Two important lessons were learned by students in the Midwest Entrepreneurs class last Thursday.

Lesson One: Change happens and you must be ready to adapt to it. In the morning, we had to quickly reorganize and reschedule speakers as our scheduled speaker, Vanessa Wetterling of local radio provider Prarie Communications, had to cancel due to a weather-related emergency at the office. Although many people are obsessed with structure and predictability, change such as this is inevitable and adaptation is a must; for Vanessa, for entrepreneurs, and, in this instance, for the class.

This need to adapt to change also became evident with our eventual guest speaker, whose firm perished due to not seing radical change in its industry coming on the horizon. More on that soon...

Lesson Two: Being an entrepreneur–particularly a high-tech entrepreneur–can be a very wild ride. This was a core lesson learned from our spur-of-the-moment guest speaker; Paul Schuytema, a former PC game programmer whose turbulent tale of very high highs and very low lows kept the students both laughing and on the edges of their respective seats the entirety of the class period.

I now yield to today’s student blogger–Tom Lawson–to tell the tale of reluctant (former) high-tech entrepreneur Paul Schuytema as he saw it.  However, I will insert my self and marketing-professor insight into Tom’s blog entry at one key point.

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Before Tuesday I had no idea of who my speaker for Midwest Entrepreneurs was or what she did. However, when I found out that she would not be speaking and that Paul Schuytema would be filling in for her, I was delighted. I am sure that Ms. Wetterling is a wonderful woman, but I had the pleasure of working for, as well as getting to know Paul over the summer, so this came as a great surprise.

Paul grew up in the town of Park Ridge, IL, and he described himself as a “nerdy kid.” He felt his claim was justified by his addiction to board games, love of miniatures, and the creation of his very own rule-based game by the time he was in fourth grade. Although tragedy struck Paul early, with the death of his father when he was thirteen, it set in motion something that would create the man who stood before us. To keep his mind off the death of his father, Paul’s mother bought an Atari computer, one that allowed him to start his life-long love affair with programming.

Sadly, Paul’s love of programming had to remain a hobby, as it was not offered as a major during school at the time. After a few years working at our very own Monmouth College, Mr. Schuytema worked on a handful of PC video games on the side before being offered a job with 3D Realms, the creator of the Duke Nukem franchise. The company, however, ended up shutting down the game that Paul and many others had worked so hard on, due to a greater need for focus on the new Duke Nukem release. Disheartened but wiser, Paul returned to Monmouth in 1999 to start his own video game company, now knowing how a company should not be run. To get some spending money, he and his partners wrote video game walkthroughs and attempted to launch their own games, but they subsequently ran into branding problems.

The big break for Magic Lantern Playware (their company) came with the release of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials. This first-person shooter received four stars upon release and gave Magic Lantern the money they desperately needed; a profit of around $750,000. Not only this, but during the process of writing the game, the team assembled the largest existing encyclopedia on counter-terrorism. After Rainbow Six, Magic Lantern released a few more commercially successful games, including Combat and a game based off the hit TV show Survivor. 

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NOTE from Prof. Gabel: As I sat listening to Paul’s story at this point, I got the feeling that the release of the Survivor PC game signalled one of the highest high points of his turbulent entrepreneurial ride. Exemplary was the picture displayed on the projection screen of a happy Paul–drink in hand–laughing it up at a major video gaming conference with one of the female stars of the Survivor TV show. However, looking back now, I see how Paul’s experience with this game was a bit of both a signal and a microcosm of the downward spiral to come. As Paul described the experience, although the game was introduced with great fanfare in the industry it ultimately sold poorly–and quickly vanished from shelves–due to the fact that those responsible for the marketing of the game–not Paul’s programming firm–did a poor job of market segmentation and targeting. While much money was spent on advertising and otherwise promoting the game, lacking concern for who might actually want to buy the game led to a situation in which, as Paul put it: “No one cared.”

Sounds like a situation of wasting tons of money on advertising due to their being no demand for the product and lacking concern for the target market; essentially there was no demand because there was no target market for the product.

Not Paul’s fault but also a recipe for entrepreneurial decline if not remedied… Things had started to unravel…

Back to Tom Lawson’s account of the END of the story…          

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Although they stepped on various “landmines,” as Paul put it, the demise of the business came not because of a selling out or bankruptcy. In the T.S. Eliot poem “The Hollow Men,” the last two lines read, “this is how the world ends; not with a bang, but a whimper.” The same can be said for Magic Lantern. The company had a handful of new ventures and featured hits and misses, but nothing replicated the success of the Tom Clancy release.  When Bungie released the console video game Halo, it revolutionized the gaming industry and was a death sentence to small developers like Paul who failed to see console gaming coming in time to adjust.

Having Paul Schuytema come speak provided the class with a unique opportunity, to hear about a business failing. Maybe fail is a cruel word for this instance, because his company being edged out with the rise of console gaming was something he had no say in. As Professor Connell teaches in Business 105, innovation is creative destruction; Magic Lantern is living proof of that.

Not all is lost, however, for life can start anew.

Paul is currently the City Planner for the city of Monmouth, runs the Blues Festival every year, plans to cash in on his latest business venture with Connell, and is newly married to the lovely Susan Schuytema, owner of Market Alley Wines (our very first guest speaker of the semester).

Although they did not have the money that big developers did, Paul took care of his coworkers within his LLC by providing healthcare, a 401k, and a sense of family. They didn’t try to grow and take over other companies and make six figure salaries, although it would have been preferred in retrospect, they just tried the best they could. The members at Magic Lantern simply tried to make a quality product for the customer while living out their dreams of doing what they loved.

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Well stated Tom!!…

And thanks to Paul Schuytema for both filling in at the last minute and then captivating us with his turbulent “best of times, worst of times” entrepreneurial story!! 

We learned in class this past Tuesday–from a practicing McDonald’s franchisee–how franchising can represent a special type of entrepreneurial venture. More on franchising from an entrepreneurial perspective can be found at the following link.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/franchising

Today’s blog entry is written by Midwest Entrepreneurs student Johnathon Donald. In it, Johnathon captures very well the key points of franchising existing as an entrepreneurial option.

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Last Tuesday, we had Mike Luna, a successful McDonalds franchisee, speak to our class. Mr. Luna got his start in the business at a young age working at the McDonalds in Galesburg, IL. After working there for five years he went off to school, but eventually made his way back to McDonalds working as a supervisor. He was given the opportunity to buy into a franchise in Kewanee, IL and this is where his journey as a franchisee begins.

Before I go deeper into his story I would like to talk about the uniqueness of Mr. Luna’s business.

All of the other speakers we have had thus far have been entrepreneurs who have started their own business from scratch. Mr. Luna is different from others because he is a franchisee of a much larger corporation. This means that he has specific rules and regulations he has to follow as set by the McDonalds Corporation, and he has to work closely with them to make sure his location is up to standards.

With this though he has a lot of advertising that the corporation itself does, and he doesn’t have to put his own money into. He is also able to set his own prices as to stay competitive on the local level. Perhaps most importantly, although McDonalds controls from whom Luna buys meat and other raw materials, McDonalds gives him volume-purchasing power that means he is getting the highest possible quality materials at the best possible price; better than he could get on his own if he were running his own business. This savings and quality is then passed on to the McDonalds consumer.

In this endeavor, Mr. Luna was given the option to receive more stock in the franchise, which he gladly accepted. When the Kewanee location was bought out, he had enough money to start his own franchise right here in Monmouth in 1990. Through his dedication to customer service and willingness to do whatever work he must to make sure his franchise is operated correctly, he has been able to run a highly successful McDonalds. He has also been able to open another McDonalds in Aledo, IL.

Part of Mr. Luna’s success comes from the effort his employees put in to their jobs, and this can be attributed to Mr. Luna’s own work ethic. He stated that he was the type of person who would rather be out in the front of the store helping customers and making sure his building is in excellent shape than be a person working behind the scenes. Mr. Luna made the point that if you want your employees to work hard and do their best, you need to be willing to set the example that you wish for them to follow. He also strives to make his location a place where people want to come to work, and will continue to work. These aspects have enabled his franchised restaurants to be some of the most successful around.

Mr. Luna is a man who was willing to take the risk to bring a new type of business to a small community. The work that he put in to this business, and still continues to put in, has made his business successful for the last 24 years. His story is proof that by working hard and by believing in the decisions you make, you can run a successful business.

Johnathon Donald

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 is Will Zimmerman, a 2011 Monmouth College Business Administration graduate—and former Midwest Entrepreneurs class member–who owns and operates Avon, IL-based Modern Grain Systems.

Today’s blog entry is written by present class member Raahsaan Fox.

The YouTube video that began class last Thursday can be found at the link below.

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

Enjoy…

Prof. Gabel

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Last class we heard from Will Zimmerman who is a Monmouth College alumni. Will graduated in 2011 and ever since then he has never looked back. Will came up with his idea for his grain storage construction business while he was a senior at Monmouth College. He drew up his business plan for one of his classes and used that same plan to pursue the proper funding for his business. His business plan was approved and he received a $200,000 loan to start the business.

Something interesting Will pointed out during his presentation was that a lot of his peers didn’t approve of his idea and thought he would fail terribly and cost his family tons of money. Despite the negative reactions he went forward with his plan and today he is a steady name when it comes to building and servicing storage units in this area.

After his business became up and running one of Will’s top priorities was to pay off his loans as quickly as possible; something he had learned as a business student here at Monmouth College. He said he wanted to do this because the longer you have lingering loans the higher the interest will be and the harder it will be to pay them off. He also pointed out how he didn’t believe in using the money he made to make his life better. He used the money to make the business better. “ You have to spend money to make money” I think is a quote to live by for all business owners because some people forget that and when they make money they never want to spend it.

Will pointed out how his main problem with his business was the fact that he was 21 when he first started and the people who worked for him were much older and they had a hard time taking orders from a younger boss.  He also made it clear that the thing that separates his business from his competition is his work is second to none. He makes sure he is always available to help his customers and his work ethic is unmatchable.

Will’s success just goes to show that anything is possible if you believe in yourself. He went from a partying college student to President of Modern Grain Systems. If that doesn’t give you hope then I don’t know what else could. Will is a good example of how  hard work and dedication  can get you ahead in the world!!

Raahsaan Fox

Our Guest speaker last Thursday was retired agricultural entrepreneur John Twomey. His inspirational six-decade-long entrepreneurial success story is documented below by Midwest Entrepreneurs student Tyler Bean.

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John Twomey shared with the class last Thursday his compelling story of becoming a successful entrepreneur in a company he started over 60 years ago. Emerging from humble Depression-era beginnings, he came to eventually operate one of the most successful grain elevator and loading facilities in the entire United States. He is a true role model; an honest, hardworking man who has never stopped doing his very best from early childhood until today.

Twomey was born in 1923, back then corn was around ten cents per bushel (today it’s around four dollars). John identified himself early on as a workaholic, much like his father was when growing up when needing to save his eighty acre farm. He said that this was an inspiration for him to do well, “it’s all about products of your environment”, he said.  Into high school, Twomey was a basketball manager and ran track and field quoting times as “great experiences” and talked about how these times became a part of who he is; essential to any entrepreneur.

After running cross country and track at Western Illinois University, Twomey became a D-24 Bomber for the United States Army, while shorty after receiving his Master’s Degree from the University of Illinois. Twomey began his entrepreneurial journey by starting a farm, just like his father did. Twomey later came up with an idea to help store grain more efficiently for others to buy. And from one grain elevator that burnt down in 1956 Twomey created eight separate custom made grain elevators (240 ft. long and 600 ft. wide). It was like no one had ever seen before. And soon after John received visitors from Texas, Ohio, and Iowa that wanted to see how he did it. Because of this idea John Twomey became the most successful river elevator and grain loading entrepreneur in Warren County.

Human resource issues were also important to Mr. Twomey’s entrepreneurial success. When hiring new employees John didn’t always look at the tangible assets, he would always hire the employee on the person, not the task at hand. Explaining, “Until the right person came through the door, we wouldn’t hire anybody”. He told us about once even hiring a worker when no new employees were needed. Twomey simply thought the man was a good person and would be an excellent worker and wanted him to work for his company, so he hired him for no particular position.

John Twomey’s Midwestern roots, diligence, and ‘always moving forward’ attitude made great characteristics for a great man. He showed our class that anything is possible with an idea and the inspiration. Twomey had the stick-to-it-iveness to never stop chasing his dreams and knew that one day they would all come true. His business ethics are something that you don’t find commonly in the real world today. Mr. Twomey may be the most successful entrepreneur our class has seen. We all have something to learn from his success.

Tyler Bean

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Note from Prof. Gabel: Nicely said Tyler… I wish to add two points to your summary of Mr. Twomey’s presentation.

First, reiterating the theme of my blog entry for John’s visit to the Midwest Entrepreneurs class last year, the entrepreneurial story we were treated to last Thursday exemplifies entrepreneurism and business as it can and should be (but is far too often not). John Twomey did things the right way for 60 years. He continues to do things that way today in retirement; managing the foundation he created that donates money to local and regional schools, churches, and charities. He was and remains the epitome of a community-oriented business person; and a true role model for others.

Second, the central, driving role of innovation is highlighted in Twomey’s entrepreneurial story. Like all of our guest speakers to date this semester, Twomey’s business model was founded around customer service, customer satisfaction, and the resultant spread of positive word-of-mouth (WOM) communication. However, what propelled John’s business to heights not seen with other speakers was his creation of a completely new way to handle grain. He brought with him to the class the actual original drawing of this ground-breaking innovation. It allowed his company to handle 6-7 times as much grain as before and to hold it and keep it fresher longer. It is what propelled his family’s business to become one of the most successful grain storage and agricultural service firms not only in Western Illinois, but in the entire United States.

The culmination of this 60 year-long local entrepreneurial success story came in late 2011 when the 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).

Wow… I am more impressed with John Twomey each time I am around him. He is without question the epitome of entrepreneurism and business as it can and should be!!!

Our entrepreneur guest speaker in class yesterday was 2004 Monmouth College graduate Joe Stefani. He was accompanied by 2010 MC graduate Josh Vanswol, a key employee of the company. Their young, growing company Scotty Gear is presently the largest producer of fraternity and sorority flags in the United States. Scotty Gear produces the flags through a contract manufacturer in China and then sells them—as a wholesaler—to retailers across the U.S. for final sale to consumers/users.

The following blog entry is written by Midwest Entrepreneurs student Evan Bean.

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Joe Stefani ’04 is the founder and president of Arlington Heights, Illinois based Scotty Gear.  What makes Joe’s business unique is that he started Scotty Gear with zero dollars and managed to attend school while doing so.  Joe was part of the fraternity Sig Ep, where he designed his first shirt (which sold for nearly fifty dollars on ebay).  At first, he thought of this as a way of having spending money during the week, but then it became much more than simply a means of having extra spending money.

While Joe was making roughly 100 dollars a week, he wanted to expand his sales.  He was tired of selling shirts and decided to start selling flags.  Scotty Gear has grown into a huge hit and now the flags account for 95 percent of its products and 99 percent of its sales ($1 million in 2013).  The company sells over 900 different styles of fraternity and sorority flags, and is one of the fastest growing fraternity and sorority products companies in the country. Joe would like to expand Scotty Gear into more than producing flags.  He recently began selling other products such as lanyards, cards, and stocking hats.  Scotty Gear is mainly a wholesale company where they sell to retailers countrywide; everything from small independent stores to campus bookstores of all sizes.

Sales by Scotty Gear sky rocketed last year by 2,000 percent and they hope to grow another 400 percent in 2014.  Joe works with a limited amount of employees, including 2010 Monmouth graduate Josh Vanswol.  With the rapid growth of the company, Joe and Josh hope to hire another employee very soon; they were in fact recruiting while here.  Joe is a big supporter of Greek life and would like to hire a qualified worker with similar interests who is hard working.

Joe is a great example of a college student who started a phenomenal business from what he enjoyed most from scratch with, as he put it, “nothing.” He described three things we should know when starting a business:

1.         It will not be easy,

2.         Everything may not be as it appears, and

3.         There is not always one right way to get to the end. 

As we learned from Joe Stefani, starting your own business will be difficult and its up to you how much effort your willing to give.  Joe was once ready to quit his business when he was selling shirts, but he stuck with his plan and is now one of the biggest fraternity and sorority products companies in the United States!

Evan Bean

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Note from Prof. Gabel:

In addition, we also learned from Joe Stefani ’04 and Josh Vanswol ’10 yesterday about the potential critical importance of the law—and getting good legal counsel—to the entrepreneur. Scotty Gear’s business model revolves keenly around licensing and protection of the designs it creates. Specifically, the company is a licensed vendor of products bearing the names and logos of fraternities and sororities. They then incorporate these names and logos into designs which they create (and place on flags and various other products). Just as important to the ongoing success and growth of the company is legal protection of the designs. Joe mentioned one case in which a major retail seller of their products co-opted one of Scotty Gear’s designs and sold it as their own. This was quickly discovered and arrangements for the retailer to cease and desist were worked out via Scotty Gear’s lawyer; with the retailer stopping the practice but remaining a valued customer. While Joe and Josh must be constantly vigilant of such infringement of their valuable designs, they cannot handle the legal matters alone. Securing the necessary licenses and then enforcing their legal rights on their designs are not simple matters to be handled by the legal novice. As a result, Scotty Gear continually retains the services of expert legal counsel via payment of a monthly fee; their lawyer also sits on their corporate board. When asked why he chooses to employ legal counsel on this ongoing basis—as opposed to paying by the hour on an as-needed basis—Joe simply stated that the need to protect their designs—and the business itself—is so constant and imperative that the monthly retainer is the best possible approach for Scotty Gear.

Thank you Joe and Josh for another great entrepreneurial story!!

See you all Thursday for a very different entrepreneurial story; one of a local man who recently sold off his business after a remarkable 60-year run of hard work, persistence, innovation, growth, and community involvement.

This semester, a significant part of students’ grades is writing a blog post on an assigned guest speaker presentation. The 20 students in the class have been  randomly assigned to our practicing entrepreneur guest speakers. Today’s blog entry marks the first of these student-authored efforts. It has been written by Rhett Kuhnen.

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John “Beefy” Huston is a man of his words. An old-fashioned lifestyle is the way he chooses to live on a daily basis. He takes a lot of pride in what he does. Whether it is the little things in his business or the big picture. Having at least one computer in a household is typical for the average American today. However, Beefy Huston is not a typical businessman in the world today. He does everything by the book or as some would call it, “The Old-Fashioned” way.

Mr. Huston does all the little things right which makes his business such a success. He always arrives to the job site on time, and if there is a chance he could be even five minutes late he will call the customer to let them know. Beefy Huston does not do any advertising, he relies on his customers talking to their friends and family around the area about the work that he has done at the job location. This would be called “Word of Mouth” communication. After he hears that someone has recommended him, he gladly sends that person a handwritten “thank you” note. When Beefy was speaking to our class about doing the little things right, he said, “Try to achieve these even when you are sick of it everyday.” This quote is something a successful entrepreneur has showed in his business that has led him to be one of the most prestige landscaping businesses in the area.

One of the keys to having such a successful business in a small town is to see and be seen. Mr. Huston is very active in the community. He grew up just outside of Roseville and his father is still a Veterinarian in Roseville today. He served 14 years on the Warren County Fair Board, 4 years on the Roseville Community Board, and he is also a Knights of Columbus member. He participates in the community any way that he can. He is a substitute teacher any time after Thanksgiving until March. Also, he drives the bus for the Varsity Boys Basketball team. Charity events, pancake suppers, and auctions are a few other ways he likes to be seen in the community. “What goes around comes around” is a quote Beefy mentioned in class, whether it is a quick return or 4-5 years down the road. If you do something good for someone else, most times they will return the favor at a later point.

Another main point that Beefy addressed in class was the freedom that comes with being an entrepreneur – you are your own boss. He sets his own schedule with a remembrance that the customer always comes first. Whether he spends all seven days of the week working from sun up to sun down he makes sure the job is completed within a timely matter. When Beefy is asked about why he does not make his business into a larger company, he responds he likes the minimum level of stress he has with his small business. Also, he does not want to be overwhelmed with adding new employees. His employees are always college or high school kids that are willing to work hard. Mr. Huston keeps his employees determined to work hard even through the hot conditions of the summer by working along side them; he is not a boss who sits in the air condition all day and gives his employees orders. This has helped keep him in business since he receives numerous calls on people wanting jobs to be completed by him.

Rhett Kuhnen (30 January 2014)

This Tuesday the Midwest Entrepreneur class went on what is hoped to be but the first of several field trips this semester to the actual businesses of local entrepreneurs.

This field trip, to the McGuire & Davies Funeral Home and Crematory in Monmouth (see: http://www.mcguireanddaviesfuneralhome.com/) , was a very special field trip.

Our gracious host, Mr. Al McGuire, had been our very first guest speaker in Spring 2013; last January 29 to be exact. Al came to the class then with little but an architect’s rendering of the facility, a piece of empty land near the northwest end of town, and a grand entrepreneurial dream to be the most modern and service-obsessed funeral home—and the only crematory—in the Monmouth area.

How things have change in the last year…

Ground was broken in April of 2013 for the new facility. The grand opening took place on October 18. More than a million dollars was invested by McGuire and his partner Trevor Davies. In the latter months of 2013, the two fledgling entrepreneurs received 39 calls for funeral services and performed 40 cremations. So far this year, they have performed 7 services; all involving use of the facility’s crematorium.

Several of the funerals handled since opening the facility were very large and truly tested the mettle of the McGuire and Davies team. As Al told the class—sitting attentively in the beautiful parlor of the new facility—these particular services were both (1) great opportunities to show what they can do—and generate positive word-of-mouth in the community—and (2) opportunities to, as he put it, “crash and burn.” Well, there was no “crash and burn.”

You see, while the two entrepreneurs are new to running their own business, neither is close to new to the funeral business.

Al McGuire possesses 30 years of experience as a funeral director. His work in the industry can be traced all the way back to his undergraduate days at Loras College in Dubuque, IA, where he lived above a funeral home and worked—to pay for school—for two years in the early-mid 1980s. Immediately prior to starting his own business, McGuire had worked at Monmouth’s Hoover-Hall Memorial Chapel for many years. Trevor Davies, although 20 years the junior of his partner, also possessed a wealth of industry experience entering into their current venture; having (1) graduated from the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Wheeling, IL, (2) served an apprenticeship with the Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory in Barrington & Crystal Lake, Illinois, and (3) worked for 5 years at the Turnbull Funeral Home here in Monmouth.

So, what we have here—on the surface at least—is two highly ambitious people with extensive industry experience who, at some point, decided to “go it on their own,” be their own bosses, and compete against their former employers.

But there is far more to the ongoing, early-stage entrepreneurial story of the McGuire & Davies Funeral Home and Crematory.

You see, during their respective years of working in the local funeral home industry, each gained not only knowledge of the trade but, just as importantly, connections to people in the local community and, arguably most importantly of all, strong reputations as professional service providers who listen to and care about their customers. This is, of course, particularly important in the funeral services industry.

This, too, is about something I stress in virtually all classes I teach here at Monmouth College; something called relationship marketing.

Relationship marketers are concerned first and foremost about customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction, achieved repeatedly over time, leads to repeat business and the spread of positive word-of-mouth-communication and referrals. Further, repeated satisfaction leads, eventually, to high levels of customer loyalty; something all marketers should strive for.

After hearing Al McGuire talk proudly about his new business Tuesday, I can firmly attest to the fact that the McGuire & Davies Funeral Home and Crematory is indeed a relationship marketer committed to continual customer satisfaction.

But do not make the mistake of thinking that it has been easy for the two entrepreneurs…

McGuire and Davies have taken extraordinary risks in starting up their entrepreneurial venture. As stated earlier, McGuire informed the class that he and his partner had invested more than $1 million dollars into the business. This in and of itself is worthy of the label “extraordinary risk.” But there is far more to consider here.

As Mr. McGuire told the class, both he and Davies have put “everything they have on the line” into this business. As Al stated during our visit: “… about the only thing I didn’t have to do was give away my children.” Yet he is confident that the right risks are being taken and that all external debt—incurred only at local banks—will be paid off in approximately 10 years (even though the loans are for 20 years).

And a note on the investment into the physical facility itself… Clearly—and I say this as a result of the class having been treated to a complete tour of the facility—McGuire and Davies have gone well above and beyond what most would think “necessary to compete” with the building. However, as Al informed us, there are two key reasons the level of investment made.

First, given that his is now one of three funeral homes in a small market, McGuire expressed his belief that he must go the proverbial extra mile to stand out in the marketplace (particularly considering the fact that he is competing against two deeply entrenched, long-time providers of funeral services in the Monmouth area).

Second, the large investment was strategically made so as to make the new business stand out in ways allowing it to both (1) position itself on the basis of unique and increasingly meaningful benefits, and (2) create and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Most notably here, the new facility incorporates the latest technological advances to allow the playing of customer-chosen music and DVD compilations celebrating the life of the deceased loved one; part of an ongoing memorialization trend in the United States toward mourning in celebratory, technology-facilitated fashion. Further, the addition of the crematorium—a nearly $90,000 investment on its own—allows the business to generate income above and beyond the funeral services it personally performs; as it is the crematory in the area. And as Mr. McGuire clearly noted, the investment in the crematorium is particularly warranted given the fact that more and more people are opting for lower-cost cremations, a trend likely to continue and intensify in coming years. What we have here is adaptation to emergent customer-driven change in the marketplace… According to McGuire: “Change has occurred… you must change or be left behind.”    

Actually, as someone trained extensively in services marketing—and how services must be marketed differently than goods products—I see the investment in the building itself—what services marketing scholars would call a “tangible” within the overall product offering—as an investment in service capabilities.

Specifically, having the most modern and service-oriented funeral home—and the only crematory—in the Monmouth area allows McGuire and Davies to do more for those in need of funeral service than anyone else in the area. And that is just what the two early-stage entrepreneurs are doing.

Doing what competitors can do better and also providing highly valued and increasingly demanded services that the competition cannot…

That is a sound entrepreneurial business model!!

Thank you Mr. McGuire for allowing us special, intimate insight into your business!! And thank you as well to Claire McGuire—Al’s daughter and a member of the Midwest Entrepreneurs class—for arranging the field trip.

Student comments to this blog—or other comments regarding Mr. McGuire’s presentation—are welcome.

See you again soon.

Regards,

Prof. Gabel

Yesterday afternoon saw the Midwest Entrepreneurs welcome its first guest speaker of the semester; Susan Schuytema, Proprietor of Market Alley Wines (http://marketalleywines.com/).

Susan came to class armed with 2.5 years of experience running the cozy downtown Monmouth retail store as well as quite a stack of index cards. Both were instrumental in her highly insightful and entertaining presentation (which inspired one of the most active class discussion I have witnessed).

While the value of her entrepreneurial experience is blatantly obvious, the value of the index cards warrants explanation.

On each of the cards was information pertaining to a particular job Susan held prior to opening Market Alley Wines in June of 2011.

She worked for a time—consistent with her education at Western Ilinois University—as a journalist. She also toiled as a corn detasseler, a lifeguard, an usher at Wrigley Field, a landscaper, a freelance writer, and a salesperson for a nursing home.

Eventually, Susan began to think about what she really wanted to do. She stepped back, engaged in what she described as “soul searching,” and looked at all that she had done and tried to figure out what it was that she really liked—and did not like—in this series of positions.

One thing she had come to really like, in large part as a result of a summer visit to France, was wine.

Another thing she had really come to appreciate was extraordinarily excellent customer service. Here Susan recounted being inspired to open Market Alley Wines by several Galesburg, IL retail businesses—Calico Cat and Mimi’s—run by persons conspicuously concerned with getting to know their customers and remembering seemingly trivial details of their lives. As she said of Calico Cat: “They went out of their way to know you.”

Susan combined these two “likes”—wine and extraordinary customer service—and developed  her own high-service, customer experience-based business.

Experience is, I think, the key word here.

As Susan told the class, one can find bottles of some of the same wines she sells elsewhere for several dollars less. Actually, as she explained, due to peculiarities of Illinois liquor law, what she pays for her wine is at times more than some other large-volume sellers sell their wine for at the retail level.

Of course, Market Alley Wines sells far more than bottles of wine. Yes, one can purchase bottles of wine—and now fine whiskey—at her store. One can also sit in a comfortable couch or around a table with friends and talk and enjoy a glass of wine. There is also live music on weekends. There is atmosphere and there is, of course, outstanding customer service; provided first and foremost by Susan herself.

This is the Market Alley Wine experience… And this is why people keep coming back again and again… And why they spread all-important positive word-of-mouth to members of their social networks…

It is not because of price… Relationships with customers are seldom if ever built on price. Loyalty has little if anything to do with price. Remember that as we progress through the semester!!

Another interesting point to take away from Susan’s presentation is the fact that love of a product coupled with a desire to offer it to customers with extraordinary customer service does not alone make for a successful entrepreneurial business. This is due to the fact that these factors tell one nothing about the level of demand for the product; even is nothing like what you have in mind in the trade area.

Evidence—hard, data-based evidence—of adequate demand for the business Susan eventually developed came from her reading of a study commissioned several years ago by the City of Monmouth which she referred to as The Buxton Group Report. This report indicated, among other things, that Monmouth-area residents spend very large sums of money on wine outside of Monmouth itself. This data helped motivate Susan to make the decision to open a wine shop and lounge in Monmouth; and to develop a customer experience unrivaled in the area.

Finally, Susan Schuytema strives to make a Market Alley Wines a “destination.” By “destination,” she means a retail store in a trade area where people from within as well as well beyond the area specifically seek out and go out of their way to experience. Such a store is “the place to go to” in the area to such an extent that it literally pulls people into the area just to go to that particular store. Susan’s stated inspiration to pursue “destination status” for her entrepreneurial venture was yet another successful Galesburg business; Innkeeper’s, an entrepreneurial coffee house and roastery (http://www.innkeepers-coffee.com/).

As Susan put it, the owners of Innkeeper’s “built a destination” drawing people to the Galesburg Seminary Street business area and she wanted to do the same with her own business here in Monmouth. As she told the class, while she gets a surprising volume of business from local residents (and not just the Monmouth College faculty and students one would think), many customers travel from as far away as Macomb, the Quad Cities, and Burlington, IA to experience the wine and the atmosphere to be found at 59 Public Square in downtown Monmouth, Illinois; the street address for Market Alley Wines.

And good news: Susan announced in class that the business will soon be expanding into an adjacent building. The extra space will allow her to cater to both larger crowds for live music events and wedding receptions.

Thank you Susan for being our first guest speaker of the semester!! And best of luck with Market Alley Wines!!  

Cheers!!

Prof. Gabel

Today was the first meeting of the Midwest Entrepreneurs class for Spring 2014.

A new group of 20-some students sat through the obligatory syllabus review and talk of what is going to transpire throughout the course of the next several months. And much more…

What the students heard about today was a class likely far different than any other class they have experienced here at Monmouth College; a class structured around 20 or so practicing entrepreneurs eager to share their histories and vast business knowledge.

The “first day” meeting of the class featured a brief introduction to what makes entrepreneurs both “different” and successful. This was reinforced by showing of a video of Steve Jobs’ amazing 2005 Stanford Commencement Address (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHWUCX6osgM).

This is the “long version” of the address; including both Jobs’ address and his introduction (wherein a short list of his many mega-accomplishments at Apple, Next, and Pixar are detailed). This video—one I have come to like to watch periodically just for the sake of doing so—does far more than exemplify the quintessential entrepreneur; someone who thinks differently and overcomes doubt and various surprise obstacles, etc..

It educates and, above all (I think), IT INSPIRES!

It inspires one to be innovative.

It inspires one to never ever give up or to doubt in one’s self.

It inspires one to seek their full potential; both in business and in life (and, importantly, perhaps both at the same time).

And it ends with the famous exhortation from Steve Jobs: “Stay hungry, Stay foolish.”

Indeed…

What a way to start the semester; another semester of Midwest Entrepreneurs… With practicing entrepreneurs coming and sharing their histories and knowledge with us; much as Steve Jobs passionately shared the secrets to his success at Stanford University in 2005.

I am looking forward to another unique learning experience in Midwest Entrepreneurs this semester. See you all again soon.

Prof. Gabel

Last semester, in the Midwest Entrepreneurs class here at Monmouth College, we focused on local and regional entrepreneurs. However, several of the 21 guest speakers in class were involved in operations spanning far beyond the Monmouth area.

One of our speakers last semester was Monmouth College Board of Trustees member Larry Gerdes (of Atlanta-based Gerdes Huff Investments; a venture capital financing services firm). Mr. Gerdes’ business partner is 1956 Monmouth College graduate Walter Huff; yes, the Huff behind the Huff Athletic Center here on campus. The blog entry for Mr. Gerdes’ class visit follows:

http://blogs.monm.edu/entrepreneurism/2013/04/19/q-a-with-a-traditional-venture-capitalist/

Recently, I received an e-mail from Political Economy & Commerce department head Mike Connell that links Mr. Gerdes and Mr. Huff to a remarkable new entrepreneurial innovation that holds the potential to positively alter the manner in which medical diagnoses are performed.

Specifically, venture capitalists Gerdes and Huff were “early investors”—in 2004—in a technology recently brought to market by Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford dropout who has spent the last 10 years perfecting the technology that serves as the foundation for Theranos, the life sciences firm she founded in 2003. The technology developed by Holmes—and funded, in part, by Gerdes and Huff—has potential to truly revolutionize not only medical diagnoses but health care service provision on a grand and global scale.

The technology and its potential was recently disclosed for the first time in a Wall Street Journal article (see: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324123004579055003869574012.html).

Although I encourage you to read the entire article to get a more comprehensive feel for this extraordinary example of the power of entrepreneurism, the following quotation from the article provides a good summary feel for what this technology can do.

“The secret that hundreds of employees are now refining involves devices that automate and miniaturize more than 1,000 laboratory tests, from routine blood work to advanced genetic analyses. Theranos’s processes are faster, cheaper and more accurate than the conventional methods and require only microscopic blood volumes, not vial after vial of the stuff. The experience will be revelatory to anyone familiar with current practices, which often seem like medicine by Bram Stoker.

A Theranos technician first increases blood flow to your hand by applying a wrap similar to one of those skiing pocket warmers, then uses a fingerstick to draw a few droplets of blood from the capillaries at the end of your hand. The blood wicks into a tube in a cartridge that Ms. Holmes calls a “nanotainer,” which holds microliters of a sample, or about the amount of a raindrop. The nanotainer is then run through the analyzers in a Theranos laboratory. Results are usually sent back to a physician, but a full blood work-up—metabolic and immune markers, cell count, etc.—was in my inbox by the time I walked out the door. (Phew: all clear.)”

Wow… One thousand lab tests from a few drops of blood with nearly instantaneous results… Talk about a major improvement in medical diagnosis. For many people, this means no more drawing of perhaps multiple vials of blood and then waiting days or weeks to get the results. I cannot remember of hearing of such advancement in the medical–or any other field–in many, many years; maybe ever.

You may soon see the Theranos technology at work. According to the article, the company recently launched a “…partnership with Walgreens for in-store sample-collection centers, with the first one in Palo Alto and expanding throughout California and beyond. Ms. Holmes’s long-term goal is to provide Theranos services ‘within five miles of virtually every American home.’”

I contacted Larry Gerdes about the technology and here is what he had to say.

“Theranos will be disruptive to the current healthcare delivery system in many ways. Its technology may be more accurate in not only diagnosis but also spotting impending issues at a much reduced cost and quicker. It has already done that for clinical trials-it now may do that on a grander scale. It may eliminate cost and in efficiency of regional labs as well. Eventually it may be a personalized black box. Big stuff.”

Big stuff indeed; likely to disrupt the entire healthcare delivery system… And, as we discussed in the Midwest Entrepreneurs class last semester, innovations of this magnitude are far more likely to come from entrepreneurs than large corporations. And in this case, there is a connection to Monmouth College.

In closing… Several people have inquired as to why I have not been updating the Midwest Entrepreneurs blog. The main reason for my absence is that the class is presently taught only in the Spring semester; so, no class and no guest speakers to talk about on a regular basis right now. I am trying to change that in the future so that the class is offered every semester. More on this as things progress…

In the meantime, I will be periodically posting stories and comment such as today’s as I become aware of “current news/events” involving entrepreneurs; particularly when there is a local or regional connection. Feel free to forward stories to me for consideration at tgabel@monmouthcollege.edu.

Thank you!!

Prof. Gabel