CEO Business Visits

• TrepStart at St. Louis University
• TrepStart Breakout Sessions & Final Panel
• Mrs. JoAnn DiMaggio-May

As Week 7 has concluded, I can truly say that this was one of the best weeks for the CEO program.  This past week has been packed with excitement and opportunity.  

Our week began with JoAnn DiMaggio coming to speak with the class at Allsup. I really enjoyed this because it helped clear the water for a lot of the questions of starting a business that I had.  So I'm very thankful that she was able to come and speak to the class.  

On the next day we took a visit to the annual Trepstart presentation at Saint Louis University.  The presentation was a really great experience, and I'm glad I had the chance to attend.  It was incredible to see all the current and future young entrepreneurs gathered in one single convention.  The key note speakers really resonated with me as they told their stories and how their businesses were built from the ground up by them.    

The two days we went back to Allsup to develop and improve some of the aspects of our class project, and we've narrowed down the venue options quite significantly.  We've made a lot of headway on the class project and I'm anxious to see how it will all turn out.      

On Friday we had another sort of meet and greet with another set of our class mentors.  I was more than grateful to meet all the wonderful business men and women. All of them showed so many great different traits and I'd be incredibly lucky to have any of them tour me through this year.  It's going to be a difficult decision once the time comes but any of them will make a great mentor.

Cole Maul
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Cole

After 7 weeks of CEO class, I am learning way more than I thought I would. I am learning important life lessons and skills as well as the ins and outs of the business world. I really enjoy meeting new people, and learning about all of the businesses.

On Monday, we went to TrepStart. It was an amazing experience, and I am so glad I was able to attend. I liked the atmosphere because it was reassuring that kids can be successful in the business world. I enjoyed hearing from the various child speakers. Zach, the 15 year old web designer, taught me two very important lessons. Always be honest with the consumer, and know your limitations. It is always good to be upfront, and express when you don't think you can do something. Zandra taught me that sometimes a big idea starts with a no. Her father told her no to buying more skin care products so she decided to make her own. She started the business when she was 8, and it is now a company that sells across the world. I also enjoyed listening to Maxine Clark. She told us how she created Build-a-Bear. It was incredible to hear the trial and error of the multi-billion dollar company's start up. Overall, TrepStart was an amazing experience.

On Tuesday, we met Mrs. DiMaggio-May. Her job is to help businesses create a business plan. She also helps collect data for a particular businesses field. She helps makes charts and graphs to show that the product will be able to sell. Before she met with us, I did not know the importance and intricacy of business plans.

On Wednesday, we had another work day at Allsup. We had to sort out a few arguments and tension throughout the group. However, after talking it out, I think that the group will be stronger in the long run. We need to keep in mind that everyone's opinion is valuable and deserves being heard. Overall, I think we are taking a step in the right direction.

On Thursday we met with more potential mentors. I enjoy talking to all of them, and bouncing ideas off of them. I really enjoy these days just to talk with business people. It will be very hard to choose a mentor because they all are great, and bring a lot to the table. I am excited to be working with them soon!

Stephen Waltrip
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Stephen

This week in CEO was relatively short. We went on a field trip to Saint Louis University for TrepStart. Then we had a presentation from Ms. Jo Ann DiMaggio-May from SIUE. The rest of week we worked on class business, and had a meet and greet with our potential mentors.

On Monday our class went to TrepStart. The campus of Saint Louis University was very welcoming. Our conference took place in the Busch student Center. Before going to TrepStart, I had never been inside of the student center. The conference was high energy, and rejuvenating. The key note speaker for the event was Maxine Clark. Maxine Clark is the founder of Build a Bear Workshop. Mrs. Clark spoke about overcoming adversity, her previous career, family life, and how she came up with her idea for her business. She also answered questions from the audience. Along with a keynote speaker, the conference consisted of breakaway sessions. Each person was able to attend two break away sessions. My first break away session was the CEO of a children's theater workshop. She talked about she started her business, how to balance your business, and school. My second breakout session was with Asya Gonzalez the founder of Stinky Feet Gurlz. Asya donates a portion of all her sales to charity. She explained that the hardest part of owning a business is marketing yourself. Asya’s presentation was entertaining, and inclusive. She had a series of icebreakers, and social media activities for our group to participate in. This activity was a great opportunity to learn many things.

Tuesday we had a presentation from Ms. Jo Ann DiMaggio-May. Ms. DiMaggio is a representative of SIUE. She is the Metro East Small Business Development Center, Director. Ms. DiMaggio talked about business plan development, crowd funding, cost analysis, and creating a concept.

Lastly we discussed class business, and had a meet and greet. After the first meet and greet, I am slightly more comfortable talking to the investors, than before. Overall I really enjoyed this week.

Epiphany Smith
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Epiphany

Monday, we took a class field trip to SLU to participate in a Trepstart event.  The event focuses on young business owners who share their success stories with our class and CEO classes from other areas.  We also got to listen to the founder of Build-a-Bear, Maxine Clark.  I thought it was amazing how she started this huge business from scratch.  I loved learning about how she got the idea for the business.  I also thought the story of how the hearts were added was cool.  Mrs. Clark discussed the importance of experiences.  She founded Build-a-Bear so that customers could have a fun time creating their own stuffed animal.  Mrs. Clark stated, “When customers have fun, they spend more money.”  I think that when people are passionate about their business, customers will have a better experience and be more likely to return.

On Tuesday, Jo Ann DiMaggio May visited us at Allsup to discuss how to make a business plan.  Before she came, I had no idea how to write a business plan.  I learned that a business plan should be no more than 15 pages and should reflect on target customers, cash flow, marketing, costs, location, statistics, research and background, and give a reason why you have an edge over your competition.  I asked Mrs. DiMaggio May about how to approach local businesses about selling my product.  She was very helpful and suggested that I take a copy of my business plan with me along with a prototype to see what my product looks like.  The prototype will get feedback from potential buyers and allow me to improve it.  This is especially important for my business because it is something that has not been done yet in this area.

Thursday, our class met with more potential mentors.  I like meeting new people in business because it gives me a chance to practice networking.  I think business is all about having good connections with people.  Meeting with mentors is a great opportunity for this, and I really appreciate all the mentors who took time to visit with us.  I got more positive feedback on my product as well as several ideas for marketing my product.

Kaitlynn Borik
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Kaitlynn

There are many quotes and good sayings in this world. In life you will meet some amazing people. You will meet people that do things out of this world, but this week in CEO really puts that to meaning. This week the CEO class went to the Trepstart field, where we met some young entrepreneurs and very intelligent young men and women. We also met Maxine Clark who is the founder of Build A Bear workshop. After the visit to Trep-Start we got to meet with more mentors to help us start our personal business, and got to meet with Jo Ann Dimaggio May from SIUE to help us make a business plan. Overall it was a great week.

 The week started out at the Trep-Start field trip, when I first walked in there was already a business feel to it. We walked into the main room and saw a giant room full of seats and booths that the young entrepreneurs set up to show off their businesses. I have to admit I was taken by surprise to see how young these kids were. I actually got to talk with a lot of them one on one, and actually got some of their contact information to keep in touch with them because they were my peers, and it would be nice to touch base with people my age to see if they would agree on any business ideas i’m tossing through my head. The actual presentation was very upbeat. We all played games and got to move around and dance. Our own Michael Lassman got to get on stage and bust some moves and show the world what Belleville CEO is all about. After the fun and games, we actually got to sit and listen to Maxine Clark who built The Build A Bear Workshop Company. Maxine was a very intelligent woman she told us some things that I would personally use in my Personal Business, such as, always learn from your failures, don’t be afraid to try; to leave your own legacy, build a legacy of character and do what you love to do. After Mrs.Clark was done speaking, I felt like a sponge that had just soaked up so much water I could not even take it anymore, but i will alway have space to learn.

 The next day was really a work day for our class business. We also had some role changes in our class … I took the role of being the chair of thank you notes. Thank you notes is what our class does to send out to business that have been gracious enough to let us come in and see how their business works, or someone that has come in to speak with us as a class. …Mrs. Siebers approached me and told me that I had to promise her that I would get thank you notes out and delivered at least 3 days after the visits that took place. …I took it upon myself as the new chair to get those delivered as fast as possible. As of this moment, all of the thank you notes are done and delivered and they will keep it that way as I took on a huge responsibility that I will not fail at.

 The day after that Jo-Ann Dimaggio May from SIUE came in to speak with us about the importance of a business plan and how to build one. I had already built a business plan, and I thought I had everything I needed until she came in to talk to us, I am glad she did, as I was missing a lot of valuable information for my plan. As she was speaking, I was customizing my plan, and getting my numbers right. That really came in good when the day after we met with more potential mentors. All the mentors I spoke with were very impressed that I had all my information printed out and ready to go, and I had all my numbers calculated down to the single cent. I think almost every mentor there was interested in working with me because I had my plan ready to go, but that's just from my perspective.

 The seventh week of CEO has come to a close, I can not believe how fast the time is flying. Soon, I will have everything in place for my personal business and I absolutely can not wait to get started. The only question I have is which mentor is ready to take this journey with me.

Jaylen Davis
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Jaylen

Branding, something seemingly simplistic, has been the direct representation of many companies. Apple, has the apple, progressive has Flo, Chevrolet has the bow tie. As what this means is the direct “brand” of what the common persons is informed upon that company. As society transitions and grows, so does the branding of companies and their ways of interacting with the customers. While at TrepStart, I learned the importance of branding and the essential interaction between the employees/ers and customer.

To transition, Mrs. DiMaggio came early Tuesday and gave us a presentation upon how the business plan works and gave us an outline. It was perfect timing, considering I've been shuffling ideas for my class business. Since I have it narrowed down to two different businesses, I'm in the process of writing two business plans. I realize this may be a bit unrealistic but this way I'll be able to narrow it down to the more fitting of the two.  As failure is okay, I believe this may help me along the road of becoming successful…      

Quite impressed with the mentors, I don’t know if any particular person was taking an interest with my ideas and I. I suppose being patience will only tell. The more we explore the mentor aspect of CEO, the more anxious I’m becoming. While the class business is a great opportunity, I’m more interested in running my own operation.

Austin Thurman
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Austin

Once again, another amazing week in the program. This week had the best of both worlds. We improved ourselves as a group, individually, and displayed our strengths in a public setting at TrepStart.

TrepStart was everything I expected and more. Just hearing Maxine Clark speak about her past trials and tribulations would've been enough on its own. Then we got even more bargain for our tickets by being able to listen all of the entrepreneurs of our ages and younger. Their lives up to this point are testaments to the fact that no matter how old you are, you can impact your community and earn money by doing it, if that's what you wish to do. Each one of them probably does more for their respective communities, than 10 people could. Not only that but they also juggle all the responsibilities of an average student: extracurriculars, sports, clubs and their scholastics.  Zachary and Jake both were excellent break out session speakers. They both gave various examples of thinking outside the box and how to succeed in the business world. Zach utilizes his technological genius to improve an industry while Jake purely just thought outside the normal restraints of thought and created his invention. Knowing that Jake and his sister have been before such big names like Shark Tank is just proof that anyone can do anything they put their mind to.

Tuesday, Ms. DiMaggio came to speak about the gritty work of a starting business. Business plans are needed for multiple reasons. A few examples of these are getting sponsors, remembering your goal for your business at all times, being able to look back and stay focused, and know where you're going as you move forward. They're essential in every business.

Wednesday was the day we cleared the elephant in the room. We all know that it was coming and mentally prepared for it beforehand. I believe it was very productive and it brought us closer as a group. Mike's previous statement summed up our predicament perfectly and it was good that we solved it as a group.

Thursday was just like our last meet and greet, full of wonderful potential mentors and successful establish people in our community.

Royce Payne
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Royce

Our CEO class started the week with an extremely fun event, we attended the TrepStart convention at SLU. There we interacted with many other CEO and business entrepreneurial groups; exchanging experiences and knowledge of our days in these programs made us friends. Besides the other entrepreneurs still in school, the most interesting part of TrepStart had to be the young business owners that came to speak to us from all around the country.

These kids have been on TV shows, interviews in magazines, and won competitions for their products- most of them under the age of 17. Seeing these kids younger than me have such success filled me with determination and a bit of disappointment: determination because it took away the fear of being too young a business owner, but disappointment because I've passed the age mark where anything I do (unless incredibly mind blowing) would be considered amazing. Nevertheless, I feel I am at a wonderful age to be level headed about my decisions while still being creative and spontaneous at the same time.

Not only were these teens an inspiration, but great motivators and supportive of anyone they met. I had the privilege of speaking with a young lady named Zandra- the CEO of a line of all natural skin care products- after my breakout session with her. She walked me through some key steps I would need to make my business a reality and I've been brainstorming and planning ever since.

The convention was more than inspiring, it was really a wake up call. As most of those who know me will be able to tell you, I love soaking up any new information I can and applying it to my life immediately; this definitely goes for how TrepStart was planned and executed so professionally. The entire venue, schedule, and event ran extremely smoothly from the Breakout sessions to the DJ and his great music. In these little things, I learned that details are very important to give guests a great experience for any event you plan or host. TrepStart will definitely be an example for our class business, and we will ensure that it will be just as wonderful as this experience was for us.

Alayna Wells
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Alayna

CEO did not seem to have a central theme this week. Instead it felt like there was a different mini lesson for each day. On Monday we went to Trepstart day in St. Louis and these kids who were younger than me had these crazy successful businesses and followed their entrepreneurial dream. What stuck out at the convention were how the kids would just walk around and talk to anybody. They had great people skills and communication is important with any business. I never really thought of communication being a big key component in being an entrepreneur but now that I think about it, I realize that communication is essential to any entrepreneur.

On Tuesday we met with Mrs. DiMaggio and she explained to us what a business plan was and why it was extremely useful to create and make one. What scared me about this was that we would be presenting to bankers a business plan and I have no idea how to write one. Mrs. DiMaggio helped in explaining a lot of what a business plan is and it seems like a smart idea to have one. It would mainly help with keeping a business on track and seeing if changes need to be made to your original plan...

Joe Beussink
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Joe

Week seven of this year’s Belleville CEO Program was a success. This week our class took a field trip to St. Louis and had four great days at Allsup. On Monday our class visited St. Louis at SLUH for the independent youth TrepStart day. On Tuesday class met at Allsup where Ms. Jo Ann DiMaggio-May from SIUE came to talk to us about business plans. On Wednesday we were stationed at Allsup again to have a class work day to go over our class business and discuss other ideas. On Thursday our class had a meet and greet with some of our sponsors at Allsup.

On Monday the Belleville CEO Class took a field trip to St. Louis to visit SLUH where the 2016 TrepStart Day was partaking. Upon arriving at SLUH I was amazed to see how many other CEO classes were there and how our class differed from others. While listening to Maxim Clark who is founder and CEO of Build a Bear Workshops and the keynote speaker of the convention I learned that nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it. For example when I listened to Mrs. Clark telling us a little bit about herself before she founded Build a Bear and she was explaining how she working for someone else for a while and started to lose interest in her job and realized that she wanted to be her own boss so she and a friend started a business together which is now known as Build a Bear Workshops.

On Tuesday our class met at Allsup to meet with Ms. Jo Ann DiMaggio-May from SIUE to talk to us about business plan and how they are made and to go over some of the business plans that some of the students have made already. Ms. Jo Ann really taught us the importance of a business plan and why they are needed. She explained if I wanted to start my own business that a business plan is a great way to get a loan from the bank and to show them how they’re money will be used and how they will be paid back.

 On Wednesday our class met back up at Allsup to have a work day to discuss our class business and other little topics. Over the last weekend a couple of the students in our class tend to “bang heads” or argue about some comments that were made and some opinions that were shared. To solve this problem our instructor left the room for a while so that the class can talk freely about the incidents that went on in our class group chat over the weekend. I feel this strategy really helped some of the students get some frustration out and speak what was on their minds and it teaches the students how to handle situations on their own instead of someone else doing it. Our class resolved the issues and went back to working on our class business.  

 On Thursday our class met with some of the sponsors with a “meet and greet” at Allsup. I really like the idea of the meet and greet because it really helps us find something in common with some of the sponsors and it helps us get a good idea of who  the best mentor would be for yourself for the mentoring program. I met a man who has the same interests as me and could potentially help me a lot with getting started for my personal business.

Devin Alexander
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Devin

This week in CEO we went to Trep Start. Which was awesome we got to hear from Maxine Clark CEO of build a bear. She talks about how it's about loving what you do. Loving your job. I couldn't agree more. What's the point of doing anything if you don't love it? She also told us a story on how her teacher taught her to try. Her teacher gave a pencil to the student with the most mistakes. Cause you learn better when you make mistakes. You learn not to make them again. She also talked about how you control your own attitude. You choose to be happy, positive person. No one can make you be something if you don't want to. She also told us this quote “Retailing is entertainment and the store is a stage. When the customer has fun, they spend more money.” by Stanley Goodman.

Then we went out in breakout sessions. My first one was with Zandra Cunningham. She talked about turning your hobby into a business. She love lip balm growing up she would get one every day. Her business all started with one no. from her father. He was sick of buying her all this lip balm so he said, "No, why don't you make your own." So she did and gave it away for free. Then one day someone gave her a dollar for 1. And that's how she started. So one night she sat down with her folks to talk about this new business. They first had to pick a name then register. She then continued on try to learn as much as she could. And it was real interesting how she went there the steps she took to get her business where it’s at.

Then we all went to another breakout session. And mine was with Brooke M. she started the Icpooch Company where you're able to face time your dog and give them a treat. She talked about crowdfunding. Crowdfunding it where you get money from a crowd of people online. It's not an investment, its funding completely different. First you got to pitch what you got then set a goal on how much money you want/ need to get. Then set a deadline. You also will want to state why they should fund you.

           

Kelly Rowden
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Kelly

This week was huge for our class business. Throughout the week everyone was constantly thinking of new ideas for our class business. We were able to bounce our ideas off a lot of different people and even experience an event similar to ours. We started our week with TrepStart.

TrepStart was a really great field trip. It was amazing to see how young these entrepreneurs were and how successful they already are. My two breakout sessions were about turning a hobby into a business and how to be professional as a teen entrepreneur. They were really interesting and the former was very useful. If I want people to take me serious I have to act professional.

On Tuesday, Jo Ann DiMaggio May came and taught us about business plans. I had no idea how detailed a business plan was until then. At first it sounds very tedious and boring; however, I feel as if it won't be as bad once I actually get an idea I'm really enthusiastic about.

Wednesday was our work day for the week. Our class business is coming along pretty well I think. We saw things at trepstart we really loved and would want to incorporate into our own business plan. We also bounced some of our ideas off Ms. May who gave us helpful feedback. I think we are past the idea point right now and need to start doing. What is really holding us up right now is the venue. Hopefully people will have talked with the venues they said they would and will have some facts to go off of to pick our venue.

Thursday was our last day of the week. It was another meet and greet with potential mentors. I connected with some mentors and others not so much, so hopefully I will find a good match. No matter who I am paired with, I am sure they will be extremely helpful to me as I start my personal business.

Tim Donaho
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Tim

Week 7 of CEO has concluded. It was an interesting week since we were on a field trip Monday and did not have class on Friday, but it was very eye-opening and productive. Monday we were at Trepstart while Tuesday we learned about business plans; Wednesday was a class business day and Thursday we spoke with more mentors.

Trepstart may have been one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. Aside from dancing in front of hundreds of kids, I got to listen to amazing kids that own their own businesses. I also can not believe I got to listen to the CEO of Build-A-Bear, Maxine Clark. Maxine was a quote machine during her speech, but two specific ones really struck me. “Without interaction there is no transaction”. She said this while she was explaining how her company values the customer and tries to make their buying process as fun as possible. She said if the customer has fun while they are shopping they will spend more, and she is 100% right. No wonder Build-A-Bear was so much fun to shop at when I was a little kid. The second quote is, ‘’I know what I don’t know”. This applies to about everything in life, but especially business. Obviously when I start my business I will not know how to do many things, so I will have to find people who know what I don’t. Just like Vertical Performance taught us we have to know each other's strengths and weaknesses so we can properly work together and combine what we know. Besides Maxine, I personally heard from Ryan Kelly and Lily Born. Ryan owns his own business called Ry’s Ruffery, which sells dog biscuits. Lily sells Kangaroo Cups which are three-legged cups that are much harder to spill for babies and older people. Both these young entrepreneurs examined problems and came up with their own solution. They also put the work in and have basically dedicated their lives to their businesses, something not many kids can say. They taught me that anything is possible and if they can run their own businesses, then I sure can too!

Thursday was another day of meeting with mentors and it was just as fun as last time. I find talking to successful men and women in the community extremely enjoyable. I deeply appreciate their passion and willingness to help us in anyway possible, despite their own busy schedules. These mentors are all so nice and respectful, and talking with them makes me want to be like them even more. I want to be a successful business owner and give back to my community in anyway possible, just like them. Mrs. Siebers asks us to make a list of our top 5 potential mentors, but I do not see how that is possible with all these great options.

All in all, this week has reestablished my reasoning for taking this class. To become a better business man, and a better person. I feel that speaking with mentors and young entrepreneurs have truly inspired me to work even harder.

Michael Lassman
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Michael

On Monday we went to Trep Start at SLU and I loved it. It was so much fun. Seeing how young you can be and still be an entrepreneur is incredible. There were 13 year olds there that started their businesses when they were 11. At Trep Start I learned that in the world of entrepreneurship nothing should stop you. Not even your age. With the help of your parents. your community, and volunteers you can have all the support and help you'll need. Also this week we learned how to create a business plan. I think a business plan will be challenging to create but worth it. On Wednesday we did more work on our class business.

...On Thursday we met with more of the mentors to get to know them and see which ones we connected with more. I was talking with Amanda and she really helped me figure out more of my personal business. I really want to do something with volleyball for it. She helped me think of how I should do a camp or training for kids that do not make their school team or kids that don't have a lot and to make them better using the resources I have and everything I have been taught. My mom works at Belle Valley so I could use their gym, volleyballs, and nets. Which that makes the whole process alot easier just having to get enough kids to participate. I also have a lot of friends that would donate their time to help. If I want to keep growing my business I can have friends help with other sports. I'm excited to move from Allsup to Barcom Security for the shorter drive.

Claire Randle
Friday, October 7, 2016Learn More About Claire