Small Business is Big Business in Thayer County

Small Business is Big Business in Thayer County Main Photo

3 Dec 2021


News, Success Stories

Hello, True Value Hardware!

National Entrepreneur’s Month has come and gone. Yet, TCEDA is still celebrating by acknowledging another entrepreneurial small business. 

True Value Hardware is confirmation that small business is big business in Thayer County. True Value Hardware, a family-owned franchise, has been in downtown Hebron for over 11 years, under the current ownership. This year, their small business is expanding. Yes, True Value’s new location will be bigger in size, space, and items to purchase. We chatted with True Value owners Ryan and Jamie Luttrell regarding their conversion from a small business into a big business and they are excited!

As a family-owned and family-operated business, do your children work for the company as well?

  • Yes. Our children have grown up with this as their job. Our oldest is in college, but worked at the store through high school. Our high school senior still works here. They participate in customer service, deliveries, and many odd jobs that they probably don’t think should be included in their job description. :-D For example, today our daughter did a service call for an older lady to help her figure out how to get her Christmas lights to work and ended up helping her set up her Fitbit as well. They get great experience with customer service complexities. They are great problem solvers! 

What made you choose Thayer County and when did you first open?

  • We chose to open a store close to home and we opened in 2010.

Scrolling through your Facebook page, I understand “shortages have caused delays.” Is your old/current location still open for business? If so, when will it close and when will the new location open?

  • It is open and will remain so for the duration of the move. We hope to have that completed by the end of the year.

True ValueIf the new location will be open before Christmas, will you have any specials in addition to re-opening/new location specials?

  • We will be open at both locations, even during the move, beginning approx. Dec. 10th. So, it will be chaotic, but shoppable before Christmas. All Christmas items and toys will remain at the downtown location for the entire shopping season. Congratulations to Brenna, the winner of our Christmas Fair drawing! Though not able to use the gift certificate for Christmas items, the winner can use it at the new store for Christmas gift ideas.

What is the number one best business-related benefit of being located in Thayer County?

  • Customer relations. We have amazing customers that we know and trust and make this worth the work.

What are three convincing reasons you would share to get another business to move to Thayer County?

  1. The clear benefit of it being a great place to raise a family. 
  2. There are so many services that our community could use that would make great start-up businesses in this area.
  3. I feel like serving such an enthusiastic and supportive community is a huge motivator for owning a business here.

I think I covered everything. Is there anything you would like noted in the article that wasn’t addressed above?

  • Just how much we appreciate people shopping locally and putting back into their community through employment, taxes, utilities, etc. We would not dream of doing something of this magnitude without a community like this supporting us. And how much we appreciate our employees, who have done a great job of helping us with prepping for the move!

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We are so excited for True Value’s continued success in Thayer County and we can’t wait to celebrate this growth! This expansion showcases that there is room for growth at all sizes of businesses throughout our county. We commend the Luttrells and their team for rising to meet the needs of our local residents by broadening and adding new services to our retail options, and being the perfect example of what it means to Thrive in Thayer County! 

True Value Hardware has two locations:
414 Lincoln Ave., Hebron (current location)
745 N. 13th Street, Hebron (new location)

If you have a business idea you are ready to invest in or a business you’d like to relocate to Thayer county, contact us to learn of our opportunities for new businesses. Join us here in the good life and thrive in Thayer County.

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