West Virginia

Doing his part for the “great Appalachian revival,” George Patterson founded Hernshaw Farms in 2018 at a former strip mine. George lived onsite in a trailer, learning about mushroom growing on YouTube and soon selling wholesale to restaurants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, George built a website to sell directly to consumers. That e-commerce business, well, mushroomed more than he could have imagined. In 2022, he moved growing operations to the historic Memorial Tunnel (once part of the West Virginia turnpike). Beyond mushroom sales, his nutrient-rich mushroom compost, “the Cadillac of soil building,” is now used to transform old coal mining sites into farmland.

Google Ads help George reach B2B and B2C customers searching for gourmet mushrooms and growing kits, with business increasing tenfold since inception. “Google Ads helped turn us from a farm serving the local community to a farm serving the nation,” he says, noting Performance Max campaigns “take the stress and complexity out of ad management.” An estimated 70 percent of customers find Hernshaw Farms via Google Ads. “We’ve also integrated AI into our daily production,” notes George, who uses a Gemini-powered app platform to design his own tools to categorize and predict harvests. “I’m just a mushroom farmer out there in the woods making harvest prediction software with AI, and saving tens of thousands of dollars. The masterful increase of efficiency is crazy.” The farm operates at maximum capacity, producing 3,000 pounds of mushrooms weekly. George streamlines operations with Google Workspace, using Forms and Sheets to track production, and a shared Drive where employees can quickly access and print product labels. George also shares what he’s learned about using technology to promote eco-conscious farming and rural renewal with others. “I think we're really on the right track now. West Virginia is happening.”

Webster Springs may have “the one traffic light in the whole county,” but that didn’t stop Angie Cowger and her family from dreaming big and turning a treasured recipe into Custard Stand Food Products. It opened as an ice cream stand in 1991, also selling hot dogs topped with the family’s chili. Before long, customers were asking to buy the chili on its own. “My husband and I had been looking for a way to expand our business and he said, ‘Angie, if you can figure out how to market it, I can make it.’ And that's what we did.” In 2003, they turned a car wash into a kitchen and factory and took their hot dog chili to the retail market. “We started out with a map of West Virginia on the wall,” Angie says. “We would take chili in the ice box, a hot plate and a kettle, and go to independent retailers. We'd sample the store owner, the manager, whoever was around.” Now, their products are available in 20 states and 3,000 grocery stores.

Alissa Clayton, Angie’s daughter and Custard Stand’s social media and marketing manager, says that while they were always efficient, Google tools boosted their reach and capabilities and account for more than 20 percent of their business growth. Angie uses Google Workspace–Calendar is her favorite–to keep the team organized and up to date. “I can create an event for a demo, add everyone from the person packing the supplies to the ad person, and put all kinds of notes in there,” Angie says. She uses Gemini for email support: “I have a tendency to be very wordy,” she admits, “but when I use Google Workspace with Gemini, I can write an email and then get help to shorten it. And it’s easy!” In 2024, the company saw over 30 percent revenue growth and has an expansion in the works. “It amazes me how my parents figured it all out and reached this level,” Alissa says. “My mom doesn’t take no for an answer–that’s the driving force behind this business.”

C. Anthony Parker knows cars. He started his first dealership at age 19, selling cars for nearly two decades and expanding into body and mechanical work before deciding to focus on the detailing side of the industry. In 2019, C. Anthony founded Elk City Auto Spa to keep the cars in his hometown of Charleston looking sharp. “We spend around nine hours transforming a filthy vehicle into a showroom-quality vehicle inside and out,” he says with pride. ”And our clients love what we do.” Elk City Auto Spa and their 7 employees serve over 1,500 customers yearly across the Mountain State, cleaning everything from minivans to fleet vehicles with top-notch attention to detail, using compounds C. Anthony designed himself. Since the beginning, he’s trusted Google tools to help his business deliver customer experiences that sparkle.

More than 80 percent of customers find Elk City Auto Spa through their Google Business Profile, where they showcase their skills, photos of their work, and–most importantly–their happy customers. When potential customers see over 300 five-star reviews, they “know that they’ve found the best,” C. Anthony explains. Revenue is up more than 300 percent since the shop began using their Business Profile. “These leads are hot and ready. They’ve seen our work, they’ve seen the reviews, and they know they can trust us,” he says. Elk City Auto Spa also uses Google Workspace tools like Slides and Sheets to deliver business presentations and customer invoices that are as polished and professional as their work. As they look to the future, they plan to add a traveling detailing service and hire more technicians, and they’re looking into AI-powered chatbots to process customer inquiries even faster. “Charleston is a small city with a big heart,” C. Anthony says. “Being a cornerstone business that people here can count on means everything.”

Tonya Perry and her partner, Jerry Lawson, opened Tickers & Timbers in November 2020, offering escape rooms and axe throwing to active West Virginians. Tonya had worked as a developmental therapist for over 20 years, but COVID-19 brought a swift end to her home visits. “As a single mom, I really had no other income coming in, and it was very scary,” Tonya recalls. “So, I took matters into my own hands and switched gears.” Tickers & Timbers has since added rage rooms and paint splatter rooms to the mix, and they opened a second location in downtown Charleston in 2022. The two family entertainment venues serve about 26,000 customers per year, playing host to birthday parties, date nights, and team-building events.

Tickers & Timbers began running Google Ads right away. “I think that has really let the community know what we have to offer,” Tonya says. “I’ve utilized Google Ads every single month since we’ve been open.” She estimates that 30 percent of Tickers & Timbers’ bookings come directly through Google Ads, with another 30 percent of revenue derived from customers who’ve seen Google Ads and returned to their site later. She also credits Google Ads with building buzz around their Charleston opening, helping the venue quickly achieve the same success as their original location. Tonya uses Google Analytics to keep track of click-through rates and adjust ads accordingly. Google Drive, meanwhile, helps Tonya collaborate with her 12 employees as they share plans and ideas for new escape rooms. Creating new escape rooms is one of the best parts of running Tickers & Timbers, according to Tonya, and she sees new rooms and new locations on the horizon. “Obviously, owning a small business isn't an easy choice,” she says, “but it's great to know that we are providing something to the community that we never had before.”