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BUCKHANNON - Marketing, staff supervision, problem solving, crisis management are all important skills when running a small business. But when Jerry Henderson gives advice to business people, she places extra emphasis on hospitality and responsibility to the community.
"Small business continues to be the stronghold of West Virginia business," Henderson says. Small business makes up about 80 percent of the state's economy. "This state was built on small business."
Henderson leads classes all around the state dealing with small business issues like staff development and supervisory techniques through her privately-owned venture, Henderson Training and Consulting.
"That's probably what I found most rewarding," she says. "In small business, you see the changes instantly. It takes longer to see those changes in bigger companies."
She stresses hospitality as a major component of success, and it isn't coincidental that Buckhannon has been recognized as the state's most hospitable small town.
"When we all contribute to the greater good, everyone grows and develops," she says.
Henderson targets all small business people, but she is especially proud of the strides women have made in the state. "A lot of small businesses are owned by women. They certainly contribute strength to the economy of West Virginia."
In addition to consulting, Henderson is heavily involved in real estate investing. Her property around Buckhannon "is meant to enhance the needs the town has ... It needs to be a retail center instead of a professional center."
One of Henderson's entrepreneurial ventures is A Governor's Inn in Buckhannon's downtown. Fifteen years ago, she wanted to start a business in her hometown. Before A Governor's Inn, she owned the Henderson House on College Avenue, which she later sold to West Virginia Wesleyan College.
A Governor's Inn had been vacant for eight years before Henderson purchased the property, and "like most old homes, it was allowed to deteriorate ... You could walk in and see right through the roof."
The house was constructed by D.D.T. Farnsworth, the second governor of West Virginia, who came from New York to what was then Virginia in 1821. His family sold the lower portion of Statton...