Last Friday, Derek Stocking of First American Bank and I had an opportunity to present in front of several entrepreneurial minded individuals.  Drake University hosted the event as part of an entrepreneurial initiative across the State of Iowa.  (this was rescheduled after one of the worst snow storms in Iowa history)  I was very impressed with how many attended from all over Iowa.

The title of our presentation was "Financing Entrepreneurial Endeavors."  I think it gave everyone a fairly unique perspective on different ways to finance a business and what we look for in a growing company.  Derek spoke from the commercial banking point of view and I spoke from a growth capitalist point of view.   The entrepreneurs also had the option to watch Cory Garrison and Mark True of REL Productions talk about marketing and branding.  I tried to convince our group that Derek and I were more exciting, but I don't think they bought it.

Thank you Drake University for allowing us to share our perspectives.  I'm looking forward to seeing your university continue to stay on the cutting edge of entrepreneurialism.  Keep up the great work!

And thanks to Derek, Mark and Cory for offering up your valuable time to give back to the State of Iowa.

Last night, I attended the launch party of IA Biz Magazine sponsored by the Association of Business and Industry.  They also have IABizOnline to go in conjunction with the magazine.  I had a chance to flip through it and I'd have to say that Stonehand Publishing of Des Moines did a great job.  (Side Note: I've got some great people/businesses in mind that could fill their pipeline of stories for years to come)

One of the things that really impressed me, besides the magazine, was ABI's ability to gather such a diverse, motivated and interesting group of people.  I'm excited for the changes that are taking place in Iowa and I'm proud that we're members of an association that recognizes those changes and adapts to the needs of its members. 

Keep up the good work!

Heck yes, the 3rd speed networking was a charm.  The only reason I know is that I've received three e-mails telling me that they have gained new clients just from last night.  Congratulations and thank you to everyone that continues to create success for others.  I had an awesome time meeting everyone and I know Mitch and Hannah had a great time at the Village Bean.

Couple thank you's:  Cafe Diem in Ankeny was awesome and allowed us to utilize their space.  The coffee was excellent and so were the muffins and scones.  So thank you very much; I look forward to visiting soon.

KDSM Fox 17- You were wonderful and thank you for spending so much time at the event.  You've given everyone a chance to succeed.  We hope to see you soon!

And for those curious... provided there is no breaking news... the segment will air on your local FOX channel tonight (March 28th) at 9 PM.  No making fun of me.

I was surprised this Saturday with a gift from US Rodeo Supply.  Nate and Matt Owen wanted to thank us for some of our efforts with their business and I have to say... it's already gotten compliments.  Two people mentioned something as I carried it to the elevator and the folks at Context Network wish they had one of their own.  What is it?  Well, you can get a brief history behind it at the URS Blog.  I like to call him the Long Tall Rich Texan.  Good oooold Tex O'hara.

Here he is on the ride over.

Here he is in the elevator.

And here's where he stands.

This will be an awesome conversation starter and allow us to talk about two of the neatest guys at US Rodeo Supply you'll ever meet.  And if you get a chance to meet them yourself... Make sure to have Nate or Matt give their impression of the Rich Texan. 

Matt Owen and I recently had the opportunity to present in front of an Iowa State University MBA class.  The class is an elective and to the best of my knowledge is focused on entrepreneurialism.  I got to see several old friends and familiar faces because I have a few ISU MBA credits under my belt.  Kudos and congrats to those that have made it this far.  And a special thanks to Souvanna Southammavong for trusting Matt and I to represent his group!

The presentation happened this Saturday at 9:30 AM.  If you were around this area, you would know that it snowed in the morning and turned into a great day for a Doug Mitchell BBQ.

One of the reasons I enjoy presenting so much is that I have an opportunity to share my observations of the marketplace.  I also get to learn and be challenged by questions.

One of the questions that sticks out in my mind was "Don't angel investors take over the company and force you out of your business?"  My answer was this (not verbatim) ... "It depends. But, that is why you need to understand every aspect of your business model and align with the right appetite and attitude of investor."

If you have a business that is growing and you can prove why and where that growth is coming from... you'll establish the ability to control your own destiny.  And if you've demonstrated that ability over a few year time frame... an angel investor would be ill advised to take the steering wheel away from you.

And by the way, Matt's presentation was awesome! 

This just happens to be my 60th blogpost and I'm pretty proud of that.  I thought I'd be different and celebrate my 60th; rather than my 100th because...  I don't know... I felt like it.

Over two years ago, I first heard about blogging and like many, I said "Only nerds blog."  Well, I guess I'm a nerd now.  I never dreamed this day would come.  Here are a couple stats/observations that I've had since I've started blogging.

1. I now have 16.75 solid readers per day.
2. Since blogging, my random thoughts are now global.
3. This has been an unbelievable tool to drive readership to our website.  (which if you haven't visited yet is loaded with great business information)
4. It really doesn't take that much time to connect to others online.
5. I still don't really know what a Technorati rank is.
6. Everyday I still learn new things about blogging and the strategies behind it.
7. I'm hoping to up my daily readership .25 people so I can get to my favorite number... 17

Thanks for your help, Mike.  I'm excited to, one day, turn my posts into one of the weirdest and most dysfunctional books of our lifetime.  Maybe I'll become Hemingway yet...

Okay... I'm a little late blogging about the News River, but if you're blogging in Iowa (or anywhere for that matter), you need to check this site out. You can subscribe to every feed that is on that site with one right click... and oh by the way... check out the blogs listed on there.  Unbelievable people with a wide range of expertise.

I'm excited about this site because it condenses the majority of the blogs I currently read and updates them all automatically onto one site.  Pretty cool and an awesome place to gain good insight on business ventures/problems/etc.

The other day, I listened to my old man describe business strategy as it relates to deer hunting.  It was a little different than my analogy from a few months passed but it had a great message.

If you're not familiar with "deer behavior" then let me tell you; they know you're in the woods before you even step foot off the gravel road.  So, when you "party hunt" deer, you need to outguess where they're going to end up before you enter the woods.  If you make a move left they'll go right... if you go right they'll go left and if you just stand there... well... they'll look at you for awhile and then bolt across the fence to the neighbors.  In order to increase your odds of maximizing success for the time you put into the hunt; you need to understand their behavior and make the right decisions early on.

If you're a business owner its important to understand that any financial or strategic decisions you make will directly impact future growth in your business.  Early on, its important to understand your: customers, competitors, industry trends, costs to produce, overhead expenses, etc etc.  Not only will this allow you to make the right decisions, but (provided there is a market for your product) your business has a much better chance to increase income, increase margins and at the end of the day/hunt you'll maximize your profit potential when you decide to exit.

Okay... Here's a case in point on the "if it ain't broke; don't fix it" thing.

My computer automatically updated and downloaded a new version of Internet Explorer.  Now, don't get me wrong... I love the brand new icon, what with the yellow circle thing and all.  But, here's what my new reality is.  My shortcuts, favorites, and del.icio.us buttons have all been deleted.  The system takes longer to load.  And now all the buttons have moved and have different images.  That's awesome.  So now, rather than keeping everything simple and everything working perfectly... I have to re-do everything I've done in the past and work on a slower system.  Yes!

Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm not a techie, but seriously... was the new version necessary?  Maybe it was, but my old version worked better than this one.

It's starting to warm up around here, the snow is melting and I'm getting that golfing itch (or is it an ache) in my back to get out to the course.

I always laugh at my golf game (unless I lose).  I start out the summer golfing much better than I finish off the season.  Personally, I think my early rounds are better because I don't think about my swing.  I'm out there having fun and let things happen naturally.  Once I start to make adjustments... a little tweak here... rotate my hips there... stand a little further from the ball somewhere over here... and all the sudden I'm hooking into the woods and/or yelling "FOUR"!

I personally think that if you run your own business, to be successful, you need to continually challenge yourself to adjust and stay ahead of the game/market/competition.  If you don't, then somebody in the market-place will and before you know it... you're chasing the competition.  If you're not careful you'll lose to the competition.

A couple questions: 

When do you know the right time to fix something that isn't broken?

If you've over adjusted; how do you bring it back to basics?

I've got my opinions on this, but I want to hear yours.

A few days ago, Mike Sansone posted a great analogy between baseball and blogging.  I can't help myself... I've got to make one myself.

As a former pitcher, I understood very early on that pitching is largely a mental thing.  And to expand on that; different pitchers have different roles within games and each role requires a different mentality.  If you can follow that... keep reading.

For instance, a starting pitcher typically has 4-5 days in between starts.  A middle reliever may pitch 1 or 2 days in a row and then sit for a couple games.  A closer may have to pitch everyday... or may not have to pitch at all.

I was a closer because I hated waiting for days thinking about my next start.  I loved to come in unexpectedly and attempt to shut the door.  (don't ask me about Augustana my senior year)  In many cases, I had to get up and get warm in the bullpen and be put in the game... I didn't have time to think.

That's been my blogging challenge.  I sit here and think about what I'm going to post, when in actuality the good stuff usual comes unexpectedly.  So... you ask... what's the point of your post?  I guess it is... don't over think what you're writing because in the real world; you don't always have time to think through a decision.  It may save you "blog time" and truly broadcast your business personality.

I don't know Patrick Schaber personally.  Someone introduced me to his blog the other day and now we know each other through a shared recognition.  Please take a look at the link below...  I'm excited.  I also just found out that several of my college friends (who live in MN) now know I'm blogging.  I say we do what we can to get them to move down here.  (maybe a good State marketing strategy could be to find people who've moved back to Iowa and give them resources to get their friends to move here)  Hmmm... I like that too.

http://www.lonelymarketer.com/2007/02/27/can-you-actually-market-a-state-iowa-is/

Let me list some of the things this IA storm has caused/prevented:

1. Canceled my road trip to Mason City/NIACC with Mike Wagner and Mitch Matthews.  That was a bummer.
2. Prevented me from going to Ames to talk about Speed Networking.  That was a bummer, but I got it done over e-mail.
3. Canceled my presentation at Drake with Derek Stocking of First American Bank.  That was a bummer.
4. Canceled Cory Garrison and Mark True's presentation at Drake.  That's a bummer for the entire free world.
5. Canceled numerous other entrepreneurship presentations at the Pappajohn Center.  That was a bummer.
6. Canceled VNI at IDED.  That was a bummer.
7. Kept Matt Owen from going to the shop.  That was funny because he was trying to figure out how to sneak out of town without the firemen seeing him.  He'd probably get pulled over soon after he got out of town anyway.
8. I have to re-shovel my driveway for the 51st time.  That's a bummer and will be another bummer when I have to do it for the 52nd time.
9. Oh... and it's 4PM on Friday and the storm is still here...

I have to admit though... it was another great week all around... I just can't wait for Spring.