of business seeking to do their thing, their way.
This array of economic gunslingers, by the way, creates most of the new jobs in America. And nobody, anywhere, creates new small businesses faster or better than America does.
It takes special people to make a small business go. Thousands try and fail. Business Week says about half of them fail in the first five years.
I've previously mentioned in this column prime examples of those who have found success. These, and others I've seen and advised over the years, have two things in common:
The initiator of an enterprise has a partner, a mate or a family member who shares the load.
Someone has the enviable ability to find, train and keep good employees.
For example, Kary, the leader of New Brother's Restaurant and Deli in Danvers, has his wife, Pat, and a collage of skilled and trusted employees to make things work. Ariana and Andy Liti have each other and the same quality of employee support to handle the Family Fare restaurant in Peabody.
And there is another example of the same in Danvers that, in my view, deserves special commendation because of what they are doing and, especially, when they are doing it.
When times are tough, the tough get going, is the cliché. But like most clichés, there is truth in it — a truth that the Gibeleys, professional haberdashers, are willing to deal with in the same swashbuckling way entrepreneurs always have when they step into the unknown.
The formula for success in the Gibeley family had its beginnings when Bob joined his father, Joseph, in the first Giblee (the name was deliberately altered) store in Salem in the 1940s.
I first became aware of the operation after Bob Gibeley left Salem in 1970 and planted himself at the Liberty Tree Mall, and especially when in 1997 he opened his current store on Route 114 in Danvers.
The circle of success was fully rounded for Bob when sons Alan and Jeff joined him in the business, and when, through his people skills, he had his tailors and sales personnel in place. The result? Arguably the best store for men's clothing north of Boston.
The business is secure. But that isn't enough for the Gibeleys.
As the saying goes, the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree. Son Jeff developed a tuxedo business in a space nearby while another son, Alan, works with his father.
Together, in this time of "credit freeze," they bought the building that houses Bob's operation, moved Jeff into the same building and added a brand new venture — a women's line of clothing, which opened a month ago, administered by Ellen Turkanis, ex-proprietor of Suitable Styles in Marblehead.
The new store has about 40 percent more space and can dress anyone from your Uncle Arthur to your Aunt Tillie.
Recession? Tight credit?
Baloney, say the Gibeleys. It's a time to fly.
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Robert Kelly of Peabody writes a weekly column for the Opinion page. Contact him at robert.kelly5@verizon.net.
