ROGERS CITY — Having a business that offers services or products that others don’t can help it stick out from its competitors and help ensure the long-term viability of the business.

In Rogers City, Hayley Rose did just that when she opened Harborside Bath and Body on Third Avenue.

According to Rose, she had retired, but still had an itch to open her own store. She finally took the plunge about three years ago and began to offer her customers a wide variety of organic health and beauty products, as well as items like robes and jewelry.

Rose said she began to really get serious about opening her business when Rogers City was in the middle of the process to become a Michigan Main Street-Elite community. That designation was eventually awarded to the city from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and with that designation came tools to help the downtown prosper.

Rose said that, with the future of downtown looking bright, she believed it was the time to act.

“I became involved with the Main Street project and I believe in and love this town, so I decided, if I believe in its viability and what it can become, I needed to put my money where my mouth is,” she said. “It has been really good, because I was getting bored being retired, so this has been a great fit for me.”

Rose said a vast majority of the products for sale in the store are from other Michigan businesses. She said most are also businesses that are owned and managed by women.

“I believe that businesses in the area and in the state need to work together,” Rose said. “Helping and supporting each other, and forming partnerships, is the best way to make sure everyone is successful.”

Most products in the store are organic, she said, and there are potential health benefits to using them. She said many name-brand products in other stores contain chemicals that could cause negative health issues. She said educating her customers and explaining what a product does and how it should be used is always a top priority for her staff.

“I talk to my employees about customer service all the time,” Rose said. “Not only do we have to be personable and interact with our customers, but we have to know about the products and what they can do for a person. The worst thing we could do is have a customer spend money on something that isn’t going to work for them. We want to be knowledgeable about the products and talk to them about them.”

So far, Rose has depended on word of mouth, social media, and advertising to promote her business. She said local customers are the primary shoppers at the store, but she also sees more people from out of town during the holiday shopping season and during peak tourism months. To expand the reach of her business and knowledge about the products, she said her goal is to boost orders.

“Business is good, but we do need to grow,” she said. “Right now, things are very seasonably driven. We would like to do more business online and offer free shipping with orders of $75 or more. I’m starting to see a significant increase in online services this year, so that has been good.”

Besides selling goods, Rose said in-person classes are also held to let customers sample products, learn more about them, and how to use them.

“We can do private classes and we have public ones,” she said. “We teach about things like skin care, how to use the makeup we sell, and we offer a manicure class. People can learn more about them by calling the store or by following the store’s Facebook and Instagram page.”

Rose said people can also visit harborsidebathandbody.com for more information about products, services, and specials.