Fraud Blocker
top of page

Supporting Family Businesses in Denver: How Local and Online Choices Keep Family Dreams Alive

  • Writer: Colorado Gutter Professionals
    Colorado Gutter Professionals
  • 4 days ago
  • 4 min read


Supporting a small business is never just a transaction.


When you choose a family-owned company—whether in your neighborhood or online—you are choosing to support a family’s livelihood, values, and shared dream. These businesses are built through long hours, personal sacrifice, and a commitment to doing things the right way.


Across the Denver metro area and throughout the country, family businesses form the backbone of local communities. Yet since 2020, many have quietly disappeared. Rising costs, increasing debt, and economic uncertainty have made survival harder than ever. Still, some families continue to show up every day—not to get rich, but to take care of one another and serve their communities with integrity.

Just a few of the family businesses to close in the last decade. White Fence Farm closed 2018 after 45 years, Kolacny Music closed in 2023 after 93 years, The Market closed in 2020 after 37 years, Piccolo's closed in 2023 after 50 years, Bonnie Brae Tavern closed in 2022 after 88 years, and Dino's  closed in 2019 after 58 years in business.
These are only a handful of the beloved, family-run Denver businesses that closed their doors—each one a reminder of how fragile family dreams can be in today’s economy.


  • Family-Owned Businesses Are Built on Values, Not Corporations


  • Family businesses operate differently than large corporations.


  • They are not driven by shareholders or quarterly earnings reports all over the country. They are guided by family values—often learned at the kitchen table—and by the belief that how you treat people matters.


When you support a family-owned business, you are supporting:


  • Parents teaching their children responsibility and work ethic


  • Families choosing to work together instead of apart


  • A shared dream built one honest job at a time



You’re not just supporting a business—you’re supporting a family dream.



---


The Pandemic Changed Small Businesses Forever


The COVID-19 pandemic did more than disrupt supply chains—it reshaped the future of small businesses.


Since 2020, many family-owned businesses were forced to:


  • Shut down temporarily or operate at reduced capacity


  • Take on significant debt just to survive


  • Absorb rising costs for materials, insurance, shipping, and labor

The piles of bills just keep growing pushing small family businesses out of business.
Rising costs for materials, insurance, supplies, and wages have put immense pressure on family-owned businesses since the pandemic—forcing many to face overwhelming debt and, in some cases, the painful end of a family dream.

  • Compete against national brands with massive advertising budgets



For many families, survival meant borrowing against their future—not to expand, but simply to stay open. Countless family businesses have never recovered.


Every closure represented more than a business loss—it represented a family dream coming to an end. 😢



---


Supporting Family Businesses—Even When You Shop Online


Supporting family businesses doesn’t stop at your local storefront.


When shopping online, you can still choose to support real families instead of faceless corporations. Platforms like Etsy are filled with family-owned and independently run businesses creating handmade, customized, and thoughtfully produced goods.


Many of these sellers:


  • Work out of their homes or small studios


  • Involve spouses, children, or relatives in daily operations


  • Rely on each order to keep their business—and family—going



Choosing to shop from family-owned online businesses helps keep these dreams alive, even in a digital marketplace dominated by mass production.



Shopping Local Keeps Families Working Together


One of the most overlooked impacts of supporting family-owned businesses—both locally and online—is how it keeps families working closely together, which in turn strengthens the communities around them.


Instead of being forced into separate jobs just to survive, family members can:


  • Work toward one shared goal


  • Build something meaningful together


  • Create a future they are proud to pass down



Nothing brings a family closer than a family that is all dreaming together and working toward one goal.


When you choose family-owned businesses, you help families stay united—working on their dream instead of watching it disappear.


---


Colorado Gutter Professionals: A Family Business Built on the Golden Rule


Colorado Gutter Professionals is proud to be a family-owned business serving homeowners throughout the Denver metro area.


The company is owned by a mom whose priority has always been her family. Every decision—every job, every customer interaction—is guided by the Golden Rule: treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Victoria Krumtum, the owner of CO Gutter Pros sits down at the dinner table discussing the business with the family.
Krumtum Family sits around a table, enjoying each other's company and discussing what's next for Colorado Gutter Professionals.

This is a business where family members work side by side, not chasing 💰wealth, but working to:


  • Provide honest, high-quality gutter services. Not just the higher paying-nstallation jobs, but also gutter cleaning, and gutter repairs.


  • Support their household


  • Keep a shared family dream alive



In an industry affected by constantly rising prices for aluminum, steel, and copper, getting rich is not the goal. Survival, integrity, and caring for family necessities while serving the community come first.



---


How You Can Support Family-Owned Businesses


Want to know what you can do?

Supporting family-owned businesses doesn’t require grand gestures—just intentional choices.


  • Search Intentionally


When searching online, try:


  • family-owned business near me


  • locally owned business Denver


  • family-owned shops on Etsy


Looking for a restaurant, think about searching family-owned restaurant near me. Looking for a gift, think about searching for "family-owned gift shop". Looking for Gutters well just go to COGutterPros.com, no just kidding research "Family gutter business".


Learn Their Story


Read the “About Us” section. Real names, real stories, and real people are signs of a family-run business.


Leave Reviews & Share Their Name


Reviews and referrals help family businesses compete in both local and online marketplaces.



---


Why Supporting Family Businesses Matters


When you support family-owned businesses:


  • Your money supports real households, typically nearby.


  • Local and independent work is preserved.


  • Communities stay strong.


  • Family dreams remain possible.


Every purchase, every review, and every recommendation helps keep a family dream alive.



---


Final Thought


The next time you shop—whether locally or online—pause and ask:


Can I support a family instead of a corporation?


Because when you choose family-owned businesses like Colorado Gutter Professionals, you are choosing values, integrity, and the belief that family dreams are worth protecting.

 
 
 

2 Comments


Victoria Krumtum
Victoria Krumtum
4 days ago

and Piccolos. When Chris and I first got married we went there a lot, because he always wanted Mexican food and I always wanted Italian. It was a great compromise.

Like

Victoria Krumtum
Victoria Krumtum
4 days ago

I miss White Fence Farm and Kolacny's.

Like
bottom of page