Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Small Business Connections: Forging His Way to Success

Photos and story by James Hill

by James HillIf you look through the lush green forest north of Vernonia, you’ll see a bright orange glow. And if you listen hard enough you may hear the rhythmic clanging of a hammer against hot steel and copper. It’s the sound and sight of a man expanding his business with help from Portland Community College’s Small Business Development Center.Everyday, Wolfgang Rotbart molds and pounds hot metals for his company Wolfgang Forge. He is an artist blacksmith who designs and makes custom wrought ironwork, selling an exclusive design of fire screens, tools and iron log holder sets through Rejuvenation Inc., in Portland.Thanks to word of mouth and his Internet site (www.wolfgangforge.com), his business is expanding at an impressive rate. He travels to Portland once a week to drop off his completed work, meet with prospective clients, take field measurements and pick-up materials. His modest operation consists of himself, his wife and three part-time employees, and he still can’t keep up with the more than 30 orders he takes a month. However, the increased business isn’t a problem because he loves what he does."Creating new designs and artwork is a very satisfying aspect of the business,"said Rotbart as he chucked a cold steel bar into his propane oven. "When I’m working I call it, ?Zen Forging.’ I focus in on the work at hand so much because I have to keep the metal and my hammer together in a sort of harmony."At PCC, his objective is to learn how to convert his self-designed Web site into an E-commerce one that takes orders for his work from anywhere on the planet. To learn how best to implement this upgrade in service, Rotbart is taking the Small Business Management first-year class over the Internet from his Vernonia home."The class comes to me and Galen Sarvinski (Small Business Management instructor) comes to me once a month to review coursework for three hours,"Rotbart said. "There are times that I can’t sleep and I’ll get on the Internet for a few hours to read the lectures. They structure it to fit me instead of me fitting the structure."Eventually, Rotbart will be able to take orders and payments online and have a shipping system. He estimates he could have his Web site fully converted to an E-commerce system by the time he finishes the PCC Small Business Management class."He is a strong proponent of the online distance education program offered by PCC,"Sarvinski said. "He also has been instrumental in promoting the Small Business Management class to Vernonia businesses and recruiting other blacksmiths in rural areas and the immediate Portland area as well as taking an active part in E-Commerce."It’s a time-intensive business for the Tennessee native. Forging or molding the steel and copper pieces is just a small part of his operation. He has to finish pieces off with an oil-based lacquer, polish them and deliver them.Rotbart’s business is climbing to new heights every day. He said that he takes orders from people all over the Portland area who are seeking custom-made ironwork, which can range in price from a $15 wall hook to a $50,000 hand railing for an elaborate staircase."Everyone seems to like what I do,"said Rotbart. "Customer service is one of the biggest things I try to provide. I can’t imagine not calling somebody back; it’s just rude. I return calls and show up when I say I will. Just by that people seem to be grateful for it."The Small Business Development Center offers classes and counseling to current and prospective small business owners. For information about PCC’s SBDC, please call 503-977-5080.