#48 OUR FIRST STORE * (revised 6/4) "why tulsa? part one

“I was used to California girls, with their perfectly manicured nails and their pointy Italian shoes gingerly stepping and placing there hands into the flowers. Everything, I mean everything was hand carried and fitted into their Lexus convertibles.

So I was astonished to see in our rain soaked parking lot, two women hoisting a two hundred pound tree into an old unpainted pickup. I ran across the pavement pleading to help them and was greeted by broad smiles, “That’s ok, we got it in and tied down” This was not California. This was Wisconsin. Anything was possible.”

We like everything about the Midwest. Well, almost everything.

The big guy upstairs could have gone a little easier on the bugs and the humidity, the snakes and the muddy water. We felt at home there. The small towns of wood and clapboard, the closeness and bonding of the communities, the values and the work ethic, all lent themselves to a beginning for our dream of green garden gates.

We decided on three areas for our first store; The State of Wisconsin, somewhere along the corridor of the cities of Oshkosh, Appleton, and Green Bay. Another was in Minnesota, Near Chanhassen and Chaska, just Southwest of the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. For the final choice, we moved to the very south of the Midwest, an area that has a strange split personality of being “Midwest” and being “Southern”, The State of Oklahoma, the city of Tulsa, and Tulsa’s surrounding towns and suburbs.

All of us visited the areas over the course of the three months. We met with community leaders, toured possible land sites, viewed the manufacturing and retail sections, the schools, the government offices, competitive businesses in gardening and building projects. We studied the history and the stability of the region. We moved through neighborhoods and watched gardeners tending their summer proud flowers and foliage. We followed set criteria and scored each area. At last, after days of photos and reports covering our motel beds, we came to only one choice; we would bet our dream on Tulsa..

Why Tulsa?

Is Tulsa located close to other cities?

“I had two bike shops ninety miles apart. I spent all my time driving back and forth on that road from one shop to another instead of taking care of the needs of my customers”

Small bike shop owner

Northern California

Our plan is to gather our stores into a tight area of the country and to expand into other clusters across the United States. We cannot choose isolated cities and towns no matter how appealing they may be. We must be able to service and manage a number of stores within close geographical proximity to one another.

Yes, Tulsa has a number of major cities and towns within two to four hours drive. To the north is Wichita, Kansas and a bit farther, the Kansas City metro market. To the South is Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth area, To the East are the major cities in Arkansas, Fort Smith and Little Rock, To the West is Amarillo. For immediate expansion the least effort of these areas is Oklahoma City, two hours away. All these areas are easily accessible by vehicle or by airport travel that connects conveniently to Tulsa.

Tulsa has a number of rapidly expanding suburban towns on all directions from the city. To the North is Owasso; To the South are Broken Arrow, Jenks, Bixby and Glenpool. To the West is Sand Springs, and to the East is Catoosa. The population of Tulsa is about 393,000 people with an additional of about 200,000 people living in the major towns and suburbs.

Because of these clusters of cities and suburbs near Tulsa, we are able to develop more green garden gates stores and service these stores easily and economically.

What is the state of the job market and the wage scales in Tulsa?

We want stable cities and towns who are on the upswing in jobs and wages, and have a long term future in solid industries. We cannot invest in areas where unemployment lingers and where factories are closing.

Tulsa is a bright economic area for job growth, population growth, and wages in the lower Midwest and South.

“

Rounding out the Top 5 "Salary Value" cities (in the United States) is the booming Oklahoma town of Tulsa. Tulsa is the second largest city in Oklahoma with 393,000 residents within the city limits, and is expected to gain 30,000 more inhabitants by 2010. Tulsa isn't your typical Oklahoma oil patch town. It's one of America's top industry leaders in aerospace, oil and gas, and technology. Extremely low business and living costs have made the metro a hotspot for entrepreneurs. A low unemployment rate has also helped power Tulsa onto our Top 5.

From Salary.com

The major industries and their employee numbers contribute to the extremely stable workforce. They are American Airlines 9,100 Tulsa Public Schools 7,000 City of Tulsa 4,220 St. Francis Hospital 4,100 St. John Medical Center 4,050 Bank of Oklahoma 2,520 Hillcrest Medical Center 2,350 Tulsa Community College 2,200. The unemployment rate for the Tulsa area is an average of 7.1%. The average salary is 35,586.00.

“Tulsa's central location in the United States makes it a desirable place to locate nearly any type of business, from manufacturing to retail, telecommunications, and service-oriented industries. Operating costs generally run well below the national average. According to a 2004 study published by Forbes magazine, the Tulsa metropolitan area ranks as the third lowest metro area in terms of cost-of-living in the United States.”

From Forbes Magazine

What is the quality of life in the Tulsa area?

We want our customers and our employees to be immersed in a satisfying quality of life in their community, in their work, and at home. Quality of life means available financial means and overall pride in ownership, which we believe translates directly to gardening and green garden gates.

Tulsa has a nurturing wonderful quality of life.

“Incorporated in 1898, Tulsa lies in the heart of "Green Country," a fertile forested region of rolling hills in northeastern Oklahoma. Straddling Tulsa, Osage and Rogers counties, Tulsa is the second largest city in the state, located 90 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, the state capital. We are a flourishing city with the friendliness and close-knit attitude of a much smaller town. Tulsa boasts of low unemployment, with an economy based on telecommunications, manufacturing, aerospace, transportation and energy.

Tulsa's energy jobs have helped it remain relatively stable during this economic downtown, and Oklahoma is among the six states whose metropolitan areas have managed to avoid a recession. January's unemployment rate in Tulsa rose to 5.6 percent—a bit high for Tulsa, but more than 3 points below the national average. Tulsa also boasts a deep water port located on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, offering a Foreign Trade Zone, two industrial parks and liquid and dry cargo storage. Tulsa International Airport offers direct service to most major cities in the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has reported that Oklahoma ranked number 4 nationally in percentage growth of personal income in 2008.

So we remain optimistic, and we continue to grow. Tulsa's BOK Center, our state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue, is thriving in spite of the tough economy. In a recent tally of ticket sales at the top 50 venues in the world, the BOK Center was ninth worldwide, and second in the United States. Home to the Tulsa Talons arena football league team and Tulsa Oilers hockey, the BOK Center also hosts concerts, ice shows and other world-class entertainment. Next year will see the completion of a major renovation to the Tulsa Convention Center, featuring the opening of the largest ballroom in Oklahoma. We've already broken ground for the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park and memorial near downtown Tulsa, and for ONEOK Field, a new stadium that will open in 2010 for the Tulsa Drillers, the double A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

Tulsa is a city of districts, each with a unique character. The Greenwood Historical District was once one of the most affluent African-American communities in the United States, known as "Black Wall Street." The up-and-coming East Village and the Pearl are walkable neighborhoods with lofts, shops and services. In Midtown you'll find a wide variety of American style homes ranging from the Craftsman bungalow to the ranch-style home to Greek Revival houses, mostly built in the early part of the twentieth century. The Maple Ridge Historic District is home to the mansions on "Black Gold Row," built by the oil barons in the 1920s. And in South Tulsa you'll find many new developments, with houses and apartments for every price range.

Tulsa Public Schools is on a “Journey to Performance Excellence,” a five-year strategic effort to make our excellent schools even better. The largest district in Oklahoma, we are proud of our schools, including Booker T. Washington High School, a magnet school ranked among the Top 100 high schools in the United States by Newsweek. The school system, which also includes Union Public Schools and Jenks Public Schools, acts as a unifying organization within the community, providing activities for its families and a sense of pride, support and identity for its patrons. We also have several private K-12 schools, many of them affiliated with Catholic, Protestant or Jewish religious communities. Fifteen universities serve the Tulsa area, including the University of Tulsa, Oral Roberts University, and a branch of Oklahoma State University

We are proud of our cultural diversity, and of the cultural activities that celebrate our part and our future. We are home to four major museums, including the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, which houses the world's largest collection of Thomas Moran's work, and various music and dance companies, including the internationally known Tulsa Opera and the Tulsa Ballet. We have a revitalized downtown, and the historic Greenwood Jazz District and the Blue Dome Arts District are not to be missed.

With all Tulsa has to offer, it's no wonder more people relocate here every day. Oklahoma placed Number 6 in the first "Happiness Index" from the personal finance site MainStreet.com, and we would be more than glad to share our happiness with you.

From Re-Locate America Magazine

“America’s top 100 places to live in 2009”