Josh McDermott from J.T. McDermott Remodeling Contractors showed us this quote by Charles Swindoll "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes." I feel as this is very true in everyday life. I personally highly enjoyed this quote for the effect it has on people.

04/21/2017

This week in CEO was a really cool week. I was able to get more done on my personal business. I finally got a name for it too. It’s called Rowden Design Co.   I’m still working out a logo but it’s still in progress… But I was able to set an idea for my booth for the Belleville CEO Trade Show. I’m personally a big fan of decorating so I’m excited for it.

It was really cool this week that we got to go to Gateway Classic Cars. We got a tour and let me tell you it an awesome set up. The cars in there are amazing.   I was even able to find my dad's car in there. My dad has a 25 year old red Corvette. Never in my life, I haven’t seen anything like it until I went to Gateway. It was really interesting talking to the owner, Sal Akbani. He talked to us about how much work he put into his business starting out and how the economy affects his business.   It was quite inspiring to hear him talk about his life and business.

Later on we got to hear from Jason Eding. It was fascinating talking with him because most of the people we talk to always talks about their business. He talked about how he hires people. He went into detail about what he looks for when hiring people. I personally never really thought about how important a good application is.    

02/24/2017

This week in CEO it was quite good.   I managed to get $100 worth of stuff from Home-Brite Ace for free which I find awesome. And I also got all the stuff ordered. And it was real interesting to see more and more of my class stepping up (including myself). I guess now are event is coming up more and more of us are putting more work into it.

And Wednesday JoAnn (Dimaggio-May) came back to help us more on our business plan. It was real interesting seeing how to put a business plan together. It got me thinking how I need to get mine together. Sadly I haven't even started mine yet. But I think I need to get a product set before I start my plan.

Thursday we got to go to The Edge. I personally love The Edge. I had my ninth birthday party there. And my parents are really good friends with Keith and Mary Dahm-Schell. So it was nice seeing them again. It amazes me they been open for about 22 years. It always seemed new to me. I guess because of how there are always changing and adding to it.

And Friday we had another work day which I think was one our better ones because our CEOs (Tim and Steve) did one on one conferences. Which I think is really helpful to us as a class. And I think it also made all of us think how far we gotten and what we have done for the class.

Plus it was really fun Friday night our class worked at the Scottish Rite Fish Fry. I got to meet a bunch of new people even though I’m positive I will not be able to eat any fish for another month at least. But it's always fun to meet nice people in my opinion.

01/20/2017

 …I also find it a bit ironic that earlier this week in CEO class we went to the Belleville Police Station to talk to the mayor. And for those of you who has never met the mayor, from what I gather, he seems to be an amazing person. I have never had such a deep respect for someone I just met. He honestly does his best for Belleville and for its people. Not a lot of people do that. It was an honor to meet him.

We also got a nice tour of the police station from one of the cops that were there. …I think a lot people forget how nice and understanding cops are. I am so happy we were able to go talk to the mayor and get that tour.

It was also nice Thursday when I got to meet with my mentor. I actually got him a Star Wars Pez Dispenser.  Well I think it's safe to say he loved it. And we got to talk more on my personal business. I was thinking over break on doing a purse business because I really like sewing. As a kid I would make these stocking because my mom made my sister one and didn't make me one so every year I would go and ask her to make me one because I really felt cheated. So when I was nine I finally was like fine you won't make me one I’ll make one myself. And it totally turned out cooler than my sisters.

But back to my personal business I actually got a good amount of fabric. So I’m going to do my best and see what I come up with. I going towards clear purses because more and more colleges are requiring people to have clear purses at their games which kind of opens a new area for fashion.

01/13/2017

This week we got to hear from John Perles. He serves on the Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. For those who don’t know that much about the Midland Institute, the Institute provides training, materials, content, mentoring, and guidance for the CEO program. I especially enjoyed his talk on how your life is your business and how people are more capable than they realize. I was lucky enough to get his book for the cost of reading the first 20 pages. This is awesome because I love free books.  

On Wednesday we got to go to FKG Oil Company. Todd Badgley, the president at FKG, gave us a tour and told us a little about the company. He personally oversees the operation of the entire company. For those of you who don't know that much about FKG Oil, it operates 79 convenience stores, 20 carwashes, and 5 restaurants. So they have about 1100 employees which is awesome. I also learned that store associates must be 18 years or older to sell alcohol which I find interesting.

And it was really cool on Thursday because we were able to go out and talk to business about sponsoring us. Sadly I wasn’t able to go around with everyone else but I was able to write an action plan for the class.  I was also able to work on my personal business more which is always fun.

And after school Thursday I got to meet up with my mentor Mike Crotty.   We talked and figured something for the decorations for are Around the Fountain event.  We also started to make names for my personal business.

12/09/2016

...I also somewhat learned to use lightroom.  And for those who do not know what lightroom is it is a program related to Photoshop that edits the lighting in a photo it is able to make a cloudy day photo look like a sunny day photo it is a really unique program that I am yet to master. I hope to be able to use it for my personal business. And for those who don’t really know what my personal business is I am doing a nature/city photography business. And my mentor is helping a lot by the fact he is really inspiring. He’s also agreed to let me use his printer for my photos. And hopefully I am able to write out a business plan this weekend.    

And Wednesday we got to here from Wendy Witte. She's a Donor Services Manager at St. Louis Community Foundation. She talked about what makes an organization eligible to receive a tax deductible which was quite fascinating. She also taught us about how to determining the available charitable deduction amount. You take the event ticket price or sponsorship price minus the net tangible benefit (also known as fair market value) which gives you the available charitable deduction. She also explained the how to find the fair market value.

Thursday we got to meet the amazing Mark Bartle. He gave us a talk and tour about Barcom. He told us how his father gave so much for this company. And how when Mark was a kid looking for couch change for food. It was horrible and it made him more protective of his money as an adult. Later in his talk he told us about his company's culture. He looks for employees who have good attitudes and good work ethic. He avoids people that cause drama. And he also told us the importance of boss to employee relations which I completely agree with.      

12/02/2016

Monday for CEO it was technically a work day and work days are usually just my classmates and are teacher, but this one was quite interesting cause we got my mentor Michael Crotty (whose awesome) to come in and talk with us about decorations for the event were having. And for the class business we're having I’m the one in charge of decorations. Which is great that I can help out in this way because I’m not the best with numbers and stuff like that. But it can be real challenge because not a lot of people in my class are into art and decorating so they didn't or don't understand how the little things add up in cost. There’s also the problem on finding the true cost which also makes my job difficult. But I’ll try my best, and I got a good set of people to help out.

 Tuesday we got to go to Fletcher's Kitchen & Tap and got to talk and hear from Derek Betz one of the founders/owner of Fletchers. He has a degree in hotel & restaurant management. Which he uses quite a lot he has open over 17 restaurants. Which he talked and explained about. And he taught about how it's not a good idea to open a business with friends. Cause if it gets hard and they don't want to do the work you're going to have to try to get them out of the business which can be quite hard being as you're close to that person. And plus when you finally get that person out of the business you just lost them as a friend. Which is really sad and hard especially if the person was your best friend from childhood.

 He also got to talking why most businesses fail. They ignore simple math, get to far personal with the business where they can't let it go and kept putting money into it and not earn enough to keep it going. And he also told us a bit on how important sales are and how important it is to know where your sales come from. Which was fascinating especially to me because I never really thought about it before. It definitely made me rethink a lot about businesses.      

 Later this week Cheryl Mitchell, Executive Director of Midland Institute. She first started off telling us about Craig Lindvahl. He spent 35 years working as a teacher /filmmaker /musician. He’s a real unique person according to Cheryl Mitchell. She told us how Midland is connected to CEO, but the same time it’s different. She also talked about how it's a nonprofit organization, and its growth rate. She also explained why CEO is mostly just seniors. And it was really interesting how she described the expanding of CEO in different committees. During the whole talk it was amazing hearing her passion for CEO.  She also taught us how student are chosen for CEO.   

11/11/2016

This week we got to talk to the people who run Bank of Edwardsville. Bob Mueller is the president of the Bank of Edwardsville. He talked about how they started in 1868, which is 148 years of uninterrupted banking. Which I find amazing that they lasted that long. They do a lot of home loans. They also manage billions of loans. They’re a five star bank. They also get involved in community and put time and effort into it. They’re actually a trend where everything is online.

More and more people are going to do their banking online. And the biggest risk now a days is identity theft. Because after you your identity is taken you’re pretty much casing your money. And it's best if you avoid “fishy” emails. Cause most the time its hackers trying to take your money. And if you have any paper documents from your bank burn it do whatever you can to make it unreadable. And you can always do stuff to fight id theft. Like for example make your password hard to guess. Also destroy your old card.

 Dave Demond he's the Mortgage Loan Originator for the bank. He mostly look at credit scores, it can change every day.  Your credit score comes from your history, collection, public records, and so on. Also it’s best to avoid late payments. Then Tina Fromme the Certified Financial Planner Professional and a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor of the Bank of Edwardsville and she talked to us a little about investments which I found to be interesting. She told us the risk of not investing; the one big problem would be inflation. She also talked about how it's best to start early on saving.

 Later we got to hear from Kevin Nicol from Nicol Financial Services. He talked about how the mission of his company is helping people achieve and maintain financial independence. He also is a writer. He gave us Fourth Edition Financial Priorities which is quite interesting. There was a lot of good stuff in it. I actually got my dad to read it, and my dad doesn't read that much. He loved it.  

 Kevin Nicol in his talk, talked about getting involved. “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” a quote by Winston Churchill. Kevin Nicol shared this quote with us. I couldn’t agree more with this. One you get that good feeling of helping people and talking to people. Two you can advertise your own business.  All in all it was a pretty good week in CEO.

11/04/2016

This week in CEO Brian Mentzer came to Allsup and talked about his different business, he first told us about M & M Rentals, he has 315 residential units in Belleville, Swansea, Shiloh, Millstadt, Mascoutah, and New Baden. It was real interesting learning how he handles the rent collection. He also old us about how he sponsors M&M Mentzer motorsports and how his kids take part in it. Then he told us about all the partnerships he has.

Later in the week we got to go to The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce. And got to hear from their leader Wendy Pfeil and her crew on what they all do, and how they support business by networking. And host business after hours. She also told us how they organize the recent chilly cook off. And then told us about Bell-Scott, where it's an annual dinner to welcome the air men from Scott Air Force Base. It was real interesting how different members of their crew describe their job to us.

Then we went to Peer 151. And got to hear about Kurt Artinger and how he got to be where he's at. Then got to learn more about computer employs. Like google, amazon. They own most of the stock of the internet in a way where they can just make more and more money. Where it’s near impossible for them to lose to new business because they're that far ahead.

10/14/2016

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.

           

10/07/2016

One might ask why have a funeral? The guys at Kurrus Funeral Home believe it is to honor the special unique human life that was lived. It's a final peaceful farewell. Another person may ask why would someone join the profession of the funeral industry. The answer Dale Kurrus gave is I enjoy helping people. And getting them through their grief. There are many steps to a single funeral. It was quite interesting learn how they handle different situations.

Later that week we went to memorial hospital. I and we learned about how the hospital was run. And got to see the ER in the hospital. It was quite interesting seeing how they use space and how they decide how on which patents to treat first.

We also went to union school and got to talk to some of the kids. And we also got to do their morning walk. Where they walk around and talk to different people. A few adults were there to talking to the kids they also had some of the college guys from Lindenwood. It kind of makes you think more on spending time with kids more.   

09/23/2016

This week in CEO we went to Holland Construction. Michael Marchal gave us a tour of the place and told us what he does and how he does it. At first he talked about safety which I thought was really interesting. They have tons of people right now working on the new St. Elizabeth’s. He also told us this quote by Jack Welch “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”  I think it completely true. A leader is to be there for other not yourself I think.

Later we went on to the District 201, and talked to Jeff Dosier. He taught us how the school board is run and who runs it. Then told us a lot about the difference in times. Like back when the school board was new they didn't have phones and hardback books. He showed us a 1917 yearbook they have there.   It was quite interesting. I even found a jokes page in it.

Then later that day I found my sisters old camera that she left behind pretty awesome. And once I get it all fixed up and buy a memory card I think it would be cool to be able to maybe take pictures for my CEO class and have it on the website.

Then Kevin Pesko from Bank of Belleville told us how he runs his bank. I personally enjoyed his talk about how bankers are like entrepreneurs.  For examples, they both take risks. Some more than others.  His hard work and motivation is very inspiring. “If you say you're going to do it, do it”.  

09/16/2016

What I learned? I learn that through work you can't take the easy way. You have to take risks and work hard to get what you want. You cannot take short cuts. You cannot take the easy way. Through hard work and persistence you get your goals. For example, this week I got the task of photo shopping a new CEO logo. At first I made a C that looked like half an O. I was being lazy and when I put the O in it looked horrible, and I had to go back and make a better C. through hard work you get what you want and let me tell you the logo looks great now.

I also learned a lot about performance traits and how it affects how someone works. I’m high pace or other known as patience. I want stability, predictability, benefits, and consensus. For someone of whom is high dominance they would want direct answers, challenges, authority, and bottom of the line results. Knowing these traits and learning how to work well with all these people with these traits I found it really interesting.

08/26/2016