Rauckman Utility Products LLC Tour

Jim and Shirley Rauckman
Rauckman Utility Products LLC – Investor

On Thursday, the class visited Jim and Shirley Rauckman for a tour and presentation at Rauckman Utility Products. Mr. Rauckman started off by discussing his background and emphasized how all his experiences, both good and bad, have led him to the start of his own business. Mrs. Rauckman shared her experiences from the first few years and explained what she found to be the most important aspects were. The students then toured the warehouse and got to see several machines and processes in action before ending on the note of product modification.  Thank you for an amazing tour and presentation Mr. & Mrs. Rauckman!

Written and Edited by Jessica Stern and David Rauckman

Thank You

A big thank you to the following students who chaired some mini committees during the first quarter:  Emma Gregowicz – Thank you cards, Heather Gosebrink – Greeting guest speakers, Jessica Stern – Introducing guest speakers, David Rauckman – Labels , Montez Douglas - Place cards, Hannah Prindable - Treasurer, and Montez Douglas - Accountant.

Class Business

The majority of the week was spent on the class business. Several ideas were discussed, researched and presented to the group.  On Wednesday, votes were cast and the majority went to a "Gala" Class Business.  Although the details are still being worked out, the date will be Saturday, February 27, 2016 at the Elks Lodge.  Please save this date.  More information to come!

Just A Reminder

Our door is always open. Entrepreneurs, visitors, guests, and friends are welcome and highly encouraged to join us. Drop in and share your story with our students or participate in our class discussions. Check out the schedule on the website.

If you are interested in hosting our students for an educational visit about your business operations or would like to speak to the class and share your story, please email the facilitator, Julie Siebers, at jsiebers@bths201.org or call or text her at 618.719.3177.

Journal Tidbits

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."  Steve Jobs stated this in his 2005 Stanford Commencement speech.  The saying goes well with this week of the CEO Class. 

As a class and individuals, we were able to listen to everyone's opinions on the class business.  What will be the best idea to put forth to the public?  Which one would be a great way to introduce Belleville CEO to the community?  CEO Monopoly or a gala?  Are we overthinking each idea?  Ultimately, the gala won.  Some of the group were on board with it.  Others were not as much.  It is difficult to find a common ground when people are not happy with the end results.  

At the end of the day, it may look like we have a lot of time to work on the project and argue which on is better.  But we do not at all.  February will be before we know it.  I feel, as a class, we need to support each other and make the class business amazing.  If all of us are able to gather some courage and passion for it, I believe we will be happy with the results no matter what.  We were able to work together and create something wonderful.  Let's not waste time pondering over the past and make this project leave the public awestruck in the end. 

At Rauckman Utility Products, I gained a lot of knowledge about business.  Mr. Rauckman did not go to a prestigious university.  He started from the bottom and worked his way up.  In my opinion, I feel he was one of the most inspiring speakers.  He proved that hard work does pay off.  So, after the tour and visiting the facility, a lot of thoughts began coursing through my mind.  I am not worthless.  I will work hard and make something out of myself.  Maybe, just maybe, I can make a difference in the world. When I am 35, have a sustainable career and a family, I will reminiscence and see how far I have come.  All of the experiences I have and soon gain will all lead to the moment when I finally realize that I do not need anyone's acceptance except my own. 

Written by Sandy Amorado

CEO is so awesome because it forces you to do the things you’d “like to do” and it gives you the time, resources, and mentorship to do it. I fully, completely, entirely agree with what David (Rauckman) said in his interview: “Students should join CEO because CEO is a different class than the rest of your school classes and I think, for me, it’s been the most fun and… probably the most beneficial for me all through my school years because I’ve learned the most skills I’m going to use in my whole life.” Like honestly all my other classes are like… nothing in comparison. Seriously anyone who doesn’t do CEO is missing out big time.

…Mrs. Rauckman really stressed customer service as being a pillar of success. I liked her motto of “someone answers the phone every time.” It’s true what they say about your customer being your boss. 

Written by Jessica Stern

Although we just stayed at Precision Practice Management for most of the week, I learned a lot at from our class discussions and the Rauckman Utility Products visit. Our class business has already had many ups and downs and it is only the beginning. We have all learned that it takes a lot of compromising and group discussions in order to put an event this huge together.

Something important to keep in mind, that I don't think everyone has realized or is good at yet, is being respectful during presentations. Listening to other people's thoughts and ideas is something that will help in the future. If you aren't able to have a respectful discussion with bouncing ideas back and forth then you won't be able to accomplish bigger things. 

Mrs. Rauckman told the group that customer service is the number one factor for running a business. They always have somebody answering the phone during hours. I work at Eye Care of Illinois and they have a policy that the phone doesn't ring more than twice without someone answering it. The customers are what make a business successful. If a customer isn't happy and the business does not resolve their issue or make it better, they will let other people know their experience with that business.  

Written by Heather Gosebrink

This week was a bit rough for the class. The class business has caused a divide but I learned a great lesson; there's no feelings in the word business. Too many times have I felt torn between the ideas of two individuals because I factored their feelings into it. That must be the "High blue" in me. There comes a time when you have to base your decision off of many more relevant factors. Money and execution are the main ones. To sustain a successful business, you must make money a large part of it. Even if the philosophy of your business does not focus on the income. Income determines if the business can even stay open. In this case, the class business must accumulate a certain amount of profit in order to start us students off in our individual businesses. Execution is also very important. How this event will be planned, set up, and advertised all go into how we execute it. Without a strategic execution, we will not make enough profit. Before I voted on which class business idea I believed was the best, I took these two factors into consideration. I was on the fence for a while because the CEOnopoly and Gala idea are both amazing ideas. I am very proud of my classmates for thinking up and detailing how the events would play out. In the end, I chose the Gala. The idea of a gala seems very classy and tasteful. Unfortunately, this caused a great divide in the class. A few people were very out of character during the presentations. The class consists of very strong personalities. This is not a bad thing though. I can see the passion in each and every one of my classmates and it hurts me to see this divide. No matter what we would've chosen, I would have made sure that I took a very active role in it.  I believe that we can pull through this and put on a fantastic gala. The class needs to come back together and talk about a few things. ....When I get out into the business world, I now realize that I will meet a wide array of people with very different personalities. Not everyone will agree with each other because that's human nature. As long as there is reasonable compromise...  

Written by Melony  Allen