Daily Inspiration: Meet Dawn Amerman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Amerman.

Hi Dawn, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I come from a background in pharmacy. I had worked in pharmacy for 25 years when the company I worked for sold. It was a privately owned business being sold to a large corporation. I was offered a position with that company and several other pharmacies. I decided that it was my time to get out of the healthcare industry. A friend told me about Portage Lake Trading Post and that they were looking for a manager. I walked in and talked to the owner and he offered me the job. I grew up in Pinckney but I lived on the chain in Hell and over by Rush Lake so I hadn’t ever stepped foot in here. When I took the position I was looking at it as a place holder while I figured out what I wanted to do next. What I didn’t realize is that this was it. As time went on and I met more of the people who lives around here, in the community I grew up in, I was hooked. I came from an environment where the customer (or patient) was not always nice and certainly not by the time they were escalated to me. Some days going to work felt like you were constantly working inside the fire. Here, everyone was nice. They were happy, they wanted to chat. I made friends, I reconnected with old ones. People would stop in just to talk, they would bring dinner, lunch, or a bundle of beans. It was a different world from what i was used to. It made me really consider what I wanted. I knew that the owner, Ralph, was ready to sell and 9 months in, on the weekend of the fireworks on Portage Lake, I told him I wanted to buy it. It took a long time to get everything in place. That was in July 2020 and I didn’t make the purchase until June 2023.

Once I purchased it, I started changing things, while still trying to keep the integrity of the original store.I have been extremely lucky along the way. I did the demo of the pharmacy I worked at. I kept shelving, counter tops, and anything that I thought could be useful to me. This has saved me a lot of money while allowing me to complete come much needed updates. My son and a friend rebuilt the inside of the cooler for me. It was more of an undertaking than we had anticipated. The inside of it was falling in on itself and had become a hazard. I replaced all the shelving on the floor which updated the look. I had a customer replace the carpeting in the back of the store. While he was doing that he pulled up a 4ft X 4ft part of the flooring so that in the future if the original flooring needed to be replaced we still had some in order to keep the integrity of the floor. It’s one of my favorite features. Another customer did drywall on the back wall to update the look and the staff painted. My son and husband helped me replace the old counter with “new” counters, ones that I took from the old store. Another friend helped me to remove all the old liquor shelving and replace and extend that by 2 ft. I have been so fortunate to be surrounded by the people I am. The friends that I have and the staff that work here are willing to go above and beyond to help me make this place better.

We added a 5ft stuffed bear named “Yukon” that is a great photo opportunity for children, adults, AND pets. He is always available for a good hug too. He wears a 5X t-shirt and so he is plenty huggable. He has been in parades, visited other local businesses, and created a stir around town. It’s a little odd to see a 5ft bear with a t-shirt on standing in the back of the truck on the road. In the Spring and Summer we have 2 pet rock snakes, Petunia and Rocko. My mom started them. She is very artistic and was happy to make the beginning od a fun thing for everyone. The commnuity paints a rock and adds them to the snake on the outside of the building. When it starts to get cold and snowy, we bring them in, wash them, and then put them in hibernation.

I have added a lot of toy s and fun, nostalgic candy. We have a single piece candy bin that allows people to pick out just one piece. The prices range from $0.05-$0.20. We added a bunch of kid toys. We expanded our Michigan beer, food, and wine. We have started carrying local honey as well from Schley Family Farm. We carry a variety of sandwiches and pick up food. We carry firewood, propane, ice. We have one of the best coolers in town which gives us some of the coldest beverages.

We rebranded and had a local, Becky Kroll, redesign our logo and then we had t-shirts made. My friend made my decals for the doors and windows. My cousing made me a sign for by the river. This was reallly important to me because we are the only party store on the chain that you can get to by the water. My father in law re-painted the sign above my door.

For Halloween we go all out in decorating and have plenty of animatronics inside and out. It has become a fun place for the kids and adults to visit. We have a Halloween village, things that jump out at you, start making noises, and even a 3-headed Cerebus outside and a graveyard. For Christmas we put up a Christmas village in the window and above our coolers, which features over 100 houses.

We recenyly upgraded from a very old style register to a POS system. This was in the 5 year plan but we changed who was processing our credit cards and they offered this service to us for a minimal fee.

We are constantly trying to make sure that we have what the customer needs and adapting our products to suit their needs. We want to be a place where the adults AND kids want to visit and get their necessities and treats.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The purchase itself was not smooth. The waiting on stuff to come through from the MLCC took a lot longer than the old owner had anticipated.

The biggest issue that I have is that I want to take care of everything right now. I look at the outside of the building and I know that it needs work but I just don’t have the funds to do that yet. I did the things inside becuase the cost to me was minimal with the exception of time and effort. My staff has been so good with making changes and helping to do the things inside of the store.

The biggest challenge is making it through the winters here. I want to keep my staff because they are quite simply put AMAZING. I can’t lower their hours and expect them to work in the summer a bunch of hours. I want to be able to take care of them because they take care of me. They take care of the store and they take care of the customer. When you have good employees you want to do what you can to keep them. The winters are getting harder and harder. This year was worse than last year.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I believe that what sets me apart from the other places that you go is not me. It is the staff that is here. They are your neighbor, they want to get to know you, they want to make sure that you are happy. I am most proud of the staff that we have built here and for the hard work that we all put in together.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
The only advice I have is to be nice to the people that you meet. Whether it be when you are in your store or out in public. It’s very easy to strike up a conversation with someone and get to know them. The word of mouth from being nice and personable will get you a lot.

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