Meet Don Vidler from Vidler's 5 & 10

For 85 years, Vidler's 5 & 10 has been an institution and a tourist destination in East Aurora, New York. The family-run "five and dime" harkens back to a simpler time, when the local general store sold (just about) everything under the sun and the customers doubled as both neighbors and friends.

We met Don Vidler and his amazing team as part of Small Business Big Game and we were immediately struck by their passion for building a sustainable local business and their dedication to customer service — not to mention their hilarious series of videos on YouTube.

Take it away, Don!

Name: Don Vidler

Business: Vidler's 5 & 10

What is your favorite thing about being a small business owner?

My favorite thing about running Vidler's 5 & 10 is that we're a family business. 

We've been here for 85 years, the same store in the same location on Main Street. We've been in business for three generations and we've had more than three generations of customers come in here and visit us. It's a wonderful feeling to have that kind of support.

I also love that we get to be part of this community and see our friends, family and neighbors come in every day. 

What is your least favorite thing about being a small business owner?

We've employed a lot of young adults in our community over the years — high school kids, college kids. They're wonderful and when they head off to college or move away, we miss them!

We've had a lot of good kids work with us over the years, and one of the hardest parts of having our business is having to say goodbye to them when they move on.

What has surprised you the most so far about running your own business?

Lately, the biggest surprise has been the support we received from our community during Small Business Big Game! Everywhere in town — at the bank, at the post office, out shopping — we hear from folks that they were behind us and voting for us. The outpouring of support from our community has been outstanding.

If you had a magic wand that you could use to make only one of your business challenges disappear, what would you use it for?

Right now we're having a tough time driving people to shop online from our website. 

We carry such a wide variety of novelty products and items that most places don't carry, or that you can't find anywhere else. We want people to see the variety of what we offer — and we can do that on a daily basis very easily in our story in East Aurora — but we're learning that it's much harder to showcase everything we offer on a website.

What measurements are most important to you that keep your business thriving?

The biggest thing we measure is feedback from our customers. We're constantly talking to our customers and reacting with them. We like to find out how they found out about our business, where they got their information from and what drove them here. 

We try to take some one-on-one time with every customer who comes through our door, not just to see how they got here, but also what they like and dislike. Then, we can make smarter decisions about how to move our business forward.

If you had one piece of advice for a small business owner who is just starting out, what would it be?

You need to absolutely love what you do. You have to be passionate, because if you love what you do, you'll do it very well.

As my father always said, "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."

I've learned that if you enjoy what you do every day and work hard, you will succeed.