For quite some time now, I've been talking about the difference between a lifestyle vs an enterprise business model. My knowledge and theories on the matter have obviously come largely in part from my father, but over the last 3 years I've developed my own views too. Just recently, I stumbled across this post by Sid Mohasseb. Basic points but they ring true nonetheless. We need more people talking about this sort of thing.
Yesterday, I had an opportunity to have a great conversation with Sherry Borzo of DSM Buzz. One of the interesting things about our conversation is that it was recorded on Blog Talk Radio. The download is at the bottom of Sherry's post. Sherry is doing great things in Central Iowa and I'm excited to watch her progress as an entrepreneur. Don't hesitate to contact her and discuss how you can help her grow her business. Thank you Sherry for thinking of me for your entrepreneur series!
Side Note: As much as I hate hearing my own voice... this interview has a pretty fun contrast and also some similarities from my Blog Talk Radio interview with Rush Nigut. Feel free to compare and contrast.
It's not too often that I highlight a specific business that operates in Iowa. I don't typically do this because there are so many quality businesses around here that I don't want to exclude anyone. Well, today I'm making a major exception. I'm shamelessly promoting Smart Pest Solutions.
If you clicked through, you'll see why I love this company. My older brother Aaron, is taking the leap into entrepreneurship. He's nervous, excited and terrified all at the same time. Hmm... kinda like riding a bull. Anyway, Aaron is facing his fear and doing what he feels is right for his family.
Keep your eyes and ears peeled because I'm sending him on the networking circuit. The first pest control man to try and create success for others and take care of your pests at the same time. This is going to be a wild ride!
Looooong day, but a fun day today. Dug out further from my vacation pile, set up some meetings, shot off some e-mails, had several phone conversations and presented to an entrepreneurial class at Grandview College from 8PM to 10PM with Mark True of REL.
Mark and I had a great time and I really liked the challenge of tying the D.I.R.T.Y. Brand concept into the Theory of Systematic Connectivity as a function of business development. It was our first go-around, but I thought it came out well. Next time, I'll come with props.
And I almost forgot... I finished one of my bullriding assignments from Coach Nathan Owen. I watched the Lane Frost Instructional tape in preparation for my steer ride Wednesday night. Rumor has it, Art from Juice Magazine will get some pics of my first true bucking test. If I look stupid forgive me. I just have to remember to stay off my pockets... use my legs and feet to grab the bull... keep my back straight... lean into the base... watch the bulls head and use my free arm to follow the ear in the direction he's spinning... all while not concentrating on any of those. Could be interesting...
Have you ever heard the saying... Lead, Follow or Get Out Of The Way? Well, I don't know about you but I have. It was at a baseball camp when I was 14. The coach watched a group of us run and remembered who was in first and who came in last. He recommended we be one or the other because he didn't recognize or remember anyone in the middle of the pack.
Has anyone heard of the great things the Pomerantz Career Center at The University of Iowa is doing? Well, if you haven't... let me tell you a little something about it.... they are the definition of leading the pack, standing out and being recognized for a job well done. And oh by the way, they're just getting started.
Gerald Wickham Director of Experiential Education and Sara Burden Career Advisor are doing absolutely amazing things. They are currently leading a charge focused on providing career opportunities for students that want (and will) (and are) succeeding.
Forget about politics. Forget about commissions and boards. This is focused on creating success for the students that are being educated in the great State of Iowa. I know this because I've seen it with my own eyes. The program has created links between students and opportunities that I would have died to have when I went to college. (Baseball at MN State excluded... they're always #1) The Pomerantz Center is grass roots. It's rubber on the road. It's successful.
If you want to know more (and everyone should) don't hesitate to find out how you can help. Call me if you have too. I promise that you will discover action steps that are unlike any other program you've seen. I can't speak for ivy league programs, but I'd put this program up against any other.
Thank you Gerry, Sara and the Pomerantz Center for making good things happen!
Time for some shameless self-promotion... with a twist. Recently, a new blog/website was launched at IowaBiz.com. Professional Solutions Insurance Services is sponsoring 12 Central Iowa Bloggers to give tips and thoughts to help out businesses and business owners. Here is the starting lineup:
First of all, I am absolutely humbled to be included in a list like that. This group of people are some of the greatest minds operating (not only in this area) but globally. So thank you all for allowing me to be part of this amazing group!
My posts are focused on Networking and Collaboration... go figure. The best part is that the entire site is a network and its extremely collaborative... which makes my job very easy.
Please, visit the site and learn from the individuals putting their thoughts online. The purpose is to not only add value to businesses, but to spur developmental thoughts. So feel free to agree, disagree or just extend the conversation.
Tom, Hannah and I had an opportunity to speak in from of Timothy Johnson's Creative in Business Class on Monday night.
First of all, thanks for thinking of us Timothy and also thank you to the class for your attention and great questions.
This was the first presentation we've done as a group and the first time Hannah has given a speech since high school. The theme of the presentation revolved around (in so many words) creativity, execution and implementation, but making sure to execute for the right reasons. For me, I believe that if you aren't able to think creatively and execute on ideas; you stand to be at risk of your competition finding new ways to grow first. I also believe creativity is very important as long as you stay within the realm of what grows you and your business. If your ideas take you away from your core; you stand to lose site of what makes your business grow.
Hopefully we helped plant some new ideas and supported things that have already been learned.
I want to expand on a comment I posted on Rush Nigut's blog.
A question has been eating at me ever since my presentation at Drake University. In my presentation, I said that, in my opinion its more difficult to grow a business in the Midwest vs the East or West Coast. The question (which was a good one by the way) was... "There are all these people telling us to be entrepreneurs and stay in the State of Iowa... Why should we if its easier to start a business somewhere else?"
My response (not verbatim)... "I'm someone that left Iowa and came back after 7 years. I came back because I had a great business opportunity with my dad. I believe that there is so much business opportunity in our marketplace that it is ripe for young and old to grab onto it and make something great happen."
I don't know if that was a good answer or not. But I do know that its true. We are living in an area that is ripe with opportunity.
In Rush's blog, he talks about Doug Mitchell pointing out the Forbes article on the business climate in Des Moines. To me, that is validation that others see this opportunity from outside of Iowa. I would love to see articles dedicated to all the people I've met over the last two years that have either, moved back or moved their entire family here based on the opportunity they saw.
It's a different spin, but one that I believe will change the "brain drain" into "opportunity gain."
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!
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!
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.
Once again, the early morning blogging seminar has made me realize I'm not using technology to its fullest potential. Mike Sansone held this one at Dahl's on Hickman avenue, which is conveniently 1 mile away from my house.
Part of the presentation was on Linked In and the almighty GreatNews Feed reader. These two tools have unbelievable potential. Here are a couple real world examples...
In my opinion, we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg and businesses that truly want to experience growth need to be accessing these tools. And if you can't learn it on your own, do what I did and hire Mike Sansone.
Recently, Timothy Johnson an author, professor and all around good guy challenged me with a question... Why do I blog? Well Tim, here goes nothing...
First of all, I had never even heard of blogging until I met Mike Sansone roughly two years ago. After meeting Mike, it only took me a year and a half before I understood what blogging is. So, after six months of blogging and hearing from my favorite local blog coach: "don't say you're not a tech guy" and "you should post once a day" or "you're not linking out"... here are some (probably not all) of the reasons I blog:
And last but certainly not least...
Because Mike Sansone said so. I meet with privately owned businesses everyday. It is very hard to find a company that cannot use Mike's expertise. I mean seriously... if you're not listening to Mike, your missing out on huge growth potential in your business no matter what industry it's in.
I'd like to hear from Matt and Nate Owen, Rush Nigut, Dr. Anthony Davis and Dan Maiers ...
I've heard the definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results." or something like that.
Anyway, today I forgot that it was supposed to snow 150 inches last night and I went about my regular routine. I got up, showered, put some sweats on and went outside to warm up my truck. Once out the door I quickly realized I'd forgotten something... it had snowed 150 inches last night. So, I put on my boots, hat and coat and started shoveling the sidewalk. Well, I instantly broke into a sweat and thought "crap" now I have to shower again. So after 40 minutes of shoveling I went inside, re-showered and re-dressed myself. As I walked back outside to my already warm truck, I saw 150 more inches of snow falling... all over the sidewalk I just shoveled. Needless to say, I wasted one perfectly good shower, destroyed my lower back, wasted about 2 hours of my life.
What does THIS story have to do with business? Again, it may be a stretch, but here we go again:
If your business, organization or entity is having trouble getting over the hump or has reached a stagnant growth period, look at what you've done over and over again and figure out a way to alter the outcome.
I watched 5 companies and 1 organization present their business models last night. It was the first time I've seen someone ask for resources and not money. Was it a success? I don't know. From the looks of it; 12 hours later at least one business has been given an opportunity to lower production costs. If that helps their business grow, then that is a success in my book.
From now on, I'm not going to shovel the walk when it's snowing. I'm going to alter the outcome by waiting until the storm has passed. For businesses and organizations... I challenge you to look beyond the norm. You may see an opportunity to create the perfect storm.
Last night was the unveiling of the University of Iowa's intern/mentoring initiative. Here's the link to the Des Moines Register's article by Frank Vinluan. I had the opportunity to align current U of I students with business professionals operating in the Des Moines area. I had one major challenge... we have too many area professionals that want to be mentors! Now, that is what I call a world class problem.
Each mentor that was in attendance (we only needed 16) had an amazing set of business skills and real-world experience. Another quality they possess is high ethical standards that have allowed them to flourish in their personal practices. I wish we had 50 interns living in Des Moines right now, but we'll get there. And when we do, I guarantee there will be at least 50 mentors ready to take them under their wing.
Based on the enthusiasm of everyone involved, I'm confident that this will be a huge success. Many thanks to the U of I and all the mentors out there.
The other day I was in-between meetings so I attempted to catch up on some phone calls. I parked in the parking lot of Hy-Vee and decided to open my brand new, partially frozen bottle of water. Well, I don't know if anyone else knows this but be advised: even water can explode from a bottle. I laughed to myself until I realized that I had water soaked onto the front of my pants and had ten minutes to dry out. So, I made the most of it. I walked into my meeting, made fun of myself and it made for a great conversation starter. Not the conversation I was going for, but I'll take it.
How or why did I blog about that? It's a stretch but here goes...
Expect the unexpected and if life throws you a curveball; make the most of it.
I'm not pretending to be a deep thinker and wet pants isn't the end of the world, but do your best to remain positive and at least attempt to create something out of a bad situation. I get frustrated everyday, but about the time I start to get down... instantly my business is affected. And if my business is causing me heartburn... ask anyone and they'll tell you my personal life is affected too.
As I'm preparing for my trip to the Alamo Bowl, I'm excited about what 2007 is going to bring. Notice I didn't say "what I hope 2007 is going to bring."
I realized this afternoon as I saw my calendar for next year fill up that, for the past 2 years I've been controlling my own destiny. Then I realized that I've been controlling my own destiny for about as long as I could walk. I've never really listened to people that say you can't do something. Some may call it being pigheaded or stubborn... I call it being motivated. I've succeeded several times with this strategy, but I've also failed. After tasting defeat, I've also known when to get back up and when to throw in the towel.
As 2007 nears, I want entrepreneurs and soon-to-be business owners to realize it's okay to keep trying, but it's also okay to admit defeat. Case in point is my baseball career. I never listened to one person tell me I couldn't get drafted. I worked hard and got there. Once I was cut, I could've kept trying and trying but the writing was on the wall... I just didn't have what it takes to make it to the big leagues. After I accepted defeat, I took the advice of my father and started my life. That advice has subsequently turned into one of the best decisions I've ever made.
Today, I love my job and I can't imagine being anywhere else. Next year will bring good times and bad, but keep motivated and recognize your situations and you'll end up on top.
Friday the 20th, I was given the opportunity to present two 45-minute sessions titled "Financing Entrepreneurial Endeavors" at the Drake Entrepreneurship Day. I'd like to thank Drake University and Dr. Deb Bishop for allowing a marketing guy to speak about finance! (and also thanks for the hat and coffee mug)
This was one of the most flattering and exciting moments of my business career up to this point. The audience was made up of Drake students, Grandview students, Urbandale High School teachers/students, and some local business owners.
While I was creating the presentation, I was a little nervous that I had too much time to fill, but as it turns out I wish we had more time because I didn't get a chance to answer everyone's questions. I couldn't believe how many students either currently run a business or have ideas and business plans written already. I'm looking forward to watching them grow into successful entrepreneurs and control their destiny. Hopefully we can all keep resources in front of them to spur the growth of something great.
For a copy of the presentation clink the link below:
Hi, I'm Adam Steen.
I joined Transition Capital Management with my father Tom Steen in 2004. My specific practice, as I am mentored into the capital formation industry, involves assisting small to medium sized companies develop their businesses and achieve maximum profit potential. These duties include but are not limited to: marketing plan development, building/creating functional networks, market/industry analysis and re-organizing/re-enforcing current strategic positions within respective markets.
I recently took the position of Vice President of Professional Development of the YPC of Des Moines; a group designed to put tools in place to grow young professionals both personally and professionally.
Prior to Transition Capital Management, I spent a brief period in Minneapolis, MN where I was an insurance agent and coordinated several small business related networking groups. Before that, I enjoyed a brief career in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system as a pitcher.
My educational background includes an undergraduate degree in Marketing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. And I am currently enrolled in and pursuing several continuing education programs.
The purpose of my blog is to create relationships both for myself and my firm. In my opinion, getting connected is key to the success of TCM and our marketplace.
The Best is Yet to Come...
