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For all the new avenues open to entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground, some have turned to the time-and-tested county fair circuit. Pete Aksenczuk’s Urbana-based business, Champaign Coal & Stove Co., set up at the Clark County Fair this week and is on its way to the Champaign County Fair to spread the word about its product.
“This is the best way to advertise our product,” Aksenczuk said. “It’s always better face-to-face.”
Aksenczuk sells stoves — from $855 to more than $2,500 — that burn wood and anthracite coal. Aksenczuk’s company also sells the coal.
Due to the nature of his product, Aksenczuk goes through the trouble of setting up at the fair because it provides him with the opportunity to demonstrate his product and educate customers.
“Having it set up, people are walking by, they can see the stoves, we can show them how they work,” he said.
Aksenczuk isn’t the only one who speaks highly of the benefits of setting up at the county fair.
Joe Dill, Champaign County Fair concession manager, routinely has a waiting list for vendors, and this year is no exception.
“(The vendors) get people from all around, we draw a lot from surrounding counties,” Dill said. Champaign charges $14 per square foot for their space.
Aksenczuk sells anthracite coal from northeast Pennsylvania, which burns hotter and cleaner than other types, he said. The high attendance at county fairs helps consumers make a decision about his product.
“You have to present it, they have to see it, and they have to chew on it for awhile,” he said. “It’s not an impulse buy.”
That personal touch is missing from other traditional sources of advertising, Aksenczuk said.
The Champaign County Fair isn’t the biggest one around, but it attracts crowds with free rides and parking, Dill said.
“The vendors like that,” he said. “They don’t have rides and parking taking all the (patrons’) money.”
About 150 vendors will set up at the Champaign County Fair this year, selling items from windmills to solar power, Dill said.
Aksenczuk said he would encourage any business owner to set up shop at the fair.
“We’re so sold on doing it this way,” he said. “In the future, we’re sure we’re going to do other fairs.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0360 or vlough@coxohio.com.
“Having it set up, people are walking by, they can see the stoves, we can show them how they work.”
Pete Aksenczuk
Champaign Coal & Stove Co. owner
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