Jim Hankes of Thrushwood Farms spoke at Midwest Entrepreneurs yesterday about his $3MM business in processing meats. Mr. Hankes opened his business in 1978 as a specialized meat packer, but has recently begun plans to double his capacity and square footage in his Galesburg plant. The growth has not been an “easy ride”. “The entire decade of the 80ies was very tough for us”. Jim was originally enthusiastic about the concept but did not start with a detailed business plan. “We wrote out a few things on a napkin, but we were not totally sure what we were getting into. Like every other entrepreneur, the lack of capital was a huge restraint to growing our business”.

Since 2001, the locally grown or produced food category has grown in popularity and Thrushwood has seen its business double or triple its size during the last decade. “We are now doubling down our investment in the finest machinery from Europe and the best facility and people we can afford to maintain the highest quality reputation”. That investment is beginning to pay off for Hankes and his two sons who manage the company. His biggest concern for the future is the increasing level of taxes and oversight by government bureaucrats who’s focus is finding problems to “validate their existence” .

We expected a 20-30 page report every few years from inspectors outlining what needed to be improved or fixed after each factory audit. Now those reports are 150+ pages and contains hundreds of mandated changes that equate to thousands of dollars of expenses that do not benefit our customers. All of this extra expense to satisfy regulators goes on the backs of entrepreneurs. “I am concerned what will be left for my sons with all of the taxes, regulated processes, and time and resources to accommodate and respond to factory audits.  Despite the worries, Jim is optomistic this decade will be Thrushwood Farms best.

“My advice to students is simple: 1) do internships and demonstrate you are willing to work hard. 2) Demonstrate curiosity and the willingness to learn something from almost anyone and everything you do”. Hankes told his own sons that “A” grades are not as important as the internships or jobs you work and what you did with the opportunities you are blessed with.  Don’t get into debt–Hankes had a time when he was paying 19% interest and had no possibility of prosperity. He vowed to only borrow when rates are reasonable and maintains a “leveraged business” because the high cost of quality machinery.

Jim admires the marketing Of Jack Links but warns that most of the product is imported from “who knows where?”. The success of Thrushwood is buying from someone you can trust-like a good neighbor.

No entrepreneur needs to remind her counterpart that living in the material world is feast or famine. The same principle applies to securing funding for your start up venture. When you need to borrow it is not available. When you are flush with offers from angel investors, banks, or venture capitalists, you are not likely to need it. A FORMER STUDENT (and first-time entrepreneur) HAS A GREAT E-COMMERCE business model. Yet he cannot find $100,000 in seed funding for his early stage venture. This former international student is smart but not well connected, even though he has secured some good development/programming talent at a bargain rate.

Another successful entrepreneur “snapped his fingers” at a few venture firms and secured a preferential term on his seed financing and first round without having to shop his business plan/model. In the world of venture financing, it really is who you know and what you have done in the recent past. Is that so different from succeeding anywhere else?

Michael Vipond (2004 Graduate) and Todd Stone (1984 Graduate)represent the best of the Monmouth College business graduates. They both came to Monmouth from middle class backgrounds and have become executives for General Grind in Aledo, Illinois. General Grind was a “job shop” for years, doing things CAT, John Deere, and Harvester did not want to do. They made and forged steel parts.

Today, with the work of Michael, Todd and a vibrant CEO, General Grind is one of the largest employers in Mercer County and boast millions in annual revenues and over 400 employees.  According to Michael and Todd, General Grind’s secret to success is their willingness to invest in new technology and adapt to a changing market.

One strategic advantage is the size and scale of their operation. Another is the dedication and attention to detail and deadline that make Michael, Todd, and General Grind so dependable. The company processes and manufacture parts with 4 million pounds of steel monthly. They utilize just in time inventory and produce some of the largest parts for their customers–including axles for mining trucks that are almost two feet in diameter and support the largest commercial trucks four stories high!

Michael is the CFO and focuses on the relationships with customers, banks, insurance companies, and vendors. Todd focuses on the production process and the employees. Both commented on the importance of obtaining a college degree for the challenges in management, but believe that on the job training is always important since “you don’t know, what you don’t know” until you face a new opportunity or challenge. That was the case when the management team decided to diversify into gun shaft production. It took General Grind time and investment to learn the business, but when the ag business became soft in 2008, the gun business grew and took some of the excess capacity.

We discussed the trend towards less vertical integration by its customers so that they can achieve better financial returns. With this trend it is important for General Grind to continue to become more efficient and monitor its own profitability. Based on Q1 results, they are tracking towards the best year ever.

Lee Celske spoke Tuesday on about starting  his own business and achieving his dreams. One dream he had was starting a building products company. Another was buying and maintaining rental property in Florida. 

Some people think that entrepreneurship is something that is born in you.  You either are one or you are destine to fail or quit when times get tough.   A good case study for that argument is our recent Midwest Entrepreneurs speaker Lee Celske.  Lee is a very dynamic individual; he is constantly on the move – physically, mentally and professionally. 

When you are one of eleven children in a Milwaukee, you have to learn to survive.  He has been a banker in Texas, an options trader in Chicago, a bond trader in London, a mayor in Aledo, an adjunct professor in Monmouth, an investor/entrepreneur in South Dakota and a real estate owner in Florida.  In addition, he takes lots of pride in being a good husband and a great father.  Business, family and community are all important to him. 

 Lee possesses the two essential characteristics of entrepreneurship – 1) the ability to see the opportunity and 2) the willingness to take the risk necessary to take advantage of the opportunity.  Lee entertained the class with stories about his multiple lives and his will to survive.  Each time his life changed, he re-invented himself and learned new skills and new industries.  When he had to learn the ins and outs of the Chicago trading pits, he did.  When he had to move his family to London for the welfare of his child, he did.  When he has to re-learn trading in a new country with new customs and cultures, he did.  When he had to get a graduate degree from the London Business School in the London School of Economics, he did.  When he had to move back to Western Illinois for family reasons, he did.  When he needed to lobby in Washington D.C., he did.  When he had to raise capital to finance his new business ventures, he did.  When had to be a one-man marketing, advertising and production company for his new business, he did.  When he had to pick up the pieces of his failed business and move on, he did.  As they say “it ain’t braggin’, if you done it.”  And he has done it.

 He is also a man of confidence.  It takes an extremely self-confident individual to take all the risks that he has taken and Lee has that confidence.  He believes in himself and he believes in his family and he believes in his future.  “Just around the corner, there’s a rainbow in the sky.” 

 In addition to demonstrating for the students the personal character of almost all entrepreneurs, Lee showed the students something that is critical to learn but extremely hard to teach.  He talked to them about dealing with failure.  His latest greatest business venture failed.  After a couple of years of hard work, he had all the pieces in places to start a company to build a new type of house based on an innovate green technology.  Recycled waste glass was mixed with a resin to create a new building material that had many highly desirable characteristics – strong, non-flammable, well-insulated, quickly assembled, and affordable. 

Lee got a license to make and sell houses using the patented technology developed by an inventor in England.  A credit-crunch recession hit.  The housing market turned down, bank financing become a challenge and the inventor was found guilty of misrepresentations and fraud. Then the project collapsed.  Then the lawsuits began. Then the failure of the project became a reality.

The truth is that many, perhaps most, entrepreneurs fail at least once and often more than once.  Only the winners are still around to tell their success stories.  Those who failed are hard to find and they are almost never willing to talk about their failures.  It is not easy to talk to strangers about your failures.  But Lee Celske does lots of things that are not easy.  There as many, and perhaps more, valuable things to be learned from failure as from success.  Lee was not destroyed by the failure of the project – the project failed; not Lee.  The failure of the last project is the opportunity to start the next project and Lee has already start a another new life.    

 The energetic, confident, risk-taking Lee Celske was off to his next project.  It was a valuable learning experience for Lee and it was a valuable learning experience of the students in Midwest Entrepreneurs.  Thanks Lee.  We can hardly wait to hear about the next project.

John “Beefy” Huston was the guest speaker in Midwest Entrepreneurs today.  He operates a successful landscaping business in his hometown of Roseville, IL.  John was born into a family where everyone was self-employed – “no one in my family ever had a factory job.  Everyone has always been their own boss.”  Entrepreneurship is comes naturally to him – as does landscaping.

John graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in animal sciences in 1991.  Then he returned to Roseville to work on the family farm.  In his spare time, he began landscaping his own yard.  He discovered that he had a natural talent for arranging nature.  Friends and neighbors admired his work and asked him to work on their yards.  One thing lead to another and by 1995 he was in the landscaping business.  His hobby and natural talent had morphed into his career.  He now has a large machine shed and six vehicles to support his thriving enterprise.

He has never had any classes, internships or prior work experience in landscaping.  It is just something that he knows how to do.  He does not use a computer to plan each job; or even sketch the design out on paper – he can just see it in his head.  In fact, he does not own a computer or have an email account.  He prefers small quick jobs to large commercial projects or new construction.  “Oh I will do them but I prefer small residential properties.”  It fits his nature.  He talks, moves and acts quickly – perhaps impulsively at times – he answer to no one but himself.  He does what he likes, when he likes.  Life is too short to do things you don’t like.

In the early years, he supplemented his income by substitute teaching in the winter.  He still substitute teaches when the landscaping season ends (and drives a school bus for the basketball team) but nowadays it is for something to do and a reason to get up each day rather than the money.  Today his landscaping business generates plenty of revenue to support in the manner he chooses and it could generate much more revenue.  Although it is his profession to grow things, he chooses not to grow the business.  He intentionally keeps it small.  There is only one small crew – Beefy and two or three high school students.  Beefy believes in hard work for himself and his workers.  It is a high energy, hard work, get-er done operation.  Finish this job and get to the next one.  His business has strong word of mouth street cred.  Customers say “He shows up when he says he will, he works hard, he does a good job at a fair price.  He won’t quit until the customer is happy.”

As a part of the low-profile operation, there is no advertising.  Not even a yellow pages ad.  In fact, he not even have a business phone.  Beefy believes in being a part of the community and seeing his customers in person.  He urged the students to “read the local newspaper and attend every church social and pancake breakfast you can.”  Know your customers, see your customers, be a part of the community.  Good advice for a small business owner in a small community.

The small personal character of the business carries over to everything he does.  He runs the business as a sole proprietorship.  He keeps a paper ledger of expenses.  He carries a notebook of appointments and job details in his pocket.  He hand writes bills and thank you notes to his customers.  He hand delivers a pile of documents to his accountant at the end of the year and trusts that she will get it done right.

To survive as a one man business, you have to know a little bit about everything – insurance, finance, banking, marketing, bill collection and cash flow.  Beefy told the students about many of the small things that he does to keep costs down and avoid expenses.  He refinances, gets every discount available, and looks for deals and rebates.  A one-man circus performer has to juggle a lot of balls.

Beefy is a natural business man – by birth and by personality and by career.  It is clear that lifestyle is more important to him than money.  He has arranged his life to live it on the terms of his choosing.  He is the quintessential small business entrepreneur – a passion for his work, a fulfilling occupation and a contributing member of the community.  Many people aspire to be an entrepreneur to be their own boss — Beefy Huston gets the job done.

Becky Ellison catered my wedding in August. Anedotal evidence says she is one of the best caterers in the region. She personally earns “close to” $200,000 annually but she works very long hours. Becky’s food is always tasty, attractively presented, and fresh. Becky spoke to 29 students at Midwest Entrepreneurs today. 

She discussed the option of opening a resturant at the Monmouth Country Club (MCC) and firmly stands behind her decision to not go that direction. She works with a small staff of 3-4 employees, but grows much bigger to do weddings for 400. She has had as many as 25 seasonal employees for events. Becky is the caterer of choice at the MCC for their weddings and parties  – they recently began advertising together on local radio stations, and she has had a great response. She is completely booked through 2012 on weekends and most of  spring, summer, and fall for 2013 weddings. Becky is not known as the caterer with the fanciest food and/or decorations – just tasty food at a reasonable price. 

Becky was born and raised in Monmouth. She earned a WIU degree in home economics and 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.

She is married and has three kids. Becky has had a few entrepreneurial experiences before getting into catering. She started a day care center in her home to care for her three kids and 15 others. One of them included my former student Alex Morgan who now works in Seattle as a marketing manager at Sonosite.

Becky always loved cooking – it’s her passion – a passion that became a business at the urging of her friends and family.

The story of the first wedding reminds me of how we started Above the Rim–we fell into the opportunity. “My friend’s caterer dropped out 30 days before the wedding – the friend begs me  to help her out ; just do this for me”.Becky replied “I don’t know how to do a wedding for 400”  — Her friend begs “you can do this; I need you, please” – she commits to cater the wedding and ends up staying up all night before that first wedding working to it get it right – Becky became an immediate success as word spread.

Word of mouth spreads – “please do my wedding” – one wedding is booked after another. Seasonal business, but she is steadily booked on weekends for nine months of the year.

In the early years, Becky was hiring someone to care for the kids in her day care so she could prepare food. Then she went to catering full time over 10 years ago.

How did she decide to start the business? Her decision to start a catering business was subtle– she bought $200 worth of dishes at an auction in Macomb as her first official step.  Her business is conducted out of her home – never sought any bank financing to grow.

Becky had struggles too. One big piece of her story – Warren County WAS one of the only counties in Illinois without a health department – so legally she could cook at home and sell serve the food. They changed that law on me and I had invested thousands in my home kitchen, and now I could not legally use it without another kitchen location. The Monmouth Country Club was looking to make money in new ways and the partnership has blossomed.

“I did not choose my business, it chose me” she said.

Becky has catered events from Springfield to Peoria to the Quad Cities – catered events as small as dinner parties for 15 people such as “the class of 1936” to weddings as large as 800. She now does weddings out of state and coordinates weddings for Monmouth College couples who marry in Dahl Chapel and hold thew reception out at the country club.

Marketing-wise she relies on word of mouth advertising – Becky takes the first paid contract on a specific date – if a later bigger offer comes in she honors her commitment and says “sorry I am booked” – its a costly decision to honor every commitment but her reputation is too important to tarnish.

She continues to  employs four people in the business – all family members — she was in business with her mother – but health concerns caused her to “slow things down last fall”. Her mother kept track of purchasing and cash flow and turned things over to Becky’s accountant, who does alot for her.   She also carries a lot of special insurance and keeps a lawyer on retainer.

Becky meets each client personally, talks thru the event, type of event, number of guests, type of guests (males, females, farmers, business types, high school kids, etc – I have to know who I am serving in order to know what type of food to make, what would be appropriate, and how much to make).

Everything Becky makes is created from scratch, even when making it from scratch costs more – “if you want cheap food, don’t hire me.”

There are no set schedule of prices like most other caterers – Becky prefers to sit down with her clients. “They tell me what they want, and I will buy all the ingredients and cook it and serve it – you pay for the ingredients and then pay me that much and little more for my labor – I like to balance the bill at about 60% labor and 40% food but sometimes it is closer to 50%/50%. When the event is over, I offer all the extra food to client – I have no room or use for leftovers – How can I ever use so many  leftovers, anyway?” I usually charge a flat fee of $1000-1500 for wedding and provide all of the receipts for the food I purchase. I don’t mark up the food costs and return all of the uneaten food to her client.

“I decided to not work for anyone that will not sit down with me and talk about what they want and what I can do – that process (step) prevents misunderstanding and unhappy customers – customer service is king for me – Tell me what you want, I will tell you what it costs. Then I will deliver what I promised and it will be excellent.”

One of the headaches of the business is its erratic hours and seasonality. This irregular stream of customers – sometimes 60  straight daysof events and then two weeks of nothing can drive other managers crazy when trying to line up help. It is hard for her to commit to full-time help since she never knows what the next week will bring.

She cooks about 3200 days a year – sometimes three or four different events in one day – she already has booked 14 weddings for 2013  – wow!

Becky  felt the effects of the recession last year, but things are picking up. “most people would not have weddings for more than 150 people during the recission. Now people think nothing of 400 people that often costs $3,500 more than the smaller weddings. She  noticed when times get tough she still get parties booked but  the payers or sponsors skimp on the meals compared to heady days pre-2007. However, she has many steady customers – weekly and monthly such as the Monmouth Rotary, banks, seed corn companies, corporate board meetings, and employee dinners. The changing business conditions has forced her to make some changes to her business model.

Two years ago she served 38,000 meals for Monsanto research farm south of town — That equated to $120,000 of sales.  For 2010 Monsanto was down to $17,000 in sales. Becky said “The Monsanto corporate belt-tightening really hurt my business. ”

Two years ago the Warren County health department was established – so she was required to organize a commercial kitchen. She operates it separately from her home business through a leasing/sharing arrangement with Monmouth Country Club – Mike Connell and John Twomey – it is a new business model for both Becky and MCC – customers sign a contract with Becky for food & customers and sign a rental agreement with MCC at the same time – this new joint venture is an evolving business model for both sides – she catered and MCC rented to Monmouth College for the recent meeting for 30 faculty members and administration.

Today you will find becky serving food at MCC and at other venues in Western Illinois with similar arrangements.  Becky has no business plan or retirement in mind. She is training new people all of the time and enjoys that part of her business. She learned by doing – followed her passion – but her future is uncertain “I will do the best I can for my customers, and if that leads me down a good path, I will follow it”.

 John Twomey spoke today about his entrepreneurial journey which recently concluded in a multi-million dollar sale of the company he founded almost 50 years ago. His business focused on the storage and brokering of corn and soy beans. He operated one of the largest river elevators and loading facilities in Western Illinois. Many of the qualities that all employers seek are embodied in John Twomey. His has been a rock of honesty, steadiness, and community support that made living in this area just a bit nicer.  

John identified himself as a workaholic with an inferiority complex. He was  a small, country boy who grew up on a farm, but excelled in track and field and won the national championship running the mile for the University of Illinois.

John just sold one of the largest grain elevator (storage) businesses in the State of Illinois in November. He is an unassuming gentleman who claims he “just wanted to do what is right and help his neighbors”. His business philosophy was similar.  “I made sure to hire the best man, even when we didn’t need anyone. My customer is satisfy my customers and do right by my employees–I made sure they were treated fairly. I never want to be accused of gauging a customer or mistreating my workers. We charge what is fair and hustle to deliver more than what is customary”.

If you want to hire or do business with someone ethical, John Twomey was the picture that comes to mind for farmers in Western Illinois. John had that x-factor that made him a multi-millionaire. The diligence, stick-to-it-tive-ness and tenacity came from his Midwestern roots. It is something very tangible, so you know it when you see it. Our 29 students and a few guests saw it clearly today in the classroom in McMichael 308.

John Twomey was the largest grain dealer/handler in Western Illinois.  The farmer could (and some do) deliver their grain to the ultimate user or the barges at river — that is a costly thing to do and an activity at which the farmer has no particuliar comparative advantage.  Given this real world cost, there is an opportunity for an entrepreneur/middleman.  John Twomey  offered that service. He made an art of storing corn and people from all over the world came to study their methods.  His company collected the grain and moved it closer to its ultimate buyer through more efficinent methods and innovative machinery. John had the economies of scale to develop specialized knowledge of the commodity markets and became successful in knowing how and when to sell.

There are too many people who do not want to work, claim unemployment benefits for the maximum period of time possible, or collect food stamps when they could otherwise work. Most people are too scared to get more education to qualify for better jobs because they are forced to take out student loans and risk failure.  It is a precarious situation.

Our country’s leaders have a lot of excuses and few answers to why unemployment lingers (it remains above 8%).

What is the key to creating more value, wealth, and yes, jobs? Entrepreneurism. What makes entrepreneurs so important? They take risks, spend investment capital, and hire new employees that stimulate the economy. President Obama made clear the importance small companies play in job creation in the recent State of the Union address. What proof do I offer that entrepreneurs drive wealth and job creation? Israel Kirzner (1973, 1999 http://www.nyu.edu/econ/dept/vitae/kirzner.htm) along with Grebel, Pyka, and Hanusch (1987) focused a lifetime of research on entrepreneurs as catalysts for market growth and change. These scholars provided the foundation for what should become an environment friendly to the entrepreneur. But most policy makers and citizens are confused about why a friendly environment for entrepreneurism is critical for prosperity.

Entrepreneurs I meet with every day are faced with more regulation, taxes and mandated employee benefits than ever before in our history. The current political enviornment is much more friendly to unions and unskilled workers than entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs risk their livelihoods, reputations, wealth and family life to create value and jobs. Unions leaders and supporters of the President complain successful entrepreneurs are not doing enough or paying their fair share.

I believe  a friendly environment for entrepreneurs is the catalyst for job growth–it is the essential ingredient missing in our economic recovery.  Suggestions for policy changes are 1) reducing barriers to starting limited liability companies that reduce the risk to the personal assets of entrepreneurs, 2) reduce the mandated employee benefits and strengthen the at-will employment laws. An example is limiting wrongful termination awards and responsibility companies have when market forces cause them to reduce their employee count  3) allow entrepreneurs to more easily protect their intellectual property both home and abroad 4) reorganize the Small Business Administration around accredited schools of business. What are the benefits of these changes? Job growth and greater prosperity.

Even in a tough economy, entrepreneurs are the first to adapt to changing circumstances and keep economic activity at its highest level. Entrepreneurs are flexible and adaptable. When a viable market surfaces, they are willing to adapt their business model to the opportunity, often at the same time larger companies suffer the brunt of market gyrations and downturns.

Modern researchers built upon the theories of “creative destruction” and the entrepreneur as hero put forward by Joseph Schumpeter . Schumpeter provides the most substantive theory to demonstrate how entrepreneurs add value to products and services and most importantly buoy the financial markets.

Entrepreneurs are important because they are willing to risk their capital training and paying for new workers who are not immediately productive. If you want to put your finger on a leading indicator for job growth, take a look at the start rate for small companies who added more than five employees to their payroll in a calendar year.

We need to be competitive with companies abroad. International entrepreneurism involves the added complexity of adapting a product or service to a new market or culture. International entrepreneurs face numerous challenges and barriers that add complexity to any venture such as trade barriers, legal constraints, distribution limitations, and human resource issues not found in their home country. Government can be a help in the area of breaking down barriers to entry and protecting intellectual property.

Entrepreneurs are willing to take significant risks to achieve results. I am working with several right now that recognize incredible international opportunities. By staying abreast on the best methods and products in their respective industries, they could be part of the engine that could help our nation compete more effectively .  Entrepreneurs are the most efficient players in gathering or assembling resources from all over the globe and are both close and accountable to the customer, whether they compete in Canada, India or Brazil.

Based on my experience at three start-ups ventures, Netcentives (1997-2000), Capener Advertising-San Diego (1987-1992), and Above the Rim (1988-1993), I spent a significant amount of time finding, interviewing, and training new employees with entrepreneurial drive and smarts. Those new employees that could deal with ambiguity and change thrived. Those that were willing to change and adapt as we uncovered market opportunities found working in a start-up a thrilling ride. Others hesitated or became scared watching the changing landscape. The speed required to seize these opportunities seemed to be similar to the metaphor of the train pulling into an intermediate stop and the passenger chooses to get aboard or watch the train leave the station as fast as it pulled in. Successful entrepreneurs know when to jump on to (the train) something and when to get off in a hurry.

Block and MacMillan wrote, “The entrepreneurial drive to pursue [opportunities] is a combination of many factors, chief among them motivation and attitude. These attributes in turn, affected by childhood influences, role models, and later workplace environments. Providing they work hard, those with more talent will clearly do better than those with less; entrepreneurial ability can be directly influenced by education, training, and experience. In other words, entrepreneurs are made, not born” (Block). 

Entrepreneurs must be able to influence others to succeed. As a company grows, many rules or cultural norms become large barriers to change or even [continuous] improvement. These barriers prevent entrepreneurs from succeeding unless they can persuade their colleagues to follow them or provide them with support and additional resources, so the best entrepreneurs tend to be skilled at negotiation, diplomacy and mediation.

From my experience in both corporations and start-ups, the typical entrepreneur is more like a “Bull in a China Closet” when it comes to corporate politics until they fail a few times. They can run ruff shod over people who do not have thick skin until it hurts their business or they lose key employees. One example is a successful entrepreneurial relative of mine who  said, “I have no patience or time for these corporate bozos”. If you set corporate policy or work in government, make sure you don’t put up barriers in front of the entrepreneurs or small businessman that are adding employees. Entrepreneurs are the heroes and should be treated as such; they are the engine for economic prosperity. Let’s let our local policy makers know that government is more of a hinderence than a help to creating successful new companies. Let’s reverse the trend towards greater government involvement in regulating and taxing business.  This couse of action will free entrepreneurs to do what they do best: drive productivity, wealth creation, product value, and create jobs.

Will Zimmerman spoke to Midwest Entrepreneurs tonight after one year of successful operations selling and maintaining grain bin systems. He graduated last May from Monmouth College majoring in business with an emphasis in Entrepreneurism. Will and I worked closely together to develop his first business plan which he used to successfully obtain $200,000 in bank financing for the purchase of his company he calls Modern Grain Systems from his former employer Bill Thompson.

Will has been building grain bins for Thompson for over six years. Thompson approached Zimmerman since he was such a great worker and maintained excellent re pore with customers. It was obvious to Thompson that Will also had the education and desire to succeed. He learned many things from his mentor, Thompson, who continues as the general manager of the business. He hopes Will can be even more successful than he was helping farmers create storage bins providing opportunities to 25 employees.

Thompson was successful in the business for over 25 years by honoring his word with his farmer customers. He honored his commitments and did what he said he would do. Zimmerman hopes to demonstrate consistent performance too. Will plans to  continue that philosophy. He paid of $105,000 of interest and principal and paid back his parents loan in less than 12 months of operation. He pulled of what all entrepreneurs dream of—profitability in year one. Zimmerman has a dream–to pay off all of his debt and build a lake house near Avon, Illinios in the next two years. He sell both large and smaller systems–check out the link to his supplier-GSI for more information on the products he installs for his customers.

His business model is to not mark up any outside costs and keep his labor charges to a minimum. He often wakes up at 4am to load tractor trailers for job sites so the crew can get right to work in the morning when starting a new assignment. Will often works 80 hours a week to the chagrin of his girlfriend. “I can understand why other entrepreneurs have problems balancing their personal lives”, claims Zimmerman. It is hard enough to keep good relations with my girlfriend. Girlfriends are important but customers are king.

Will’s business is growing as he becomes more customer savvy. He realizes the tax deduction for capital investments in grain storage has gone for farmers from 100% to 50% and that has slowed down inquires for 2012. A sales angle Will uses is the growing cost of transporting corn and soybeans to the grain elevators. The cost of maintaining, owning, or leasing three or four semi-tractor trailers is significant. “It is no longer something a farmer can ignore. It can be upwards of $165,000 annually for a new truck and trailer worthy to transport the maximum loads. Plus fuel costs are expected to rise”.

Another competitor who is 10 times the size of Zimmerman’s operation let Will in on some secrets of successfully bidding large projects.” I found after losing a $1 million dollar job that I was bidding the concrete too high. I knew the structural engineer would require more concrete than the farmer deems necessary. But my competitor lets the engineer be the bearer of that bad news (the increase necessary to pay for 100’s of additional yards of concrete) and consistently underbids his concrete”.  This gave his competitor an advantage over Will who was trying to be more transparent in the bidding process. “That concrete bid cost me hundreds of thousands when I lost the job”.

As the professor that helped Will develop his business plan, I was impressed to hear how much he had learned in the last 12 months. have no doubt Will will continue to succeed. He showed a video from www.youtube.com that demonstrated his work and showed in graphic terms how well his company executes million dollar storage facilities. I look forward to hearing more plans for his expansion into a new company headquarters in Avon, IL and financial success in year two.

Floyd Boykin spoke yesterday to a large audience at Midwest Entrepreneurs. Mr. Boykin was a Communications major at Monmouth College, from St. Louis, graduating in 1993 . At Monmouth he was active in the Black Students Organization (BAAC), and music director for R&B/Hip-Hop at WMCR. His major venture these days is publishing “SpokenVisions” magazine (re-launched recently electronically). He is both a publisher  and an award winning poet. He plans to open a poet’s cafe in St. Louis in the next few years. Floyd continues to produce spoken word raps and poetry exposing the world of drugs, cruelty against women, and “inner beauty”. His last CD won a creative award  and his own music recordings have been used in promotional videos for the health and beauty segment. He was selected for inclusion as one of the 2011 Honorees in the 7th Edition of Who’s Who in Black St. Louis. Mr Boykin is working on his second film project that has to do with violence against women (a long time concern of his in terms of negative attitudes in hip-hop music). He also is an activist and supporter of research for the cure of Lupus (the disease that killed his mother).