In a corporate world of big companies, competition is tough for “mom and pop” shops, many of which are run out of business as corporations and the big box stores like Wal-Mart get even bigger. But family businesses can offer something most big ones cannot — independent thinking and creativity, intimate customer service, and knowledge often passed for years down the line. Not to mention the passion for their work, a passion far removed from many big companies these days.

Father and son team Bob and Rick Baxter have owned Port Orchard Signs for seven years after buying it from a previous owner. A retired shipyard worker, Bob “needed something to do,” while Rick, a graphic design graduate of the Seattle Art Institute, needed a creative outlet for his talents.

“Rick worked at various places, but he wanted his own business,” Bob Baxter said. “I wanted to be involved with my son and my background was doing something with my hands, so it was a good match.”

The new company hired its first employee after 18 months, then another one four years later, while striving to do quality work and keeping customers happy by meeting timelines. Their spouses, Jan and Tracey, are part of the company, managing the office, keeping the books, and bringing in new accounts. Tracey is currently the president. “All of us are really involved in the business aspect, that’s why I really like it,” Baxter said, adding that they are looking to buy new property and expand.

Poulsbo-based Hill Moving and Storage is a rarity. In a moving industry brimming with franchised outlets, Hill Moving is not only independently owned but has also built an excellent reputation in its 18 years of existence. That’s because at stake is something franchise companies can’t claim: the family name.

“The advantage of being family-owned is that our name is on the trucks, and our reputation is on the line,” said Mike Hill, whose parents established and own the company with the goal to provide better service to people on the move.

Mike and his father, Steve, were “pretty much it” at first, but other family members joined in later, including his sister and his mother-in-law. Thirty employees provide services for the company, which just expanded into Gig Harbor in March and hopes to capture the military market in addition to the civilian one. “We bend over backwards and work much harder than bigger companies,” Hill said. And that treatment is paying off: The majority of their business comes from repeat customers and word of mouth.

Jim Kendall created Telebyte NW, Kitsap’s first Internet Service Provider, in 1994. “I was a part owner of Kitsap Computers and was looking at creating a bulletin board when I heard about the Internet — the biggest bulletin board out there — and the rest was history,” he said. The company has more than a dozen stockholders, with Jim and Alta Kendall as owners-operators. Alta had worked full-time managing the office and accounting, but has recently decided to go back to college. Their oldest daughter works for the company, but not because she’s family, Kendall said: because of her skills. “We never set out to be a family business, it just turned out that way,” he said.

Frances Meyer is a true example of small-business resiliency. Through desperate times and tough financial challenges, she and her husband, Eric, had kept their dream — and their company, Charleston Cinema — alive. “The response from the community helps us remember why we’re here; and the struggles have brought our family close together and has kept us going,” she said.

Opening Charleston in a building that had been abandoned for years and is perhaps best remembered as a porno theatre, the couple wanted to show second-run, affordable moves and be involved in the community. Frances has held the fort while (until recently) working full-time with the help of their children, now ages 1, 5 and 6. Eric keeps up the work behind the scenes, while Frances and the youngsters do the rest.

“The kids entertain the customers, and they learn the concept of helping others,” she said. They also do the cleanup. Thanks to community sponsors, the cinema also shows free movies, and volunteers help out. After tough times due to the road work on Callow Avenue, they are “back to having a good summer” and seeing a full house.

Carolyn & Charlie Frame

Bainbridge Island’s Carolyn and Charlie Frame aren’t the only part of their family involved in their business, CFA Northwest Mortgage Professionals. There are actually five generations of family involved in the business, which has offices in downtown Winslow, Silverdale, Gig Harbor, Juneau, Alaska, San Jose, Calif., and another soon to open in the Phoenix area.

Carolyn’s mother, son, three granddaughters and a great grandson all play integral parts in her mortgage lending firm.

Carolyn, who is also very active in community affairs was named as the Business Journal’s Businessperson of the Year in 2001 and most recently, she and Charlie was named by the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce as its Business Couple of the Year.

“As much as my family means to me, I feel all our employees are a part of our family as well,” said Carolyn. “Three of our people have been with us for over 10 years.”

“She added, “Our dream was to build a legacy. Having our family involved makes that dream come true.”

Karen Suther of Boehm’s Chocolates in Poulsbo

Poulsbo chocolate lovers owe Suzanne Suther for helping bring a sweet piece of paradise, Boehm’s Chocolates, to town. A former employee of the original candy maker Julius Boehm in Issaquah, she helped a couple who came to Poulsbo by boat open a chocolate store, and later bought it from them. But busy working as the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce director, Suther needed help to run the store. “After I graduated, I said, ‘Mom, I’ll give you three years and see what happens.’ That was 12 years ago,” said her daughter, Karen.

The two make a good team, Karen Suther says. Mom loves to decorate, so she comes regularly on the weekends and transforms the shop to match the seasons. The daughter, who runs the store, loves the small-town atmosphere and being close to the mountains. Every Thursday, a truck-full of Boehm’s Chocolates makes tempting deliveries, and there are hardly any grumpy customers. And even if they come in grumpy, they leave with smiles on their faces.

For about four or five years, Pat and Caron Guilfowle had looked at ways of putting their corporate experience to a different use, hopefully one that didn’t require a four hours per day commute. After hours of research and location scouting, they found a niche — coastal residents — and set up shop in Poulsbo.

Caron’s Furniture is a coastal lover’s must-visit, and it’s no surprise that boat owners and water lovers brag to each other about finding the treasures it carries. People call from as far as California and Texas to order their store-brand bath and body products they’ve seen used by their friends, so the couple keeps its options open for future catalog and Internet sales, and eventually another store.

It all came through hard work, 11-12 hour days, and financial commitment. “Our daughter Allison has been here since day one,” Pat Guilfowle said. “As a small business, you have to involve your family so they become aware of your time commitment.” The couple is pleased at how far they’ve come in the 14 months since they opened the store—but, they say, it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done.

Rush’s Book Swap and Coffee is Bremerton’s baby business. Dana Rush just opened the shop less than two months ago, with the help of her 14-year-old son, Ben, and 22 –year old son, Jamie. Ending up as a single mother after the death of her husband, Rush needed to make a living while also being a mom to a teen. A former owner of a bookshop in California, she decided to give business ownership one more try.

“I thought I’d just have a book shop, but now I also offer a book swap, coffee stand and sandwiches,” she said. Jamie built the store counters, all 60 feet of them, from scratch with the help of a friend. Ben, the youngest, comes in to help run the shop. “It gives him the chance to make some extra money but also see what the real world is like,” she said.

Rush’s will have its grand opening sometimes in September, after some of the last-minute bugs are worked out. “Sometimes you go into business because you have to,” Rush said, “but you can draw from all sorts of odd experiences in your life.”.