The Roanoke Times

File April Jabo's Coffee owners Janelle and Bob Anderson opened the shop in April, but the small business struggled and closed last week.

| Christina Dabasinskas

christina.dabasinskas@roanoke.com, 381-1771

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Jabo's Coffee was a local coffee shop that maximized on a homey feel.

The owners, married couple Janelle (Ja) and Bob (bo) Anderson, pronounced (jay-bows), made good on their promise to provide the very neighborhood flavor they were hoping for last April.

With innovative ideas such as free wireless Internet for dine-in customers, curbside delivery, local art for sale, musical entertainment and a kiosk near Montgomery Regional Medical Center, the owners thought they would find success at 50 Merrimac Road in Christiansburg.

However, the small business closed for the last time Friday.

Janelle Anderson said most sales came from students who ordered a cup of coffee, used the free wireless Internet connection and filled the small parking lot.

"We added food to the menu, which we thought would help sales," she said. "I tried adding events like local music, but that stimulated sales temporarily."

Struggling sales were just part of the problem. Janelle Anderson said the business struggled with payroll expenses while she had medical issues, a less-than-ideal location and, finally, the inability to get two applications for loans approved.

"Those things caused us to close the doors," she said.

Bob Anderson said other things working against the business were the rising minimum wage and electricity rates, and increasing credit card interest rates.

"We tried different brokers, but no one was able to provide us with supplemental funds," he said. "It is hard to keep expenses down for small business owners."

David Shanks, director of the New River Valley Small Business Development Center at Radford University, said the federal governments stimulus plan "hasn't really hit the street for small business agencies here."

He said government contractors, construction and school systems seem to be reaping most of the benefit of billions of dollars in government help.

And he said that diminishing lines of credits and rising interest rates are hurting even those who previously had good financial histories.

"If you want to have success starting a small business in this economy, make sure you have a good portfolio and experience," he said.

The prospective entrepreneurs who achieve the most success are managing their projected profit margins strictly, proving they have a productive market base, and are able to provide money out of pocket, if necessary.

"People who are getting loans have to prove that they were profitable, and can be profitable again in the future," Shanks said.

It seems that past small businesses that were granted loans may have been rewarded in a much too optimistic fashion.

Several small business owners have tried unsuccessfully to procure loans for their businesses in the New River Valley.

"In this area, there are businesses that are doing really well." Shanks said. "Some businesses are making more money than they ever made. ... You have to have more working capital than in the past, but we have one of the strongest economies in Southwest Virginia."

Though Janelle and Bob Anderson aren't impressed with the financial market for their past two business endeavors (Jabo's and Adventure World), they are looking to the future with hopeful prospects within the job market.

The couple plan to regroup locally, but Jabo's owners said they will miss the people they met.

"They are the best part of running this business," Janelle Anderson said.

She points out an inspiration quote on the wall at Jabo's:

"He, who can give thanks for the little, will always find he has enough." It's one of the many verses in the coffee shop.

Janelle Anderson will move on to tutor seventh-grade students for their standardized tests, but still will offer premium coffee online at www.jaboscoffee.com.

The Web site is under construction, but boasts hope.

Bob Anderson is working as a courier, which has kept the family supported in the lacking economy.

A graduate of the now-closed Life Bible College, he has seen how things can change.

"I don't want other locals to be discouraged in opening a small business, just know the market you are getting into," he said.

The husband-and-wife team is looking forward, simply noting on their Web site: "That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil -- this is the gift of God."