May 2009
'A Labor of Love'
Lake County entrepreneurs put their passion into niche businesses

By Annemarie Donnelly

"It started out as a hobby, then I had to hire someone to help and now we've bee in business full time for 15 years." Jerry Gibson, founder and owner of Gibson Bagpipes. Photo by Marc Golub

Everyone is familiar with the idea of a niche market, usually defined as a unique product or service not typically provided for. Common wisdom suggests that there are always going to be segments of the population whose needs for particular products or services are going unmet – leaving room for the small business to succeed by meeting those needs.

Lake County is home to several entrepreneurs, however, that have taken the idea of niche marketing to a level so defined that their market has a worldwide reach – far beyond Northeast Ohio. What’s more, the products they offer are so specific and so unusual to find, that these businesses seem likely to weather the current economic situation without much harm.

“Our success has come down to three things, which I think will work for any business you want to succeed,” says Jerry Gibson, founder and owner of Gibson Bagpipes in Willoughby. “First, you’ve got to be something you know and love to do. Second, you have to provide a very good quality product at a reasonable price, and third, you need to provide good customer service so that people want to rely on you.”

A good ear for business

Gibson took a lifelong passion for bagpipes and combined it with his professional engineering background to build a business designing and manufacturing bagpipes and accessories. Founded in 1978, Gibson Bagpipes now comprises eight employees and sells bagpipes to individuals, bands and distributors around the world.

“I had been a bagpiper as a young lad in Scotland, and already had developed a good ear for it,” he says. “So I married my engineering and manufacturing skills to bagpiping, which worked very well. It started out as a hobby, then I had to hire someone to help and now we’ve been in business fulltime for 15 years. ”

Gibson describes his business as “a labor of love.” Creating a set of bagpipes is an intricate, laborious process and each employee can create about three sets a week, with prices ranging from about $900 to as much as $8,000 per set. The finished product, however, can last a lifetime, or several.

“For my employees, it’s not how many pieces they can make,” he says. “They take a personal pride in their work and are very conscious of what they are doing. I’m very proud that we can make these in America where we can make such a high quality product.”

New bagpipes, accessories and repairs will always have a solid appeal to the loyal players and enthusiasts, but it is still a market that only requires a handful of manufacturers. Worldwide, Gibson estimates that there about 16 companies like his own.

“We’re a small business, but we are holding our own in this economic climate,” he says. “People will still buy bagpipes, but now, instead of spending $3,000, they might spend half of that.”

Car lovers will always find the cash

Steve Leerentveld, co-owner of RDP Motorsports, says his business will not be affected by the economy, as its market is people who are passionate about cars.

“Some people will always make money, and there will always be people who want to put their money into cars,” he says.

His 14-year-old Painesville-based company specializes in custom built vehicles and modifying existing cars to suit the owner.

“We can actually build a racecar from nothing, as well as modify late-model vehicles and restore cars,” he says.

A complete rebuild of a vehicle can take anywhere from one to four years, says Leerentveld.

“Our customers are racing people, or people whose kids have grown up and now they can do something for themselves,” he says, “and of course there are the young single kids with no commitments.”

RDP Motorsports currently employs six people who work on cars for customers around the country. Still, much of his business does come from the state of Ohio, which he says has the second largest car population in the United States. It turns out that many Ohioans are busy dreaming of cars during the gray winter months.

“The whole aftermarket, performance industry started here in Ohio,” Leveerentveld explains. “Just because you’re not racing doesn’t mean you’re not working on the cars. The winter months are when you are building the machines.”

Like Gibson, his small business niche was built on a passion for the work he does.

“I’ve built show cars and world-record holders in drag racing,” he says. “We’re always pushing the boundaries, trying to make the next car better than the one before.”

Fulfilling an established market need

Dorothy Lennox is a Mentor entrepreneur who has succeeded in a niche business based on a commitment to a product sorely needed in the market. She and her husband Tom started Luminaud 37 years ago to manufacture artificial larynges used by people who have had their larynx removed.

In the 1970s, Tom worked for the Rand Corp., making parts for their larynges. When the company closed its doors in 1972, its products were in danger of being discontinued and not available to the customers who needed them after undergoing a laryngectomy. After trying to convince manufacturers of hearing aids to make the product, the Lennoxes were determined to give the business a try.

Annemarie Donnelly is a Mentor freelance writer.