CEO Business Visits

• Mr. Nick Bauer (Investor)
• Mr. Garry Reuter, Mr. Kurt Schroeder & Ms. Cherie Macdonald (Investor)
• Althoff Catholic High School

This is our third week of being in CEO. To me this was a very productive week. On Tuesday we went to Empire Comfort Systems and I was very impressed on how this company stood the test of time. Even being a family company and how many ups and downs that has. It was very interesting walking through the manufacturing company and seeing every process it goes through just to get sold on the market. It's hard to imagine how far this process has come from the beginning. It must continue to change as much as technology and the world changes.

We broke through all the different ideas and came together as a team for the badge project. We figured all the ideas so we could go get sponsorships. Honestly I did not think we would come to a conclusion this fast, but I'm happy we figured this out as a team.

At Greensfelder Hemker and Gale we learned a lot on how much time and dedication it takes to do the best you can with the job you love. By just the way they talked you could tell they thought every second of being up at 2 in the morning, being in the courtroom for days, and not seeing their family was worth it because they loved what they were doing.

Our trip to Althoff on Friday was a new experience by touring a high school not as a student, but as an outsider looking in. Since I go to East and have been in public school my whole life it was very different. Catholic schools are so much different than public school with the way they do everything. It was weird hearing how they have to fundraise for much of their money considering public schools do not.

We have many more tours and visitors this year and I am excited to hear what they have to say. Something we should all remember throughout this program is to be bold.

Claire Randle
Friday, September 9, 2016Learn More About Claire

This week we visited three very different businesses. We started our week on Tuesday by visiting Empire Comfort Systems. On Thursday we visited Greensfelder law firm, and on Friday we visited Althoff.

Empire Comfort Systems gave us a presentation and tour. They talked about their business and the differences between small family businesses and large brand name businesses. Large businesses are able to mass produce a single item for a much cheaper price than small businesses. Small businesses, however, are able to create more variety in their items. They can create more customizable items that appeal to a specific person rather than one item for the whole population. Another thing I found interesting that Empire talked about was the role of a company’s president. Nick Bauer told us that as president you won't be able to do everything by yourself. You will need to assign responsibilities to your employees. He said a perfect day at work for him would be if he could come in with nothing to do, because everything was already being taken care of.

We also visited Greensfelder as a class. They talked to us about the different types of law, criminal or civil. They also told us the different equipment used by lawyers and the typical day for them. They also told us about the difficulties of starting a business from a law perspective, such as patents and regulations.

Lastly, we visited Althoff. Althoff gave us an overview of how they function. They taught us some of the main differences between a private and public school. We spoke to a lot of different people all in charge of functions vital to Althoff staying up and running.

This week was interesting to see three completely different businesses. It was neat to see how all three had similarities despite how different they were. I enjoyed this week am looking forward to next week!

Tim Donaho
Friday, September 9, 2016Learn More About Tim

Week three of CEO class has come to an end. It was a shortened week because we did not have school on labor day, but with all the visits it felt like a full week. We went to Empire Comfort Systems, Greensfelder, and Althoff. Tuesday was the day we went to Empire Comfort Systems, and I took a lot away from it. This was a very large business and while we were touring it I noticed how complex their business was and it was overwhelming to see how much was going on. Nick Bauer was there to talk to us, and he said “If you are not constantly changing and pushing, someone is going to pass you up.” I can apply this quote to my future business and my current baseball career. I have to always get better because if I am not, somebody else is, and they will pass me up. He also said you should be data driven and not emotionally driven. I did not consider this at first but it makes sense because if you make decisions based on emotion it may not be the smartest one. The last thing I really remember from Nick is what he said about teamwork. “One of us is not as smart as all of us.” This quote drives home the need for teamwork in business. He said his goal is to go to work and have nothing to do everyday because he has someone doing something everywhere. That sounds like my future goals.

On Wednesday we went back to Allsup to work on our badge project. I think we took some of the things Nick told us in consideration in determining things for the badge. Everybody spoke their mind on what they thought was right, because one of us is not as smart as all of us. It took a lot of discussion to settle on the design and tier level sponsorships

Thursday we visited Greensfelder law firm and heard from Garry Reuter, Kurt Schroeder, and Cherie Macdonald. This experience was similar to when we went to Northwestern Mutual. They all drove home the idea of meeting deadlines, and doing what you say you are going to do. It was nice to hear from experienced people in law because I have always been interested in law. I like to argue and fight for what is right, so maybe one day I will work for them.

Finally, Friday I just went to school instead of a business, but it was Althoff, not East. We heard from the principal, Dave Harris, and also the vice principal, athletic director, and other amazing people. It was kind of an inside look at how the school works. They told us all about tuition scholarships, fundraising, sports, and other areas that must function to run a school. We learned that previous connections can really make or break a business, because you never know when you will need help from an outside source. One quote I liked from the day was, “Failure is valuable experience. When one door closes, another one opens.” Over the course of this class, I have really come to understand that every single person fails in their life, but it is about how you get up after your failures.

Michael Lassman
Friday, September 9, 2016Learn More About Michael

Empire Comfort Systems was a really cool place to visit.  It was incredible to see a real manufacturing factory in person.  I have never seen that process before.  It shows how efficient Empire Comfort Systems is.  Mr. Bauer stressed the importance of core values and honesty in the workplace.  I also believe this is crucial to have a successful business.  I think it is important to be able to trust your employees and coworkers.  He also discussed the importance of passion in what you do.  This is a common theme I have heard so far in the business class, and I hope to  start a business that I am passionate about.

I felt like our class got a lot accomplished on Wednesday.  We decided on amounts for tiers, what each tier would receive, finished the brochures.  We even got a few gold sponsors already!  I felt like the voting method helped accomplish more in less time.  I believe our class is already starting to work better together as a group. 

I really enjoyed visiting Greenfeld.  It was very informative, and I found out a lot.  I learned that I should research possible licenses I would need if I decide to expand my business in the future.  I also discovered that business laws are specific and change constantly.  It was very interesting to learn that many successful CEOs are actually lawyers or attorneys.

Even though I attend Althoff, I thought it was really cool to learn more in depth of how the school was run.  I knew we did a lot of fundraising, but I did not know that Mrs. Jeffers recruits students from different schools.  I also underestimated how much the faculty does for Althoff.  Mr. Crotty was especially interesting to listen to.  His background in art and design is amazing.  He taught me that I learn more from failing than succeeding.  I have heard that I will fail many times, but Mr. Crotty explained that people learn a lot more from failing and can grow from the mistakes they make.  This knowledge has made me less afraid to fail, because now I know that I will learn from my mistakes.

Kaitlynn Borik
Friday, September 9, 2016Learn More About Kaitlynn

This week in our CEO class we visited the law firm of Greensfelder, Hemker, and Gale. Besides learning the immense burden of being a lawyer- hundreds of cases at a time, emotional attachment to unsettling cases, and mounds and mounds of paperwork- we learned that to be successful in your field you have to have the right attitude and love what you do. Especially for a career in law, the right attitude toward your work is essential to being successful- you have to love what you do. For me, it was encouraging to see people who are so immersed in their work. The fact that we had such dedicated lawyers in Belleville made me have faith in them; I've always thought my experience with a lawyer would be very generic since they have so many cases to deal with, it's reassuring to think I’d get the time and attention my case needs although they have others to deal with. This service sets an example for my own business, no matter how flushed I am with work I must stay organized and meet the deadlines I set for myself.

Empire Comfort Systems also taught us the importance of staying organized; the large factory had many small parts that are essential to the completed product- a fireplace. The employees, the assembly lines, even the strategically placed water coolers all contribute to an efficient, well-oiled machine. If one of these things gets skewed, it affects how the product will turn out. From Empire we took away that every part of a business is important, and keeping times and records of your progress will help you advance in your production as well.

A few days this week we have been able to attend our class at Allsup which we have spent developing our badge project. Each visit to Belleville businesses adds on to our knowledge of how to successfully develop a product, and how to maintain that success for a while. With Julie Siebers as our facilitator we are reminded of things that may or may not work, and are guided into a process where we have an immense chance of succeeding.

On Friday, our last visit was at Althoff Catholic High school. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect because I've never seen a school as a business before. I was pleasantly surprised to meet the friendly staff of Althoff Catholic and learn about the inner workings of a religious high school. Mr. Harris- the principal of Althoff- was especially outgoing and eager to answer all of our questions. We learned that Althoff has to acquire millions of dollars each year to keep it functional which they make up in fundraising and donations. The drive of Althoff’s staff to keep the school running for the many children who love attending there is admirable, and something to add in my own business endeavors.

Alayna Wells
Friday, September 9, 2016Learn More About Alayna

How well do I actually know the business field? How do I know if this is a life for me? I have always asked myself those questions ever since I decided to study business in college. This week was a huge week for Belleville CEO, we are in the final stages of our badge project and we had three business visits. We met Nick Bauer, from Empire Comfort Systems. Cherie Macdonald and her associates from Greensfelder attorney of law, and Dave Harris the Principal of Althoff High School.       

Nick Bauer is the president and CEO of Empire Comfort Systems. He is a 4th Generation businessman in his family. Mr. Bauer is a very influential person, he is also very young and running a multimillion dollar company. He taught me that you always want to be involved with your business and all aspects of the business. If you do not know that certain area of the business, hire someone that you can trust to do the job that needs to be done. That is another thing Mr. Bauer taught me was that no matter how good your idea is, you cannot grow on your own so you need to be able to trust everyone that is in your business.

Cherie Macdonald is a lawyer from Greensfelder Attorney of Law; she also taught me a lot this week in the law aspect of business. The main job for the lawyer of business is to clean up a law legality. Meaning, representing a business no matter the good or bad you will fight for that business, and will represent the business. Ms. Macdonald told us that laws change all the time, so you have to adapt to those laws on the state and the federal level. You have to make sure that your business is legally able to operate business.

Dave Harris is the Principal of Althoff High School. Mr. Harris really taught me that one a job as a principal is way more complex than I thought and two you need to find you're calling on what you want to do in. Because Althoff is a private school funding from the state is very scarce, but Althoff has a four million dollar budget. One of Mr. Harris’s jobs is to make sure the budget is being used wisely, and being spread between sports, and academics. Mr. Harris also mentioned that no matter how much failing may suck and not be fun, he prays for all of us to fail at least once at something that we do, because we will grow as better people and become a new version of who we are.    

I can’t believe how fast the CEO program is going so fast. It is so rewarding and I have already learned so much on how to grow my business in the future.

Jaylen Davis
Friday, September 9, 2016Learn More About Jaylen

Hard work and being able to adapt are the ideas I took away from the guest speakers the CEO class visited. When we visited Empire Comfort Systems the top executives explained to us how they have to constantly change what they are selling and the design of their products.They talked about how it's a constant challenge to adapt to the market and how products become out of date very quickly. Some examples they gave were wood heaters, the box heaters that stuck out of a house's wall, or floor heaters. Always having to come up with new ideas and constantly adapting their products just to stay as a competitor in their market corner sounds difficult and that it takes a lot of hard work.

The second idea that really stuck with me this week during CEO was hard work. When our class visited the law firm Greensfelder the lawyers talked a lot about all the work that it takes to just become a lawyer. 3 extra years in college and the field is very competitive once a student graduates. The payoff sounds extremely well but the lawyers repeatedly told us that being a lawyer is a mountain of work. They said sometimes they'll be up at 4:30 in the morning doing work or up till midnight working on a case.They also described the different types of lawyers and different practices and the pros and cons of all of them. I’ve always in the back of my mind had the idea of being a lawyer and them talking about the profession just makes me more confused on deciding if I should pursue law after college. At Greenfelder they also talked about how lawyers constantly have to change and adapt because laws are constantly getting passed by our state and federal government and that the introduction of the internet has really changed the legal world significantly.

Joe Beussink
Friday, September 9, 2016Learn More About Joe