Little Cottage Company started with big dreams
Dan Schlabach, owner of Little Cottage Company, Wild Ridge and Green Fox Plastics and recipient of the 2023 Holmes County Chamber of Commerce Large Business of the Year, accepted the honor at this year’s banquet from presenter Rob Hovis.
There once was a young man with a big dream.
That dream began with very humble beginnings, but through faith, trust and hard work, a spark of an idea caught fire and flamed into a success story that continues to spread today.
At this year’s Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau awards ceremony, Little Cottage Company received the annual Large Business of the Year.
While it may be large now, the company was as small as it could be in its infancy.
Little Cottage Company in Berlin, which includes sister companies Wild Ridge and Green Fox Plastics, is operated by founder and owner Dan Schlabach. The company started in Schlabach’s garage in 1999 when he began building playhouses out of wood. Since then the business has grown into one of the county’s tentpole companies.
“When I started out in my garage, it seemed kind of hopeless,” Schlabach said. “I enjoyed what I was doing and had a lot of fun thinking and planning, and I enjoyed the business process, so it never seemed totally hopeless.”
However, he said the entrepreneurial life can be a lonely life when starting out at the bottom with zero sales, but the challenges were something he cherished, and despite making advancements, he said the idea of standing in front of a crowd at the chamber banquet accepting such an honor was a far-off dream.
“One of my mantras has always been that when obstacles get in your way, just keep plugging along,” Schlabach said. “The point is that most times these obstacles present underlying opportunities, and that’s what happened when we started Green Fox.”
With a lineup of playhouses, storage sheds, chicken coops and dog kennels, Little Cottage ships product nationwide and in several foreign countries.
In 2012 Schlabach started Wild Ridge, which manufactures poly outdoor furniture. To support that business’ need for plastic consumption, Schlabach founded Green Fox Plastics.
When COVID-19 negated his supply chain, the creative Schlabach found the means to manufacture his own.
“For a lot of outdoor furniture companies during COVID, there wasn’t enough poly lumber available, and that was when we decided to branch out and make our own poly lumber,” Schlabach said. “One day I came home and told my wife, ‘Hey, how about Green Fox Plastics?’ It signifies recycling, going green, and my mantra from the beginning has been service, quality and innovative products.”
Not long ago Schlabach moved Green Fox Plastics into the former Berlin Amish Country Flea Market facility, allowing for plenty of expansion.
Presenter Rob Hovis said that in touring the companies, he found an incredible outlay of machinery cranking out quality product. That product included one of the most talked about playhouses ever invented, the upside-down playhouse that drew more than a few shocked glances from passersby on state Route 39.
In accepting the honor, part of the ceremony included a video presentation that went clear back to the beginning of the company through a series of photos.
Schlabach said watching that brought back many memories and made him emotional as he thought about how far the company has come.
Schlabach said in creating top-notch products, the onus falls upon the many employees who make it happen on a daily basis.
“It’s awesome what we can do together as a company,” Schlabach said. “We live in a very service-oriented community, and the people we have working for us have remained steadfast in their willingness to do whatever it takes to provide the very best service and quality product possible. We’re very grateful to each one of them.”
He said he owes much gratitude to his wife and children, who never gave up on the dream and were always beside him, encouraging him.
Schlabach said his vision over the next five years is to continue to produce the quality products his companies are known for, as well as expand what they offer.
“I see a lot of growth coming, which is driven by some of the decisions we’ve made with Green Fox Plastics,” Schlabach said. “I’ve got excellent people in place who will help me grow this company moving forward, so we can continue to be a community asset.”
Schlabach is living proof that big dreams can start with small ventures, and only through hard work and diligence do such dreams come true in the business realm.