With a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in tourism and development and an MBA from its WP Carey School of Business, Ahwatukee resident Malesha Neese Goode has a passion for marketing.
And she demonstrates that daily at Von Hanson’s Meats in Chandler. Her parents, Ahwatukee residents Martha and Gene Neese, opened it in 2004, and it still is the popular butcher shop’s only butchery outside its native Minnesota.
Goode’s mother has long told the story of how that happened.
Martha, a nurse who eventually became a high-powered lawyer, and Eugene would often visit Ahwatukee with a suitcase full of Von Hanson meats because they literally found the meat here so unappealing they just ate salads.
That got old fast and Eugene finally approached Von Hanson’s, a company started in 1983 by two men who say they “came up with the idea to bring back the old-fashioned meat market to the local neighborhood.”
“My husband thought it would be a good investment, that we could be silent partners,” Neese once said.
Their involvement didn’t stay so silent for very long and soon Martha found herself spending a lot of time developing the shop they opened in 2004 at 2390 N. Alma School Road into a wonderland of meat and poultry that includes 100 different kinds of sausages and brats and where dog owners can also find bones, pig ears and healthy natural treats for their pets.
Enter Malesha, who said that because it was a family business, she sort of got “thrown into it to always help out.”
“I started working events to get college extra credit,” she said, adding, “We would be low on staff and I would get thrown into working an event in my free time.”
Now the store is more than an occasional familial duty for Goode, a mother of two daughters, ages 1 and nearly 5, and whose husband, Nicholas, is a financial advisor for Edward Jones.
From helping out her parents, Goode found meat and marketing went together as she advised her parents with ways to grow their business.
“I love marketing and would throw out my marketing ideas from someone my younger generation would like to see and do,” she said.
At 20, she also began learning the bones of the family business.
“I worked inside the store for the first time helping customers and I learned to make our famous sausage recipes,” Goode said. “I was an assistant manager at one point where I operated the back room. I learned the business from the ground up and feel that makes me a better leader knowing the business as a whole.”
While her title at Von Hanson’s remains marketing director and her parents still own the store, Goode said. “I’ve also taken a lot more responsibility for the business side of things.”
She said she’s been “opening up our wholesale operations more – looking into ways we can expand” and develop “B2B relationships with other local Arizona companies.”
She engineered a relationship with SCHEELS Chandler, the sporting goods giant at the Chandler Fashion Center whose café now sells Von Hanson’s smoked sausages.
Goode also is pursuing relationships with Valley professional sports organizations and has developed partnerships with the Phoenix Suns and the now-gone Coyotes.
“My bigger vision is to get our brats and famous sausages into the Arizona sporting stadiums,” she said, so that Von Hanson’s sausages are served at games – including spring baseball – and concerts.
“I’d love to see our brats there too,” Goode said. “I know they would be a hit and what we are known for is our sausages and brats.”
Goode also has started a relationship with Pit Boss Grills in Scottsdale, “where we sell their BBQ products in our Chandler store.”
Under her advice, Von Hanson’s also started an online ordering option through Instacart – though hunters will still have to bring their prize catches to the store, which has long delivered expert wild game processing services.
And Goode has helped Von Hanson’s pile up numerous awards for its products and overall reputation.
“What keeps us competitive in the local market in Phoenix is continually staying involved in the community, great customer service, and being innovative with our products,” Goode said.
“We are not afraid to try something new and see if it works. We love being involved in the community and having B2B partnerships.”
But her energetic involvement also presents a personal challenge of “balancing it all without losing yourself.
“Women are expected to run a business like they don’t have a family and run a family like they don’t have a business,” Goode said. “The pressure is real.”
Yet, so far she continues to navigate that challenge – and get recognized for doing a good job at it.
Most recently, it was recognized by the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, which named Goode its “Woman Business Owner of the Year.”
Information: vonhansonsmeats.net, 480- 917-2525.
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