Like Father, Like Daughter:
Johnson Mills Scion is a
Dyed -in-the-Wool
Businessperson

The
ENTREPRENEURIAL
Woman
By: Liz Schick

As the fourth-generation owner of Johnson Woolen Mills in Johnson, Vermont, Stacy Manosh has 162 years of manufacturing in her blood.

Manosh claims she was a rag woman even as a child, when she would sweep up in the mill. Through high school, she worked the sewing machines during summer vacation, getting up at 5:30 a.m. with her father and working from 6:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. every day. "I loved being in the building," Manosh says. "I always had an innate sense that this was what I was meant to do. It's in my genes."

But Manosh's father groomed her to work in the mill, not own it. He was, in Manosh's words, "very old school, very chauvinistic. He didn't think women were meant to run any businesses."

The line of succession went like this: in 1905, Manosh's great grandfather D.A. Barrows bought into the woolen weaving mill that had been in operation since 1842, and expanded it to manufacture outerwear. Barrows brought in his son Robert as a partner in 1927 and formed a corporation in 1930, with Robert as president. In 1955, Robert brought his son Del, Manosh's father, into the operation as vice president. Del took over as president when his father died.

In contrast, Stacy Manosh had to buy the company from her father Del, which she did in December 1988 amid difficulties. "As a woman in the middle of a nasty divorce, whose soon-to-be ex-husband was the one with the money, I couldn't get a dime on my own," she said. She was able to borrow enough money with the help of an aunt. "If there is a silver lining, it's knowing that I owe all this money, so I know what I'm going to do every morning when I wake up."

Manosh is enthusiastic about the partnership she has with TD (Toronto-Dominion) Banknorth, where she is also on the board of directors. "Besides loaning money to buy the business, they are incredibly good to work with. We require a large line of credit because we manufacture, pay taxes, heat, payroll and the like year-round, but we might not ship a pair of pants we made in January until September. Often, the earliest we see any money is November. That requires close coordination with our financial institution."

"Do I stay up nights worrying?" Manosh asks rhetorically. "I used to, but not anymore because now I know it always works out one way or another." Her newly pound-found golden retriever, Tucker, helps keep the office atmosphere calm.

Manosh warns, "Manufacturing is not for the faint of heart. It's tough. The costs are outrageous: [worker's] comp, healthcare - everything is rising." She regrets that the only employee healthcare she can afford to buy carries a very high deductible. But she is competing with foreigh companies that pay workers $3 per week, with no benefits.

Yet she loves what she does. "Is it hard? Yes. Do I buy my hair dye by the case? Yes. But the people I work with are off the charts. They are fantastically devoted and hard workers. None of us is getting rich. But we are making some great stuff, and that's what it's all about."

Manosh attended the University of Northern Colorado for one year, then completed her B.A. in history and education at the University of Vermont (1983). She knew she wanted to go directly into sales for the mill but there was an older gentleman in that job who wasn't ready to retire. She had to wait three years, working at odd jobs, selling real estate and waiting on tables at restaurants around Johnson.

When she finally got the sales job, she held it for nine years. Her father still didn't want to let a woman take any management role, so Manosh left the mill and, in 1996, started her own real estate business, Manosh Realty Services in Morrisville.

"Real estate was an exciting endeavor," she says. "I learned a lot and worked hard, but my heart was always at the mill."

Indeed, she never stopped thinking about what she would do if she ran Johnson Woolen Mills, and developed ideas that certainly didn't mesh with her father's ideas. However, as his health began to decline and he thought about retiring, she was able to convince him to sell her the business.

Manosh is a big believer and booster of products made in the United States. "Every day I want to make the best, highest-quality products I can at the most reasonable prices. I want to increase awareness not only of Johnson Woolen Mills products, but of all U.S.-made products. All my fabrics and zippers and threads are made here, and I think more people need to support that."

Johnson Woolen Mills' products are sold through more than 600 dealers located around the U.S., including L.L.Bean. In addition to the factory store in Johnson, Manosh aims to create one Johnson Woolen Mills satellite company store in Vermont each year for the next five years, beginning in the Burlington area.

But the secret of her success is Japan, where the company's products are a huge hit. "At a time when American businesses are losing out to foreign countries, we are selling more and custom designing for the Japanese market," she says with a smile.

Manosh is also focusing on marketing to women. "After all, women are the shoppers, and if women like a coat, they'll come back the following year and buy it in a different color. Men will wear the same coat until it shreds off their backs and still wear it with patches and holes. That's not great for business.

"Also," she adds, "thank heavens for the oversizing of America. As people gain more weight, they have to buy more clothes."

Another advance over her father's time is the use of the Internet, which Manosh says has increased sales dramatically. The company is currently putting the finishing touches on its website, www.johnsonwoolenmills.com.

As for future plans, Manosh says, "I would love to see the company grow sales each year and get to a point where I can pay our people more and be better off financially, so we can grow our market share. To achieve this, I know we have to be sure that our ability to manufacture can increase at the same rate as our orders, so it's one step at a time."

Her personal goals? A few more hours a day to ride her Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle, downhill ski, and water ski - if she can find someone with a boat to pull her.

Manosh has choice words of wisdom for Vermont women entrepreneurs. "Stock up on your hair dye. Put in a case of Chardonnay and go. It's not easy, but you never know what you are capable of doing until you have to do it."

-- Vermont Woman, June 2005, Page 12