By : Steve Jordon
Source : http://www.omaha.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Jen Carlson and Josh Shear know all about turning recycled glass and ceramics into durable, good-looking countertops.
But when it comes to growing a business beyond the startup phase, the two Lincoln entrepreneurs figured they could use some help.
Luckily for them, a partnership by Nebraska business, government and academia created a pathway earlier this year to bring the Gallup Organization's sophisticated, high-priced business development tools to the smallest of businesses, where the promise of creating jobs is the highest.
"It just kind of happened that it was the perfect time for our company," said Carlson, of MileStone Local Surfaces. "It helped us determine where we're going."
Her comments echoed those of some other business owners at the first "impact summit" held last week by the collaborative program, called the Entrepreneur Acceleration System.
"Nebraska is poised for exceptional growth because of you," Gov. Dave Heineman told 400 people at the La Vista Conference Center. "I'm very, very proud of you and what you're accomplishing."
"We need to jump-start the spirit of free enterprise," Gallup CEO Jim Clifton told the group, via video.
Most of Gallup's usual clients are large corporations, but the entrepreneur system is specifically aimed at small businesses. The pro-enterprise Kauffman Foundation says census data show that two-thirds of new jobs are created by companies five years old or younger.
Those in the La Vista conference room were employees, managers and owners of 120 companies involved in the system's initial nine months, plus some of the 27 mentors who guided them and representatives of the system's sponsors. The summit also drew people from other states interested in replicating the system for their own entrepreneurs.
The sponsors are covering most of the $1 million-a-year budget, which means small businesses can take part through "scholarships" that provide the Gallup surveys and materials at no cost.
Gallup tried the system with small businesses in Mexico and found that it worked. Nebraska is the U.S. prototype to make sure it translates to American businesses.
Now the objective is to add between 175 and 200 more high-potential businesses in Nebraska for 2012 and to expand to more states, said Gallup Vice President Todd Johnson.
"Nebraska is the launching ground for initiatives to develop across the country and the world," Johnson said. "That's all going according to plan."
Not every business is showing dramatic improvement, he said, because the impact depends in part on the development stage of each business. Some, like MileStone, are seeing big improvements, and others are simply learning some new things that may make a difference later.
"We have companies that have adopted new strategies with customers and completely reconfigured that customer relationship and hired new people as a result," Johnson said. "Some companies haven't generated jobs. You don't go to a couple workshops and miraculously create X number of jobs. It's a journey. It's a process."
Carlson and Shear, who co-founded MileStone in January 2010, worked with mentor Jason Ball, who is director of business development for the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. Like the other companies, they used Gallup's StrengthFinder survey and other assessment tools to help define and improve employee and customer interaction, among other steps.
One result: a 75 percent reduction in errors. "Gallup has literally saved our reputation," Shear said in one of several video testimonials played at the meeting.
In an interview, Carson said, "It was great for us to tie in our employees on what we're doing and how we're making progress. It affects a lot of small things and made us feel like we're doing a better job, understanding what our processes should be like and how employees should be involved in what we're doing."
Ball said MileStone's founders knew they had problems to tackle as they began to grow. "They were feeling overwhelmed in terms of where to start. They needed to talk through how to get some of those conversations going. Once they got moving, they really got going in a good direction.
"They have a client set. They have the product and the process fully developed. They were just in the stage where every company has some growing pains. You had to figure out how to get Jen and Josh away from being the technicians in the company and start growing the organization, or growth stagnates."
Companies that go through the Gallup system's first year can continue for five more years through online seminars, their mentors, meetings and other contacts. A sampling of comments by other business owners in the system:
» Janyne Peek Emsick, president of the Omaha business consulting firm intégrow, said the system uncovered a "void" in her staff's strengths that needed to be filled. This year revenue is up 50 percent, and she added two employees.
» "I needed to equip myself with the tools to build a team," said Blake Lawrence, CEO of Hurrdat Social Media in Lincoln. The company added two people, now has a staff of nine and saw its revenues grow by 1,500 percent by expanding into new ventures. "We started to listen to our customers."
» Dick Davis II, a principal of the Davis Cos., said the contractor advising company's move to a high-profile location at 13th and Cuming Streets, next door to TD Ameritrade Stadium, coincided with the Gallup system's emphasis on engaging employees. "Being a part of something larger than yourself — that is what being an entrepreneur is all about," Davis said.
» Gerry Phelan of Omaha hopes to take part in next year's program. He has been in business for more than 30 years but became owner of Midwest Woodworkers in Omaha only three years ago. "I've been around long enough to know that there's a lot of things I don't know," he said. Midwest Woodworkers is a mature, stable business, Phelan said, but could expand into new markets.
The acceleration program "may open some avenues that I'm not seeing," he said. "I'd be more than happy to have a window into my management style and what would work best for the business I'm in."
Source : http://www.omaha.com/article/20111211/MONEY/712119934
Source : http://www.omaha.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Jen Carlson and Josh Shear know all about turning recycled glass and ceramics into durable, good-looking countertops.
But when it comes to growing a business beyond the startup phase, the two Lincoln entrepreneurs figured they could use some help.
Luckily for them, a partnership by Nebraska business, government and academia created a pathway earlier this year to bring the Gallup Organization's sophisticated, high-priced business development tools to the smallest of businesses, where the promise of creating jobs is the highest.
"It just kind of happened that it was the perfect time for our company," said Carlson, of MileStone Local Surfaces. "It helped us determine where we're going."
Her comments echoed those of some other business owners at the first "impact summit" held last week by the collaborative program, called the Entrepreneur Acceleration System.
"Nebraska is poised for exceptional growth because of you," Gov. Dave Heineman told 400 people at the La Vista Conference Center. "I'm very, very proud of you and what you're accomplishing."
"We need to jump-start the spirit of free enterprise," Gallup CEO Jim Clifton told the group, via video.
Most of Gallup's usual clients are large corporations, but the entrepreneur system is specifically aimed at small businesses. The pro-enterprise Kauffman Foundation says census data show that two-thirds of new jobs are created by companies five years old or younger.
Those in the La Vista conference room were employees, managers and owners of 120 companies involved in the system's initial nine months, plus some of the 27 mentors who guided them and representatives of the system's sponsors. The summit also drew people from other states interested in replicating the system for their own entrepreneurs.
The sponsors are covering most of the $1 million-a-year budget, which means small businesses can take part through "scholarships" that provide the Gallup surveys and materials at no cost.
Gallup tried the system with small businesses in Mexico and found that it worked. Nebraska is the U.S. prototype to make sure it translates to American businesses.
Now the objective is to add between 175 and 200 more high-potential businesses in Nebraska for 2012 and to expand to more states, said Gallup Vice President Todd Johnson.
"Nebraska is the launching ground for initiatives to develop across the country and the world," Johnson said. "That's all going according to plan."
Not every business is showing dramatic improvement, he said, because the impact depends in part on the development stage of each business. Some, like MileStone, are seeing big improvements, and others are simply learning some new things that may make a difference later.
"We have companies that have adopted new strategies with customers and completely reconfigured that customer relationship and hired new people as a result," Johnson said. "Some companies haven't generated jobs. You don't go to a couple workshops and miraculously create X number of jobs. It's a journey. It's a process."
Carlson and Shear, who co-founded MileStone in January 2010, worked with mentor Jason Ball, who is director of business development for the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. Like the other companies, they used Gallup's StrengthFinder survey and other assessment tools to help define and improve employee and customer interaction, among other steps.
One result: a 75 percent reduction in errors. "Gallup has literally saved our reputation," Shear said in one of several video testimonials played at the meeting.
In an interview, Carson said, "It was great for us to tie in our employees on what we're doing and how we're making progress. It affects a lot of small things and made us feel like we're doing a better job, understanding what our processes should be like and how employees should be involved in what we're doing."
Ball said MileStone's founders knew they had problems to tackle as they began to grow. "They were feeling overwhelmed in terms of where to start. They needed to talk through how to get some of those conversations going. Once they got moving, they really got going in a good direction.
"They have a client set. They have the product and the process fully developed. They were just in the stage where every company has some growing pains. You had to figure out how to get Jen and Josh away from being the technicians in the company and start growing the organization, or growth stagnates."
Companies that go through the Gallup system's first year can continue for five more years through online seminars, their mentors, meetings and other contacts. A sampling of comments by other business owners in the system:
» Janyne Peek Emsick, president of the Omaha business consulting firm intégrow, said the system uncovered a "void" in her staff's strengths that needed to be filled. This year revenue is up 50 percent, and she added two employees.
» "I needed to equip myself with the tools to build a team," said Blake Lawrence, CEO of Hurrdat Social Media in Lincoln. The company added two people, now has a staff of nine and saw its revenues grow by 1,500 percent by expanding into new ventures. "We started to listen to our customers."
» Dick Davis II, a principal of the Davis Cos., said the contractor advising company's move to a high-profile location at 13th and Cuming Streets, next door to TD Ameritrade Stadium, coincided with the Gallup system's emphasis on engaging employees. "Being a part of something larger than yourself — that is what being an entrepreneur is all about," Davis said.
» Gerry Phelan of Omaha hopes to take part in next year's program. He has been in business for more than 30 years but became owner of Midwest Woodworkers in Omaha only three years ago. "I've been around long enough to know that there's a lot of things I don't know," he said. Midwest Woodworkers is a mature, stable business, Phelan said, but could expand into new markets.
The acceleration program "may open some avenues that I'm not seeing," he said. "I'd be more than happy to have a window into my management style and what would work best for the business I'm in."
Source : http://www.omaha.com/article/20111211/MONEY/712119934
