Did you know that every $100 spent at a local, independently-owned store generates $45 of secondary local spending, compared to $14 for a big-box chain? This was first tested in 2003 by the Institute for Local Self Reliance and is nearly identical to later results across multiple Civic Economic studies. The Plant City Times & Observer agrees with buying local. With the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, we’ve launched the Buy Local campaign, encouraging residents to shop local.
This week’s Buy Local spotlight is Rita Staffing. We caught up with Janet Kelly to get all the info on this successful business.
How did your business first get its start?
We first started as a direct hire placement with engineers and then started the temporary side of the business that focused on vacations and maternity fill-ins.
What kind of services can your business offer the community?
Nothing is more rewarding than helping people find a career. We are blessed to help match qualified employees with our top employers daily.
How does your business contribute to the community?
Being locally owned and operated our profits are spent in the local community — unlike the national franchises. We also are encouraged to sponsor local charity groups, etc., and every year for Christmas we donate to food banks, buy toys for foster children and encourage our employees to do the same. Our employees are actively involved in volunteering their time with community activities.
What is your business’ motto or mission and why?
Rita Staffing is an innovative provider of creative staffing solutions, enabling our clients to achieve their goals and objectives. Our core commitments are simply: ethics and integrity in everything we do. Our relationships with our clients and our employees are the foundation of our continued success. And, as a company, we anticipate and embrace change.
How many employees do you have?
In Plant City we have four core employees and two sales people.
Can you describe your clients/customers?
We are blessed to have a variety of clients that range from light industrial, professional placement, warehouse and production to office support.
About the Owner:
Our owners are Jim and Martha Dayvault. Both are still involved in our business today. They also are owners of Sunshine Staffing in Sebring, and with Tony Wolz, are owners of Rita Technology, an IT firm based out of Tampa. They enjoy spending time at the beach and are very involved in their church.
What is your background? Professional? Education?
Both our owners are graduates of the business school of Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina.
How long have you been in the business?
We have been in business 42 years.
Where do you see your business in the next five years?
Our focus is always on our customers and their every changing needs. At the heart, our business is people-centric. While technology can enhance efficiencies and even replace manual functions, you can’t take the human factor out of it entirely.
The definition of an employee may also change significantly as workers desire to bounce part-time between traditional corporate roles, cultivation of entrepreneurial opportunities, pursuit of societal contributions and leisure activities. Contract-like work models could become a more prevalent and dynamic way to assemble successful teams
What is your secret to success?
We live by our mission statement: ethics and integrity in all we do. We also give back to our community and believe in helping the same community where we work and live. Our employees are everything to us.