Business Journal - April 2015

BUSINESS F O R S O U T H W E S T M O N TA N A

JOURNAL

MONTANA BARBEQUE Zac Kellerman opens barbeque restaurant in Livingston PAGE 3 APRIL 28, 2015

Ready, set, launch Blackstone LaunchPad provides an entrepreneurial education

BY LEWIS KENDALL BUSINESS JOURNAL EDITOR

TUCKED INSIDE A GLASS OFFICE in the Strand Union Building, a collaborative program at Montana State University is attempting to give students an entrepreneurial alternative to education.

Founded in 2013, Blackstone LaunchPad is a program designed to foster and develop students’ business ideas, as well as to introduce business ownership as a viable career path.

“It surrounds these entrepreneurs with the resources needed to get off the ground,” said Les Craig, the program’s director.

These resources include business plan counseling, marketing and legal advice, as well as networking. The program encourages anyone with business interest to walk through its doors.

LAUNCHPAD CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

Audrey Wooding, deputy director, left, and Les Craig, director of Blackstone LaunchPad at Montana State University, have helped numerous students with innovative ideas launch their business, including Jason Trueblood’s Boondock Outdoors.

editor ’s

NOTEBOOK B Y L E W I S K E N DA L L BUSI N E S S JOU R NA L E DI TOR

I read a great quote this week from one of my favorite authors, Jorge Luis Borges. “Centuries of centuries and only in the present do things happen,” the Argentine wrote.

Not to discredit history, because Borges is clearly being a bit tongue-in-cheek, but in many ways it is only what we do in the present that actually matters. I don’t want to get too existential here, but in the context of business Borges’ idea of taking action and living in the now resonates extremely clearly.

Successful business owners seem to follow a trend. They are achievers. They are gogetters. Use whatever cliché you want — they are simply people of passion and action. Good entrepreneurs are not just people with a smart idea, filling a need in a market. They are individuals with the willpower to take that concept and turn it tangible.

This month’s stories reflect the experiences of a couple of such individuals, people within our

BUSINESS F O R S O U T H W E S T M O N TA N A

JOURNAL

EDITOR | LEWIS KENDALL ADVERTISING MANAGER | SYLVIA DR AIN

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community who have taken the initiative to make their business dreams a reality. And what is most inspiring about them to me is not necessarily their successes, great though they may be, but rather their outlooks on life. These people — from a seasoned restaurant owner to a student starting his first business — provide shining examples of determination and perseverance.

And what they prove is that these traits are applicable across all facets of our lives. No matter the occupation, we can all at some point or another use a boost of decisiveness — whether to pursue something we love or to move away from something we hate.

I find inspiration in the commitment of these individuals, not only in looking to the future, but also in making things happen in the present. I hope you will too.

Kendall can be reached at lkendall@ dailychronicle.com. Kendall is on Twitter at @lewdak

E-MAIL: lkendall@dailychronicle.com OTHER WAYS TO CONTAC T US: PO Box 1190, Bozeman MT 59771 Phone 406 587-4491 OUR THREECOUNTY REGION

GALLATIN MADISON

PARK

Business Journal is published monthly by Big Sky Publishing, LLC. Contents copyrighted 2012 by Business Journal unless otherwise noted.

Clocking In profiles people with interesting jobs or noteworthy local businesses. Send future feature suggestions to businessjournal@dailychronicle.com.

CLOCKING IN ...

... with Zac Kellerman, of Zac’s Montana Barbecue Zac Kellerman, owner of Zac's Montana Barbecue in Livingston, prepares a cut of beef for brisket which will be smoked for 14 hours, on April 14.

ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

THE THICK STEEL DOOR GROANS OPEN, revealing a gaping, sooted maw large enough to cram 100 whole chickens, several sides of pig or dozens of chunks of cow.

Standing beside the mammoth meat-smoking apparatus, pit master Zac Kellerman — a tall drink of water himself — appears small by comparison.

Kellerman, speaking with the soft, methodical drawl of his native Louisville, Kentucky,

gets animated as he explains brines, smoke times and temperatures.

“We take the barbecue very serious,” Kellerman says, adjusting his cowboy hat. “Barbecue is tricky so you’d better be taking it seriously.”

Kellerman, the owner of catering company Zac’s Montana Kitchen, opened his new foray into barbecue — Zac’s Montana Barbeque — in March after nearly six months of planning. With the help of his interior designer

wife, Kellerman renovated his catering space on Eighth Street in Livingston into what he now affectionately calls “hillbilly chic.” License plates plaster the front of the counter, upon which perch jars of homemade pickles and sauces. Reclaimed metal chairs sit around picnic-style tables made from old 50 gallon metal barrels.

ZAC’S CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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ZAC’S CON T. F ROM PAGE 3

COMINGS & GOINGS

TO CONTRIBUTE CALL 582-2635

New real estate firm Montana 406 Real Estate opened in Bozeman this month.

The business is a collaborative effort between PollyAnna Snyder, Ann Kesting and Bret Snyder and aims to service residential, investment and luxury real estate markets in Bozeman, Livingston and Big Sky.

lighting instillation and turf maintenance, among other services.

Four Corners salon Owner Christa Hansen opened Revive Salon on Gallatin Road this month. The salon offers hair care, nail care and skin care services and accepts walk-ins.

Cleaning service

Mobile vet service Black Dog Veterinary Services, a mobile veterinary business, opened in Bozeman this month.

Started by Dr. Amy Kafer, the operation offers house calls for pets, and includes services ranging from exams to vaccinations to acupuncture.

Landscape company

Grime Fighters, an all female cleaning service business, opened in Bozeman this month. Owners Regina Caligiuri and Kryssa Bowman offer personal concierge and shopping assistant services in addition to multiple types of residential and event cleanup. The business offers free estimates.

Covenant Outdoor Services, a full service landscape maintenance company servicing the Gallatin Valley, opened this month. The business, run by Aaron McNichols and his wife Chrissie, offers irrigation system implementation,

Real estate merger

THE BOTTOM LINE

MONTHLY ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Prudential Montana Real Estate, the largest real estate brokerage firm in Montana, became Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Montana Properties, absorbing it into a network of 34,000 agents in 47 states.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 Bozeman

Missoula

SOURCE: DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION, MONTANA AERONAUTICS DIVISION

4

Feb.

$8 $7 $6 $5 $4 $3

U.S. 2 Feed Barley U.S. 1 Dark Northern Spring Wheat 14% U.S. 1 Hard Red Winter Wheat 12%

3/27 Billings

A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5 • B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

FEEDER CATTLE PRICES

MONTANA ELEVATOR CASH GRAIN PRICES

AIRPORT BOARDINGS Oct.

The place is both immaculately decorated and organized. In the kitchen, where prep work for the restaurant and catering company takes place, pots and pans are stacked neatly, containers of every shape and size lined against the walls next to rows of meticulously placed ingredients.

“By having an operation like this kitchen — something that is very well organized — your product is very polished, from the employees’ uniforms to the vinaigrette,” Kellerman says. “If I’m going to represent myself through a restaurant, it’s going to be clean and shiny.”

The 48-year-old’s professionalism stems in part from a long career in the food industry. Kellerman got his first restaurant job at 15, working alongside his uncle helping to prepare salads.

“I immediately was fascinated by it,” Kellerman says, explaining how he was awed by chefs who could tell the readiness of meat simply by touching it.

Kellerman admits he originally came to Montana “mostly for the fly fishing.” He took classes at the University of Montana and worked at a lodge in Glacier National Park before eventually returning to a restaurant in Kentucky. It was there that he met Dean Fearing, the television personality and chef

known as the “father of southwestern cuisine.”

“I was cooking seriously at the time and it was then that I realized that it was what I wanted to do as a career,” he said.

After speaking with Fearing, Kellerman moved to Dallas to take a job at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, an upscale hotel that included a five-star restaurant. Kellerman cut his teeth in the 10 years spent under Fearing, learning the ins and outs of fine dining and restaurant ownership.

“That was where I really learned how to cook. I really had to stick to it and stay focused,” he says.

“Cooking is one profession that you can do without formal training if you have the right attitude and are willing to put in that approach to learning your craft.”

But Kellerman wanted his own business, and he pined for the open skies and trout-laden rivers of Montana so he moved back, ending up in Livingston in 2000. A year later he met Jewel Redmon, the owner of a catering business, which Kellerman purchased in 2005 and renamed Zac’s Montana Kitchen.

The two still work closely together, Redmon baking the southern-inspired desserts like pecan pie, banana pudding and the chow mein noodle, butterscotch and peanut creation Kellerman calls Hillbilly Haystacks.

4/2

4/10

AVERAGE PRICE PER BUSHEL FOR WINTER AND SPRING WHEAT. AVERAGE PRINCE PER CW T FOR FEED BARLEY

$300 $250 $200 Week Week Week end end end 3/28 4/4 4/11

SOURCE: USDA-WY DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE MARKET NEWS SERVICE, TORRINGTON, WY

STEERS

500-599 lbs

HEIFERS 500-599 lbs

ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

Kellerman picks out pieces of apple wood to be used in smoking meat.

In addition to Redmon, Zac’s Montana Barbeque employs around 10 mostly full-time staff, all of whom take their cues from Kellerman.

“If you’re here all day long enforcing a goal and what it takes to attain that goal, your staff sees that. It comes from the top. If the owner doesn’t care, why would the staff care? If the owner does care, the staff has to care or else they won’t have a job,” Kellerman says.

For all his plaudits as a chef, Kellerman has proved himself a savvy business owner. In the months leading up to the restaurant’s opening, he partnered with Katabatic Brewing

Co. in Livingston, selling plates of ribs and pulled pork to bar customers on Saturday nights.

“You can run ads in papers and do radio and commercials all day, but the best way to promote food is to give you a plate of it,” Kellerman says of the cross-marketing campaign. “You could tell then by people’s responses how excited they were.”

Additionally, Kellerman opened the restaurant with a soft opening, offering his barbecue for half price for the first two days. In that period the joint sold around 1,000 plates, well exceeding expectations.

“That was a really smart marketing move,” he said.

Kellerman insists his business nous is mostly self-taught, and his long and varied career attests to that. But much of his success appears attributable to a combination of hard work and scrupulous preparation — something he insists applies to all types of entrepreneurship.

“This is not for kids. It’s not for someone who doesn’t have a work ethic or who is not willing to make sacrifices or put in 80 hours a week,” Kellerman says. “No one can do the job better than you can, and that’s really evident especially with barbecue because it is such a tricky execution.”

True to form, despite the restaurant’s early success, Kellerman is not resting on his laurels. He plans to begin a delivery service in the coming months, and won’t rule out franchising the business in the long term. But on the whole he appears content with his artisanal approach to barbeque.

“I can’t express my emotions through a pork rib, but I can express my desire for an artistic craft. Doing good business, and all of the responsibilities that come with it, can be seen as an artistic craft. Good business is a craft, and it takes passion to do a craft well.”

Kendall can be reached at lkendall@dailychronicle.com. Kendall is on Twitter at @lewdak

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK VISITS SOURCE: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

March.............79,722

8%

Feb. ........... 82,645

6%

Jan. ........... 81,569

4%

Dec. ............ 67,717 Nov. ........... 59,081 October ...... 194,804

5.5% 4.1% 3.3%

May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan

U.S. Montana Gallatin Co.

Feb March

2015 SOURCE: MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR & INDUSTRY

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LAUNCH COV E R S T OR Y CON T. “You don’t have to have your own idea to walk in here,” said Audrey Wooding, the program’s deputy director. “You can walk in here just interested in entrepreneurship and maybe through that process you’ll work for someone who is an entrepreneur or provide some sort of alternative — thinking outside the box.”

The program began in 2008 as a partnership with the University of Miami. Since then, it has expanded to six states, thanks in large part to millions of dollars of grant money from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation — the philanthropic arm of The Blackstone Group, a multinational private investment banking company.

The foundation funded the MSU LaunchPad with a three-year, $2 million grant. However very little, if any, of this money is allocated for student startups.

While Craig and Wooding acknowledged that raising capital is one of the biggest challenges to overcome for budding businesses, they emphasized that their role is that of teachers rather than bankrollers.

“Education is what puts the books on your shelf and your experience is going back and pulling those books off the shelf,” Craig noted. “But if you don’t have those books on there in the first place, you don’t have anywhere to go, you don’t have resources, you don’t have technical skills or background or experience to leverage.”

According to Blackstone, since its inception the Miami program has generated around 1,500 business proposals equating to more than 200 jobs. And while MSU’s LaunchPad hasn’t seen those kinds of numbers, there are several concrete examples of success.

The program currently has four companies raising seed money, and two additional companies with crowdfunding campaigns. Among these companies are DropTrip, a crowd-sourced shipping company and the winner of Startup Weekend Bozeman 2013, and DD Buddy, a mobile app for designated drivers. The program is also working with Voke Tab, the energy tablet company that has been featured in Outside Magazine and National Geographic.

According to Craig and Wooding, the program has overseen the inception of 58 new student and alumni ventures in the past several months, bringing its total to over 100.

Sophomore Jason Trueblood, the founder of Boondock Outdoors — a waterfowl hunting operation — is among the program’s recent clients.

Trueblood started his business in the fall and took 6

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ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

Jason Trueblood, 22, a sophomore at Montana State University majoring in business and marketing and entrepreneur of a water fowl decoy rigging system, Boondock Outdoors, started the business in December 2014 with the help of Blackstone Launchpad.

it as far as he could before reaching out to the LaunchPad. “Our first meeting was just on packaging,” Trueblood said. “[Craig] then helped me set up a financial model. We went through the numbers and did projections and break-even points and financial stuff that was pretty beneficial because that’s not my strong suit.”

For Craig and Wooding, the Launchpad represents “the career services center of the future,” as the idea of self-starting businesses becomes increasingly socially and culturally acceptable.

“It’s a nontraditional program but it is going to become traditional,” Wooding said. “If you look at the workplace today, people aren’t staying at their jobs, they’re not working in an office, they’re doing things much differently than my parents’ generation or even my generation did, so there’s an education piece of catching people up and saying ‘this is how it works.’”

But according to Trueblood, this idea hasn’t en-

tirely caught on with his peers.

“I hear a lot of ideas but not a lot of action,” said the 22-year-old. “In my personal experience, you have to be willing to do it on your own. Some of the resources [the Launchpad] provides have been priceless. But if the entrepreneur doesn’t want to do it on their own then [the resources] are useless.”

The program attracts students and alumni by helping them build connections within the local business community, Wooding said, something that is vitally important for young startups.

“We want to be able to tap the community to assist our student ventures and provide mentorship or oversight so we can grow our community locally and also throughout the state,” Wooding said.

“The ecosystem just takes time,” Craig added. “It’s like planting a seed. If you plant it in fertile ground, you water it, you nurture it, and it’s going to grow.

And that’s where we’re excited about Bozeman because the community has the right mindset.”

ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

The Blackstone LaunchPad team from left, Mike Maher, business process coordinator, Audrey Wooding, deputy director, Jake Schroeder, business research manager, Ethan Hall, IT manager, Dylan Weber, student manager, Les Craig, director, and Sam Lucas, events and marketing coordinator.

With growing organizations such as StartupBozeman, the Montana High Tech Business Alliance, and venture capitalists like Will Price moving in, the area has indeed become a fertile ground for seedling business.

As of 2013 there were more than 5,000 small businesses operating in Gallatin County, according to Census Bureau statistics. And in the state as a whole there were more than 115,000 such businesses, employing around 232,000 workers. These types of ventures are critical to communities as small, independent operations return more than three times as much revenue to economies than their chain counterparts, according to studies.

“The goal of [the LaunchPad] is economic development throughout the state, so our graduates have good jobs,” Wooding said. “When

they finish school they can return to their home communities and start businesses that employ local community members or stay here and employ folks.”

As its grant expires next year, Craig and Wooding are looking to other sources for funding to both continue the program and to be able to eventually provide startup money for entrepreneurs. But overall the emphasis remains strongly focused on the community, said Craig.

“This is about taking Montana’s best, Montana’s brightest, who are coming to MSU to get technical degrees, to get a college education, and getting them to start something here. Keeping it home grown, keeping it here,” Craig said.

Kendall can be reached at lkendall@dailychronicle.com. Kendall is on Twitter at @lewdak B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L • A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5

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[ Quarterly advice for business and life from a revolving cast of three columnists ]

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BUSINESS MATTERS

Exercising & aging

BY MAURY WIEGAND

FACT: WE’RE ALL GETTING OLDER. Fact: You can avoid 70 percent of the problems associated with aging and eliminate 50 percent of illnesses and injuries as you age. Fact: You can spend the last third of your life enjoying high function living or experience a rapid and steady decline each decade.

The deciding factor of which direction you’re going to go? You guessed it, it is exercise.

I only have 600 words in this column, and I could easily spend the entire page citing scientific studies to confirm this, but instead I’d like to address how you can make this happen. For those dubious skeptics who like to read scholarly articles, the internet is a good resource on this topic. Pick your sources with care — harvard.edu or hopkinsmedicine.org for a start.

One handbook for successful aging that I highly recommend to all of my clients 40 years or older is the book “Younger Next Year.” This book is co-written by Dr. Harry Lodge, an internist and gerontologist who draws on his current studies in evolutionary biology and human neurochemistry, and 70-year-old Chris Crowley, an exlawyer and successful patient. This is a guidebook through aging that will leave you inspired, educated and entertained.

The premise of this book is that normal aging is not normal but rather is built into our cultural acceptance that with age comes deterioration in quality of life, both physical and mental. Lodge’s argument is that aging is inevitable, but decaying is optional.

What’s the hard sell here?

“Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life. Sorry but that’s it. No negotiations. No give. No excuses. Six days, serious exercise, until you die.” The other 400 or so pages substantiate how and why to 8

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accomplish this, with a good dose of humor from Crowley.

There is an inherent part of us that already knows this to be true, inklings and remnants from our prehistoric hunter-gatherer days.

Every one of us can cite examples of elders we know who demonstrate this to be true advice. Why then don’t we heed this prescription for wellness?

For most, this requires a huge amount of change in how we are currently living. We are talking about at least four days of aerobic activity with two more workouts that stress our strength abilities.

Crowley encourages new retirees to welcome this as “your new job,” which poses the question of when is it too late to begin exercise?

The National Institutes of Health reports that health improvements can be anticipated for all older adults, even those who have already experienced diseases associated with age, who engage in a regular exercise program.

In another example, numerous research studies substantiated a U.S. government report in 2008 on Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans that deemed regular physical exercise as essential, not suggested, for lowering the rates of all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, colon cancer, breast cancer and depression — all age associated diseases.

Another favorite read of mine for motivation in finding your older inner athlete is “What Makes Olga Run?” In this book, author Bruce Grierson introduces us to 94-year-old Olga Kotelko.

Olga started competing in track and field events at the age of 77 and went on to earn 26 world masters records in her age category. Olga died last summer at the age of 95, three days after suf-

fering a cranial hemorrhage. The weekend before, Olga competed in three events in a track meet and several months prior in a World Masters Championship in Budapest. Now that is high functioning until the very end.

I recently celebrated the birthday of one of my favorite clients who I have had the privilege of working out with three days a week for the past 15 years. Last week we toasted champagne to his 90th birthday.

So if you’re considering if it’s time to get your exercise program in gear, check with your physician to rule out restrictions and pick up a copy of “Younger Next Year” or “Younger Next Year for Women” and get moving. Remember that it’s never too late to start, and it is never time to quit.

Maury Wiegand is a person fitness trainer and owner of The Club on Rouse.

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FINANCIAL TIPS

The intricacies of index funds

BY STEVE HAMPLE

INDEX FUNDS HAVE LOW EXPENSES and are appropriate in some cases, but they are not magical. In recent years they have become more common, often being an investment choice in company retirement plans.

An index fund seeks to mimic or “track” a particular index, most often the S&P 500 — the Standard and Poor’s index of the stocks of 500 large U.S. companies. Some index funds are purchased like a traditional mutual fund while Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are purchased more like a stock.

Index funds can be designed to track a variety of assets, such as a bond index or a real estate index, and some are more abstract.

A common theme is that they are computer driven, which allows them to be operated at a very low cost and hence are an economical way to change the investment allocation of large amounts of money.

However, any index fund will have at least some operating cost and thus will almost always slightly underperform the index being tracked. Also, a particular index fund might not be the right one to hold in certain conditions.

One seldom considered aspect: Most S&P 500 and other index funds are capitalization weighted, which means the fund will own actual stocks to the same percentage as each company’s value is to the total value of all 500 companies. For example, if for ABC corporation there are one million shares trading in the stock market at a current price of $50, that company’s total value (capitalization) would be $50 million, which might represent 3 percent of the total value of all the stocks in the index. If so, the computer running an index fund in that situation would always try to have 3 percent

of its money invested in the stock of ABC corporation.

Notice that if ABC corporation reports a great profit and the stock price increases to where it represents 4 percent of the total value of the index, then the computer model would seek to buy more shares of ABC after the price had risen. Similarly, if the corporation had a disaster and dropped to 2 percent of the total value in the index, the computer model would seek to rebalance its holdings by selling after the price had dropped.

An advantage of the exchange traded variety of index funds is that they can make these changes several times during a day, thus likely reducing the effect compared to a traditional mutual fund that updates only at the close of a trading day.

Keeping expenses low is an understandable goal. Funds, which have human managers and researchers and/or pay commissions to brokerage firms rather than using mass advertising, typically have higher expenses. Studies suggest perhaps two-thirds of human managed funds underperform their associated index, which also suggests about one-third of managed funds outperform.

A theoretically interesting, though speculative, way to invest would be to essentially bet against those who favor index funds, assuming that increasing use in retirement plans will create constant demand for stock of companies in an index, perhaps driving their prices too high. A person might invest in stocks of promising companies just outside the range of the index and which would likely get a nice boost if added to the list.

During a three-day period in March when it was learned

that the clothing company Hanes’ stock would be added to the S&P 500 index to replace Avon, Hanes gained 5 percent while Avon dropped more than 10 percent.

Index funds with low operating expenses may be good for those who trade among types of funds and who are comfortable going with the crowd.

Dr. Stephen R. Hample, CFP, of Hample & Peck, is a registered representative of KMS Financial Services, Inc. and owns a trust and banking corporation. Email Steve at steve.hample@ KMSfinancial.com

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REAL TALK

Trends to watch

BY ROBYN ERLENBUSH

RECENTLY I CAME ACROSS AN ARTICLE in the Washington Post by David Charron, who is the president and CEO of a multiplelisting service in the Washington D.C. area.

He was looking at the five real estate trends to keep an eye out for in 2015. Though our local market may be apples to D.C.’s oranges, these areas of discussion apply to real estate as a whole.

Inventory: Lack of available homes on the market has had a large impact on our sales recently. Many properties under $350,000 are receiving multiple offers and selling for more than full asking price. Buyers’ choices are limited and require fast action when properties come on the market. However, at least in the immediate Bozeman area, the single-family inventory is rising a bit. At the end of March 2015, there were 123 homes for sale in the Bozeman city limits compared to 99 at the same time in 2013 and 106 in 2014.

Inventory in the other markets we closely track is still on the decline, down 9 percent in Bozeman outside of city limits, 37 percent in Belgrade, 13 percent in Big Sky, 18 percent in Livingston and 15 percent in Ennis. We are once again seeing growth moving outside of the city of Bozeman and buyers commuting further, based on lower sales prices in the communities of Three Forks, Ennis and Livingston.

The condo and townhome inventory ended the first quarter with 59 available listings in the Bozeman city limits, up slightly from 53 the prior year. The real disconnect is that for the price ranges up to $250,000, there is less than three and a half months of available inventory on the market, so still more entry level properties are needed for sale.

Year-to-date closed sales in all of the markets are looking good in 2015, with increases over last year’s numbers in all areas except 10

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Big Sky. The large number of transactions that are currently pending shows regional real estate market strength should continue to hold. Many of these pending sales are newly constructed homes which are under contract and awaiting completion.

Price: Intuitively, using the basics of supply and demand, if and when our inventory levels grow the average prices should level off. The average sales price at of the end of March for a singlefamily home within the Bozeman city limits was $360,221, which is a 14 percent increase from 2014.

Prices also were higher year-overyear in the Belgrade, Big Sky, Park County and Ennis markets.

Median sales prices showed gains in all of the markets.

In-town condos and townhomes also increased in average sales price from $213,583 to $241,265 at the end of March.

Belgrade attached housing average prices increased by 34 percent

to $140,318. Big Sky grew by 14 percent to $494,701.

Interest rates: Since rates are more national than other real estate figures, the following information is taken directly from Charron’s article.

“At this time last year, most people in the industry predicted mortgage interest rates would rise above 5 percent in 2014. But as of this writing, they are still hovering around 4 percent and have been decreasing incrementally over the past 10 months.

We expect this trend will reverse direction and rates will slowly increase well into 2015. At the beginning of the year, it is likely that buyers will see more favorable rates than those at the end, with no sudden spikes anticipated.”

As always, check with your lender to find out current rates and how it will affect your home purchase decisions.

First-time homebuyers: Firsttime homebuyers are a demographic that is very important to the vitality of the real estate market.

Charron made some very valid points in his article including the quoted statements below.

“This segment of the population has dominated the conversation for at least the past year and will no doubt continue to do so in 2015.

Many obstacles — from tighter loan restrictions and higher down payment requirements to student loan burdens and lack of available, affordable homes — prevented first-time buyers from entering the market in 2014.

The National Association of Realtors reported that first-time buyers currently comprise only 33 percent of buyers. That represents their lowest market share since 1987, when first-time buyers made up only 30 percent of the market, largely because mortgage interest rates were double what they are now.

But there is some great news. The recent announcements of new 3 percent down payment programs

by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should put purchasing a house within the reach of more buyers, especially those who have good credit and steady employment but have not been able to save enough for a 10 percent or 20 percent down payment. With these new programs, we’re optimistic that 2015 will be noticeably easier on many first-time homebuyers.”

While we do not track first-time homebuyers for our demographics, one related statistic that is interesting is the breakdown of property use. In 2014, 64 percent of properties purchased — by buyers who purchased homes through our company — were for primary residence, 10 percent were second homes and 26 percent were for investment purposes.

New neighborhoods to watch: Though this category can be quite different in a major metropolitan area versus our smaller city and rural areas, there are always indications of the direction the real estate market might be heading which generally trickle down. Big Sky is such a unique market in our state, but the trends in that area definitely reflect what will be happening throughout our region. Big Sky’s positive gains flow to Bozeman and then to the outlying markets of Belgrade, Livingston, Manhattan, Three Forks and beyond. Within Bozeman, popular new neighborhoods that are leading the pace include the Knolls, the Crossing and Norton Ranch.

These facts and figures are a briefest snapshot of the real estate market and are very fluid as each month passes, but they make for both interesting conversation and items for consideration if you are thinking of buying or selling a home in the near future.

Robyn Erlenbush is a downtown business owner and the broker/owner of ERA Landmark Real Estate (with offices in Bozeman, Big Sky, Livingston and Clyde Park), NAI Landmark Commercial and Intermountain Property Management. She can be reached at robyn@ eralandmark.com.

BOZEMAN AREA BUSINESS CALENDAR BOZEMAN

4/27 • Business Journal Monthly B2B Networking Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Hilton Garden Inn. $35 reserved, $40 at the door. Register and more information at www.bozemandailychronicle.com/business/ events/b2b-luncheons/.

4/29 • Business Lunch Seminar—The Magic of the Sales Pipeline, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Bozeman Chamber, 2000 Commerce Way. $18 for members, $105 for non-members. Register at www.bozemanchamber.com.

4/30 • Southwest Montana Association of Fundraising Professionals presents Planned Giving 101 for Nonprofits, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the Museum of the Rockies. $5 for Association of Fundraising Professionals members, $10 for non-members. Contact Ciara Wolfe at Ciara@gallitinvalleyymca.org for more information and to register.

5/1 • Bobcat Fest on Main Street, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., in downtown Bozeman. Visit www. downtownbozeman.org for more information.

5/5 • Downtown Bozeman Association Board Meeting, 8:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., Downtown Bozeman Partnership Office, 222 E. Main St. Suite 302. All are welcome. Visit www. downtownbozeman.org for more information.

5/7 • Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce Business Before Hours, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., at the Best Western Plus GranTree Inn, 1325 N. 7th Ave. $5 for members, $25 for non-members. Register at www.bozemanchamber.com.

5/13 • Bozeman Business and Professional Women Luncheon, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., at Holiday Inn, 5 E. Baxter. $9 for members, $12 for non-members. More information and register at www.bozemanbpw.org.

5/13 • Bozeman Score Lunch & Learn “Effective Networking: Developing A Compelling Elevator Pitch” 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., at the Bozeman Public Library Large Community Room, 626 E. Main St. Visit www. scorebozeman.org.

5/14 • Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce 4:44 @ 4C, 4:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Little Bear Interiors, 81630 Gallatin Rd. Register at www.bozemanchamber.com.

5/19 • Tax Increment Fund Board Meeting, 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Downtown Bozeman Partnership office.

5/20 • Business Improvement District Board Meeting, 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the

Downtown Bozeman Partnership office.

5/20 • Bozeman Business and Professional Women Networking Social, 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., location TBD. More information and register at www.bozemanbpw.org.

5/21 • Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Health Works Institute, 407 W. Main St. Free for members, $25 for non-members. Register at www.bozemanchamber.com.

5/27 • Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce Full Board Meeting, 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., at the Bozeman Chamber, 2000 Commerce Way. More information at www.bozemanchamber.com.

5/27 • Bozeman Score Lunch & Learn “Small Town Marketing” 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., at the Bozeman Public Library Large Community Room, 626 E. Main St. Visit www. scorebozeman.org.

5/27 • Bozeman Business and Professional Women Luncheon, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., at Holiday Inn, 5 E. Baxter. $9 for members, $12 for non-members. More information and register at www.bozemanbpw.org.

5/28 • Downtown Bozeman Partnership Annual Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., at The Baxter, 105 W. Main St. Visit www.downtownbozeman.org for more information.

5/28 • Business Lunch Seminar—Five “Scientific” Hidden Weaknesses, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Bozeman Chamber, 2000 Commerce Way. $18 for members, $105 for non-members. Register at www.bozemanchamber.com.

BELGRADE

5/5 • Belgrade Chamber of Commerce President’s Circle, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Meeting open to past presidents and past board of directors of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce.

5/7 • Belgrade Chamber of Commerce Business Before Hours, 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., at Big Sky Western Bank. Visit www.belgradechamber.org for more information.

To contribute the Business Calendar email srandrus@ dailychronicle.com

Board of Directors Meeting, 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Visit www.belgradechamber.org.

5/21 • Belgrade Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Greater Gallatin United Way/Rocky Mountain Credit Union. Visit www.belgradechamber.org for more information.

MADISON COUNTY

5/7 • Ennis Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, 5 p.m to 7 p.m., at Bill Mercer RE/MAX Mountain Property. Visit www.ennischamber.com for more information.

5/13 • Ennis Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting, 8 a.m., at First Madison Valley Bank, Ennis. Visit www.ennischamber.com for more information.

5/12 • Big Sky Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting, 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at the Big Sky Chamber, 55 Lone Mountain Trail.

Visit www.bigskychamber.com.

-

M AY 18

5/21 • Big Sky Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at 3 Rivers Communication. Visit www.bigskychamber.com for more information.

PARK COUNTY

5/28 • Belgrade Chamber of Commerce Membership Luncheon, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Visit www.belgradechamber.org for registration and more information.

A PRIL 27

4/30 • Network Live! Livingston Business After Hours, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Elks Lodge on 2nd and Lewis Streets. Visit www.livingston-chamber.com or call (406) 2220850 for more information.

5/14 • Network Live! Livingston Business After Hours, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Elichai Fine Jewelry, 116 N. Main St. Visit www. livingston-chamber.com or call (406) 222-0850 for more information.

5/21 • Network Live! Livingston Business After Hours, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Zac’s Montana BBQ, N. 8th St. Visit www.livingstonchamber.com or call (406) 222-0850 for more information.

5/28 Network Live! Livingston Business After Hours, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Granite Sports Medicine, 315 S. Main St. Visit www. livingston-chamber.com or call (406) 222-0850 for more information.

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5/9 • Belgrade Chamber of Commerce 2015 Customer Appreciation Day. Visit www.belgradechamber.org for registration and more information.

5/14 • 2014-15 Building Belgrade, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration and information at www.belgradechamber.org.

5/19 • Belgrade Chamber of Commerce

Call or sign up now for this summer!

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ON THE RECORD LICENSES

New Contractors Carpenters Hulford Construction, Matthew Lawrence Hulford, 315 W. Griffin, Bozeman, March 26.

Sky Line Customs, Cody E. Crawford, 1656 Buckrake Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

TS West Construction LLC, Antone P. Scherbakov, 2229 Country Club Rd., Woodburn, Ore., March 20.

New Contractors - Concrete D&B Concrete LLP, Brad J. Marsh, 1012 Prairie Dr., Livingston, March 11.

New Contractors - Designer/ Contractor Studio H Design, Inc., Nathan Daniel Heller, 895 Technology Blvd.

Ste. 203, Bozeman, March 11.

New Contractors - Drywall Arturo Sigala, Arturo Sigala, 316 S. 16th Ave. Apt. 5, Bozeman, March 11.

Cyle A. Pino Drywall, Cyle A. Pino, 1016 S. Tracy Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

Jose Luis Pavila, Jose Luis Pavila, 316 S. 16th Ave. Apt. 5, Bozeman, March 11.

New Contractors - Electrical C2 Electric & Security LLC, Jef-

PERMITS FILINGS PATENTS BANKRUPTCIES

frey R. Rhea, 128 Metully Ln., Twin Bridges, March 26.

Green Mountain Electric, Daniel M. Ranieri, 204 Snowline Rd., Bozeman, March 11.

Mountain States Electrical Contractors, Inc., Mountain States Electrical Contractors, Inc., 1220 E. 1st Ave. , Spokane, Wash., March 18.

New Contractors - General ABC Construction, Stephen A. Andrews II, 172 Bison Trail, Bozeman, March 11.

Alpine Customs Inc., Joseph Glen Dickey, 414 Wilda Ln., Bozeman, March 26.

Andrew Clark Craftsman, Andrew J. Clark, 337 Magdalene Way, Apt. C,

Bozeman, March 11.

Arden Exteriors, Arden E. Nixon, 7933 Bulington St., Billings, March 17.

Atlas Construction, Royden C. Jones, 1502 Bozeman Trail Rd., Bozeman, March 12.

Big M Construction, Mark A. Jensen, 502 E. Cottonwood St., Bozeman, March 11.

Big Sky Remodelers, Dennis Hayes, 635 Rottweiler Ln., Belgrade, March 20.

Big D Signature LLC, Jason J. Dunlap, 1705 High School Rd. Ste. 140, Jackson, Wyo., March 24.

Borealis Building Co. LLC, Brain P. Seneker, 521 Ice Pond Rd., Bozeman, March 11.

Buckingham Carpentry, Inc., Lawrence Buckingham, PO Box 6485, Bozeman, March 23.

Cornerstone Works, Grant Alexander Jamieson, 401 S. Tracy Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

Evghenii Macurov, Evenghenii Macurov, 2307 W. Main Unit 104,

Bozeman, March 30.

Fidelis Veteran Construction, John Hamilton Lewis II, 1220 N. Rouse Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

Griffin Creations, Justin Tyler Griffin, 418 N. Bozeman Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

Iron Horse Design LLC, Christopher N. McKeague, 79314 Gallatin Rd., Gallatin Gateway, March 11.

Jackson Building Solutions, Jackson Wade Welker, 121 S. I St., Livingston, March 11.

Kane Carpentry & Remodeling LLC, Darren John Kane, 204 E. Cascade St., Belgrade, March 11.

Ken Johnson Construction, Ken Johnson Construction, 890 Hidden Valley Rd. Unit 29, Bozeman, March 16.

Kingsbridge Construction, Dylon W. Crawford, 39 Elmwood Dr., Bozeman, March 11.

Kingwood Construction, Thomas Hotegaard Skovejerg, 1139 Cherry Dr., Bozeman, March 24.

Kourtuok, Barrett Suider, 1526 W.

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ON THE RECORD CON T. Durston Rd. #B, Bozeman, March 11.

Mannpower Exteriors, Enoch N. Mann, 215 S. 16th Ave. Apt. #4, Bozeman, March 9.

Matt Battrick, Matt Battrick, 1413 E. Gallatin #6, Livingston, March 11.

MC Construction, Inc., Jason M. Mikita, 913 Shirley Pl., Belgrade, March 11.

McCann Design & Building, Michael McCann, 55 Taurus Rd., Emigrant, March 11.

Old Mill Homes, Jason K. Shrauger, 4855 S. 3rd, Bozeman, March 3.

Proffitt Contracting, Frank William Proffitt, 17000 Cottonwood Rd., Bozeman, March 11.

Roman Ciorba, Roman Ciorba, 2307 W. Main Unit 305, Bozeman, March 30.

Santos Velazquez, Santos Velazquez, 316 S. 16th Ave. Apt 5, Bozeman, March 12.

Sign Fix Etc., Paul T. Cisclo, 78

Chelsea Way, Belgrade, March 9.

Silver Ridge Construction, Stephen Paul Swartz, 75 Williams Rd. E., Gallatin Gateway, March 11.

Stokke Concrete Cutting, Inc., Athlene Bishop Stokke, 475 US HWY 89, Vaughn, March 12.

New Contractors - Handy Persons Big Dan The Handyman LLC, Daniel G. Wood, 24 S. Willson Ste. 1A, Bozeman, March 23.

Charles Fulcher Countertop Fabrication, Charles E. Fulcher, 13213 Cottonwood Rd., Bozeman, March 13.

Ervin Log Home Repair, Danny Ervin, 79979 Gallatin Rd., Bozeman, March 31.

Rocky Mountain Home Construction, Daniel Astrom, 311 Absaroka Dr., Bozeman, March 11.

New Contractors - Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Core Control, Inc., Paul John

Stordahl, 384 Gallatin Park Dr. Ste. 102, Bozeman, March 11.

Indoor Air Solutions, Joseph J. Kleinhans, 815 W. 9th St., Laurel, March 19.

MT Mechanical, Ken Schandelmeier, 211 W. 9th, Twin Bridges, March 11.

New Contractors - Painting Jacob Bruner Painting, No Owner or Address Listed, March 25.

New Counselors Zelenka Counseling Services, Nikki L. Zelenka, 618 W. Griffin Dr. Ste. A, Bozeman, March 11.

New Food Service - Catering Desert Rose Restaurant & Catering, Charles Scott Brown, 27 W. Main St., Belgrade, March 23.

New Food Service - Food Truck Amok, Dru L. Dixon, 96 Hoffman St., Belgrade, March 13.

New Food Service - Restaurant Caspian, Amirhossein Pazouki, 34 Bozeman Ave., Bozeman, March 12.

Feed Café, Serena Rundberg, 1530 W. Main St. Unit B, Bozeman, March 13.

Noodles & Company, Myron Dale Thompson, 1459 N. 19th Ave. Ste. B, Bozeman, March 25.

New Graphic Design Christina Hall Creative, Christina L. Hall, 3370 Tschache Ln., Bozeman, March 11.

David Herbbert Photography & Design, David J. Herbert, 986 N. 15th Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

New Hotels/Motels Catron Partners LLC, Kevin Gene Cook, 2515 Catamount St., Bozeman, March 11.

The Imperial Four Hundred LLC, The Imperial Four Hundred LLC, 122 W. Main St., Bozeman, March 23.

New Itinerant Vendors

Art of War Entertainment, Burke J. Taylor, 1081 Cobb Hill Rd, Bozeman, March 30.

Workiva, Inc., No Owner Listed, 448 E. Main St., Bozeman, March 17.

New Management – Consulting Service Francis Construction and Management, Walter Francis, 2991 Lily Dr., Bozeman, March 26.

New Manufacturing - Nonhazardous Gallatin Valley Vineyards, Brett Archer, 2204 Bridger Dr., Bozeman, March 11.

New Pawn Brokers Rare Asset Finance LLC, John Hudson, 503 E. Mendenhall St., Bozeman, March 12.

New Photography/Processing Cam McDonald Photography, Cameron M. McDonald, 1722 W.

BUSINESS JOURNAL • APRIL 28, 2015

13

ON THE RECORD CON T. Beall St. Apt. A, Bozeman, March 11.

New Professional/Occupational Concept Seven Designs, Inc., Keith E. Redfern, 1289 Stoneridge, Bozeman, March 11.

New Property Managers/ Agencies Prendergast Properties, Shannon F. Prendergast, 311 N. Plum, Bozeman, March 11.

Schmidt Property Management LLC, George Schmidt, 2413 W. Main St. Ste. 3, Bozeman, March 23.

4G Property Management, Todd J. Goulet, 905 Colorado St., Belgrade, March 16.

New Retail - Arts & Crafts Art Beat Gallery and Gifts, Rebecca Lee Behrent, 435 E. Main St., Bozeman, March 11.

Guided Flies, Zachary Towle, 409 N. 10th Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

New Retail – Art Studios & Galleries Turabi Rug Gallery, Turabi Topal, 777 E. Main St. Unit 104, Bozeman, March 11.

New Retail - Clothing and/ or Shoes Cash 4 Clothes, Bruce Herbert Wendt, 612 W. Main St., Bozeman, March 11.

Ward Ko LLC, Kelsey L. Ward, 4648 Shadowglen Dr. Unit B, Bozeman, March 6.

New Retail – Other Up the Creek, Justin M. Campbell, 80889 Gallatin Rd., Bozeman, March 11.

New Retail – Pets and Supplies Barkenhowell’s, Jennifer Peterson, 867 S. 29th Ave., Bozeman, March 9.

New Retail - Specialty Food Luxe LLC, Lauryn E. Mathis, 2510 Landoe Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

Roots Kitchen & Cannery, Patrick A. Burr, 507 Bond St. Unit A, Bozeman, March 31.

New Retail – Video Sales & Rentals Movie Lovers, Inc., Jill Allen, 200 S. 23rd Ave. A3, Bozeman, March 5.

New Service – Auto & RV Repair/Maintenace Dent Ability, Brian Paul Genovese, 7500 Jarmen Cir., Bozeman, March 6.

Pride Mechanical Services, Brian J. Silverio, 2344 Lasso Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

New Service - Childcare Bozeman’s Best Babysitters, Amy M. Ross, 908 Quail Run Rd. Unit C, Bozeman, March 11.

New Service - Cleaning Service Blue Sky Cleaning, Andrea N. Sevcik, 1201 W. Main St., Bozeman, March 24.

Clean Break, Patricia Lorang,

1055 Doane Rd., Bozeman, March 11.

Clearly Clean, Casie M-L Emry, 205 Secretariat St. Unit B, Belgrade, March 11.

Critelliklen, Christopher Critelli, 4276 Cascade St. Unit A, Bozeman, March 11.

Gruntz, Tommie J. Shamley, 6380 Jackrabbit Ln., Belgrade, March 23.

Integrity Cleaning, Paula E. Sutton, 18073 Rocky Mountain Rd., Belgrade, March 20.

Jessie’s Cleaning Service, Jessica Lee Niles, 416 Michael Grove Ave. Apt. B, Bozeman, March 11.

Maid in Bozeman, Sarah N. Loween, 4030 Carbon St., Bozeman, March 6.

Pristine Clean & Concierge, Victoria S. Santos, 50 Gemstone Dr., Belgrade, March 26.

Tamarhea Finkbeiner Cleaning, Tamarhea Finkbiner, 1025 Frank Rd., Belgrade, March 11.

Wandering Enterprise LLC, Amalia R. Laughlin, 1821 S. Rouse Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

New Service - Computer Consulting Bockholt Landscape Architecture, Seth Johnson Bockholt, 104 E. Main St. Ste. 230, Bozeman, March 11.

New Service - Consulting Compass Advisors, Bryce G. Degroot, 2020 Charlotte St., Bozeman, March 31.

MD Archer Consulting LLC, Michael D. Archer, 2204 Bridger Dr., Bozeman, March 11.

New Service - Financial/Investment Michele Pint, Michele E. Pint, 3009 Ritter Dr., Bozeman, March 11.

New Service – Guide Service Dylan Riis’ Guide Service, Dylan S. Riis, 520 Michael Grove Ave. Apt. B, Bozeman, March 11.

New Service - Health & Beauty Bloom Studio, Kayelynn Belden, 1127 Harmon Stream Blvd., Bozeman, March 24.

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A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5 • B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

Cutting Edge Hair Salon, No Owner Listed, 1127 Harmon Stream Blvd., Bozeman, March 25.

Nico Color Studio, No Owner Listed, 1127 Harmon Stream Blvd., Bozeman, March 26.

Salon Elsewhere, Tina M. Roth, 1001 W. Oak St. Ste. 106, Bozeman, March 11.

Salon Simpatico, Ceilon Aspenson Hall, 234 E. Babcock St. Ste. I, Bozeman, March 23.

Skinedip, Bobbi Jo Penning, 1127 Harmon Stream Blvd., Bozeman, March 24.

New Service - Health Care Bozeman Birth Center, Lisa M. Blank, 601 W. Villard St., Bozeman, March 11.

Clark Fitness, Brian R. Clark, 594 West Shore Dr., Belgrade, March 11.

Ilovekickboxing.com, Peter O’Reilly, 1735 W. Oak St., Bozeman, March 24.

Empower, Tony D. Silva, 1902 W. Dickerson Unit 208, Bozeman, March 24.

Mantra, Maria K. Johns, 321 E.

Main St. Ste. 201, Bozeman, March 5.

New Service – Interior Design EM2, Eleana M. Montoya, 52963 Hamm Rd., Belgrade, March 25.

New Service – Machinery Installation Dunne Communications, Inc., Thomas P. Dunne, 204 E. Commercial St., Anaconda, March 24.

New Service – Massage Therapy Ashley Steen, Ashley L. Steen, 465 Firelight Dr., Big Sky, March 11.

Hands on Massage, Daniel B. Janes, 618 W. Griffin Dr. Unit C, Bozeman, March 11.

Molly K. Smith Massage Therapy, Molly Kathleen Smith, 642 S. Cottonwood Rd. Ste. 2, Bozeman, March 11.

Craftingmontana.com, Susan Lingle Floerchinger, 2651 Trade Wind Ln. Apt. 22, Bozeman, March 11.

Dogtown Daycare & Boarding, Andrew Robert Dunkin, 2511 N. 7th Ave., Bozeman, March 11.

Govhr USA LLC, Jeidi Jai Voorees, 650 Dundee Rd. Apt. 270, Northbrook, Ill., March 11.

MT Mobile Pressure Washing, Kenneth J. Nimer, 101 Wild Rose Loop, Three Forks, March 25.

Tax Doctors, Inc., Thomas Edward Kula, 2304 W. Main St. Ste. 7, Bozeman, March 11.

The Blade Runner Mobile Knife Sharpening, Mike D. Roland, 1514 W. Koch St., Bozeman, March 23.

Women Who Love to Paint, Terri Harper, 606 N. 4th Ave. Unit A, Bozeman, March 11.

New Service - Outside SerNew Service - Other vices Becker Brothers, Rae Ann Becker, Common Ground Landscape 10085 Cottonwood Rd., Bozeman, Maintenance, Brian J. Derham, 1222 March 11.

N. Rouse Ave., Bozeman, March 31.

Botane, Elita M. Jenkins, 311 N. MT Landscaping & Irrigation LLC, Seminar Presenter Plum Ave. Unit 1, Bozeman, March 19.

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Prior to joining Finagraph, Mike was President of J&M Investments which owned and operated various companies in the hospitality staffing, food and beverage, real estate management, and consulting industries.

Commercial Tenant Improvement 2595 Simmental, Anthony Wayne Oil, Corp., Cornerstone Construction LLC, $5,437.

New Service – Pet Services 15 S. Tracy, T Crawford EnterJaime’s Super Pooper Scooper prises, R&R Taylor Construction, Inc., Service, Jaime L. Dygert, 1205 N. 25th $120,000.

Ave. Unit 102, Bozeman, March 11.

1459 N. 19th, Stone Ridge Partners LLC, Ink Construction LLC, 3,325 Sq Ft, $268,934.

PERMITS 915 Highland, Bozeman DeaconCommercial Offices, Banks, ess Hospital, Martel Construction, Professional Buildings Inc., $540,000.

1232 N. 15th, Oakway LLC, 290 W. Kagy, Level Investors LLC, Walker Construction, 7,128 Sq Ft, Marsh Concrete Landscaping LLC, $826,349. $7,500.

421 N. Broadway, Charles Brodie, Commercial Other Shelter, Oasis Telecom, $2,000.

Non-House MSU SUB (Strand Union Building), 701 Gold, Timothy Barnard, Montana State University, Swank Kearns Construction Company, Enterprises, $1,200,000. $25,000.

104 E. Main, Atlantic Financial Group LTD, Sievert Construction, Inc., Commercial Structures Other $30,000.

Than a Building 7 W. Main, Summit Properties LLC, 1951 Durston, Rocky Mountain Constructive Solutions, Inc., $3,000.

Oil, Inc., Roset and Associates, Inc., 518 Professional, Sandra McKay, 120 Sq Ft, $18,000. Seminar Outline Roost Fried Chicken, $3,000.

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Watson Contracting LLC, Donald C. Watson, 261 Upper Violet Rd., Bozeman, March 11.

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ON THE RECORD CON T. 2006 W. Babcock, Fen Investments LLC, 4G Property Management, $8,000.

601 Nikles, David and Mary Haug, McCann Design & Building, $2,000.

867 S. 29th, Mitchell Development, Mitchell Development Group, 1,693 Sq Ft, $32,200.

624 N. Wallace, Wackamoley LLC, Big-D Signature LLC, $135,000.

2820 W. College, Big Sky Publishing LLC, Dunne Communications, Inc., $10,000.

867 S. 29th, Mitchell Development, Dunne Communications, Inc., $10,000.

1609 S. 11th, Town and Country Foods S. 11th, BBG Contractors, 5,695 Sq Ft, $107,757.

518 Professional, Sandra McKay, Roost Fried Chicken, $3,000.

35 E. Main, GPF-Powderhorn LLC, R&R Taylor Construction, Inc., $3,500.

1325 N. 7th, Grantree Hotels LP, Alpine Customs, Inc., $200,000.

1531 W. Main, 400 Marion, Inc., Corstone Contractors LLC, $77,000.

Commercial Reroof 2304 N. 7th, State of Montana, Quality Roofing/Sheetmetal, Inc., $100,975.

920 W. Main, The Community Food Co-op, Inc., Sickler Roofing Service, $7,000.

225 S. Black, First Lutheran Church, Sickler Roofing Service, $14,265.

Demolition Permit 602 N. Willson, Tessa Burnett, Grayling Creek Construction LLC, $8,500.

Fire Protection Systems Permit 803 E. Main, Town Pump, Inc., R&R Taylor Construction, Inc., $17,000.

3735 Galloway, Rockworth Companies, Rimrock Construction LLC, $6,000.

Sign Permit 119 N. 7th, Esther Schwier, Yesco LLC, $1,124.

867 S. 29th, Mitchell Development, Sign Products, Inc., $3,515.

131 E. Main, Shannon Grady Nygard LLC, Sign Solutions Bozeman, $527.

2308 Durston, Western Shamballa, Inc., Renaissance Renovations LLC, $300.

1735 W. Oak, Bridger Peaks LLC, Signs Solutions Bozeman, $2,796.

1735 W. Oak, Bridger Peaks LLc, Sings of Montana, $4,306.

1459 N. 19th, Stone Ridge Partners LLC, Signs of Montana, $5,350.

209 S. Willson, Carl Borquist, Owner is General, $500.

Come and Shred with First Security Bank Protect your identity by shredding unnecessary personal and business documents—up to 25lbs (about two shopping bags).

Join us at 642 Cottonwood Road, Bozeman, on the corner of Cottonwood and Huffine. To learn more, call 406.556.6100 or visit ourbank.com.

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A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5 • B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

eye-poppinG print services from the bozeman Daily chronicle.

Print is powerful. It’s experiential, tactile. As long as humans have hands, print will have value. It needs no batteries, no internet access, no memory storage.

It never has to be recharged. It can be seen without downloading an app or special reader. It can be shared with a simple pass of the hand, no updates required. Print is alive and kicking!

COntaCt GinGeR LYnCh 406-582-2666 // glynch@dailychronicle.com for an easy, no-pressure chat!

Residential Attached Single Family Dwelling 683 Rosa, Shane Collins Construction, Inc., Shane Collins Construction, Inc., 2,147 Sq Ft, $202,578.

699 Rosa, Shane Collins Construction, Inc., Shane Collins Construction, Inc., 1,653 Sq Ft, $156,000.

687 Rosa, Shane Collins Construction, Inc., Shane Collins Construction, Inc., 2,714 Sq Ft, $253,122.

691 Rosa, Shane Collins Construction, Inc., Shane Collins Construction, Inc., 2,714 Sq Ft, $253,122.

Residential Duplex (2 Units) 866 Sanders, Meyer Garrity Group, MeyerGarrity Group LLC, 4,152 Sq Ft, $373,721.

726 Forest Glen, Adam Marti Fruh, Triple MT Construction, 4,114 Sq Ft, $372,076.

3583 Annie, Asch LLC, Hidden Ridge Construction LLC, 2,534 Sq Ft, $238,417.

3571 Annie, Asch LLC, Hidden Ridge Construction LLC, 2,534 Sq Ft, $238,417.

3551 Annie, Asch LLC, Hidden Ridge Construction LLC, 2,534 Sq Ft, $238,417.

3559 Annie, Asch LLC, Hidden Ridge Construction LLC, 2,534 Sq Ft, $238,417.

Residential Single Family Dwelling

860 Knolls, Ann U. Maroney, Chase-Skogen Homes, Inc., 1,999 Sq Ft, $179,563.

1357 Kenyon, Bozeman Deaconess Real Estate, Chase-Skogen Homes, Inc., 1,999 Sq Ft, $179,563.

3291 S. 26th, McIntosh Construction, McIntosh Construction, 2,080 Sq Ft, $189,070.

3365 S. 26th, McIntosh Construction, McIntosh Construction, 2,693 Sq Ft, $254,005.

2246 Lasso, Amanda Arnold, Owner is General, 4,281 Sq Ft, $395,451.

2977 Tschache, Mahar Montana Homes LLC, Vision Development, Inc., 2,420 Sq Ft, $224,028.

2995 Tschache, Mahar Montana Homes LLC, Vision Development, Inc., 2,335 Sq Ft, $212,975.

1489 Kenyon, Shirley and Dennis Arsenault, Chase-Skogen Homes, Inc., 2,332 Sq Ft, $215,896.

2422 Milkhouse, ROI LLC, ROI LLC, 2,384 Sq Ft, $220,743.

1752 Midfield, Daniel Ranieri, Green Mountain Electric, 3,492 Sq Ft, $328,661.

210 N. Tracy, Block M LLC, Rotherham Construction, Inc., 4,161 Sq Ft, $405,416.

209 N. Black, Block M LLC, Rotherham Construction, Inc., 4,191 Sq Ft, $405,416.

6 E. Beall, Block M LLC, Rotherham Construction, Inc., 3,648 Sq Ft, $345,186.

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17

ON THE RECORD CON T.

850 Sanders, Meyer-Garrity Group LLC, Meyer-Garrity Group LLC, 5,466 Sq Ft, $457,470.

850 Sanders, Meyer-Garrity Group LLC, Meyer-Garrity Group LLC, 5,466 Sq Ft, $457,470.

8 E. Beall, Block M LLC, Rotherham Construction, Inc., 3,165 Sq Ft, $294,022.

10 E. Beall, Block M LLC, Rotherham Construction, Inc., 4,303 Sq Ft, $417,281.

16 E. Beall, Block M LLC, Rotherham Construction, Inc., 3,594 Sq Ft, $339,466.

18 E. Beall, Block M LLC, Rotherham Construction, Inc., 3,165 Sq Ft, $294,022.

20 E. Beall, Block M LLC, Rotherham Construction, Inc., 3,594 Sq Ft, $339,466.

2900 Spring Meadows, Velocity Development LLC, Bridger Peak Construction, 6,517 Sq Ft, $619,818.

2109 Knaab, Robert and Elizabeth Hietala, Constructive Solutions, 4,451 Sq Ft, $414,912.

3253 S. 26th, Mountain View Homes, Inc., Aaron Mills Construction, 2,189 Sq Ft, $199,889.

1226 Boylan, Jonathan and Sophia Cok, EG Construction LLC, 5,124 Sq Ft, $448,054.

3350 Monida, Ascent Property Group LLC, Mountain High Homes, Inc., 2,954 Sq Ft, $267,566.

Residential 5+ Units 3045 N. 27th, Chase Skogen Construction, Chase-Skogen Homes, Inc., 18,797 Sq Ft, $1,853,008.

Residential Addition 514 N. Tracy, Matthew Marcinek, Shahn Steele Corporation, $63,100.

Residential Alteration 514 Morrow, Lucas and Rebecca Albers, Graden Construction, Inc., 3,100 Sq Ft, $190,000.

311 N. Plum, Shannon Prendergast, Prendergast Properties, $500.

1013 E. Olive, Durward and Sara Sobek, Montana Construction Works, $25,000.

141 Chouteau, Harry and Eileen Kirschenbaum, Buffalo Restoration, Inc., $22,000.

4321 E. Graf, Michael James Guilbert, Kane Carpentry & Remodeling LLC, $24,000.

704 S. Willson, Kristin and Buck Taylor, Prince Contracting, Inc., $25,000.

Residential Triplex, Fourplex 856 Sanders, Meyer-Garrity Group LLC, Meyer-Garrity Group LLC, 5,466 Sq Ft, $457,470.

Gallatin College MSU

506 E. Babcock, Matthew Williams, Grayling Creek Construction LLC, $24,000.

1117 E. Babcock, Kendrick Wilson, SLEV, Inc., $16,000.

109 N. 9th, Charles and Lois Osborne, Owner is General, $1,500.

911 W. Story, Shane and Amy Sanders, Louis S. Centa, $3,000.

Residential Reroof 309 S. 13th, Janet Bertino, Shedhorn Construction, $6,500.

609 Oxford, Robert and Elizabeth Hietala, $10,000.

FILINGS

3/19, City Hall Window, COA/ADR. 3/19, The Element, COMP SIGN/VAR. 3/19, The Flooring Place, SP/COA. 3/20, Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Addition, COA/ ADR. 3/23, Majxner Residence, FSP. 3/23, Element Hotel, MODS to FSP. 3/24, Scully Office, EXEMPT. 3/25, Stoneridge Apt., PRE SITE PLAN. 3/27, South University District, PRE SITE PLAN. 3/27, South University District, PREL PLAT. 3/30, Cooler Enclosure Blacksmith Italian,

CUP AMENDMENT. 3/30, Balcony 128-134 E. Main, SP/COA. 3/30, Lancer Place Co., CONDO CONV. 3/30, 8th Ave. 2nd Floor Addition, MODS to COA. 3/31, Kradolfer Warehouse Demo, COA/ ADR. 3/31, Bozeman Gateway Building S, COMP SIGN MODS. 4/1, Mendenhall Urban Housing, SP/COA. 4/1, Vlaanderan Condos, SP. 4/2, Azure Investments Paint, MODS to COA. 4/2, Flanders Mill Mining, STUP. 4/2, East Main Demo Const. Fence, STUP. 4/6, Mistnetta Addition , SKP/COA. 4/6, 104 N. Church, INF. 4/6, Creekside Apt. Ph 1, FSP. 4/6, Campbell Tri-plex Addition, CUP/COA. 4/7, Sisler Remodel, SKP/COA. 4/8, Alexander Subdivision, INF. 4/8, Reach Group Home, SP. 4/8, Scully Prof., SP. 4/9, Martin ADU, STUP. PATENTS

Nancy J. Shelby of Bozeman, Steven M. Scott of Salt Lake City, Utah, Benjamin P. Luchsinger of Bozeman, Gregory A. Juda of Bozeman, Kelly R. Kirker of Bozeman, Jesus

Commercial Flooring

Workforce Development for Southwest Montana Gallatin College supports a vibrant local economy. Through relevant workforce training, businesses gain qualified employees, and individuals benefit from enhanced career opportunities.

Space still available in the following programs this fall!

• • • • •

Aviation Bookkeeping Business Management CNC Machine Technology Design Drafting

• • • •

Health Information Coding Interior Design Associate of Arts Associate of Science

Start classes in Fall 2015. For more information contact Nicole Berg. gallatin.montana.edu 406-994-5536 gallatincollege@montana.edu

Billings 2950 King Ave W 406-652-4666

Bozeman 1921 West Main 406-587-5428

Great Falls 1204 7th St S 406-727-3832

www.pierceflooring.com 18

A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5 • B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

Missoula 1603 Brooks 406-543-8224

Hernandez of Bozeman, and Darrel L. Holmes of Bozeman. Bacterin International, Inc. of Belgrade. Process for demineralization of bone matrix with preservation of natural growth factors. 8,992,964. March 31.

Michael Bancroft Simmonds of Bozeman.

Quantum Design International, Inc. of San Diego, Calif. Ultrasensitive ratiometric capacitance dilatometer and related methods. 8,992,077.

March 31.

Bret Heidkamp of Bozeman. Front sight Picatinny rail. D725,223. March 24.

Bret Heidkamp of Bozeman. Front sight picatinny tri-rail. D725,222. March 24.

Bret Heidkamp of Bozeman. Female QD sling swivel. D725,217. March 24.

Bryan Steadman of Bozeman and Ross Taylor of Bozeman. Takeda Vaccines, Inc. of Bozeman.

Targeted heterologuous antigen presentation on calicivirus virus-like particles. 8,980,275.

March 17.

Wayne A. Green of Encinitas, Calif. and Gary A. Strobel of Bozeman. Synthetic Genomics, Inc. of La Jolla, Calif. Compositions of volatile or-

ganic compounds and methods of use thereof.

8,968,798. March 3.

307 Prarie Ave. Bozeman. Chapter 7. March 24.

Richardson.

Michael T. Tessmer of Bozeman, Lee E. Cannon of Bozeman, Charlotte S. Centuori of Henderson, Nev., and Alan D. Williams of Las Vegas, Nev. IGT of Las Vegas, Nev. Method and system for weighting odds to specific gaming entities in a shared bonus event. 8,968,071. March 3.

Adrienne Verelle Webster Schroeder fka Adrienne V. Webster. 1146 South Cedarview Dr. Bozeman. Chapter 7. March 25. Richardson.

Chellie Barbour Newman. 505 S. 15th Ave. Apt. D. Bozeman. Chapter 7. March 28. Womack.

Brian Lynn Hughs and Tawnya Kay Hughs.

18 Liberty Dr. Bozeman. Chapter 7. March 28.

Richardson.

BANKRUPTCIES

Chad Corry Olsen, dba Greater Yellowstone Flyfishers, Inc. 414 W. Front St. Livingston. Chapter 7. March 16. Womack.

Teresa Marie Kurzrock. PO Box 2038. West Yellowstone. Chapter 7. March 18. Richardson.

Deborah Lee Crawford. PO Box 1244. Three Forks. Chapter 7. March 18. Richardson.

Elaine Marie Kimbler. 1313 W. Geyser St. Livingston. Chapter 7. March 19. Richardson.

Karla Kay Mills. 1300 Wildflower Way. Bozeman. Chapter 7. March 23. Womack.

Christina Lee Neil aka Christina Lee Bilges.

Gary Lee Kendall, Jr. and Teresa Lyn Kendall.

1116 W. Central, Unit B. Belgrade. Chapter 7.

March 31. Drummond.

Donald Franklin Morton. PO Box 1391. Livingston. Chapter 7. April 2. Richardson.

Joshua Quinn Kelley. 99 Frank Rd. No. 108.

Belgrade. Chapter 7. April 2. Womack.

Nathan Robert Hexom. 1494 Maiden Spirit.

Bozeman. Chapter 7. April 9. Richardson.

Peter Franklin Stacy and Monica Leigh Stacy.

4040 Ravalli #89. Bozeman. Chapter 7. April 10.

Richarson.

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B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L • A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5

19

My Two Cents

By Ris Higgins “I’m struggling with my role as a manager and leader. When I was younger, I made people do what I wanted them to and it seemed to work for a while. That began to feel mean, so I did a turnaround and became almost wimpy because I thought that was what I needed to do to get people to like me and do what I asked. That hasn’t worked either. Now, I’m not sure how to be as a manager and leader.” — M.B., business owner Stepping into powerful leadership is an inside job, M.B. I call it leadership from the inside out.

Nothing is more powerful than someone who knows who they are. The more self-awareness we have, the more we trust ourselves to know what works and what doesn’t. For many of us, the only concept of powerful leadership we learned was very traditional — whoever has the most power wins. Think about it. Our parents, teachers and bosses provided answers, and many of us were convinced, deep down, that people above us always knew what was going on. We equated power with control and authority. For many of us that doesn’t work, so when we try to form-fit ourselves into a model that’s not us, we can lose ourselves. Our challenge becomes defining powerful leadership in a way that makes sense to us.

You won’t find this in a dictionary, but my own version of powerful leadership is this: selfreflection, self-awareness, and self-management.

If you know what you’re all about and lead from that place, you become authentic, confident and clear. There’s no beating around the bush. If you know who you are, people trust you because your private conversations are the same as your public conversations. If you know what matters and what doesn’t and lead from that place, you become a person of integrity.

Anna Quindlen captured this well in a famous commencement speech she gave 15 years ago.

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A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5 • B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. More difficult because there is no template to follow, no masks to wear. Set aside what your friends expect, what your parents demand, what your acquaintances require. Set aside the messages this culture sends through its advertising, its entertainment, its disdain and its disapproval, about how you should behave…and then look every day at the choices you are making. And when you ask yourself why you are making them find this answer: It works for me in this situation.”

When we give away who we are, usually out of fear, we give away our ability to lead powerfully. As Eleanor Roosevelt said so eloquently, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

I remember clearly the day I had to look fear in the face and do the thing I had never done before. It was a watershed moment for me in claiming my own ability to lead powerfully. I worked at Miller Brewing Company and was the point person in my department to work with a national consulting company that had been brought in to restructure parts of the company.

I was a recovering workaholic and, as part of my recovery, had made a commitment to myself to attend all of my high school freshman son’s football games.

The consulting company scheduled meetings almost daily, and these meetings had become notorious for running over their assigned time limit. They scheduled one on a football game day. Since I was running the meeting, I knew if we adhered to our agenda we could accomplish what we needed to. I handed out the agenda and let people know I needed to leave by 4 p.m., the end of our meeting. I also told them why I was leaving. I was one of only a few women in leadership who had children, and I wasn’t aware of anyone who left for kids’ events.

These days that is a common practice, but in 1992 it wasn’t.

As I feared might happen, the meeting was not done by 4. However, I stood up, asked one

of the managers to take notes and brief me the next day about what happened, and walked out of the room. You could have heard a pin drop.

My heart was pounding while everyone sat silent, staring. I don’t think they expected me to really leave.

In retrospect, I thought I wanted to hear somebody say, “Way to go, Ris. Way to have your priorities in order.” And yet, this was an inside job decision. I knew my priorities, so it really wasn’t about the group blessing my decision. This was my trial by fire in trusting myself to know what could work for both me and for the company. And it was new territory for me.

I was learning to lead my life versus it leading me.

As it turned out, I got briefed the next day and life moved on. I came to realize it was my own fear that almost stopped me, not them. It had always been my own fear that stopped me from powerful leadership.

Something else happened in that moment. A year later when I left the company to move to Montana, one of the partners from the consulting company came up to say goodbye to me.

She was pregnant and bid me farewell with this beautiful comment: “I want to be a mother like you. I want to be able to stand up and go to my child’s important events and make it work for the company, too.” I smiled with deep gratitude at discovering I had helped another parent know they had a choice they may not have realized before.

So M.B., your question leads me to believe you are ready for this journey. As you learn how to lead your life versus it leading you, use selfreflection to enhance your self-awareness. That’s the foundation of being able to self-manage, as you trust yourself in knowing what can work for both you and for your direct reports. The more room you give yourself to be, the more room you give others to be. As George Eliot said, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

Ris Higgins is a leadership coach, change agent, and innovative thought-leader at Leadership Outfitters, helping people change in profound, relevant, and inspiring ways. You can contact her at 406-586-5504 or email her at ris@leadershipoutfitters.com.

Construction

Professional

Medical

Peak Painting & Drywall is seeking an

Established company with benefits & competitive wages. Call Vanessa 406581-4046 or email resume: peakpaintingmt@gmail.com Professional:

Auto Finance Person

General Property Mgmt Co. seeking PT Lawn Crew for our Apartment complexes.

Previous exp. helpful.

32hrs, $13/hr.

Resume & work experience To No phone calls or walk-ins

General Help

General

Walmart currently seeks:

NOW HIRING (Shift differential)

Construction New wage starts at $11/hr.

Apply at kiosk in the store or online at : walmart.com/apply

*F/T Front Desk *P/T Host/Hostess *F/T and P/T Housekeeper Apply online at www.hilton.com Select “Careers” link at bottom of page or call 406-587-8180 for questions

Walker Excavation is currently seeking:

Go to Walker Excavation to read job description and apply online @ General

General

General Help

Job!

.

5822600

New

or Nancy Todd, Human Resource Manager, at

WHEAT MONTANA DELI ASSOCIATES Part time and possible full time deli positions are avail. at our Three Forks location. Applicant must be able to work some weekends. Fast-paced, fun environment. e-mail joeiij@wheatmontana.com

a

Wheat Montana Bakery is looking for full-time, motivated, team-oriented, and quality-minded for our Three Forks, Montana plant. Bakery employees work in a variety of capacities including product make-up, baking, and packaging. Various shifts and hours available.

Some overtime work may be required. Vacancies fill fast. Competitive starting wage with frequent increases, and excellent benefit package available.

Come join our team and help produce the finest bread and bun products that Montana has to offer.

For more information or an application contact the

MONTANA CANVAS is located at 110 Pipkin Way in Belgrade. We currently have immediate opportunities for two full time workers to perform industrial sewing and manufacturing of truck tarps for heavy hauls and canvas wall tents for the outdoor industries. You must be able to manage multiple responsibilities in a very busy environment. Heavy lifting required up to 70 lbs.

Work closely with an assigned group to get training on the job. The job offers great opportunities for employee advancement and wage compensations for the right candidates. As a full-time employee you will qualify for health insurance / dental / retirement plan.

For immediate consideration please apply in person at 110 Pipkin Way, Belgrade, Montana, Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00. Montana Canvas Company is an equal opportunity employer. info@montanacanvas.com

to

Marathon is a custom seat cover manufacturing company that designs, produces, and distributes our high quality covers worldwide. Email resume to: or pick up application 1624 W. Beall St.

Hiring FT Experienced Painters. Min 3 yrs exp.

Extensive knowledge of painting applications and products. Motivated and reliable. Must have DL and reliable vehicle. Wage DOE. Call 539-2205

Your Ticket

or in person at 2515 Catamount St, Bozeman.

*Experience with industrial sewing machines/training available *Strong attention to detail *Must be able to multi-task and work independently *F/T, Monday - Friday, Flexible Schedule *Promotions based on productivity *Bonus program *Retirement Plan *Profit Sharing *Paid Holidays

JONES PAINTING, INC.

www.thejobnetwork.com

NOW HIRING (Comfort Suites Bozeman) Part Time and Full Time Positions Available: -Housekeeping -Houseman/Porter -Breakfast Attendant -Front Desk Email resume to

Granite Technology Solutions, Inc. is seeking an experienced Network Technician to join our growing technology services company in Bozeman, MT. The ideal candidate will have 5+ years of hands-on IT experience supporting Windows servers and MS Exchange, specializing in networking infrastructure.

Candidates must be comfortable working in a fast paced billable services environment and have strong organization, communication, and problem solving skills.

Granite offers a full compensation package.

Visit for more information. Send cover letter and resume to Jobs@GraniteTCS.com

Construction

General Help

General

Professional

Please see Neuralynx.com for position details.

Apply to hr@neuralynx.com with resume and letter.

Gallatin Rest Home is looking to fill the following PT/FT positions with dependable, caring individuals: RN-$21.66/hr LPN-$18.19 C N A-$13.17/hr Kitchen Aide-$10.95/hr We offer wonderful County benefits which include Medical Insurance (incuding Dental and Vision), and Vacation leave, with an optional Retirement Plan.

Hours to be discussed at interview. Stop by the Job Service or Rest Home Salesperson: VIOL for application or −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− www.gallatin.mt.gov Acct #: 139932 for position descriptions.

5822600

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Fast growing dealership is looking for the right finance person. If you love working with people, working with banks and the smell of money give us a call. We are looking for a full time person who enjoys living in a small town yet likes to make big town money.

Great hours, great benefits.

Call Darci or Jeff 406-2228600 or Darci@ycminc.com

-Software Engineer -IT Specialist -Sales Manager

B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L • A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5

21

General Help

Professional

SEASONAL HELP Certified Lifeguards and instructors. Pay DOE Please apply in person at: Riverside Country Club 2500 Springhill Road Bozeman NO PHONE PLEASE Professional:

- General Manager - Assistant Manager

Full time. Wage DOE. Apply in person between 2-4 pm Mon-Thurs. Please no calls.

Education: Children Autism Trainers (CATs) Needed Need for in-home services to work with children with autism and developmental disabilities. Work with children teaching social and age-appropriate skills and providing outing opportunities within community. Must have valid driver's license, own vehicle with insurance, and pass a background check. 1st AID/CPR strongly preferred but will train.

Hours: Vary. Wage: $9.45/hr - $11.60/hr D.O.E. To inquire or apply call Chris at 406-587-2477.

Medical

Seeking a who believes in our mission of health and wellbeing for Community Health PartnersBozeman Dental. Collaboration, motivation, attention to detail and organization all highly valued. To apply, please send a letter of interest, resume, and references to Emily Duffy, duffye@chphealth.org. or 120 N 19th, Ste H, Bozeman, MT 59715.

CHP is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

22

As a City of Bozeman employee, you will be part of a team that is committed to impacting and serving the community.

This great opportunity also provides enrollment in an established retirement system, with significant employer contribution, generous vacation and sick time accruals, and excellent medical/dental/vision benefits. Join us at the City of Bozeman, the Most Livable Place!

The CITY OF BOZEMAN is recruiting to fill the following positions:

LIBRARY AIDE II

The Bozeman Public Library has an exciting opportunity for a F/T Library Aide II! In this role you will perform information, circulation, and technical duties within the Library. Requires a high level of friendly and consistent customer service. Must be flexible and enjoy constant interaction with library patrons. Wage $10.80 - $12.71/hr depending on experience and qualifications. Application Deadline: May 4, 2015 @5pm

LIBRARY ASSISTANT I PART-TIME

The Bozeman Public Library has an opportunity for a part-time Library Assistant to work at the Information Desk.

In this role you will welcome the public to the library and perform a variety of informational services for library patrons.

Requires a high level of friendly and consistent customer service. Must be flexible and enjoy constant interaction with library patrons. Wage $12.22 - $14.38/hour depending on experience and qualifications.

Application Deadline: May 4, 2015 @5pm

PT RECREATION LEADER I

Organize, implement, evaluate, and market recreation programs/events such as curling, ice skating, pickleball, and skateboarding, for people of all ages and abilities in the community. Must be creative and inventive under the guidelines to ensure community participation and satisfaction of the event attendees. Hours: 12-15 hrs/wk from August 15th - June 8th, and 26-29 hrs/wk from June 9th - August 14th. Wage: $11.25/hour Application Deadline: Open until filled

SOLID WASTE OPERATOR/COMMERCIAL DRIVER

Performs a variety of semi-skilled and skilled work in the collection of refuse and in the maintenance/repair of vehicles used by the City Solid Waste Division. Full-time opportunity with excellent benefits! Wage: $15.7669/hour.

Application. Deadline: Thursday, April 30, 2015 @ 5:00pm

ASSISTANT AQUATICS MANAGER

Supervise lifeguard staff, coordinate and schedule all aquatic programs, staff hours, and lessons. Assist with the leadership and direction of the City's aquatics staff, and daily operation and maintenance of the pool and facilities to create a safe and welcoming environment for patrons. Salary: $35,919-$42,258/year depending on experience and qualifications. Application Deadline: Monday, April 27, 2015 @ 5:00pm

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT II COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

Perform a variety of complex clerical and administrative support duties for the City's Community Development Director, and provide outstanding customer service. F/T opportunity with benefits! Wage: $12.53-$14.74/hr.

Application Deadline: Friday, April 24, 2015@ 5:00pm.

PARKING MANAGER

Plan, organize, and direct the activities and operations of the City's parking facilities. Experience in Building/Facilities Management, Parking Management, or a closely related field is required. Must possess excellent communication skills.

Wage: $47,129 - $55,446/year depending on experience and qualifications. Application Deadline: Open Until Filled with 1st review scheduled after deadline of April 13, 2015 @ 5:00pm.

LIFEGUARD/INSTRUCTOR II/III

Performs lifeguarding duties, supervises the Lifeguard Instructor I's, ensures patron safety at the aquatic facilities, provides aquatics programs instruction, and assists in the upkeep of the pool facilities. Full-time opportunity with excellent benefits! Wage: $11.44 - $13.46/hour depending on experience and qualifications.

Application Deadline: Open Until Filled TO APPLY: Go to http://www.bozeman.net to view the complete job description and required materials.

The City of Bozeman Application and applicable materials will need to be submitted on-line at http://www.bozeman.net.

IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED, APPLICANTS MUST FOLLOW THE APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS & SUBMIT COMPLETE & TIMELY APPLICATION MATERIALS

A P R I L 2 8 , 2 01 5 • B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

PARTING WORDS

BY CH R IS ROS S GU E ST COLU M N IST

Parting Words is a business advice column written by a rotating cast of business owners in southwest Montana. Send future columnist suggestions to lkendall@dailychronicle.com

Working through pain to achieve success FOR THE PAST NINE YEARS, I have been an independent, small business owner here in Bozeman focusing on fitness and the muscular system.

It has been a wild ride beginning in 2006, when I opened Fluid Motion Golf and Fitness. Opening a golf-specific training center in Bozeman with stateof-the-art equipment was a bold move. At that time there were no comparable facilities anywhere outside of a major city. For the first year or so, business was great. I was booked with clients all the time, I had two people working for me, word of mouth was spreading and everything seemed easy. I love the game of golf, and getting paid to help people play and feel better was a dream come true. Reality hit hard when the markets crashed in 2008 and I was forced to relocate to a much smaller facility and sell all of my launch monitors (electronic devices that measure different aspects of golf swings), 3D analysis equipment and even some of my exercise equipment just to keep my business alive. Like many, I had to put my head down and try to keep my business alive with a limited amount of resources.

Around that time, I encountered another problem that had a profound impact on my career.

My left hip and back were becoming increasingly irritated. Gone were the days of being able to play golf and exercise without pain. I started masking the problem with anti-inflammatory drugs, but by 2010 I had a major problem. Things had gotten so bad that I couldn’t play golf at all. I could not even bunt a 9-iron. I was devastated — plagued by the very problems I spent my days fixing in my clients.

I sought the help of just about every type of healing modality out there. The recurring message I heard was that my muscles were tight. I was told repeatedly that if I could just eradicate this tightness, my pain would be relieved. This seemed to make perfect sense, but unfortunately things were getting worse. I eventually reached the point where I could not function, and after a while nothing made sense to me any more. I had no idea what was going on with my body and felt increasing guilt and lack of confidence as a personal trainer. I kept asking myself how I could charge

ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

Chris Ross, owner of Fluid Motion in Bozeman, helps his clients improve in their overall function and well-being using a holistic view of the body.

people for personal training when I could not even help myself. I couldn’t even come close to a weight room, and I figured I had no business working with clients with the shape I was in.

My last hope was that I had some clients who were having great success with local physical therapist Ryan Johnson and the assessment and treatment tool he was using: Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT). I had no idea what MAT was, but I had run out of options. In my first session, I didn’t know what to expect or what was happening in my body. However, after a short period, I could tell immediately it was a different process.

For 90 minutes, Ryan took a complete inventory of my body and assessed all my joint range of motions. I was astonished that he actually understood every possible muscle in my body that might be affected by range of motion asymmetries. To my surprise, when I asked which muscles were tight, I received a completely different response than I had from any other practitioner. He was more concerned with the muscles that were inhibited and weak. What I came to discover is that if a muscle cannot efficiently contract, the limb or joint will not be able to generate enough force to move.

Although this may give the appearance of muscle tightness, muscle weakness is often the primary problem. I couldn’t believe that not one person in all my schooling had ever demonstrated this to me.

After a few treatments, I was finally showing some improvement. I was blown away and knew that I had to become a MAT Specialist. Becoming a MAT Specialist is no small commitment. Specialists must complete a vigorous 10-month internship in Denver with a two-day exam. Although a long bumpy road, things fell back into place for me during the yearlong process of the internship.

I was slowly feeling more like myself again. I felt more confident and passionate about my work and helping my clients. I started to see results with my clients that I had never before experienced. I was feeling better physically.

During my internship in Denver, I met Tom Purvis, a physical therapist from Oklahoma City.

Immediately, I realized I had even more to learn about exercise and biomechanics. At that time, I had not been able to exercise in a couple of years. I had so many questions about the injuries I always seemed to sustain while working out.

Upon completion of my MAT training, I was off to Oklahoma City for another six-month internship. Completing those two internships were the best personal and business decisions I have ever made. The skills that I learned have proven invaluable, and I am now able to ski, golf and hike without any pain.

I feel so lucky that all these things happened the way they did. I would have never believed it when I was going through it, but now on the other side, I am incredibly grateful for what I have experienced. My body feels better that it ever has, I have a more targeted, simplified business plan and I am in a much better position to help my clients having experienced the way that MAT and proper resistance training can address muscular dysfunction. The market crash, almost losing my business, the injuries: all of these things taught me invaluable lessons about myself, what’s important and how to run a business. My business is as near to recession proof as possible, and most importantly I have discovered a way to enjoy my favorite physical pursuits while helping my clients do the same.

Chris Ross is the owner of Fluid Motion, a physical therapy business located in Bozeman.

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