With a chuckle, Sarah Jansen says she “famously hated farm work” as a child. Nevertheless, she and her husband, Aaron, will soon become the owners of St. Isidore Farm, settled on 300 acres in North Pole, with 60 acres now in production. Sarah’s parents, Warren and Barbara Smith, purchased the property in the mid-‘80s and began by farming about 10 acres. Since then, the family has been committed to producing seeds that are native to Alaska and expanding the crop from growing only grasses to including flowers. Today, Sarah and Aaron work alongside Warren and Barbara to learn everything they can about St. Isidore’s operations and productions.

“Out of all my siblings, you would not have picked me to carry the farm on.” Sarah’s emphasis on “me” stresses her point. After graduating from high school, she went to college and became a teacher. Recently, Sarah and Aaron decided to come back to the farm. What prompted them to shift careers? They wondered what would happen to St. Isidore when Sarah’s parents retired.

In the ‘60s, Warren and Barbara met after enrolling at UAF. “My dad grew up on a farm in northern Wyoming and wanted to farm again,” Sarah says, recounting his history as a fifth-generation farmer for a cow, sheep, corn, and sugar beet operation. He understood the basics, like running and fixing the machinery and staying apprised about fertilizers. To start, Warren had to find land that had access to abundant, clean water.

Many places near Fairbanks struggle with quality, depth, or pump-related water issues. “Quite a few possibilities were eliminated, but finally my dad found a place within 20 to 30 minutes from our cabin.” Early on, Warren, Barbara, and their children commuted to the Moose Creek area to work. Together, they prepared their fields. “After someone bulldozed the trees,” says Sarah, “I remember picking up all the sticks, getting everything dialed in, and even climbing on these huge burn piles. It was a big learning curve for us all.” Eventually, the family moved to live on the farm.

Warren planned to farm on the side while continuing to operate his other business, Summit Logistics—which his son-in-law and other daughter, Mike and Christina Repasky, now own. Warren still hoped his farming efforts would yield a profit. He knew that he needed to choose crops that thrive in Alaska and had a local market. Warren chose grasses, which proved to be both an asset and a challenge for St. Isidore in its beginning. Since no one else was producing the three varieties of native grasses that Warren chose, he had to create their market by educating people about the plants’ value, usefulness, and noninvasive qualities.

“With family-owned farms, the beauty of the land and the joy of working it matters,” Sarah says, “but you need buyers or the farms will fail.” Almost immediately, Warren and Barbara realized they had something that would be stable. “Within five years, my parents were able to sell all the varieties that were growing that had not been commercially available.”

Sarah and her family want St. Isidore to continue being successful, but even more they want the land to be viable for the next generation so that it remains how her father found it. This desire requires that Sarah and Aaron look ahead for what their land, crops, and business could achieve in the future. “When you’re working with family, you find yourself asking, ‘What are my parents leaving behind, and how are we going to carry on their legacy and build on their effort?’”

Sarah believes family-owned businesses can adapt quicker to unexpected circumstances. “Because we have full control of the farm, Dad and I just have to decide how to respond,” she says, noting these conversations often occur over lunch.

“Are we impacted by market fluctuations?” she asks. “Yes, like the price of fertilizer, recessions, and even weather. But having a small, family-owned operation lets us have more flexibility in making necessary adjustments.”

In 1968, Gerald and Helen Earp opened a dry-cleaning and laundry operation in Anchorage that came to be known as Fireweed Cleaners. The couple had left Illinois about ten years prior, expecting entrepreneurship opportunities in Alaska—and their instincts proved accurate.

Although the couple divorced, Helen maintained ownership of the business. As she made retirement plans in the early ‘90s, Helen asked her son and daughter-in-law, Randy and Julie Earp, if they would like to own it. Randy, who had tired of sitting behind a desk, knew that he could oversee the production and maintenance while Julie could run the office, keep the books, and oversee the counter. The couple agreed.

With Randy and Julie running Fireweed Cleaners, their children grew up involved with their business. However, the Earps never imagined one of them would take up their work. When their son-in-law and daughter, JT and Katie Hampton, expressed interest, Randy and Julie were delighted.

“As a kid, I had absolutely no desire to take over the cleaners,” Katie says with a laugh, “but then I fell in love with JT in college, who was studying business and entrepreneurship.”

She trails off, letting JT pick up. “Well, things changed,” he says. “Moving back to Alaska and getting involved with the business became our unspoken plan.”

Since 2010, JT and Katie have run Fireweed Cleaners. They have a main location that houses all operations on Fireweed Lane and a drop-off and pick-up location on Abbott Road. When Randy and Julie retire, they will hand ownership to JT and Katie, who are positioned to succeed in carrying on their business’ reputation—and have already done so.

For a dry-cleaning and laundry operation, customer service and quality handling of garments are paramount, and remaining family-owned provides Fireweed Cleaners’ customers a sense of familiarity.

“A lot of people don’t think about it, but dry cleaners are more personal than many other service providers,” JT notes. Customers trust them with their most valuable and sentimental textile objects, be it a suit and gown for a wedding, a handcrafted quilt sewn by a relative, or special linens for entertaining guests.

“My dad ingrained in JT and me that we must take care of our customers,” says Katie. “No questions asked.”

The Earps and Hamptons are a tight-knit family; however, their closeness has not prevented the complications that often come with navigating changes. JT explains, “When Katie and I first joined them, we all had shellshock. Randy and Julie had built a business that was running well and sustaining. Then I come in and immediately start changing things, which rocked the boat sometimes.”

Less than two months after JT and Katie started, Randy and Julie were forced to take a leave-of-absence for a quarter of a year, due to a motorcycle accident. “When mom and dad came back and saw we hadn’t burned the place down and even improved some areas,” Katie says, “they had proof we were succeeding and would keep doing so.”

The trial by not-fire turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the family—and the business. “We passed an unintended test, which made it even easier for Randy and Julie to hand everything over to us,” states JT.

As Fireweed Cleaners has grown under JT and Katie’s supervision, they have added a wash-and-fold service as well as free pick-up and delivery in Anchorage—and they continue evaluating other expansions. How will they decide which new ventures to tackle? According to JT, the highest weighted variable for his wife and him is continuing to provide excellent customer service. “We may not be—and may never become—the biggest laundry operation in Anchorage, but our customers can count on us to always put them first” he says. “Sometimes, keeping it small lets you have a bigger impact.”

In Juneau, Alaskan Fudge Co. has had a presence since 1980, when Blue and Deb Bergmann began the business. They had moved from Michigan to Fairbanks so that Blue could work on the Trans Alaska Pipeline System during the oil boom. After that job wrapped up, the couple wanted to stay in Alaska, but in a location with less harsh winters. They settled on Juneau, where Deb’s uncle also lived, to raise their family.

Trying to figure out their next steps, Blue’s mom suggested making fudge. The tourism industry was taking off, and cruise ships were coming into port more frequently. They all knew that visitors love taking special gifts home, Southeast’s atmosphere was ideal for making confections, and the newlyweds needed work to hold them over while they evaluated other professional opportunities.

“With my dad having grown up in a region that produced lots of fudge, he thought the idea just might work,” says Scott Bergmann, Blue and Deb’s only son. To start the business, Scott’s parents collected recipes from his grandmother and then traveled to Texas to take a crash course from a candy shop, where they had connections. At first, according to Scott, Blue and Deb assumed that their candy shop would be a short-term project, enabling them to recoup their investment and buying them time to determine what came next. “They never suspected Alaskan Fudge Co. would take off like it did,” he says.

Scott’s parents have given their business their all, making their products in front of their customers since day one. He emphasizes that his “parents were here every day” and they “have always loved being a local company.”

Not long after Blue and Deb opened Alaskan Fudge Co.’s first store, they hired a young man who is the business’ longest employee, Phil Wheeler, who was like an uncle to Scott growing up. Now, three men share ownership of Alaskan Fudge Co.: Scott, Phil, and Jason Love, who started with the business during high school, stayed through college, and continued his employment afterwards. Together, they operate the business alongside their respective families.

“Phil, Jason, and I never imagined our jobs would turn into permanent careers,” says Scott, “let alone that we’d become the owners.” However, like candy is known to do, things stuck. “We’ve continued to follow my parents’ lead. We make our products in front of our customers, and we’ve got no plans to change that.”

From cooking and spreading the fudge to dipping chocolates, everything at Alaskan Fudge Co. is hands-on and family owned. “We don’t use any preservatives,” Scott says, “and, because we expedite our packages, orders arrive fresh for our customers, regardless where they live.” Alaskan Fudge Co.’s two locations in Juneau provide storefronts to sell and kitchens to make its candies.

“Many customers and former employees are surprised our business has remained open and stayed in the family all these years,” muses Scott, noting that nowadays people move and change careers often. However, given the feedback that he’s received, clearly Alaskan Fudge Co. pulls people back.

What has been the business’ key to success? Scott says it is communication: “With three families following in my parents’ footsteps, we’ve grown to see each other as family, which means talking honestly and respecting one another because, at the end of the day, we want the same thing: our families and our business to last.”