Sba Lauds Fun-Loving Local Firm Buckeye Beans Wins Award, Invitation To White House

When Jill Smith approached her husband 12 years ago about selling homemade soup, he said the idea wasn’t worth a hill of beans.

But reluctantly Doug Smith agreed to blow $1,000 with his wife, a hippie potter with an unorthodox sense of humor. Together the couple launched Buckeye Beans and Herbs from their kitchen.

It was a good mix. Doug supervised company operations while Jill spun yarns about Buckeye’s dry soup mixes and curiously shaped pasta, pasting the stories on the packaging.

Consumers loved it and today the North Spokane company boasts $7.2 million in annual sales, 50 employees and an invitation to the White House.

On Friday, the U.S. Small Business Administration named the Smiths the Small Business Persons of the Year for Washington. The coveted award is given to only 50 people each year, one for each state. President Clinton will present the awards in June.

The Smiths are only the second Spokane winner of the SBA honor. Bill and Judy Williams, founders of Telect Inc. in the Valley, shared the award several years ago.

“This was never supposed to be a company,” said Jill Smith, who as director of sales and marketing calls herself the “Bean Queen.” “But Doug caught on fast. He realized my idea was pretty good.”

The Smiths were selected from hundreds of small-business owners statewide, said Rich Hadley, president of the 2,200-member Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, which nominated the Smiths for the award.

“This is a big deal,” Hadley said. “They’ve shown how a small business can start and grow and expand into the world marketplace.”

Robert Wiebe, district director of the SBA in Spokane, said the award goes to business owners who oversee rapid growth in sales and employment, and overcome adversity.

The Smiths faced their greatest challenge last fall when Buckeye nearly grew too fast for the couple to handle. The Smiths reorganized the company to free themselves from day-to-day minutiae and to delegate greater responsibility to employees. The effort cost no jobs and Smith said they are considering selling stock and taking the company public.

Smith, who writes most of the witty slogans and stories that accompany Buckeye products, said the company ships products to Japan, New York, Seattle and hundreds of other locations.

Buckeye’s Aunt Patsy-brand soups and cornbread are big sellers, but the company frequently draws attention with specialty pastas in shapes such as angels, trees, baseballs and dolphins.

“If you can’t laugh at yourself, its not worth it, and I always give myself plenty of material,” Smith said.

, DataTimes