Mr. Bauer said that their business has been in the same buiilding since 1937. Recently, they just purchased Stove Builder International in Canada.
February 2018
Mr. Dave McGuire scanned James to show how they scan different items in order to get the intricate layout to make their prototypes perfect.
October 2017
Mr. Barnell, Ms. Willis and Mr. Pulliam gave a brief description of their background and how they eventually became to Precision Practice Management.
December 2017
James Wiegers
About Me
I am a senior at Belleville West this year. This class interested me because I’m not sure what path I want to take after graduation so I felt this would give me some useful tips and things I could use in my future regardless of what direction I choose to go.
I am the varsity goalkeeper for the Belleville West soccer team and have been playing for the school for my whole high school career, as well as outside of school for almost 15 years. I have also played lacrosse for the past two years. I was previously on student council as a representative for my class and supported the school through being a part of Maroon Madnezz over the past four years.
Outside of school, I spend most of my time working. I’ve worked many small jobs over the past four years to help myself become more self-reliant. I’ve previously worked as a cashier. I also worked in construction this summer. I worked with construction equipment as well as doing the actual labor on jobs. This gave me the experience and insight that I hope to bring to this classroom environment.
I’m hoping to gain leadership skills as well as improve my networking skills for my future. I really think this class is going to provide me a great opportunity to expand my business skills as well as helping me decide what exactly I want to do with my future.
About My Business
My Featured Journal Entries
The trade show this year was awesome! I got a ton of people to sign up to have their cars detailed. I wish I would’ve known to use some of the 250$ on a banner. It was a success either way.
04/20/2018
Week 27 was our final week at MMR, and it was the best week in a while. We had Mentoring Monday, MMR on Tuesday, JoAnn DiMaggio-May came, and we had to complete our business plans.
Mentoring Monday was a great idea, but didn’t go exactly as planned. Only two personal mentors came and our class mentor came. We talked a lot about our personal businesses, marketing techniques, and other aspects of our business. I learned a lot of little inside details I didn’t know about on Monday just by talking with the class. Monday also taught me to always have a backup plan.
On Tuesday we went up to the 3rd floor to visit with Mathis, Marifian and Richter, Ltd. this was without a doubt my favorite visit so far. All my life I have grown up knowing that my uncle, George Marifian, was a lawyer, but I never knew anything more than that. On Tuesday I got to see how successful my uncle actually is, and what exactly he did. I got to meet his partners too who you could tell we’re very good at what they do just from the way they spoke and answered questions. I also really enjoyed hearing the history of MMR and what they did to set themselves apart from their competition.
Wednesday JoAnn DiMaggio-May came and helped us with our business plans. That was my first time meeting with her and I am so thankful that she came again. She helped me set better price points, figure out how to set myself apart from the competition, who my target market was, and better marketing strategies. Since I’m starting an auto detailing company I thought my prices shouldn’t be very expensive since it’s just washing a car; however, I learned that I was completely underselling myself because car detailing is nowhere near cheap.
03/09/2018
...This week we got to talk with our Mayor, Mark Eckert. I thought this was one of the coolest visits yet, because it’s not everyday that you get an inside view of your city’s government. Mayor Eckert told us a lot about on going projects throughout the city, and I didn't realize how much of a comeback Belleville has made in recent years...
01/19/2018
Our first week back was a great kick start for the second semester. Friday we had a some old CEO students come back and talk with us, we visited Memorial Hospital, got an etiquette lesson at the St. Clair Country club, and we were visited by JoAnn DiMaggio-May.
The CEO reunion was a great welcome back from Christmas break. Getting to hear what we can expect for the next step in our life was a really fascinating opportunity. Hearing what your first semester in college is going to be like was a true wake up call, but also made me even more ready for life after high school. The class also received some much needed help with Belleville’s Got Talent, and I’m very glad that someone finally told us what we need to get done first.
On Tuesday we went to Memorial Hospital and met with the CEO. I really enjoyed getting to hear about the business side of the medical field. I didn’t understand that Memorial was a not for profit organization, even though there is a ton of money in the medical field.
Wednesday might have been one of my favorite visits yet. We went to the St. Clair Country Club and met with Thad Payne for a lesson on proper etiquette. I think that everyone should be taught proper manners at some point in their life (the earlier the better). Thad did a great job of teaching us in a way that we could fully grasp each concept easily within the two hour time frame.
On Thursday JoAnn DiMaggio-May came to MMR to help the class write a business plan. I thought that it was going to be a lot harder for our event, but we actually got to skip a few steps, and there wasn't a lot to write. Having JoAnn there also made writing the business plan a hundred times easier, and I'm not really sure if we could have done it without her.
Belleville’s Got Talent is finally starting to come to life, and it’s becoming a monster. We have sold almost zero tickets, and if we don't have an audience there then we are sunk. We need ticket sales to skyrocket, we need more advertisement for the event, we need to figure out the decor finally, and more. I’m scared of what’s to come, but I'm very confident that we can make this work.
01/12/2018
...Thursday was our last day at PPM, and we got to talk with Renae Eichholz one last time there. She went into a little bit more depth about how she started PPM, and I though the story was very interesting to hear. She was constantly told that she wasn’t going to be able to do something she wanted, but she persevered through it and became very successful. She also obliterated her competition by staying true to quality over quantity with her business, and doing the absolute most for her clients. It was a cool last day at PPM, and I have really enjoyed our time there and can’t wait to see what’s next.
Friday was full of surprises for me. First I was surprised that the King’s House even existed, and then I was surprised at its location because I didn’t even know something that big could fit back there. My next surprise came when Doug Boyer explained what exactly the King’s House was. I had never heard of a place where you go to just get away and become spiritually sound. I really like the entire concept and wouldn’t mind doing something like that myself. My final surprise came at the very end when Geri Boyer lead us in meditation, and I loved it. After I felt very calm and relaxed and we only did it for five minutes!
12/17/2017
Week 13 has been a very busy week. We didn’t have to leave PPM all week, and had two very helpful speakers. On Tuesday Wendy Witte from the Greater St. Louis foundation came, and the Director of IT at PPM, Jason Eding, spoke with us.
This week we really focused on Belleville’s Got Talent. In past weeks we haven’t really gotten a lot of time to only focus on the class business so it was very nice. We got our sponsorship pamphlet completed, our table decorations close to being figured out, and finally secured a location. Mahlik does a truly great job of making these contract and pamphlets, so we’re lucky to have him in class. The decoration committee did a good job of making a table design, but it was going to be way over budget so we need a new design. We decided to go with the Scottish Rite, which I knew we would probably end up there anyway, but that’s because it’s close to perfect for what we want. Truthfully I wanted The Edge to be the place, but it was just too small for our estimated attendance.
Wendy Witte came Tuesday and I thought that she was very helpful for our class business’s sake. She told us what our class business classifies as in the eyes of the IRS. She also informed us as to what is going to be taxed, and how our silent auction is going to work.
Jason Eding visited us on Thursday and he had a great story to tell of how his career is where it is today. I found it very interesting how his story was a perfect example of “life aint no laser beam” from Craig Lindvahl’s book. He has done a few different jobs, and finally has ended up being the director of IT at PPM. Also my favorite part of his meeting with us was his tips on interviews. He gave us really good insight as to what a job interview is like, and what we need to do to separate ourselves from the rest of the pack.
11/17/2017
Week 11 started off with a bang, and was full of opportunities to better our class business. We visited with a few great speakers this week, and all of them gave great tips on how to make the class business successful.
On Monday we went to TrepStart at SLU, and I really enjoyed it. I really liked how people closer to my age pretty much ran the event, and how they tried to make it as fun as possible for the people who attended the event. At the same time I do think that they went a little overboard with how fun they tried to make it, but it wasn’t that bad. I also really liked how a few of those kids were on Shark Tank, and how a few others were still wildly successful. Getting to see that kids can still be successful in the business world really put into perspective for me that being a successful business person isn’t impossible, but at the same time it’s no easy journey. My favorite speaker there was Joshua Williams. He gave a great lesson on how to be a better leader, and also showed us more of what his not for profit organization does. My favorite part about him though was the fact that him and I share a lot of the same values. Since I could tell that him and I think alike I knew I wanted to try to help his organization by donating or something else, especially since St. Louis was one of the few big cities that his organization has never come to. So after he gave his leadership lesson I approached him and asked what he thought about partnering with the Belleville CEO program, and do an event to give back to our community. He was completely down for it and now I can’t wait to do this thing.
Tuesday we went to the Belleville Chamber of Commerce, and the ladies there really gave us a lot of helpful tips on how to better our class business. We received alot of insight on how to better advertise and market the business, and we also made a few very good friends who can help us get the word about “Belleville’s Got Talent”.
Thursday Kevin Nicol came to PPM, and gave a really good presentation from a financial management and extremely successful business person point of view. I found it extremely interesting how he believes the only two way to financial independence are securities and entrepreneurship. Also the “guided note” packet he gave us is literally full of extremely helpful business and life tips.
On Friday the class worked on the class business. Ian gave us a list of things needed to be done and we pretty much got everything completed. Tristen, Jake, Brett, and I went to Belle Court in search of a venue for the business again. From the outside the place looked like it could fit a maximum of 50 people, but when we got inside we saw a big beautiful ballroom with a perfect stage for what we need. Also there is a great looking bar, and perfect rooms that we would need for our performers to get ready in. So far we have a lot of great venue options, but we still need to pick our final option.
11/03/2017
This week was a new beginning for us. Our classroom has moved from Allsup to Precision Practice Management in downtown Belleville.
Our first guest in the new classroom was Patty Gregory, and she is one of the people in charge of Art on the Square. I never realized how much effort and work goes into putting on the art show. There are many people needed to run the event other than just the artists. Without sponsors and other people who fund the event, there would be no way to have Art on the Square. Also Art on the Square is the number 1 art show in the country and I’m proud that it’s in my hometown. One thing I found very interesting was how much money the art industry creates each year. I would've never guessed it’s a couple billion dollar industry.
On Tuesday Renae Eichholz, owner of Precision Practice Management, gave us a tour of the entire building, and told us about her business. It's a historic building that Renae has taken under her wing and fixed up as much of it as possible. She’s done a great job of renovating the building to make it more up to date and comfortable for her employees. Her company deals with medical insurance. There is a lot of coding and “paperwork” in her line of work, and even though Renae is the owner she has still done everything that her employees has to do. After the tour Renae shared a little bit about herself, and went into more details about her business. I didn't realize that the field of work she is in is very female dominated, and how much that can raise the insurance for her business since most are of maternal age.
Our final guest this week was John Perles, and he talked to us about how core beliefs and good morals are what make a company successful. Most companies have mission statements about what their goal as a company is, and he said if a company’s is unclear, then something’s not right with the company. Also good treatment to employees is key to keeping a business alive. I thought all the life lessons he gave us was were extremely interesting and valuable.
10/27/2017
Ending week nine of CEO it has been pretty neat. These past two weeks have been pretty cool, and last week was our last week at Allsup so I guess we had to end it with a bang!
The past two weeks we have been working on our class business a lot. We divided into committees so that each group can work on a different part of the business, and more can be accomplished in a short amount of time. Tristen, Jake, and I are the venue and food committee, and Tristen is the head of the committee. So far I think that he has done an amazing job of being the head. He has everything very organized, and we pretty much have completed our job. The three of us and Nick all went to look at our favorite venue so far on Friday. The place (not saying what it’s called yet) was very nice, and had an entrance that could be set up to look beautiful. There was also a very suitable room for what we want to do also, and that great because I don’t know if we’re going to be able to find exactly what we want. Also we have decided who is going to cater our event, and the food sounds pretty good.
The other week we had two extremely interesting guests come to Allsup. First was JoAnn DiMaggio-May, and she came to show us how to build our business plan. I never knew how extensive and long a business plan must be. There are pages and pages of things you have to write just to show the bank for them just to consider helping you. I already think that might be the worst part of starting up a business!
Our next guest was Neil Eilers, and I found his business extremely interesting because it something a lot like what I’ll be doing in this class. Neil started a business selling video game inspired shoes and other things on Etsy.com called, SuperBit Kicks. He is a teacher, but does this as a way to get some each cash, so it’s not a big company like most of the places we have been to. To me his business looks pretty successful for being so small, and I thought it was very neat that he might be the only person to make his shoes in the secret way that he does.
Last week we visited Rauckman Utility Products, and that might have been my favorite business so far. I like the business so much because of why it was started, the type of work done there, and all the products they make. Jim Rauckman started the business after working for a large corporation that didn't really care about its employees, so he left a well-paying job to start a company of his own with better morals. That is how I would run a business if I started one, because he taught us that if you treat your employees very well then they’ll make you more successful. At Rauckman Utility Products the use state of the art technology every day in order to make their products. For example they have 3-D printers, robots for cutting things, even 3-D scanners to make products for people who don't fit the regular criteria. During our visit I got my face scanned to show how it works, and I would’ve never thought I would see my face as a video game.
10/20/2017
Week 6 of my CEO experience has really opened my eyes to a new side of the business world. So far I have felt that the class has provided a lot of knowledge about how to be successful in business or how each business runs itself, but there hasn't been too much about the inspiration behind the company.
On Tuesday we met with CEO Board member and owner of a Northwestern Mutual office, Roger Lowery. I thought Roger not only did an amazing job of telling us about his business and why/how he does what he does, but he also did a great job of advising us on how to be better people. Roger told us that basically the key to being successful is being a great person. He said that if a man starts a business and is only in it for the money, then the business and the man are going to fail. He wanted us to know that when you do something make sure you're doing it for the right reasons, and that will help you succeed. Another way Roger tried to help us be better is he gave us a paper with tips on how to break a bad habit and form a good habit, and he made us promise to try to change at least one bad habit that will help better ourselves.
Wednesday we watched an interview CEO had done with owner of Student Maid, Kristen Hadeed. I thought that the video seemed to drag on and wasn't too interesting, but if you really watched the video then you realized that Kristen really gave some good insight on starting a business. Coming from a person who isn’t too much older than myself really helped me understand how a business starts. She gave good insight on the inspiration behind her company, the ups and downs that come with being a student and an entrepreneur, and what it takes to make your business take off.
09/29/2017
Entering my fifth week of CEO I began to learn about the other possibilities of the entrepreneurship world. I used to think that owning a business usually meant being stuck behind a desk most of the time, but there are other ways to be an entrepreneur that don't involve desk work or make desk work fun. I also learned how important a strong team of employees can be to a business.
Geri Boyer, owner of Kaskaskia Engineering, does an amazing job of making the office a great place to work. Geri knows that having happy employees means better productivity in the workplace, so she does her best to make the office feel like home. She has two friendly dogs in the office to help relieve some of the stress that work brings. Her office is also 100% kid friendly, so moms can take care of their kids and still have a job. Geri also tries to keep the workplace peaceful by having a great team of employees who can work together easily. Geri achieves this by focusing on each individual employee’s strengths, weaknesses, and personality traits to make sure every project has a variety of views to get the job done the best possible way.
At CEO Empowerment day we learned that hard work and staying focused on your goals really can pay off. Sometimes what you do for the rest of your life is something you never thought you would end up doing, like Elvis impersonations for example. The Elvis impersonator at CEO empowerment day told us how he went from a college kid living off of 20$ a week from his parents to making six figures each year with an idea he got from a college professor's costume party. He never thought he would be Elvis for a living but once he realized the opportunity he focused his energy on being the best Elvis out there, and he pretty much accomplished his goal.
Olympic athletes are great examples of hard work pays off. Their lives are dedicated to training to be the best athlete in their respective sport. Also since most Olympic athletes have the same mind set they usually create amazing teams, just because of their mindset. This can translate into the business world by proving that having a team of employees who all have a similar mindset can improve productivity.
09/22/2017
This week felt like a very slow week. We were at Allsup all week and I think that is why. Despite being such a slow week I think we learned the most this week. We learned a lot about what it takes to be a successful business person.
Monday the gentleman from Greensfelder law firm came in and told us about what it takes to be a lawyer. Being a lawyer isn't as glamorous as some people might think. To start only the top 10% of a graduating law class will get big time job offers. Being a lawyer has also turned into a 24 hour job, because problems can arise at any time of the day. Lawyers have to deal with high stress constantly. Hearing some of the things that most people don't tell you about being a lawyer really opened my eyes to the fact that a job isn't always what you think it is, and that you should really know all the ins and outs of a career before you pursue it. Also it taught me that to be successful you have to give everything a 110% effort. They also told us that if you really want to be a good business owner that you should take an accounting class since that’s something that business owners do every day. I think these gentlemen gave us some really valuable knowledge about part of the business world that you don't hear about too often.
This week I feel we also got a lot accomplished for the badge project. The GroupMe has been on fire the past week. There has been constant communication and it has helped for us to tackle more goals. I feel like we’re really starting to pull together as a team, and I can already see the benefits. We have gotten all our platinum investors already and now we just have to sell the cheap spots which I feel like won't take long since it's not as much money. Also after we sell all of our other investment spots I think we will have a lot of more left over for other things this year.
Friday Mr. Mentzer came and spoke with us and I think he’s been one of my favorite speakers this year.
09/17/2017
Holiday World is one of the most successful amusement parks. I thought getting a behind the scenes look at the park was a pretty great opportunity. There's a lot that goes into making a big park like that run each day. In every area of the park there's multiple different “teams” working at once to make sure the area is clean, guests can eat, rides work, guests can ride the rides, etc. Teamwork is one of their main objectives day in and day out. Guest hospitality is the most important thing to holiday world. Having a “the customers always comes first” mentality I think is what has made them so successful. They try their best to make the customer happy, and go as far as free drinks, free sun block, and free parking.
First impressions are deal makers or breakers in the world of business. Dr Jeff Dosier taught us about the importance of soft skills, something as small as a limp handshake can ruin a job for you. Social media has expanded its uses to more than keeping in touch with friends. Today most places hiring check applicants social media to see if anything at all makes an applicant unworthy of the job. Dr. Jeff Dosier from District 201 showed us how important it is to be smart and not post anything stupid onto social media.
09/01/2017