Beth Snyder graduated from the journalism school at the University of Missouri, where she went into graphic design. She started out at KOMU working in the production department, and then moved to Nashville for six years working at a television station there.
Though she loved everything Nashville had to offer, she missed her small town life. In 2008, she moved back to Fulton. Two weeks after her arrival, she married her husband who she brought back from Nashville with her.
Snyder always had the idea of owning her own company and creating a workplace where people would like to work and be located. And though she's in the creative field and loves to do anything artistic, she really enjoys the creativity that comes along with starting a business.
"It is what I am good at and love to do," Snyder said. "The awesome thing about being in a small town is that you can do that, and your cost of living is low and there is just so much more support in a small town, I think, from other business owners and from the bank."
She is thankful for Callaway Bank for helping her get on her feet and helping her succeed with her businesses.
"A small town bank will take care of you," Snyder said. "And I think that's a good example of why a small town is so great. A small town bank wants to see you succeed. They know you personally; they help connect you with people. I have friends who live in L.A. and Dallas and Atlanta, and they're using these enormous banks that don't know their name and didn't help them with their loans and all those kinds of things. So the bank is just one example of the ways a small town will support you and really invest in you and have an interest in seeing your whole business succeed."
Though 1canoe2 is their main shop on Court Street, it brings in less than one percent of the total revenue for the year.
"We have the shop because we have this beautiful building that we renovated, and it's on Court Street," Snyder said. "So I wanted to have a shop, and I also really like bringing little bits of my travels out in the world back. Because I have to go to New York and Atlanta a lot for shows, and I see beautiful interesting retail spaces there. And I love the idea of bringing a little piece of what I see out in the world back to Fulton."
She has six businesses in total; 1canoe2 being the baby, Hemlock Goods and Call Me Liz to name just a few.
"We're doing our own shipping," Snyder said. "And last year during the pandemic, I had a friend in L.A. who has a sock company and her warehouse wouldn't ship things out. So we took her stuff on and then we took another company's stuff, and Court Street Custom Fulfillment, that is a shipping company, and we have a warehouse and so now we ship out six different companies' products."
Snyder loves to be able to do anything she can for everyone she meets, especially her community. She feels as though she has a responsibility to contribute to the world.
"I think overall ... every single human who lives in society in a community has a responsibility to do what they can with the resources they have," Snyder said. "Whether that's time or talent or money. They need to contribute in some way outside of their job."
And she knows it can be a lot, especially with raising a family because she has a 10-year-old daughter. But she also wants her small town to still be something in the future because she wants her daughter to be able to thrive in Fulton in the future if her daughter chooses to stay.
With that being said, she is also the president of the Fulton Chamber of Commerce.
"I'm happy to do it; I'm honored that I was chosen to do it," Snyder said. "And I believe in the way businesses can help the town grow and succeed. There's a lot of small towns that just aren't making it right now, but Fulton is actually holding its own and thriving, and getting better all the time."
Snyder enjoys being able to help her community continue to grow, and help those in her community connect across different areas of her life - whether that be from her businesses or working through the chamber. She wants to help people find each other and make lasting connections within their small town community.