Institute for Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial Education Partner
Twenty Businesses Showcased at the Third Annual Belleville CEO Trade Show
CEO Business Visits
- David and Chris Brandt, Owners
- Trade Show Set Up
- More Trade Show Set Up
- Belleville Students and Their Businesses
- More Belleville CEO Students and Their Businesses
- More Belleville CEO Students and Their Businesses
- Mentors Stop By to Support CEO Students
- Starting Point for Diva's Night Out
- Belleville CEO Trade Show Attendees
- More Belleville CEO Trade Show Attendees
- Geri Boyer, Belleville CEO Board President
Sips & Splatters
David and Chris Brandt, Owners
On Monday we met at an interesting business called Sips and Splatters. Sips and Splatters is a place that provides all of its customers with a unique experience in painting. The studio itself is lively and is very colorful which is great for helping with your creativity. Mr. and Mrs. Brandt have done an excellent job with their business. They shared how they even auditioned for Shark Tank. I'd like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Brandt again for spending the morning with us. We really appreciate the experience.
Written by: Tristen Missey
Chris Brandt shared that they just opened in their new location three months ago.
David Brandt shared that no one will work on your dream except you!
He shared that he had 19 businesses that failed but it only takes one to finally be successful. He finds that freedom is the number one thing that he loves with running his own business.
Mr. Brandt shared that they have spent countless hours on policies and procedures so employees can run their business efficiently.
They talked about their new Farm House Collection. People can now pick from wood pieces as well as painting on canvas.Trade Show Set Up
The Belleville CEO students set up their trade show booths from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. We would like to thank Ms. Cheryl Brunsmann, PSOP Executive Director for hosting the Third Annual Belleville CEO Trade Show at Southwestern Illinois College/PSOP.
Belleville CEO student Tristen Missey setting up his furniture for his business, Design By Pallets.
John Lewis and Elizabeth Harla taking a break on a bench being sold by Design by Pallets.
Dauneshia Holman got some help from her mother to set up her Purple Diamond booth.
Belleville CEO student Jake Roche working on his FatFood Stickers' booth.
Nick Lippert getting some help from his classmates, Ian Hass and Josie Proffitt.
Jimmy Monken and Kaleb Leatherman working on their booths.More Trade Show Set Up
Belleville CEO student Nick Lippert putting the final touches with the help of craft master, Fred Hoef and his aunt, Julie Naylor.
Elizabeth Harla working on her Stickers for Sustainabiity booth.
John Lewis playing some music for his classmates while they are working on their booths.Belleville Students and Their Businesses
CEO Nick Lippert and his business, Senior Craft Masters
CEO Brett Rowe and his business, Rettro
CEO Jake Roche and his business, FatFood Stickers
CEO Martrell Robinson and his business, Acts of Assistance
CEO James Wiegers and his business, J & E Detailing
CEO Emmie Huynh along with her mentor, Nancy Schulte showcasing her business, The Second Hand.
CEO Daniel Stovey and his business, DSK DesignsMore Belleville CEO Students and Their Businesses
CEO Dauneshia Holman and her business, Purple Diamond
CEO Kaleb Leatherman and his business, Graphogo
CEO Tristen Missey and his business, Design by Pallet.
CEO Jimmy Monken along with his mentor, Pat Hill showcasing his business, EmployATeen.com.
CEO John Lewis and his business, Noteify
CEO Jacob Gall and his business, Belleville Sport Support
CEO Elizabeth Harla and her business, Stickers for SustainabilityMore Belleville CEO Students and Their Businesses
CEO Cam Wicks with his business, Your Mini Boot Camp
CEO Ian Hass and his business, Mechanic on the Move.
CEO Antwan Stith and his business JR Lawn Care and Landscaping
CEO Josie Proffitt and her business, Honey Tee's
CEO Emilie Smyth and her business, Emilie's On-The-Go Studio
CEO Teonna Davis and her business, Awali's Tee'sMentors Stop By to Support CEO Students
Jacob Gall with his mentor, Mike MarchalMany of the mentors stopped by to give their mentees a pep talk and make sure that they were ready for the public. We would like to thank our 2017-2018 Belleville CEO Mentors who have put in many hours meeting and supporting these Belleville CEO students throughout the year.
| Business Mentor | Student |
| Dan Lovekamp | Antwan Stith |
| Geri Boyer | Brett Rowe |
| Diana Voegele | Cam Wicks |
| Tyler Douthitt | Daniel Stovey |
| Renae Eichholz | Dauneshia Holman |
| Alexa Callahan | Elizabeth Harla |
| Anne M. Koleson | Emilie Smyth |
| Nancy Schulte | Emmie Huynh |
| Dave Zura | Ian Hass |
| Mike Marchal | Jacob Gall |
| Jimmy Monken | Jake Roche |
| Pat Hill | James Monken |
| Brian Mentzer | James Wiegers |
| Bob DeRousse | John Lewis |
| Bobby Fritz | Josie Proffitt |
| Josh McDermott | Kaleb Leatherman |
| Matthew Gilreath | Martrell Robinson |
| Brett Baltz | Nick Lippert |
| Josh Lane | Teonna Davis |
| Kevin Pesko | Tristen Missey |
| Matthew Warren | Class Mentor |
Teonna Davis with her mentor, Josh Lane
James Wiegers with his mentor, Brian Mentzer
Jake Roche with his mentor, Jimmy Monken
Brett Rowe with his mentor, Geri Boyer
Emilie Smyth and her mentor, Anne Koleson
Cam Wicks with his mentor, Diana VoegeleStarting Point for Diva's Night Out
Belleville CEO students were delighted that Belleville Main Street – Diva’s Night Out chose to start their evening at their Trade Show. Their theme for the night was “Show us your creative Spring Bonnets!” We would like to thank Belleville Main Street and the ladies who came through the trade show and showed us their support.
Belleville CEO Trade Show Attendees
Daniel Stovey talking to Investor and Mentor Brett Baltz about his lamps.The Belleville CEO students used their elevator pitch over and over again as they talked to the attendees about their businesses. We would like to thank everyone who stopped by to support us!
Cam Wicks talking to his mentor Diana Voegele and Investor, Mentor and Board President Geri Boyer.
Elizabeth talking to the attendees about her business.
Emmie Huynh sharing some information about her business.
Thank you to Granite City CEO facilitator, Karen Greenwald and Granite City CEO students, Brian Bauman and Morgan Tucker for showing us support on Thursday.
Mr. and Mrs. Hass showing their support to their son, Ian Hass.
James Wiegers sharing some information about his detailing business.More Belleville CEO Trade Show Attendees
John Lewis talking to some young ladies about his business.
Badge Sponsors, Jeffrey and Julie Naylor with Naylor Periodontics and Greg Lippert with Liese Lumber Company visiting with Belleville CEO Board President Geri Boyer.
Martrell Robinson discussing his business with Investor and Mentor Kevin Pesko.
Ian Hass sharing his business idea with David and Chris Brandt from Sips & Splatters.
Celebrating A Successful Trade Show
Geri Boyer, Belleville CEO Board President
After tearing down and cleaning up, Geri Boyer asked the students to join her at Tavern on Main for a celebration of a successful trade show. The students enjoyed pizza and salad as they shared stories of the night. Mrs. Boyer, the Belleville CEO Board President, told the students that it is very important to take time to celebrate as a group when successes have occurred. Thank you, Mrs. Boyer, for taking us out and celebrating our successful Trade Show!
Student Journal Highlights for this week
This week we had the trade show, I was very nervous at first meeting all those people and thinking my booth would be underpar. I think it turned out nice even though I was not able to get my banner. I am also happy Mrs. Boyer took us out to eat and hanging out with everyone afterwards.
Antwan Stith
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Antwan
)
I think the trade show went very well, there was quite a bit of people who came. I gave away all of my business cards, which is a great sign. I also had many people ask if I could work on some of their furniture. All in all, it was a lot of fun. It was awesome to see everyone’s businesses.
Brett Rowe
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Brett
)
For me, the trade show was a neat experience unlike anything I had ever done before. I never would have done anything like that if it were not for this class. To me, that is what CEO is all about. It shows what I can accomplish when I step out of my comfort zone and really apply myself. I feel very relieved having that under my belt now.
Elizabeth Harla
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Elizabeth
)
The trade show was a really fun experience. I never will forget it looking at all the different businesses was a cool experience. I feel like we all had great businesses.
Martrell Robinson
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Martrell
)
I think the tradeshow went really well. We had a relatively large turnout and I think pretty much everyone either sold product or made plans to sell services. Honey Tee’s made a few sales and got some potential for future business. I’m overall super happy with how the trade show went and am glad it was our last big event to end the year off on a good note.
Josie Proffitt
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Josie
)
This year's trade show had a good turnout. In my opinion everyone’s booth look great and was different ways. I’ve never been to a trade show so it was fun to simply walk around and talk to classmates about how they wanted to set up their booths. I personally had so many compliments on some designs I’ve done. A lot of people took cards and were interested in working with me I’m excited for what’s next with my business.
Teonna Davis
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Teonna
)
I think the trade show turned out to be really good. It was nice to see people were very interested in our businesses. I had great feedback from the people who visited my station. This was a great learning opportunity and it made me more confident in my business.
Cam Wicks
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Cam
)
The trade show seemed like it was successful for our class as a whole, since we were able to sell some of our products and because of the interest the people showed in all of our businesses. For me personally, I don’t think that this was the best way for me to advertise, since my market of business owners was not prominent, though I was able to receive a couple of potential customers and the people seemed to appreciate my work. Additionally, a lot more people showed up than I originally thought would, and I’m glad they did since we were able to receive a good level of support. I enjoyed creating my booth and I was glad I was able to do it, and make it look good, at a considerably cheap price.
Kaleb Leatherman
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Kaleb
)
I think the trade show went really well, except for the fact that I only sold one thing. Everyone said I had a really good idea, and that they liked it, but no one bought anything. I did have a lot of interest in custom orders though, so that is a good thing. I have to go through my email today and see if I got any orders. It should be interesting to see how this business turns out down the road. I want to move into more decor and not just lamps, so I think that will drum up some more business.
Daniel Stovey
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Daniel
)
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.
James Wiegers
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About James
)
I think that the trade show was a success and not just because of how many people came but because of how well our personal businesses did at the trade show. For me personally it was a success because I was able to sell a lot of stickers to many people that I would not have been able to sell to in public. At the trade show alone I was able to sell 36 on my stickers and that was almost double the amount of stickers I had sold over that previous week. I would like to thank everyone who came to the trade show personally because you are helping young entrepreneurs start our businesses and also boosting our confidence in selling our products.
Jake Roche
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Jake
)
I was pretty happy with the trade show. I felt I was able to articulate my concept pretty well when I had to explain my business. The only things I wish I did differently were consider multiple options for some of my purchases, and do the most cost effective option, and also order less shirts. However, I just have to look at this as a learning experience, which is the main point of the class and the trade show.
Jacob Gall
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Jacob
)
Overall I felt like our CEO trade show was a success. Everyone’s booths looked very nice and I feel like it was a good learning experience for us. I am very thankful that Geri took us out to dinner after. I didn’t really think about it but she made a great point about celebrating success.
Nicholas Lippert
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Nicholas
)
This last week of CEO was the week we had all planned for and new was the big day. The trade show was very busy and stressful, but overall was a great day and an amazing experience. I really enjoyed the time to showcase my business to other successful people and in return get their feed back about my business. This event put into perspective where I could potential expand and take my business too. This allowed me to grow as a businessman and entrepreneur in this program. I’m very excited with how the trade show went. It was a very busy and stressful week of CEO, but in the end it worked out great and we produced a great event. I hope my business thrives after this.
James Monken
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About James
)
The trade show went great! I thought everyone’s businesses were presented well and some people including me sold their products or services. I’m glad we have completed all our tasks and now I just have to sit back and wait to see who wins the award!
Tristen Missey
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Tristen
)
I feel like the trade show went great. I was talking to many people during the trade show. There were some people who were interested in my business. I also seen how many people were also interested in the other products and services the class had. I had a wonderful time at the trade show and it was nice to see my mentor (Nancy) there too. I did not expected that I would talk to many people that night but I was wrong. It was a busy day, but I feel like the whole class came together and I had a great time at the trade show.
Emmie Huynh
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About Emmie
)
The trade show at PSOP went, in my opinion, super well. Many people came by and asked questions and seemed interested, an I felt fully prepared for everything. It was a great event and I am very glad with the way it turned out for the class.
John Lewis
Friday, April 20, 2018Learn More About John
)
