Home decor: While she was off in Chicago, Green Bay grew up—and became the perfect spot for her business

Entrepreneur, Dec, 2001 by Devlin Smith

WHEN STEPHANIE BRUSS MOVED FROM Chicago back to her hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, she wasn't exactly sure how well a community best known for cheese-hat-wearing foot-ball fans would react to DOTI (Designs Of The Interior), her home decorating franchise. Luckily, she found Green Bay was hungry for what she had to offer.

"I was thinking of the area as it used to be. I hadn't realized how much it had grown," says Bruss, 35. "There are five Fortune 500 companies located in Green Bay, and a lot of industries here are recession-proof."

In 1999, Bruss opened her first 800-square-foot DOTI studio in a brand-new building. Two weeks later, she leased additional space behind hers, using that for her studio and turning the front space into a store. She attributes her fast-track success to old-fashioned supply and demand. "This is a smaller community, and there just isn't a lot out there as far as home accessories, so it's worked out really well," she says.

At the end of December, Bruss will be moving again, this time into a 3,400-square-foot space that will serve both as studio and store. She hopes the move will cement her reputation in Green Bay. "My goal is to be one of the premier home furnishings and design services in our area," she says. "When people think of quality and service, I want our name to be the first thing they mention."

Law & Pretzels

A TITLE LIKE THAT MIGHT NOT MAKE FOR AVERY EXCITING TV SHOW, BUT IT'S THIS EX-LAWYER'S LIFE STORY.

"I GUESS I WAS DISSATISFIED WITH THE profession and my practice, and was looking for something else to do, something more rewarding than being an attorney." Such was the mindset of Harry Rieck more than six years ago, when he decided to leave the legal world and start a business.

Through his brother-in-law, Rieck secured a retail space at Sawgrass Mills mall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "The location suited itself for a snack-food-type franchise," he explains. With the right space and purpose in mind, Rieck researched various snack-food niches before settling on pretzels and then on Auntie Anne's.

With help from wife Sharon, 31, Rieck, 44, opened his franchise in 1995, a store that co-brands Auntie Anne's pretzels with Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard. Five years later, the Riecks opened a second location, this one serving only pretzels, at the other end of the Sawgrass center.

But rolling dough isn't Rieck's only passion. Since 1997, he has been on Auntie Anne's regional advisory council, serving as president for the Southeast region for three years. In that position, Rieck helped bring together Auntie Anne's and the Children's Miracle Network, a charity the franchise supports through various fundraisers. "We wanted something everyone could feel good about doing, and CMN seemed to be [perfect], because no one [objects] to helping out sick kids," Rieck explains.

Although running two stores, serving on the advisory council and raising a growing family make for long hours, Rieck's new life continues to bring him a level of satisfaction he never achieved in the legal profession. "I'm much happier doing this," he says. "This is hard, but it's fun."

RELATED ARTICLE: WHAT'S NEW

Sandra Breeding has lofty goals: to reduce health-care costs for corporations while improving the health of their employees. To do that, she founded Lotusea a company that offers corporate wellness programs, such as health-risk analysis, lab tests and educational programs.

Franchisees for Lotusea (a Greek word meaning perfection and divinity) contract with employers to offer on-site analysis and classes before, during and after work hours.