Front & Center: Mary Walker’s survival guide to brick and mortar

There are basically two types of businesses, says Mary Walker: those where the merchandise remains consistent and customers change, and those where the customers remain consistent and the merchandise changes.

Her Manito Shipping Company is the latter.

“Someone will come in and say, ‘Where are those butterflies I saw the last time I was here,’ and I’ll say, ‘Those are gone.’ That teaches them not to wait to buy something they like.”

Walker not only has new inventory – solar-powered globes and locally made candles. She’s also relocated from upper South Hill to 914 S. Monroe, and renamed her business the Manito Shipping Company.

During a recent interview, Walker discussed why small brick-and-mortar businesses need to constantly evolve to survive.

S-R: Where did you grow up?

Walker: In the Bay Area.

S-R: Did you have any idea what you wanted to do?

Walker: No. It was the sixties. I remember sneaking into a Doors concert when I was 15. I was not a focused young person.

S-R: How about college?

Walker: I enrolled and dropped out of college a number of times. First I studied pharmacy, then Russian history, psychology and art history, but I never graduated. College was just a series of alcohol-fueled parties where I got sick on things I’ll never drink again: peppermint schnapps, warm saki, Irish coffee.

S-R: What was your first real job?

Walker: I was hired as secretary for George Bartholick, the lead architect for Seattle’s Pike Place Market restoration. But I didn’t know anything about architecture. When one of my boss’ buddies – Fred Bassetti, another famous architect – called, he said, “Tell Mr. Bartholick that Frank Lloyd Wright is on the phone.” And I said, “Mr. Bartholick, Frank Lloyd Wright is on the phone.” I could hear George laughing, and I had no idea why. A few days later Fred called and said, “Tell George that Louis Kahn is on the phone.” “Mr. Bartholic, Louis Kahn is on the phone.” Laugh, laugh, laugh. Eventually, working there changed my life – my knowledge of architecture and my notion of community.

S-R: What brought you to Spokane?

Walker: My husband had been raised here and we had a 3-year-old, so we decided to give Spokane a try.

S-R: What did you do for a living?

Walker: We built what’s called studio furniture – custom pieces for clients like the Seattle Art Museum and Frye Museum.

S-R: Why did you decide to buy a business in 2001?

Walker: I was getting divorced, I needed a job, and I heard a shipping and copying business I frequented on South Grand was going to close.

S-R: If it was closing, what did you buy?

Walker: I bought a customer base and old equipment. When I started out, I didn’t even know how to load paper in the copy machines. But gradually I learned the business.

S-R: And you changed its name?

Walker: Yes. That business was called the Postal Connection, and all day I took calls intended for the Post Office. So I changed the name to Manito Ship and Copy.

S-R: Your timing could hardly have been worse. Home copy machines were becoming ubiquitous, and the Internet was rapidly altering the shipping landscape. Did it occur to you that you might have made a mistake?

Walker: No. I don’t care what business you’re in, it’s still constantly changing. Whether the change is good or bad, you have to embrace it.

S-R: Did the recession impact your business?

Walker: In 2008, when things started to crash, instead of hunkering down, I decided to move one block south to a more visible location, because I could get a better lease.

S-R: Did the move pay off?

Walker: Yes. I didn’t grow during the recession, but I didn’t slip, either.

S-R: Why did you move again this summer?

Walker: The terms of my lease changed, making it impossible for me to continue in that location. I looked everywhere and found this amazing space next to Huckleberry’s.

S-R: And you changed the store’s name again?

Walker: Yes. Now we’re the Manito Shipping Company.

S-R: Is the merchandise – globes and candles – incidental, like what you see in the grocery store checkout line?

Walker: No. I need to attract people who don’t care about shipping. I’ve added gifts and antiques to make coming in here an interesting experience.

S-R: Then why included the word “shipping” in your name?

Walker: I wanted a name that creates an image. It’s not like the old days – tell ’em what you do and where you do it. Names today don’t mean anything. Now it’s Google and Amazon.

S-R: “Shipping” means something.

Walker: But you’ll notice on the sign that “Manito” and “Company” are big, and “shipping” is small. It’s not about the word – it’s about the visual. There will always be people out there who need to ship – people who’d rather not go to usps.com – and people who’d rather not go to youtube.com and watch a video about how to pack china for shipment. If you don’t want to do that, come here and I can do it for you. Just like you can either make coffee at home or go to Starbucks.

S-R: Who are your customers?

Walker: Older people who don’t want to deal with shipping. Younger people who want their packages delivered here rather than risk having them stolen off their front porch. And anyone who wants to be part of this fabulous 10th-and-Monroe community – what I call “Bungalow Central.”

S-R: How many hours a week do you work?

Walker: Nine hours a day, five days a week, plus at least six hours on Saturday. Then I go home and look through catalogs and go on line, and occasionally attend trade shows. People say, “Oh, you’re self-employed. You can work any time you want,” and I reply, “Yeah, I get to pick any 12 hours of the day.”

S-R: Do you take vacations?

Walker: Six years ago, I had a lung collapse, and ended up in the hospital for two weeks. Fortunately, I’d just hired a girl with experience, and I discovered the world didn’t come to an end because I wasn’t here.

S-R: A hospital stay was your last vacation?

Walker: Occasionally I take long weekends.

S-R: What do you like most about your job?

Walker: I have the nicest customers in the world.

S-R: What do you like least?

Walker: How hard it is to train people to do things the way I do them. It would be nice to have more of a life.

S-R: Who are your competitors?

Walker: I don’t have time to worry about what someone else is doing. Little stores reflect their owners, so I focus on doing things my way.

S-R: Is business good now?

Walker: Heck, yes. Loosing my lease this summer created a pressure cooker that, in the end, was great. It forced me to rethink my whole business. It’s important that my old customers know I still offer all the services I have since 2001. But I knew I had to make my business younger if I wanted to tap into Huckleberry’s demographics. So I went to Seattle to see what works today.

S-R: What’s happened since you moved here in September?

Walker: Recently, we had a Buddhist blessing ceremony. I’m not religious, but it made me think about my business in a different way.

S-R: What’s the outlook for small, locally owned businesses like yours?

Walker: The only way we can survive is by offering customers a unique experience – the sort of feeling they get when they visit their favorite bar or restaurant.

This interview has been edited and condensed. If you have suggestions for business or community leaders to profile, contact Michael Guilfoil via email at mguilfoil@comcast.net.