{"id":18023,"date":"2015-10-07T12:23:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-07T16:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/10\/sisters-personify-entrepreneurial-spirit-with-the-operation-of-putnam-market-in-saratoga.html"},"modified":"2015-10-07T12:23:51","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T16:23:51","slug":"sisters-personify-entrepreneurial-spirit-with-the-operation-of-putnam-market-in-saratoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/10\/sisters-personify-entrepreneurial-spirit-with-the-operation-of-putnam-market-in-saratoga\/","title":{"rendered":"Sisters Personify Entrepreneurial Spirit With The Operation Of Putnam Market In Saratoga"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"entrep\n<\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a92015 Saratoga Photographer.com Cathy Hamilton, right, and Gloria Griskowitz are sisters that own and operate Putnam Market, a business that started on Putnam Street in 1995 and is now a popular Broadway store.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY MAUREEN WERTHER<\/p>\n

Pinchot University defines entrepreneurship
\nas “the willingness to take risks and develop,
\norganize and manage a business venture in a
\ncompetitive global marketplace that is constantly
\nevolving … They are dreamers and most importantly
\n– doers.”<\/p>\n

Business partners and sisters, Cathy Hamilton
\nand Gloria Griskowitz, are local personifications
\nof that entrepreneurial spirit.<\/p>\n

At the forefront of the “foodie” revolution, they
\ntook a leap from highly successful jobs in the
\ncorporate world and opened the Putnam Street
\nMarketplace on Broadway in Saratoga Springs in
\n1995. They’ve never looked back.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Philadelphia as the children
\nof entrepreneurs–their father started a
\nconstruction business and their mother owned
\na furniture store–Hamilton said that “growing
\nup within the context of a family owned business
\nis a specific mind set.”<\/p>\n

Out of eight children in their family, three
\nof their brothers continue to run their father’s
\nconstruction firm and a fourth, a geologist, has
\nhis own firm. Hamilton and Griskowitz see entrepreneurship
\nas something of a “family tradition.”<\/p>\n

However, neither woman specifically planned
\nto pursue entrepreneurship initially. Griskowitz
\nhad a successful career as national sales and merchandising
\nmanager for Clairol, while Hamilton,
\na self-confessed “science nerd,” steadily rose up
\nthe ranks at General Electric to become general
\nmanager for sales and marketing at GE Plastics
\nfor 10 years prior to opening Putnam Market.<\/p>\n

After years of pursuing – and achieving –
\ncorporate success, Hamilton and Griskowitz
\nboth felt it might be time to think about making
\nmore time in their lives for things like family
\nand community.<\/p>\n

Hamilton had been impressed with Saratoga
\nSprings and talked with her sister–who was
\ncommuting into New York City from New Jersey
\nat the time–to consider relocating to Spa City.
\nBoth women recall frequent trips into New York
\nCity with their mom while growing up and visiting
\nshops like Dean & DeLuca. They saw the need
\nfor a similar kind of store in downtown Saratoga
\nSprings and began creating their vision for the
\nPutnam Street Marketplace.<\/p>\n

Opening in 1995 in an 11,000-square-foot
\nspace on Putnam Street, devoted to gourmet
\n“whole foods” retail, the sisters were ahead of
\ntheir time.
\n“Initially, we didn’t make anything of our
\nown,” said Griskowitz. But as the store grew and
\nevolved, so did their vision.<\/p>\n

By 2000, they made the move to Broadway,
\nshortening the business name to Putnam Market
\nand shifting steadily to the making and selling
\nof their own products. By 2013, they completely
\nrevamped their business goal and dedicated the majority of space to their own products. Today,
\nsaid Hamilton, Putnam Market is really more of
\na manufacturing business than a retail company.<\/p>\n

Hamilton described the corporate mind-set
\nand the family owned business mind-set as being
\ndistinctly different.
\n“In the corporate world, you feel like a captain
\nof industry. You’re connected to the business, but
\nin a specific role. And you are measured closely
\nby your accomplishments.” Whereas, in the world
\nof family owned business, the focus some days
\nis on “making sure the toilets flush,” she joked.<\/p>\n

In addition to the daily operational challenges,
\nthere are external challenges. With the “foodie”
\nculture present in the upstate region, Putnam
\nMarket has competition that was non-existent
\nin 1995. Remaining current, innovative, and relevant
\nis critical to the sisters’ continued growth
\nand success.<\/p>\n

Paying attention to details and being advanced
\ntechnologically is one key to their ongoing success.
\nGriskowitz excels at analyzing data and
\ntracking product performance. If it’s not selling,
\nthey stop buying it or producing it. Each item
\nmade in the store is scrupulously broken down
\ninto measurable components.<\/p>\n

Hamilton gives the example of making a sandwich. “Think if everyone here put a different
\namount of meat on a sandwich. It may not initially
\nseem like a big deal, but over time, it could
\nmean a huge difference in profitability.”<\/p>\n

They also have a loyal and well trained team,
\nsomething they said is a tangible component of
\nthe store’s profitability. Built on a cornerstone
\nof collaboration and open communication, the
\nPutnam Market staff is invested in the success of
\nthe business and takes ownership of their work.
\nGriskowitz credits the success of the team to
\n“lots of training, lots of oversight and a little bit
\nof nagging.”<\/p>\n

And there’s risk-taking. Like true entrepreneurs,
\nHamilton and Griskowitz aren’t afraid of
\na challenge and are always trying new things.
\n“It keeps us relevant and has fueled our success,”
\nsaid Hamilton.
\nTheir advice to women considering making
\na move into the world of entrepreneurship is to
\n“cultivate leadership skills, whether it’s through
\nathletics or work experience. Also, learn how to
\npresent yourself and manage your voice in a way
\nthat gets people to go your way.”<\/p>\n

And, Hamilton noted with a nod to Griskowitz,
\n“it helps to have a good team with complimentary
\nskills.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a92015 Saratoga Photographer.com Cathy Hamilton, right, and Gloria Griskowitz are sisters that own and operate Putnam Market, a business that started on Putnam Street in 1995 and is now a popular Broadway store.BY MAUREEN WERTHER Pinchot University defines entrepreneurship…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[57,115,121],"class_list":["post-18023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news","tag-business-news","tag-saratoga-springs","tag-shopping"],"yoast_head":"\r\nSisters Personify Entrepreneurial Spirit With The Operation Of Putnam Market In Saratoga - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/10\/sisters-personify-entrepreneurial-spirit-with-the-operation-of-putnam-market-in-saratoga\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sisters Personify Entrepreneurial Spirit With The Operation Of Putnam Market In Saratoga - 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