Cam Wicks
About Me
I am currently a senior at Althoff Catholic High School. I enrolled in the CEO Program because I wanted to get the best experience before I possibly own a business later in li
I am a year around athlete, playing sports such as soccer, wrestling and track. I am also active in school activities such as Crusaders Take Action, WACK Club, Engineering Club, and is an A student.
Coming from a background of family real estate owners, I am well influenced and determined to be my own boss. I hope this CEO class will help prepare me to own a business and to help me use all of the potential I have.
About My Business
My Featured Journal Entries
We are coming into our last week of CEO and it seems as if we were just getting our badges a month ago. This has been a great learning experience and I will greatly benefit from it. Many students do not have the opportunity to be in a class like this. To be able to take time out of school to visit businesses and talk to their owners is a privilege. Our visit to The Edge and Trinity Financial Group this week were some of the visits that really make me enjoy this class.
Visiting The Edge with Keith and Mary Dahm-Schell was a fun visit. Even though we declined their facility to be our venue for Belleville’s Got Talent, they were very pleased to have us visit them. I really like and respect the fact that is it independently and they have a fun time running the business. I aspire to run my future business in a similar fashion to them. Also what impressed me is that they knew everything about our business to the wire. Mrs. Dahm-Schell knew everything about the game systems they have at The Edge and all about how trends will affect people playing those games. With that I am sure she knew that we would have loved to drive the go carts. She was correct. Doing so was a fun way to start our week and has made me want to visit The Edge again.
I have always wondered the factors that go into affecting the stock market. Visiting Mike Dunnigan at Trinity Financial Group was a great introduction to the workings of the stock market. Mr. Dunnigan pointed out very useful things that affects the stock market that I would not have even considered thinking about. The factors we learned will be very useful to know for the betterment of our businesses. I will use what he taught us about these factors and see if I can find more factors that that affect the market. I think that this visit is the spark to my entrepreneurial interest in the stock exchange.
05/04/2018
Now that we have done our major events for the Belleville CEO class and are about to graduate, the class seems more relaxed. It feels very relieving that we have done all of the events such as Belleville’s Got Talent and the Trade Show. We have now have the rest of the semester to listen to speakers and get more information about the business world. Also, we have more free time to proceed in starting our personal businesses that we have been working very hard to create over this year.
Our first talk this week about cybersecurity with Tony Brian related to me because I would love to learn more about this field. I thought it was amusing that we were scheduled to talk about cybersecurity but then changed the topic to hacking. The fact that Mr. Brian told us about hacking rather than just cybersecurity made the conversation more interesting but also indirectly influenced the importance of cybersecurity. Learning about all the different types of ways people hack and what is used to hack taught me to be more careful when I am online. Learning about the other side of the spectrum of Mr. Brian’s business was a very interesting way to talk about his topic and was a great technique to learn. Teaching the more interesting part of something this transitioning to your main point is a style of teaching I could use for business. Incorporating it in advertisement or employee training are some of the ways that my business can benefit from the technique.
Our talk with Roger Wigginton, owner of Don Rodgers Clothing Store emphasized the importance of independently owned and local businesses. Being an owner of an independently owned business or a local business has many advantages and disadvantages. I think I can greatly relate to Mr. Wigginton because I value the advantages well enough to settle with the disadvantages. Being able to run your business the way you want to and also have the support of a local community is a component of what I believe the perfect business should have and I will aspire to reach goals similar of Mr. Wigginton.
04/27/2018
I think the trade show turned out to be really good. It was nice to see people were very interested in our businesses. I had great feedback from the people who visited my station. This was a great learning opportunity and it made me more confident in my business.
04/20/2018
I really started to understand the importance of core values for a business. The foundation of a business is built on core values. These values set a business on a certain path and the business is supposed to stay on that path. If not the business could be developing certain unhealthy practices that can drastically affect the business. I plan to set core values for my business to keep the moral compass of my business appropriate. I feel that if I do not come up with core values, it can lead to immoral practices in my company, mainly based off of greed. Money is still a very important factor but I do not want it to disrupt the practice of the core values I set for my business. I have seen many companies do immoral things, and which I believe would have not happened if they would have set core values and or have stayed loyal to their set core values.
Our visit to Gas Light Vinyl showed me another glimpse of what starting a business can truly be like. Greg Bach, the owner, explained to us how he did not know anything about starting and running a business when he started Gas Light Vinyl. He explains the mistakes he made, which I thought were very informative. I realized how much this class helps us to prepare for being an entrepreneur. There are many things you need to know to starting a business and trying to start one being business illiterate can put you in a big hole. Mr. Bach is still paying off a three year loan, that if he knew more about how business and money works, he could have avoided such problems. I thought that it was very interesting that he worked with Jo Ann Dimaggio-May to get help with making his business plan just like us. So, I am sure our business plans will only benefit us. Now I have seen what can happen when you are not prepared to start a business. It has inspired me to make sure I know what I am doing before I try something new or I would be hit with many unexpected problems I could have avoided.
03/23/2018
This week we were introduced to our new class site, Artigem Replacement Services. Kurt Atrigem seemed very happy to have our class reside there for our last quarter. He provided us with a fridge and even the walls are our CEO colors, which I thought was very cool. Also the fact that he would like our input in naming his new ring made me feel that we are important. Overall, I think that being at Artigem makes the class seem more vibrant visually and mentally.
Our talk with Patrick McKeegan was a very important lecture because he really made us think about how we are going to present our businesses. At the end of the year I want to be able to present my business in front of Midland to the best of my abilities. I think that Mr. McKeegan will be very beneficial to my success in presenting by business. Other than just having us think about how we are going to present it, he made us think more critically about what our business will provide and how we will provide it. It is easy to say what your business is going to do but actually doing it is another thing. Many factors will come in to play that can benefit or hinder your performance. Mr. Keegan really made me think more about these factors regarding my business.
Mike Riley, President of Professional Therapy Services, helped me think more about the college aspect of the business. He spoke more specifically about the route he took in college — physical therapy— and how that applied to him becoming a business owner. I took what he said as an example of how things could happen in any field of study you take. He spoke about how after he graduated many things updated and continued to change. Mr. Riley was a great example of what to do during change. Things will always update and change in every field. This is why I need to continually stay updated and learn to be able to change with the environment of my business.
03/16/2018
I learned a lot from this week of Belleville CEO. The talks from Pat Mathis and Kevin Richter of MM&R and Hamilton Callison of BreakThru Beverage taught me many things that I. should know in the future.
Pat Mathis and Kevin Richter explained how they came up as a small business, which I feel is very important information to me because they gave me a better perspective on how to look at things and people to better your success. They taught me that there are people that will be dishonest and try to take from you. I will plan on watching for this behavior when I have my own business. I learned that I cannot overly trust people as well because they can turn their back on you when you least expect it.
Hamilton Callison was one of the most informative speakers we have had so far in my opinion. He touched on many things that are going on in the business world today and what I need to know to make a better profit. He talked about how businesses can branch from one another which taught me that networking is very important. Also his talks on profit margins was something that really will help me down the road. I learned that I should not be lazy and start depending on one type of customer. I need to keep my options diversified. If not, that one customer can control my whole business. Selling product is about the profits margins. I could be selling a lot of products but if my profit margins are not high enough, I could be losing money and that is not good.
What I learned from these two talks will surely go along way for me in the future. There are many things to look at when creating and running a business. I will make sure that I am keen on what I want and not take the lazy route because it is easy.
03/09/2018
Being in CEO is a honor and I definitely realized that during the Eggs and Issues event. Our CEO class, along with BASIC and Teen Court, were invited to the event to showcase what our programs are about to the business owners and wealthier people of Belleville. I thought this was very cool that they wanted to see what we are doing, because it shows that we are of importance. We are the future of Belleville and they wanted to see how we were going to make Belleville better. This made me feel very important because they know I can lead to great things in the future if I just stay on the right path.
The TED talk we watched on Thursday is something that will help me stay on the right path. The video explains the lifestyle choices that are needed to become successful and I think their statements were very factual. I am slowly trying to change my habits to the traits of a successful person and this video really helped me get an idea of how I am supposed to do it. Eventually I will have the lifestyle that the video presented and I will use my knowledge to by best abilities.
03/02/2018
These past two weeks has been mildly fervid due to the fact that the deadline for ticket sales was approaching. It was more of a hassle on me because I was selling tickets and also keeping up with the money from everyone else’s sold tickets. It was overall a great learning experience because it helped improve my management skills and I know more things relating to banking.
I was very surprised that we had 282 ticket sales. Personally I thought we were going to reach half of our current number. Knowing about our tickets sales, I think it really boosted everyone’s expectations for the show, since most people probably did not think we would reach our goals in ticket sales as well. So everyone now should be putting more into the event since we are where we want to be financially with our class.
Vince Ojeda’s talk really related to these last two weeks greatly. His iceberg analogy was what was proven to be true with our class business. People will only see our event, which represents the top of the iceberg. However they do not see the bottom of it. All of the ticket sales, asking for sponsorships, management of the money, or class days were all the things that went into keeping the iceberg afloat. Without our work Belleville’ Got Talent would not have the potential it does currently.
I am very excited for our personal business after out event is completed. I think my idea has a lot of potential. Working with JoAnn DiMaggio-May has been a great help. Her experience in creating a business plan will be very beneficial to my success. Also with the help of my mentor and other speakers we have had, I have many ways of getting help and advice to ensure that I am working to the best of my abilities.
02/02/2018
Money management is a big factor of our class business and personal business. Money management relates to me since I manage our money. Mayor Eckert greatly explained how the management the money of Belleville affects everything. Such as spending almost two million dollars to repair the sidewalks in the downtown area. This amazed me because that was a lot more expensive than I thought it would be. This taught me that sometimes it is necessary to spend a lot of money when it is needed, so having a supply of money is very helpful in times like that.
I am really looking forward to personal business because it is a chance to show myself what I am capable of. I have been thinking of a couple of ideas that I think could lead to great success with the right amount of commitment. With the help of my mentor as well this is a great way to get experience and also gives me a great opportunity to build a long term relationship with my mentor.
01/19/2018
This was our last week at Precision Practice Management. I think that Renae has been very generous for allowing us to use her facility for the quarter. Also she would come down on her own time to see what we were doing and would give us advice for what to do with our class business. It felt good giving her the flowers and having one last talk with her before we left PPM for the quarter.
Going around Belleville for sponsors was something very notable that we did this week. Going into stores and businesses asking for a sponsorship for our Belleville’s Got Talent show was kind of frightening because the process could turn out good or bad. I learned that going in the businesses with the mindset of failure would not benefit me or the reason that I was going in there for. I learned to think about a positive outcome but also accept that we would get denied. Surprisingly we were only denied once! Everyone else seemed happy to support or look into supporting our class business. The fact that it is a program of high schoolers made people more generous with their time to listen and potentially donate because they knew that it would be for a worthy cause. I believe that we will get the desired amount of sponsors plus some more because that it is a student CEO program.
The meditation with Doug and Jeri Boyer was a great way to end our week. This is a stressful time during the year because we are trying to get our sponsors for our class business, finals are coming up, college submissions are due and Christmas is coming up. The visit to the King’s House was perfectly timed to help cope with all of the stress there is during this time. Also what I learned from this is very beneficial because I can use what I learned for another time when I am stressed.
12/17/2017
When we visited Roland Thouvenot, I was very interested in the type of business they are. It was the first time I have seen the type of technology they had. The surveying tools they used are only going to become more popular in the future. In college I hope to learn how tools and gadgets like the ones they showed us work. Eventually to be able to make a company off of it.
Auffenberg related to me because of the story of how he became the owner. It was a company owned by his father and he did not know if he wanted to run the business or not until he had to. It relates to me because the same could happen to me with my dad’s business. Hearing his story informed me to be ready just in case if I have to run it.
11/24/2017
These past two weeks have really given me insight of how I should look at and approach upon my future. There are so many things I could do and the speakers we have had over the past two weeks have had very interesting things to say.
One of my favorite tips was from Derek Betz, owner of Fletcher’s. His talk about being chicken committed or pig committed was very influential. This was a great time to learn about those terms because during this time they can be applied to our class business. We are probably in the hardest part of our class business right now so being pig committed if very necessary to the outcome we strive for our class business.
I feel as if that if one committee had to be one of the most committed it would be our advertisement. Without advertisement who else would know about our event. We are aiming for 450 people for our highest goal and we are very dependent on getting the word out to achieve that number of people. With them being the most dependent on, investing most into that committee will help our goal become more possible.
I always thought computers and new technology was something it would love to do. Technology is the future and I would like to start a business that would have that as one of the things the business is built on. Our talk with Jason Eding was very helpful because he explained very well how technology is always changing. If I want to have a technology based business I need to stay up to date about the newest pieces of technology that comes out. He had to go back to college because he saw that many jobs opportunities were growing in technology based fields. With all of the resources we have today all I need to do is stay pig committed and I believe that I will find success in whatever job I will be doing.
11/17/2017
This week was a very eventful and informative week. The TrepStart convention was influential because our class can relate to the speakers because of their age. Usually when we have speakers that are adults. This makes entrepreneurship seem as something that you do during your life at an older age. When we saw the speakers that were our age it really opened my eyes to the potential I have now. Also it shows me how much of an opportunity this class gives me because it is giving me all of the tips and resources I need to start being an entrepreneur, while they had to figure it out on their own.
Business is everywhere. It is needed to keep a economy running. The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce really brought out the effect businesses have on the city of Belleville. I obviously I knew they greatly affected it but they brought out how the businesses are changing within the city and what the outcome is because of it. A great example is how buying online, something I do a lot, negatively affects the local economy. I learned when you buy online the tax does not come back into the city. Instead it goes back to where the company is established. This opened my eyes to the many factors that determines what happens with money.
Our talk with Kevin Nicol was probably one of my favorite talks so far. This talk was different from the others because it was straight to the point and was very specific. Topics such as what to look for before making an investment, areas of neglect, income for retirement, and many other things. This was a great talk so I know what goals I should have to keep me on track.
This week’s information will be very essential to progress in our class business. We can take the tips from all of our talks and they can make great changes if applied correctly.
11/03/2017
This week started the beginning of a new quarter. We are now located at Precision Practice Management. We were able to meet the owner and partner Renae Eichholz, and she showed us a tour of the building.
The tour and talking about the company interested me because Ms. Eichholz started the company without going to college. Usually most businesses owners or successful people have went to college of have a college degree, but she was successful without college. I plan to go to college but this gave me inspiration because even if you do not start out on the same level as most people, you can still find success. So if I ever feel behind I can look to her for inspiration and figure out that there is another way to succeed.
John Perles from The Momentum Builders enlightened me on how effective advertisement and communication is. Without these two elements it would be very hard for a business to make any profit. Mr. Perels relied on advertisement and communication to start his first small business which was making small ear cuffs. He communicated with his wife and other people that had an interest in his product. He then asked for the customers to promote his item for a discounted price, which was a smart way of advertisement in my opinion. From this talk, I have learned that there are many ways to promote yourself. Also, communication can determine your outcome. You want to communicate with our customers, coworkers, and partners in a positive and friendly way but also have boundaries to you can not be talked advantage of.
Our business seems to be going fine but we need to pick up the intensity to reach our top goal. I believe that it is possible but it will take more effort out of us, but from listening to our speakers this week, I know we can do it.
10/27/2017
These two weeks have been very informative and have been a new experience. Since it has been two weeks since our last journal, we have had more opportunities to go to mentors. We have also begun our class business which has a chance of being a great success, but also can be a bust.
These weeks have been very informative because of the business owners who came to talk to us. One that really caught my eye was SuperBitKicks. It is a small business, and the owner, Neal Eilers, produces custom shoes in his own house. It was inspirational to me because it is an example of what you can do from just within your household. Also it showed me ways to improvise with the space I have.
Another business that stood out was Rauckman Utility Products. It is an engineering facility that makes parts for industrial electrical appliances, such as: transformers, power lines, transmission towers, etc. Engineering is a major that I want to study, so visiting their facility gave me a great example of what type of job that I would work after college. Also this inspired me because eventually I want to own my own business, and since I would like to major in engineering, it would be based around that.
We are starting our own class business at the moment. Our concept is a talent show called, Belleville’s Got Talent. This class business will be a great opportunity for us to get a feel of what it is like to run a business, and will prepare us for our own business in the spring. Furthermore, this will help build our teamwork skills, which will help us later on in life when we try to start our own business. This is the start of a new experience and hopefully everything goes to plan. As treasurer I have a great opportunity to get experience of doing more advanced financial work. I will try to get everything out of this opportunity and reminisce on this experience in the future.
10/20/2017
One of the best ways to get knowledge is to talk with people who have already done or do what you want to learn about. This week we had the experience of talking to such people. I made sure I was able to get the best out of this opportunity that we had. This talk really helped me feel better about how my future would turn out. Many of the mentors did not have their minds made up on what they wanted to do when they were my age, which I relate to. One did not even attend college which really boosted my confidence. Also this was a great way to learn how to speak and act in a business environment. I practiced keeping an informative conversation while staying in a time frame and learned how to start and close conversations better. These are things which will be very beneficial for the social aspect of my career when I am older. I am looking forward to having another chance similar to this one. It will give me more experience for my business social skills and more ideas to look at for my future.
10/06/2017
This week helped me learn more about mistakes that could come up when I am starting a business. When I make the mistakes however, I need to learn from them or I will never achieve anything. A good example of learning from your mistakes is a person like Kristen Kadeed, the founder of Student Maid. She had 45 of her 75 employees quit on her, but after that happened she found a way to make them come back and work for her and keep everything running well.
Following your dreams instead of money is something I learned to insure that I will be happy with my business. I can be as rich as I can be but if I am not doing what I want to do in life, I do not see any point of doing what makes me that money. Rodger Lowery the owner of Lowery Benefits Services is a great example of this motive. He quit a job he was very good at because didn't like what he was doing. He wanted to be his own boss. Now he owns his own business and he is his own boss. This story helped me know to think more about planning to do something that I am happy with in life.
Lastly, I learned about building better relationships with people will help me in the long run. In college and high school I will meet many people that could be possible business owners or have a high status in a business. Being friends with them only helps myself and them. My business could have a partnership with theirs or we could help each other out when we need help. Also this plays into liking what I do when I'm older because owning my own business is already something I want to do but doing it with my friends and having it all play out right is even something better.
This week was very informative and was probably one of the most enlightening weeks in my opinion. I hope that I can find a way to do what I want to do in life, and remember these talks and videos from this class to help me.
09/29/2017
There are many aspects to running a business, and this week being responsible was the key idea. If you own a business everything that happens comes from the responsibility of you. As an business owner it is in your hands to decide what is the foundation of your business and what drives your businesses. Depending on your responsibility it will determine your business’s status and future.
An example of a business with a great need of responsibility is the Kurrus Funeral Home. Being a funeral home many tasks that involve being responsible come into play. Dealing with a dead body is a tremendous task that requires respect and responsibility. They have the responsibility of dressing the body, preparing for a funeral, cremation, etc. Also they do it in the cleanest and most respectful way possible.
Being respectful is a major responsibility for this company to survive. Dead bodies are supposed to be treated with the most respect, and if they do not go by that rule no one would want to be their customers. So having the responsibility of being respectful helps keep the moral compass that keeps their customers pleased, and also helps keep things running the right way.
Another thing they are responsible for is keeping up with trends. In the present more people are wanting to have bodies cremated rather than buried underground in a casket, since it is cheaper. With that being the demand for caskets go down. It is the owner’s responsibility to find another option that will make up for the loss in revenue from the lower demand for caskets.
These are just some examples of what is involved in running a business. As the owner it is your responsibility to set standards that keep your business running smoothly. The Kurrus was a great example of this aspect and will keep me motivated to stay responsible of everything I have control of in life.
09/22/2017
I learned this week that nobody cares about the storm. What people care about is if the boat makes it to shore. I believe that you are your own biggest enemy, because you determine what you want to do. Excuses are people's biggest set backs. As it is way easier to make an excuse rather than completing the task. People use them very commonly, most times too commonly.
A mentor we visited this week was a great example of where not making excuses gets you. He owns a company that is ran in his own house. His company sells earbuds. It is not something super complicated to come up with. He makes a living off of selling 55 cent earbuds because he ignored making excuses and kept looking forward. Hearing what his setbacks when he was starting his business, I probably would have shyed away from that market. But he didn't and now he's the number one distributor of earphones in the nation.
Not making excuses doesn't always mean you will get what you want all the time or get you richer. Sometimes it can get you where you need to be in life. Another mentor we that talked to us had everything that he wanted for a period in his life. Then everything came tumbling down for him. He owned a one million dollar business, but it was taken away because if a market crash in 2009. But that didn't make him give up. After that he tried to start other business, but another tragedy came, because his business partner died in a car accident. … But he still didn't let excuses bring him down. He dug down deep and thought that even though all of those tragedies happened to him, he can still make it better. Now he is happier than what he has ever been before in life. This shows that no matter how hard the storm is, if you get the boat to shore, you will witness all the land you can explore.
09/08/2017
Personable. The virtue word my school adopted for the week for our virtue program. This word has been the representative of this week for CEO. Personable means to have a pleasant manner or appearance, which is vital to every business to have happy customers. Appearance is everything for a business, and if you don't show a friendly appearance, you can't expect to get far.
Holiday World had the best example of being personable out of our visits for the week. They make sure their amiable appearance is their top priority. They go out of their way to please their customers. Their employees have a guideline to go by which insures that the customer will have the best experience possible. Also they offer services such as free parking and free soft drinks. Things like this make businesses thrive and makes the customers want to come back again.
What really caught on to me the most from that experience, wasn't just how nice they were to their customers, but was the affection they gave for their employees. Making work seem like another family is just incredible. It's something I would love at a work place. They even have a bus service for a 50 mile radius to insure their employees can make it to work. When businesses don't just care about money, and invest time into being personable, it just makes the world a better place.
I've learned that being personable is a great marketing technique to appeal to many people, but it just doesn't have to be used for business. Being personable in real life is something I can do to make my life and others people's lives better. Things such as opening the door for someone, completing someone, helping someone when they are feeling down, etc. Not only is this nice but is also a way to be a better person, which is some I strive to be every day.
09/01/2017
This week has been the beginning of a new experience for me. From what I have already experienced in the first week of the CEO program, I can tell that this will be a great experience for me. This class makes it feel like it's not a “class” but more like a meeting. Which I enjoy because it's teaching us something in a totally different way, rather than the 7 hour a day lectures I am accustomed to. The class lets us teach ourselves in away, and also from professionals. Things such as business etiquette, is something that I would have really needed to become the business man I inspire to be.
My favorite part of the week had to be on Wednesday when we worked with the team builders that came in. They helped open things up with one another. The first day most of the people I knew there were mainly people from my school. I wasn't very influenced to speak out in front of the class or try to lead in a discussion, like the one we had the day prior. I’d only want talk to the people I knew because that's who I was comfortable with, until we did the team building exercise. This made me, and I would assume, everyone else more comfortable with each other. After we were finished I felt that we could communicate better with each other. Now we can only continue to grow our relationships with each other and progress further to get the best of this class.
I know I will learn many skills and virtues from this class that will help me in life and the business world. Visiting to people who own businesses, such as Mike Marchal from Holland Construction, are examples of how we will learn many things. He had a list of many things that makes him so successful. I'm sure on our other visits they will tell us how they made it and this will make us better. I am really looking forward to the rest of this class and I hope to get the best out of it.
08/25/2017