Southern Business Journal by The Southern Illinoisan

Serving 18 Illinois counties • www.sbj.biz • February, 2015

WEB PRESENCE Business owners need to be able to reach their target audience COVER STORY BEGINS ON PAGE 4

Directory of Advertisers

Inside FEBRUARY 2015

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COVER STORY

WORKPLACE

Web presence: The need to be online for business owners just might be at an all-time high. In today’s fast-paced world, you need to be able to reach the most people in the shortest amount of time. How can you make that happen?

Employees want to do a good job: Really, they do, and how can you help them in their endeavors? Discover the ideas for making it happen, put them into play and see the surprising results.

PAGE 4

ENTREPRENEUR’S MAILBAG Look out for hidden obstacles: Increasingly, startups must keep their head on a swivel, constantly watching for unforeseen competition and issues that might be hard to anticipate. Learn what you can do as a creator of a new business to keep on a positive and productive track.

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ACHIEVEMENTS Who’s in the news: Find out who has been hired, promoted or received honors for efforts in business. Be sure to check out our latest Faces in the News collection, too.

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Leading Lawyers ...................... 11 Pepsi MidAmerica....................14 SIU Business & Administration .. ............................................... 4, 5 Small Business Growth Corp. .... ................................................... 3 Southern Illinois Healthcare ...... ..................................................16

FINE PRINT What’s happening: See who’s on the move with new building permits, as well as those who haven’t been so fortunate.

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The Southern Business Journal is a publication of The Southern Illinoisan. Contact us via mail at 710 N. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, IL 62901, or at P.O. Box 2108, Carbondale, IL 62903. Also reach us on the Web at www.sbj.biz and via email at SBJ@thesouthern.com. The Journal is published 12 times per year monthly and distributed by The Southern Illinoisan and www.thesouthern.com. Copyright 2015 by The Southern Illinoisan, all rights reserved. A subscription may be obtained by calling 618-529-5454 or 618-997-3356, or by visiting our website.

John A. Logan College .............. 9

Publisher John Pfeifer 618-351-5038 Advertising Kim Fowler 618-351-5035 Design and Layout Rhonda May 618-351-5077

Southern Illinois University ...... 6 Williamson County Airport ....... 7 SIU Credit Union ......................13

February 2015

Southern Business Journal

From the publisher

One on One

‌W

hile discussion of the best Super Bowl ad still rages, it’s important to note that every national advertiser who plunked down $4.5 million on Sunday was doing so to reach a mass audience. Not a bad idea if you’re trying to sell a candy bar, an adult beverage or a McSandwich. But that’s no longer the norm for most advertising campaigns. Social media marketing is different in that it allows businesses to hone in on a variety of target markets and reach each of them individually. In 2015, this is increasPfeifer ingly important. We all know baby boomers are vastly different than millennials, that men and women frequently have vastly different reasons for making purchases, and that consumers in Union County will respond differently to a particular product offering than those in Franklin County. But even those demographic characteristics are far too broad, far too “mass audience” based. The use of digital and social media marketing options now allows you to pick all of the characteristics of your best prospect and craft a message designed to make each consumer feel like your message is just for them, like you’ve walked up to them to have a one-on-one conversation. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, yes, until you realize that to reach females between the ages of 35 and 50 who live in Williamson County and are in the market for your particular product or service within the next 60 days, you actually have to know that.

You’re a small or medium-sized business in Southern Illinois that needs to reach a variety of target markets. Now would seem to be the best time to take a step back and determine just who makes up each market segment. If you have a good idea of who your target customer is, you have an exponentially easier time reaching them. That’s right; social media’s ability to target segments likely far exceeds our knowledge of just what those segments are. The reality of mass marketing is that it is easy and comfortable, and all too frequently expensive in that your message gets to a terribly large audience, most of whom cannot and will not buy your service. Ever. Take last Sunday’s Lexus ads, when the advertiser paid $4.5 million to advertise cars that more than 90 percent of American consumers will never be able to afford. But you’re not Lexus, and you’re not Snickers, and you’re not Anheuser Busch. You’re a small or medium-sized business in Southern Illinois that needs to reach a variety of target markets. Now would seem to be the best time to take a step back and determine just who makes up each market segment. If you have a good idea of who your target customer is, you have an exponentially easier time reaching them. If you don’t, social media marketing provides an opportunity only for your competitors. JOHN PFEIFER is publisher of Southern Business Journal and The Southern Illinoisan.‌

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Southern Business Journal

February 2015

Web presence Business owners need to be able to reach their target audience

DUSTIN DUNCAN THE SOUTHERN‌

‌The need to be online for business owners may be at its all-time high. Business owners need to be able to reach the most people in the shortest amount of time in today’s world. Previous options were limited to print ads in the newspaper or phone book or giant billboards just off the Interstate. Those are still viable methods for advertising, but they don’t reach those who rely solely on the Internet to find information. Not just the internet, but consumers are going to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and any other social media platform on the Web. However, before businesses can dive into the social media world, they must have a website, said Kay Dosier, co-owner of 1187 Creative in Carbondale. “As far as websites are concerned, in this day, a business pretty much has to have one,” she said. “Even if it is just to show they exist. People don’t go to the Yellow Pages to find a business anymore. They are either referred by somebody

or they are going to Yahoo! or Google and searching for what they need.” Dosier said landing on a website legitimizes that business in the consumer’s mind. “It is a great place to put tons of information and where people can search keywords to find exactly what they are looking for,” she said. Travis Bliffen, owner of Stellar SEO in Marion, said an online presence gives the smaller businesses a chance to compete with the large companies without the same checkbook balance. “People will know certain companies by name, so people will search for those companies. That doesn’t really work out for the small companies because people don’t know who they are, but they know what problem they have,” he said. “If a company does have a website, when people are searching for solutions to their problems, then those companies will show up and have a chance to solve a consumer’s problem, even if they don’t know them right away.” Those business owners who do have an online presence, and

RICHARD SITLER, THE SOUTHERN‌

Tom Harness, owner of Harness TechED, speaks with digital media specialist Megan Tschopp in their office at 308 N. 16th St. in Herrin.

are thriving, know it’s a nobrainer. “You can hardly find a legitimate business today that doesn’t have an online presence. It’s not something that business should do; it’s something they must do,” said Pryor Jordan, owner of Saluki Screen Repair in Carbondale. “It shows the world that your business is alive, and that it is made up of real people who interact with the world the same ways their customers do.”

Search Engine Optimization Even if a business has a Web presence, it doesn’t automatically mean there will be success.

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Search Engine Optimization, or SEO in business lingo, is one of the most important things a business owner can capitalize on, according to many professionals in the industry. “Businesses should always search their business on Google, Yahoo! or Bing; and, if they don’t place in the Top 5, you need to start asking questions,” said Tom Harness, owner of Harness TechED in Herrin. “They need to start looking at why they are not online when they are searched.” Lauren Siegert, digital advertising director with The Southern Illinoisan, said the search engine placement is everything. About 80 to 90 percent of

people do not go past the first page on a search engine, Siegert said. “We have attention spans like gnats,” she said. “If we can’t find what we are looking for right away, we will look elsewhere or click on the first thing we see and give up.” Dosier said the way to keep a business’s website near the top is good content on the website. “Content that applies to what that consumer is searching for,” she said. “It is not just a onetime thing. You have to keep that content fresh.” Dosier said if business owners do not touch their website for several months, it will drop

SEE WEB / PAGE 5

February 2015

FROM PAGE 4

Southern Business Journal

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WEB: Business owners need to be able to reach their target audience

in the search engine ranks because websites like Google will say it has already seen this content, instead of new content. She said her business looks at what keywords people use when they search for a similar business, how people find those businesses and the best way to get people talking about it. “Content is king,” Dosier said. “You can have the coolest website out there, but if the content isn’t good or stale, then you just wasted your money.” Marcus Holtz, website developer with Creative 1187, said in the past, companies that paid the most money could guarantee to be at the top of a search engine, but that isn’t the case anymore. “Now, it is done more organically. It is all about having the most recent, relevant information on that page,” he said. “Having everything welldesigned intricately, to be able to be found across the board, is more important than just shoving money in advertisements.”

Tom Harness is the owner of Harness TechED, a small business in Herrin that provides online marketing management services.

Harness said. “We have a reason and a method to what we do.” If a business owner makes a post just hoping to reach people, he said it can be like throwing a dart with a blindfold on. “You don’t know if you are hitting anything or not,” Harness said. Not every post is directed to sell something to the consumer, Bliffen said, but a way to get RICHARD SITLER PHOTOS, THE SOUTHERN‌ more people to a page. It can Megan Tschopp, a digital multimedia specialist, writes the hash tag of the day on the office door at Harness TechED be something such as a video, in Herrin. image, link or an interesting article. “You need to have interestHowever, it’s not enough that community fabric. hours a week online. ing stuff on your page,” he said. businesses have a social media “Social media really helps “What is great about social Social media exposure “Otherwise, why would anypresence. They need to know media is that people are spend- with that. We can introduce The website is an important how to use it correctly, he said. body follow you?” ourselves and interact with ing an exorbitant amount of factor in branding, or reaching More Web traffic will increase “You don’t want to get lost time online,” he said. “The more thousands of people who live, as many customers as possible, a business’s place on a search in the 2 million tweets a day,” work and shop in the area,” that you can get your busibut there needs to be a way to engine, Bliffen said. Jordan said. “That is something Harness said. “You need to get the consumer to the website. ness on there to brand it, the “The more content you have stand out.” that just couldn’t be done This is where social media has more you can get in front of Harness TechEd is contracted about business helps build your before the rise of social media.” the customer.” become such a huge market for SEO and helps build your crediby business owners, as is StelHarness said whether busiJordan said businesses forbusinesses. bility,” Harness said, “and indilar SEO, 1187 Creative and merly were able to get away with ness owners want to admit it “You have to have a website rectly helps build the validity of The Southern Illinoisan, to or not, most things are going just having a website, but now before you have a Facebook your website and business.” take control of a social media businesses must have a presence mobile, and a lot of the world account, because you want platform to customize posts Facebook to drive the consumer on social media to be successful. is online. People are now secdirected at a specific tarondarily going to websites and He said it is important for back to the website,” Holtz said. dustin.duncan@thesouthern.com 618-351-5823 most small businesses in South- going to social media looking to get audience. Harness said people are on twitter: @zd2000 “We don’t post just to post,” ern Illinois to become part of the connect with people. spending an average of seven

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Southern Business Journal

February 2015

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Southern Business Journal

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Entrepreneur’s Mailbag

Owners should be on the lookout for hidden obstacles for not knowing who and what you are up against in the marketplace. In the case of Uber, some of couple of months the company’s secondago, I stepped off ary competitors include of my train from traditional cab companies, my daily compublic transportation and, mute, went outside and to a lesser degree, bikedid something out of the sharing proordinary. Needgrams. More ing transportadirect compettion to get to my itors include next destination, Lyft, the I walked alongride-sharing side of a line of service most cabs waiting on recognized passengers, and by its promithen I crossed nent pink the street, mustaches. where I pulled Gray Another comout my iPhone petitor based and called an out of San Francisco would Uber. In case you haven’t be Sidecar, which now heard of the ride-sharing operates in more than a service, here is a quick rundown. Uber is an easy- dozen cities. Competition that Uber is sure to face to-use technology platform that allows you to use on an international front your smartphone to call up in the near future includes India’s ride-sharing sera ride from independent drivers, who happen to be vice Ola, Southeast Asia’s driving their own vehicles. Grab Taxi, and China’s Kuadi Dache. All of these The company, which, at organizations are looking last count, has raised $1.2 to stake their claim in this billion, has managed to growing industry. help bring down some of the barriers of the taxi industry. For these and Not to be overlooked other “Taxi 2.0” services, Two can things can it could be easy to simgreatly affect the competiply gaze out of the front tive landscape for a busiwindow at the open road ness include the number ahead. But, increasingly, of competitors (as in the these and other startups case of Uber) in any given must keep their head on a space or the introduction swivel, constantly on the of a new and innovative lookout for unforeseen product or service. Howcompetition or hidever, organizations don’t den obstacles. have to be large to begin taking notice of some unlikely or overlooked Primary and issues that could derail secondary their long-term plans. competitors zz Regulatory: A few With available access to years ago, I worked on a project for an all kinds of information, energy startup that was there really is no excuse CAVANAUGH L. GRAY SBJ CONTRIBUTOR‌

‌A

positioning itself as a major distributor of chemicals used in the fracking process. Regulatory obstacles at the federal and state levels, including the introduction of the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC Act), would force energy companies to disclose the chemicals used in its processing methods. Opposed by the industry, these tighter regulations put an end to the startup’s promising efforts.‌ zz Economy: One of the many bi-products of the most recent U.S. recession was a significant downturn in the housing market. Prior to that, the real estate market was on a tear. It’s likely that many unsuspecting companies in the industry, or those offering complementary home services such as design, might have seen a significant drop in business as a result. Unable to pivot quickly enough, many might have simply gone out of business.‌ zz Technology: In 1979, tech company VisiCorp released the first spreadsheet program, VisiCalc, for the Apple II system. As the first and only software of its kind on the market, VisiCalc saw several years of success until the Lotus 1-2-3 software made VisiCalc’s obsolete practically overnight. Lotus 1-2-3 ruled until a more superior software Microsoft Excel

was released. Technological advancement can happen in an instant. The problem is that most business owners are often unprepared for the impending change.‌ zz Consumers: Years ago, I would make the occasional run to my local

industry trends. Just a few years after the company’s successful IPO, it was stopped cold as the nation embraced the ‘No Carb’ movement. Figuring that the company was immune, Krispy Kreme was slow to respond and has never recovered.‌

Krispy Kreme shop. However, over time, I noticed that it became increasingly difficult to find an open location. This was became the chain had come face to face with its toughest competition, fickle U.S. consumer taste and ever-changing

zz Shareholders: Hard to think of it as such, but when shareholder expectations are greater than what is possible at the time, a sort of internal competition can arise. In 1985, Apple CEO John Sculley and the company’s board of directors made the decision to fire Steve Jobs. They cited missteps of the Lisa, Apple 3, and the declining Apple 2 computer sales. The move would turn out to be a self-inflicted wound as Apple found itself, for the first time, without a true visionary leader. It wasn’t until 1996 that Apple hired Jobs back to help save the failing company.‌

The lesson here is that for many entrepreneurs, it is easy to get tunnel vision when planning for their businesses. It might be easy to spot many of your direct and indirect competitors, but it doesn’t end there. To really be prepared for whatever comes your way, it takes a little outof-the-box thinking and preparation in case of the unexpected. CAVANAUGH L. GRAY (cgray@ecafellc.com) is director of business development for The Entrepreneur Café, LLC, 877-5114820. For more information on business planning or to read a chapter from his book, “The Entrepreneurial Spirit Lives: 25 Tales to Help Entrepreneurs Start, Grow, and Succeed in Small Business,” log on to www. ecafellc.com. For more information on how to start, grow and succeed in small business, ‘Like’ on Facebook, ‘Follow’ on Twitter @TheECafe or ‘Connect’ on LinkedIn.

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February 2015

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Southern Business Journal

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Southern Business Journal

February 2015

Workplace

Your employees want to do a good job: They really do do not all have new buildings or espresso machines or fancy chairs. We have what we have. ‌I believe your employees truly However, you can make sure that break areas and restrooms and want to do a good job every single day. I really do believe this. clean, clear and clutter-free. Do you have enough parking? Are Yes, of course, we all have bad days and tired days and off days. the entrances to the building free However, for the most part, peo- from obstructions? See where I am going with this? I am not ple really saying that you have to build a want to do new building; however, make the a good job. most of what you have. If you The real don’t have time to deal with this, question form a committee and/or put for you is someone else in charge of this this: How very important item. It’s called can you delegation. aide and Respect for all: Is everyone assist them in your organization respectin this Holmes-Young ing everyone else? It’s a simple endeavor? question, and you should Part of your job as a leader and be able to answer yes a manager is allowing them to do this. Think of it this way. You or no. If the answer is “yes,” then cross this need to make this easy. Assist them with their good intentions. one off your list. If the answer here is “no,” You know — the honest day’s then you have some work for an honest day’s pay. work to do. There is Use my list below, and consider these ideas this month. Put a few no excuse for childish behavior in the of these ideas into play, and see workplace. Be the what you get. The results may professional, and also surprise you. Opportunities for advancement: set the example for others to follow. If there Does your organization offer opportunities for advancement? is work to be done here, make a plan and get moving. Are these opportunities readily Verbal feedback: How often available and communicated to all? Is there a process in place? Is are you giving your direct reports verbal feedback? This there a contact person in charge is easy to do and does not cost for those with questions? a thing, except for your time Skill improvement: How and honesty. This is something are employees encouraged to that can improve morale and improve their skills? Are the efficiency immediately. Take skills needed for each posithe time to make this a priortion identified? Is there a way ity. The verbal feedback I am for those who do not have the speaking about can be a simple skills to get the skills needed “good job today,” or it can be to advance? more in-depth. It can be critiPleasant workplace: Have you cism or praise. It is a verbal done all that you can to make interaction, and I am encouryour workplace as nice as posaging you to make this face to sible? Is it clean, organized and face. Try to make time for this comfortable? I realize that we ANGELA HOLMES-YOUNG SBJ CONTRIBUTOR‌

daily. One person at a time is a great place to start — one person, one day, one item. Try it, and you might like it. You will definitely like the results that you get. Ongoing performance coaching: This item differs from the previous item because this is a more in-depth discussion of performance. For some employees, you may need to meet monthly. For others, it may need to be weekly. Consider the following additional points: zz Some employees work better

with more frequent feedback.‌ zz Some employees are in a situation, where their longevity at the organization depends upon performance improvement.‌ zz Consider a detailed performance-improvement plan for some that includes explicit performance steps to be taken, along with completion dates.‌ zz The addition of a standing, weekly, performance-coaching meeting might be helpful.‌ Money: This could be in the form of salary adjustment,

bonuses, commission, etc. Make sure that these items are handled correctly and paid on time. Do not allow a culture that doesn’t care about the correctness of these items. Do not stand for this. At the end of the day, we all work for a paycheck. Make sure it is correct and fair. Don’t misunderstand. Money is not the sole motivator for most (luckily). Perks: Perks can come in the form of many things that run the gambit from fun and funny to downright silly. Some like parking spaces. What about a jeans day or causal Fridays? That will not work everywhere, of course. Many organizations utilize Employee of the Month programs. Put on your thinking cap, and think about it. You will be amazed with what you can dream up. Better yet, turn it over to a committee. After a while, you will begin to associate your improved success and efficiency levels with the happiness and morale of your employees. Some of these changes will begin to be second nature for you. I think someone said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Go forth, and be the professional you were meant to be. ANGELA HOLMES-YOUNG is author of “Bring It On: The Aspiring Professional’s Guide to Getting a Leg Up on the Competition.” Her book is available at Bookworm, iTunes Store, amazon. com and barnesandnoble. com. Angela is also the corporate recruiter for National Railway Equipment Co. (NRE). She can be reached at ang_holmes@yahoo.com or @A_Holmes_Young.

February 2015

Southern Business Journal

Leading Southern Illinois Lawyers

Peer Reviewed.

| 11

Douglas A. Antonik

Antonik Law Offices

Mount Vernon

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William L. Broom, III

Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP

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Patricia A. Hoke

Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP

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Kenneth R. Hughes

Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP

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Michael R. Twomey

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Mark J. Ballard