I am an American. I am here in China to buy tea.

With little more than those words—translated into Chinese—written on a piece of paper, the man known as the Indiana Jones of Tea began travelling through rural China in the early 1990s in search of the world’s finest teas. It was the formal beginning of the Hollywood movie-like entrepreneurial odyssey that David Lee Hoffman shared with Midwest Entrepreneurial students yesterday.

I say “formal beginning” because Hoffman’s keen interest in fine, rare tea began much earlier. As he told the class, he left the United States to “live on the road” for 10 years in various Asian nations shortly after the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. During this time he regularly engaged in ritualistic tea consumption with remote rural tea farmers and Tibetan monks; even spending some time with the Dalai Lama. It was not until the early 1990s that he began buying tea for export to and sale in the United States. Today, Hoffman’s tea business is conducted under the name The Phoenix Collection, named in honor of Phoenix Mountain (home to some of the finest and rarest of fine Chinese teas) (see: http://www.thephoenixcollection.com/ and  http://www.teance.com/category_s/71.htm).

However, as we were informed yesterday, tea was not Hoffman’s first entrepreneurial endeavor. Between his time “on the road” in rural Asia and the genesis of his tea business he successfully developed a unique sonic cleaning system for the cleaning of precious ancient textiles, fine art, and artifacts. With this invention, he secured the business of several important clients including New York’s Metropolitan Museum, the Textile Museum in Washington DC, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and the Smithsonian. The idea for this process came from an unlikely (and macabre) source; news reports of a torture technique employed during the Vietnam War wherein prisoners were placed in wooden barrels full of water and then the barrel was hit with sticks (with sound vibrations being sent through the water). Hoffman experimented with the water-based sound vibrations process until he was able to clean fragile textiles and artifacts several hundreds of year old without damaging them. As he put it: “Sometimes bad things lead to something good.”

But the business of cleaning fragile, ancient textiles and artifacts was both tedious and highly stressful. Hoffman found himself working with pieces of fabric sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. What if something went wrong and one was ruined? He, too, could be ruined (at least financially). So, Hoffman’s entrepreneurial spirit drifted—as a “way to relax”—toward his true love; artisan teas of China.

Hoffman, the key figure in the acclaimed 2007 documentary “All in This Tea” by Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht, shared with the Midwest Entrepreneurs class several fascinating “ups and downs” of twenty-some years as a tea entrepreneur. Key among the “ups” discussed included working directly with rural Chinese tea farmers traditionally ignored by tea buyers and the notion of sharing their wonderful, hand-crafted teas with the rest of the world. “Downs” mentioned included, most notably, repeated early difficulties in getting the tea—once acquired—out of China. Here, he found that the then government-run exporting companies that he had to go through wanted to deal only with their preferred “national” teas; teas that were of far lesser quality than those Hoffman was buying directly from small farmers. As he told us, he was proposing a way of doing business that was as-of-then unknown to those he was dealing with in China. The key to eventually overcoming this dilemma, according to Hoffman, was taking the time to carefully build trust-based relationships with local Chinese farmers and business people  (with the trust of the partner gained via honoring and conspicuously respecting these individuals). Like many entrepreneurs, Hoffman never gave up—even after quitting his tea business several times—and eventually persevered in seeing his dream of making the finest teas of China available to tea drinkers in the United States. Also, along the way, he sold parts of his business to others who turned them into highly successful ventures in their own right.

Students were also once again exposed to what was once probably the odd notion of a business owner not wanting the business to grow. We frequently hear media stories of businesses being obsessed with growth in terms of quarterly sales or profits or the number of employees or branch locations. However, we heard from Mr. Hoffman, just as we have heard from several other speakers so far this semester, that growth is often not very high on the priority list of the entrepreneur. In Hoffman’s case, he was becoming overwhelmed with business to the point where he was unable to adequately control operations (and, as a result, personally manage customer experience and satisfaction). Further, the volume of business was taking a toll on both his family life and health. He was sleeping but 3-4 hours a night just to keep up. Advice to slow down from a doctor led to his backing off and striving to find a better work-life balance; which he has maintained for some time now. Again, as we have seen and heard repeatedly this semester: When you are your own boss, you can choose to work however much you want to suit your preferred lifestyle.

Finally, in the title to this blog post, the post-nominal title of “CDO” follows the name of David Lee Hoffman. This title, as he explained it yesterday, originated in the course of attending prestigious national tea conferences in China. Hoffman noted on one conference program that he was the only tea expert listed without a professional notation of some sort behind his name; so he added one. Do you know what “CDO” stands for? According to Hoffman, it stands for “College Drop Out.” Yes, David Lee Hoffman, the Indiana Jones of Tea, never finished college; and no one ever asked him to explain the self-created title. And, he had no Chinese language skills at the start of his entrepreneurial adventure. All this just goes to show, yet again, that virtually nothing can stop a determined entrepreneur; particularly one as knowledgeable of and as passionate for their product as is David Lee Hoffman.

Thanks to all the students who ventured out amidst heavy snow for Mr. Hoffman’s presentation. See you tomorrow for a presentation by local commercial painter Joe Thompson.

Regards,

Prof. Gabel

Last Thursday’s Midwest Entrepreneurs class began with a time-lapse YouTube video of the construction of an $875,000 grain elevator roughly five miles east of Monmouth, IL. The man behind the project was Will Zimmerman, a 2011 Monmouth College Business Administration graduate—and former Midwest Entrepreneurs student now engaged to a current class member’s sister—who owns and operates Avon, IL-based Modern Grain Systems.

Will’s inspiring entrepreneurial success story started in high school when he began working for the company he now owns. Will worked for the firm, then run by Bill Thompson, for six years. During this time, he learned the business of building grain bins and elevators first-hand and eventually became a crew supervisor. Around the time he was a junior at Monmouth College, Will began negotiations with Thompson to buy the business. Thompson, who had run the company for over 25 years, knew that Will had the knowledge and desire to continue his legacy of being customer-focused and keeping his word to local farmers. Then, after Will had completed the Midwest Entrepreneurs class, he took an Independent Study class in which he worked closely with Political Economy & Commerce faculty to write a business plan designed, in part, to secure financing to buy the company from Thompson. He eventually obtained a $200,000 loan and now has two years of highly successful operations under his belt. He has been so successful that the $200,000 loan has already been paid off in full.

Summarized below are important entrepreneurial issues discussed by Zimmerman in class; some of which we have heard from other speakers and others not.

1. Entrepreneurs often take huge but calculated risks. Will Zimmerman was in his very early 20s when he took out a $200,000 loan to acquire a business. He has made what any individual would consider large capital investments, including acquisition of six trucks, two vans, a bucket truck, four cranes, and two forklifts. However, he knew what he was doing long before taking over the company and he has worked extraordinarily hard according to the plan he carefully developed. Today, he is debt free and, as he told the class, is already “booked for 2013” (meaning he already—in late February—has all the business he can handle for the entire year firmly scheduled).

2. Entrepreneurial success typically demands extraordinarily high workloads. Will told the class that his 80-90 hour workload in the busy summer months can take quite a toll on one’s family life. He expressed disappointment, for example, that he is often not able able to go on vacations with his family. However, as he suggested, this is just what it takes to keep commitments and successfully run the business. Will also told the class that there will be times, particularly in a seasonal business such as his, that you will have the time to be with family and do other recreational things you enjoy.

3. Knowing and catering to the customer is key. This is nothing new; we have heard it—in some form—from all guest speakers this semester. However, Will Zimmerman added a new twist; the need to understand how complex, ever-changing tax laws impact farmers and, most importantly, being able to communicate this understanding to customers in customized fashion. Most notable in the tax laws is the recently escalated amount of money invested in grain bins that farmers can deduct each year. This knowledge—and its customized communication to customers—is highly exemplary of something that I personally stress in many of the classes I teach here at Monmouth College. It is the epitome of something referred to as assurance in the study of service quality; not simply possessing expert knowledge, but the ability to effectively communicate this expertise to customers to the point where they come to highly trust you. As you might guess, having the ability to inspire trust in this manner affords the entrepreneur the ability not just to sell a good or service to the customer, but to become a highly valued problem-solver for the customer. Will Zimmerman seems to know the importance of assurance very well.

4. Follow-up service—even for something like a grain elevator—is critical for long-term entrepreneurial success. After-sale service for a grain bin? Important? Yes! According to Will Zimmerman, after-sale service is very, very important. Repairs, additions, and modifications make up approximately 15 percent of his total business. This, however, understates the importance of this service. No one should ever “just sell” a product and then “leave” the customer with it. Repeat sales—and, eventually, building all-important customer loyalty—is significantly predicated on the ability and willingness to effectively provide follow-up service; even with grain bins and elevators. Again, Will    Zimmerman “gets it.”

5. Creatively controlling costs adds up in the long run. We have heard this before but, again, Will added a new perspective. While stating that he must pay out large amounts of money annually for things such as worker’s comp insurance and unemployment tax—roughly $75,000 and $50,000 respectively—Will touted the significant (and off-setting) savings that can be realized by taking advantage of each and every possible discount when purchasing materials. He stated, most specifically, that he is able to save around $100,000 each year by taking advantage of discounts inherent in typical business-to-business price quotations. Common in his industry are terms of sale stated as “5/10 net 30.” This means that his firm, as the buyer of construction materials, gets a 5% discount if the bill is paid off in full in 10 days (otherwise, the total billed amount is due in 30 days). When buying tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of goods at a time, these seemingly small discounts add up to big cost savings–and more profits–in the long run.

Although I was not personally here when Will Zimmerman was a Monmouth College student, it was hard not to feel somewhat proud to see one of our own standing before the class last Thursday. I sincerely hope to experience this feeling again and again in the future.

See you tomorrow at 4:00 pm for a presentation by global tea guru/entrepreneur David Lee Hoffman, who comes to campus from the San Francisco, CA area as part of the Monmouth College Science and Business Initiative. Included among the entrepreneurial issues that Mr. Hoffman will educate us on is joint venturing; forming strategic partnerships with foreign firms and individuals (in his case, Chinese tea farmers).

Regards,

Prof. Gabel

Already this young semester, we have repeatedly discussed entrepreneurial opportunities via finding a market niche and serving it well. Yesterday’s class speaker is the epitome of a successful niche marketer.

Former Monmouth College “Green Army” (building and grounds crew) supervisor Rod Smith sells used NASCAR racing car parts on Ebay under the seller name             a-1performancewarehouse. To some, selling used racecar parts on ebay may not sound like much of a business model but Smith excels at it. As he informed the Midwest Entrepreneurs class yesterday afternoon, he has sold 1,447 items on Ebay with total revenues of $122,000 in just the last 90 days. During class, the “ca-ching” ringtone on his cell phone sounded twice; making it 1,449 sales in the last 90 days. The two sales closed during class totaled $425. Smith paid about $150 for the goods sold. This volume of highly profitable sales is commonplace for Smith, who left Monmouth College to pursue his Ebay business full time in the summer of 2010. Indeed, serving the used NASCAR racing car parts niche market—with buyers often as far away as Indonesia and New Zealand—serves Smith well.

Smith’s fascinating entrepreneurial business model is founded about the fact that NASCAR racing teams routinely replace most of the parts on their cars–including the motors–with new parts even when the old ones are still working; typically once per week and often after only one race. These used parts are highly valuable to persons building their own racing cars—Smith sells 95% of his items to car builders—as they are the absolute state of the art and are available through no other source (other than the eight or so other entrepreneurs who, like Smith, travel to North Carolina to buy directly from NASCAR racing teams). Smith makes monthly trips to visit the teams wherein he buys the parts in bulk and then transports them back to his Monmouth, IL warehouse where they are, with the help of his wife and two Monmouth College student interns, sorted, cleaned, inventoried, and, eventually, posted for sale in Ebay auctions.

As was noted in class yesterday, anyone can start an Ebay business with relatively little investment. However, many Ebay entrepreneurs fail when they discover either that there is surprisingly little demand for what they have to sell or that shipping costs and fees paid to Ebay and PayPal—Ebay’s payment service—eat deeply into their profits. Smith, however, a former stock car driver himself who has followed NASCAR for decades, knows that there is great demand for the high-end used racing car parts he handles. Further, he knows what each part is and how they function as a result of having built his own race car engines. He also personally knows the NASCAR team owners who have the parts made for their drivers; in fact, they keep parts especially for him. Smith’s intimate knowledge of the substantive niche market he serves is what sets him apart from many others not fairing so well on Ebay. Also setting him apart is that what he sells is not subject to market downturns as much as many items targeted at collectors or casual buyers. As he explained it in class, the ongoing recession has hit sellers of collectible items hard; these are discretionary items often foregone when discretionary incomes decline. The fact that 95% of his scarce, state-of-the-art car parts are sold to persons re-using them serves as a significant buffer to the ravages of recession.

It will be very hard for us to find a better example of a crafty entrepreneur who has discovered such a viable niche in the market—and then worked harder to better understand and successfully serve it—than Rod Smith; Monmouth’s High-Horsepower Ebay Entrepreneur.

Thursday’s class speaker will be local-boy-made-good—and Monmouth College alumnus—Will Zimmerman, whose company constructs grain storage bins in the region.

Next Tuesday we will welcome to class global tea guru/entrepreneur David Lee Hoffman, who comes to campus from the San Francisco area as part of the Monmouth College Science and Business Initiative.

It promises to be yet another extraordinarily interesting and educational week in Midwest Entrepreneurs class.

Regards,

Prof. Gabel

There is no blog post relating to an entrepreneurial guest speaker in yesterday’s class due to purposefully scheduling a  “catch-up/review day” wherein we, among other things, collectively discussed what has been learned from the guest speakers so far this semester.

Below I share with you something entirely different from other posts to this blog. It is a poem written in 1926 by Rachel Field entitled “General Store.” I discovered this poem in a children’s poetry book I have at home. It is there as it is interpreted to be a child’s dream of one day having their own store. It could just as easily be seen as a poetic expression of the entrepreneurial spirit. Enjoy…

General Store by Rachel Field

Someday I’m going to have a store
With a tinkly bell hung over the door,
With real glass cases and counters wide
And drawers, all spilly with things inside.

There’ll be a little of everything:
Bolts of calico; balls of string;
Jars of peppermint; tins of tea;
Pots and kettles and crockery;

Seeds in packets; scissors bright;
Kegs of sugar, brown and white;
Sarsaparilla for picnic lunches,
Bananas and rubber boots in bunches.

I’ll fix the window and dust each shelf,
And take the money in all myself.
It will be my store and I will say:
“What can I do for you today?”

–from the book, Taxis and Toadstools by Rachel Field. 1926. Published by Doubleday & Co., Inc.

Mike Luna got his start with McDonald’s flipping burgers at the tender age of 16 in 1960 at the 164^th McDonalds store in Galesburg, IL. Today, Mr. Luna is the franchisee/owner of two highly successful local McDonald’s locations; one in Monmouth and one in Aledo, IL. It was clear early on in his presentation to the Midwest Entrepreneurs class last night that Mr. Luna is not your average McDonalds store owner.

Starting with McDonald’s in 1960—just five years after founder Ray Kroc had opened the first McDonald’s in Des Plaines, IL—gives Mr. Luna a unique perspective on the company. He fondly recounted his memory of meeting Mr. Kroc during a trip to McDonald’s headquarters in 1972. He remembers to this day the highly personal manner in which Kroc spoke to him while there. It may be hard to fathom today, but McDonald’s was at that time still in the fairly early stage of its life cycle; and still exhibiting remnants of Kroc’s original entrepreneurial vision. Mike said he could tell at the time that Kroc, like all the entrepreneurs we have had speak in class so far, had an “agenda in his mind” for company success that he knew would work.

Yes, McDonald’s is today a massive global corporation. According to the firm’s webpage, it now consists of “more than 33,000 restaurants serving nearly 68 million people in more than 119 countries every day.” But Mike Luna’s experience with the company reminds us that it did grow from one store in Des Plaines in 1955 to 164 stores in 1960 to what it is today by chance. It was clear in Mr. Luna’s presentation last night that what makes his local stores successful today is what has made the entire McDonald’s chain successful over the course of the last 50-some years; a keen and unrelenting focus on the customer. He talked about trying to spend as much time as possible “on the floor” of his restaurants so that he can talk to and get to know customers. In fact, discussing some of his recent car-buying experiences, he suggested that he might well be spending more time “following up” with his customers than marketers of far higher cost products that typically require high levels of company-buyer interaction to sell. Mr. Luna also discussed several instances of what might be best called “competitive intelligence gathering” wherein he has personally visited other fast food restaurants to learn how to better serve his customers (based both on what competitors do better and do not do as well as McDonald’s). All of this seems to strongly support and reflect, here at the local level, the McDonald’s corporate mission statement “… to be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat… We are committed to continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers’ experience.”

Finally, one thing quite different about Mr. Luna when compared to our previous guest speakers so far this semester is that Mr. Luna is a franchisee (i.e., someone who pays the parent corporation a series of fees for the right to operate the store as the local owner who then must run the store in accordance with contractual guidelines set forth by McDonald’s). McDonald’s, like most other large restaurant chains, employs franchising as its primary means of territorial expansion. Some may question whether or not a franchisee is a “true” entrepreneur. The best response to such a question is probably “yes, but with key unique characteristics.” As Mr. Luna explained to the class last night, the fees he pays to McDonald’s—roughly 18 cents out of every dollar he takes in in sales—go to help support his operation and make his McDonald’s store successful. Specifically, in return for the fees, franchisees get a wealth of marketing and operational advice and support from McDonald’s (based on the firm’s intimate knowledge of how to most efficiently and effectively run a fast food restaurant). So, compared to non-franchisee entrepreneurs—someone going it completely on their own—franchisees like Mike Luna face a somewhat reduced level of risk in the marketplace. However, he is free to make many pricing and other important decisions locally. Ultimately, as with all entrepreneurs, long-term success rests squarely on the franchisee’s own shoulders. While the fee-supported advice and support and the contractual rules are there to guide one toward success, what gets done locally of one’s own volition is what makes or breaks the individual McDonald’s franchised store.

Mike Luna got in very early—at a low level—on a very good thing. He knows McDonald’s like few people do. A key ingredient in the recipe for success for both McDonald’s—first regionally and now globally—and Mike Luna—locally still—is knowing and catering to the customer. It was a great pleasure to have Mike speak in class last night.

Regards,

Prof. Gabel

Students walked into Midwest Entrepreneurs class today surprised to find the classroom’s chalkboard full of writing. What filled the seldom-used board was a long listing of business “to dos” and tips for success written by our guest speaker, John “Beefy” Huston of Huston Landscaping. Writing on a chalkboard is not the only surprisingly old-fashioned thing that Mr. Huston does. The case can be made that doing business what might be called “the old-fashioned way”—and, as a result, providing pleasant surprises to customers—is the overriding success factor for his Berwick, IL-based entrepreneurial enterprise.

For Mr. Huston “the old-fashioned way” includes doing seemingly little things right; showing up on time, keeping promises, sending handwritten “thank you” notes to customers, returning phone calls, being involved with and being seen at community events, and letting customers know if he is going to be even five minutes late. While all of this seems like common sense to most people, rest assured that many businesses fail to fully realize the value of doing the seemingly little things right and have, as a result, come to neglect them. Not Beefy Huston. He realizes that these little things are not little at all. Instead, they help satisfy customers, get repeat business and loyalty, and lead to positive word-of-mouth communication and referrals (i.e., new customers to turn into more satisfied and, eventually, loyal customers).

Another key issue addressed in class today was that being an entrepreneur—being your own boss—means that you can, if you wish, set your schedule and control your business to fit your lifestyle. Many have questioned Beefy as to why he does not either significantly expand his landscaping business or go into related lines of business. He chooses to keep his volume of business—and number of employees and inventory of equipment and personal stress level—at its present manageable size where he can be personally involved and provide the best possible service to his clients. And, he has free time to do what he wants when he wants. This may sound odd—even reckless and irresponsible—in the “world of big business” but it works well for Beefy and he would have things no other way. Perhaps this is another “old-fashioned” approach to business that has made him such a success.

Finally, Mr. Huston demonstrated today that “old-fashioned common sense” with regard to spending money, controlling costs, and managing cash flow is very important in a relatively high-cost-of-doing-business endeavor such as landscaping. He mentioned that he owns several buildings, has five trucks and four trailers, and keeps a sizable inventory of bulky materials (e.g., rocks, dirt, and mulch) on hand (which then costs a lot of gas/money to transport). He also mentioned that he has owned 25 business vehicles since he started the business in 1995. Yes, this all costs a lot of money. But Beefy plays every angle and seems to cut costs to the bone and make the most out of just about every other penny he invests in the business. Large among the expenses he abhors and avoids is interest. When he cannot pay something off up front in cash, he pays off the borrowed amount as soon as possible.

When you think of John “Beefy” Huston, think of “old-fashioned common sense.” Also think of premier customer service and doing the job right. Think, ultimately, of entrepreneurial success.

Have a nice weekend.

See you Tuesday for a presentation from local McDonald’s owner/operator Mike Luna.

Prof. Gabel

Becky Ellison of Monmouth-based M&E Catering was our guest speaker in Midwest Entrepreneurs class today. Having gone into catering full time roughly 10 years ago, Becky’s entrepreneurial enterprise is at a very different stage than the start-up firm—the McGuire & Davies Funeral Home—and the mature business—The Twomey Company—that the class heard about last week.

Becky’s entrepreneurial success story is that of local native who was engaged in several business ventures before turning to her true passion; cooking and food. She was born and raised in Monmouth and earned a WIU degree in home economics with a minor in marketing. She dreamed about being a fashion designer but fell in love and had kids when she was very young. That dashed her hope of designing the latest fashions on the runway. After having three children, she started a day care center in her home to care for her kids and 15 others. However, at the urging of her friends, she took advantage of an opportunity to fill in for another wedding caterer and has been in the catering business ever since.

One of the things that stands out most about Becky’s presentation to the students in attendance today is the amount of extraordinarily hard work that is typically required for entrepreneurial success. She and her employees often work through the night prior to weddings and other major catered events. Also, she mentioned that she frequently works 14-16 hour days.

Also discussed was M&E Catering’s fruitful—and mutually beneficial–relationship with another local business; the Monmouth Country Club. Becky is the caterer of choice at the Monmouth Country Club and also brings much business to them when a client is looking for a place to hold an event. The relationship arose in response to changes in the legal and regulatory landscape faced by M&E Catering. Warren County was at one time one of but several counties in Illinois without a health department. When this was the case, Becky could legally do the cooking for her business at home. She invested thousands of dollars in her home kitchen. Then, roughly three years ago, the Warren County Health Department came into being and the law changed. Under the new law, the home kitchen could legally be used only if a commercial kitchen at a different and separate location was also used. The Monmouth Country Club had an adequate kitchen and was looking to make money in new ways; and the still-growing relationship was born. Ironically, this relationship was arranged in part by last Thursday’s class speaker, John Twomey.

A “key success factor” repeatedly alluded to in class today was what can probably best be referred to as “reputation management.” Reputation, according to Becky Ellison, is a double-edged sword; something that can either make or quickly break an entrepreneurial business. On the positive side, a good reputation leads to many referrals and stands as a primary means of competitive advantage. A good reputation is gained by first serving customers well, which, in turn, leads to the spread of positive word-of-mouth (WOM) communication (from one person to another in the marketplace). On the negative side, according to Ms. Ellison: “negative word-of-mouth will kill you faster than anything.” She mentioned this in the context of discussing how while insurance can guard against the negative financial consequences of accidents, she must prevent accidents from happening to protect her hard-earned reputation.

Becky has catered events from Springfield to Peoria to the Quad Cities; events as small as dinner parties for 15 people and as large as 800-guest weddings. She now does weddings out of state and coordinates weddings for Monmouth College couples who marry in Dahl Chapel.

Becky has no business plan or retirement in mind. She learned by doing in pursuit of her passion and does whatever she can to “make it perfect” for her clients. Becky’s M&E Catering business is well along the path to entrepreneurial success and there appears to a lot of road left in front of her. Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Best regards,

Prof. Gabel

The new header photo for this blog features yesterday’s guest speaker, Mr. John Twomey, and current Midwest Entrepreneurs students (along with myself and co-instructor Mike Connell). Although the semester has a long way to go, it will be difficult to find a better—and more inspirational—example of what entrepreneurism can and should be than John Twomey.

It was not long into Mr. Twomey’s presentation that I found myself thinking of “The Greatest Generation,” a term coined by newsman Tom Brokaw in a best-selling book of the same name in the late 1990s to refer to the generation of Americans who grew up during the Great Depression and then went on to fight in World War II. Mr. Twomey grew up in nearby Roseville, IL and began working in the fields of his family’s farm at a very early age. He served two years fighting in World War II and then returned home to help his father run the family business. He was, as he put it yesterday, driven to be a “workaholic” by the example set by his hard-working father. Over the course of the next 60 years, the family business grew into one of the most innovative and successful grain storage and agricultural service firms not only in Western Illinois, but in the entire United States. The culmination of this local entrepreneurial success story came in late 2011 when the family business was sold to Consolidated Grain and Barge, Inc. for a large sum of money (although the family still runs a farming business, the CGB -Twomey Group, based in Smithshire, IL).

Of course, there is more to this inspiring story of regional entrepreneurial success than simply “working hard.” Below, I summarize several of the key success factors discussed by Mr. Twomey in class yesterday.

1. Business success is predicated largely on being “ready to meet opportunity.” Being  ready to make the most of major opportunities when they come your way, according to Mr. Twomey, is a function of both “having your finances in order” and having a reputation for doing business fairly.

2. Successful entrepreneurism entails effectively managing risk. We have spoken in class numerous times already about the need not simply to take risk, but to take the right risks. Mr. Twomey took this notion one step further, saying that while there is risk in all business activity, one must effectively—and in the case of his business, incessantly—manage risks. Speaking, for example, of his involvement with federal government commodity programs and engaging in massive, multi-million dollar grain transactions involving very small profit margins, Mr Twomey calmly informed students that sometimes “you must do what you have to do” and take risk that others might choose to avoid.

3. Entrepreneurial success of the scale experienced by Mr. Twomey calls for a keen focus on serving customers coupled with innovation. Students in class have heard terms such as “focus on the customer” and “serve the customer” many times this young  semester. Mr. Twomey reinforced this by stating that he always tried to give his customers “the best service possible at the best price we could.” However, the company  would not have grown as it did and been as extraordinarily successful as it was had it not been for innovatively solving problems; both customer problems and internal operational problems. This innovation took the form, as proudly recounted by Mr. Twomey yesterday in class, of building unusually large warehouses and developing special machinery enabling his firm to (a) store larger than usual quantities of grain, (b) keep a far lower percentage of the grain from spoiling, and (c) processing the grain much faster than was customary.

4. The best of the best entrepreneurs are heavily involved in community activities and  “give back” to their communities. Although the Twomey family business was always what we in business academe refer to as a “good corporate citizen,” it is what John Twomey has done in retirement that makes him stand out (and serve as a shining example of what entrepreneurism can and should be). Mr. Twomey described how his family has in recent years established a foundation which, among other things, provides for scholarships at Monmouth College and supports numerous churches and charitable  organizations in Warren and Henderson Counties. What was most impressive here was not simply this “giving back” to the community, but the manner in which Mr. Twomey spoke of this endeavor as if it was his duty to do all that he can for the local and regional community. Never have I met a more humble, giving man than John Twomey.

At the end of his presentation to the class yesterday, Mr. Twomey offered a quote attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson: “An institution is the shadow of a man.” John Twomey has a big shadow. He epitomizes Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation” as well as what entrepreneurism can and should be. I sincerely hope that even just one student in the class is inspired to start a business and do with it even a fraction of what Mr. Twomey has done with his.

Have a nice weekend… See you in class next Tuesday for another enlightening presentation from another Midwest Entrepreneur.

Best regards,

Prof. Gabel