Pacific Northwest Glass & Mirror, LLC, Marleen Zytniowski
The Zytniowskis successfully launched their business in 2017 and secured a small business loan. The business is now making a profit and the Zytniowskis have hired 13 employees, including journeyman glaziers, an office manager, receptionists, an estimator, and a social media specialist.
SCORE mentor Dennis Harvey worked with the Zytniowskis on opening their business in a short timeframe. He helped them develop their business plan and connected the Zytniowskis with other resources including a bookkeeper, a retired banker, and a website support person. Each member of the family took some SCORE classes.
Marleen advises other potential small business owners to, “Look at the business model of successful companies and strive to duplicate or at least take some aspects of that model to create your own.”
Pacific Northwest Glass & Mirror is a family-owned custom glass and mirror company specializing in mirrors, tabletops, showers, glass partitions, storefront glass, and windows. Co-owner Marleen Zytniowski says, “As a family, our vision is to treat our customers, community, and staff like family – taking care of needs, solving problems, being responsive and respectful.” That philosophy is as much a part of their vision as the high-quality service and products they provide to their customers in Vancouver, Wash.
The Zytniowskis chose Vancouver because of the welcoming atmosphere and the lush natural environment. They are the only union glass company in the Vancouver area, which, Marleen says, means, “we are able to tap into training on groundbreaking industry products and procedures and have the resources to bring on additional-experienced workers when needed.”
This is my Eighth Year of mentoring for SCORE and I have helped over 400 clients. Work hard and play...