This week for CEO, the class met with Brent Emmerich, Terry Beach, and Greg Bach. Brent is a web designer who works with Midland to create the CEO websites. Terry Beach is the Executive Director of St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department. And lastly, Greg Bach is the owner of Gaslight Vinyl, a brand new company in the Belleville Area.

Brent Emmerich’s presentation was very interesting. His main job is creating and operating websites for businesses. He started this as a side job, but quit his other job once he realized he could make web designing a career. I really found it interesting in how he started. He made his school's website just by trying and with no experience. He was not afraid to try new things and ended up making a career out of it. He also gave us some really good advice about web sites for our businesses. For me personally, he said to wait for a website to leave room for company growth. He said 3rd parties like Amazon or Etsy would be the best option for me.

We also met with Terry Beach, and his job is essentially to create jobs for the St. Clair area. One thing I really got out of his presentation was things to consider when creating a business with an actual building. If I need to ship a lot of product for instance, I will want a location with easy access to highways or waterways. Or if I have a small shop for people to enter, I'll want an area with a lot of foot traffic. If I plan on having a lot of employees, I'll want to find an area with quality workers who are available. These are things I never would have thought of before.

Lastly, we met with Greg Bach, who just started his own vinyl wrapping company. The main thing he really stressed was the difficulty to get a loan. He told us to start saving now, because you'll need collateral in order to even have a chance of getting a loan. We also got an incredible tour of his facilities. It was crazy to see how much space they had and how they utilized it. They really used their lobby to create an atmosphere that fits their business as well. This is important as it helps people really connect with your business.

Overall it was a really great week. Any days we didn't meet with a business leader, we worked on our upcoming presentations. With only one more week left, we have to reflect on the past year. This week was one of many with great advice and insight from successful business leaders.

05/07/2017

This week for CEO we met with Roger Wigginton on Tuesday and with Gary Peck on Thursday. We also spent some time discussing our upcoming trade show on Friday. Overall it was a great week and great way to come back from break!

Roger Wigginton is the owner of Don Rodgers Unlimited which is an adult clothing store. One thing that really caught my attention when Mr. Wigginton was speaking, was how well he knew his customer. We discussed this earlier during our elevator pitches, but I really understood what it meant to know your customer after hearing from Roger. Firstly, he knows exactly what age he is marketing towards. He knows he is not going to sell to teenagers, so he doesn't invest in teenage clothing. He also knows what area his customers are from. He does get a good bit of Belleville business, but he told us his main business comes from Missouri. Because of this, he often goes on KMOX and other radio stations specifically to help gain new customers from these areas. This just proved how important knowing your customer is and how to reach them.

Another thing I learned from Mr. Wigginton was how important community involvement is. I have heard this quite a few times before this year from other business leaders, but Mr. Wigginton is just another great example. He explained how involved he was with West Belleville. He told us all of the committees he was on or the chair of, and he told us about the weekly and quarterly prints he helps draft each year. It just goes to show involvement in your community can really go a long way.

We also met with Gary Peck, who owns 6 different McDonald's restaurants. Right of the bat, Mr. Peck told us dreams need plans. I found this advice interesting, and it makes so much sense if you think about. You can dream all you want, but unless you go to do the work it won't happen. Actions speak louder than words, he said, because it's about what you are actually doing, not what you say you do.

Mr. Peck also explained how franchising works. He also explained how the McDonald's business model worked. He told us McDonald's is actually more in the real estate business than the food business. It is crazy to say that but it kind of makes sense. McDonald's buys the land and builds a building, and then people rent it out to run the McDonald's restaurant. It then becomes the renters store and their job to make it succeed or watch it fail. It was crazy to hear this and confusing at first. This really showed me how innovative Mcdonald's is. Sometimes for a business to succeed, you need to try different business models, which is exactly what McDonald's did.

04/21/2017

 This week for CEO we worked on our elevator pitches and participated in SUIE’s Elevator Pitch Contest. Patrick Mckeehan and Kurt Artinger came in during the week to help us as well. Overall it was a fun and very helpful week for Belleville CEO!

On Tuesday Patrick Mckeehan came in and listened to everyone's elevator pitches. He gave everyone some helpful advice for their particular speeches as well as some general advice. One thing I was interested in hearing was the best ways to open and close an elevator pitch. For the most part I knew all of the information I wanted and needed to say in my pitch, my biggest problem was flowing it all together to make a convincing pitch. That problem really started with the opening. Patrick told us it is usually a good idea to do a quick and brief introduction of yourself and then launch right into the problem. People will not care about your business as much if they don't know what problem it is aimed at solving. Starting off with the problem is a great way to get people interested and ready to hear more.

On Wednesday Kurt came in to hear everyone's pitches. Kurt helped similarly to how Patrick gave advice to everyone and individuals. One things Kurt really helped me realize, was that not every pitch is going to be aimed at the same thing. Some pitches will be aimed at securing possible investors, others might be to customers, or even business partners. No matter who you are pitching to, your pitches will all be very similar. Every pitch should include your “company’s story”, or a simple background on your company that allows the person to fully understand what your company does and why. What changes with each pitch will be the details. For instance, investors will be much more interested in hearing about financials and projections, whereas a potential customer would rather hear about your competitive advantage. With each pitch you are able to go more in depth on certain topics depending on what your goal is. I hadn't really thought about this until Kurt talked about it. It makes perfect sense and will definitely help me in the future.

04/07/2017

This was an interesting week at Belleville CEO. We started off with some crazy interviews at Lindenwood University, met with a few bankers, and visited Sips n Splatters. I learned quite a few things this week and had fun while doing it.

We started this week off at Lindenwood University. Here we learned how important a CEO’s job is. Everyone thinks a CEO is in charge of the company, which is true, but they are also in charge of representing their company. The right CEO can completely make or break a company. Everything that CEO says or does can negatively or positively impact their company. To demonstrate this, we worked on mock interviews with Lindenwood students. 3 of us were raised with pretending to be the Uber CEO and wiggle their way out of a bad interview. It was really fun to watch and very impactful. I really understood how important a CEO can be to a company and its employees.

On Tuesday, I met with Joe Mayoral to discuss my financials. He was really helpful with my projections and my pricing. He gave me some ideas to consider, like would I sell more during the holidays. Small tips like that helped me figure out my projections and think ahead about my production. Overall Mr. Mayoral was very helpful in finalizing my business plan.

Lastly, we met with Mr. and Mrs. Brandt from sips in splatters. They have such a creative and unique business it was amazing to sit down and talk with them. They had a lot of great information for us. They told us a lot about their business and how they were thankful for how long it had been running, considering most business fail within 3 year. One thing I found particularly interesting was how they started. They began with simple parties in their apartment with just friends. From there, it kept growing until they had enough money to move out and find a studio to rent. One really important thing I learned from them was the power of systems. All companies need systems in order for their business to succeed. Sips n splatters created systems and perfected them to where they don't even need to work at the studio for it to run. They have systems to create the canvases and run the parties. These systems help them make sure everything runs smoothly and to throw the best party for the customers. Overall they had some crazy stories to share like almost being on shark tank. It was great to hear from them and learn directly from their business.

03/31/2017

This week at CEO we visited the Dunnigans at Trinity Financial. We also met with Mike Wenzel and a few US Bankers to discuss financials.

We started the week by meeting with Mike and Verna Dunnigan at Trinity Financial Services. Mr. Dunnigan told us his story of how he got into his business, and I realized how crazy life can get. He told us how he used to work on shooting down missiles. He told us how crazy of a job it was and that the government was looking into him. He then left the job because it involved to much moving. He then started his own investment company, Trinity Financial, in Belleville. It was a crazy story and goes to show no matter your background, you can always find a way into the business world.

Another thing I really liked about their business was why they started their business. They explained how a bank goes and invests your money you put into it. They explained instead of letting the bank invest your money, you can do it yourself and make the profit instead of the bank making the profit. This seems like a simple idea but until they explained it I never would have thought about it. This really showed me there will always be things that you can do yourself to save money. A lot of businesses do things anyone can do, they just make it easier and convenient. If you aren't afraid of taking a risk, you can save the money and do it yourself.

We also met with Mike Wenzel. Mr. Wenzel had a lot of great information to share with the class, but two things really stuck out to me. First he said cash flow is the key to all business. If a business doesn't have money coming in or they don't track what money is going out, it will die. This is a lot of what Mr. Wenzel does, keeping track of a company's money. I also remember him stressing the importance of a good team. You want to build the best team you can. You want trustworthy people working with and for you, not people who are only in it for themselves. This can be very hard but it makes all the differences in a successful and failed business.

On Wednesday and Thursday we worked on our personal businesses. On Wednesday we had US Bankers look over our financials and make sure everything made sense. This was a great help and I feel like I understand the business world a lot better now.

03/24/2017

This was a great week of Belleville CEO. We met with Mrs. DiMaggio May again as well as a member of SCORE. We also met with Joe Wiley from Quest Management Consultants. We also met with Patrick Mckeehan, the economic development director for the city of O’Fallon MO.

On Monday and Friday we met with Mrs DiMaggio May. On Friday we were also visited by a SCORE member. Everyone met with them individually to look over business plans. I met with Mrs. DiMaggio May and she helped me figure out what information I needed to add to my business plan. We talked a lot about industry. Because my business’ industry is not very defined and hard to research, I'm really going to have to research some numbers.

On Tuesday we met with Joe Wiley. It was amazing to learn from him and hear his story. It was absolutely amazing to hear about his basketball career and how he used it to shape and form his career. One thing I really learned from Mr. Wiley was how important networking is. One thing this class has allowed me to do is network. I've met so many different business leaders in almost every field of business. I never realized how beneficial this could really be until I heard from Joe Wiley. One thing his business does is help other businesses find job candidates. He is able to do this so well because he has a very big network of contacts. It's also because of his networking that he was able to work so closely with the SLU basketball program and help them recruit.

We also met with Patrick McKeehan who helped us with our elevator pitches. He explained the best way to give an elevator pitch and what the key things are to focus on. He really helped us define our customer as well as realize exactly how many customers we have. He also told us how important a story is in an elevator pitch and to not just spew out facts. Overall the lesson was very helpful and gave me a good starting place to write my elevator pitch.

03/17/2017

 This week was our first week at Artigem Replacement Services for our last home base. On Monday we met with Kurt Artinger, and on Tuesday we met with Thad Payne from the St. Claire Country Club. The rest of the week consisted of personal work days to finish our business plans, financials, and resumes. David Rauckman also dropped by on Friday to talk to the class.

Artigem Replacement Services is a company that helps replace rings or jewelry when someone loses them. They help to connect the insurance company, the owner of the jewelry, and any third parties. One thing I found interesting to hear was how they are continuing to evolve as a company with a new app coming out soon that they have developed. It takes their current business model and tweaks it for a new type of industry.

Kurt Artinger gave us a great tour of his facilities. It was amazing to hear about the history of the building, from it being used  as a Turner Hall, an Armory for the wars, and as a YMCA, all the way until it became a Artigem Replacement Services. It was really exciting to see what old artifacts they were able to preserve from when the building was almost torn down. Something as big and as old as the old stage backdrop went unnoticed for years until Kurt found it and found a new use for it. What this really helped me realize was how important history can be to a company. There will always be new and innovative technologies; however, history can never be replaced. ARS does a great job of combining the two to create a unique and captivating work environment. They still have some of the old basketball court floors, benches, and ladders mixed in with a workout room, advanced technology, and specially designed rooms to eliminate sound! It was crazy to see all of the thought put into the renovations.

On Tuesday, we met with Thad Payne. Thad had helped last year's class plan their grand gala, this year he taught us the essentials to etiquette. He taught us all kinds of different tricks and hints on how to appear etiquette and proper. I will definitely remember these when meeting with a potential business partner or customer. He really helped us to be aware of ourselves and how to best present ourselves to others. Who knew how much detail there was in simple table manners?

The rest of the weak we worked on our business plans, looked at financials, and wrote our resumes. This was a great three days for us to really finish up our business plans and see what direction we are taking our businesses in. David Rauckman came in on Friday and talked to us about how the class has helped him. We each told him our business ideas and gave us his input and some helpful tips. Overall, it was a great experience to talk to someone who had been through the class and knew what we have to do.

03/10/2017

This was our final week at Precision Practice Management. We met with Mrs. DiMaggio May and Mr. DeRousse from Leisure Time Pools. This week we made great strides to finishing up our personal business plans and understanding what all we have to do.

Joanne DiMaggio May came on Monday and Tuesday was a great help to finishing up our business plans. She helped us finish our executive statements, finances, management, and everything else in the business plan. This was very helpful because the only other business plan we have written was the one for our class business. Writing these two business plans were very different. It was tremendous to have Mrs. DiMaggio come and help us two days in a row!

On Tuesday we also took a final tour of Precision Practice Management. We got to see all of the renovations they had made and how different looks. We got to see their new conference room, their new main street entrance, and a lot of new office space. I enjoyed the final tour because I got to see how important it is for Precision Practice Management to foster a positive work environment for its employees. We ended the tour in Renae’s  brand new office and took one final picture.

On Wednesday, we met with Mr. Rob DeRousse. I really liked his presentation and found it extremely interesting. The path his business has taken to get where it is, is insane. From starting out as a cleaning company, Mr DeRousse had to adapt to a lot of changes in his life. His story really showed me just how crazy life can get but you have to continue to be headstrong.

All year we have heard about people getting involved with the community. Almost every successful business owner knows how important the community is to their business and gives back in a variety of ways. It is clear Mr. DeRousse knows this. He was telling us how many things he has been involved with, usually at one of the highest positions. He had groups that took up more than one slide! This really showed me how important involvement is and how easy it is.

03/03/2017

This week for CEO we met with Sal Akbani and Jason Eding. Sal owns and operates Gateway Classic Cars. He gave us a tour and a great presentation on his business. Jason Eding is the head of the IT Department at Precision Practice Management. Unfortunately I was sick during Mike Riley’s presentation but my classmates shared their notes with me and told me what a great presentation I missed.

We started our visit to Gateway Classic Cars with a tour of their show room and facilities. It was unbelievable to see all of the exotic, classic, and just plain crazy cars they had on their floor. We also saw their gift shop, event spacing, and conference room. We then sat down and talked about how Sal started the business. One thing I found interesting about Sal’s story was that he had previously had two other businesses fail before starting Gateway Classic Cars. He told us that despite this he decided to finally follow his passion. Sal loved engines, whether they are in cars or planes. Everyone told Sal not to start a car trading company, but Sal was passionate and knew he would do everything to make sure his business was successful. Sal told us he came very close to not making it in his business. He said he definitely hit rock bottom, and a lot of businesses do. However, if you endure and work to make it back up, your business will be successful.

We also met with Jason Eding, the IT head at Precision Practice Management. Jason had a great story to tell us about how he got to where he was. One thing that he really stressed to the class was the importance of an education. He said an education is one of the greatest weapons anyone can have. He also taught us about interviewing and how to improve our own interviews. He took time to prepare us for an interview and teach us a few of his tricks! It was a great presentation that really impacted me.

02/24/2017

This week we finally had our big class business! After all of these months of planning, we finally put it all together to have a great business conference. Although most of the week was focused on our class business, we also met with Bill Hughes who talked about his farm Management business.

On Monday and Tuesday we had all day work days. Monday we spent most of the day setting up, finishing decorations, and running last minute errands. Tuesday we did run through and finished all last minute projects. It got a little stressful a few hours before the event, especially when a few booths didn't show up! It was all okay and we worked out any issues to pull off a great event.

Around the Fountain: A Belleville CEO Experience was on Tuesday night and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Overall the whole project was a lot of work but it taught me more than I thought it would. I think the event would have been better if it was shorter. People seemed to either show up on time and leave early or show up late and stay till the end. Because the event was so long, I felt like some people missed out on a lot of the great things we had. Planning this event was truly eye opening.

On Thursday we met with Bill Hughes and learned about farm management. One of the very first things he told us was there is always room for you to improve. This really meant a lot to me, because I've always thought this myself. I am always trying to be the best me possible. I also felt like our class business had a lot of room to improve. Overall, it was a great and successful event, but being successful does not mean you can stop working to improve.

Another thing Bill told us is that, hard work is rewarded. He told us this and then told a story of a time when he didn't get a job. It was his dream job which he got an interview from, but he didn't get the job. However, he kept working hard and he was offered another job and got it! This really showed me how important it is to stick with something and to not give up.

02/10/2017

This was a crucial week in our CEO program. We met with Mathis, Marifian, & Richter LTD and Erica Barnell from Geneoscopy. We also had our all day work day on Wednesday to secure final sponsorships and donations.

We first met with Kevin Richter, Patrick Mathis, and Colin Clark from MM&R. It was interesting to hear how they expanded their law firm. I really found it useful when they talked about all of the planning that happens before a business partnership. I did not realize noncompete agreements and ways to get out of a business were discussed so much before the business is even started. This helped me realize there is a lot more planning and paper work in making a business than I first thought. I am even figuring this out with our class business, as the thought of a food booth contract did not occur to me before a few days ago.

After MM&R gave their presentation, we then broke up into three groups to discuss our personal businesses in more detail. This was a great opportunity for me to ask any questions I had about my business ideas. My group also did an exercise where we tried to figure out everything in a lease contract. This proved to be very challenging as there are so many things in a lease contract. This just furthered my understanding of how much careful preparation is put into starting a business.

We met with Erica Barnell on Friday from Geneoscopy. She told us about her new technology in detecting colorectal cancer without the use of a colonoscopy. The technology was very interesting to hear about. This presentation made me realize two things. First, business really is everywhere, even the medical field. Erica got a dual degree in biology and business which is crazy. She knew however how important business is in any field. Second, new business ideas can come from anywhere, and sometimes you just have to go for it. Erica got her idea from a group at her college that gave research problems for students to solve. She was given the colonoscopy problem, and after meeting someone with colorectal cancer she really knew she wanted to change the world.

01/27/2017

This week for CEO we mainly worked on our class business. We also met with Keith and Mary Dahm-Schell at the Edge. Overall it was a productive week with lots of cool things to learn.

We visited the Edge on Thursday. We got to talk in their bistro theatre, which was really cool to see their spin on a traditional theatre. They talked a lot about technology and staying up to date. The Edge has always been trying to incorporate the newest technology into their business. They showed us their new restaurant/bar area which was crazy how advanced it was. The tv system they had was really unique and similar to the huge sports pubs out in Las Vegas! They also had completely different lights than any other restaurant in the area. Instead of high voltage wires they used special low voltage ones that gives way more control to each individual light.

One thing I was really impressed with by the Edge was their endurance to chase after new ideas. Back when they first opened, laser tag was almost unheard of. This made it very hard for them to get loans or support. This didn't discourage them, rather they did their research and found better ways to get loans, such as through the Small Business Administration. Even today they are still blazing the trail for entertainment through new attractions.

The rest of the week we worked on our class business. Mrs. DiMaggio May came in again to finish our business plan. A SCORE member also came in to meet with individuals about their personal businesses. In class we managed to secure more booths and sponsorships. This was a productive week, but hopefully next week will be more productive with our all day call center.

01/20/2017

This week, CEO met with very different kinds of businesses. First we met with Renae Eichholz from Precision Practice Management. We also met with the mayor of Belleville, Mr. Eckert. Lastly, we met with Joe Riley from Joe Riley Irrigation. Each individual had something unique to offer our class, and it was great hearing from all of them.

We talked with Renae first. She told us her story and how she ended up starting Precision Practice Management. One thing I really liked about her story was that, no matter your background, you can find success. Renae was adopted, didn't go to college, and did not really know what she wanted to do in life. Despite this she still became very successful in growing her company. She also talked about how she faced adversity. When she told people about her plan to start her business, specifically her father, they thought she was crazy. When asked why anyone would chose her when they could do the same thing for cheaper, she confidently replied she could do it better. This stuck with me and made me realize I will always have a competitor in the business world, I just need to be confident I have my own niche.

We also talked to Mayor Eckert. He told us how running a city is kind of like running a business. I found it interesting how much planning goes into a city much like a business. As business owners, you often have 1 year plans, 5 year plans, or 10 year plans. This is very much the same for a city. I never would have thought running a city is like running a business before.

Lastly, we met with Joe Riley from Joe Riley Irrigation. He told us all about his business and what he does. He told us how he got started because his brother needed help with a sprinkler system. He also told us about his type of employees and the way he hires people. But most importantly, he taught us about Passion. He told us that no matter what we do when we grow up, we need to have a passion for it or else we won't enjoy it. I really found this interesting. If you don't have a passion for your job, you aren't motivated and you really won't work as hard.

01/13/2017

This week at CEO we talked with members from Precision Practice Management, CEO alumni, and Mrs. DiMaggio May.

Precision Practice Management is our new home base, so we spent the first day back from break talking with the heads of the company. They told us about the company's origins and how they have grown. One thing I really found interesting is the way the company has organically grown. PPM’s greatest source of advertisement is word of mouth. One physician who utilizes PPM’s services will likely tell their other physicians and from there the chain continues. I also really found it interesting what Precision Practice Management does. They did not create anything unique or super special. They just found a task with little competition and perfected it.

On Thursday, we were able to meet with past students of the CEO program. We discussed our class business with them and got their advice. One really helpful thing was when we talked about the biggest struggle of the class business. We all agreed selling tickets is going to be the hardest part of making the event successful. Knowing this, we can properly plan around this.

Lastly, we met with Mrs. DiMaggio May once again. This time we worked on finalizing our business plan. We discussed the proper format and the best way of approaching topics. Although the process was a little tedious, we really made a lot of progress.

In these coming weeks we are going to be working on our class business a lot. Our event is only a month away and we still have so much to do. It is time for everyone in the class to really step up and do as much as they say. No one can be slacking or else we will run the chance of failing.

01/06/2017

This week at CEO we met with Thomas Farquhar who is a manufacturer’s rep. We also met with Geri Boyer and her husband at the King’s House. Both visits were interesting and had valuable information to be learned.

Mr. Farquhar told us about his life as a manufacturer's rep. It sounded like a really interesting job. He explained the difference between his job and a sales associate. Basically, he is his own boss and works of commission. Sales reps are hired employees who make a salary. Each has their benefits and downsides. The biggest down side I saw with being a manufacturer’s rep is the flow of income. You might make a deal but not get paid for it for 2 years.

We also met with Geri Boyer and her husband at King’s House. It was really cool to see the facilities because I had no idea it even existed and I drive past it almost everyday. King’s House is a retreat center for groups or individuals to clear their minds. It sounded like a really great place for clearing your mind and thinking of ideas. I still haven't thought of my class business, yet I now know to think in quiet places to clear my mind. We also meditated while there which helped us focus and relieve stress. This was particularly helpful do to amount of stress last week.

12/16/2016

This week we stayed at Barcom and heard a few presentations. We met him Mark Bartle, the head of BARCOM security. We also met with Wendy Witte from the St. Louis Community Foundation. Along with these presentations we worked on our class business.

Mark Bartle talked to us about the struggles of starting a business. Starting a business can be extremely difficult especially without any money. Mark Bartle’s father started his business with a two hundred dollar loan. His business originally failed however because his idea was before his time. This really surprised me. I never thought till now how important timing is when starting a business. For instance if I'm selling a Christmas product it would not be good timing to sell it in the summer.

Mr. Bartle also talked about his future growth of his company. He hopes that after the current election his company will grow extremely. He talked about the different possible outcomes if the election would have gone another way. This made me realize how outside forces will always affect your business. Sometimes there is nothing you can do about it but adapt and make the best of what you can.

Wendy Witte talked to us about tax. It sounds boring at first but it was actually really interesting. She helped us figure out what is considered a charitable donation for anyone spending money on our event. She gave us a few possible options and explained what he had to do. She also explained what she does at the foundation. She explained different ways of cutting your taxes down. I liked the idea of putting your money away to donate later. Your money will grow while still giving out donations.

Lastly, we worked on our class business. A lot of our event details are set in stone. Now we just have to work on sponsorships and ticket sales. We are having a little hiccup with our flyer but we should fix it on our next work day. Then we will be able to go out to the community, which is what CEO is really about.

12/02/2016

This week our class visited Governor French Academy and TWM inc, as well as working on our class project. We heard from Governor French’s CFO as well as a current student. From TWM, we heard from a wide variety of workers.

It was super interesting to hear from Governor French and see what they do different as a high school. We heard about the school's transition from a for-profit to a non for-profit. We also heard how they had expanded since they first opened. Because of the school’s unusual location, it was able to buy the old shops next to it over the years. What I really enjoyed about the visit was just seeing how the school differed from my high school. Governor French students work at their own pace, they have very open classrooms, and have a dojo. Overall it is very different from Althoff and I really enjoyed the visit.

TWM inc. was nice to visit. We were allowed to see some of their gadgets and equipment. They talked to us about the kind of services they provide. Two things that really had me thinking after the presentation was ROI and competition. ROI, or return on investment, was very important to TWM. If they wanted to buy a new piece of equipment they would first have to figure out if they will make the money back. Although this sounds like common sense, it is very important for business people to understand this. The other idea I really connected with was competition. A lot of businesses have talked about how they deal with their competition. TWM is able to provide a lot of services others can't. They also provide a wide range of services. This ensures they always have a service to sell, in case a particular one is not popular at the moment. These ideas really stuck with me and will hopefully help me in a future business.

11/18/2016

This week at CEO we talked with Derek Betz, the owner of Fletcher’s Kitchen, and Cheryl Mitchell. It was interesting to hear from a restaurant and see their perspective on business. Cheryl Mitchell came and talked to us about Midland and CEO. It was great to hear about the program’s beginnings and its future.

Fletcher’s was a great business to visit. Mr. Betz talked about all different aspects of his business, but one thing he really departed with me was the concept of being pig or chicken committed. As an entrepreneur, one might often find themselves having multiple business ideas. This is ok and good you just have to be careful. You can only be pig committed to one business. This means you are willing to die for be perfect breakfast. All other businesses you can only be chicken committed. This is where yes you care and want it to succeed, but if it fails you can still move on. Basically you can not fully commit to two things or else they will both fail. I found this advice very interesting and hopefully will find it helpful in the future.

Cheryl Mitchell came to talk to us on Wednesday. It was awesome hearing how the CEO program got started. It was interesting to me to see how they took the idea of the class and turned it into a product for Midland to sell. I also liked how the program grows organically. This shows that if a product is great, sometimes you don't need to spend a lot of money to advertise. One thing that stuck with me, was how some programs had failed. Midland realized some places were failing and figured out a solution to the problem.

It was a short week for CEO with Thursday off. Our class business is finally starting to take shape with our keynote speaker now figured out. We have a lot of great ideas for the theme and decorations of the event. Our venue is still being discussed but should be finished soon. I'm excited to finally start finding sponsors and selling tickets.

11/11/2016

Responsibility. I think that word describes this week very well. On Monday we were visited by the Bank of Edwardsville, Tuesday we were visited by Kevin Nicol, and the rest of the week were work days.

The Bank of Edwardsville came on Monday and talked to us about credit. They talked a lot about how to increase your credit score and how to avoid decreasing it. I found this very interesting and helpful. I realize now I need to be responsible with my money. It is never too early for me to be thinking about my future. If I need a loan to start a business in the future, my actions now can effect if I get accepted or not.

On Tuesday, Kevin Nicol came and gave us the first part of a series of seminars. He taught us all about net worth, how to increase assets and reduce liabilities. This tied in well with the Bank of Edwardsville’s talk about credit score. They both talked about the responsibilities of managing your money well. Any financial mishaps I have today will cost me tomorrow.

The rest of the week was work days. Again, responsibility played an important role in this part. At this point we are assigning a lot of individuals responsibilities to take care of, whether it is getting the venue or finding prices for decorations. So far everyone is doing what the promise, I just wonder if this will change as soon as we start getting more things for people to do.

Lastly we talked about small talk. We watched a video in class about the art of conversation to help us make small talk with investors. I enjoyed the video and think it will help me in the future. I think the hardest part about small talk will be getting the conversation started. It can seem intimidating but after I get used to it I am sure I'll be fine.

11/04/2016

 This week we visited Rauckman Utility Products and Mr. Eilers talked to us about his custom shoe business. We learned a lot of cool things from these two. We also had 2 work days.

We visited Rauckman Utility on Monday. They showed us some really cool gadgets around their factory. We got to see a 3D printer and scanner as well as bigger factory equipment. They also taught us the importance of branding. They said a brand is one of the most important thing when it comes to a product. A brand that is catchy and easy to remember helps with advertising.

They also told us about their story. They shared with us how it is scary to start your own business but sometimes you just have to go for it. They also gave us some tips if we ever have a “midlife crisis” such as taking out a home equity loan.

Mr. Eilers talked to us on Wednesday. He talked about his own business which he can run out of his house. His business evolved from simply drawing on shoes to actually printing on them. He told us how he created his own unique way to print onto shoes. He also taught us about etsy, a website for selling products. I learned from this that no matter what I do with my business, that there will always be ways to make it easier on myself. Mr Eilers for instance, instead of making his own website to sell product, he made it easier in himself by using etsy. I really enjoyed listening to Mr. Eilers because I could put myself in his shoes. He didn't have a ground breaking idea. Instead he just improved an existing one and made it his own. He doesn't have any fancy machines or factories and he does the work himself. Very interesting.

As far as our class business goes, we are making good progress. We have people hopefully getting the information they said they would. Our budget looks good and we have all of our projections set. I think the hardest part coming up is going to be figuring out our sponsorships and then actually going to get them.

10/28/2016

 This week we started with a work day. We started to finalize our initial ideas and really working out some of the kinks. We finally got to see some of our different options of venues, the Shrine and Scottish Rites. Each of the venues had things I liked and didn't like. We are going to be picking a place pretty soon so I'm interested in hearing what everyone else thought of the venues. Our next big roadblock is going to be picking a speaker. I think we have found details of a few but we really need to pick one soon.

Charles Fike talked to us on Tuesday. He talked about his business as an accountant. He really stressed the relationship between the customer and him. He told us how he targets a specific type of client through word of mouth advertisement. A lot of us were uncertain if that was an effective form of advertisement; however, he assured us it works well for him. I liked how he was willing to try something different than his competitors, like H&R Block, to craft his ideal business.

Hamilton Callison talked to us on Wednesday about his distributing business. He showed us some different scenarios of income charts. He taught us the pros and cons of each scenario. He also taught us how to avoid certain scenarios that were undesirable.

Friday we took a trip to the CEO Empowerment Day. We were fortunate enough to hear Peter Maer speak to us about his job as a White House correspondent. He told us amazing stories about the Presidents and First Ladies. We also heard a speech from Kevin Nicol about the Nicol Foundation. He talked about the importance of American Exceptionalism and how great CEO is. I really enjoyed this field trip and loved hearing from Peter Maer.

10/21/2016

 This week I got to hear from Brian Mentzer about his family’s business, and from the Chamber of Commerce. I found each of these visits interesting and helpful. We also worked on our class project some more this week which is coming along nicely.

On Tuesday, Brian Mentzer talked about a few of his family business. It was amazing to see all the different things he and his family were involved in. I was really interested in their barge business. I realized that not every business is meant to be successful immediately. The point of their barge business, Shipp-ment, is to make money in the long run. It takes about 15 years to pay off the price of the barge, so after that they start to make money. This helped me to think of some businesses as investments. When starting a businesses you need to be confident and risky. You hope that in the long run the investment proves worth it.

On Wednesday, we visited the Chamber of Commerce. There they explained what the point of the chamber was and what they do. It was cool hearing how big they were. Being in the top 3 chambers in the area is impressive to me. I like how they talked about the St. Louis chamber and how they use them as a resource. I've been noticing a lot smaller business will often use their bigger competitors when they don't have the proper resources they need. I was mainly interested in hearing the type of events the chamber puts on. For our class business, they seem like they will be very helpful. I think if we utilize the chamber we could really make our class business that much better.

Friday was our work day for the week, and our last day at Alsup. We had an agenda and worked our way through. Although we did not go through it as fast as I had hoped, we still brought up very interesting ideas. Right now our main focus is finding a venue. Hopefully people are doing what they promise and talking to these other venues and getting the information we need. Overall it we are doing fine, I'm just worried time is going to fly by and our date is fast approaching.

10/14/2016

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

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

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

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

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

10/07/2016

This week was a work week for the most part. Our class visited with one business, Auffenberg Auto Mall. The rest of the week we spent working on our class business, signing up through SWIC, and meeting prospective mentors.

Auffenberg gave us a pretty interesting presentation on the car industry. Jamie Auffenberg answered all of our questions about the business. He talked about the differences between new and used cars and their profits. He also talked about how internet is changing the way people shop for cars. One thing he talked about I found particularly interesting was location. The business was originally in Belleville, but they soon expanded over into O’Fallon. Jamie told us this was because they could serve more people from this location, thus allowing more car manufactures to provide to them. This reminded me a lot of Memorial Hospital and how they need to find a location that serves as many people as possible. If I ever am running a business with a central headquarter, I would want to find a location that is easily accessible.

Ms. Guinn helped us sign up as part of the class through SWIC on Thursday. She also answered some of our question about being a SWIC student and the benefits. She didn't really talk about a business, but she did talk about her job a little bit. The main thing I took from her was whatever I end up doing, I better enjoy doing it.

The rest of the week we worked on our project. We are getting some ideas finalized and the end picture is becoming less blurry. On Friday some of our mentors came in for a meet and greet. I really liked this and found it really fun to meet all these wonderful people. We did get a chance to explain our ideas and hear their opinions on it. This helped us kind of eliminate some of our ideas and strengthen others. Overall I think this was very beneficial for the project and it will help us get closer to a final idea. 

09/30/2016

Our class visited Kurrus Funeral Home, Memorial Hospital, and Union School. I found these businesses very interesting and different from what I usually associate with a business. We also for the most part finished up our badge project.

Kurrus Funeral Home gave us a presentation on their business. It was fascinating to learn about their process and the funeral industry. They told us how the industry has drastically changed in the past 30 years, especially with the increase in popularity of cremation. It was really interesting to hear what all happens after someone dies and the process they will go through. This was not something I had learned about before. We also received a tour of the facilities and saw some totally amazing coffins.

Memorial Hospital answered a lot of our questions. I was particularly interested when they talked about the funding of hospitals. Hospitals don't always get paid the same amount of money for doing the same operation depending on the type of insurance. This causes them to get funding from a variety of sources and always need new ways to find funding. Another thing I found particularly intriguing was the competition between hospitals. This correlates greatly to where the hospitals build their facilities. Hospitals can't build too closely together otherwise healthcare price goes up. When I am running my own business, I need to be aware of where my competition is located. Memorial also taught us that sometimes competition needs to work together. For instance, the Belleville hospitals want to work together to keep locals in their hospitals, instead of in the St. Louis hospitals. This made me realize I need to keep tabs with my competition and sometimes work together with them.

Lastly on Thursday we did some community service. Brian Mentzer talked to us about district 201. He just gave us a brief overview and talked about funding and how they are constantly improving. Afterwards, we helped out with Union School’s walk-n-talk. This showed me how simple and easy it is to get involved in community service. Over the past month I've heard how important community is and making connections. This event showed me how easy that actually is to do. It is as simple as walking and talking with a couple of grade schoolers. I really liked this day and had fun with it. 

09/23/2016

      This week we visited Holland, District 201, and Bank of Belleville. The deadline for our badge project is coming up soon so we worked on that as well. Overall it was a productive week with some great speakers.

      Our first visit of the week was Holland Construction Services. Mr. Marchal gave us a tour of their office and introduced us to some employees. After that he gave a presentation about Holland. He told us about a personality test his employees have to take. This ensures they are right for the job and will be happy while doing it. He also talked to us about growth in a business. You want to grow as a company, but you have to be careful about. He showed us how Holland itself had grown as well as what they wanted to avoid when growing. What I learned was that you don't want to grow so big you can't handle all the customers you have. You only have so many employees who can only handle so many projects. If you take on more projects than you can handle, you will fail.

     District 201 talked to us on Thursday. Dr. Dosier taught us about the history of the district and showed us some cool old yearbooks! He also talked to us about the uses and misuses of social media. He told us how businesses can utilize social media, such as advertisement and communication. As I go on to create my own business, I am sure I will utilize social media. There are so many ways I can use it. I'm sure it will be a core part of my business.

      Lastly, on Friday we visited the Bank of Belleville. Kevin Pesko talked to us about finding our niche and what his niche was. Whenever you are running a business, you will always have competition. I'm going to need to find my own niche, what makes my business different. You also have to find your target group, who are you aiming to serve or sell to. This was interesting information and I'm sure I'll think about it when I'm setting up my own business. 

09/16/2016

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

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

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

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

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

09/09/2016

This week our class visited a lot of businesses instead of them coming to our home base. I really liked this experience. I found it really interesting how each business utilized their office. For instance Mrs. Boyer showed us her conference room and explained why the walls were painted a certain shade of blue. She told us that the color encourages conversation psychological which is important when you are having a meeting and need ideas to flow.

One big thing I learned from this week was how important it is too plan ahead and dealing with competition. On Tuesday the Baltz taught us how important it is to progress and revamp when needed. They told us we need to stay ahead of the competition or else we’ll lose business to them.

Ed Hoering also taught us about planning ahead. At first he told us about his accounting career but then he wanted to help us with our own businesses. He asked what was the major thing stopping us from starting our businesses. He told us you always need a business plan as a guideline and will help you solve issues blocking your path.

Geri Boyer told us she had a 5 year business plan, but she ended up finishing that plan in 6 months. What I took from her story is that your plan will always change, but it will still keep you on track to your goals. I may not get to my goal exactly how I planned but I can still get there.

Lastly, representatives from Holiday World gave us a presentation on their business. In it they explained what sets them apart from their competitors. They also talked about how long they plan ahead. Building a roller coaster takes years of preparation and careful planning.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this week. I learned a lot about planning ahead and competition with other businesses. I thought it was really fun, from sitting in comfy chairs to riding roller coasters. I also got to pet a huge dog at Kaskaskia Engineering which was hilarious!

09/02/2016

This was our first full week of CEO. I was not sure what to exactly expect. I was surprised how much new information I learned from just one week of class.

One big thing I learned this week was the importance of teamwork. Throughout the week I noticed every speaker we had talked about the power of good teamwork and communication. Some helped us grow as a team while others told about how they used teamwork to become successful.

Our class became comfortable with each other after our Monday team building session which was fun for everyone. All of the exercises we did required good communication and forced us to talk and share ideas. We also learned how to talk with each other after Reva Faber interpreted our PDP tests. I learned I am a Pace, which is the most common personality. She also taught me how others would perceive me and how I can deal with other personalities more effectively. This really became helpful on Thursday when we all worked on our badge project.

Dave Zura spoke to us on Tuesday, and shared how every person in a business is important. He told us that without the mailmen and receptionist, the big CEO’s can't do their job as effectively. He also taught us how necessary a team of advisors is when you are the big boss. He told us we need to have trusted advisors to bounce ideas off of. He said it is important to have people from different backgrounds to get as many different perspectives as possible on a topic. Lastly, on Friday Roger Lowery spoke to us. Although his company is very independent based, he still stressed the importance of a team. He said the individual may be working for themselves, but they are still a part of the perfect team.

In conclusion, this week was very information. I learned all about teamwork and effective communication skills. I enjoyed the past week and look forward to the ones to com

08/26/2016