JULY 2002 E-NEWSLETTER
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- Just one week from today!
MEET YOUR MEI OFFICERS
MEI's "WANT ADS"
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION - Individual and Secondary Members from the Same
Company
WELCOME NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS
COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTS
PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
FUTURE MEETINGS
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Registration & Informal Networking
Beth Woodward:"Marketing on the Playground TM"
MEI Announcements
Joanne Benson, CEO, Minnesota Business Academy
Networking
Post Meeting:You are invited to join us for Late Night Networking at Patrick McGovern’s
Pub & Restaurant at 225 W. 7th Street in St. Paul.
Tuesday, July 9th at 6:00 PM
intuition, unique talents, inner strengths and passions. What does this have to do with marketing
your business? EVERYTHING!!
style, your energy, your interests.
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How to integrate your individual unique style and talent into your marketing plan
How your presentation shifts to the next level marketing through your strengths
A few juggling techniques, literally and figuratively
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Help others discover their style and create their strategy
Leave with a plan in place to start marketing "your way"
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Your own style, energy and uniqueness to share
in the corporate field for 25 years, she had the opportunity to start her own business. She now is
a personal and business coach and loves it.
business. It was over the process of a year and a half of allowing self-discovery and giving
herself permission to focus on what her strengths were, vs. what she "didn't have" that she
learned how to market "her way" - a way that fits with her personality and style. Join us and find
out how you can discover your own style to market your business your way.
Tuesday, July 9th at 7:15 PM
The Creation of a
Chief Education Officer
Minnesota Business Academy
life. As a former lieutenant governor of Minnesota, she held leadership roles in a number of areas,
promoting tourism, diversity, active citizenship, student achievement and violence-free
communities. Prior to that, Benson was a state senator from the St. Cloud area, representing her
constituencies in issues related to education, taxes, the environment, energy and crime. Benson
served as an assistant professor in the College of Education at St. Cloud State University, where
she also was the coordinator of Kids Teaching Kids.
"Minnesota Business Academy is designed for students who
want to help create their own school and personalized learning experiences. We're looking for
thinkers, who want to get involved in projects, meet people, and see what the business world is
like firsthand. "This is a chance for students to get a jump-start on the rest of their lives. Whether
they decide to go on to college, join the workforce right away or invent their own business, these
students will have gained critical thinking skills and meaningful experiences that will prepare
responsible leaders and contributors for business and society."
role in the operations of the organization - either as a committee chairperson, or at the very least,
a committee member. The Board of Directors meets monthly on the third Tuesday of every
month at 4:00 PM. This is a commitment you make when you choose to serve on the Board.
CEO, SolarAttic
has a vision and a passion to see this organization grow. Just as Ed's business is growing and
developing with his vision, he hopes to pass his insights and observations on to the organization
through his monthly column. Ed believes that you get as much out of the organization as you put
into it!
Eric Strauss
Chief Entrepreneur, EntrepreneursForHire, LLC
their businesses. Eric writes business plans, develops business and marketing strategies,
creates media kits, writes press releases, and promotes companies to their investors, partners,
and the media. He recently launched EntrepreneursForHire, LLC as a marketplace for Twin
Cities’ independent professionals and the growing businesses that depend on their services.
five locations, 65 employees and annual sales approaching $1,000,000. Eric raised $1.5 million
from a variety of sources to develop the concept and generated more than 175 media placements
for the Crazy Carrot in fifteen months, including feature articles in Entrepreneur, Business Start-
Ups, Nation’s Restaurant News, Future Magazine, Young Entrepreneur, Ventures, and others. In
addition to his role with MEI, Eric is secretary and treasurer of the Wedge Co-op, one of the
country’s largest and most successful member-owned cooperative grocery stores. Eric
graduated from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota in June 1995
with a Bachelors of Science in General Management with an emphasis in Small Business and
Entrepreneurship.
Nudrat Qidwai *
President, Araish, Inc.
has been employed by Best Buy as a logistics analyst. However, she has had a dream for over a
design company, with a focus to bring the cultural traditions of southeastern Asia to the U.S.
Todd Mortenson*
President, DiscBurn.com
"DiscBurn.com". Todd joined MEI last month, and offered to serve on the board, filling the
vacancy of Secretary. Todd is energized to put his education to good use and offer support to the
education committee as well.
in next month's issue of the e-newsletter!
Can you provide your time, energy and resources to help develop MEI to meet its potential? Do
you want to serve on the Board as a Committee Chairperson? We hope to have our vacant
positions filled by July, so that we can have an official membership vote to endorse the slate of
Officers & Directors in August.
Committee Member. Serve as a member on any of our
committees. Share your time and resources. Gain friendships and resources.
POSITION OPENING:By-Laws Committee Chairperson. Are you into details? Do you
like to keep order and have a respect for the official structure of the organization? If so,
we can use YOU! Please contact Ed, Eric or Kathy for further details
POSITION OPENING:Membership Committee Chairperson:Are you into networking?
Do you like to set goals and achieve them? Do you like to create a synergistic
environment for people to get involved? If so, then this is the position for YOU! Please
contact Ed, Eric or Kathy for further information!
http://www.mn-entrepreneurs.org/join.htmfor a membership application form.
additional members from the same company at half price! So, the second, third, fourth
persons, and so on, from the same company and same location, can now join at half the price of
the main member.
We will no longer have 'global' corporate memberships, but rather each membership will be
attributed to that particular person.
Moreover, a SPECIAL THANKS YOU to those RENEWING their MEI Membership!
Joe Betz, Betz & Associates
Matt Boettner, Uniquity Consulting
Dan Borowicz
Jack Carter, Wealth Generation
Christy James,Christy James & Associates
Eric Jax
Janet Johnson, EJ's Sunglasses, LLC
David Leckey, Dane Industries
Bjoern Olufsen, Nortech N.A.
Scott Pederson
Eric Strauss, EntrepreneursForHire, LLC
Mike Ellsworth, StratVantage
Blair Ferguson, Beyond Barriers
Aija Ronis, Health Systems Innovations, Inc.
Roger Warehime
Cory Danks, Discovery Marketing
Joe Dwyer, Dwyer Technology, Inc.
Jon Gauby, Dynamic Research Corp.
Scott Kaiser, Kaiser Tax & Business Consulting
Maria Kannankutty
Elaya Perumal, Elay Foods
Nudrat Qidwai, Araish, Inc.
Kevin Turri, Databridge, Inc.
Linda Andrean, LindVer Corp.
Lamin Momodou Dibba,Dibba Properties
Katy Gray, Superior Online Listing & Distribution
Allison Johnson,Allison Johnson, PA
Bruce C. Johnson, Creative Integration Design, Inc.
Al Lampe, Comm-Works, Inc.
Charles Rauenhorst, C. J. Rauenhorst & Assoc., Inc
Abbott Rohn
Edwin Ross, MPR Inc.
Roger Zahn & Ted Furber, Furber Timmer Zahn, LLP
C. David Jones, New Pursuits, LLC
Richard C. Lee
Jo Angela Maniaci, Special Events Planning
Todd MortensonDiscBurn.com, LLC
Christopher Nelson, Christopher Nelson Appraisal
Jeff Nosbush
Juan Ramirez
Michael Ryan, University of St. Thomas
Kris Solie-Johnson, American Institute of Small Business
William Crolley, Robo Vac Systems
Thomas Erb
Barbara Etzkorn, Magnetic Moments, Inc.
Barbara G. Lerschen, Micro Systems Support & Development
Steve McCulloch,Linsk Flowers
Wallace Michaelson, ITS Global Solutions
Mike Murphy, Drive-View International Corp
Robert K. Rasmus, CPCC, Inflight Strategies
Kevin Reiners, Paradigm Technology Services, Inc.
Terry R. Smith
Daniel Stouffer, Active Logic Corp.
Rolf Biernath
Don Craighead, DHC Enterprises, Inc.
Elie Dick, US Bancorp
Erika Flores
Muhannah Kakish, MSK EYES, Ltd
J. Roger Meier
William Nemitz
Chad Nilsson, Administaff
Jim Poole, Silverman, Olson, Thorvilson & Kaufmann
Mark E. Reeves, Inventive Solutions, Inc.
Diane Sillerud, Starlight Designs
Cameron Smith, The Oxboro Technologies Group
monitors and implements our nominations and elections process. Look for their
involvement as we vote on the new volunteer leadership to the Board of Directors in the
next month.
leadership! We are in the process of updating and revising our bylaws, as well as
putting them on-line for membership review. If you are up to the challenge of recognizing
and supporting the structural component of this organization, please contact Ed Palmer
(ceo@solarattic.com), Eric Strauss (eric@entrepreneursforhire.com) or Kathy Gatliff
(kathy@mn-entrepreneurs.org).
We are looking for financial support in
exchange for recognition. If you would like to support any of our monthly activities, or
provide a donation towards purchase of supplies or equipment for the organization,
please contact Maria Kannankutty for further information at:mkannankutty@charter.net
underway to develop an annual educational program for business start-ups. If you are
interested in being a part of the Educational Committee please contact Christy James at
cj@vezone.com for further information.
Committee to make sure that our budget goals and expectations are met for the
year. They have also been asked to find a partner for credit card processing for dues,
sponsorships and registration fees. If you'd like to assist with this committee, please
contact:Slava Thaler at sthaler@reachapex.com.
and our partnerships. Presently, we are reviewing the bylaws and articles of incorporation
for changes. If you'd like to assist with this committee, please contact Roger Zahn at
rzahn@e-lawfirm.com. In addition, we need to make sure that a representative of this
committee, if not the chairperson, is present at every monthly meeting and every board of
directors meeting.
name recognition in the community through press releases, networking groups, and trade
show participation. In addition, Eric is in the process of supplying the infrastructure to
upgrade our website and automate our membership roster and on-line newsletter as
well. If you have any interest in supporting these activities and would like to serve on the
committee, please contact eric@entrepreneursforhire.com.
are up to the challenge of building our organization, please contact Ed Palmer
(ceo@solarattic.com), Eric Strauss (eric@entrepreneursforhire.com) or Kathy Gatliff
(kathy@mn-entrepreneurs.org).
Jim Poole has recently volunteered to chair this committee. He will be
working closely with the Christy James and the Education Committee to find inspirational
speakers that will complement the monthly educational programming. If you are "well-
connected" or "in-the-know" and want to help contact speakers for these programs,
please contact Jim at jpoole@sotk.com.
commerce. This committee serves as a resource for the MEI organization, as well as
developing a resource pool for the individual members. If you have talents in this area
joeb1993@aol.com.
fear of the unknown. If I have failed to mention it, at the time you hire the first employee
you will then face the entire weight of all of the government’s employment regulations.
Think tax forms, forms and more forms. Not to mention money. It doesn’t end there;
virtually everything is stacked against the entrepreneur who seeks to succeed in any
endeavor, especially the one that generates wealth. Anyone who has dealt in medical or
environmental areas can testify to the vast array of regulatory rules and government
abuse they are confronted with. And then there are securities laws, which are the
lifeblood of entrepreneurial growth-oriented companies. It is how they raise
development capital and the regulatory abuse is ripe; even outright hostile in states like
Minnesota.
manufacturing reestablished. Long days, lots of sweat and the pay was questionable.
Plus, my fingers have now been locking up from over use. You’ve heard the saying:
“Use it or lose it!”Here’s another. “Over use it and you will abuse it.”Being too focused
as an entrepreneur can cause physical pain. I know.
and even physical pain—exactly why do entrepreneurs exist? What is the
entrepreneur’s offset? The answer lies in the realm of entrepreneurial joy and in the old
adage WIFM; “What’s In It For Me?” as it applies to entrepreneurs.
life as I chose. I have been working on a “Definite Chief Aim” for many years as
Napoleon Hill outlines it in his book Law of Success. This is the number one thing you
employed—it is not possible to be engaged in “working on your own dreams.”That isn’t
to say you can’t accomplish great things in the confines of any company. You can. It
only means that you are not free to work on you own BIG GOAL as you see it. It also
doesn’t mean that you can always simply do your own thing; you can’t. It just means
you enjoy a lot of personal freedom each day.
one-half of what someone would pay me for my talents, it would be of an equivalent
value. I.E. I could earn $50k per year and it would be equivalent to a salary of $100k.
It gets better than that since tax laws favor corporations; but that is another topic.
me to do something about it. Who do I complain to since I am the boss? I enjoy
accepting responsibility for my success and failure. Mostly I enjoy the achievements.
Therefore, don’t think too highly of me. I struggle like everyone else.
I have been
accused of this joy and admit to having some of it. However, the two people who usually
accuse me mostly just want it for themselves. So, I take their accusations lightly. Still —
many entrepreneurs would count “control” in with the freedom thing. This isn’t entirely
true though as the really successful entrepreneurs have the necessity and habit of
systematically giving up control. You simply cannot reach the pinnacle of your success if
you cannot give up some degree of control over many aspects of your business.
because I seek adventure and I do not mind having to wear many hats for different
tasks. It makes me a poor administrator though, simply because I abhor repetitive work.
I like creating the system and God willing—finding someone to manage it and take it
over. Therefore, I am a builder and not a maintainer.
words of one boss who said: “Ed, there are ways to take care of guys like you!”I was
simply telling the truth, but I was in an organization that didn’t appreciate it. I don’t worry
about telling the truth anymore except with respect to how it needs to be handled. I also
remember the board meeting I attended where fifteen directors sat around a big oblong
table. I was one of them. As I looked around the room, I noticed that virtually everyone
was dressed the same way as the senior officer—with blue shirts and khaki pants.
was sitting in a room filled with only yes men. Growth comes out of the diversity of
opinion and nothing good comes from a management team that fears to tell it the way it
is. The ability to express oneself without fear is a great joy. You also have the freedom
to choose to do what is right, which is very important to me.
high in the morning and feel like you are sinking into the realm of despair in the evening.
Or, vice versa. That is how quickly events can change in your daily business and you
need to embrace the idea of having to deal with a wide range of emotions. I gave myself
permission to feel and enjoy a great range of emotions. Aside from thinking you might
go nuts at times, this wide range of emotions is another major joy. You will get excited
and bummed out at times. However, you will definitely know that you are really alive.
told you simply cannot succeed. Many people have told me face to face that I cannot do
what I am already doing by transferring free attic heat energy. “You cannot heat a pool
with a hot attic!”Well, tell that to the hundreds of customers I now have in 36 states that
say they are doing it.
energy technology. I had no clue as to what I had gotten into or the length of time it
would take to succeed. However, I enjoy building, learning, teaching and certainly in
proving that I can do it. I enjoy wearing many hats and in breaking new ground.
bored. New obstacles mean new challenges. Pushing yourself to the limits mean you
learn how far you can go. Finally, an entrepreneur’s joy is in “doing”, which is a whole lot
more than just “being.”That’s why the entrepreneur has a preference for taking action.
Next month … PERFECT CONDITIONS! Should you wait until you have all the facts or
start now on the big dream???
prospective member to a meeting to check us out! We will track referrals and recognize you for
bringing in any new members! See Kathy at the registration desk to get your certificates!
Get a sneak preview....Tune to KCCO at 950 AM on the first & second Tuesdays of the month at
6:20 a.m.
9:00 PM at the Minnesota Business Academy Wabasha & Exchange Streets - Downtown
St. Paul.
Educational Seminars begin at 6 PM and the Keynote Presentation begins at 7:15 PM
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Tuesday, October 8, 2002
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
, starting with
Registration and Informal networking at 5:30 PM, at the Minnesota Business Academy.
at
4:00 PM. Call 651-687-0272 for Board Meeting location. Board Meetings are open to
MEI Members only.
copy this address and go to:
http://www.mn-entrepreneurs.org/reserve.htm
$25 at the door, cash or check – or $20 if you register in advance via the web
site or call Kathy to make your reservation: 651-687-0272.
to the meeting at MBA and information on parking, please copy this address and
go to: http://www.mn-entrepreneurs.org/addr_map2.htm
at MBA –Wabasha & Exchange Streets in St. Paul – Registration at 5:30 PM
