Talent to touch, Joe Roy, Scott Monat, Manuel Villagrana, Mike and Gwen Seda all recognized that the market was changing and put their talent to work to capture the opportunities with startups. Startups and cultivating the next generation of rural entrepreneurs are such an important part of the Tama County Economic Development Commission’s mission that there is a completely separate board, empowered to set their own priorities to make it as easy as possible to be a successful entrepreneur in Tama County. Amongst this group’s deliverables are resource packets free to anyone playing with the idea of starting up a business, and a peer networking group from a rich cross section of local industry leaders to support others as a brain trust of experience.
CnC LUMBER & SUPPLY, DYSART PROJECT: When a local coop closed its doors, it did not take entrepreneurial leaders around Dysart long to piece together a plan to reopen the doors to let the enterprise evolve into its full income producing potential Scott Monat & Joe Roy explain. HOW WE DID IT: Countless hours of hard work – cleaning, organizing, stocking, researching, and finding the right employees to serve Dysart and the surrounding communities with a full service lumber yard. OUR GREATEST CHALLENGE: Finding the right people that are dedicated 100% to their job, serving you with quality building materials and satisfaction guaranteed. HOW WE OVERCAME IT. In the fall of 2010 we hired an all new staff with more product knowledge, organization, discipline, and better customer relations in hopes of taking this company to the next level. ADVICE TO OTHERS: Be supportive of your own community because they support you.
Photo credits: 1. CnC Lumber & Supply Photo by Randy Aiken 2. Manuel Villagrana, Radio Z95.5 FM Photo by Mike Adams 3. Mike & Gwen Seda, FoxRidge Winery Photo by MoCo Creative Photography Division
WHAT IS NEXT: We have plans to expand our hardware store area to carry a larger selection of items, have more displays and an expanded showroom to help bring new ideas to the customer. Also removing outdated buildings to make space for a new and more efficient way of supplying building materials.
RADIO Z95.5 FM, TAMA PROJECT: Investors took note when a radio station with a range approximately 1.2 million listeners became available. Especially remarkable was the differentiation strategy that sets it apart. And the professional talent they recruited to the Tama County area from all over the US. Manuel Villagrana explains.