Buying local and selling local.

There isn’t a more appropriate expression to describe Rooted, a retail gift shop located in New London Township that sources goods from local suppliers and artisans and caters to local clientele.

Betsy Beehler and Ashley Rector founded Rooted in 2014 without a formal business plan, yet they experienced quick success. The two eventually came to SCORE Chester and Delaware Counties to formalize their business approach and to establish a plan for the future, and received help from SCORE mentors Steve Crumrine, Ruder Schill, and Carl Caruso.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how important the mentoring (we received from SCORE) has been to our business,” said Beehler. “We were new at this. We kind of jumped into it.”

Beehler and Rector were one of six winners of SCORE’s Small Business Achievement Award. The organization – which provides free professional business counseling to local entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits – recently hosted its ninth annual awards luncheon at the Concord Country Club.

Big Boize BBQ Sauce in Thorndale and Thom’s Jerky in Exton were also recognized, as were the following Delco-based businesses:

• Karite Naturals LLC (Springfield)
• River Avenue Digital LLC (Media)
• Julie Sebastian Softball and Fitness Instruction (Newtown Square)

Elected officials on the federal, state, and local levels, as well as educational, community, and business leaders from both counties, were present at the highly regarded event to congratulate the award winners and to recognize SCORE for its valuable contributions to the small business community.

Located at the corner of State Road and Route 896, a historically famous crossroads, Rooted carries unique foods, home goods, jewelry, clothing, art, and more. Its top sellers range from gourmet popcorn to barn-wood signs, local honey, and handmade jewelry. The store is staffed by a group of seven hardworking women. After building a solid foundation of more than 200 local artisans, Beehler and Rector began adding in wholesale suppliers based on the requests of customers and to round out their mix of merchandise.

Rooted continues to pay out more than 150 local artists monthly, based on individual sales.

Click here to learn more about Rooted.

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