This week of CEO featured one work day, one guest speaker, and two class visits. Brent Emmerich came in on Tuesday, we visited Terry Beach on Wednesday, and finally we visited Greg Bach on Friday.

Brent Emmerich is a web designer who currently is working for Midland Institute. He is very experienced and I’m sure Carson would have liked to work with him to make his website. Brent talked to us about how he gets business through word of mouth referrals.  He can successfully use word of mouth because he makes many connections with other people by doing things with the community. He said volunteer work is a great way to build relationships and establish your business. I completely agree with him because as a customer, if I saw a business doing volunteer work I would definitely consider doing business with them over a competitor. We also played a balloon game at the end of his presentation to show us how we get faster to where we want to go in life if we help other people along the way because they will return the favor and help you. He helped us realize this by giving everyone a balloon and making us write our name on it. He then made us hit each other’s balloons around at the end we were timed on how fast we could all find our balloons. Next we did the same thing except we helped each other find our balloons and to no surprise we were much faster when we helped each other.

Terry Beach is the Economic Developer of St. Clair County. Mr. Beach cited a JFK quote while he was speaking that really caught my attention. “Success has 1,000 fathers, but failure is an orphan”. I really liked that quote because if how true it is. I hope to be someone that claims my failures because people respect that. I also don’t want to be the first guy to claim everything that’s successful because people recognize that and lose respect for those people. Mr. Beach also gave us some staggering numbers about the economic impact of Scott Air Force base. He told us SAFB has a 3.1 billion dollar impact on St. Clair County. That number is crazy to me and really makes me appreciate that we have SAFB. The last thing he told us was that working capital is the blood of our businesses. We have heard this a couple times throughout the year but it’s always a good reminder.  

05/07/2017

Week 33 of CEO featured two guest speakers, one class visit, and one work day. We were spoken to by Roger Wiggington and Gary Peck. Our class visit was to JT McDermott Remodeling Contractors.

Roger Wiggington from Don Rodgers came in to speak on Tuesday. Roger is a man who loves the retail business, and especially the marketing and advertising aspect of it. He opened his business with a partner in 1976 and has been in business ever since. Part of the reason he has been so successful is because he is always working to find new customers. He constantly advertises on KMOX and other radio stations to try to reach a much larger market in St. Louis. He is also extremely involved in the West End of Belleville and works hard to spread the word about what’s going on in the West End. He told us he is involved in 7 committees and 2 boards because he believes you have to give back to the city what it gives to you. He also reminded us that we have to constantly advertise for our businesses because you are always losing customers. Obviously no company gets a 100% customers return rate so I have to make sure I have a way to reach new people and expand my market. The last thing he told us was that running our own businesses is not for the faint of heart. Most people we have spoken to this year have hinted at this but they haven’t been as straightforward. I understand it is hard work but I believe I am strong enough to fail multiple times before I succeed. I recognize it will be hard and I might want to quit, but I just have to keep pushing.

The owner of my favorite restaurant came in on Thursday and talked about his journey to become the owner of 6 different McDonald’s. Gary Peck is a true American hero. He is carrying the tradition of McDonald’s being a great family-friendly fast-food chain. He told us that the cliche saying of the early bird gets the worm is absolutely true in entrepreneurship. If you’re the first business to do something then you will most likely be successful. McDonald’s was the first business to be extremely efficient in how they produced their food, and look at them now. He also said to be successful in our business endeavors we need an accountant, attorney, and a banker. We need an accountant to keep our financials and make sure we aren’t losing money. We need an attorney to keep us out of legal trouble. And finally we need a banker to help us out financially whenever we need money. That is an interesting concept about business and it certainly makes sense.

04/21/2017

This week of CEO went by really fast. It went by so fast because we had one class visit, three work days, and a day to present our elevator pitches. Each day was filled with excitement and nervousness for me because having a good elevator pitch is a big deal. Now that the elevator pitch is over I have to prepare to present to a banker. Yikes!

On Monday we visited Padgett building and remodeling company. They have been in business for 25 years and are currently in their second generation of the family business. David Padgett had a lot of good advice to offer us.  He told us his business runs by replicating and duplicating. To run a successful business you don’t have to come up with a new idea, you can just take someone else’s idea and find yourself a piece of the market. I am doing this with my t-shirt business. I won’t be the first person to sell fraternity or sorority shirts, but since I have such a specific spot in the market I will be able to be successful. Another thing he told us was that you have to set out expectations for what your customer is getting from you. This will ensure you customer is never disappointed in what they get from you, and generate more return customers. As a t-shirt business I need to make sure they know exactly what the shirt looks like before they even order it, that way they can’t ask to return it or complain because they got what they asked for. Lastly, he talked about knowing our financials. I have to make sure I keep track of my profit and loss because I could be losing money and not even knowing it, just like Padgett building and remodeling did before they kept financial records. He recommended if you don’t like numbers then you should hire a good accountant, which is exactly what I will be doing in the future once I make it big.

We spent two whole days working on our elevator pitches to present them on Thursday. I was really nervous but I think I did a really good job. Unfortunately I did not place in first, second, or third, but I’m still proud of myself either way. Now that the pitch is finally over we have to prepare for banker day. Banker day might be even more nerve racking because I have to know everything about my business. I have to be sure no matter what the banker asks me I am prepared to answer it accurately and persuade him to invest in my business.

04/07/2017

Week 29 of CEO featured two work days, one class visit, and one guest speaker. We went to my mentors business on Monday, Trinity Financial. Tuesday Mike Wenzel came in to help us with our personal businesses a little. Wednesday and Thursday we worked on our financials and personal balance sheets.

The visit to Mike Dunnigan’s business was very fun for me. He is my mentor and we regularly talk but it’s normally about baseball. I was excited to hear all about his professional life and learn more about his business. He runs Trinity Financial and his lovely wife Verna helps him run it. Trinity Financial is basically an investment consulting business. Lately I have been really interested in the stock market and that is exactly what they invest in. When I grow up I want to heavily invest in the stock market so maybe Mr. Dunnigan will be able to help me make good choices. He also taught us the Rule of 72. The rule of 72 is a shortcut to estimate the number of years required to double your money at a given annual rate of return. The rule states that you divide the rate, expressed as a percentage, into 72. Mr. Dunnigan says that the Rule of 72 is the most important lesson he can teach anybody because it can help people so much financially.

Tuesday Mike Wenzel came in from Wenzel & Associates and spoke to us about our personal businesses. He didn’t speak about himself or his business very much because he was so interested in helping us. He reminded us that cash flow is the most important thing in a business. We have heard that a lot this year so that’s how I know it must be true. He also said that no matter where we’re trying to go, we have to have a good team to get us there. This is also true because no business has become successful just because of one person with no help. Mentors, friends, family, and really any type of support is absolutely necessary to become successful. That’s why I believe Belleville CEO is so beneficial because we have made so many connections and all the people we meet are truly interested in helping us become great. If I ever hit a rough patch in my business I know I can pick any business card I got from this year and they will do their best to assist me.

03/24/2017

Week 28 of CEO was very productive for me and I still learned a lot. We had two guest speakers, Joe Wiley and Patrick McKeehan. We also worked more on our business plans and finished our bio’s for our personal businesses.  We’re getting to the time of year where we’re completing all the planning and finally getting to the real business. I’m excited to get my business underway and start making products. Unfortunately, my business model is specifically designed for college students and I won’t have any type of direct access to that market until I go to college. For now I’m just going to have to develop my business and make sure I am completely ready to handle anything that could possibly happen in college.

Joe Wiley from Quest Management Consultants came in to speak to us on Tuesday. Mr. Wiley was definitely one of my favorite guest speakers of the year, mainly because of his past. He played basketball for Saint Louis University. He is ranked 7th in total rebounds and 13th in total points in SLU basketball history. I thought it was very cool to hear from him because one of my better friends Jordan Goodwin is committed to play basketball there and I believe he can be the next great SLU basketball player. Mr. Wiley’s story about how he had no idea what he was going to do with his life besides play basketball sounds very similar to my friend’s. Fortunately for Mr. Wiley, he had many connections through playing basketball and everyone who was around him just wanted to help him. Straight out of college he got a good job at MonSanto, and later a very cool job of broadcasting the SLU games. I hope to make the same kind of connections in college just like he did because the friends you make in college last forever. Since I will be going to business school hopefully I can befriend many future business leaders. Mr. Wiley later took advantage of his financial success and opened his own business named Quest. His story is inspiring to me because unlike many entrepreneurs he opened his first business over 20 years after college. I think that is the type of career path I want to take, so if my business were to fail I would have multiple jobs in the past I could refer to and rely on for some sort of stability.

03/17/2017

Week 27 of CEO featured the move to our final home base! On Monday we met at our new home, Artigem Replacement Services. Kurt Artinger was there to speak with us again and give us the whole tour of his place. He said he bought the old YMCA building  for a very large amount of $1. He has renovated it very much and completely turned it around. Now he runs Artigem Replacement Services and Peer 151 in it.

The next day, Tuesday, we took a visit to the Country Club to meet with Thad Payne. Mr. Payne used the time to talk to us about dinner etiquette during formal events. I have always been a very informal diner and while I always use good manners, I don’t make sure I place the napkin on my lap and excuse myself from the table every time I get up. To be honest that type of etiquette is so foreign to me I have no idea how people actually behave like that while they are eating. If I’m working for a company and I get the privilege to go to dinner with the CEO, he will most likely not be impressed with me because I have not been raised that way. I think Mcdonalds tastes much better than any other high end restaurant, and I know that is extremely weird. I believe I like that type of food and dining style more because I am extremely cheap. I’m not quite sure how being a cheap person is going to affect me in the business world, but hopefully it will help me by not wasting money on unnecessary items. I really wish Mr. Payne would have spoken to us about the business aspect of the St. Clair Country Club, because I’m really interested in how their business works. They are a respected business and many successful people are members of the club.

This week we also finished our rough drafts of our business plans. The help of Mrs. DiMaggio May helped tremendously. I can not imagine trying to write a business plan without the help of a professional and my plan would downright embarrassing without her. I’m excited my rough draft of the plan is finished and now I can start to see how my business is going to unfold. I thought the hardest part of the plan was going to be the industry report but with my business there really isn’t much of an industry to report on. It was hard since I haven’t decided on where I’m going to college and that will completely determine where I’m selling. Hopefully the final draft will be done soon and the plan works just how I want it to.

03/10/2017

Week 26 of CEO was very short for me. It featured two days with Jo-Ann DiMaggio May to work on our personal business plans, and one class visit to Leisure Time Pools with Bob DeRousse. Unfortunately I caught the flu and missed another work day on Thursday, and Friday we did not have class due to parent teacher conferences.

The work days were very productive in my opinion. This is my first time writing a business plan and it is much harder than I thought it would be. We literally have to know everything about how our business is going to work and what is going to happen when we start it. I think the hardest part of the business plan is definitely the industry report. This is where we have to talk about everything within the industry our business will reside. With my business involving shirts and hoodies, the industry enormous and too big to talk about in general. I have to scale down the size of the industry by only researching fraternity and sorority clothing, but even then there are a plethora of competitors and markets. The help of Mrs. DiMaggio May has helped tremendously. I can not imagine trying to write a business plan without the help of a professional and my plan would downright embarrassing without her. I’m excited to finish this plan very soon and slowly turn my plan into action.

Wednesday we visited Leisure Time Pools with Bob DeRousse. He told us in a business that cash equals blood flow. If you aren’t making enough money just to support your business you will completely fail just as if your body didn’t produce enough blood for you to live. Mr. DeRousse has had a very interesting entrepreneurial journey to get to where he is today. He played professional baseball for two years until he had a career ending injury, and then he began to get into business. He spent many years in the cleaning industry, and also owned a couple of other companies. Everything changed for him once some legislation passed that required him to provide insurance for his employees and he went out of business. Now he owns Leisure Time Pools and a weapons store next door. He also told us that when somebody tells you no, it’s not exactly a no.  This reminds me of when Austin bartered the cost of the Scottish Rite way down. Just because somebody says no or says this is the way it has to be, doesn’t mean it’s not up for negotiation.

03/03/2017

Week 25 of CEO was very fun and interesting! We did not have class on Monday so we had a shortened week. We took one class visit, one work day, and hosted two guest speakers.

The work day was used as a day to start working on our business plans a little bit and also finish up writing thank you emails and cards. It’s very important to express our gratitude to the people that helped us so much. Whenever we personally thank someone for whatever they did for us, it leaves them with a lasting good impression on the whole class and CEO program. I know whenever I do something nice for someone, even as simple as holding a door, when I don’t get a thank you I feel unappreciated and almost disrespected. I’m glad we’re taking time to appreciate our supporters. In terms of the business plan I’m kind of overwhelmed with it. It seems really difficult and there’s a lot of information you have to know about your business to write it. It probably seems so hard because I haven’t done much research, so I’m sure I’ll be fine, especially with the help of professionals like JoAnn DiMaggio-May.

The class visit was to Gateway Classic Cars with Sal Akbani. That visit was probably one of my favorites so far, seeing all of the cars and how his business works was really cool. It’s also interesting to see how he has made use of all the extra space he has in the O'Fallon location. They have a gift shop, a mini movie theatre, and two separate places for things like conventions, luncheons, meetings, and anything you would need a lot of space for. It’s a good reminder to be diverse within your business. Their main business is buying and selling antique cars but he has other aspects to his business to attract other customers. Sal’s story was also very unique and inspiring. He immigrated to America and decided to be and entrepreneur. He had opened a restaurant that failed miserably and discouraged him very much. He believes this did not work out because he wasn’t passionate about cooking, he emphasized finding our passion and turning that into our business somehow because if you’re not passionate about your business it will definitely fail. He also said throughout his entrepreneurial journey he has been called crazy many times. He went as far as to tell us that we should be called crazy because that means you are being creative and risky which are two things you have to be to be successful entrepreneurially.

02/24/2017

Week 24 of CEO was very short for me. This might have been the first week where I did not hear from a guest speaker or go on a class visit. This week included one clean up day and two work days.

The clean up day was very easy. All we had to do was bring all of the tables back and move some chairs. The guys at the Scottish Rite were very helpful and nice to us throughout the whole process of our event. I think the venue was very appropriate for our event and I would highly recommend it to next year's class. The price we were able to get it for was so much better than every other option we considered, and all together I think it was the perfect place for our event.

Tuesday and Wednesday were both workdays and we took all that time writing thank you letters and emails to people who supported our class business. It was nice to personally thank some of the most important people that made our event happen like Mr. Crotty and the Dunnigans, but also people who just took time to attend our event and talk to booths. We also talked about financials and we had a very successful event in those terms. I believe we exceeded our goal financially which makes me very happy because I believe at some point everyone doubted if we were going to make enough money. I am not sure how our event should be determined as a success or not. I know the goal was to make money, and we did, but at the same time it kind of feels like a failure because of the attendance. Mrs. Siebers handed out our business checks and it was really cool because I feel like I earned that $250 by the work I put in. I’m glad we have gotten the opportunity to start our own businesses with this money and I might go before the board to ask for more. I know I’m going to have to be very prepared because they ask hard questions and it’s almost like shark tank. I just don’t think $250 is enough to buy a heat press, shirts, and have someone make the transfers. Luckily I have a lot of time to figure everything out.

02/17/2017

It’s pretty crazy everything we’ve been working on all year has just come to an abrupt end. We spent every work day discussing potential ideas and how we’d get things. So much time and effort was put into every little detail at the event. It feels like that was the final exam and the class is supposed to be over now but we still have much more to do. I’m interested to see how the class is going to change now that we are working for ourselves and not each other. Anyways, as far as the event itself goes, I believe it was extremely successful and very well put together. I don’t think anything went wrong and everybody had a good time. I’m pretty sure we made a lot of money which was the primary objective. The only failure I see in the event was attendance. We might have filled up 50% of the seats, but that’s pushing it a little. It’s sad to see such a great event have poor attendance, and it’s our own fault for maybe not pushing ticket sales early enough. Other than advertising for ticket sales earlier, I’m not sure what else we could have done. It was all over a bunch of websites, in the newspaper, and I know I personally called and emailed tons of businesses, I think It’s just because if you don’t have a connection with the person you’re reaching out to, they won’t come. Overall, it was a great experience and a fun time, I’m sad it’s all over.

Bill Hughes came in the day after the event and he was awesome! He probably has the most genius business plan ever and I’m so jealous of what he does I want to take his business over one day. If he would have spoken to us earlier in the year we might have considered letting him speak at our event because he gave us the most inspirational quotes I’ve heard throughout this journey. My favorite quote from him was, “Go beyond what is expected of you”. This is so important because doing more than people expect of you is a sure-fire way to get a promotion or build trust or really anything good. If you only do what you’re expected to people will respect you and like you, but if you do more than that they will want to help you as much as they can. “If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”, said Mr. Hughes. Mr. Hughes was also generous enough to buy the whole class a book calledThe Power of Positive Thinking, and that act is an example of someone doing more than what is expected of them, and I greatly respect him for that.

02/10/2017

In the 21’st week of CEO, we had three work days, one class visit and one guest speaker. We took a visit to Mathis, Marifian, and Richter, while our guest speaker was Ms. Erica Barnell from Geneoscopy. One of our work days was also a full day to go around Belleville and personally invite people to come and sponsor our event.

Our visit to MMR was very good. I had no idea that big Bank of America building has other businesses in it. We were spoken to by Patrick Mathis, Kevin Richter, and Colin Clark. They told us a big part of being a businessman is being able to identify a problem so you can fix it. If you don’t even know you have a problem it will never be solved. They also reminded us that there will always be sacrifice when starting a new business. To start my clothing business I’m going to have to sacrifice some of my fun time to make shirts and sacrifice some money to have the necessary materials. The last thing I took away from the visit to Mathis, Marifian, and Richter was that I need a systematic approach to my business or else it will fail. This is true and it’s why we need to write our own business plans. If I wanted to make clothes and sell them to college kids I wouldn’t be able to be successful if I didn’t have a good system.

The guest speaker Erica Barnell was a very smart lady who will be a doctor in a couple of years. She is the CEO of Geneoscopy which is a company that simplifies the process of getting a colonoscopy in order to have more people get tested more often. She has the true entrepreneurial spirit I hope to have one day. She talked about her journey and how she became the CEO of her business and shared with us that we are going to experience a lot of setbacks, but we just have to keep fighting and moving forward to eventually reach our goal. I relate to this especially in baseball, sometimes during practice I don’t always feel like I’m getting better but I just have to know deep down as long as I’m working hard everything else will fall into place.

The all-day work day on Wednesday was very beneficial to the class. Devin and I got a really good silent auction item and two booths. Hopefully some of the businesses that said they would get back to us actually do so we can cross them off our list. I believe this event is going to be a great night and a huge success.

01/27/2017

Week 20 of CEO featured three work days and one class visit to the Edge. JoAnn DiMaggio-May came to help us work on our business plan on Wednesday. Friday our class worked the fish fry at the Scottish Rite so we could get our rental price down for the building.

The visit to the Edge was very cool. I used to go there all the time and play laser tag, but when we visited it seemed like a completely different place. Their restaurant is high tech and impressive, and they have two lounge theatres and three regular movie theatres. Along with the largest laser tag arena in the USA, the Edge is already really popular and doing well. But Mr. and Mrs. Schell reminded us to always keep being innovative, and that’s why they’re expanding and adding a go-kart track and a bowling alley (I think I’ll be spending a lot more time there soon). Mrs. Dahm-Schell also shared the story of how they originally just wanted to start a movie theatre next to the Lincoln. When they were touring the theatre they were asked what they wanted to do with the building and they said they wanted to use it for a movie theatre. Word spread around and the Lincoln theatre actually bought that building so they wouldn’t have any competition. Moral of the story is, “know everything you talk about, but don’t talk about everything you know.” This quote is so true because sometimes you just have to be quiet so people can’t steal your idea or can’t try to beat you at your own game. I should always know everything about my business, but it would be good not to go around telling anyone who asks what they want to know.

 Friday’s fish fry was so much fun. I was working in the kitchen submerging the fish in the batter while my new role model, Johnny, talked to me about all of his life experiences. It was a great experience because the whole class had a chance to see the Scottish Rite in action and visualize our event in it. We also got to mingle with a bunch of people and hopefully spark some interest in the event. The best part was working while knowing how much money it was going to save us just for sacrificing some time on Friday night, but it actually didn’t turn out to be a sacrifice for me. I had a great time and I would cook some fish with Johnny any time.

01/20/2017

Week 18 of CEO featured two guest speakers and a reunion with some members of last years class. Class resumed from winter break on Wednesday and it was our first day at our new base, Precision Practice Management, where we met the owners. Thursday was the class reunion and Friday Jo Ann DiMaggio May visited us to help us write our business plan.

Wednesday we were spoken to by PPM and they seem to have a very similar culture to Holland Construction. A nice lady named Angela (Willis) does the hiring there and she stressed the importance of hiring people who work hard and have the business's best interest in mind. The CEO, Mike Barnell, told us, “People who work hard beat smart people who don’t work hard every single time.” I relate with this quote very much because it is something I always remind myself of in the baseball world, but it is also holds true in the business world too. He also said if you do a good job word of mouth will be your best advertising. I recall many occasions this year where businesses told us that they only advertise by word of mouth. It still surprises me every time but it has also opened my eyes to how beneficial word of mouth is.

Thursday some of the students from last year came to offer us advice for our business and reminisce a little before heading back to college. They helped us very much in sharing what went well for them last year and what did not go so well. Our class is blessed to have so many people willing to help us and do whatever they can to make sure we are successful.

Friday we were fortunate enough to have Mrs. Jo Ann DiMaggio May come back and help us write our business plan. Writing a business plan is a very confusing process and I can not imagine what it would look like if a bunch of inexperienced teenagers tried to write one without the help of an experienced professional. Once again, we are lucky to have so many people who do so much for us and give us their time to help us. I truly can’t fully express the gratitude I have to be apart of this class and to be involved with such amazing people.

           

           

01/06/2017

CEO Week 17 marked the halfway point for the class and is the end of our time at Barcom. I would like to thank Barcom and Mr. Bartle for letting us have our meetings there for half of a semester, This week featured one guest speaker, one class visit to a familiar face, and three quality work days.

Monday we were visited by Mr. Thomas Farquhar. He is now retired, but just a couple years ago he was an extremely successful business representative for many companies. He made money solely on commission, and he was so good that one year he made more money than the vice president of the company he was representing. How he went about his business and his mentality really reminded of Roger Lowery. Both of them thought they knew what they wanted to do coming out a college, spent some time doing it, and decided that they didn’t want to do it after all. They both realized they wanted a job where they could be their own boss, and make as much money that they can work for. They also wanted flexibility within their jobs because they were true entrepreneurs who enjoyed adventure over security. I believe there is something to learn from these two extremely successful individuals seeing how similar they are. So every piece of advice from one of them should be written down and never forgot, luckily this is CEO class where we take key notes from our speakers so we can’t forget. Mr. Farquhar reminded us that if we want to be entrepreneurs we have to be self-motivated.

Tuesday we visited The King's House on the west end of Belleville and met with Geri and Doug Boyer. The King’s House is kind of a retreat for people who just want to get away from everything and really look into their hearts and discover who they are. We took some time out of discussion to meditate and let go of all our stresses for a couple of minutes. I could definitely see how that would be beneficial for some people, but I’m already stress free so I didn’t feel anything. The coolest part of the visit was just walking through this massive building I had absolutely no idea existed. It’s so exclusive it’s almost a shame not that many people know about it.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were all work days. The class business is slowly creeping up and we’re getting closer and closer to finalizing some of the smaller details. I’m really excited about this conference and I think it’s going to be phenomenal.

12/16/2016

Week 15 of CEO featured one visit, one guest speaker, and three work days. It has been greatly beneficial as we are making huge strides to our class business.

Wednesday we hosted Wendy Witte at Barcom, and she spoke to us about her job as Donor Services Manager at St. Louis Community Foundation. She mainly talked about charitable deductions and how they can be beneficial to somebody or a business. Charitable donations are pretty outlandish to a teenager, but it is something we have to consider with our class business. If we gave people the option to write it off as a donation it could give more incentive for them to sponsor or buy a booth. The St. Louis Community Foundation is also a model of how to deal with money. Whenever they receive a donation their job is to fulfill the wishes of the donor, but they also invest money to make their money grow. A perfect example of this is how they received a donation of around $340,000 from Lucille Papendick in the 1990’s. From that donation, they have already given back $400,000, and still have $400,000 left. That is a beautiful example of how beneficial investing can be, and like Mrs. Witte said, “Time is always on your side with investments.”

Thursday we finally ‘visited’ the business we have been calling home for the second quarter. Barcom is owned by Mark Bartle, and it is another example of a new, generational business in Belleville. Mr. Bartle’s father started Barcom with a loan of $200 and only a 7th grade education. At first the business completely failed, but he changed up the business plan and turned it around into a success. That story is rather inspirational because I am sure not many people would have the courage to start a business by themselves with that type of money and education, much less keep climbing through failure after failure and fighting till it was successful. Mr. Bartle shared his thoughts on how he carries himself. He said everyday when he wakes up he thinks about PMA, positive mental attitude. Showing up every day to work or school with a positive attitude is essential to being successful because if you don’t people will not think very highly of you. He also reminded us not to cause any drama. Drama digs into a business and it can easily ruin the culture of a business if everybody is talking down on others. Barcom Security, Holland Construction, and Kaskaskia Engineering all seem to have these same no drama codes, and they all are extremely successful.

12/02/2016

Week 13 featured two visits, one to Governor French Academy and the other to TWM Engineering. We also had three quality work days where we made a lot of progress in terms of the class business.

Monday we visited Governor French Academy and I really enjoyed that visit. Mr. Paeltz was supposed to speak to us, but a surprise meeting came and we got to meet with Leann Bassler. She is the Chief Financial Officer for the school and spoke to us about payroll and all the requirements. She said, “In your business you will run into a bunch of different people and you have to work with them.” I liked the visit so much because it was a new perspective to see such a small school with strict rules. All students must play one sport, participate in one play, and have a strict dress code as well. I believe a school system like this would develop kids into more mature, responsible young adults, just like CEO class does.

On Thursday we visited TWM Engineering and we were spoken to by a lot of people. They brought in a weird laser thing and scanned the room. It was really cool to see the amazing technology they use in their business. They told us technology is always evolving and it is nearly impossible to stay on top of it, but you have to do the best you can. TWM wants to be leading edge, not bleeding edge. They also talked a little bit about market diversity, and how you need to offer multiple services so in the long run you will have more sale opportunities. Finally Derrick took some time to give us a little inspiration. He told us, “When you follow your passion, you find your purpose. If your passion is your job, you will never work a day in your life.” I am glad I took this class, because I believe I have found my second passion. I’m sure owning my own business would feel like work, but I would be much more willing to work hard since I love it so much. Luckily entrepreneurship does not have an expiration date, so I could follow a different path and decide to be an entrepreneur at any time.

The work days were very productive and now we have a sure location and sure key-note speaker. I’m excited to where we are getting with the business and most of the work left to do is get sponsorships and booths.

11/18/2016

Week 12 of CEO featured one visit, one guest speaker, and one work day. Our class visited Derek Betz at Fletcher's, and we were visited by Cheryl Mitchell of Midland Institute.

On Tuesday we visited Derek Betz who owns Fletcher’s. He talked about leadership and how people are the most important things in our lives. “Sometimes being in charge means failing and how you deal with it,” said Mr. Betz. He also told us we can only be “pig committed” to one business. There's always a pig and a chicken, but the pig has to die for a good breakfast while the chicken can just lay an egg and walk away. I really like the philosophy of a pig and a chicken, and to be a true entrepreneur I want to be chicken committed to a lot of businesses. As we are told to vary our sales, we should also vary our participation within businesses. The more businesses we are involved in the more potential success we could have.

Wednesday Cheryl Mitchell from Midland Institute came to visit the class. Cheryl is the executive director of Midland Institute which oversees all of the CEO classes. It was nice to hear her perspective about CEO since she is in charge of everything. Cheryl’s story of how she became the executive director is a true entrepreneurial story. She was a teacher and a director of training and development for Northwestern Mutual. Luckily for her, she had many connections and was thought to be the perfect person to fill in for Craig Lindvahl. That is an example how if you are a people person and likeable more opportunities will show up. I must make sure I am as nice and sociable as possible so I don't close any doors I didn't even know were open. She also made sure to tell us to always be developing ourselves. We are lucky to have a CEO class here in Belleville and we must take advantage of the opportunity and develop ourselves into future business leaders.

The work day was very beneficial to our class and we are getting closer to finalizing some of the little things for the class business. We only have a couple main things left and a major one is nailing down our keynote speaker. I’m excited with the way things are going and I believe our class is becoming more efficient as we all know each other well and can work with each other and understand differences.

11/11/2016

Week 11 of CEO class has come to an end. We have gotten more done this week than I ever imagined in regards to the class business. We worked solely on the business Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Monday, The Bank Edwardsville visited us and Tuesday Kevin Nicol came to speak about the Nicol Foundation.

The Bank of Edwardsville offered a lot of information I have never even heard before. Bob Mueller, Dave Demond, Tina Fromme all came in to speak about their specific roles in the bank. Dave, the credit expert, advised us to never spend more than 50% of your max credit, or else your credit score will go down quickly. Bob Mueller also offered advice about connecting with people, he reminded us not to simply shake hands with somebody, but to have a small conversation with them to get to know them and actually make a real connection. This is something me and my class has had a hard time with. Speaking to strangers, what a strange concept! I think it is so hard for us because our whole lives we have been socialized to keep to ourselves and not speak to strangers, but the thing is, in the business world that is exactly what we should do. I have noticed that most of the guest speakers and successful business owners are outgoing and sociable, and that is certainly not a coincidence. I will surely make a bigger effort to have small talk with our speakers, because that is a skill I will frequently use for the rest of my life.

On Tuesday, Kevin Nicol from the Nicol Foundation visited our class. He spoke about financial independence and how to be successful we have to maximize our assets and minimize our liabilities. But to be completely honest, the biggest lesson I took from his presentation was not to procrastinate. He spoke about not procrastinating for about twenty seconds, but it really changed how I thought about it. In his booklet that he so generously gifted to us, there was a little wooden circle. Once I removed it from the folder I turned it over and it simply said, “Tuit.” For some unexplainable reason I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It is a round tuit, symbolizing the need for us to get around to things we must accomplish and not procrastinate. I literally took it to school with me and showed all of my friends my round tuit. They thought it was a pretty good joke, and so do I. Now it lies by my bed and I occasionally look at it when I am being unproductive, knowing that I have to write my journal. No longer will I be able to tell myself I’ll get around to it, because I actually have a round tuit. So thank you Mr. Nicol for the lifelong reminder not to procrastinate, I will never forget it.  

11/04/2016

Week 10 of CEO class is now over. It was a fun week featuring a guest speaker and a visit to Rauckman Utilities. Tuesday and Thursday were productive work days while we did not have school on Friday.

Monday was the visit to Rauckman Utilities, and it was amazing to see their products and how they produce their goods. They are another family owned business that was started because Mr. Rauckman absolutely hated his job. He left his job and took the leap of faith to start his own business. Mr. Rauckman is a perfect example of how I want to live my life, I do not want to settle for a boring job where I am told what to do. I must be able to take this leap of faith and believe in myself that I can successfully run my own business.

Wednesday Mr. Neil Eilers came to us to speak about his business Super Bit Kicks. Although he is a school teacher, he has a little side business that he completely runs by himself selling custom shoes and shirts. He has been running this business in his house since he was in high school. We always go to these big businesses that can be intimidating to us, so it is nice to see a business that we can actually see ourselves running right now. He talked about how having good customer service can lead to better customers and more success down the line. If you treat your customers right, they will advertise for you and bring in other customers. If you have customers bringing in more customers, they are more likely to be quality consumers and help your business. Mr. Eilers is an example of how the entrepreneurial mind never stops thinking, he has been doing this since high school and now teaches high school students. Luckily for me, I am supported by the CEO class. I will be fortunate enough to start my own business and hopefully maintain it, just like Neil.

10/28/2016

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand, Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. (Vince Lombardi). This week in CEO we met a veteran of war and former CBS correspondent Peter Maer at CEO Empowerment Day, who told us about dedication and success. We also met with Charles Fike, from Rafeedie & Associates who taught us about how to be a good leader of a company.

The week started when Charles Fike from Charles H Fike LLC, came in to talk to us about being a good leader of your company and what you're true passions are. Mr. Fike said the most intelligent thing i have heard so far when saying “Even if you are the owner you are at the bottom of the totem pole.” This made sense because when you are the owner of a company you are the last to get paid. You have to pay all of the bills for your company, you have to pay all of your employees. You are the last to get paid. Mr.Fike also said that everyone is your boss, you work for your people, your employees are your bosses when they are not you are not doing your job correctly. Mr.Fike also said what I wrote down word for word a superb quote. He told us“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.”

Later that week we met with Hamilton Callison from Wirtz Beverages, who taught us about the numbers in our company and how we should run a budget and stick to it. He gave us an exercise to do where he gave us papers with different scenarios on it. He gave us some numbers on which scenario that would work best for our company. All the different scenarios had different budget plans that we personally had to pick from that would best fit suit our company. He told us to always use the plan that costs the less expense to the company so your profit will always be over your costs.

The next day the Belleville CEO class took a field trip to gateway convention center for the CEO empowerment day. It was a great vibe when we first walked in and saw our fellow CEO classes such as Granite City and Alton. When we sat down we got to hear from a great person in Peter Maer. Peter Maer was a presidential cbs journalist that got to meet and speak with dozens of presidents. Mr. Maer is from Granite City who always wanted to be in journalism. He got to achieve his dream with persistence and integrity. Mr. Maer told us“If you can’t believe in miracles, then believe in yourself. When you want something bad enough, let that drive push you to make it happen. Sometimes you’ll run into brick walls that are put there to test you. Find a way around them and stay focused on your dream. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

The CEO class is just blowing by and we have just received our mentors and we are getting ready to put our class project into ignition we are going to blow Belleville away just wait and see.

10/21/2016

Week 8 of CEO class went by very fast. We celebrated Columbus day on Monday with no class, Tuesday we stayed at Allsup but Brian Mentzer spoke to us about all of his businesses. Wednesday we visited the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce, and Thursday was our last visit of the week and it was to Peer 151.

Tuesday Brian Mentzer spoke to us about his businesses. He is involved in many businesses and has to manage his time between them and his full-time job as assistant superintendent. He is involved in M&M Storage, West End Car Wash, Shipp-Ment Barge Service, Mentzer Motorsports, and multiple rental services. It is amazing to me how he is involved in so much, and that to me is the true entrepreneurial spirit. He has inspired me to not only stick with one business, but work on many at the same time.

Wednesday our class went downtown to The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce and heard from Wendy Pfeil. She was an extremely nice lady who is tasked with advertising for around 550 businesses with only 4 employees. She said “the only thing that is constant is change”. This quote resonated with me because it is so true. Whenever I own my business I must be able to adapt to market change and never remain the same.

Our last visit, to Peer 151, was very cool. Kurt Artinger and Chris Oswald both spoke to us a little about themselves and about the business. They were both extremely cool guys and I could tell they love doing what they do and helping other people. Kurt said, “be a ‘no’ eating monster”. This is honestly probably my favorite quote all year, and it means so much to me because it reminds me that being told no can be such a positive thing. Every time someone tells you no, another door is opened. Chris also had a sweet quote when he said, “the secret sauce of business is connections”. Even though we have been told this all year, we can never be told enough. Connections, connections, connections.

10/14/2016

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.

10/07/2016

Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday we met at Allsup to discuss the class business. It was a great opportunity for everyone to voice their opinions and make real progress on the business. As a class we must use all of the team work skills we have been learning to effectively design a business plan. As Dr. Dosier said, we are bound to run into disagreements, but we have to be able to maintain respect and communicate professionally. Arguing does not help the progress of the class at all. As we become more comfortable with each other we also become more likely to disrespect each other. We must work as a team and value everybody’s ideas to reach our full potential.

On Tuesday our class met with Mr. Jamie Auffenberg at his large business. Auffenberg is another generational business in Belleville. He took time out of his day to speak to us about the car dealership business and how he would go out of business if he did not make connections with customers. Connections can make or break a business, said Mr. Auffenberg. He surprised me by saying without used cars his business would fail, because he can not make enough money only selling new cars. Apparently the most he can make on a new car is around $900, which is shocking. When asked what his daily schedule is like, Mr. Auffenberg said he just has a lot of meetings, and is no longer involved in much dirty work. That is exactly how I want to be when I am older, spending my summers playing golf.

Friday was my favorite day of the week, and not because the week was over. Friday we had a meet and greet with 7 potential mentors, and they were all amazing. It was a tremendous experience to present behavioral skills I have learned to the mentors. I liked that I could have a conversations and really connect with them. I look forward to the next meet and greet and choosing my mentor.

09/30/2016

Week 5 of CEO featured three more awesome visits, and two great workdays at Allsup. Tuesday we visited Kurrus funeral home, and on Wednesday we went right across the street to Memorial Hospital. Thursday our class had the pleasure of going to Union school and doing a walk and talk with the students. On Monday and Friday we stayed home at Allsup to discuss the badge project, class business, and t-shirts.

At Kurrus funeral home Dale Kurrus spoke to us about the funeral industry and about how customer service is extremely important. In a business involving death it can be very hard to stay happy, but what drives Dale Kurrus is always the appreciation and emotional connections from customers. Dale told us that if you treat your employees well, they will always take care of you. It was interesting when they showed us the cremation room and explained why cremations are becoming more popular and how they have adapted to the market to remain successful.

After going to Kurrus, we went across the street to Memorial Hospital and were spoken to by Mark Turner and Mike McManus about the health industry. Towards the end they gave us their best business advice to be successful and Mike told us that “champions are made, not born”. This quote means a lot to me because it applies to my business life and sports life. I am not born into being a successful business owner, or college baseball player. Everything I do in my life is worked for and I can only get what I put in. Mark also drove home the fact that networking and having connections is extremely important to kind of have a security blanket for when you fail.

The last visit was on Thursday, and it was to Union School. Brian Mentzer was there to discuss some of the things that he does as assistant superintendent to District 201. They have an annual budget of 60 million dollars! However, the real highlight of this day was walking and talking to the young students. I was asked some crazy questions like “Do you play for the blues?” It really humbled me to be able to act as a role model for those young kids and tell them a little bit about what it takes to be successful in high school.

09/23/2016

Week 5 of Belleville CEO has come to an end. We had some amazing visits this week featuring Holland Construction, District 201, and the Bank of Belleville. Monday and Wednesday we stayed home at Allsup to work on our badge project, and discuss some ideas for the class business.

Tuesday was the visit to Holland Construction. The president of the company, Mike Marchal spoke to us that morning. Mike brought up points that have been engraved in our heads throughout this class so far, like being accountable and results not excuses. But he said two things that I have never heard before and it really struck me. The first quote is, “Let people fail, but do not let them be failures”. This quote really sticks with me because obviously failing is the best way to learn in life, but consistently failing is not acceptable. I have to accept failing, but I will not accept failure. The other quote is, “It is amazing what people can accomplish when nobody wants the credit”. I thought really hard about this one and even discussed it with my parents because I have never heard that before. But it really is true. If nobody in a certain company wants all the glory and everybody just works together much more will be accomplished.

Thursday we went to the District 201 office and met with Dr. Dosier. It was almost intimidating to meet with the man who runs East and West. But just like all the people we have met with he was very nice and taught us about communications and social media. He reminded us that there will always be stress when communicating a lot in the workplace. He is definitely right if you look at our badge project, but we have to be respectful and professional to overcome this stress and work it out as efficiently as possible. Dr. Dosier also brought up social media which is growing to be more and more important in our public and private lives. As the superintendent of District 201 he frequently deals with issues about social media. Kids too often post inappropriate things online that can get them in trouble. Whenever we apply for jobs the first thing they will check is our social media, so we have to make sure we keep our noses clean on social media.

Friday we went downtown to see Mr. Pesko at the Bank of Belleville. Mr. Pesko talked to us about banking, some of his history, and maybe without realizing it gave us some life lessons. He told us about how he had a good job with a previous bank, but still he was not settling. He revealed to his dad that he was going to start his own bank and his dad basically called him crazy. Well, now look who was crazy. Mr. Pesko is a very successful business owner and I think it is because he was never satisfied. As an entrepreneur I can not accept being good, or become complacent. I have to always keep pushing just like Mr. Pesko. If I do not get called crazy in the next ten years, I am doing something wrong.

09/16/2016

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.

09/09/2016

Week 2 was very eventful for CEO class. We went to 3 different businesses, one of them being holiday world! On Monday we worked on the badge project, and we put to use some of the skills that we learned last week. We still have a lot of things to do, but we know the cost for the badge, and the design. Our priority is to get enough businesses to put on our badge so we can have money for the class business.

Tuesday we met at Egyptian Stationers with Kevin and Brett Baltz and they showed us around their business. I personally learned a lot from those two. I learned that 95% of third generation companies fail, and that is because they get too comfortable and do not change to fit the economy. You must always be innovating and getting better to compete with everyone else. I also learned that people are the most expensive cost in running a business. If you can keep your people count down, and make connections with other businesses to use their people, you can save a lot of money.

On Wednesday we went to Kaskaskia Engineering and listened to Geri Boyer speak. Geri was so nice and obviously has a passion for what she does. She talked about a quote from JFK that said “the rising tide raises all boats”, meaning if one person is having success then they can also help other people succeed. This is part of her business motto because it really creates a friendly culture and everyone wants everyone to do good.

Thursday Ed Hoering from CliftonLarsonAllen came in to Allsup. He taught us that building relationships often times come into play down the road, which is why I’m in this class. The people we are meeting now could be future partners in business so we have to make sure we make a good impression and establish ourselves as professional. He also said that most successful business people do not turn their light off after they go home. They are always trying to think of ideas to do something better and innovate.

Finally, Friday came and we all loaded on the bus to go to Holiday World! There were other CEO classes from places far away and it was awesome to be able to mingle with people from different classes. We all sat down and listened to a presentation about Holiday World and there were many good questions asked. I feel like I could open an amusement park with all the information I gathered. It was a great week and I can't wait to start back up on Tuesday!

09/02/2016

The first week of CEO class is over. I have already learned a lot about myself, my partners, and about business. It is amazing to sit down and listen to people who have had successful lives in business and learn about how they became so successful. Vertical performance came in on Monday and really helped us break the divide between each other. We all learned about each other and are definitely more comfortable debating ideas because of them. We learned how to work as a team to reach our goals, and rely on people’s strengths to become stronger as a unit. We were also very fortunate to hear the story of Dave Zura on Tuesday. He is the president of Allsup and has been the president for many companies. From him I learned many things. One thing I never considered was that the best businesses are not started with perfect ideas. I have often thought about potential businesses but I have never thought of a “perfect” one. This comforted me because now I realize that all I need to do is look for a problem and try to make a solution in business form. Allsup is a perfect example of that because they are fixing the problem of the government taking advantage of people who deserve disability checks but can not get them because of their disability. I also learned that having a business partner can help me take a leap of faith into my own business. A partner will essentially give me a safety net where I don’t feel so alone and vulnerable.

Wednesday a wonderful woman named Reva came in to discuss our strengths and weaknesses. It was truly eye-opening. Apparently I am dominant and account for 10% of the world's population. But I learned that we have to understand where everyone is coming from because we all have different perspectives. What I feel could be crazy to someone else, but we have to set apart our differences and work together.

But my favorite thing this week was listening to Mr. Lowery from Northwestern Mutual speak. He spoke with so much wisdom to us. He reassured us that it is ok not to know what you want to do in life, and I always need that because I feel so much pressure to pick a career and do it forever. But what has stuck with me the most are the 3 I’s. Independence, income, and impact. This is what Mr. Lowery wanted to have in his job, he did not want a ceiling on the amount of money he made, did not want to rely on others, and he wanted to make a positive change in the community. This is now what I will look for in a business. Lastly, he made sure to tell us to always be on time, do what we say we are going to do, finish what we started, and always be polite.

08/26/2016