Small Business Spotlight – February 2021: Grooms Office Environments

Company Name:  Grooms Office Environments
People in Charge: Jonathan and Audrey Garard, Co-Owners
Year founded: 1977

Describe what your organization provides for its customers:
Grooms designs intentional spaces for our clients to work. Allowing them to reach a common goal of efficiency and function to thrive in the spaces they are currently in or a new space they are developing. We work together to develop a lasting partnership to be a solution for any need within their working space.

Give us a brief history of your business and what makes it unique:
Grooms has a 44-year history in Springfield and all of Southwest Missouri as a full-service commercial furniture dealership. Grooms started with two employees as a simple filing company and today we are an award-winning authorized Herman Miller dealership servicing our clients of all sizes. From our founder and original owner, Olin Grooms, to our current co-owner Jonathan Garard – we are a veteran owned company and very proud of that. We have held a tradition of doing what is right and always working to strengthen our relationships with our clients along the way.

What’s the most exciting recent highlight for your business?
We recently completed a full remodel of our showroom/office space that allows us to better serve our clients and gives us a space that supports our employees.

Where do you hope to see your business in 12 months?
Each year is so different, and I think we are still looking at some unique challenges, but we see no reason we will not continue to grow as we support the needs of our working community. We also have plans to expand our warehouse capabilities this year that will allow us to handle an increase of volume and provide storage and inventory management for some of our long-term projects and partners.

What advice would you offer to someone starting their own small business?
Surround yourself with people smarter than you! Money is a byproduct of doing the right thing and putting employees and clients as your priority.