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

A fitting start to our regional entrepreneur speaker series was had yesterday in class. Al McGuire, of McGuire & Davies Funeral Home and Crematory, addressed the class regarding the ongoing efforts of himself and partner Trevor Davies to start a new business. The company is presently in the very early stages of start-up and is scheduled to begin formal operations from its new facility at 1007 North G Street in Monmouth in the summer of 2013. As Mr. McGuire put it, the firm is “starting from zero.”

Each of our speakers this semester will have an interesting and unique story of their entrepreneurial enterprise. The evolving story of the McGuire & Davies Funeral Home and Crematory is indeed interesting and unique. Both Mr. McGuire and Mr. Davies have extensive experience working for competing Monmouth-based funeral services firms. Recently, the two men decided to “go it on their own,” be their own bosses, and compete against their former employers.

Mr. McGuire addressed many issues of critical relevance to both entrepreneurs and to Midwest Entrepreneurs students. Below, I summarize three key issues discussed in class.

1.  Successful entrepreneurial enterprises are often reflections of the entrepreneur  behind them. Clearly, based on his stated focus on serving customers and responses to  student inquiries yesterday, Mr. McGuire’s company is founded and will be guided by his  empathetic concern for people, community, and spirituality. This concern is, as made  clear by Mr. McGuire in class, extraordinarily important when dealing with grieving and  vulnerable persons as one commonly does in the funeral services industry.

2. Arguably the main source of sustainable competitive advantage for any business— including entrepreneurial firms—is the creation and continual  delivery of superior  value to customers. This is something that I, a marketing professor by training, feature  in all classes I teach here at Monmouth College. When Mr. McGuire was asked by a  member of the class how he plans to compete against he and Mr. Davies’ former  employers—both deeply entrenched, long-time providers of funeral services in the  Monmouth area—his response was, essentially, that he will “out service” them. In other  words, the plan for this new entrepreneurial enterprise is create superior value for  customers by serving their needs, wants, and expectations better than any existing  competitors. This was particularly evident when Mr. McGuire discussed how he will  personally be available to do whatever is needed for customers no matter the time of day  or circumstances. It was also evidenced when he spoke of the goal and purpose of a  “funeral director” as closely listening to customers and then helping direct them to  “where they want to be” with  regard to memorializing and celebrating departed loved  ones (as opposed to simply hard-selling the funeral arrangements that would make him  the most money). Finally, Mr. McGuire discussed how his new firm will provide a  service for which there is growing demand that is not currently offered in the local  marketplace; cremation.

3.  Successful entrepreneurs are risk takers who carefully and consciously take the  right risks. Yes, entrepreneurs take risks. However, not all risks are equally worth  taking. This was evident as Mr. McGuire discussed his reluctance to get involved with  either government grants or well-intentioned individual investors. He and Mr. Davies  have chosen, instead, to rely on local bank financing to get their business up and running.  At the same time, Mr. McGuire realizes that the risk is high. As he put it, “all I own is on  the block.” He is confident that the right risks are being taken and that all external debt— which he abhors—will be paid off in approximately 10 years.

This was a wonderful first guest-speaker class. Thanks to Mr. McGuire for coming and sharing his fledgling firm’s story. Thanks also to the Midwest Entrepreneurs students for their active involvement in discussion of issues raised by Mr. McGuire. Many relevant questions were asked and I expect this to continue as the semester—and our speaker series—progresses. Student comments to this blog—or other comments regarding Mr. McGuire’s presentation—are welcome.

Tomorrow in class we are scheduled to have a speaker whose entrepreneurial company and career is near the opposite end of the “life cycle spectrum” when compared to the McGuire & Davies Funeral Home and Crematory. Our guest will be Mr. John Twomey, who, after more than 60 years of running a network of regional agricultural businesses, recently sold his firm to Consolidated Grain and Barge, Inc.

I hope to see you in class tomorrow for what is sure to be another interesting and unique entrepreneurial story and discussion.

Best regards,

Prof. Gabel

Hello and Welcome to the Midwest Entrepreneurs Blog!

I have been excited about the opportunity to run this blog and teach the BUSI 350 – Midwest Entrepreneurs class since hearing about it last semester; my first semester here at Monmouth College. I am originally from the southeastern Iowa town of Keokuk and this is a homecoming for me (after being out of the area since the late 1980s). This class–and this blog as a part of it–will help reintegrate me into the local and regional business marketplace via interaction with many successful businesspeople (and helping students learn from them).

In this introductory blog entry, I have two goals. The first is to introduce our first speaker of the semester. Scheduled to speak to the class today in McMike 308 at 4:00 pm is Al McGuire who, after working for many years for a local funeral services firm, is  opening a new business in Monmouth to compete with his former employer. Mr. McGuire will have a partner in the new venture, Trevor Davies, also a veteran of the local funeral services industry (with another firm). Thus, the short story behind the start of this new entrepreneurial venture, is that we have two former employees of two different funeral services firms who have decided to “go it on their own” and be their own bosses. The presentation today should add many interesting details to this story of entrepreneurism. Hope top see you there!

The second goal of this introductory blog is to reiterate–and add to–some of the points that Dr. Mike Connell and I have been making in class lectures the first two weeks of the semester. I do this from a context not explicitly discussed in class so far; the online world of connectivity. Please find below a link to an NPR “On Being” interview I listened to this past weekend with internet entrepreneur and best-selling author Seth Godin.

http://www.onbeing.org/program/seth-godin-on-the-art-of-noticing-and-then-creating/5000/audio?embed=1

In the interview, Mr. Godin talks about many things that are of major relevance not only to today’s entrepreneur—albeit mainly in the business-to-consumer marketplace—but also with regard to how to view and conduct marketing (and, more broadly, an entrepreneurial business). Much of the ideas expressed are also highly consistent with the views of business and how it should be conducted held by the Department of Political Economy & Commerce (PEC) here at Monmouth College. I summarize a few of the key issues from the interview below.

1. Marketing and business is not a matter of forcing things on others, but rather understanding and then creatively–even artistically–meeting needs, wants, and expectations. The creative and artistic perspective applies potentially to everyone. The key is knowing people and then creatively solving their problems in new and interesting ways that create value. Having been around the country as I have, I assure you that this “business as creative art” thinking is not the way that many Colleges of Business view business. However, it is very consistent with the way business and commerce is viewed and taught here in the PEC Department.

2. Today’s unprecedented level of mainly technology-driven change means unprecedented levels of opportunity for innovation and personal success.

3. Learning from failure is an absolute necessity. As Godin puts it, “no does not mean no,” it means “no for now and that you should learn for next time.” As was discussed in class the last two weeks, successful entrepreneurs do not give up easily and must get used to people telling them that their ideas do not make sense.

4. Key hurdles to innovation include fear of failure and cultural pressure to conform and exhibit, as Godin puts it, “cog-like obedience.” As discussed in class these last two weeks, entrepreneurs are often anti-conformists bucking the status quo who see things differently; often in the form of seeing better ways to solve problems for other people and organizations.

5. Entrepreneurial success is seldom a matter of maximizing sales, market share, or profits. As discussed in class, while entrepreneurs are typically obsessed with succeeding, success is often not defined in terms of sales and profits.

6. You must have faith in yourself and goals and have the courage to do it and inspire others to do it as well. Aim high to solve problems for others in a positive manner.

7. Connectivity is key; connect with people on the basis of creating something meaningful and of value to them.

That raps up my first blog entry for the Spring 2013 semester. Look for at least two entries each week from here on out. We plan to have two entrepreneurial speakers from the local and regional marketplace each week. I will be blogging after each presentation and students will be joining in the on the discussion (for class credit). This should be a very interesting semester in Midwest Entrepreneurs class.

Regards,

Terrance G. Gabel, Ph.D.