Specialty Fabrics Review interviews Keith Purves, MFC, owner of Riverside Covers

Interview by Sigrid Tornquist

What has been the biggest turning point to date for your business?

About five years ago when my wife Tammy came on board she started computerizing our records and billing procedures. Less than a year ago she launched our website. We’re one of the only custom canvas shops in Ft. Myers that has a website, and we generate a lot of business from it.

How have you adjusted work practices to survive dips in the economy?

I rent shop space in a large building that is divided into individual bays. I’ve been able to expand and contract my business’s size—the number of staff and the number of square feet—as the economy changes.

Sigrid Tornquist is a freelance author and editor based in St. Paul, Minn. She is also the associate editor of InTents magazine.