Fargo INC! April 2023

ARTFUL LIVING

Nestled along tree-lined streets with riverscape views, Wild Oak offers unparalleled living within walking distance to the heart of downtown Fargo. Begin tailoring your exclusive home at Wild Oak today. Explore for-sale condos at: WILDOAKCONDOS.COM

DAVE NOAH

701.306.4888

dn@legacyr.com

BARRY GRUCHOW

701.200.9801 barry@legacyr.com

505 OAK STREET FARGO, ND 58102

HEALTH PLANS THAT SHOW YOU MEAN BUSINESS.

KEEP YOUR BEST EMPLOYEES YOUR EMPLOYEES

WHEN YOU CARRY

BLUE.

Employees stick around when they feel valued, and that’s the message you give when you offer BCBSND health insurance. And we’ll help you feel valued with easy-to-administer, affordable plans.

BCBSND.com

CARRY BLUE. CARRY ON.

Speak Volumes.

To all the movers, shakers, and difference makers — JLG Architects takes your story beyond the building to empower the people who reflect your passionate journey. We’re talking about dynamic design that speaks volumes about your mission, your culture, and your community. See how First International Bank & Trust embraces transformative design for the greater good at JLGarchitects.com.

Good news: North Dakota is matching employer-led child care benefits.

This program could make a difference in helping you attract and retain hardworking parents. To opt in to offer these benefits or enhance the child care benefits you may already offer, visit hhs.nd.gov/childcare

UNIQUE BUSINESS BANKING FOR UNIQUE BUSINESSES.

BANK WITH PURPOSE.

Sponsored Content: How We Bring National Talent to Speak on

10 Questions with John Machacek: Trimyxs

Women You Should Know: Nyamal Dei

Don't Call it Networking: Designing Intentional Experiences

You Have a Business Idea, Now What?

Are Non-Compete Agreements Enforceable in North Dakota?

Awesome Foundation Grant Award

Winner: Moorhead Legacy Education Foundation

Big Things in the Metro

MIKE BRADY KIM

LEVI TY

GENEVA

GRANT

SAM JOSIAH

JENNY

AL DEVAN TORI

HAILEY MIRANDA

JESSICA

KELLEN BEN

TOMMY KELLAN

JONATHAN RYNE JOHN

APRIL 2023

Volume 8 Issue 4

Fargo INC! is published 12 times a year and is available at area businesses and online at FargoInc.com.

Publisher EDITORIAL

Editorial Team Lead

Editors

Art Director

Editorial Graphic Designers

Creative Strategist Content Specialist

Contributors

INTERACTIVE Business Development Manager Business Development Associate Videographer Director of Digital Advertising Results

Graphic Designer Web Designer Social Media Specialist

ADVERTISING

VP of Business Development Sales Representatives

Mike Dragosavich

Brady Drake Brady@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Geneva Nodland, Grant Ayers, Sam Kise

Kim Cowles

Ty Betts, Levi Dinh

Josiah Kopp

Gary Ussery

Ladyboss Lifestyle, John Machacek, Katie Ralston Howe, Brandi Malarkey

Nick Schommer

Kellen Feeney

Tommy Uhlir

Jonathan Chicka

Ben Buchanan

Kellan Benson Ryne Bigelow

Paul Hoefer Paul@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Al Anderson Al@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Devan Maki Devan@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Sales & Marketing Advisor

Marketing Associate

Client Relations

Client Relations Manager Marketing Coordinator Operations Assistant

DISTRIBUTION Delivery

Tori Helland Tori@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Hailey Bebler Hailey@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

ClientRelations@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Jenny Johnson

Jessica Mullen

Miranda Knudson

John Stuber

Fargo INC! is published by Spotlight LLC, Copyright 2023 Fargo INC! & FargoInc.com. All rights reserved. No parts of this magazine may be reproduced or distributed without written permission of Fargo INC!, and Spotlight LLC, is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to or reliance on such information. Spotlight LLC, accepts no liability for the accuracy of statements made by the advertisers.

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SPOTLIGHT MEDIA'S OTHER PUBLICATIONS

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You may already be familiar with our Faces of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo publication which we publish once per year in order to highlight the faces behind all of the great businesses in the community.

Are you overwhelmed trying to plan for your big day? You're not alone. We've done our best to provide all types of local resources, expert guidance, de-stressing tips and everything in between. Your wedding day is one of the mos important days of your life. Hopefully, this issue will help you prepare for that day so it's all about you.

BY JACK YAKOWICZ ex officio AAF-ND Board of Directors

HOW WE BRING NATIONAL TALENT TO SPEAK ON MARKETING IN FARGO

he first speaking event I ever attended in Fargo was in 2014. It was a 1 Million Cups event held at The Stage at Island Park. I was immediately infatuated. Naturally, when I joined the Board of the American Advertising Federation of North Dakota, I was intrigued by the opportunity to be on the other side of the event world: the planning. We were presented a budget and a set of guidelines to follow, but the rest was up to us. The unique challenge? We have always tried to look outside of our own community for our event speakers.

A BACKGROUND ON AAF-ND’S SPEAKING EVENTS

The American Advertising Federation of North Dakota has been operating for more than 50 years and serves to protect and promote the well-being of advertising in our community.

We host seven speaking engagements per season, with seasons running from October through May. Speaking engagements are typically held over lunch at the Sanctuary Events Center in Downtown Fargo.

Since the COVID era, we’ve also livestreamed our events to allow for virtual viewing. Events are always free for our members.

HOW WE CONNECT WITH NATIONAL SPEAKERS

We have a pretty slim set of guidelines for our Programming Committee to follow when it comes to booking speakers:

Make sure the topic is relevant to our audience of marketers

Make sure the speaker is not based in North Dakota (so as to not show preferential treatment towards any of our member agencies or companies)

Make sure the speaker stays within budget

As a not-for-profit organization, the last bullet point can sometimes be the most challenging. Typically, we have between $500 and $2,500 in speaker fees that we’re able to afford amidst our other event costs (production, venue, food).

OUR UPCOMING NATIONAL SPEAKERS FOR THE 2023 SEASON

Nelson Eddy, a partner at Finn Partners Nashville, TN, will be speaking on April 18. Nelson has represented Jack Daniel’s for 35 years and will be discussing the untold story of Jack Daniel’s marketing and how they’ve managed to stay true to their brand.

As part of his work for Jack Daniel’s, Nelson has crafted numerous brand communications for the internationally beloved whiskey brand, including a book, live show, countless videos, and, most recently, documentary films. As the Jack Daniel Historian, he’s been interviewed by numerous publications, books, documentaries, and television programs including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Atlantic Magazine, History Channel, National Geographic Channel, and CNBC.

April 18 at 11:30 a.m. - Sanctuary Event Center

To find our speakers, here’s a general guideline that we follow:

Field ideas from our 13-person Board of Directors

Review the positions and interests of our 110-person membership group

Connect with other advertising clubs in different metros (i.e. Minneapolis, Madison, Sioux Falls, etc.) to receive speaker recommendations

Browse YouTube, podcast networks, and other online forums to find speakers who are discussing marketing, graphic design, web development, etc.

Consider an organization whose marketing we admire, and visit their staff page to see if there are any staffers who may want to speak to our group

Look at related organizations (like AIGA or Creative Mornings, which are similar in nature to AAF) to see if they have had recent speakers we can connect with

Despite having a season that only runs for eight months of the year, we spend all year scanning platforms to find speakers

that may make sense for our organization. It’s a group effort (including an effort of our membership) to make sure that we continue to keep good talent coming into Fargo to speak with our club.

HOW WE SELL FARGO

As noted previously, we don’t have an extensive budget to work with to book talent. We also live in one of the coldest areas in the United States, which can be a tough sell for some of our NovemberMarch speaking engagements. So how do we sell Fargo? Through the promise of a memorable experience.

When our speakers fly into Fargo, they’re picked up by a Board Member and brought to the Jasper Hotel. That night, our whole Board of Directors takes the speaker out to dinner and (sometimes) out to drinks afterward. The next morning, they’re provided a list of hot spots in town to grab a coffee or hang out as they prepare for their speaking engagement. Several speakers also wish to go see the wood chipper at the FMCVB.

A sponsor of ours provides the speakers with a Fargo goody bag as they arrive at the Sanctuary, a venue that is often greeted by wows as they walk through the doors. Our members who attend the events are

respectful and gracious to our speakers, as well.

It’s truly a group effort, but between the kind people our town boasts, the great experience we offer to our speakers, and the (surprisingly commonplace) desire to check off a trip to Fargo from their bucket lists, we make it work.

The best part? Past speakers often give great testimonials about their time in Fargo, which helps us bring in more new speakers too.

Come join us for these next two events, and be part of the AAF family moving forward. If you have any ideas for the next speakers you’d like to hear from, let us know! We’d be happy to work to bring them to Fargo, too.

To learn more visit www.aaf-nd.org or, follow us on social /aafnd @aafnorthdakota company/aaf-nd @aafnd

If you have any ideas for the next speakers you’d like to hear from, let us know! We’d be happy to work to bring them to Fargo. With two amazing speaker events left in our 2023 season, we invite you to come experience what AAF-ND is all about.

Marcus Collins, tthe Chief Strategy Officer at Weiden + Kennedy in New York, NY, will be speaking on May 16. Marcus is a past recipient of Advertising Age’s 40 Under 40 Award and a recent Advertising Hall of Achievement inductee who will be speaking about the "Future of Brand Development."

Dr. Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator with one foot in the world of practice—serving as the Chief Strategy Officer at Wieden+Kennedy New York—and one foot in the world of academia—as a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

May 16 at 11:30 a.m. - Sanctuary Events Center

FINANCIALLY FIT IN

Recession concerns, rising interest rates, and attracting and retaining valuable employees keep many business leaders up at night. Here are a few ways to ease your worries and stay prepared for what lies ahead.

REGIONAL STRENGTH HELPS WEATHER RECESSIONS

Despite global economic challenges, many businesses in our region had a solid year in 2022 and most remained profitable. The current strength of our regional economy will help cushion against potential recessionary impacts. The question of whether we are already in a recession or heading that way this year remains debatable, but our region historically fares better than most during recessions, as do other smaller economic areas with diverse industries throughout the Midwest. We aren’t as vulnerable to the dramatic economic highs or lows that impact large economies on the East and West Coasts. Current local economic indicators suggest our region will experience continued overall steady economic performance in 2023.

NEED FINANCING THIS YEAR? LOCK IN RATES NOW

The Federal Reserve is projected to continue raising shortterm interest rates this year, which means short-term, and potentially long-term, borrowing costs will rise in 2023. In a rising-rate environment, businesses planning capital expenditures are wise to lock in interest rates now. This will eliminate cost uncertainty and enable more accurate

profitability forecasting. It is also a good time to evaluate cash flow plans with a financial advisor and review lines of credit to ensure there is sufficient capacity to meet the company’s anticipated needs

WIN THE WORKFORCE WAR WITH COMPETITIVE RETIREMENT AND BENEFITS

A robust retirement and benefits package can contribute to a company’s success rate in attracting and retaining talent—and there are more options available than you may realize. Company leaders and human resources teams should review their packages to ensure they are providing competitive retirement savings plans and additional benefits (such as health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts) that empower their employees to plan and prepare for long-term financial wellness.

The recently enacted SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act 2.0 provides dozens of provisions that will impact employer plans and individuals beginning this year. A retirement plan advisor can help make sense of what is changing and where there may be opportunities to further enhance retirement and benefits offerings.

Deposits products are offered by Alerus Financial N.A. Member FDIC. Investments and insurance products are: 1) Not FDIC insured 2) not guaranteed by bank 3) may lose value.

The information contained herein is general in nature, is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Alerus does not provide legal or tax advice. Always consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

NEED BUSINESS FINANCE ADVICE? THEY’VE GOT THE ANSWERS

BILL CARLSON

35 years with Alerus bill.carlson@alerus.com 701.360.2591

Industries served: Manufacturing, wholesale, transportation, contractors, agribusiness.

How Alerus adds value:

On any given day, you might find Bill Carlson working on a new client’s business plan, helping a company develop its employer-sponsored benefits plan, meeting with a client’s employee to answer their 401(k) plan questions, or providing wealth management guidance to a business owner after completing a successful succession. “My role is to be involved at every level, wherever my clients need me to provide guidance,” he said. “That’s what makes Alerus different we focus on the entire life of the business and provide help at each new point along the way.”

JESSICA HOPPE

11 years with Alerus jessica.hoppe@alerus.com

701.280.5135

Client focus:

Small-to-large businesses, investor and owner-occupied commercial real estate.

How Alerus uniquely serves businesses:

Jessica is an experienced advisor for all types of business clients, but after growing up in a family-run business and watching her parents experience the highs and lows of business ownership, she has a soft spot for helping small business owners and ensuring they have all the tools they need to succeed. “We are so much more than loans and deposits,” she said. “We have a full suite of solutions to support businesses—treasury management products, retirement and benefits plans, employee education and financial management tools, and wealth management solutions. We’re able to meet our business clients’ unique needs now and as they grow.”

NEED BUSINESS FINANCE ADVICE? THEY’VE GOT THE ANSWERS COLE KENEY

Specialty areas: Mid-to-large businesses, construction and industrial firms, professional services, industrial and multi-family commercial real estate.

How Alerus helps business owners for the long term: Cole takes a vested interest in his client’s business and works to understand the industry nuances and unique situations each business owner faces, serving as a true partner to provide the products and services they need at the right time. “Your business plan will change, and we expect your goals and needs to evolve,” he said. “A good business financial advisor helps you identify issues and plan ahead so you can focus on running your business.”

Specialty area: Agriculture and agribusiness.

What makes Alerus different: Blaine guides his clients with their best interests in mind. From production costs, to breakeven, to working capital, he helps them understand the impacts of big decisions for the short-term and long-term. “Everything we do is centered around the client,” he said. “The advice and service we provide is driven by one mission: to do the right thing for our clients.”

PERSONALIZED SERVICE EXPERT ADVICE

BRAD LOWEEN

3 years with Alerus

brad.loween@alerus.com

701.280.5061

Industry focus: Commercial/industrial sectors, real estate.

Why Alerus provides clients with personalized guidance: There’s nothing Brad likes better than sitting down with a business owner to find out what makes them tick, and then helping them reach their goals. “As the main point of contact, we meet more often with our clients and get a clearer view of their financial picture, which allows us to provide better service,” he said. “We have the depth to provide all the products they need, but we’re still able to provide personal service. Clients aren’t just a number and don’t get shuffled around.”

Small, mid-size, and large businesses and professional services.

How Alerus helps businesses grow:

Caileen pulls from experience gained through serving a variety of businesses, from the inception of a business idea all the way to selling the business and planning for retirement. “Building that relationship as their trusted single point of contact and delivering comprehensive financial advice to help them achieve their financial success is always our goal,” she said. “The better we both understand your business and finances, the more successful your business can be.”

PERSONALIZED SERVICE EXPERT ADVICE JESSICA JACKSON

SENIOR BUSINESS RETIREMENT ADVISOR

4 years with Alerus jessica.jackson@alerus.com

701.280.5108

Businesses seeking to add and refine retirement plans.

How Alerus helps businesses grow:

Employee recruitment and retention is critical to business success, and a competitive retirement and benefits plan can help attract and keep valuable talent. “There are many options, and they can be customized for a specific business to ensure you are providing a benefit that works for you and your employees,” she said. “Retirement plans can be confusing—we work with you to identify the right plan, and then we work with employees to help them save for long-term financial security, which benefits them and your

CARY PARKINSON

SENIOR BUSINESS ADVISOR

21 years with Alerus cary.parkinson@alerus.com 701.280.5171

Small to large businesses, professional services, construction firms, commercial real estate, agribusiness, ownership

Why businesses choose to work with Alerus:

Knowing they can trust advisors to work in their best interest and make decisions for long-term wellbeing is why many clients choose to work with Alerus. “We treat our clients as partners and do everything we can to help them meet their goals and set them up for success,” he said. “We consider the lasting impacts of every decision so clients can achieve lasting

By Brady Drake

The man known as Mr. Wonderful maintains he wouldn't have taken the opportunity if he didn't see a chance to succeed.

"My first connection with North Dakota came almost 10 years ago with my investment in PRx Performance, which has been one of the most successful deals in Shark Tank history," O'Leary said. "That really opened me up to the possibilities of what we can do in Fargo, Bismarck, and everywhere else in North Dakota. It's really about policy. I would never do a fund like this in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, or California. Those states are uninvestable and I wouldn't take the risk of trying to attract other capital to places that are uninvestable. I'm not having a hard time bringing capital in with me into

North Dakota. Who deserves the credit for that? That's Governor Burgum, the senators, and the people themselves who are voting for policy that's very pro-business—that's the bottom line. I couldn't do this if I couldn't attract more capital. North Dakota is very competitive, particularly now when you could headquarter in North Dakota and hire people from all over the world. Because of the pandemic, we have all of this technology where 30-40% of our staff doesn't work in the office anymore. This is a golden period for North Dakota, it really is. It's going to come out swinging as a competitive state. It's no longer just Texas or Florida anymore."

If it sounds like O'Leary is excited about what our state has to offer, it's because he is. And he's not just

pumping our tires, he's also letting the whole world know—something North Dakota Department of Commerce Commissioner Josh Teigen sees as an added benefit of choosing O'Leary.

"One of the biggest reasons we chose the application of the O'Leary Ventures is because we believe the biggest need in the state is early-stage capital," Teigen said. "Kevin has a ton of experience underwriting early-stage venture risk. Most venture companies, especially in our area, like to do later-stage deals where the risk profile is reduced. One of the intangible benefits of working with O'Leary, that we didn't really realize that we were getting when we went down this path, is that there's a news clip just about every other day where Kevin O'Leary is on a national news outlet

North Dakota Department of Commerce Commissioner Josh Teigen (left) talks to Kevin O'Leary (right).

talking about how businessfriendly North Dakota is. In my mind, that's worth a lot more than an asset management fee. I believe, in North Dakota, we're not very good at telling our story. We're almost humble to a fault. And so to have someone from the outside that can look at us and say, 'there's world-class talent, world-class companies, and therefore a need for world-class capital allocation in a state like North Dakota,' there's tremendous value to that."

"I am traveling the world talking to people about North Dakota— there's plenty of capital that needs to be put to work on a long-term basis that knows nothing about the policy of North Dakota," O'Leary said. "My job is to be an ambassador of that policy and I do it willfully because the policy is stable, the government is supportive of businesses, and taxes are competitive. Those are the things you want if you are putting money to work for 7 to 11 years."

Photo by J. Alan Paul Photography

One of the most successful companies to receive investment on Shark Tank, Fargo's PRx performance, which received an $80,000 investment for 20% equity in the company from Kevin O'Leary, was featured as the cover story of our April 2016 issue.

Kevin O'Leary and Wonder Fund North Dakota made its first investment in LandTrust, an online land-sharing marketplace based out of Bozeman, MT, that connects landowners with outdoor enthusiasts.

"When you are doing a venture investment, particularly a series A investment, I ask myself, 'What moat does the business have around it? What protection does it have? If it's a great idea, what do they have in equity that others are going to have a hard time duplicating?' That's really important," O'Leary said. "What I found with LandTrust and their business plan was all of the previous work they'd done to arrange access to these hundreds of thousands of acres. What took me over the top was when I found out [that] the Wilks family out of Texas, who have millions of acres in Texas, were willing to put in hundreds of thousands of acres and become my partner in the deal. That sealed it for me because what really makes that model work—I don't care if you are a hunter, a fisher, or if you are hiking and just like the outdoors—we got it for you. We've got anything you could possibly want because we have such a diversity of land. So now the job of the company is to acquire customers and that's where I can help—obviously, we have a massive social media following. That deal checked the box on everything I like about new startups and they have a fantastic management team who really understand this business. One of the things I love about it is that it's part of the share economy. It's one of those deals where I looked at it and thought, 'Why didn't I think of this?' I love it. I think it's great."

If you asked LandTrust Founder and CEO Nic De Castro as a child what he wanted to be when he grew up, he says he would have told you that he wanted to be a professional hunter or fisherman because that's what he loved to do growing up in the Laguna Beach area. He hunted, fished, surfed, and spear-fished before heading out east to attend Boston University, where he barely graduated.

"I graduated with basically a 2.3 GPA," De Castro said. "I didn’t like school."

But, a degree is a degree and De Castro found himself on the path to LandTrust quickly after graduating, grooming himself by taking on sales and partnership roles with technology startups in New York City. However, he didn't know that those jobs were preparing him to one day found his own tech startup.

"I did a lot of traveling, I did a million miles by the time I was about 28," De Castro said. "I was just traveling around talking to big brands and working with

big brands, selling digital advertising and marketing technologies. Which provided a great background for learning how to acquire customers online. That was very foundational for me. I moved up to Montana from Colorado at the end of 2016."

De Castro eventually moved from the Big Apple to Colorado and then on to Montana, taking on the same kinds of technology startup roles all along the way. "Quickly after moving to Bozeman, I was

LandTrust Founder and CEO Nic De Castro

Photo provided by LandTrust

would've been to go knock on a stranger's door. Even as a sales guy, I didn't enjoy doing that and, after speaking with thousands of farmers and ranchers over the past 3 years, most of them don’t enjoy or have the time for it either."

De Castro didn't move on with the idea right away. Instead, he continued to toy with it and think it through.

"Thankfully, I didn't do it in 2017," De Castro said. "Timing is everything for startups and that wasn't the right time."

But in November of 2018, the time was right for De Castro and he began to build out his deck and started pitching to investors.

"The first investors came in June of 2019 and I quit a well-paying consulting job," De Castro said. "My wife and I had our first child about a month later on

two days were really nerve-racking, but it wasn't a big question of if there was a need for this because some version of this has been happening forever. People have always been knocking on doors and paying fees for access to private land to hunt. They've called them trespass fees, historically. It was more of a question of if people will do this online in this manner and if they will they do it with us.

“COVID shook up a lot of things and made a lot of things possible that were hard to imagine before. Because of COVID, we now are able to do Zoom calls with farmers and ranchers. That would have been pretty hard to imagine happening beforehand. Since that time, LandTrust has put over 1 million acres on the platform.

"The cool thing is that almost all of our one million acres are from multigeneration farm and ranch families.

and will likely be developed, those are just facts. We're really a rural economic development company. We bring new money to these rural landowners and we bring new money to their rural communities through tourism."

De Castro and LandTrust, which previously had no customers in the state of North Dakota, first became aware of the North Dakota Development Fund in 2022 through their first Fargobased investor, Erik Barner. Barner encouraged the young entrepreneur to explore some of the programs the state had in the works.

"I went out to Fargo about a year ago and met a lot of really great people. Hannah Lange at the Development Fund has been great to work with. Josh Teigen has been great to work with. The Fargo startup scene is really amazing. The people there like Jenny Sheets are pretty awesome. There's great stuff happening in Fargo from a startup perspective," De Castro said.

"The Bank of North Dakota and the North Dakota Development Fund came together to offer us a really great debt package to incentivize us to bring business to North Dakota and we decided to do that.

"North Dakota has phenomenal waterfowl habitat that I think is a really good opportunity not just for hunting, but for bird watching. There are a lot of people that love looking at birds, not over the barrel of a gun," De Castro said.

De Castro received more support from the state after and introduction to Paul Palandijan, the CEO of O'Leary Ventures. De Castro made a pitch to Palandijan, O'Leary, and the rest of the team, securing a $1.25 million investment in the process, contingent on establishing a base in Fargo which will be happening soon.

Some highlights and features from the LandTrust website

By Brady Drake

Time is

Ticking

Or so we think.

In the following pages, you will meet a handful of business professionals that are balancing busy schedules and still making big-time business impacts. Let's find out how they do it.

By Brady Drake |

A LOOK AT

William Cromarty's BUSY LIFE

ome people like to challenge themselves, test their limits. William Cromarty is one such individual.

At the age of 30, Cromarty already boasts an impressive resume with five years spent undercover for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a strong business career that currently has him working as the Director of Business Development for Airial Robotics, a drone company headquartered in Germany that "creates a completely new drone category that exceeds current industry standards in terms of flight time, payload, range and efficiency whilst at the same time having a highly modular system architecture that can be customized for a wide variety of commercial UAV Missions." Cromarty has also quickly become involved in the Fargo-Moorhead community, serving on many boards and founding The Museum Incubator.

On top of all that he has done and is currently doing, Cromarty is also training very seriously to be a competitive Muay Thai fighter and ultramarathon runner. In his attempt to fight Muay Thai, Cromarty has made significant progress in training and is sparring as he prepares to take his first official fight within a year. On the running front, Cromarty has already tackled a few amazing challenges, running multiple marathons and in 2022, he completed the Triple Lakes Trail Race, a 40-mile race, running through the woods of North Carolina on expert-level mountain bike trails with a couple thousand feet of elevation gain.

Photos by Josiah Kopp

A Fitness Q&A With William Cromarty

As an extremely busy business professional and a person with extreme athletic goals, William Cromarty is an interesting person in our business community. Currently, he is training with John Kalenze, Owner and Coach of the JSK Muay Thai Academy, who he says is a fantastic coach that has helped him lose 42 pounds since he started training. He has yet to take any official fights, but he is sparring, training rigorously, and will compete in the near future.

That's great and all, but we wanted to know why this rising national security subject-matter expert in aerospace and satellite systems, space/counterspace weapons system counterproliferation, and aerospace-sector geopolitics would want to fight, why and how he runs extreme distances, and what his athletic background looks like. So, we asked.

Q: WHY FIGHT?

A: I always knew that I wanted to fight. I always wanted to do boxing. My granddad was a competitive boxer, so it runs in the family. For me, it was just kind of a matter of time. When I was at the agency, serving undercover, that kind of lifestyle wasn't conducive to advancing through martial arts or advancing in boxing—especially with some of those travel requirements. So, I knew I would probably have to wait until I got out of the agency to start training for it. It has always appealed to me. It's an incredibly good workout. There's a mental element to it. There's a strategic element to it. I think, for me, the combination of there being a family heritage to it was a factor. And then in terms of Muay Thai, specifically, I looked at what was in front of me and intentionally selected the most brutally challenging option. It's the same reason I run ultramarathons. I always pick the most brutally challenging option, because you have to do that to test your limits.

If you look at the difference between marathon runners and ultramarathon runners, they're two totally separate

subcultures. Marathon running is about self-improvement. And ultramarathon running is about self-destruction. If you look at how you get respect in each of those sports, it's quite different. In marathon running, the person who crosses the line first gets the most respect. And in ultramarathon running, the last guy across the finish line gets the most respect because they came the closest to death and still succeeded and still completed the race. There's almost a sense of, if you successfully ran 40 miles, what you really should have done is challenged yourself to run 50 miles—again, it's about testing your limits.

The biggest thing that you have to do, and this is tying it back to the ancient Greek Delphic maxims, is Know Thyself. And I'm really big on that. I think you have to take your training schedule and tie it to your own motivation psychologically. So for me, it will sound funny, but I have absolutely zero intrinsic motivation to work out. I've never once woken up in my life and thought that it would be a nice day for a run. I'm perfectly happy to go run 40 miles, but I've never once woken up wanting to. So for me, you

Cromarty's Resume

Spent five years working undercover for the CIA

Currently serves on Board of Directors for Heath Company

Currently serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors for the Red River Manufacturers & Engineers Association

Currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Midwest Manufacturers Association

Currently serves as a Board Member for the Cass County Government

Currently serves on the Board of Directors for the F5 Project

Currently serves on the Board of Directors and is Vice Chair for the North Dakota Unmanned Autonomous Systems Council

Founder and Executive Director for The Museum Inucubator

Director of Business Development for Airial Robotics

Q: WHAT SORT OF THINGS DO YOU DO FOR RECOVERY?

A: I'm a big fan of ice baths and extreme cold exposure. I've been through the basic and advanced training for the Wim Hof Method, which I'm a big fan of. I'm big on using ice baths with saunas and saunas with freezing showers. There's a lot of really good research out there on the benefits of that both from an immune system perspective and also from a recovery and anti-inflammation perspective. I'll typically sauna for 15 minutes and then do three minutes of extreme cold exposure, jumping in a snowbank or doing an ice bath, and then get back in the sauna.

Q: WAS THERE A CONCERN FROM YOUR FAMILY?

A: I think there's probably been some element of concern from my family, from my parents,

all the way up through fours and eights. I really enjoyed that.

What is Muay Thai?

Muay Thai is a combat sport, similar to boxing but with the additional use of elbows and knees along with the fists.

A Professional and Personal Q&A With William Cromarty

William Cromarty is pretty up front about it. He wants any job he takes to work towards the betterment of the United States. And he started on that path at a very young age, pursuing Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies as a teenager because of a desire to make an impact in the War on Terror.

Since those initial baby steps, Cromarty has taken much bigger leaps including a start to his career with an internship at the New York Police Department's Manhattan North Homicide Squad. We sat down with him to learn more.

of my undergraduate majors was in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. My other major was Political Science and my minors were phsychology and physics. I did a couple of

and then I made the decision in 2020 that I wanted to try the private sector. So, I started working for a CubeSat manufacturer that was focused on government payloads for NASA,

multiple unexpected family and professional challenges that made it the most challenging year of my life. North Dakota and the Fargo community were more welcoming than I

possibly could have asked for, and turned what began as the hardest year of my life into the best year of my life. Since then, I’ve sought out every opportunity I can to give back to this community across the aerospace sector in private industry, the arts sector through my museum initiatives, my faith community at First Presbyterian Church, and through my volunteer work at the Micah’s Mission homeless shelter.

Q: IS IT DIFFICULT BEING UNDERCOVER?

A: Yeah, I think you get used to it after a while, but it can be mentally taxing. You have to think very cautiously about what you say before you say it and who you're saying it to. It makes foreign travel complicated for vacations. So, you don't necessarily do a lot of vacations abroad. And I think it can be challenging sometimes with relationships with family and friends as well.

Q: WHAT DRIVES YOU PROFESSIONALLY?

A: I think one of the big things that I've always focused on is advancing the American

aerospace sector, especially in light of Chinese and Russian advancements. They've started catching up to us in some ways, and I think there's a big concern about them passing us in some regards. So, when I look at what I find rewarding in a job and what I look for, it's really two big things. No. 1 The job has to be good for America. No. 2 I have to feel like I'm learning something new every day. So for me, advancing the American aerospace sector, fixing a lot of the problems that I used to be briefed on when I was working at the agency, has been really rewarding for me and that's something I want to keep focusing on.

Q: YOU TOLD ME YOU ARE WORKING ON A STARTUP, CORRECT?

A: I founded a startup in 2022 that's currently in stealth mode. It's focused on cybersecurity. We're going to have some big announcements over the next year on that topic. Right now, there's only so much that I can say, but we definitely will have some exciting announcements coming up on that.

Q: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU HAVE GOING ON THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT YET?

A: What I'm trying to do right now is work my way through a 365-day Bible reading plan. I'm Presbyterian and I've always wanted to do one of those full read-throughs. I decided this was going to be the year that I would do it.

That's something I would say has become increasingly important to me over time. It's something that I found motivational too, especially during difficult times in life. I think it's something that also ties in well to extreme athletics and other major life goals.

One of Cromarty's places of work is his home.

Always tinkering, Cromarty keeps a 3D printer in his home office.

3 Days With William Cromarty

MORNING ROUTINE (ALL 3 DAYS):

• 4 a.m. Alarm

I'm naturally a night owl, so early mornings have been a conscious choice to ensure I can balance athletic training, professional pursuits, and over a dozen roles on Boards of Directors, councils, and committees.

• 4 a.m. - 4:15 a.m. Meditation

I'm a big fan of starting off each morning with at least 10 minutes of meditation—it's a habit I picked up as a teenager while living in Japan for a summer, and it helps me start off the day with a clear and relaxed mindset.

• 4:15 a.m.- 5 a.m. Gym prep and drive to gym

I start my morning gym prep by assembling my boxing gloves and hand wraps, taking my Pre-Workout powder, eating a small amount of something protein-rich, and scraping the ice off my windshield before starting the drive to my boxing gym.

• 5 a.m. - 6 a.m. Muay Thai training

I like to get in an hour of training in the mornings as often as I can, and like to rotate between punch technique and power work on the heavy bag, kick conditioning, kettlebell work, lunges, and running for my ultramarathon training and cardio conditioning. By planning it into my schedule and getting a workout in early before the day gets busy, it's infinitely more likely to happen.

• 6:30 a.m. - 6:45 a.m. Freezing shower and drink kombucha/take daily rhodiola & ashwagandha supplements

Rhodiola and ashwagandha have both been game-changers for me in burnout prevention and stress reduction, and there's a growing body of research documenting the link between gut health supported by probiotics and fermented foods like Kombucha and mental well-being. I'm also a big advocate for the Wim Hof Method practice of extreme cold exposure via ice baths and freezing showers,

and have seen a big difference in my energy levels since incorporating Wim Hof breathing techniques and cold exposure into my daily routine.

• 6:45 a.m. - 7 a.m. Coffee and daily scripture reading

I'm currently working through a 365-day whole-Bible reading plan, and starting my day with coffee and the daily scripture reading helps me start each day with my priorities in order.

• 7 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. Plan day ahead, review daily/weekly/monthly schedule

Lately I've been making an effort to start off each day with some time to review the day, week, and month ahead—this helped me transition from a more reactive mindset of "putting out fires" with a 48-72 hour outlook into a more proactive mindset of consciously planning the weeks ahead.

One of Cromarty's other favorite places to work is a coffee shop.

calls and meetings managed to get my sleep quality to a really great level.

What is the museum incubator?

"I started to get the ball rolling on the museum incubator when some of my friends made me aware of the Builders and Backers program which offered $5,000 seed grants to organizations looking to better the community. Essentially, The Museum Incubator is providing a way for people in the community to start their own museums. I have had a large collection of Russian space race artifacts on display at the Fargo Air Museum since October 2022. I had been looking at setting up a standalone space to focus on the space race because there's a lot of really interesting history in North Dakota that ties back to that. I had this giant collection of artifacts that could fill up a museum overnight. I started to think about how you could start a museum with the lowest possible overhead. I've seen a 10-foot by 10-foot museum that was in an elevator shaft. I began thinking from there and we launched our first pop-up museum night at Fargo Brewing Company in January. We will have two more events like it in 2023 which will showcase a rotating group of micro museums."

FEBRUARY 7TH

• 8 a.m. - 10 a.m.

Airial Robotics client calls and meetings

• 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Coffee meeting with a potential collaborator for Museum Incubator exhibit

One of my favorite parts of my role as Executive Director of The Museum Incubator is meeting with potential exhibit collaborators and learning about their unusual historical collections that they're passionate about. You never know what kind of interesting collections are out there, and I love bridging the gap that allows community members to enjoy never-before-seen collections at exhibits.

• 11 a.m. 12:15 p.m.

Airial Robotics client calls and meetings

• 12:15 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Committee meeting for First Presbyterian Church Support & Endowment Committee to discuss church investments/finance strategy

One of the ways I give back to my church is through my role on our Support & Endowment committee, leveraging my professional and academic background to review the church's financial investments in light of changing economic conditions.

• 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Airial Robotics client calls and meetings

• 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Coffee meeting with Fargo-Moorhead EDC to discuss economic incentive packages

Similar to the Department of Commerce, The Fargo-Moorhead EDC is a great resource for both companies and nonprofits to understand what state and local inventive programs are available to leverage for expansion. I keep in touch with the EDC on a regular basis for Airial Robotics, The Museum Incubator, my family's electronics manufacturing firm (Heath Company), and a few other projects I have in the works including one startup currently in stealth mode.

• 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Airial Robotics client calls and meetings

• 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Muay Thai training

• 7:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.

Freezing shower

• 7:45 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Work on Museum Incubator planning and buildout

• 9 p.m. Bed

• 7:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.

Fargo-Moorhead Chamber of Commerce

Economic Outlook Summit - Attend as guest of NDSU leadership

I had the opportunity to attend this year's Economic Outlook Summit as a guest of NDSU's leadership, and got a lot out of the experience. NDSU does some incredible research work and is a key member of the entrepreneurial community in North Dakota. I have multiple exciting partnerships with NDSU in the works right now on a wide range of topics.

• 9 a.m. - Noon

Airial Robotics client calls and meetings

• Noon - 1 p.m.

Artificial Intelligence discussion session

lunch at The Executives' Club of FargoMoorhead

As part of our weekly lunch discussion series, I've had the opportunity to visit with and learn from a wide range of fellow business leaders at The Executives Club—this week's discussion was on how each of our firms expect Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to change our respective industries. The ability to have these kinds of high-level discussions with fellow executives and industry leaders is critical.

• 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Airial Robotics client calls and meetings

• 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Muay Thai training

• 7:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.

Freezing shower

• 7:45 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Work on Museum Incubator planning and buildout

• 9 p.m. Bed

Wiliam Cromarty's Tips for Time Management

Know Thyself; start by understanding your own motivations.

Set aside time each morning to review the week and month ahead.

This isn't directly a tip for time management, but in a roundabout way, I believe it is. Taking time to recharge isn’t a sign of weakness, and can often lead to your most creative business ideas. I’ve often caught myself attempting to sprint the marathon, and this year after some introspection at the Emerging Prairie Founders Retreat, I put a renewed focus on scheduling nights off to recharge. Since then, I’ve been re-energized to pursue new initiatives and have found creative thinking comes more naturally.

Prioritize meetings that tie in to multiple goals and pursuits simultaneously. Prioritize events that introduce you to the maximum number of new people.

CROMARTY'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

JSK Muay Thai /jskmuaythai jskmuaythaiacademy

@airial_robotics

Connect With William Cromarty on LinkedIn: /william-cromarty-1704b31a5/ williamcromarty.com

A LOOK AT

Zach Willis' BUSY LIFE

ormer NDSU Football player and current owner of Big Deck Barbecue, Zach Willis, leads a busy life. While he runs Big Deck Barbecue with the help of only a few others, he also finds time to exercise, spend time with family and friends, and co-host a podcast, among other endeavors. We sat down to talk to Zach about moving his business to a new location, increasing production and distribution, marketing his products, and how he balances all of that with his personal life and health goals.

By Sam Kise | Photo by Josiah Kopp

Zach Willis, Owner, Big Deck Barbecue

A Big Deck Barbecue

Q&A with Zach Willis

Since he fully took over Big Deck Barbecue, Zach Willis has been working hard to grow his business. From moving to a new facility to hiring more employees, Willis’ ventures have had him working up to 50 hours a week—including production time and time for administrative duties for the company. Along with his dad, fiancee, and friend and employee Alessandro, Zach works to balance the everyday duties associated with running a small business. We asked Zach about his current business ventures and how much time he has been putting into this business, which is now his full-time job.

Q: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO COMPLETE THIS MOVE FROM SQUARE ONE TO YOUR OWN FACILITY?

A: Hopefully by April. Actually, it was supposed to be last August. And we just ran into capital issues and then construction delays. We also had issues with ordering equipment, and it's just hard to get all that stuff right now. So the loose deadline is April. And then it'll be nice out, so we can host people, open up for retail shopping, and it'll just kind of be a perfect storm of timing.

The new facility is in the same little strip mall as Skill Cutz and Domino's. It’s pretty easy to find. It'll be good. It's kind of like a central place in Fargo—people are coming from the south, people are coming from the north.

Q: HOW MUCH IS THAT GOING TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTION?

A: Basically tenfold. No exaggeration. We'll go from about 200 bottles an hour to nearly

1,500 in a half hour. The fun part is the more you can produce, the more you can sell. So that's what we're excited about—expanding our distribution and expanding our network.

Q: HAS THAT BEEN YOUR MAIN ISSUE, FULFILLING ORDERS AND KEEPING UP WITH DEMAND?

A: Yeah, we got into trouble with that a little bit. It got to the point where we couldn't find bottles or people to make it with us, and it took three or four weeks to fill orders. So once we hit that point, we kind of realized that danger zone of growing too fast, and started to settle it down and let it market itself. We’re at the point now where we can put the foot on the gas pedal and really start to ramp up marketing, getting it in more people's hands, because we can meet the demand now.

Q: HOW OFTEN ARE YOU HAVING TO PRODUCE RIGHT NOW?

A: We usually aim for once a week. So even if we don't have orders in, then we're just building inventory. That way, it's a faster

turnaround for customers on the website and for people buying for our distributors or our direct-to-consumer vendors. But usually once a week is what we aim for. We do one big cook, then we have the day for labeling. We have the day for packaging. This process makes it easier for everyone.

Q: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO THE REBRAND?

A: Truthfully, it was the fact that it was my business now. I wanted to put my touch on it. Before, it felt like I was doing something to carry on my dad's dream. And that is still a driving factor in what we do. What I do. But it was my little spin on that, that I got to put my personal touches [on the label]. When people see it on shelves, that was my creative decision and my expression of myself in my vehicle, which is barbecue sauce. You can't do that in many ways besides flavors. But if you can mess with the label and change what people see on shelves, I think that's kind of a cool thing.

Show and the Pride of Dakota, big vendor shows. I didn't agree. I thought the game was in volume and the best way to do that is get in touch with distributors and put it on as many shelves as possible. You sacrifice profit margin but you make up for that in volume. And that's the fastest way to grow is when you let somebody else sell it for you. We disagreed on that. And I think it probably would have gotten bad if we let it continue the way it was. But he gave me the best gift I've ever received in my life and said, ‘Run with it. It's yours.’ So I have a full-equity position. I gave 10% to my fiancee and now it's us two— we're the actual owners of the company.

Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER EMPLOYEES?

A: I have one other employee, Alessandro. He's a buddy from high school. He's actually part-time. He's working to finish up his degree at M-State right now, but I couldn't ask

Did you know?

Willis has launched a podcast for his brand this year called Big Deck Podcast that gives an inside look at his life and Big Deck Barbecue! Two episodes have been released so far—check them out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

Q: WHEN YOU EXPAND TO THIS NEW LOCATION ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE TO HIRE A BUNCH MORE EMPLOYEES FOR PRODUCTION?

A: I actually think we're going to take on one or two more employees. But working in Square One was kind of a blessing and a curse in the fact that you pay by the hour, and it's a shared kitchen—you can't just work in there all the time. Because of that, we have our process as tight and as quick as it possibly can be. And now we're moving to somewhere

of what we're following: build as big of an empire as you can in North Dakota and then just start to expand to different states one at a time as you can handle the production. And if you have a good product at the end of the day, then the rest takes care of itself.

Q: WHAT'S THE PROCESS LIKE OF GETTING INTO STORES LIKE THAT?

A: SCHEELS and stores like that are direct-toconsumer. That is usually just a store director. You just have to find the right people, the right buyers. I know we're in talks with Bass Pro Shops. I just connected with one of their buyers, and she put me in touch with the right people. Otherwise, places like Hornbacher’s, the giant conglomerates that own a bunch of stores and make up the bulk of our revenue as far as who it’s sold to, is sold through a middleman through our distributor. We sell it to the distributor, and then they handle everything else as far as putting it on shelves, getting it to the stores, and selling it to the

stores. So it's been good and that's the route I'm going to continue to take because I just don't have the infrastructure or the capital to have fleets of trucks going all over the place.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT YOU'VE ENCOUNTERED RECENTLY?

A: Now it’s just expanding our network as far as who we're selling to. Ecommerce is a tough game, and getting people onto the website and converting those into sales is not easy. That's probably our biggest challenge as far as what we can do. Otherwise, it's just the production part of it. It's keeping up with demand and being able to make everything that's ordered. And that's going to be solved here soon. We've nailed down all of our supply chain issues. We have easy access to everything we need. We're going to have our own central roof over our head, which is very nice and it's going to solve a lot of problems. But now is the fun part. You just get to go in and sell. And that's what we do it for. I have a real passion for what we do. It's a cool thing to wake up and say "I sell barbecue sauce for a living." And now we'll just get to be able to do that. Hit the phones, get in touch with vendors, build those personal connections. Maybe it's not the right time for them now, but they know somebody who it would be the right time for. I think that's the biggest thing I've learned is just not taking no for an answer in the business sense, because it means no for now. We'll do it eventually. And it'll work out. I'm going to get you to say yes, somewhere down the road. It's just about how long it will take.

Q: HOW MUCH TIME ARE YOU PUTTING IN A WEEK ON AVERAGE?

A: It's probably 45-50 hours, I guess. Most of it is things that I don't even really consider work. It's just things that need to be done. The administrative stuff is what takes up a lot of my time. And I'm looking to outsource that elsewhere. So in that sense, I'll have the free time to do what I'm passionate about, and that’s selling it and telling the story. I have a marketing degree. So I love getting on socials and doing that stuff. And that'll only open up more time to do that, when production gets easier, and I don't have to handle as much of the administrative side of it.

Life Outside of Barbecue: A Q&A with Zach Willis

Though the barbecue business is a large part of Willis’ life, it isn’t his only priority. He has a passion for sports and supports the NDSU Bison through “The Benchwarmers” podcast— featured episodes on the larger podcast, the Bison Report. We talked to him about this podcast, and life outside of barbecue, as well as his tips for time management when you lead such a busy life.

But if I got a notification 30 minutes before something's happening—I need to know farther ahead of time than that. And there are just things that are non-negotiable about

BBQ SAUCE?

A: Shoot, I don't even know. I would have liked to actually work in marketing, either

Bison stuff, but it's less analytics. It's just kind of a former player’s perspective. I think what was really interesting was talking after losses or losing to SDSU in the championship.

Photos by Zach Willis

Willis, a former NDSU football player, shares a love of NDSU with his fiancee Julia Dwyer.

What is really going on as far as thoughts in the locker room? Is it really doomsday like people think it is? Or is it more like, okay, we know what we need to do next year? It's just a different perspective on it. We thought we were only going to do it during football season. But I talked to Quinn and even when we don't record, we'll sit and call each other for an hour and a half and BS. So we might as well record it and just keep going.

I don't know how much longer we're going to go into the offseason, talking about spring ball, all that fun stuff. We might go through winter training, but we might just wait for football season again if we cut it off. We call and talk to each other about nothing for an hour and a half anyway. And what's been cool is we've had interviews with former teammates that are in the NFL or going to the NFL now. It's a little like if you were a fly on the wall, if we were all sitting at the bar, and just having a beer talking about what we talked about. It's a real conversation. We don't cut anything. I'm not really interested in sitting down and editing and throwing in fancy transitions. We record, hit stop, and upload it right to Spotify, or wherever you listen to it and it's been really good. That's more of the brand-building. People get to know who I really am as the Big Deck guy. It's a true peek

into how I really am and what it’s like to be sitting and talking to me. So it's been good as far as that, too. But it's also more of that creative outlet where I get to express and talk about what I want to talk about is rather than just being shackled to ‘you're the barbecue sauce guy.’ I can kind of expand my horizons beyond that.

Q: IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY TO OUR READERS?

A: Every time I get the chance to, I want to express my gratitude for everybody that supports us and chooses us at the store. Because you're not supporting some giant conglomerate where some nameless, faceless guy is the CEO. You’re reading about who you’re supporting. It's me, it's my family. And it's a business that puts a roof over my head, which is very cool. And I'm very appreciative of the people who are consuming and excited and support what we are, like how we are actively creatively expressing ourselves, which I think a lot of people crave. And you want people to be excited about what you're putting out there. There's no better feeling.

Did you know?

The new Big Deck Barbecue label features a drawn version of Willis’ first dog, Frank, using barbecue sauce while grilling.

SUpport Zach Willis

BIG DECK BARBECUE

bigdeckbbq.com

/bigdeckbbq

@bigdeckbbqco

@bigdeckbbqco

Listen to The Benchwarmers— Bison Report Podcast wherever you get your podcasts

Willis labels bottles of barbecue sauce with a labeling machine.

Willis also finds time to hang out with his dogs whenever he can!

By Grant Ayers |

A LOOK AT

Tracy Jordre's BUSY LIFE

racy Jordre has never been one to back down from a challenge. As she balances a full-time career in architecture with JLG and a loving family, Jordre has launched Haute Hyde, a handbag line that’s getting increasingly popular by the week. Now, her biggest obstacle is time and how to fit her many creative outlets into a busy schedule. Read further to check out her background, efforts with JLG and Haute Hyde, and how she balances the many different facets of her world.

Photos by Josiah Kopp

Born and raised in North Dakota, Jordre graduated from NDSU with a degree in architecture. As she entered the workforce and built an impressive resume in the world of architecture, her path led her to the renowned architecture firm, JLG Architects. Jordre has crafted quite an impressive portfolio after immersing herself in the world of architecture for roughly 30 years. For nearly 10 of those years, Jordre has been contributing her efforts to the mission of JLG.

In early 2022, Jordre took a seven-month hiatus to properly tend to various health issues within the family and be with one another while acclimating to a postpandemic world.

“It's okay to talk about needing a break, and it’s okay to need a break. Whether it’s seven minutes or seven months, having that time to get healthy and focused is okay. You have to find what works for you. I needed to take a little step back, get healthy again, then come back to life,” Jordre said.

“I’ve been an architect for almost 30 years, yet I’m having more fun in my career now than ever before. You should focus on yourself and your career, but always remember to spend time with your loved ones. You never know how much you'll miss an opportunity until it's gone.”

Jordre returned to JLG in October of 2022. Upon returning, she was able to find a healthy balance between her professional career with JLG, her side hustle with Haute Hyde, her personal life and family, and more.

“Financially, it was a scary moment. I didn’t know how JLG would react, but they were extremely supportive of me and welcomed me back with open arms after taking a break. That is a testament to how amazing of a company they are to recognize that there are times employees need to hit pause for any reason. When I got back to work, there was a lot of catching up and training to do, but it was the best thing I could have ever done,” Jordre said.

A Haute Hyde Q&A with Tracy Jordre

Q: TELL ME A BIT ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF HAUTE HYDE.

A: In 2020, during the pandemic, the kids were at home with me, as my husband is a baker and he was working around the clock. I needed some form of a creative release, as the world of architecture was kind of chaotic at that moment and projects had stalled. At the same time, I was frustrated trying to find a handbag that also acted as a computer bag. I was tired of carrying around three to four bags and wanted something elegant and classic that would serve my needs. I couldn’t find anything that was both good quality and less than $1,000, so I decided to learn the craft. I started playing around with leathers and making a few bags on my own. In the beginning, I just made them for my mom friends, and myself. Little by little, however, it started to gain traction where more people were asking how they could get one or if I’d be willing to make them one.

When I launched my website, that’s when it truly took off and exploded. I've been doing this for almost four years. When I took some time off from JLG, I briefly thought that focusing on Haute Hyde would be exactly

Did You Know?

Tracy Jordre has sold over 250 Haute Hyde handbags to date!

what I wanted to do full-time. Soon after, I realized that full-time was too much. I really missed the world of architecture and realized that Haute Hyde would be best as a side hustle for me. It's something that just brings me joy and is even a form of therapy. I’m able to turn my mind off and go into another world of creativity for a couple of hours at night. I am so blessed to be in such a creative field. Certainly, there's a lot of complexity in balancing everything, but I feel so blessed from a professional standpoint. JLG is a dream company and I’m still able to focus on Haute Hyde. I have the most supportive husband in the world and if it weren't for him helping with the kids and every other aspect of life, I don't know how I could do any of this.

Did You Know?

Jordre aims to work on three Haute Hyde handbags at a time. From start to finish, it takes her between four to five days on average at two to three hours a day to complete a Haute Hyde bag!

Tracy with her kids, Annika and Cole.

WITH HAUTE HYDE?

A: I'm ready to transition to some new styles and turn a corner if you will. I’ve had a lot of success with the bag styles that I currently have on my website, but I'm ready for something fresh and new. The biggest constraint right now is time. It's a real business, so I have to actually put in the time and effort, and that takes a lot of dedication. When it isn’t fun anymore is when I'm going to stop doing it.

The next product, which is going to be a backpack, will be the “Riley,” named after my niece. I’ve had so many requests for backpacks, so that is going to be my next focus point. My intention is that it's a fun little side hobby, yet it’s growing faster than I would have ever expected. I can certainly see it growing and turning into something bigger, but I love my work in architecture with JLG, so I’m in this beautifully awful predicament where I feel like I have it all and don’t want to lose any of it.

Did You Know?

On the Haute Hyde website, you can choose the bag style, kind of leather, hardware color, handle color, and other fine details of your bag. “I try to make them as customizable as possible, which is so much fun.” - Tracy

Jordre

Left to Right: The “Annika,” The “Britt,” and The “Willow”

Left to Right: The “Annika” and The “Ashlynn”

A Professional & Personal Q&A

with Tracy Jordre

to make sure that I’m being very intentional with my time around them.

We try to do family dinners often, although

JLG AND HAUTE HYDE?

A: I love that I'm finding ways to integrate beauty into all aspects of my world.

Did You Know?

Tracy Jordre is the chair of the Fargo Arts & Culture Committee and loves having that world interjected into her days of architecture and handbag making.

Left to Right: The “Bella” and The “Ashlynn”

3 Days With Tracy Jorde

• 8 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

MONDAY

• 4:30 a.m.

Waking up early is the easiest thing in the world for me… I know, I’m weird! (Staying up past 9 p.m. is a whole other story. Ha!)

Get ready to work out and drink my preworkout beverage.

• 4:45 a.m.

Log onto my workout team’s Zoom call. There are usually between 9-12 people on the call, but this week is spring break, so there are only 6 today. The ladies I workout with are from Toronto, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, Kansas… and yep, North Dakota.

Today, my right knee is just a bit sore, so I’m going to do some stretching yoga. Working out every morning is a non-negotiable for me and if I don’t do it first thing in the morning, I know it won’t happen. I’ve tried working out later in the day, but it’s complete torture for me then.

• 5 a.m.

Stop for a quick team picture. A few of us started Zooming together at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and we’ve just never stopped. Having this kind of accountability has been a game-changer for me, but the best part is that these ladies are now some of my best friends and I look forward to seeing them every morning!

• 5:30 a.m.

Workout done. Work for an hour to finish up a bag for a customer… packaged the bag and got it ready to ship out.

• 6:30 a.m.

Get ready for work, quickly pack, drop off packages at UPS, and then head into the office.

Internal JLG meetings.

• 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Lunch with a good friend that I don’t get to see enough. I’m trying to make a much more intentional effort to spend time with friends. It’s always hard to make the time, but when I do, I swear that my week is so much better!

• 2 p.m.

Leave for a three-day trip to Minneapolis. Spend most of the drive time on conference calls with different JLG design teams prepping for meetings the next few days. I'm excited to get to Minneapolis for a couple of days… I love getting to a few specific stores to see the newest high-end bag designs in person that I’ve been seeing online. I could sit for hours just looking at the quality and craftsmanship of these beautiful bags! It’s inspiring and it keeps me excited to continue creating.

• 6 p.m.

Dinner at Benihanas with a co-worker.

TUESDAY

• 4:30 a.m.

Woke up with a really sore knee… not sure what’s going on, but may have to get it looked at when I get home. Iced for a few minutes. Decided it was probably best to skip a workout to let it rest… I hate doing that as I feel a bit “off” the rest of the day.

• 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Today our team gets to meet with multiple different user groups to listen to their needs and how their current spaces could be improved. It’s so interesting to me to see how quickly people have completely changed their perspectives on what they need to work effectively and efficiently and what they expect their office environment to be like.

• 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Internal meetings and a new project kick-off with JLG.

• 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Shopping for clothes for my kids for a family photo shoot we’re doing at the end of the week. Buying clothes that a 16-year-old “dude” will wear is one of life’s biggest challenges for any parent!

• 9 p.m.

Check and see the new orders that came in over the day. Spend a few minutes checking my leather and hardware supplies. Order a few items online just to be sure that I have enough hardware. Mentally work out a schedule to get the orders done in the next one to two weeks, if all goes well.

• 9:30 p.m.

I finally have a quiet moment to read and journal a bit. I need to find more space to get back into a routine where I can do this in the morning, but for now, this is the best that I can do.

WEDNESDAY

• 4 a.m.

Wake up… last night I slept horribly. So ready to get home. Did 20 minutes of yoga in my hotel room… not enough time to work out at the hotel gym this morning.

• 6:30 a.m.

Coffee and go!

• 7 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.

Another user group meeting.

• 9 a.m.

Back to the hotel. Catch up with a few conference calls for several projects.

WEDNESDAY (CONTINUED)

• 11:30 a.m.

Drive back to Fargo. Thankfully the roads were pretty good today despite another storm yesterday. Will winter ever end this year?

• 4:30 p.m.

Help Annika with homework. This has been a struggle lately and she’s gotten a bit behind. So even though the kids have this week off for Spring Break, we’re working hard with her to help her catch up.

• 5:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

Get kids to Prairie Heights church for youth groups and activities. I love the fact that the kids beg to go! They do such an incredible job making the evening fun and engaging.

My husband Kevin usually takes the kids so that I can spend time working on bag orders. Tonight I cut out three new bags from a new hide that arrived while I was gone. This hide in particular is spectacular and has hardly any blemishes. Each hide can vary so much,

so when one arrives that’s in extra good condition, it’s really fun to see. With a hide like this, I can usually get six to seven bags out of it, but often times the hides only allow for four bags.

• 9:15 p.m.

It’s been a long day… I go to bed before the family gets home which I hate to do, but tonight I can’t keep my eyes open.

Tracy Jordre's Tips for Time Management

CREATE A SYSTEM TO GET INTO.

I get up every morning at 4:30 to work out. I love to vary my workout, whether it’s cardio or another form of exercise. My boxing-style workouts are the days that I probably get the most “therapy” done through an endorphin release. After my workout, I start working on a handbag or project for work. I set my mornings up so I can do my most important things right away before the kids even get up.

IT’S CRUCIAL TO NOT LOSE YOURSELF THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.

Find those little moments to take a deep breath and reassess what the most important things are that day. It's not selfish to take 10 minutes to just take some deep breaths. When I feel like I’m too busy to stop with Haute Hyde, I still force myself to pause. Journaling has also been a very transformative and healthy process that’s helped me think deeper.

Contact Tracy Jordre hautehyde.com

tjordre@jlgarchitects.com

tracy@hautehyde.com

FIND YOUR JOY AND BUILD AROUND IT.

Having a side business when you have a full-time job sounds ridiculous because you already have this whole world with kids and family. For myself, Haute Hyde fit in perfectly and brought another layer of meaning to my life. It’s therapeutic and joyful to me, and I think that's why it works.

IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE PERFECT, SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUMP.

It can be scary and make you feel exposed. I don’t think anyone is coming into a business venture thinking that they have the best product ever. Have faith in your dream. It happened really organically because I was having fun doing something creative.

JORDRE'S PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS

By Grant Ayers

A LOOK AT

Wendy Marie Marx’s BUSY LIFE

endy Marie Marx has always managed to excel when the odds are against her. When life throws obstacles her way, she manages to come out stronger on the other side. After a brief period of unemployment, Marx now operates a fully-licensed daycare service, and works in a networking marketing company and travel agency. Furthermore, she’s finding success in all of these while still supporting a blended family with seven children. Continue reading to learn more about her business ventures, time management skills, and how she fits it all into a day!

| Photos by Josiah Kopp

A Q&A with Wendy Marie Marx

After losing her job, she decided to look into going back to school while taking care of her sister's two kids. As more people asked her about childcare services, she took the initiative to launch a licensed daycare service for up to 12 kids in 2010.

Currently, she’s taking care of 6 kids by herself for 10 hours a day during weekdays. While it could become easy to burnout working with kids for 50 hours a week, Marx has found a multitude of creative outlets to help manage her stress.

In March 2019, Marx began her work with Zyia, an active lifestyle brand that specializes in activewear and athleisure clothing. In her time working with Zyia, Marx has become a Zyia Active Senior Director, built a team, and makes residual income through sales.

As if a family, daycare, and her work with Zyia weren’t enough, she felt comfortable and confident enough to put yet another business venture in her sights in the fall of last year with a vacation-planning and travel agency, Travel Travel.

“I was approached by the owner of Travel Travel and was told that I’d be a good fit for the job. I knew that it’d be challenging to fit one more thing into my schedule, but I took the chance on it in case any friends or family wanted to book trips through me, and it ended up taking off. It’s a bit of a juggling act between the three jobs, but I learned to make it work,” Marx said.

Q: HOW DO

YOU CONDUCT SALES WITH ZYIA ACTIVE CLOTHING?

A: It’s a network marketing company where we do parties online. I’ll simply schedule and send out parties online through a template and shoot the invites out through social media. Doing it all through Facebook makes it very simple for me, but it doesn’t have to be on social media. It sometimes sounds like I’m constantly posting and doing things for Zyia, but there are so many tools and efficiencies that help streamline the process.

Q: HOW DO YOU FIT ZYIA AND TRAVEL TRAVEL INTO YOUR ALREADY-BUSY WORK SCHEDULE?

A: While I do put in some extra hours on top of the 50 hours with daycare, I’m able to fit a lot of my work for other businesses in during the kids' nap time. I usually spend anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes going through my checklists of tasks that I need to stay on track with and complete. Priorities shift, but I’m always focused on the tasks at hand and what needs to get done first.

Licensed Daycare Provider (2010)

Zyia Active Senior Director (2019)

Travel Advisor IC: Travel Travel Fargo (2022)

Avid Peloton member @Sober_FitMom2

Member of Power of 100 Red River Valley

Did You Know?

The Power of 100 RRV is an organized group of women from the FargoMoorhead area looking to make a difference for local charities four times a year! 100 women gather together for one hour, four times a year with a willingness to share $100 with a deserving charity.

Wendy Marie Marx with Zyia Active Clothing

Wendy Marie Marx’s Resume

With Travel Travel, I don't necessarily have a checklist of tasks, as each day is a little different depending on the client and vacation. Sometimes, I’ll be on the phone for 30 to 45 minutes longer than expected to handle a reservation or booking, but there are some things that I have to take care of during the evenings or on the weekends. This week alone, I’m helping eight different families with weekend traveling.

I try not to go on my phone right away in the mornings, or else I feel like I’m working from the moment I wake up to when I go to bed. Sometimes it’s good to turn every notification off and have some time for yourself.

Q: WHERE ARE THE MAJORITY OF THE VACATIONS YOU’RE BOOKING?

A: Mexico, the Caribbean, Jamaica, and Hawaii are very popular right now. I specialize in Mexico, the Caribbean, and tropical places

Marx's Travel Resume

Cancun, Mexico

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Mazatlan, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

Negril, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Runaway Bay, Jamaica

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Honolulu/Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

Nashville, Tennessee

Miami, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Cruises through Alaska and the Bahamas

overseas, but a lot of people are asking more about Hawaii since it doesn't require a passport. Cruise ships have also been very popular as well.

Q: YOU HAVE A VERY BUSY SCHEDULE AND PREFER A CONSISTENT SCHEDULE. DO YOU STICK TO THAT SCHEDULE TO EASE STRESS?

A: I do it because I've learned that consistency forms habits and habits will help eliminate the feeling of being overwhelmed. On a typical day, I get up, work out, and do my morning routine. Working out has become so routine for me that it’s like brushing my teeth, where I just get up and do it. If your routine becomes mundane, switch up a little part of it, rather than the whole thing. It’s important that it still works for you, so find your best schedule and make small improvements to it.

A Week With Wendy Marie Marx

WEEKDAYS

• 6 a.m.

Alarm

• 6:15 a.m. - 7 a.m.

I work out for 30 to 45 minutes. I use the Peloton app and do cycling or weight workouts. This is a priority daily.

• 7 a.m. - 7:20 a.m.

I get ready for my full-time daycare job. I take care of six kids from 7:30-5:30 Monday through Friday.

• 7:20 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.

Check emails and messages. I do not check these until I am ready to work for the day. For people trying to get more done in the day, it’s important to schedule your time, don't get lost in your scroll, and don't check your messages right when you wake up. It's a sure way to get you sidetracked.

• 7:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Daycare activities with the kids. I prepare and serve lunch for the kids at 11 a.m.

• 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

I prepare and serve lunch for the kids.

• 12 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Kids nap. This is my work time for Zyia and Travel Travel. On Tuesdays, I schedule my therapy appointments via telehealth. I highly recommend this to everyone, as mental health should be a top priority. We’re all human and have stress, among other things, that we can use help to navigate. We should be normalizing therapy for everyone.

• 12 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.

I focus my time on Zyia. I have a weekly checklist Monday through Friday for my Zyia business. I check on customers with their orders, share posts to my Facebook group, check in with team members and do calls/ training.

• 12:45 p.m. - 2 p.m.

I focus on Travel Travel by doing quotes, updating current clients, sharing travel tips on my Facebook page, checking emails, or doing training on specific destinations. I started this business in September of 2022. I also squeeze in lunch while I work.

• 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

I focus on other tasks that I need to get done. I have a daily checklist to make sure I get things done. I prioritize it and check things off each day. When we get overwhelmed, we tend to do nothing, which leaves us feeling more overwhelmed. Write down all the things you need to get done, prioritize the top two

to three things that are most important, then get started crossing them off. Then, prioritize the next two to three tasks. You will feel a sense of accomplishment, and you are taking the guesswork out of what to do next. Review that list each day and rewrite your list when it gets messy.

• 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

We do afternoon activities with the kids at daycare.

• 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

I usually make dinner or help with making dinner. We have a blended family with seven kids, four of which are still at home, so we try to have sit-down dinners together as much as possible.

• 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Family time or downtime. I try not to focus on any work-related activities during this time unless I have to, or unless no one is home during other activities, such as sports.

• 9 p.m.

I wind down and watch TV in bed. I’m usually asleep by 9:30 or 10 p.m. before I’m up again to repeat. My weekdays look very similar, which helps me get more done. When you start to get into a steady routine, you’ll form habits that help keep you on track.

WEEKENDS

Weekends can sometimes be filled with sports for the kids between basketball, all-day volleyball tournaments, or lacrosse most weekends. When we don't have those events, this is what a typical weekend looks like.

• 7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m.

Wake up. On Saturdays, we usually have breakfast with friends or make breakfast at home.

• 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

One-hour workout.

• 10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. Shower and get ready for the day.

• 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

On Saturdays, we usually enjoy Bingo and lunch. On Sundays, we get laundry done and do any other house chores needed.

• 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Downtime or finish chores for the day. On Sundays, we also do meal planning for the week and order groceries to have delivered. I highly recommend this for busy families and to help with a budget. It takes some of the stress off your shoulders to have a plan for the week.

• 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. Make dinner.

• 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. Eat dinner.

• 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Catch up on a Netflix series or watch a movie. Some nights I might catch up on work if there are things I need to get done. I try to dedicate my weekends to my family or allow myself downtime. We cannot possibly work every single day with no breaks. Anyone will burn themselves out.

• 9 p.m.

Wind down and get ready for bed..

Wendy Marie Marx's Tips for Time Management

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IS VERY IMPORTANT.

I do therapy appointments every other week, depending on how I'm feeling. I think it's important to normalize mental health and know that if you need to talk to somebody, go talk to someone because we all have different life stressors from everybody else.

WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN THE MINUTE YOU THINK OF IT.

After creating that list, you can prioritize what you need to get done and cross it off as you work your way through the list. It sounds so simple, but it’s been such a game-changer for me to get everything onto paper. It makes you feel much more accomplished when you cross something off a list. Sometimes I'll get something done and still write it on the list, just so I can cross it off and feel productive and accomplished.

FOLLOW A CHECKLIST.

I'm a firm believer in checklists. I have checklists for my businesses and life in general. On Sundays, we meal plan and plan out the week as a family. It helps the week go just a little bit smoother for all of us.

PLAN SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.

Right now, I'm traveling or taking a long weekend about once a quarter. Not everybody likes to travel, but having something planned to look forward to can make a big difference in your day-to-day life.

JOURNALING, MEDITATING, AND WORKING OUT.

These are all basic things that are extremely helpful to do each morning or when you need to, as you need to take a break for yourself from time to time.

By Grant Ayers

MooveGuru Acquires Relocator

MMooveGuru and Relocator are both companies that aim to help moving consumers connect utilities and ease the burdens of moving that have been dominating their respective markets for the better part of a decade. Today, the companies have merged together, as MooveGuru has acquired Relocator. With MooveGuru operating as the lead or parent company, Relocator will become a functionality of MooveGuru, alongside other operations acquired, such as HomeKeepr.

The business deal offers exciting opportunities for all parties involved, including a new call center based out of Fargo, ND. I spoke with Scott Oakley, CEO of MooveGuru, and Andy Solheim and Mark Johnson, CEOs and co-founders of Relocator. Together, we discussed the merger between MooveGuru and Relocator, their ambitious goals moving forward as one, what this merger brings to Fargo, and more.

Did You Know?

“The process of moving from one home to another is ranked as the third most stressful life event for Americans. The top two are death and divorce, while losing a job ranks fourth.”

Companies MooveGuru and Relocator have been healthy competitors for upwards of six years now, according to Oakley. Both companies have always aimed to help real estate agents, mortgage loan officers, title representatives, and home inspectors support their clients through their moving journey.

Oakley shared how the process behind their company’s technology works. While marketed towards real estate agents and other prominent figures in the industry, this technology can be revolutionary to anyone moving in the future.

“Moving is a pain and we aim to help the consumer through that process. We streamline that process and take away a lot of their anxiety by helping them connect utilities, including electric, gas, water, phone, internet, television, home security, homeowners insurance, and even garbage and recycling. What would usually take the consumer 6 hours to complete will take us 45 minutes to help price compare those utilities,” Oakley said.

“Once we have an address, our system can identify every supplier for each category. We’ll show the different opportunities available for that address and give a comparison, including speed, pricing, and other details. You may see one for $69, which may be a great deal, but it might only be at 200 megabytes of speed. That’s where you have to take into consideration how many household members there are and if they’re streaming games or television, or using more data.”

If a customer is in search of homeowners insurance, which most people need in order to close on a home, the company can compare homeowners insurance between 50 different carriers according to Oakley. Their process assists the consumer through a stressful time. Furthermore, Oakley states that this is being done on behalf of the realtor loan officer, so it’s at no additional cost to the homeowner.

- The National Association of Realtors

Scott Oakley CEO of MooveGuru

Andy Solheim CEO and co-founder of Relocator

Mark Johnson CEO and co-founder of Relocator

Courtesy of Scott Oakley

Geneva Nodland

Courtesy of Mark Johnson

What is HomeKeepr?

HomeKeepr is a platform designed to connect homeowners and real estate professionals. HomeKeepr showcases valuations, home services, finances, utilities, and more on the platform. Oakley has described the acquisition of HomeKeepr as the “all-encompassing piece” that MooveGuru remains focused on improving with Solheim, Johnson, and others.

MooveGuru and Relocator have both been assisting people in the real estate industry for years, finding their own success and excelling in markets that were similar, yet unique from one another. According to Oakley, Relocator was known for its selfservice platform, where the client has the ability to connect everything on their own, directly from their phone.

On the other hand, MooveGuru was “more of a full-service consignor,” according to Oakley, with a sales center and fully staffed office in Atlanta who connected customers to utilities all day long. MooveGuru has also acquired HomeKeepr, a home ownership portal that gives consumers a portal to manage every aspect of their home.

“It was just such an obvious match between the two companies. Around six

months ago, Andy, Mark, and I noticed that and got on the phone and asked if everyone was interested. From there, the rest is history,” Oakley said.

Relocator will become a piece of technology implemented within the parent company, MooveGuru, with the Relocator brand being phased out.

“Essentially, MooveGuru will be the parent company to Relocator and the others, and HomeKeepr is going to be the brand or company underneath that we're going to focus on, as it's the all-encompassing piece,” Oakley said.

As exciting acquisitions are underway for the company to push MooveGuru to new heights, expansion is also being pushed physically with new centers coming close to our home.

With a new call center planned for Fargo, Andy Solheim and Mark Johnson, the leading charge behind Relocator, are excited to take this new deal and bring its expansion to the Fargo-Moorhead area. Both Solheim and Johnson have significant ties to North Dakota, as their wives and some family are from Bismarck and Minot, respectively.

Another big part of their expansion to North Dakota is the availability of programs that can be used to their advantage. As a tech platform, while expansion is key for nearly any company, a collaborative environment isn’t always necessary in their industry.

Photo Courtesy of MooveGuru

“Another big part was the availability of programs in the state with the North Dakota Development Fund. The access to capital in North Dakota offers a really good discount for startups in the state. We also think that there's a really good labor pool in Fargo with a great work ethic, which is another great reason for expanding this way,” Solheim said.

“To jump off that, most of MooveGuru’s executives are strategically located around the country. We're a tech platform, so it's all online and doesn't really matter

Did You Know?

where you are outside of the call center. We meet very often, but it's mainly through Zoom or another portal. As a tech company, you don't really need to be in the same building all the time,” Johnson said.

With the merger underway and a call center in development for Fargo, the three behind the operation are looking forward to bringing this merger to life. Moving forward together, they can focus on maximizing their potential and impact across the industry.

"From our standpoint, we’ve had a lot of success, but we can get a lot more done when we bring these platforms together, like we did with HomeKeepr," Johnson said. "The beauty is that these standalone products all work together. What we added was great for the moving experience, as we can bring value to the realtors, lenders, and moving companies that we work with. What Scott and his team have built, along with the other companies that he's purchased, there's this allencompassing group of products that aren’t like anything I've seen.”

According to Oakley, the average real estate agent has around 250 contacts that can be analyzed, while the average mortgage loan officer will have around 500 contacts!

Talk About Growth!

“Prior to [the merger], our utility segment alone had been blowing away estimates. We’ve grown the utility connection side of our business by 300% year over year. We fully expect that that trend will accelerate and we expect to increase by about 500% over the next 12 months, which means that the 10 people that we're hiring for our Fargo center will probably be more like 20 or 30 in a year from now. For a small company of our size, we’re hoping to make quite an impact on the area.”

- Scott Oakley, CEO of MooveGuru

“We’re very excited and committed to opening up a sales center in Fargo. We want to bring our open jobs to Fargo and the North Dakota Business Development Center has been very supportive and fantastic to work with. We're looking for space right now and plan to start off with 10 employees and grow together along the way,” Solheim said.

One feature that will boost the potential behind this merger is MooveGuru’s “revolutionary, sophisticated” artificial intelligence that they use. This AI analyzes a consumer’s

likelihood of buying or selling their home based on an algorithm implemented by MooveGuru.

“If you're a real estate agent or loan officer insurance agent, you're kind of at the whim of the consumer and when they decide to move. There is something that we call the five D’s, which are the main reasons why anyone buys or sells a home in America. The five D’s are diapers, death, diamonds, divorce, and diplomas

“This AI is happening on a daily basis,

but it was a feature that was missing in our industry. Everyone’s talked about something and seen an advertisement for it on their phone 10 minutes later. This happens to us every single day with our Alexas and other devices. We use the same kind of technology and tweaked it for the real estate and mortgage industry.”

How MooveGuru’s AI Works

“Our AI takes all of an agent’s contacts and brings them into our system. The AI then analyzes every single one of those contacts for predictive behaviors that lead to someone buying or selling. We scan every one of those contacts' social media accounts for over 2,000 keywords that relate to the five D’s, then we go into public records data to look for marriage and divorce certificates, spending habits, and more.

After putting that information into our AI system, we deliver the agent a score between 1 and 100 which shows how likely they are to buy or sell a home in the next 30 days to 6 months. The

higher the score gets, the more likely they are to buy or sell a home, and 60 to 95 is the sweet spot for loan officers and insurance agents to concentrate on.

Everybody has a database, but very few are doing anything productive with it, aside from maybe a birthday email. This is a way to both stay in front of past clients, as well as getting in front of future prospects. It allows us to plant those seeds and get in front of everybody well in advance to ensure that they get that business.”

- Scott Oakley

Did You Know?

“We have one of the largest networks of home pro contractors in the country that people can schedule with. If someone needs to find an electrician, they can go into their homeownership portal and search for an electrician in their zip code. Every agent and loan officer gets one of these portals for free for each of their clients. It's similar to Carfax, but for your house!”

- Scott Oakley, CEO of MooveGuru

View property values, confidence scores, tax assessments and, much more in HomeKeepr.

While this merger is a milestone accomplishment to recognize, this is far from the end of these companies ambitious plans ahead. One aspect of MooveGuru’s plan is Oakley’s unique franchise model program that has been put in place.

Rather than raising millions to create a sales force all over the country, Oakley’s team instead created a system to sell off franchises, with the majority being sold off to mortgage and real estate brokers. These franchises can be sold off in the Bismarck-Mandan community and further other areas of our state, as well as on a national scale.

While the merger is likely to heavily impact real estate agents, mortgage loan officers, and more across the area within the industry, it’s also likely

to impact the everyday consumer and potential mover in a unique way. From a consumer standpoint, one of the largest benefits of this merger and acquisition, as well as the implementation of AI through MooveGuru, is the homeownership portals available to the consumer at no additional cost.

“We bring all public records data on their home, including maps, floodplain information, the year the home was built, square footage, and more into their portal, and the consumer can go in and manage it with receipts for repairs and maintenance. A home is the largest expense that anyone has in their lifetime, with the average consumer spending three to four percent of the home value on maintenance every year,” Oakley said.

“This tool is to not only budget for that maintenance, but also find the right people to do that maintenance. Everything including the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, paint colors, swatches, and any sort of construction project can be kept track of with receipts in this portal, then transferred to the next homeowner. It's like a digital filing cabinet or wallet for your home.

”While much of this technology may sound radically new and different from what past movers have expected to face, Oakley stressed the benefits of MooveGuru’s process and efficiencies that his team brings to the table for consumers, as well as agents and lenders in the industry.

“People will say that they never want to move again after finishing, but they

Get an all-embracing dashboard with the forward-thinking platform.

do it again seven or eight years later and it’s even worse for them. The beauty of this is if you've done this before, then you see the value in what we're trying to do. Get on the phone, spend 45 minutes with us and you’ll get everything done without stress. The impact that this has on making agents and lenders look good is really what it comes down to,” Oakley said.

“We’re not there for us; we're there on behalf of their agent or lender, making them look good, taking stuff off their plate, and bringing value to them. Hopefully, those good experiences will lead to more referrals and word-of-mouth promotion for us. It’s easy for anyone involved, whether or not this is your first time buying a home. First-time homebuyers that may miss a step can be walked through the whole process very easily,

as there’s a professional guide to make sure everything gets done correctly.” Nearly through the merger and acquisition phase, the team is moving forward with sights and standards set high with a focused approach to their future in the industry. With the leader’s heads held high and confident on the new path, there’s no shortage of reasons to consider MooveGuru’s easy process.

As Oakley discusses the future of the business following this merger, he states that customer expansion is anticipated, as Relocator brought a new segment of the industry that was barely touched by MooveGuru, which primarily consists of larger mortgage companies.

“Some of these companies have 600 or 700 locations, with loan officers

in each location. With MooveGuru and Relocator together, we have the scope and ability to go out and work with companies that have a national footprint. Growth, both in revenue and customer base, is our primary focus. We're going after new customer acquisition and getting deeper into the customers that we already have, and leveraging that to bring in more revenue for the Fargo sales center,” Oakley said.

As MooveGuru and Relocator merge, the leaders remain focused on positively changing the moving process for real estate agents, consumers and everyone else involved. “We’re making sure that we're delivering the best product to the consumer that we've both done,” Solheim said.

MidwestAgSummit PremierSponsor

(Hosted by the FMWF Chamber)

• Increased awareness and understanding of issues related to agriculture, such as food security, sustainable agriculture practices, policy, and rural development.

The development of new partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders of the agriculture industry, including agribusinesses, growers, adjacent business sectors, and government officials.

An understanding of key Midwest components of the 2023 Farm Bill regarding conservation programs, crop insurance, nutrition programs, and more.

Knowledge from industry and research leaders regarding impacts of the growing emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in the agricultural industry.

• To promote and raise awareness about the importance of the agriculture industry in the Midwest and its impact on a national and global level.

To provide a platform for key stakeholders and businesses in agriculture and adjacent industries to come together to openly discuss efficiencies, developments, innovations, policies, and more.

To foster collaboration and networking opportunities among industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders.

To highlight key discussion points within the agriculture sector including trends, economic outlook, 2023 farm bill policies, and ESG impacts.

The FMWF Chamber supports the growth and prosperity of the agriculture industry in the region through yearround agriculture-themed events, with the Midwest Ag Summit being the largest!

2023 SPEAKERS & PANEL CONTENT

American Association of Port Authorities, presentations at major international industry conferences, and advises the U.S. Department of Commerce on supply chain competitiveness. Walter recently testified to the U.S. Senate Transportation and Commerce Subcommittee on issues affecting freight industry. He has also published research in scholarly journals.

Prior to joining JLL, Dr. Kemmsies was the Chief Economist for Moffat & Nichol, a leading global infrastructure advisement firm. Proceeding his experience working with Moffat & Nichol, Walter was the Head of European Strategy at JP Morgan in London, and, earlier, Head of Global Industry Strategy at UBS in Zurich and London.

The

Midwest

Ag

Summit

will also feature two panels of experts with the first being heavily focused on policies, regulation and the paramount Farm Bill of 2023, and the second uncovering and discussing leading efficiencies, development, innovation, sustainability,

2022 MIDWEST AG SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS

Last year’s Midwest Ag Summit featured policymakers, national USDA officials, and local agriculture experts who convened in Fargo to discuss the current state of agriculture, the effects of foreign conflict, national security, efforts of elected officials in our region, and what to expect in the future. Speakers stressed the importance of the Farm Bill being a bipartisan effort, and teamwork across the aisles being critical for our nation’s thriving agricultural industry.

“We have such amazing agriculture and such amazing farmers and ranchers, but we can’t take it for granted,” U.S. Senator John Hoeven said. “We have got to continue to support what they’re out doing every day.”

The war in Ukraine was also a major topic at the event. Keynote speaker Robert Bonnie, U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary, covered the effects that the war abroad has had on our farmers and ranchers here at home.

Last year’s speakers included:

2022 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

2022 PANEL: STRENGTHENING OUR VOICE IN WASHINGTON

2022 PANEL: AG TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

ROBERT BONNIE ZACH DUCHENEAUX Undersecretary, USDA Administrator, USDA

Photos provided by the FMWF Chamber

AMY KLOBUCHAR JOHN HOEVEN

MICHELLE FISCHBACH U.S. Senator U.S. Senator U.S. Representative

JOEL KACZYNSKI BRIAN INGULSRUD NANCY JOHNSON TAYA SPELHAUG Precision Ag Solutions Manager, RDO Equipment Vice President, American Crystal Sugar Company Executive Director, ND Soybean Growers Association Board Director, Grand Farm

INTERESTED IN THE MIDWEST AG SUMMIT?

Cost: $45 for in-person attendance; virtual attendance is free

The FMWF Chamber invites you to join them at the event in person by either registering individually or sponsoring the event. Sponsors receive recognition leading up to, during, and after the event, as well as reserved seats. Learn more about their various sponsorship opportunities, register, and tune in!

We all see the news in Ukraine, it’s horrible. If there is a silver lining for folks in agriculture, it’s that it has brought agricultural issues to the forefront. Hopefully that builds in the Farm Bill and other issues where people support agriculture and create more support for everything we do in agriculture.”

- ROBERT BONNIE

The conference will be held on Tuesday, June 6 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds, 1805 Main Ave W, West Fargo.

Merging Academics and Professionals in the Fargo-Moorhead Area and Beyond

Dr. Shontarius Aikens’ New Position with the Midwest Academy of Management & His Plans for the Future

By Sam Kise

any of you will remember Dr. Shontarius Aikens, Associate Professor of Management at Concordia College, from his “Academic Insight” articles that ran in Fargo INC! from 2019 through the end of 2022. If you have been wondering where those articles went and what Dr. Aikens has been up to, look no further! We sat down with Dr. Aikens to learn more about his new role at the Midwest Academy of Management and what he’s been working on since his last Fargo INC! article, as well as his vision for his future.

Photo courtesy of Claudette Peterson

New Responsibilities

In October 2022, Dr. Shontarius Aikens was elected to the Program Chair-Elect position for the Midwest Academy of Management. This position is part of a succession plan, and in 2025, he will be serving as the president of the Academy. However, it wasn’t always his plan to hold such a prestigious leadership position. He has slowly worked his way up through the ranks since he became involved with Midwest in 2011.

"I remember when I was teaching at Texas A&M, my mentor reached out and asked me, 'Hey, do you want to present at

Midwest Academy of Management

The Midwest Academy of Management was founded in 1957 as a regional affiliate of the national organization Academy of Management. It is the oldest of all of the regional affiliates of the national Academy. The three objectives of the organization are as follows, as stated in their organizational constitution:

Provide a forum for the expression of the latest management theory and research by Midwest Academy members.

Provide opportunities for pooling of shared experiences and thinking among Midwest Academy members.

Facilitate new acquaintances among Midwest Academy of Management members and actively integrate junior faculty and doctoral students into the program.

Midwest?' I asked, 'What's Midwest?' So, I went with a colleague and presented there. I then decided I wanted to present something else there, and then do a professional development workshop. Then, they asked me if I wanted to serve as a reviewer, and I ended up winning a 'best reviewer' award— which was cool. Someone then asked me if I wanted to be a track chair, and I did that for two years. Next, I got the opportunity to be a conference program coordinator, and then they asked if I would be interested in doing Open Conference, so I did that for about three years. Then they asked if I would

"The program and activities of the Midwest Academy of Management are structured primarily for scholars but include practitioners in the field of management, both public and private, profit and nonprofit."

- The Consitution of the Midwest Academy of Management

Aikens poses with the recognition awards he received at the 2022 Midwest Academy of Management conference for his work with Open Conference.

like to be a co-coordinator for the doctoral consortium, and pretty soon my mentor suggested that I should run for Program Chair."

In his new role, Aikens is spending most of his time in a support role to the current Program Chair and assisting him with planning the Midwest Academy Conference, set for October 2023.

“My role as Program Chair-Elect is to assist the current program chair with our 2023 conference which is going to be held in Chicago. We actually just had a board meeting several weekends ago, when we flew there to look at the site for the conference,” Aikens said.

In addition to his role assisting the current Program Chair, Aikens has already started to embrace his role as future Program Chair. He will be coordinating the 2024

Open Conference is the system used to collect and approve submitted paper proposals for Midwest Academy’s annual conference.

“When I started with Open Conference, there was nobody that really showed me how to do things. So I learned on my own. Over the years, I developed different tutorials and different sheets of knowledge about how to do things so that now I can train this new person,” Aikens explained. “I now know what you should do to create a manual so that we don't have that drop off [of knowledge] every year someone comes in. When someone new comes in, I can say ‘Here's the manual. Here's how you do things.’”

The 2024 Midwest Academy of Management Conference

Midwest Academy of Management conference—set to take place in the FargoMoorhead area—and he already has the contract signed for the venue.

“I've actually started that process in terms of securing a hotel and getting the contract signed. One of the board members told me that out of all the years of his involvement with the board, he's never seen a Program Chair-Elect that has already gotten a contract even before they started the role. Well, I don't like to wait until the last minute. So, the contract is signed,” Aikens said.

On top of his duties as Program ChairElect, he is also taking the time to train and onboard the new Director of Open Conference, which was his previous position.

When Dr. Aikens steps into his role as Program Chair, immediately following the 2023 Midwest Academy conference, his primary responsibility will be to coordinate and ensure the success of the 2024 Midwest Academy of Management conference. Part of that duty includes getting sponsorships from local and regional businesses to help students, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend the conference, with funding their travel and conference registration costs.

“One thing that the Program Chair usually does is get sponsors. We’ll try to get different levels of sponsors. Sponsors will usually donate money, and then we put their name in our program booklet. The sponsorship money goes to help us fund graduate students who may not be able

Photo courtesy of Claudette Peterson

Election results at the Midwest Academy are announced, and Dr. Shontarius Aikens is named Program Chair-Elect.

Dr. Shontarius Aikens hopes to reach even more students and connect academics to business practice as a leader in the Midwest Academy of Management.

Photo by Gary Ussery

to go to a conference without help,” Aikens explained.

According to Aikens, sponsorships and donations from businesses are becoming more important in ensuring students can get to conferences because colleges are no longer offering as much funding to graduate students for travel, due to budget cuts.

Did you know?

More than half of US states have decreased funding to their colleges and universities, which is one reason for increased tuition rates.

Aikens will also be responsible for overseeing the paper submission process, securing the facilities needed for presentations, and securing keynote speakers, among other tasks. Since the previous Midwest Academy conference in the Fargo-Moorhead area was held in Fargo, he has chosen a venue in Moorhead, to help bring exposure to Moorhead’s business community.

As Aikens plans, he continues to look for ways to connect the business and academic communities prior to and during the conference. This connection is something he has always been passionate about throughout his career.

“When I teach my students, I want to make sure that I can say, ‘Look, this is what industry is telling me,’ so that they have relevance to say that this isn't just theory. But also, maybe there's a business person who says, ‘I need help. I feel like my organization is out of alignment and I need to figure out what we can do to get the structure back.’ And we, in academia, can say ‘there's a tool called the 7-S Model that was developed by consultants at McKinsey and Company. Here are the seven things you need to be thinking about.’”

Did you know?

The 7S Model, developed

the

focuses

With the 2024 conference, the hope is to bridge that gap between business professionals and those in academia even further.

“This is one of the hotbed areas for business. When you have Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank that says he’s investing in North Dakota and this

area, that is a unique opportunity. And I'm always trying to figure out ways that our community’s resources and connections could benefit local business communities and the schools in the area.”

To learn more about Kevin O’Leary’s investment in North Dakota, check out page 30!

A Work-WorkLife Balance

Being so busy with his new role at the Midwest Academy, teaching at Concordia College, and working on his own research, Dr. Aikens has had to take a step back and reconsider what his priorities are.

“Now that I have tenure at Concordia College, I'm trying to increase my research and do some additional writing. There are more requirements in terms of service [before you’re tenured]. And the past couple years, I felt like I was gone too much. I wasn't really in the classroom as much as I wanted to be. And I really enjoy being in the classroom. So I had to take a step back,” he said.

Having realized he was overworking himself, Aikens saw the need to limit

in

late 1970s,

on strategy, structure, systems, skills, style, staff, and shared values within an organization in order to improve a company’s performance.

the responsibilities he took on. He needed to manage his priorities, rather than just managing his time. “I thought about it coming back on a plane ride from Detroit. I made a list of the things that are most important to me. Then I started thinking, alright, I can't try to cram 36 hours worth of work into a 24 hour day. It is not only impossible, but it’s insane. You just can't do that. So I had to start thinking

Looking Forward

With all of these current responsibilities, even more are on the horizon. Yet, Dr. Aikens finds the possibilities that come with all of the responsibilities to be the most rewarding thing about the position he’s in.

Aikens explained, “I think the most rewarding thing is to be able to contribute to the Midwest Academy getting better. I’ve been involved in the organization for quite some time. I see things that we do, and we can make things better. I've been on the Board of Governors for the past several years, and now that I will be transitioning into an official leadership position, I can actually spearhead some of those changes.”

Aikens has heard great ideas from those in the Midwest Academy for years, and he wants to do his part to bring their ideas to fruition. He is looking forward to being able to make

about what was most important. Once I started doing that, I felt I had a good handle. And then I had to start kind of making my peace with not being able to do everything I wanted to do.”

Though he doesn’t always have time to do everything he wants to do, he still does take time to balance his work and his personal life. He makes it to

the movie theater whenever he can, with one of his most recent watches being “Creed III.” He’s also embraced saying “no” when he needs to, and always asks the time commitment for new roles or meetings up-front so that he is not overwhelmed later. All of these things help him stay levelheaded and on top of his large workload.

those big decisions and really making a difference when he steps into the role of President of the Midwest Academy of Management in 2025.

The Midwest Academy of Management has a fouryear succession plan for their leaders. Once elected to the position Dr. Aikens currently holds, you will serve as Program ChairElect (year 1), Program Chair (year 2), President (year 3), and Past President (year 4).

“Talking is good. But there comes a time when the rubber meets the road and we actually have to get things done,” he said.

Aikens has a long road ahead of him as he plans the Midwest Academy’s 2024 conference and prepares to be President of the Organization in 2025. But with his diligence and passion, he hopes he will really change the field of management for the better.

The formula for transforming your digital future includes your people, processes, and technology.

go.eidebailly.com/digital-future

Sick of Ordering Pizza or Sandwiches for Every Team Meeting?

Try these local caterers for different food options!

By Sam Kise

Catering Businesses

Catering by Concordia

Support local college students by ordering catering through Concordia’s Dining Center! concordiacollege.edu/student-life/diningservices/catering-by-concordia

catering@cord.edu

(218) 299-4271

901 8th St S, Moorhead

Chef’s Table Catering

Chef’s Table Catering offers a huge selection of hand-served dinners or buffets, with vegetarian and vegan options like grilled cauliflower steak and garden pasta, as well!

chefstablefargo.com

kent@chefstablefargo.com

(701) 566-3473

670 4th Ave N, Fargo

Eclectic Culinary Concepts Inc.

Eclectic Culinary Concepts partners with several local restaurants like Lucky’s 13 Pub and Jojo’s Italian to bring exceptional catering to your next event.

eclecticculinaryconcepts.com

Jimmy D’s Catering Services

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly yet still delicious caterer, Jimmy D’s Catering offers buffets for as little as $12 per person!

While ordering Domino’s or a platter of Subway sandwiches for the office is often the most convenient and cheap option, you and your employees probably get tired of the same old, same old. Try some of these local catering businesses and unique restaurant caterers for your next office lunch instead!

facebook.com/jimmydscatering

jimmydscatering@gmail.com

(218) 779-3066

Lonestar Easy Catering

Lonestar Easy Catering offers a unique selection of soul food dishes and, West African platters!

lonestareasycatering.com

lonestareasycatering@gmail.com

(701) 543-2400

5360 28th Ave S, Fargo

NDSU Catering

Order a taco dip or buffalo chicken dip before your main course from NDSU Catering!

ndsu.edu/dining/catering

ndsu.catering@ndsu.edu

(701) 231-8122

1401 Administration Ave, Fargo

One-on-One Catering

Order some dessert, like One-on-One Catering’s Black Forest cake or German crumb cake, for your team’s dinner!

oneononecatering.biz

oneonone@gardenpavilion.biz

(701) 237-4666

1421 7th Ave N, Fargo

Savory Catering by Holiday Inn

Try a custom lettuce wrap “Reception Station” from Savory Catering! Toppings include Ponzu chicken, beef bulgogi, sauces and, fresh and pickled vegetables.

savorycateringfargo.com

sales@savoryfargo.com

(701) 277-7397

3803 13th Ave S, Fargo

Urban Foods Catering

Order a Tater Tot Hotdish buffet for your team from Urban Foods Catering!

urbanfoodscatering.com

events@urbanfoodscatering.com

(701) 899-3663

904 Center Ave, Moorhead

VIP Catering

Try VIP Catering’s “Hawaiian Luau” dinner, which features five pounds of roast pork with sweet and sour pineapple glaze or ten chicken, pineapple and pepper kabobs, along with other Hawaiian-themed dishes.

fargo-vip-room.com

(701) 293-1999

624 Main Ave, Fargo

Restaurants That Cater

Acapulco Mexican Restaurant

Spice your team lunch up with catered Mexican food from Acapulco!

acapulcomexicanfargo.com

(701) 297-0355

1150 36th St S, Fargo

BernBaum’s

Enjoy bagels in all kinds of sweet and savory varieties when you order BernBaum’s for your team!

bernbaums.com

(701) 306-4131

402 Broadway N, Fargo

Brewtus’ Brickhouse

Indulge in a meatball or boneless wing buffet from Brewtus’ Brickhouse!

brewtusbrickhouse.com

(701) 532-1397

635 32nd Ave E #108, West Fargo

Crave

Crave’s catering offers high-quality entrees like miso glazed salmon and lemon garlic chicken for your next office meal!

cravefargo.com

(701) 809-9020

3902 13th Ave S Suite 3643, Fargo

Crooked Pint Ale House

Enjoy a “Juicy Lucy” buffet with all the fixings from Crooked Pint Ale House!

crookedpint.com

(701) 298-8000

3340 13th Ave S, Fargo

Granite City

The Lawless Breakfast, complete with thickcut bacon, jumbo sausage links, scrambled eggs, crispy breakfast potatoes, scones, croissants, and fresh fruit, is the perfect breakfast buffet for the office.

gcfb.com

(701) 786-1453

1636 SW 42nd St, Fargo

Kroll’s Diner

Cater some German favorites like schnitzel, knoephla and kraut, fleischekuechle, or borscht from Kroll’s Diner!

sitdownandeat.com

(701) 492-2319

1033 45th St S, Fargo

Leela Thai Cuisine

Enjoy crab fried rice or pad thai with your team with catering from Leela Thai Cuisine!

leelathaifargo.com

(701) 235-5795

1450 25th St S, Fargo

Mahana Fresh

Build your own bowls with Mahana Fresh’s build-your-own buffet, complete with all their usual toppings!

mahanafresh.com

(701) 532-1172

3985 56th St S Unit F, Fargo

NoBull Smokehouse

NoBull Smokehouse has a wide variety of delicious smoked meats for your next team meal, with sides including sweet corn casserole and potato salad!

nobullfargo.com

(701) 478-2000

609 NP Ave, Fargo

Olive Garden

Get a create-your-own pasta station from Olive Garden for your company dinner!

olivegarden.com

(701) 277-1241

4339 13th Ave SW, Fargo

Paradiso Mexican Restaurant

To make the company meal extra special, treat everyone to Paradiso’s taco and fajita combo buffet, complete with taco AND fajita fillings and toppings!

paradiso.com

(701) 282-5747

801 38th St S, Fargo

Passage to India

The curries that Passage to India’s catering offers are a unique team lunch option!

passagetoindiafargo.com

(701) 281-0277

855 45th St S Unit A3, Fargo

The Piggy BBQ

Piggy BBQ’s potato & mac bar has toppings everyone will enjoy, like pulled pork, pico de gallo, and green onions!

thepiggylegendarybbq.com

(701) 540-6557

816 24th Ave #118, West Fargo

Space Aliens Grill & Bar

Try Space Aliens’ loaded potato bar complete with all your favorite toppings like sour cream, cheese and bacon!

spacealiens.com

(701) 281-2033

1840 45th St SW, Fargo

Spitfire Bar & Grill

Treat your team to a BBQ buffet from Spitfire Bar & Grill!

spitfirebarandgrill.com

(701) 478-8667

1660 13th Ave E, West Fargo

Serious Tips for Developing Good Software

odelation is a web app development and mobile app development company based in Fargo that has helped many startups achieve their goals. Needless to say, they know a thing or two about software development. Lucky for us, they have 10 tips to share on the matter!

Define a Clear Problem

Before starting the development process, it is essential to identify what problem your app will solve. The more granular and detailed the problem statement is, the more direction you and your team will have heading into development. It is essential to research the existing competition within the market so that you can understand what features you need to develop to differentiate yourself from the competition. It is also essential to research the target audience to create an app that will be attractive and useful for them.

Spend Time Planning

Find a development shop that starts the development process with a thorough discovery. Make sure the process involves the most important person at this stage: YOU. The point of these early stages and meetings is to help the development team understand exactly what it is you're trying to build. Discoveries allow for clear roadmaps to be laid out, keep you within budget, and keep development on time.

Develop in Stages

Developing in stages will help you stay on track and ensure the project is manageable. Building iteratively allows for maximum creativity and keeps things moving along. That being said, even with the best plan in the world, there will always be curve balls. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to develop a minimum viable product (MVP). Once there is working software, you’ll have time to make more changes. Your project is really never "done."

Continue to Learn

Technology is constantly changing; we must adapt as we work toward the end product. It is vital to stay up-to-date on the latest development trends. Attending conferences and workshops may help you better understand new technologies and how they can be applied to your app. We must also keep our minds open to change as different technologies may no longer be available in the middle of our development. This is a great opportunity to learn something new and offer the best possible product to the end-user.

Working With a Team

Building the best software takes a team. The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) gives a strong, iterative framework to development, but it demands a team of developers and other professionals to get the job done. There are many configurations for teams. At Codelation, we keep teams between five and seven people depending on the project size. There is always a project manager, a business analyst, a UI/UX designer, developers, and a quality assurance tester. Working together, each one can bring their expertise to the table and help create a successful app.

Keep Communication Effective

Clear expectations are how development teams stay agile and are able to adapt. Outside of the development team mentioned above, projects may need to course-correct based on feedback from end-users or customers, a modification within the industry for which the product is being developed, or any other number of additional stakeholders’ feedback. Effective communication breeds accountability, makes new features and concepts transparent, and keeps the whole team on track to delivering a great piece of software.

Automate Everything

What tasks are repetitive? There are times for manual processes, but custom software developed correctly can automate these processes and save time and money. Spending time developing automation will be a huge benefit down the line. Automate tasks that are repetitive or prone to human error. At a minimum, look into integrations for automating your deployment pipeline. Getting code up and into staging quickly saves a ton of resources.

Use Frameworks and Libraries

Not everything should be built from scratch. Many times the best approach is leveraging tools like library components or integration with an off-the-shelf solution. This saves time and money by minimizing the development resources needed during that phase and using the battle-tested solution someone else has already built. The end result is the same as if it were all built from scratch: a working solution that solves the problem. Using frameworks and libraries can speed up the development process as well as reduce costs.

Ask for Help

This should go without saying, but don’t forget to ask for help. With so many options in technology, languages, frameworks, and third-party libraries, it is more than okay to reach out to a peer with a blocker. At Codelation, we keep junior and senior developers paired up on projects to ensure that challenging tasks are always taken on with fresh eyes and experienced savvy. Rarely is there a situation when the entire team is blocked on the same issue. In this case, you can lean on your network outside of work to find the solution you’re looking for. To reiterate: Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

Document Everything

Documenting your code is an important part of developing software, as it helps others understand how the code works and how to maintain it in the future. The documentation should include descriptions of functions, data structures, algorithms, and any assumptions. Think of this as insurance. This can minimize the need for knowledge transfers if developers need to move on and off the project. Keeping documentation upto-date is always a great way to keep code clean. Aside from clean code, documenting our work and code shows developers when it’s time to refactor. Refactoring is the process of merging bits of redundancy in the code together to keep the core functionality in order. Refactoring also helps to keep code clean. The process of refactoring takes time but pays off in the long run. When done correctly, refactoring can make the code more efficient, reduce complexities, and keep future development efficient. When done incorrectly, refactoring can create bugs that weren't there before or break existing features. Take your time to get it right and document it.

By following these tips for developing software, you can successfully build a product that meets your customer's or user's needs. With effective communication and planning, automated tasks, third-party libraries, and thorough documentation, you’ll be able to develop software that meets the needs of your stakeholders and end-users.

Happy coding! codelation.com

10 Questions

Questions 10

ohn Machacek, Chief Innovation Officer for the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation, has worked with countless startups throughout our community over the past nine years. He knows their ups, and their downs, but most of all, he knows the questions to ask them. Here are John Machacek’s 10 questions for Aaron Halik, Founder of Trimyxs.

By John Machacek

Photo by Josiah Kopp

What is your Trimyxs elevator pitch?

The Trimyxs offers a superior approach to traditional trimming and edging. The Trimyxs is the first ever universal push lawn mower attachment that allows consumers to not only mow their lawn, but also trim/edge all at the same time. This previously time-consuming chore is now made simple with the push of a trigger. 02

The Trimyxs is currently available on our website Trimyxs.com, Amazon, and Northern Tool (northerntool.com); but we are in the works with other retailers, so you may be seeing Trimyxs in more stores near you in the future.

03

Not only did the funding help us invest in hiring a marketing person and a graphic designer, but it also allowed us to participate as a vendor in the National Hardware Show (NHS) in Las Vegas. To say this show was incredible would be an understatement. By attending NHS, the trajectory of Trimyxs has changed and in the most positive way. We also used this funding to attend the Home and Garden Show in Minneapolis. By attending the show, we hit 75% of our total sales in 2022 within four days. Additionally, we will be shooting a video production in Florida for an endorsement deal connected with streaming and broadcast channels. 04

Originally, I assumed all the tradeshows in the industry were very similar. I saw them as a way to receive feedback on your product and give buyers

Yes! I despise weed-eating after I cut the grass, and basically avoid it. This is definitely for me. This feels like what should be a “last question” but I’ll just ask now—where can we currently buy these?

Having assisted you this past year to help you attain

a microloan from our GFMEDC Growth Initiative Fund, I know that you had bootstrapped the startup to date, assembled a good inventory of your manufactured product, and were growing sales and sales relationships. How has this recent injection of financing helped your next stage?

That’s great to hear. How important are tradeshows, like the NHS you mentioned, in your industry?

a chance to look at your product firsthand, essentially, planting the relationship seed with them. However, I was wrong as there is so much more to these shows. These shows have manufacturers, sales reps, buyers, and others involved with lawn and garden partnerships. You learn so much more about the industry by attending the shows and developing relationships. Some examples include how private labeling works, what retailers are expecting for terms and discounts in product partnerships, and so much more. As I mentioned, we have been to the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas and most recently the MN Home & Garden Show in Minneapolis. It has been so humbling to hear all the good feedback and excitement over this product I have created. At NHS we were in the New Product section. We also were selected two times during the show to be featured as a Top 5 New Product. This allowed us the opportunity to present on stage and pitch our product.

Additionally, the landscaping influencer Dirt Monkey (@Dirtmonkey on YouTube, Instagram, and @dirtmonkeyforce on TikTok) and Toolsinaction (@toolsinaction on Instagram and toolsinaction.com) selected the Trimyxs to feature. The tradeshows we have attended so far have been invaluable experiences and well worth the investment. All of this traction we have gained by attending tradeshows has led to significant discussions and opportunities with big box stores.

This whole experience has been quite the learning curve. Every conversation I have, I am learning something new. Something that really stands out to me is there is not one direction to go in when starting a business; there are so many avenues and each has pros and cons, so keeping an open mind when it comes to sales channels has really been a learning curve for me. For example, manufacturing versus private labeling versus retail versus e-commerce versus trade shows— there are so many different avenues to explore when trying to produce and sell a product. Probably the biggest learning experience to date was the patent process. Going into building my business, I did not know a single thing about the process of obtaining a patent. I had a very low budget, so I reached out and worked with LegalCORPS for some advice early on, which helped assess bids from patent attorneys that I had received. Connecting with the correct patent attorney is vital as you file for a provisional patent and then eventually a utility patent.

For me, keeping organized as a business owner is critical. It has been quite a learning process figuring out what works best for not only me but also the team as I add employees to the Trimyxs family. I have used Google Drive for absolutely everything, as I can access the drive anywhere at any time as opposed to something saved on a desktop where you can only access it when you are at a certain computer. I have developed a nice organized system with folders such as Marketing, Manufacturing, Contracts, Legal, Sales, etc. Same thing with my

From what I know from working with you since late 2021, it doesn’t surprise me that you have dove into the learning process of all of this. I’ve been very impressed with how organized and thorough you are with your drive and commitment, as well as your combined engineering and sales skills. For the readers, do you have any tips or systems you use to stay so organized and efficient in your work?

It sounds like you learned a ton and made some great connections. What are some things that stand out and/or surprised you to learn about in this process so far?

WHERE IS TRIMYXS?

emails; I organize them based on the subject and if the email requires follow up, I leave it on unread or flag it so that I make sure I take the action required. Additionally, I utilize my Google calendar and send texts to myself as reminders. Lately, I am now focusing on the efficiency of my time, as Trimyxs continues to heat up. I realize how valuable time is to get work done, but also to keep balance in my life. I’ve been working hard on training myself to set a limit on the time I spend doing tasks, such as not overthinking an email response or spending too much time to make something absolutely perfect. This is a skill that I will continue to perfect moving forward in my business endeavors.

07

When first launching a new product, you wear every single hat, which is actually really important because you will learn all the processes of your business and absolutely everything that goes into creating a business— such as branding, logo, creating a business entity, intellectual property, prototyping, designing, manufacturing, graphic design, marketing, assembly, logistics, financials, sales, taxes, etc. But there does come a point where

you realize you really can’t do it all and need to find the right people you can collaborate with that excel in certain skill sets that you feel confident in handing over. As the creator of any brand or product, you know the product best and essentially it becomes your “baby,” so handing over the trust that it will get done the way you would do it precisely is a little more difficult than I originally thought it would be. But, I am really lucky that my dad has been such a mentor throughout my life both personally and in business. At first, my dad’s role was as an investor but as we were gaining traction, he really stepped up to help out, which is very beneficial with his retail and financial knowledge. Plus, it's wonderful to have your dad partnering with you and sharing this experience together.

08

TikTok is the number one social media platform, where videos can hit millionplus views in 3-4 days regardless of the number of actual followers you have. We’ve hired my wife’s best friend to manage our TikTok social media which has helped organize and stay on top of our postings. We aim for 3-4 videos per week, as the biggest tip is to post frequently and to be consistent with your messaging and activity. Hashtags are extremely important as well for people to come across your profile, but also it’s a great way to connect all your videos together for searches. It seems to be that one of five posts will hit at least 500,000 views, which is a lot of traction, and, on top of that, people commenting, asking questions, and making their way to your website. I have prerecorded a bunch of videos over this past summer and have quite the inventory of clips to cut and create later on as we need. It seems as though whenever we hit 500,000 views, we see an uptick in the calls and emails

I imagine it has also been useful to bring on help for additional time and talents. Your dad is helping, correct?

As we get close to the end of this interview, I want to be sure to talk about your TikTok presence. You’ve done well with over 14,000 followers, 270,000ish likes,

and with typical videos producing several thousand views to some videos getting 100,000, 300,000, 1 million and almost 6 million views. What has your strategy been with this?

from all over the world asking about the product. We are now working towards converting all this traction and user activity into product sales. 09

If you could go back in time to Aaron from several years ago, what hindsight advice would you give yourself?

As cliche as it sounds, I don’t think I would go back and change anything. I feel that I have kept true to my number one piece of advice which is keeping an open mind and exploring all avenues. My number one piece of advice to anyone starting a business or that has an interest in becoming an entrepreneur is to have a strong work ethic and mental toughness. There will be plenty of days when you feel defeated, but pushing past those negative thoughts is where the biggest growth will happen. Additionally, obtaining a work-life balance is incredibly important. Taking time for yourself and what you enjoy, while also enjoying the company of family and friends.

Lastly, what can we do as a community to help Trimyxs succeed?

The community can help support Trimyxs by purchasing our product, spreading word to friends, family, neighbors, rating our product, reviewing our product, and sharing our social media links and videos. The amount of support I have received from the Fargo-Moorhead community has been remarkable. I am so fortunate to live in such a supportive area. With that being said, I want to do anything possible to give back to the future entrepreneurs of the FargoMoorhead community. I am happy to share any advice and insight to anyone who is interested. Feel free to reach out to me at aaron.halik@trimyxs.com

trimyxs.com

@trimyxs

@trimyxs

/trimyxs

About John

WOMEN YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Nyamal Dei

FOUNDER OF KONDIAL KEL INTERNATIONAL

There are a lot of similarities between Nyamal Dei’s adopted home of Fargo and the area of South Sudan where she grew up. Dei comes from a family of farmers, growing corn, sorghum, beans, and other crops as well as raising many head of cattle. Like Fargo, the area was prone to flooding—great for agriculture but a seasonal struggle for communities. Her father served in the military, leaving her mother to step up and manage the farm while he was away, a responsibility many agriculture women in the area understand.

EMPOWERED BY

“I guess that’s why Fargo has always felt like home,” Dei said. “I see the same strength and resilience in this community. And the same love.”

A refugee, an immigrant, a person of color, a single mother—Dei has overcome numerous challenges to prove that, with the right support, passion, and grit, you can accomplish just about anything. Today, through her volunteer and civic involvement, she seeks to provide that support, enabling local women and youth to reach their full potential.

Dei is the founder of Kondial Kel International, organizer of the area’s annual International Women’s Day Celebration, and a newly-elected Fargo School Board member.

The Past Can Break You, or It Can Make You Powerful

For the first few years of her life, South Sudan provided Dei a happy childhood surrounded by family, friends, and a vibrant community. But that all changed when civil war broke out. Her family was separated. She was forced to flee her home. She was smuggled across borders. She was chased and shot at, hungry, and frightened. She lost two brothers. She never hugged her mother again.

“I was young, maybe six or seven when we fled South Sudan,” Dei recalled. “But being young doesn’t protect you from trauma. Children feel it as deeply as adults. It just manifests differently. This is something we see at our local schools. New American children come to Fargo bearing the invisible scars of trauma and it is the job of our health professionals, educators, leaders, and community members to provide a safe harbor where they can heal.”

Dei eventually made it to America. She spoke no English but was determined to build a life for herself here.

The Value of a Village

“I am very blessed,” Dei said. “At every turning point in my life, God has seen fit to surround me with the people who could help me.”

In the refugee camp, it was the women who helped update travel documents so she could travel with her aunt to San Diego. It was her first ESL teacher, Mr. Pencil, who

would pull out his guitar to make learning English easier. It was the coaches and teammates who would tutor her on the way to track meets so she could remain eligible. It was the women in her pre-med program in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, who helped her continue her studies after an unexpected pregnancy; babysitting, furnishing her apartment with everything for the baby, and providing the love and support every young mother needs.

With help from these people, and so many more, Dei graduated with an associate degree from Minnesota State Community and Technical College. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Applied Science in health education and recently finished up her Master of Public Health degree at Benedictine University.

“I was fortunate to have people who encouraged me to complete high school, get my associate's, continue going and get my bachelor’s, and now I’m the first woman in my family with a master’s degree,” Dei said. “Culturally, in my hometown, there is a push for women to marry young. Most adult women can’t read or write. I can’t give them everything the Lord has blessed me with, but I do what I can. Literacy and opportunity for women are the driving force behind Kondial Kel. Imagine not being able to read your child’s medicine label. Imagine not being given the tools or education to reach your full potential. I learned selflessness from my mother and the other strong women in my family. Whatever I can do to help others, I will.”

And she has. Dei’s international efforts have helped her shape policy and provide support in regions where it is needed most. She spoke at the U.S. Peace Institute in Washington D.C., served as the humanitarian deputy of the Alliance for South Sudanese in Diaspora (ASSD), and served as a board member of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition. Dei is also a national member of the United Nations Association. She was appointed by Every Girl Wins Institute to be the representative of South Sudan for 2021 and an international representative in 2022. She also won the Global Honoree Ambassador Award in 2020 and the World Civility Ambassador Award in 2021.

By Cassie Funk

When We All Succeed, It Makes the Community Stronger

In many ways, it’s this global perspective that has spurred Dei’s local and regional efforts. “Wherever I was—California, Georgia, North Dakota—I have always done my best to make a home within the community,” Dei said. “I think it’s important to connect with those around you. Fargo-Moorhead is an excitingly diverse community. I want to learn all I can about my neighbors. I want them to know me. Understanding each other, celebrating our diversity, and supporting every member of our community is how Fargo becomes ‘far more’ in my opinion. When everyone succeeds, the community is stronger.”

The 2023 International Women’s Day Celebration illustrated the power and potential of Dei’s vision for local women. More than 200 people from all over the region attended the event, making it one of the most successful celebrations so far.

“I am speechless,” Dei said. “We have been doing this for four years, but there was something different about this year. The power brought together in that room was truly amazing. I want to thank everyone who helped make the event what it was!”

Want to Get Involved?

Interested in being a part of the 2024 International Women’s Day Celebration? The organization is looking for committee members and volunteers to help continue the event’s growth and opportunities. Additionally, Kondial Kel International has two open board positions and is looking for an administrative person to help make positive changes in women’s lives. There are also plenty of volunteer opportunities with New American and youth programs for people who love to be out in the community making a difference.

“There’s always room for passionate people interested in working with FargoMoorhead’s diverse population to make impactful changes in our community,” Dei said. “Reach out to me and we will find the right opportunity. Together, we can help everyone in Fargo reach their full potential!”

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Photo by Mia Duncan

Don’t Call It Networking: Designing Intentional Experiences

By Jenny Sheets

TThere is a word we don’t like to use very often at Emerging Prairie. Shh…I’ll tell you… networking. The word has become associated with suits and ties, drab conference rooms, and sales, sales, sales. Even though we may not use the word, the intention behind networking events is critical to building community. The basic formula is this: create a designated space and time for people to connect with one another. However, with a little more intention and design, events can be opportunities for super-connections to happen with far-reaching ripple effects that impact not only those in businesses but our entire community.

Why We Need Events

Before you get too cozy with a remote lifestyle, don’t forget about the importance of face-to-face interactions and “accidental collisions” at events. Events connect people to other people, resources, and education. They are designed for interactions that wouldn’t normally happen by accident. Specifically looking at startup events, programming and design positively affects the entire community by addressing topics such as workforce development, student success, quality of life, and more.

Introverted? We hear you. Sometimes it can be daunting to think about attending an in-person event, let alone hosting one. For this reason, at Emerging Prairie, we try and make our events as comfortable as possible for all personality types. There are

opportunities to connect with individuals, but also options for solo activities and spaces to sit and gather with one or two others.

Designing Startup Events and Experiences

Don’t ask me how to plan a medieval renaissance fair (although, that would be really fun). The focus of this “how to” guide is on in-person startup and business events. Our Experience Team at Emerging Prairie, led by the fabulous Hali Christenson, created the outline below to use as we think about every single event we host. As you’ll see, this does not get into event registration, marketing, or tickets. Those are critical components to an event, but they are secondary to the important questions below.

What’s the goal of the event?

Don’t rush this. Work with your team to answer: Why are we throwing an event? Is it necessary? What do we hope to accomplish? Nail down the primary goal in one phrase or sentence and return to it for the entire planning and executing phases. Example of a goal: This event is designed to connect founders in one to five-year-old startups to private capital resources in the Upper Midwest.

Who is the event for, and who is it not for?

There’s a marketing adage that applies to events: if you market to everyone, you market to no one. Don’t delude yourself into believing that your event is for everyone. Clearly identify a target market that includes as many demographics as

you can. More importantly, who is the event not for? Think of it this way: if these “not” people came to your event, they would negatively impact the vibe and goal of your event. Example: you are hosting a fundraising gala in the evening and “cocktail attire” is recommended. Young kids would definitely damper the evening.

What’s the “vibe?”

Is the word “vibe” too trendy for you? Then use “feeling.” The feeling of the event should connect to your goal and will influence your venue, music, and design. For example, are you looking to impress some bigwig investors from New York? You may want to choose a sophisticated space with appropriate music, food, and drinks. If you are hoping to connect employers to recent college graduates, make sure the venue and aesthetic are fun and appeal to young people.

Attending Events

Do you need to “network” or connect? If you are in a startup, then probably. Expanding your support system will help you establish meaningful relationships and find resources quickly. On the other hand, don’t distract yourself with events when you should really be building your business. It’s a balance. If you are leading or working for a startup, the work can be fast-paced, intense, and sometimes isolating. Do yourself a favor by connecting with others who understand what you’re going through.

Jenny Sheets is the Director of Startup Programs at Emerging Prairie, a company focused on uplifting the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Local Events

Check out some of our favorite ongoing super-connector events in the greater Fargo-Moorhead area!

StartupBREW

| emergingprairie.com/startupbrew-fargo/

| /StartupBrewFargo

| @StartupBREWFargo

| @startupbrewfargo

| /showcase/startupbrew-fargo/

Creative Mornings

| creativemornings.com/cities/FAR

| /creativemorningsfargo

The Executives Club of Fargo-Moorhead

| the100.online

| search The Executives' Club of Fargo-Moorhead

| /theexecutivescluboffm

Photos provided by Emerging Prairie

You Have a Business Idea, Now What?

By Wendy Klug, VBOC of the Dakotas Director and Julie Hinker, VBOC Veterans Business Specialist

About the VBOC

The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) program is designed to provide entrepreneurial development services such as business training, counseling, and resource partner referrals to transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard, and Reserve members and military spouses interested in starting or growing a small business. U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has 22 organizations participating in this cooperative agreement and serving as VBOCs.

AAre you thinking about starting a new business?

Do you have an amazing idea and are ready to get started? Well, what are you waiting for? Just go to the bank and tell them you have an idea that is going to make you big bucks. They will give you money right there and you will be on your way, right? If only it were that easy.

There are many steps to starting a small business. It takes months to get all your ducks in a row! So, how do you get started? Before we get into the grits of a basic startup checklist for starting a business, let me start by telling you that you don’t have to be on this journey alone. You have a team of Small Business Administration advisors located in your state that can help you at no cost. From assisting with a business plan that makes you bank-ready, to

creating an in-depth marketing plan that helps you get off on the right foot, to choosing a business name that will represent your business, to helping you promote yourself to your ideal customer, the SBA team can help you achieve your dreams of starting that small business. Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Dakotas, North Dakota Small Business Development Center, SCORE, and Women’s Business Center are a team of experts to help see you succeed!

What’s next? Where do you start? While everyone will need to register their business with the secretary of state, not everyone will need to go to the bank for a loan. This makes it hard to come up with a list of items that fit everyone’s needs. Here are some of the steps, but do understand that it may not include every step! These steps are often done in conjunction with one another. Use this list to get started, but make sure you reach out to that SBA resource partner too! We will be able to tailor the list more specifically to your wants and needs.

Conduct Market Research

How do you know that someone would buy your product or service? How do you know that there aren’t a million others selling the same product or service? Market research will tell you if there’s an opportunity to turn your idea into a successful business. It’s a way to gather information about potential customers and businesses already operating in your area. Start by conducting primary research. Primary research is the first-hand collection of data where you go directly to a source instead of relying on existing information. Some of the ways to complete primary research include interviews, observational research, trials or experiments, surveys, and focus groups. You will also want to conduct secondary research where you identify and use existing information or research for analysis. We use IBIS World, a market analysis report which can show you industry research specific to your region and business. This report is free for all my clients.

JulieHinker,Veterans Business Specialist

Photos CourtesyofVBOCofthe Dakotas

Choose the Correct Business Structure

The legal structure you choose for your business will impact your business registration requirements, how much you pay in taxes, and your personal liability. This will be one of the most important decisions you make for your business. While I can guide you to information on the different legal structures, I am not able to tell you which one to pick. My best suggestion is to reach out to an accountant and ask them what they suggest. Choose an accountant that works with small businesses so they can tell you the “why” and “how” to choose LLC over sole proprietorship. They should also be able to talk you through tax deductions and how to prepare to pay business taxes.

Choose Your Business Name

It’s not easy to pick the perfect name. You’ll want one that reflects your brand and captures your spirit. Before you decide on a final name, run it by others to see what they think. Also, Google that name and see what pulls up on the web. For example, if you use the name McDonalds because your last name is McDonalds, it is going to be nearly impossible to rank higher than Big Mac advertisements. You’ll also want to make sure your business name isn’t already being used by someone else. We can help you see if your business name is available and go over some methods to make sure you are 100% sure on your business name during our advising sessions!

Write Your Business Plan

Business plans are like road maps. It is possible to travel without one, but that will increase the odds of getting lost along the way. A business plan will include information

on your business structure, product, marketing strategies, market research, and finances, helping you define and focus on your business ideas and strategies. Your business plan will be a well-thought-out document that you put hours of work into. I have access to LivePlan, a business planning software program that helps you get the work done in half the time, which clients can access for no charge. Between using LivePlan for business planning and advising with SBA resource partners, you will develop an investor-ready business plan.

Find Funding for Your Business Venture

If you are looking to get financed through a bank, you will need a business plan in hand! They are going to look closely at your financial projections in your business plan along with the 5 C’s: capacity, capital, collateral, conditions, and character. Of course, going to a bank is not the only way to gain funding. I suggest working with your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC). They are local experts in your community that are aware of grant programs and other funding opportunities.

Register Your Business and Get Federal/ State IDs

This is where everything starts to feel real! You now have the perfect business name and need to make it yours. You will need to fill out the correct paperwork with the state and possibly the federal government. You will also register for an EIN (Employer Identification Number). It’s like a social security number for your business. Several states require you to get a tax ID as well. This is the step that makes you a legit business with the state.

“We are a team of business advisors that can help you get your business off on the right foot!”

-Julie Hinker

Apply for Licenses and Permits

If you are going to be starting a business that provides services to the public, you will want to make sure you find out if there are any special licenses, and permits you need. For example, if you are going to be running a bakery you will need to make sure you not only follow all health codes, but you will also need a building health permit, food service license and more! The licenses and permits you need for your business will vary by industry, state, location, and other factors. You will want to make sure you understand exactly what you need when it comes to licenses and permits so you don’t become incompliant.

If you are looking to start a business, you certainly could use Google to help you get well on your way to preparing the paperwork you need to start your business. However, you can’t always trust what you read online—sometimes you just want someone there to share your ideas with who can help make sure you are on the right track. Remember at the beginning of this article how we told you there would be one important thing to remember? Here it is: you have a team of SBA advisors that are going to help you with your venture by offering confidential, no-cost business advice through advising sessions tailored specifically to your business venture.

Ready to get started? Just have a few questions? Reach out to us today!

VBOC of the Dakotas

(701) 738-4850

und.edu/dakotasvboc

/dakotasvboc

@DakotasVBOC

4200 James Ray Dr Grand Forks, ND 58201

“Before you invest your valuable time, make sure you conduct market research. Nobody wants to put hours of work into a project that turns out to be a deadbeat idea.”

-Wendy Klug

Are NonCompete Agreements Enforceable in North Dakota?

As any typical attorney would say, it depends.

The North Dakota Supreme Court has recognized “North Dakota has a strong public policy against noncompete agreements.” In general, North Dakota has been quite adverse to the enforcement of noncompete agreements and there is case law to back that aversion up.

Other states, such as South Dakota, have taken a different approach and have for the most part embraced non-compete agreements. Even though North Dakota is adverse to non-compete agreements, they are still allowed in limited applications. These applications include certain agreements between partners, members, or shareholders. In 2019, the North Dakota legislature expanded the allowed application of non-compete agreements. Non-compete agreements are generally governed by North Dakota Century Code § 9-08-06. In this article, I am going to address the basics of when non-competes can be enforceable in North Dakota.

Is my non-compete valid?

As noted, non-competes are enforceable in very limited situations in North Dakota. If you are an employee or vendor of an organization and you have no ownership interest, a non-compete is generally not enforceable even if you signed one. If you are a partner, member, or shareholder of an organization and you agree to a non-compete, it may be enforceable.

The enforceability analysis can become quite complex when organizations have locations in multiple states and employment agreements select legal interpretations from other state’s laws. Further, a distinction should also be noted that though noncompetes are often not enforceable in North Dakota, an employee or vendor can’t, with impunity, just take proprietary information or trade secrets. Trade secrets can certainly be enforced. An example of a trade secret might be a recipe or a customer list.

Assuming a signed non-compete applies to a partner, member, or shareholder, there are three essential elements to determining if a non-compete is valid in the state. Now, the following summary is no substitute for consulting with an attorney. There is nuance and other considerations—these descriptions rather are a starting point to determine enforceability. The three include:

1. Reasonable Geographic Area: A non-compete agreement is valid in a reasonable geographic area. Prior to 2019, a non-compete agreement could be enforceable in a certain county or city.

Thomas Kading

Attorney at Fargo Patent & Business Law, PLLC

Photo provided by Tom Kading

After the 2019 legislative change, a noncompete agreement could be enforced in a “reasonable geographic area.” At this point, the North Dakota Supreme Court has not given us case law as to what defines a reasonable geographic area. Additionally, there is some ambiguity as to what law would apply to a non-compete agreement signed prior to 2019.

Courts do not enforce illegal agreements. Prior to 2019 many non-competes contained illegal clauses which expanded beyond a city or county. Though a contract may have language that was illegal prior to 2019, the contract might have language that could be interpreted as legal after 2019. Courts in numerous other jurisdictions have established that determining the legality of a contract is to be interpreted based on the law in place at the time of signing.

2. Reasonable Time: North Dakota Supreme Court case law does not have a concrete definition of a reasonable time. As a general rule, five years has been held to be reasonable. The reality is that North Dakota is a small state and a robust set of case law is not always developed to answer each and every legal question. Other states have interpreted a reasonable time based on the nature of the non-compete and the parties signing the non-compete. Some jurisdictions make a distinction for noncompetes wherein the parties work with knowledge considered a trade secret. For example, some courts have held that if the parties to a non-compete do not deal with trade secrets, a time frame of more than two years is unreasonable. On the other

hand, some non-competes have been found reasonable for up to seven years when an equity owner sells a business with trade secrets.

3. Location of Business: The North Dakota Century Code has made it clear that non-competes must pertain to a limited geography. That limited geography must be a geography in which the business transacts activity. For example, a non-compete would arguably not be enforceable if a Cass County business had a non-compete for Burleigh County and the business had no business in Burleigh County.

This whole analysis may change in the near future. President Biden issued an executive order on July 9, 2021. The executive order stated, “…the Chair of the FTC is encouraged to consider working with the rest of the Commission to exercise the FTC’s statutory rulemaking authority under the Federal Trade Commission Act to curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses….” Though this effort has not yet resulted in any significant changes, there continues to be federal attention surrounding the idea of limiting or banning non-competes. The FTC has announced a public input period in February and March 2023 regarding a proposed rule to ban non-compete clauses. On February 1, 2023 a group of Senators introduced the “Workforce Mobility Act of 2023.” This proposed legislation would further limit the enforceability of non-competes. Whether these initiatives move forward or not will be better understood in the coming months.

Disclaimer:

The information in this article does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. All information, content, and material are for general informational or educational purposes only. The information provided may not be the most up-to-date legal information, and it is recommended that readers contact their attorney to obtain advice on any particular legal matter.

Fargo Patent & Business Law is an intellectual property and business law firm. We are always happy to talk to you if you have questions about trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, patents, or other business law issues.

Moorhead Legacy Education Foundation

At a time when headlines are railing against the evils of smartphones for kids, the Moorhead Legacy Education Foundation (MLEF) is hoping to use those same phones as a positive force to support school attendance.

In the Moorhead school district, nearly 30% of students enrolled have missed 10 or more school days this year. Student facilitators at the schools who work one-on-one with those students and their families are crediting the lack of basic needs as one of the main culprits behind students missing school. And the number of families struggling with basic needs has only been increasing, especially since the start of the pandemic.

When the situation became especially dire in December of 2022, Janelle Leiseth, Chair of the MLEF, put out a call on social media to try to encourage more donations. In the process, she learned of the Central Cass School mobile app, which allows students to request specific things they need right from their devices. Janelle thought a variation of the idea might be an important tool to apply to

Moorhead schools and reached out to the creator of the CC Treehouse app, Heidi Domier.

“Heidi has a wealth of knowledge about logistics and our local community needs. She has offered to help MLEF get this launched following discussions and planning with the district,” Janelle said.

To that end, MLEF has been reaching out to other nonprofits, which already help provide various basic need items to schools, to see if they would be interested in teaming up to explore the idea. The response so far has been very positive.

“We are all looking to benefit the schools, students, and families, and the needs are always changing. If we can make it easier to determine what the current needs are, and share the legwork, we can do so much more than we can as separate entities,” Janelle said. “My biggest hope is that we will be able to create a network of nonprofits working together.”

The Cass-Clay chapter of the Awesome Foundation also thinks the idea has merit, and named Spud Impact (MLEF’s program to address student, teacher/ staff, and school facility needs) their February 2023 grantee to provide startup funds for the project.

BY Brandi Malarkey, Owner, It’s All Malarkey

“Schools have budgets for school pantries, but they are very minimal so there is a lot that isn’t covered by the budget,” Janelle said. “If we can better streamline the process to figure out what the current needs are, we're really excited that this will help us all better target what areas to support.”

MLEF is in discussions with the high school Career Academy in the hopes that the students in the coding program can not only help build the app, but maintain it over time to make sure everything stays up-to-date.

“Students, actually, do love to help their peers if they can, and they are likely to be more responsive to the changes needed over time. We’ll be more effective if we are all working together.”

The current vision is that the app will work a lot like online ordering from a store. Students or families will use the app to make a request for their specific needs, which will be filled by volunteers, delivered to the school, and then distributed by school facilitators or counselors. School staff could also make orders on behalf of students who do not have access or are too young for devices of their own.

While food and hygiene products are the most commonly requested items, access to an alarm clock, winter gear to safely walk to school, or readily available transportation are among the many barriers to school attendance that Janelle hopes the app will help address.

“There are so many needs. School nurses are seeing a lot of kids who need eyewear and dental care and whose families can’t afford insurance. Mental health is also a basic need. M3 has been going in and speaking with hockey and baseball teams to encourage kids who are struggling to reach out and ask for help if they need it. If the school district approves, we could include a tab or a button on the app where students could access those positive messages. It could be a boost to their day and encourage those struggling to reach out to their counselor. There are so many directions this app could grow by ways of support.”

The project is in the idea-generating stage as the various nonprofits work out what this kind of partnership will look like, and Janelle expects the direction to change again once the

students themselves are involved in the design. However, the goal is to have a clear action plan set by the end of the year.

“We want to do what we can to help these kids get to school and make sure they are well provided for. We don’t want there to be a cycle of shame from elementary to middle school to high school surrounding what they need help with. It shouldn’t be shameful to ask for a little extra help.”

The Cass-Clay chapter of the Awesome Foundation awards a $1,000 gift each month for awesome ideas of all sorts. Grant recipients do not need to be associated with a nonprofit. Applications can be made at awesomefoundation.org/en/ chapters/cassclay.

Photo provided by Brandi Malarkey