According to the Director of the ONABEN Women’s Business Center, when an Indian is asked why they want to go into business, the answer is usually “to create jobs for family and friends”. This doesn’t negate the need to create income and self-sufficiency, but rather highlights the strong community built into the native culture. The Three River Nations Co-op has accomplished just that. It has created a business for its owner as well as work and income for local artists.
Glenda Fletcher, a Native American artist from California, noticed that there were many other talented artists in her community. However, most, if not all of them, were without the necessary money or space to sell their work on a professional level. She decided to address that deficiency by creating Three River Nations (TRN), a non-profit marketing co-operative for Native American artists. TRN helps local artists find new off-reservation markets for their artwork. The “community” TRN serves includes the Hoopa, Yurok, and Karuk Reservations. Currently, TRN has approximately 40 artists working together to develop marketing opportunities.
TRN’s first project was to rent a kiosk in the local mall. “The merchandise is moving,” says Glenda. “Sales are going well!” One particularly successful marketing strategy Glenda uses is to ensure that every artist’s work is given a fair showing. As soon as one of the artist’s pieces sells, another is put out on display. A small markup is placed on the artwork to cover the expenses of the co-op.
Glenda is a first generation college graduate and one of the first in her family to finish college. She earned her BA in Business Administration from Chico State University. Glenda notes that “although I studied business, my trade is teaching”. She currently works for the Hoopa Valley Tribe teaching computer applications.
With her idea for a co-op in hand, Glenda went to the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s Business Service Center and signed up for some business training classes. “One extremely valuable tool I learned was how to develop a business plan,” Glenda said. The business plan helped her write her mission statement, set down specific goals and objectives, and plan a budget. The classes she attended helped her to be realistic about her business plans and goals.
Although the class was positive and supportive of her efforts, Glenda says that the best part of the experience was the camaraderie that developed between herself and “other business hopefuls”. “It was nice to know I wasn’t alone in trying to get my business up and running,” she says.
Glenda has learned many important lessons with each step she has taken. To up-and-coming entrepreneurs she would say, “Do not listen to those who will tell you that your plan will never work. Just smile politely and do it anyway.”
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