This week was a good wrap-up and closing to CEO. The tour of Auffenburg was really cool. I actually purchased my car from there so it was interesting to see the behind the scenes part of the car selling business. I find it shocking that they only make 1% profit margin after taxes. The issues with the 60 million recalls a year seems like a big problem. I can see why that would be an inconvenience to car owners. I wonder if there will ever be a change in policy for recalls in the future. I find it comforting that Korean cars are the best cars sold because I have a Kia. Farmers Market was a neat place to visit. I think I'll start shopping there for some groceries. It's less than five minutes from my house, but I've never gone in there before. I don't know how I feel about Mr. Schwendeman saying that you shouldn't be self employed because you don't have a life and that there's something wrong with you. That's kind of the reason why we took this class! But I understand where he is coming from in regards to how much time and work he has to put in. I find it crazy that he hasn't had a vacation in eight years! I think a part of being a CEO is having the perk of taking off when you want to (if you're business permits). The trade show was such an awesome experience. I was a little hesitant when we first looked at the room but it turned out so good. Everyone's area looked awesome and I'm so proud of how everything turned out. It was really cool getting to sell my products to people and getting able to network and hand out business cards. I'm hoping that people will contact me in the future about helping them purchase oils. I just sold some oils to a friend for Mother's Day. The cool thing about my business is that it's convenient for me and the customer. I'm also getting to help them at the same time. I couldn't ask for a better business! Next week I start a new job at an eye doctor so I'm hoping to generate some more potential customers!

Aliyah Gillespie
Friday, May 6, 2016Learn More About Aliyah

The past couple of weeks have be eventful to say the least. We have done so much and it has been crazy. I have enjoyed a few of the speakers very much and the Trade Show is over! Matt from Chickfila was one of my top favorite people we have had visit I think and not just because he brought us free sandwiches. He seemed very genuine and knew how to keep our attention. I thought he was a great salesman and could sell us anything. He reminded me of Roger Wigginton because of how well he spoke about his business. I could not believe that he had only been with Chickfila for a year and five months. The six step sale process was informative and will help me in the future as well. Something I feel like is also interesting is that more than one speaker has brought up asking for a raise. “Do not compare yourself to anybody else when you ask for a raise.” Matt said this and also said it is important to ask for a raise when you think you have been working hard and for a good amount of time. … I liked Jamie Auffenberg and what he had to say about his business. It was a little less exciting, but still informative. I liked how he discussed how the internet has affected his business directly, because the world is becoming more and more technological. I did not know Korean cars are the best quality so that was interesting too. I liked the Farmer’s Market tour and although it was pretty quick it was interesting. Dan had a lot of good things to say about how much he loves what he does. It was kind of funny that he said to become a doctor or a dentist and not own your own business, I don't think anyone else has ever told us this before. He had a lot of good quotes that I wrote down. Some of them were, “When you’re self employed you don’t have a life” “It’s what I do and I love it” “You’ve gotta be a little crazy to do the business I do” I did not think they would have forty five employees. After talking to a few other business owners it was surprising that he has so many for only two stores. The Trade Show was very successful. I got five orders right there and gave out a lot of order forms and information to other people who walked by. Mr. Nicol awarded me the scholarship on Sunday for the essay, recommendation sheets, and trade show booth. I was very surprised and happy. I wish we all could have won it. Mr. Nicol and his foundation are very involved and love that they do. He had like five or six people with him at the brunch to award the scholarship on Sunday. That was nice of him to give a little speech and give us all Cardinals tickets as well. He gave a short nice talk Friday in class. The sales steps about the elevator speech was similar to others we have heard, but I liked how quick it was. All you have to do is say the problem your business is addressing, how you can solve it with your product, sell the concepts, and sell your products. We have five days left of CEO, only five that is crazy. I cannot wait for summer, but it will be weird not seeing each other every day.

Heather Gosebrink
Friday, May 6, 2016Learn More About Heather

I did get caught up on my financials. Turns out I got $560 PROFIT!!! I think that is so awesome! I honestly did not think that I would even get any money and if any maybe $50 but I got $500!! I still have some shirts though but I think that I am just going to just give them out for free because I don’t think that people want to buy them now after the trade show. Tuesday we went to Auffenberg. Although I have to say it was pretty cool! I learned something new! I found out that my car is a Japanese car, and that Japanese cars are the Top selling cars alongside Korean cars. I also thought the board with all the collective data was awesome! That reminded me of Tan Co. because we used to track all of the girls’ sales and try to better ourselves. Wednesday we went to Framers Market those coolers were HUGE and cold! ..He didn’t talk to us very long but I found it very interesting that he told us “Do not be self-employed!” I feel like he doesn’t like his job but that he is kind of forced to stay there due to the fact that he has so much time and money invested into this business! Thursday we were back here at Artigem and Brent Emmerich from Midland institute. He talked about his Web designing business! That was so cool because one we have never anything or any type of business like that! He was the complete opposite of the Farmer’s Market guy! He talked the whole time and then some but it was so cool! Friday we had a half of work day which is when I wrote this. Then Kevin Nicol came in to congratulate Jessica Stern for applying for his scholarship! That was really nice. He also brought a very interesting book about elevator pitches! He was talking about what if you had to give a pitch in an actual elevator with no props and only 30 seconds. That would be crazy hard and I would be so nervous that I don’t think that I could do that at all! Like ever!

Paige Montgomery
Friday, May 6, 2016Learn More About Paige

The CEO class is wrapping up and coming to a close. Last week was the trade show. While the location had a limited space, the class made it work. After all of the stress and hard work, the trade show came to life. It started off slow but the turnout was great for our first year. If anything, I only got more motivated to make my garden a success. I got the chance to network with some amazing people and even some potential people I would consider having on my committee for my non for profit. I know this will be a great summer for my business. Matt Gilreath from Chick Fil A visited the class the same week. Chick fil a has great food but also has a great reputation for their customer service. Every time I visit a Chick Fil A, I am greeted with a genuine smile and I understand why with managers such as Matt. He’s a very warm man who cares so much about his employees and customers but was not afraid to admit that he will do what he has to do to make sure a guest gets turned into a sale every time. That’s something I admit that I would probably struggle with in the future. My future business must be generating a decent cash flow to stay alive. I plan on being very customer oriented with whatever business I start but I must not forget that cash flow is just as important as the customer service. I also realized how many opportunities in general that CEO provides. I believe I will land a job at Chick Fil A now that I’ve met the manager. Also I’m really appreciative of the sandwiches that Matt brought in! Definitely saved me a few dollars because I eat Chick Fil A often. The following week the class took a tour of the Auffenberg Auto Mall. Jamie Auffenberg spoke to the class. While this presentation was not advice based, I learned a lot more about cars that I expected. Jamie is a 3rd generation owner of the company so cars is all he knows. 90% of his business is in O’Fallon. He discussed how important it was to be able to sell to our stagnant population. The population of our area has not grown since he was a kid so he must be able to sell to the same type of customer in order to sustain his business. He’s done a great job since he sells $300M worth of cars per year. The next day, the class visited the Farmer’s Market. …He does not enjoy the long hours of being a business owner but has not put many systems in place so he won’t burn out of being a business owner. I will credit him with the great online set ups his business has in order to keep up with the new age. Fruit my cube and Market crate seem like great ideas because they are twists on a typical farmer’s market. Nevertheless, I do appreciate a new perspective on owning a business whether I agree with it or not. Brent from the Midland Institute visited the class the next day. He is a web designer for them. This presentation was packed with useful information. I never knew google had so many tools to help businesses and websites. Google also gives every website a grade with points that determine how far up on the search list it will be when a keyword is entered. My website needs lots of improvement but I am happy to have the help of Kurt’s daughter Haylee to help me. I’ll definitely take all of his advice and information to help my website grow and be more visually pleasing. On Friday, Kevin Nicol visited for a brief period of time. He gave great elevator pitch advice as well as some questions we should ask ourselves about our businesses. He says that it’s important to,”Sell the need first and then sell the product.” When giving a pitch, you have to go into detail about why what you’re selling is a need. I feel like I do that well but I just have to work on the details of my solution more. I appreciate the book he gave us by the way. Next week is the last week of school as well as CEO. There’s been so many ups and downs but I am so honored to have had the opportunity to be apart of this program and network with some awesome people. This program has made me dream bigger and take more risks. I do not regret taking this class.

Melony Allen
Friday, May 6, 2016Learn More About Melony

We only have one more week of being in the Belleville CEO program. Is that insane?! The program is on week 36 coming on week 37. This program has changed my life for the better. I have become a more confident and outgoing person. I came into the program quite naive and I could not ask for a better experience. Last week, we had our Trade Show and had the chance to listen to Matt Gilreath from Chick-Fil-A. These events were wonderful and have changed how I have perceived the world. The Trade Show was an experience to the say the least. I learned a lot from it. I had a great time! I was able to market my product and business and most of myself. People were impressed with product and how I presented it. It made feel happy inside and I think that is the biggest reward. The way I felt after the Trade Show was a feeling I would not forget. I was upset that I was unable to talk to Craig, but I am glad he came. When Matt Gilreath from Chick-Fil-A visited and talked our class, he was enthusiastic. He is very family oriented and one thing I learned that selling yourself is a huge deal in business. Gilreath uses the opportunities he has like the Chamber of Commerce to market himself. He also discussed even though he may not be working he is an ambassador for his Chick-Fil-A all day and everyday. His presentation was one of my favorites of the year! He had a spirit of a child, yet was a grown man. This week we had the opportunity to listen to a various speakers and visit various places. I learned that each place has its own unique components which separates them from the rest. For week 36, we had the chance to visit Auffenberg Auto Mall and Farmer's Market. Kevin Nicol also visited the program. I was unable to go to class on Thursday because of the Baccalaureate mass Althoff students had to attend. On Tuesday, the class went to Auffenberg Auto Mall in O'Fallon, Illinois and listen to Jamie Auffenberg. Jamie Auffenberg is owner of the car dealership and has another one in Belleville. He discussed about his experiences in the business world. Auffenberg was really drawn to the car industry and taught us what really happens within it. He has had a lot of experiences that has helped him shape the person he is today. Aufffenberg studied in California and was a teacher in Thailand. What was interesting about him? He is a family oriented man and always makes them a priority. On Wednesday, the program visitied Farmer's Market on North Belt in Belleville, Illinois. We listened to owner of the store, Dan Schwendeman. He was very inviting and welcomed us with open arms. We learned about the produce business and how complex it is. He loved the business he was running, but I felt he was contradicting himself. Schwendeman told us not be self-employed, yet he was self-employed. He loved the business he was in and was happy, but I felt as if he had regrets. He told us to have a life and follow what we love. It was quite interesting and sometimes I was confuse, but I understood the point of his presentation. I wish I was able to listen to Brent Emmerich from Midland Institute. I had a prior commitment to attend to, though. On Friday, Kevin Nicol visited the class and talked about how an elevator pitch can change how people perceive our businesses. There was one statement he made us say, "I did not day she broke the glass." Nicol discussed how tone can be the breaking point for a pitch. Also, he talked about the scholarship and the criteria that went into judging. I wish I won it, but I am happy that Heather won it. As the weeks are dwindling down, I am not a changed person, but an improved one. I learned rejection should not break me. I have rejected so many in this program. I have been told I am too young and sound young. Yes, I understood that. Who is to say I am too young? You are never too young to start. I needed to push through and move forward. I have been struggling with my business, but I know I will be alright. Some of the biggest business owners and entrepreneurs have struggled and persevered. Success does not happen. I wish it did. I wish I saw my hard work being rewarded, but sometimes I have to recognize and tell myself I will be alright. The lessons I have learned from this program are the biggest awards I have received. I cannot wait for what else is in store for me!

Cassandra Amorado
Friday, May 6, 2016Learn More About Cassandra