outhern
FEBRUARY 2016
USINESS URNAL
southern
BUSINESS JOURNAL “ONE REGION,
ONE VISION”
REGION,ONE VISION”
STARTING OUT JUMPING HEAD-FIRST INTO A NEW BUSINESS
PAGE 8
INSIDE
Directory of Advertisers Million Dollar ...........................3
FEBRUARY 2016 SMALL BUSINESS
TOP 10 IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
PAGE 4
THE LIST
TOP 10 IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
PAGE 5
BEING THE BOSS
PRYOR JORDAN, SALUKI SCREEN REPAIR
PAGE 7
ON THE COVER
STARTING OUT: JUMPING HEADFIRST INTO STARTING A BUSINESS
PAGES 8-9
OPINION
Pepsi MidAmerica ..................6
PAGE 10
SIU Credit Union ................... 14
COLUMNIST GARY MARX LOOKS AT THE HOT TOPIC
YOUR OPINION
TWO ANSWER THE QUESTION: AT WHAT POINT DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD TO HIRE EMPLOYEES FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Southern Illinois Healthcare 16 Southern Illinois University ...11
PAGES 12-13
PUBLIC RECORD
southern
BUSINESS JOURNAL
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS BANKRUPTCIES AND BUILDING PERMITS
“ONE REGION,ONE VISION”
PAGE 15
southern
BUSINESS JOURNAL “ONE REGION,
ONE VISION”
The Southern Business Journal is a publication of The Southern Illinoisan. Contact us via mail at 710 N. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, IL 62901, or at P.O. Box 2108, Carbondale, IL 62903. Also reach us on the Web at www.sbj.biz and via email at SBJ@thesouthern.com. The Journal is published 12 times per year monthly and distributed by The Southern Illinoisan and www.thesouthern. com. Copyright 2016 by The Southern Illinoisan, all rights reserved. A subscription may be obtained by calling 618-529-5454 or 618-9973356, or by visiting our website.
Publisher John Pfeifer 618-351-5038 Design and Layout Rhonda May 618-351-5077
FROM THE
PUBLISHER
I
Starting up
hired a new sales representative, convinced/bribed one of my established salespeople to hand over her established list of accounts to begin anew and we were ready to go. We started by creating our own database and by doing it the extreme old-school way. We drove (ok, sometimes we walked) slowly up and down every retail street in the city and wrote down the name and address of every business. That barely-legible list was then handed off to someone in our office who looked up phone numbers and called to get the name for advertising decision makers. And all of this information was entered on a shiny Mac Plus into a program called Filemaker Pro. Oh, the dawn of computers. Beginning two months before we launched our new paper, we met every day at Denny’s for coffee and some carbohydrate masterpiece or other. We plotted that day’s sales calls and got an update on contacts and sales made the previous day. The “birth” process of starting something new was exhausting but always invigorating. Of course by noon each day I was back at our main office overseeing the sales staff that worked with advertisers in our existing five zones. There were of course the inherent occasional mistakes in an advertisement, a call here and there from a city official who accused us of “littering” by distributing our free paper, and a host of other issues associated with an “established” business. By 4:00 p.m. most days I couldn’t wait until the following morning when I could again focus on the newness associated with our startup. We repeated this entire process every year throughout the nineties as we slowly grew our group to twelve separate shopping guides. Along the way we forced a competitor to sell to us; increased the advertising base in our existing zones and kept thinking about what we could do to make next week better and “newer”. It’s an attitude I would do well to remember and practice every day. There’s only so much enjoyment a person can get from “maintaining”. Every day I have to look at our business like I’m seeing it for the very first time and relentlessly scour the competitive landscape to see what we can do to help a constantly increasing number of local advertisers to grow their business. Legacy businesses (and newspapers are most certainly an example) run the risk of thinking that their best days are in the past. And if we think that way, we guarantee that that thought process fulfills itself. I prefer to look for new opportunities staring me in the face. They’re always there; I just miss them far too frequently.
Brian D. Heckert, of Financial Solutions Midwest LLC, has been named President of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). Only the world’s best insurance advisors and financial professionals attain membership in MDRT. To be elected president of this elite group is a remarkable achievement.
The 43,000 MDRT members from more than 65 countries around the world are proud to have you as their leader.
JOHN PFEIFER | PUBLISHER, SBJ
SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2016 PAGE 3
SMALL
BUSINESS
SIU Small Business Development Center is a wealth of resources
MOLLY PARKER THE SOUTHERN
W
hether one is looking to start a new business, or needs expertise and advice about an existing business, the SIU Small Business Development Center at SIU offers a wealth of resources. Greg Bouhl, the center’s director, said experts are available for business owners and prospective business owners to offer guidance on such topics as understanding state and federal legal requirements, securing financing, reviewing financial statements and creating operational plans, human resources, marketing and doing business internationally. A class for newcomers called “Starting a Business in Illinois” costs $15, and after that, ongoing one-on-one advising is available at no cost. The business center is financed by a mix of state and federal dollars, and supported in part by the university’s general operating funds. “The depth of knowledge our advisors have is very outstanding and hard pressed to get paid consultants for that,” Bouhl said. The definition of a small business is one with under 500 employees, Bouhl said. The center has worked with businesses of a variety of sizes, from one- or two-person shops to those with more than 100 employees. Bouhl said he thinks some people wrongly believe the center is only for startup businesses – and there are many services for people just jumping in – but he said a multitude of services also are available for existing companies that, for example, might need to retool their business model in the face of changing economies, technologies and consumer habits, or are looking to expand locally or internationally. The center, in its 32nd year, helps roughly 600 clients annually, Bouhl said. LouAnn Elwell, of Cobden, owner of Southpass Beads & Fibers, is one of those clients who has leveraged the resources of the center in order to parlay a hobby, which began when she couldn’t find a pair of
RICHARD SITLER, THE SOUTHERN Those starting small businesses can get assistance at The Illinois Small Business Development Center, which is located at 1740 Innovation Drive in Carbondale. Ken Stoner, advisor for technology and innovation entrepreneurship at the Small Business Development Center, uses a 3-D Ultimaker 2 Printer in the 3-D Print Lab Wednesday. They call the 3-D Print Lab the “Fishbowl” and it is located by the Meet-up Space in the SBDC. dangly earrings she wanted, into a moneymaking venture. Elwell has been in business since 2002, selling jewelry-making supplies online out of her home. She started on eBay and has since transitioned to Etsy for the bulk of her online business. At that time, Elwell said she attended the class on how to start a business because she wanted to make sure she did everything correctly. Elwell said instructors taught her in the class things such as how to secure a business tax identification number and other legal requirements. About five years ago, she decided to open a store in her home. Jewelry-making enthusiasts from across Southern Illinois, as well as tourists visiting the wineries, visit her home in Cobden, where the front of the house has been turned into the business, she said. Elwell also offers classes, which take place around the dining table in her home. While she hopes to expand in the future, Elwell said part of the charm is the homey feel of the store and classes,
PAGE 4 FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL
with the feel of visiting a friend’s home as opposed to a sterile storefront. Presently, she said, center experts are helping her with development of a website. Bouhl said the small business center also works closely with SIU’s Small Business Incubator program that strives to help researchers take new discoveries and technologies from the lab to the marketplace. Incubator office space is located beside the small business center so that the two can work hand-in-hand, Bouhl said. Researchers are experts in their craft, Bouhl said, but they don’t always have the specific set of skills necessary to turn an idea into a profit. Hurley Myers, a co-owner of DxR Development Group, based in Carbondale, said that’s exactly why he sought out the help of the incubator and small business center. Myers is a professor emeritus with the SIU School of Medicine who holds a doctoral degree in cardiovascular physiology. The business that Myers runs with his
partners sells software that uses virtual patients to teach and assess the diagnostic and clinical reasoning of medical students, providing real-time feedback to students and their professors while also tracking progress. Myers got his start inside SIU’s incubator in 1992. “I knew nothing about business,” Myers said. “When you asked, ‘Did they help?’ I would say absolutely.” Myers said as his business has continued to evolve and change over the past 25 years, Myers said he continues to touch base with the business center with meetings every six months or year. Nothing requires that a business owner take all of the advice the experts give, Myers said, but the conversations help him to brainstorm, see things from other perspectives, and formalize his plans knowing he’s thought everything through. As the company began selling internationally, Myers said the center helped his business navigate all applicable laws.
THE LIST
10 STEPS TO STARTING A BUSINESS Starting a business involves planning, making key financial decisions and completing a series of legal activities. These 10 easy steps can help you plan, prepare and manage your business.
1
WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN
USE THESE TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO CREATE A BUSINESS PLAN. THIS WRITTEN GUIDE WILL HELP YOU MAP OUT HOW YOU WILL START AND RUN YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESSFULLY.
2
GET ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE TRAINING AND COUNSELING SERVICES, FROM PREPARING A BUSINESS PLAN AND SECURING FINANCING, TO EXPANDING OR RELOCATING A BUSINESS.
3 4 5
CHOOSE A LOCATION
GET ADVICE ON HOW TO SELECT A CUSTOMER-FRIENDLY LOCATION AND COMPLY WITH ZONING LAWS.
FINANCE YOUR BUSINESS
FIND GOVERNMENT-BACKED LOANS, VENTURE CAPITAL AND RESEARCH GRANTS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED.
DETERMINE THE LEGAL STRUCTURE OF YOUR BUSINESS
DECIDE WHICH FORM OF OWNERSHIP IS BEST FOR YOU: SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP, PARTNERSHIP, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC), WCORPORATION, S CORPORATION, NONPROFIT OR COOPERATIVE.
6 7
REGISTER A BUSINESS NAME (“DOING BUSINESS AS”)
REGISTER YOUR BUSINESS NAME WITH YOUR STATE GOVERNMENT.
GET A TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
LEARN WHICH TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER YOU’LL NEED TO OBTAIN FROM THE IRS AND YOUR STATE REVENUE AGENCY.
8
REGISTER FOR STATE AND LOCAL TAXES
9
OBTAIN BUSINESS LICENSES AND PERMITS
REGISTER WITH YOUR STATE TO OBTAIN A TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION, UNEMPLOYMENT AND DISABILITY INSURANCE.
GET A LIST OF FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LICENSES AND PERMITS REQUIRED FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
10
UNDERSTAND EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES
LEARN THE LEGAL STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE TO HIRE EMPLOYEES.
SOURCE: U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.
SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2016 PAGE 5
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15-0076-04
KLMNO
BEING
THE BOSS
PRYOR JORDAN, SALUKI SCREEN REPAIR INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY THE SOUTHERN
Q: What was your first job and what did you learn from it? A: My first job was driving a skidder for my father’s logging company one summer. I learned a lot about what I DIDN’T want to do for a career. I didn’t want to get up at 4 a.m. every morning and smell like diesel every afternoon.
Q: Did you have a mentor early in your career? A: I’ve had many small-scale mentors
since launching my business. Many of them were at the SBDC, like Aimee Wigfall. The rest are the authors of the business and marketing books I’ve read, such as Tim Ferriss, Michael Gerber, John Jantsch and Dave Ramsey. I’ve found that real-life mentors are good at helping keep you grounded, while the authors are good at helping you dream.
Q: What is the biggest management lesson you’ve learned in your years as a leader? A: Don’t try to please everyone. When I
first started, I was trying to repair everything that used electricity! I’m (mostly) joking. But when I started, I was working on PC hardware and software, installing wired and wireless networks for homes and businesses, AND offering free pickup and delivery for phone repairs. I was often spending more time driving to and from a job than I was on the actual work. That wasn’t sustainable. So, I dropped all my PC and networking services except for screen repairs on laptops. I also dropped all pickup and delivery. That allowed me to focus on phone repairs.
Q: What is your morning routine? How do you prepare yourself for the day? A: My morning routine starts the night
before. I’m a night owl by nature, but business gets done during the day. So, getting a good nights’ rest is, in my opinion, one of the most overlooked, not-talked-about subjects in business. The quantity and quality of my work drops significantly if I get five hours of sleep instead of eight. More importantly,
Pryor Jordan owns Saluki Screen Repair at 859 E. Grand Ave. in Carbondale. Jordan started the business working out of his apartment in 2013. RICHARD SITLER, THE SOUTHERN
when my work is of high quality, it gives me confidence to keep taking on new challenges. Before I go to bed, I check my daily to-do list on my iPhone and see what needs to be continued the next day, or what can be checked off as complete. Then, I look through my lists of shortterm and long-term tasks and move an item or two (Never more than two new items!) to my daily to-do list. In the morning, I eat cereal, have a cup of coffee, and usually read some of a business book. Then I check my to-do list, take a shower and get started on my tasks.
Q: What do you look for when you hire someone? Are there key interview questions that you ask? A: Attitude. Most interview questions
are simply designed to make sure that a
he receives a gift. My assistant manager is the complete opposite. He is more motivated by words Q: What is the best way to improve of appreciation. So, no matter how wellemployee morale? intentioned a gift is, it’s not going to have A: We believe that it’s important to know the same impact as giving him words each employee as an individual. Buying of appreciation in the presence of cothe store lunch, or allowing for a jean workers. day are fine, but they become commonQ: What career advice would you place. Our employees, including our mangive to a new college graduate? agement staff, all take personality tests. A: Find a small company that will give This is important so that we know the you a wide range of responsibilities. If most effective way to communicate with you can find a company where you have one another. face-to-face time on a daily or weekly For example, one test we take is the basis with the owner, CEO or general Five Love Languages. While it was manager, that’s the best. And don’t be designed for couples, the informaafraid to speak up! Most small-business tion you gain about your co-workers owners are looking for people that will is invaluable. Our store manager, for generate ideas, set goals for realizing instance, extends appreciation by giving those ideas, and will see the job through gifts. Likewise, he feels appreciated when to completion. person has a reasonable world-view and can have a professional conversation.
SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2016 PAGE 7
COVER
STORY
Miranda Stapel of Rule of Pie in Murphysboro. BYRON HETZLER PHOTOS, THE SOUTHERN
STARTING OUT DUSTIN DUNCAN THE SOUTHERN
S
tarting a business can be a scary venture. Is my product good enough? Do I know enough about running a business? Do I have enough money to get started? Those are some of the questions that run through the mind anyone who is kicking around the idea of starting a new business. In Southern Illinois, there are many people, both young and old, who took the leap of faith into the business world. Some
received help from the Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University and others developed their ideas through the Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities programs. And others just dived head-first into the marketplace on their own. Sink or swim. No matter how they did it, each fledgling entrepreneur had to ask those same questions.
Rule of Pie Rick and Miranda Stapel had no intentions of becoming business owners. Running a pie shop on Walnut Street
PAGE 8 FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL
in downtown Murphysboro was never a dream for the couple. But they had a feeling they had a hot product to sell, and those feelings were confirmed when customers started showing up every Thursday. The line stretched out the door. Now, the store is open three days a week. The Stapels are talking about a potential expansion to a brunch menu and occupying space next to their current location. This all started at the Cannon Park Community Market in Carterville in the summer of 2013. Miranda was convinced to bake a few pies each week — about 10 to 15 — and she thought there was no way she would sell
Jumping head-first into a new business
that many. Rick said the pies were selling out each week, and the same people were coming back to their stand the following week. “The thing that made me more encouraged about it was that we would have sort of a following at the farmer’s market,” Rick said. “If we saw you once, we usually saw you a second time.” After seeing success at the market, Rick and Miranda knew they had a good product and decided they could cater weddings or parties on a part-time basis. The couple started a Facebook page with minimal effort, Rick says. People started seeking out
COVER
STORY the couple and asking what kind of pies they could make and if they were going to continue to be at the market. When they noticed the popularity of the product, Miranda said she needed a facility where she could bake outside of their house. In November 2013, they purchased the building at 1308 Walnut St. for that purpose. But after realizing that a few tables could be set up for people who wanted to enjoy a piece of pie and coffee, they changed the recipe of their business plan. “I think it was the excitement of the town itself to have a pie shop where people could come in and have coffee and pie,” Miranda said. “We thought that would be cool, but we didn’t know if Murphy(sboro) would be into something like that.” As for operational expenses, Rick didn’t think it would cost too much, but they thought Miranda could work the front and back because there wouldn’t be very many customers walking in. When the business opened on Thursday, July 3, 2014, the business plan changed dramatically. “When we opened that Thursday, there was a line out of the door and a transaction every four minutes,” Rick said. Miranda said those first couple of months she worked about 100 hours a week, which was a big transition for a stay-at-home mom with two young children. She said that in the beginning it was only she and her mother doing the cooking with Rick helping to run the front of the store. Now, there is a staff of about eight people, but the business still isn’t at a spot where she can’t be there while it is open. The business expanded to Friday after the couple realized it could handle the demand of customers and hire more of a staff, Miranda said. She said the expansion had to wait a bit because she had to make sure she had the right employees. “It was a scary time as a new business owner saying, ‘I can’t just grab 100 employees, throw them in my kitchen, and open up a ton more hours,’ ” she said. “I had to make sure everything that went out of this store was done exactly the way it was supposed to be made.” Rick said he thought the problem with running the business would be demand, not supply. “We thought we could drive up demand by being exclusive and being open one day a week,” he said. “It actually worked. Thursday became a pie day.” Now, the business has recently expanded to being open on Wednesday. He doesn’t
Aaron Goeckner of Goeckner Home Maintenance. expect to go to four days, but the Stapels also have an eye to the future. They recently purchased the space next door to the pie shop, but they aren’t sure what they are going to with it, yet. For now, Miranda said it being used as storage. Because the storefront was never in the plans for the business, they bought the current space thinking they would have enough room. However, the couple is toying with the idea of a truncated brunch menu and a liquor license for the current and new space. They both said there is no time table for further expansion.
Goeckner Home Maintenance Aaron Goeckner knew he could make money with lawn maintenance, so by the time he had enrolled in the CEO program, he already had the business idea.
The CEO program offers students handson business experience and a chance to build their own start-up over the course of a year. Now at the age of 19, Goeckner is the CEO of Goeckner Home Maintenance and offers professional landscaping. Not bad for a teenager, who is also getting his degree in finance at Southern Illinois University. While he is pursuing a career in the financial field, he likes what he’s doing. And he’s good at it. He said it all started when a professor at North Carolina State hired Goeckner to maintain his property because the professor frequently traveled and could not do it himself. That’s when the light bulb went on for the teen. “When CEO came and I had to start a business, nothing made more sense than to do that and get paid by multiple people, not
just one,” Goeckner said. He targeted customers who had discretionary funds who didn’t want to mow the grass or pull weeds themselves. But after the first summer on his own, his business plan changed. One of his customers asked him to install a patio with a retaining wall, and he quickly realized that landscaping projects paid much more than what he was already doing. “It was a lot better market and a lot more money to be made,” he said. Landscaping is a skilled trade, he said, and isn’t something that anybody can just do. “If you want a professional landscaping job, you don’t do it yourself,” Goeckner said. Now that he is enrolled at SIU, Goeckner is moving part of the business down to the southern part of the state. He started SEE STARTING, PAGE 10
SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2016 PAGE 9
COVER
STORY
STARTING FROM PAGE 9
success story. Plus, it’s trendy, and he didn’t even know it was. Jones sells and sometimes builds what are known as tiny houses. He keeps his buildings outside his other working for another landscaping company, but once the business owner couldn’t fulfill business, Odds and Ends, an antique store at 121 W. Main St in Du Quoin. The tiny the contracts, he essentially hired Goeckner’s company as a subcontractor to finish houses are 28 feet wide and 14 feet long, he said. There is one that is completely those commitments. Goeckner is building a customer base in finished with a bathroom, cabinets and Southern Illinois, but he’s not in a hurry to a working sink. The finished houses are about 392 square feet with a price tag of have a full roster of clients. about $22,900. “I am busy enough for what I want Jones typically sells for Cardinal Portato be,” he said. “I don’t want to work ble Buildings in Stonefort. But he has also 30 to 40 hours while trying to be a fullbuilt two tiny homes independently. Most time student.” of the time Jones buys a new unfinished The experience is the big thing right shell of a home and sells the structure now, he said. “How many 19-year-olds that way. can say they have employed six part-time Jones had the idea to build a smaller employees?” he asked. house for an older person to live in about Odds and Ends four years ago. He built his first one, unaware he was tapping into a national Harley Jones has been a businessman movement. He said he was showing the most of his life, and he’s had some suchouse several times a day. cesses and some failures. Now he has “People were crazy about them,” he latched onto an idea that might be another
PAGE10 10 Tuesday, FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTHERN BUSINESSBusiness JOURNAL Journal Page February 2, 2016 Southern
said. “The way that it is built, you could put it down anywhere. It could be a house, storage space or even a man-cave.” Jones said he has sold five buildings so far, with one being completely finished. In April, the antique shop will have its four-year anniversary, and Jones says that without selling the buildings, including the sheds he sells for Cardinal, the shop wouldn’t be there. He said he has sold 54 structures. Jones, 73, and wife, Phyllis, started the business because he “couldn’t sit around anymore,” he said. He was in the mobile home industry for a long time in Mount Vernon, and Phyllis had dreams of running an antique store. “It is just the idea that when you get to my age, nobody wants to hire you,” Jones said. “They are afraid of your health and so I figured I’ll just work for myself.” When asked if he could give advice to any younger business owners starting out, he smiled and said “The No. 1 thing is they have to like what they do. Because they are going to have their share of problems.”
ABOVE: Harley Jones, owner of Odds and Ends in Du Quoin, has sold five tiny houses. AT TOP: A view of the inside of one of the 28x14-foot tiny houses offered by Jones.
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OPINION
Finding a mentor at the newsstand ‘ H
and the paper to them and smile. And don’t hold your hand out for money,” he said. My brother, Al, was teaching me how to be a good newsboy. He was two years older than I, and he knew things. Everything I learned about customer relations, I learned from him. When I was in high school, we operated a Sunday morning newspaper stand outside of St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Schiller Park, Illinois. It was a sweet location. Four times each morning, when Mass let out, we’d have a stream of customers flowing right past the stand. We sold 500 newspapers on some Sundays. A lot of black ink on my fingers and quarters in the cigar box. I’m not sure how we got the rights to that spot, but we had the blessings of the parish to set up. After the last Mass, we’d pack up, clean up and go home to split the profit. Al handled all the books. I just held out my hand. I suppose if I had paid more attention to the business end of things, I might be able to offer an insight or two to someone thinking about starting a new business — not that there’s a future in newspaper stands. I think the big takeaway from that time for me was the value of having a mentor. That would be my brother. Al was always a keen observer of people. He was also someone who could see a profit where others could not. When we were kids, he’d make Kool-Aid and set up a stand where the construction guys were building houses in the neighborhood. I’d tag along for the adventure and a couple of nickels. He also bagged tomatoes from our garden and sold them out of a Radio Flyer wagon out at the street. Later, when he was old enough to drive, he’d visit this second-hand retail shop not
PAGE 12 FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL
At Christmas time, he’d knock on all of the doors, and handdeliver every paper. He’d wish them all a Merry Christmas, and he’d smile. He would never hold out his hand. But they tipped him. Just about every one. too far from where we lived. They were selling butane lighters — an innovation at the time — at great discount. They had a bin of them at the cash register, and Al bought a handful of them. When he got home, he peeled the price tags off and sold them for a profit to smokers he knew. Made six bucks or so. Went back for more the next week. Before we had a newspaper stand at the church, Al had a newspaper route. He was a Boy Scout, too. One summer he was going off to Scout camp, and he asked me to fill in for him. He said he’d give me a cut of the action if I did. I agreed, not even thinking I should
have asked for the whole thing. Anyway, for a couple of days, I shadowed him as he made his rounds, delivering newspapers to the doors and boxes of about 50 people on his route. “Now this guy wants his paper on his doorstep,” he told me. Down the block he said, “This lady has trouble picking up the newspaper, so you have to use the rubber band and attach it to the handle of her screen door. I always knock to let her know it’s there.” Customer service. At Christmas time, he’d knock on all of the doors, and hand-deliver every paper. He’d wish them all a Merry Christmas, and he’d smile. He would never hold out his hand. But they tipped him. Just about every one. I learned a lot from my brother. The biggest thing was probably the value of treating people with respect and doing what you can to help them. I never learned how to work an angle or maximize a profit, but I admired him for being to do so. I found my rewards elsewhere. And that’s the thing about having a mentor. You don’t always choose one, and they can’t choose you. You might not even know he or she was a mentor until time has passed. And sometimes the lesson you learn isn’t the one being taught. The best thing about running that Sunday newspaper stand wasn’t the quarters I earned, it was meeting people and having all morning to read the news. That could explain why Al ended up with the bank account and why I’m still clacking the typewriter. We both got what we wanted. GARY MARX is the Projects/Opinion Page Editor for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact: 618-351-5811, gary.marx@thesouthern.com.
YOUR
OPINION
At what point did you know you had to hire employees for your business? W
e’re still a small business and in our early growth stages so it’s probably the hardest time of all to know when to hire employees. We started on a shoestring budget and have put a lot back into our business in order to get it to the vision we had for it in the first place. But with the physical growth it’s meant more man-power for building and less of our own labor for other things, brewing beer included. It was just about when we felt like we were getting stretched thin that we decided to reach out to Kris Pirmann and Adriane Koontz of River to River Farms. Kris and Adriane were moving back to Southern Illinois after a sabbatical managing Henry’s Farm, a well-resepected sustainable farm in central Illinois. We were lucky that their move coincided with our need for help managing our garden, hops, and parts of our kitchen. We’ve always felt that incorporating sustainably farmed ingredients is an important part of what we do and wanted to make sure that that aspect of our business wasn’t dropped as we were brewing more and spent more time on expansion. Part of knowing when to hire help comes from sheer need, but another part comes from knowing what’s most important for your business. Of course we need to continue to produce beer, but what else beyond that? For us it’s making a commitment to our local agriculture and food systems, so bringing Kris and Adriane into the fold made sense for our overall vision of what we wanted Scratch to be.
MARIKA JOSEPHSON
MARIKA JOSEPHSON is co-owner of Scratch Brewing Co. in Ava
SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2016 PAGE 13
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fine
Bankruptcies
Elissa M. Kimball, 640 Springville Hill Road, Jonesboro Lori M. Moulton, 412 N. 10th St., Herrin Christopher M. Chaney, P.O. Box 432, Cambria Chapter 7 Crystal Dawn Cooper, 1306 N. Brian Scott and Renee Robin Cobb, 151 Hoffman Road, Lot 54, Mulberry St., Mount Carmel Patricia L. Bradley, 3651 RusMurphysboro sell Drive, Red Bud Bobbie Lynn Hartford, 1116 Jeremy Lee Poole, 100 Cheryls Jefferson Ave., Johnston City Lane, Jonesboro Monica L. Huggins, 518 E. James B. and Brandi N. Monroe St., Du Quoin Metten, 560 Crossroad School Sally R. and Lavern E. DunRoad, Eldorado ham, 112 N. Otis, Marion Luther D. Winkler, 112 W. Terrence Lee Fish, 1640 CarDelaware St., Apt. 219, Fairfield bon Lake Road, Murphysboro Ronald L. and DeboKenneth Roy and Patrirah S. Hutchinson, 537 E. cia E. Jones, 3955 Church Smith, Benton Road, Mulkeytown Michael R. McDonnough, Mark L. and Patricia D. Durr, 5055 Private Road 72, Pinck419 S. Wood St., Nashville neyville April Ann Dunning, 1410 Denny R. Lawson, 208 Forest Jackson St., Eldorado St., Anna Darla F. Peyton, 765 Filmore Belva Lue Walters, 1201 State Square, Herrin St., Eldorado Todd J. Shaputis, 15903 ResJessica A. Jetton, 413 S. Fourth cue Chruch Road, Ewing St., Coulterville Bridgett L. Haryono, 709 W. Ryan Jeffrey Wachter, 245 Cherry, Herrin
Tractor Man Lane, Jonesboro Karen L. Huff, 308 16th St., Cairo Douglas K. and Susan R. Cralley, 106 E. Galaxy Drive, Woodlawn Kaleb C. and Amanda N. Hart, 5824 Louisiana St., Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Jason D. and Rikki L. DeNeal, 255 Spring Valley Road, Harrisburg Aaron Blair Henson, 1308 Fisk St., Eldorado Gary E. Moss, P.O. Box 513, Mount Vernon Heather D. Delcambre, 16321 Caplinger Pond Road, Marion Jill R. Calcaterra, 2905 N. 13th, Herrin Paul Edward and Margaret Elaine Mocaby, 1114 Burgess St., Johnston City Bobbi K. Severs, 212 Thistlewood St., Mounds Charles A. Whitaker, P.O. Box 741, Cairo Robin L. Lutker, 302 S. Third St., Mound City Gary Wayne and Teresa Ann
Abbott Laboratories to buy medical test provider Alere The Associated Press
EW YORK — Abbott LaboN ratories will buy Alere for $4.8 billion as it tries to expand its medical-testing business. The deal is worth $5.8 billion when restricted stock, stock options and preferred shares are included, the company said Monday. Alere Inc., based in Waltham, Massachusetts, makes tests used to diagnosis the flu, HIV, malaria and several other diseases that are used in doctor’s offices, clinics and at home. Abbott makes infant formula, medical devices and drugs. Infant formula and nutritional beverages, which includes the
Similac, Ensure and Pedialyte brands, is currently Abbott’s biggest business. That unit brought in $6.98 billion last year, more than a third of the company’s total revenue. After the deal closes, which is expected to happen at the end of the year, Abbott said its diagnostics business is expected to bring in more than $7 billion in revenue annually. Last year, that unit brought in $4.65 billion in revenue for Abbott. The North Chicago, Illinois, company has wrestled with the weakening performance of its Venezuela operations, and last week it said it expected lower earnings for the current quarter,
sending shares plunging. The company’s stock has fallen 17 percent in the past month. Abbott said it will pay $56 for each share of Alere, a 50 percent premium from Friday’s closing price of $36.20. Abbott said the deal is worth $5.8 billion when restricted stock, stock options and preferred shares are included. Abbott will also assume Alere’s $2.6 billion of debt. The deal must still be proved by regulators. Shares of Alere jumped $16.80, or 45 percent, to $54 in morning trading Monday. Shares of Abbott slipped 67 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $37.18, nearing a two-year low.
Schwebel, P.O. Box 252, Cutler Fern R. Henley, 6648 Towncreek Road, Gorham Shylah Nicole Heath, 1008 S. 16th St., Herrin Lydia Terfa Azenegash, P.O. Box 3742, Carbondale
County Road, 815 East, Johnsonville Timothy G. and Patricia A. Gibbs, 489 State Highway 146 East, Golconda John R. and Carol F. Piland, 11340 Stotlar Road, Johnston City Kenneth F. and Mary F. SulliChapter 13 van Jr., 181 E. Locust St., Venedy Nicole A. Cast, 516 N. Main Richard C. and Brenda St., Anna Gary D. Loucks and Sandra R. J. Keeley, 962 McCloud Pitchford-Loucks, 5714 Country Loop, Anna Christopher Allen and Club Road, Murphysboro Jamie L. Hagy Folyer, 20 Vio- Samantha L. Bright, 910 North Road, West Frankfort let Valley Road, Makanda Carla C. Grant, 601 N. Fourth Marla E. Owens, 704 S. State St., Vienna St., Christopher Amber M. Wyatt, 1408 W. Terry Lee Diamond, 302 Boulevard St., Apt. P, Marion Broadway, P.O. Box 169, WilBrent L. and Jamie L. lisville Armstrong, 2010 Lake St., Michael W. Robey, 121 ChiMount Vernon cago, Orient Sandra J. Presswood, 3209 Jennifer L. Schmitt, 46 ChickCherry St., Mount Vernon asaw St., McClure Cynthia J. Cook, 203 E. DougCharlie N. Parsons, P.O. Box las St., De Soto 83, Mound City Loren Douglas and Michelle Sheila Fay Smith, P.O. Box Molly Isaac, 311 N. Pear St., 69, Coello Mount Carmel Stacie D. Gregory, 1427
Permits Marion
AAR Properties, 1901 Colonial Drive, $138,000 Laroya Sokol, 10 Acre Woods, Inc., 718 N. Logan St., $25,000 L & K Fire Protection, Inc., 1501 E. Main St., $48,690
Metropolis Massac Memorial Hospital, 45 Jon St., $73,000 Lisa and Elton Kennedy, 825 E. 12th St., $16,500 Melissa Gurley, 317 E. Fifth St., $75,000 Emily Schuchardt, 1406
Catherine St., $100 Ted Thomas, 406 E. 10th St., $700 Melissa Ohlemacher, 612 W. 11th St., $3,500
Murphysboro Ron Etherton, 302 S. 15th st., $12,000 Mike Clutts, 1017 N. 14th St., $40,000 Elm Street Baptist Church, 1907 Elm St., $28,000 Dave Sherrill, 716 Maple St., $7,000 Terry Svec, 2104 Walnut St., $3,000 Jeff and Sonia Beach, 325 N. 20th St., $3,000 Mike Clutts, 1845 Pine St., $20,000
Southern Business Journal February 2016 Page 15
Page 16 Tuesday, February 2, 2016 Southern Business Journal