Iowa company honored by SBA for its focus on helping other businesses to shine – Radio Iowa

Anytime you see a ground-breaking or a grand opening on TV, do you ever marvel the place these golden shovels or big scissors for ribbon-cuttings come from?

They have been possible bought by means of a central Iowa firm whose founder is being named the Iowa Small Enterprise Individual of the 12 months by the U.S. Small Enterprise Administration. Kimberly Baeth is president and proprietor of Golden Openings of Urbandale.

We’re a most popular vendor for the White Home. We do issues for Oprah, Disney, Fortune 500 firms, faculties, universities — these are a few of our foremost repeat clients,” Baeth says. “We grew 32% yearly for twenty-four years. Final 12 months we did 84%, phenomenal development.”

The corporate was based in 1991 as a one-stop-shop for ceremonial merchandise for grand openings, ribbon cuttings and ground-breaking occasions. Over 25 years, Golden Openings has helped tens of 1000’s of companies open their doorways and make an impression of their communities.

Earlier than venturing off on her personal, Baeth was working for a chamber of commerce when a brand new enterprise requested for assist with a ribbon reducing ceremony, however there have been no big scissors to be discovered.

“I had my dad make a pair of wooden scissors with razor blades that met after which our chamber telephones began ringing off the hook. We couldn’t hold them in inventory,” Baeth says. “We had Goal wanting a pair of pink and white ones. We had Common Mills wanting a pair with all their logos and their cereals on it. Different chambers have been calling to borrow them and so they have been harmful. You possibly can get lower, it simply was loopy, however the demand was so excessive so I knew this could possibly be a enterprise.”

Whereas the Iowa enterprise gives some 20-thousand ceremony-related merchandise, issues like balloons, banners, pink carpets, shovels and exhausting hats, these specialty scissors stay one of many prime sellers.

“Now, there’s in all probability over 100 totally different sorts of scissors between gold, chrome,” Baeth says. “The smallest ones are six-inch. We have now plastic ones that don’t lower for prisons and preschoolers, all the best way as much as the world’s largest scissors and so they’re known as 40-inch world’s largest scissors. Totally different coloured handles, you’ll be able to customise them.”

Golden Openings has 14 workers and has carried out enterprise on each continent on the globe however one, and Baeth says she’s working to vary that by supplying the ribbon and scissors for a marathon foot race on Antarctica. Baeth will symbolize Iowa at Nationwide Small Enterprise Week actions subsequent week.