REV- Entrepreneur Highlight
Jeremy Gerres is a local entrepreneur and owner of Spirits at Rest, a chemical dependency counseling agency. Jeremy started planning for this business in 2019 after spending over 20-years in the automobile sales industry.
His first venture in Montgomery was with DriveIt Autos, Altoz lawnmower sales, and dock and lift sales. He said his transition away from auto, lawnmower, and outdoor recreation sales began after the city of Belle Plaine was sued for allowing the veterans’ memorial statue to be placed in a city park. That issue sparked a nerve and he wanted to make a statement of support, so he purchased some shirts for his business that had faith statements.
He said when staff wore the shirts, customers would comment on the shirts, and the conversations led to issues of sobriety. The customers would then comment on issues related to drugs and alcohol use in the community. He said the other factor was a downturn in the market on cars. Jeremy commented that “These two combined to move my spirit to pursue a treatment center as I felt the need was there.”
When Jeremy began his venture to create Spirits at Rest, he encountered several challenges. He said “the biggest challenge was the how and where to start. I had no idea where to begin in starting a treatment center. There were no guidelines for how to start this type of business.” One of the first things he did was to contact the city. “I began by talking to the city about how to get going and I was referred to the Small Business Development Center [SBDC] in Mankato.” He was assigned a mentor who really helped him formulate a vision and a sound business plan.
The mentor helped to ensure he had a good grasp of the market for this type of business. “Building the plan allowed me to meet the right people. The other major obstacle was finding investors. I had a very detailed business plan and that allowed me to make a good pitch to investors.”
Jeremy had an added challenge; he was starting a counseling business during the height of the pandemic. Offices were closed or staff were working from home, restrictions on gatherings limited face to face meetings, all this made it difficult to get off the ground. “The biggest challenge was getting the license from the state. I submitted the application and materials to the state a couple weeks prior to the executive order that required working from home. I was told it would take six weeks to get the license turned around and because of the pandemic, it took five months.”
His business is largely based on referrals that usually come as a result of a court proceeding. “Our main source for clients was from referrals from the judicial system. Because they were restricted, referrals were not coming. I was able to overcome this setback by going to as many area AA meetings as possible and talking to other licensed facilities as possible to get the word out about our business.”
The business is still recovering from the pandemic restrictions and with a lack of referrals. Jeremy stated Le Sueur County indicted he could see 6 – 12 referrals per month and his business plan was built on 4 “we have not hit that level of referrals yet.”
Jeremy did experiment with virtual visits and meetings early on in the pandemic but stated “they just didn’t seem to work very well for our type of work. We focus a lot on body language and a virtual meeting just isn’t conducive. Most of our clients prefer the in-person meeting.”
Jeremy explained the core of his business this way “Our mission
The first part is to help our clients to build back their self-esteem. We also work on rebuilding their physical well-being through suggestions on exercise, diet, etc. The final component is to help our clients discover and connect with a positive internal guidance system. Our overall vision is to break the cycle of alcohol and drug dependence and build positive leaders.”
Challenges are many for most emerging entrepreneurs so setting goals and marking “wins” are important. One of the big wins for Jeremy and Spirits at Rest was gaining licensure by the State of Minnesota and getting credentialed with private insurance companies. He indicated that “being out of network clients could not use their health insurance for treatment. Becoming a network provider with insurance agencies took over a year.”
However, as monumental as achieving those goals were, his greatest goal, and something he’s most proud of is seeing client’s graduate. “The biggest accomplishment is having 7 clients graduate and seeing their success in the community.”
Jeremy has four key pieces of advice for other entrepreneurs who are looking to make the leap and start a business venture. 1) Know your numbers. Understand the numbers involved in the business. 2) Build a detailed business plan. Put the time and work on creating a detailed and sound business plan and know it up and down. You will be able to attract investors if you have a sound and detailed business plan and know your market. 3) Know the community you are in and where you want to get started. Looking back at the car business, I may have done it differently when I started. 4) Reach out to others who are already in the business. Make connections with those who have been there.”
For more information on Montgomery's Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) program click here.