Tuesday’s class began with a time-lapse YouTube video of the construction of an $875,000 grain elevator roughly five miles east of Monmouth, IL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qELQMCDRtk

The entrepreneur behind this impressive project—and many, many more in the area—is “homegrown” in the sense that he is both a Monmouth College Business Administration graduate and a former Midwest Entrepreneurs class member.

This inspirational story of homegrown entrepreneurial success is told below by current class member Adrick Barreto.

Stay tuned later this week for more on regional ag-based entrepreneurship as our guest speaker on Thursday will be local farmer—and another Monmouth College business graduate—Mr. Paul Rickey.

Enjoy…

Prof. Gabel

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This Tuesday our Midwest Entrepreneurs class had a very intelligent and relatable entrepreneur speak by the name of Will Zimmerman, who owns and operates Avon, IL-based Modern Grain Systems.

Zimmerman, a 25-year-old former Monmouth College student that graduated in 2011, told us his story of how he owns a business that he bought before he even graduated from college. Will had been working for Bill Thompson, a man whose company built grain silos, when he was a teenager. He continued to work for Mr. Thompson until he was a Junior in college when he finally purchased the company from Bill, after years of joking about doing it.

During the first year he owned the company, Zimmerman had some help from the former owner, who stayed to guide him and to help him learn the ropes of managing the company well. The former owner helped him because he saw what every one of his customers and workers would see in him: a hard-working and dedicated man with strong values. This was made apparent to me when Will talked about how his company would bid higher than other companies for construction projects, but his company would get the bid anyway. The main reasons why he would get the bids is because he has a reputation for keeping his word and for working as hard as he can to ensure things are done the right way. To quote Zimmerman: “If you tell a guy that you’re going to do something, you better do it.” That is exactly what he does.

Will’s success stems from not only this, but also his willingness to work with and effectively communicate with his employees. He sets firm rules, enforces them fairly, and is always happy to roll up his sleeves and work alongside those that he employs. He also focuses on his core customers, careful not to stretch himself too thin by accepting jobs outside of a predetermined area so that his company can do its job, and do it well.

It’s because of Will’s impressive his work ethic and the quality of work that he and his company does that his company continues to grow and expand. People who he has worked with and work for tell others of his business and those people come to him when they need a job done. Will Zimmerman is a very inspiring entrepreneur and I am glad that he came to speak for our class!

Adrick Barreto