Thinking Bigger Business—September 2018

VOL. 27 // ISSUE 9 // SEPTEMBER 2018

DRIVEN TO INNOVATE Advantage PressurePro continues to roll into new markets

FUTURE ENTREPRENEURS Programs teach Gen Z business mindset

NEXT-PHASE SERVICES » iThinkBigger.com

Companies help seniors thrive

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CONTENTS

SE PTE M B ER 2018 VOL. 27 // ISSUE 9

IN FOCUS

46 Senior Services Many small businesses have thrived by helping seniors with transitions, providing comfort and more.

D E PA R T M E N T S

07 The Bigger Picture 08 Legislative Briefs 09 Biz Bits 13 BIG | deals 15 25 Under 25 Updates 50 BIG | shots

F E AT U R E

30 Future Entrepreneurs

Area programs prepare high school students to take the reins in business.

S M A R T S T R AT E G I E S

34 BIGGER | strategy NBKC Bank takes ‘ask me anything’ approach with employees and customers.

36 BIGGER | sales 10 Steps to Closing a Sale

24 | KC ENTREPRENEURS HE ON T R E V CO

38 BIGGER | hr Creating a College Recruitment Strategy

40 BIGGER | customer service For Expensive, Complicated Purchases, the Bar is High for Customer Service

DRIVING INNOVATION New markets continue to open for Harrisonville-based Advantage PressurePro and its tire-pressure monitoring system.

42 BIGGER | finance 2 Rules of Credit Card Processing

4

THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

16

25 UNDER 25 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

| 19

BIG MONEY

| 19

MADE TO LAST

Margaux Guzman, logistics specialist, coordinates a large product shipment.

Inset: Closup of Advantage PressurePro’s sensor that connects to the tire stem.

17

C O M PA N Y T O WAT C H

21

KC M A D E I T

22

ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY

Chicken N Pickle

Ripple Glass

Felici “Phil” Giordano

The restaurant and entertainment complex is expanding to Wichita and other cities.

The company recycles glass from nine states into cullet, used for insulation and bottles.

His weekend gig grew to be more lucrative than his day job.

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

5

CONTENTS

SE PTE M B ER 2018

ON THE WEB // iTHINKBIGGER.COM PRODUCED BY

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What You Believe Matters— A Lot: Scarcity vs.

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Katie Bean Editor and Managing Director SALES + MARKETING

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18TH ANNUAL 2 5 U N D E R 2 5 AWA R D S

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25 Under 25 Awards

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Learn more about the 25 Under 25 Awards Program for businesses with fewer than 25 employees. Nominations for the 2019 class are open through Sept. 28. www.25Under25.com

Julie Anderson, Ruth Baum Bigus, Dawn Bormann, Kate Leibsle, David Mitchell, Diane O’Byrne, Aaron Reese, Mike Wesley

Business Calendar

Find out about hundreds of business events, networking opportunities, classes and workshops.

Article Archives

Did you miss an issue? Search our archives for thousands of articles.

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P.O. Box 754, Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201-0754 (913) 432-6690 (888) 432-6444 FAX (913) 432-6676 editor@ithinkbigger.com sales@ithinkbigger.com iThinkBigger.com See our SRDS listing at www.SRDS.com

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authors are intended to communicate information and are not necessarily the views of this publication. The intent of this publication is to provide business professionals with informative

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and interesting articles and news. These articles, and any opinions expressed in them, are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or business. Appropriate legal, accounting, financial or medical advice or other expert assistance should always be sought from a competent professional. We are not responsible for the content of any paid advertisements. Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content, in any manner is

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THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Kids Are Alright

E

very generation has that

The idea was all hers, but with help from

“kids today” mentality.

Kansas City’s plentiful entrepreneurial resources, she has found mentors and

Sure, they’re doing things you

programs that have accelerated her idea

didn’t do when you were their age—often because the things that they do now didn’t exist when you were their age. Tide Pod challenge?

We didn’t even have Tide Pods when I was a teenager!

OK, bad example. Teens always have youthful indiscretions. But every generation also has a cohort of extremely impressive individuals. Kansas City seems

to creation and building a viable business plan. Now, Smith is delaying college to continue her work on FacePrint, thanks to a two-year, $100,000 Thiel Fellowship.

But Smith is far from the only impressive future business leader. Programs metrowide are teaching students business skills and the entrepreneurial

to have plenty of smart and innovative high schoolers

mindset they will need to start and take over businesses

who give Generation Z a good name.

in Kansas City.

Many local media outlets have written about Erin Smith,

After learning about many of these programs for this

the 18-year-old Shawnee Mission West graduate who

month’s feature, Future Entrepreneurs (page 30), I feel

has been working on her technology venture, FacePrint,

confident that Kansas City’s businesses and economy

for two years. Her face-recognition technology aims to

are in good hands with these smart and passionate Gen

help diagnose Parkinson’s disease.

Zers coming into the workforce. Thanks, kids today.

Katie Be an

// Edi tor and Managing D irec to r // kbean@iThinkBigger.com

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

7

L E G I S L AT I V E B R I E F S

Act Aims to Increase Pipeline of Skilled Trade Workers

FEDERAL IRS Releases Regulations on Passthrough Business Deductions In August, the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations for a new provision affecting passthrough businesses.

The regulations would allow many owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, trusts and S corporations to deduct 20 percent of their qualified business income.

The new deduction—referred to as the Section 199A deduction or the deduction for qualified business income—was created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Eligible taxpayers can claim it for the first time on the 2018 federal income tax return they file next year.

The deduction is generally available to eligible taxpayers whose 2018 taxable incomes fall below $315,000 for joint returns and $157,500 for other taxpayers.

PRINT

•

U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act in July.

The goal of the bipartisan bill is to increase the pipeline of workers in skilled trades by making it easier to access federal funds that would boost career and technical education.

It also aims to improve alignment of available training with in-demand jobs and encourages engagement of employers with CTE programs.

MISSOURI Voters Reject Prop A Missouri voters rejected Proposition A in August, which proposed making it a “right to work” state. Missourians favored the unions’ stance against the measure with 67.5 percent of the vote. No votes carried 100 of Missouri’s 114 counties.

MARKETING

•

The last time such a measure was on the ballot, in 1978, 60 percent of Missouri voters rejected it.

KANSAS Kansans Have 3 Choices for Governor in November Gubernatorial candidate Greg Orman retained his place on the November ballot despite a challenge.

Orman, who is running as an independent candidate, had to petition to be on the ballot, which required at least 5,000 signatures from qualified Kansas voters. An examination by the State Objections Board deemed his spot on the ballot justified.

Orman faces Laura Kelly, a Democrat, and Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican. Kobach defeated Gov. Jeff Colyer by a few hundred votes in the August primary election.

DESIGN

•

AlphaGraphics 1717 Oak St | Kansas City, MO 64108 | 816.842.4200 alphagraphicskc.com | us190@alphagraphics.com | /alphagraphicskc

8

THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

SIGNS

BIZ BITS

SBA Seeks Small Business Award Nominees The Small Business Administration is accepting nominations for its 2019 National Small Business Week awards, including the annual Small Business Person of the Year.

The awards coincide with National Small Business Week, May 5-11, 2019.

The SBA honors exporters, prime contractors, subcontractors, small business resource centers. Visit SBA.gov for details and nomination forms. Nominations are due Jan. 9, 2019, and email submissions are not accepted.

Startups Invited to Apply for Pure Pitch Rally C-Tech Summit announced the third annual Pure Pitch Rally, issuing a call for startup businesses and investors to apply for the event’s pitching competition to win

#DontWaitNominate for 25 Under 25 Awards Nominations are open for Thinking Bigger’s 18th annual 25 Under 25 Awards.

The program recognizes outstanding Kansas City-area small businesses with 25 or fewer employees.

Nominate as many awesome small businesses as you like—clients, colleagues, friends, mentors or even your own business. Only one nomination per company is required—all businesses will be invited to apply. Nominations close

Sept. 28. View eligibility requirements and submit nominations at 25Under25.com.

To earn the award, nominated companies must submit an application by the deadline in November. An independent panel of judges will choose the winners.

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SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

9

BIZ BITS

Eight entrepreneurs will pitch for spotcash funding to a panel of investors. Up to $80,000 in cash and $500,000 in Amazon AWS Activate Credits will be rewarded.

present their technology services and discuss their pilot progress in a pitch.

Partners were selected based on criteria including the ability to support economic development and operations strategies.

KCMO Innovation Partners Revealed

early-stage funding.

Startups that wish to apply to compete can sign up at CTCHSummit.org. The deadline for applications is Sept. 14.

The invitation-only event will take place from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 10 at The American Restaurant, 200 E. 25th St. in Kansas City.

Organizers said they expect more than 200 CEOs and angel investors to attend the event, which will occur during Techweek Kansas City.

Kansas City, Mo., announced six partners for the 2018 Innovation Partnership Program in late July.

The program is in its fourth year and provides startups with the opportunity to develop a use case while allowing the city to explore, at no cost, how new technologies could improve city services.

Selected partners include Geospiza, DogSpot, Homebase, Gridics LLC, Snorkel and Dynamhex, which will work with a variety of city departments.

Partners will meet with the Office of Innovation and receive 20 hours of office space at City Hall weekly throughout the program. In October, the partners will

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THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

Mentor Network Welcomes New Startups Sprint Accelerator kicked off its sixth cohort of the Mentor Network in July.

The network matches eight startups with 10 mentors from nine corporations.

The entrepreneurs in the new cohort include: » Kent Lauridsen, BlissBot » Clarence Tan, Boddle » Joy Ellsworth, Clement Waters » Kyle Smith, Determination Inc. » Moe Hamid, FestPop Inc. » Jennifer Niehouse, it’s so U! » Zack Kern, POPchef! » Safiyyah Mills, Sentimental Moodz

LaunchCode Expands at New Location The Kansas City hub of LaunchCode has found a new home and partner in Rockhurst University.

The new facilities can accommodate 140 students for LC101, the free introductory web programming course LaunchCode offers as part of its core educational curriculum.

Founded by Square’s Jim McKelvey in 2013, LaunchCode offers apprenticeships and career support services, as well as educational opportunities to learn how to code and program.

Accelerator Seeks Startups Sprint Accelerator has opened applications for its Corporate Accelerator on a rolling basis.

DAVID HANSON MANAGING PARTNER, TITLE BOXING LLC BLUE KC CLIENT

Blue KC believes care is an impor tant par t of healthcare. That ’s why we took time to craf t an option that truly considered the needs of the people in the communit y.

We created flexible, uncomplicated insurance options designed to give Kansas Cit y businesses and their employees sustainable savings on healthcare plans.

GRE AT ERBL UEKC.COM / CR A F T ED

BIZ BITS

Corporate sponsors include Sprint and Dairy Farmers of America, who provide mentorship to startups in the program.

Sprint seeks startups in consumer gaming and entertainment; and innovative applications that could transform business operations in mixed reality/immersive simulations, health care and telemedicine, “smart” places, digital infrastructure and tactile internet.

DFA is looking for ag tech startups related in any way to the dairy industry.

The five initiatives mirror EDCKC’s core objectives of redevelopment, business development and workforce development: » Blue River Valley Industrial Corridor redevelopment » Investment in minority- and women-owned businesses through the EDC Loan Corp. » Industry-focused marketing in financial services, supply chain logistics, architecture and engineering and information technology sectors » Create a minority business accelerator » Youth apprenticeship programs

EDCKC Defines New Focus Areas This summer, the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City announced five initiatives that it has defined as main areas of focus during the course of the next months.

New Fund Assists Rehabbers in KC’s Urban Core AltCap and Legal Aid of Western Missouri have partnered to help rehabbers working in the urban core. The collaboration will

ScaleUP! KC Names Eighth Cohort Seventeen area small businesses will be able to take advantage of business lessons, mentorships and connections as part of the eighth cohort of ScaleUP! Kansas City.

ScaleUP! provides support for entrepreneurs running growth-oriented, second-stage businesses. It helps qualified small businesses with revenues of at least $200,000 to reach their expansion goals. It is funded through a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and administered by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center.

The following entrepreneurs were selected for the current cohort: » Mollie Ahlers-Estes, Ahlers Building Maintenance Co. LLC » Henrik Andersen, Scandinavian Co-Op LLC » Angel Canady, Natural High Wellness Center 12

THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

» Kristen Christian, Bee Organized LLC » Brandon Dye, Dye Electric LLC » Drew Ford, Kakkuro Suite » Aaron Fulk, Lillian James Creative » Kita Gandhi, BIC Design Co. » William Gibson, Down to Earth Services » Christopher Martin, ProcureIT Network LLC

» Phillip Martin, CFM Distributors Inc. » Patricia McCreary, Margaret’s Place LLC » Laurie Miller, Ross Miller Cleaners » Lisa Schmitz, Lisa Schmitz Interior Design

» Amy Slattery, Odimo » Shantelle Tomlin, Tomlin Academy » Kirby Virden, Maxim Outdoor Signs

provide title-clearing services and loans to those restoring abandoned homes in Kansas City, Mo. Get more information about the Kansas City Home Rehabber Loan Fund at Alt-Cap.org/home-rehab.

Analytics Summit Features National Companies The Marketing Analytics Strategy Summit will debut Sept. 20 in Kansas City, featuring talks from leading brand and agency marketers. It’s hosted by KC firm Alight Analytics.

Speakers from Maui Jim, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and GlynnDevins will share how they use marketing analytics to discover business opportunities, increase revenue and drive strategy for their organizations.

The conference will run from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City. Cost is $159 and includes a barbecue lunch and a happy hour and networking session at the end of the day.

Learn more at AlightAnalytics.com/ marketing-analytics-strategy-summit.

Workforce Development Conference Scheduled Registration is open for the first Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Conference: Building Partnerships to Address the Future of Workforce.

The conference is scheduled for Oct. 8-9 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 W. Waterman in Wichita.

Organizers said the conference will give employers, educators, economic development professionals and community leaders an opportunity to meet with state and local officials to discuss the challenges of meeting Kansas workforce needs.

BIG | deals

AWARDS & RECOGNITION STEMMy Awards Honor Women’s Achievements Central Exchange has announced the winners of its STEMMy Awards, which celebrate women and their achievements in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine.

The honorees will be recognized at a luncheon from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 27 at Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland, 1228 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. The following women and organizations will be honored: » Enterprising Innovator // Angela Hurt, Veracity » Corporate Hero // Henderson Engineers » Groundbreaking Leadership // Julie Pierce, Henderson Engineers » WiSTEMM Educator // Dr. Carol Spradling, Northwest Missouri State University, and Zulma Perez-Estrella, Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools » Rising Trendsetter // Diana Acevedo, University of Kansas Medical Center; Britney Hommertzheim, AMC Theatres; Kerrie Greenfelder, Burns & McDonnell; and Amy Gum, Cerner » WiSTEMM Student Achiever // Lauren Stephenson, Johnson County Community College » WiSTEMM Champion // Jen Nelson, Catalent Pharma Solutions

Ice Creamery Lands Hot Spot on Streetcar Line Waldo ice cream shop Betty Rae’s, known for its original flavor combinations, has opened a second location in Kansas City’s River Market. The new spot at Fifth and Delaware streets is on the Kansas City streetcar line.

M&A Olathe Firm Sells to Salary.com Olathe company Compdata Consulting LLC announced in July that it had sold to

Salary.com, based in the Boston area.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Compdata provides survey and consulting services to human resources departments.

At the time of its sale, it employed 30 people and expected to keep its local office.

NEW BUSINESS New Space Opens for Makers DesignWerx, a new coworking space for makers, had its grand opening in August.

The North Kansas City offering is from the same team that built iWerx coworking.

Co-founder Bob Martin said DesignWerx has the same mission as iWerx in providing

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EXPANSION Bagel Restaurant Opens Downtown Location Meshuggah Bagels, a Westport destination, opened a second location in August.

The bagel-and-shmear eatery is in Kansas City’s Power and Light District at 40 E. 13th St., on the first floor of One Light.

It is expected to employ three full-time employees and up to six part-timers.

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BIG | deals

a space for small businesses to grow. The facility will provide mentoring, sales and marketing assistance and business development education.

“We say iWerx is the place where you got kicked out of the kitchen table and you had to go find an office, and DesignWerx is where you got kicked out of your garage and you had to find a place to make stuff,” Martin said.

Dog Cancer Therapy Promising ELIAS Animal Health, an Olathe-based bioscience company, is hoping its new immunotherapeutic product can help in the fight against cancer in companion animals.

Preliminary results are encouraging.

At the 2018 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum in June, ELIAS said that its new ELIAS

autologous cancer vaccine to treat canine osteosarcoma (bone cancer) demonstrated longer median survival times and minimal side effects.

The company will release final results of the study later this year.

Lee’s Summit Gets Its First Coworking Space Bridge Space, the first coworking space in Lee’s Summit, is set to celebrate its grand opening Sept. 6.

Doors open for tours at 5 p.m. and a dedication will take place at 6 p.m. at 210 SW Market St. in downtown Lee’s Summit.

ON THE MOVE New Showroom Opens in Grandview SVB Wood Floors has opened a new showroom in Grandview. The showroom features wood floor samples hung gallerystyle in a 5,000-foot space at 4200 Main St. SVB is a family-owned business founded in 2003.

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THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

The Sundry Welcomes New Head Chef Chef Kara Anderson has joined The Sundry to lead the market and kitchen concept’s menu development, ingredient crafting, preservation and local agricultural partnership efforts.

Under Anderson’s direction, a full seasonal menu change is planned for Sept. 22 to coincide with the autumnal equinox, which will include family-style dinner menus.

Last year, The Sundry moved from the Crossroads Arts District to Plexpod Westport Commons, 300 E. 39th St., Kansas City, Mo. Financial Services Company Hires COO Prime Capital Investment Advisors, based in Overland

Park, has named a new chief operating officer.

John Seibolt joined the team this summer and will help lead the firm’s growth. Currently, it has 16 offices nationwide.

New General Manager Will Expand Community Support Amanda Harris has joined Old Church Plaza in Kearney as general manager. Previously, she was general manager of Calibration Brewery in North Kansas City.

“My day-to-day role is to support the mission of Old Church Plaza, which is to become a destination in the Northland, while giving back to the Kearney community,” she said.

Harris’ first initiative Bulldog Bucks to generate revenue for Kearney public schools during the 2018-19 school year.

OTHER NEWS Startup Hopes to Drive Growth Through Accelerator Zohr Inc., a Kansas City mobile tire service startup, earned a spot in the Techstars Mobility Accelerator in Detroit. The company, run by brothers Anoop and Komal Choong, will have access to key industry contacts in Motor City.

2 5 U N D E R 2 5 ® U P DAT E S

Indigo Wild Indigo Wild (Class of 2002), a Kansas City retailer of natural products for home and body, sold a majority stake to a private equity company. CEO Emily Voth and her husband, Todd Voth, retain an ownership stake along with Hammond Kennedy Whitney & Co. The headquarters will remain in Kansas City.

JNA Advertising JNA Advertising (Class of 2015) has been named as the agency of record for Palmetto

Moon, a Southern lifestyle gift and apparel chain based in Charleston, S.C. “Palmetto Moon is an exceptional brand that is poised for tremendous growth,” said John Nohe, CEO of the Overland Park advertising firm.

Shear Madness Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids (Class of 2006), a franchise that started in Leawood, was named as a winner of the 2018 FranCompare franchise recognition program in the child hair care category.

Sage Restoration An Overland Park company has been selected as a finalist for an award from the National Association of Women Business Owners. Sage Restoration (Class of 2016) led by Stephanie Sage, is in the running for 2018 National Woman Business Owner of the Year.

A national team of judges chose the 10 finalists. The winner will be announced Sept. 25 at the NAWBO national conference.

25 Under 25 Alumni Among Fastest-Growing U.S. Businesses

2542. United States Appraisals // Overland Park // 168% // $47 million

Thirty-seven businesses in the Kansas City metro area made the 2018 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Nine are 25 Under 25 Award alumni.

Two local retailers—Nickel & Suede and Mer-Sea & Co.— made it into the Inc. 500, each growing more than 1,000 percent since 2014.

The list calculates the three-year revenue growth of a company.

To qualify, the companies must have been founded and generated revenue by March 31, 2014. The minimum revenue required for 2014 is $100,000; the minimum for 2017 is $2 million.

2811. Worcester Cos. // Kansas City // 147% // $20.5 million

KC-Area Companies

3365. Go Local Interactive // Overland Park // 115% // $12.1 million

List ranking, company name // City // Growth rate // Revenue 25 Under 25 alumni noted in bold (year honored) 127.

Nickel & Suede // Liberty // 3,101% // $4.1 million

2726. Pendo Management // Lee’s Summit // 153% // $23.8 million 2876. Brown Button Estate Sales Services // Kansas City // 143% // $2.2 million (Class of 2017) 2940. Stewardship Investments // Kansas City // 139% // $4.4 million 3051. DEG // Overland Park // 132% // $51.1 million 3133. D&L Transport // Overland Park // 126% // $91.7 million 3226. Avenue Link // Overland Park // 122% // $15.3 million 3254. Accord Group // Lee’s Summit // 121% // $45.1 million 3300. Credit Law Center // Lee’s Summit // 118% // $4.4 million 3370. Affinity Group Management // Kansas City // 115% // $49.2 million (Class of 2011) 3419. Platinum Realty // Overland Park // 112% // $25.2 million (Class of 2016)

279. Mer-Sea-Co. // Lenexa // 1,750% // $6.6 million

3465. Side by Side Stuff // Drexel // 109% // $14.2 million

638. Spring Venture Group // Kansas City // 791% // $67 million

3466. City Wide Maintenance of Kansas // Lenexa // 109% // $9.6 million

745. Kansas City Investment Real Estate // Independence // 675% // $4.8 million 881. ProcureIT Network // Grain Valley // 569% // $2.2 million 988. Charlie Hustle // Kansas City // 497% // $4.5 million 1122. Tickets for Less // Overland Park // 439% // $47.5 million (Class of 2009) 1451. Prism Real Estate Services // Overland Park // 322% // $12 million 1564. DataLocker // Overland Park // 299% // $11.4 million (Class of 2013) 1630. Rx Savings Solutions // Overland Park // 284% // $5.5. million 1907. Lever1 // Kansas City // 235% // $47 million (Class of 2017)

3477. Chelsoft Solutions Co. // Olathe // 109% // $5.7 million 3516. Dimensional Innovations // Overland Park // 107% // $41.9 million 3733. ProPharma Group // Overland Park // 98% // $91.8 million 4020. Titan Protection and Consulting // Overland Park // 88% // $8.3 million 4109. TrippNT // Kansas City // 85% // $4.5 million 4186. Helen Jon // Lenexa // 82% // $3.2 million 4241. Alight Analytics // Kansas City // 80% // $4 million (Class of 2014)

1922. Tallgrass Freight Co. // Shawnee // 233% // $10.7 million

4356. The Purple Guys // Kansas City // 76% // $5 million (Class of 2005)

2435. LIfestyle Publications // Kansas City // 178% // $14.3 million

4901. Rosnet // Parkville // 60% // $8 million (Class of 2008)

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

15

AT A G L A N C E K C

( by Elyssa Bezner)

E N T R E P R E N E U R S

25 UNDER 25 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT | HAPPY FOOD COMPANY

CLASS OF 2018

Software Solution Enables Nationwide Expansion H

appy Food Co. has grown beyond distributing flavorful meal kits through small, standalone coolers at Kansas City-area Price Chopper and Hen House locations, said chef and co-founder Kiersten Firquain.

The 2018 25 Under 25 honoree has developed a software platform—in partnership with retailers nationwide and 75 local vendors—to enable grocers across the country to assemble and sell their own meal kits. Happy Food provides the boxes, marketing materials and culinary engine as well as the software component, Firquain said.

“We want to help the groceries use (the platform) to track their supply and to help them execute at store level,” she said. “It’s for meal kits, but also to keep track of inventory.”

GROWING FAST

The more traditional side of the Happy Food operation has nearly tripled in size and moved locations three times since the company’s founding in 2015, Firquain said. She and co-founder Jeff Glasco hope the company’s new space at 11880 W. 91st St. in Overland Park fulfills their needs for a while, she said.

Happy Food meal kits feature boxes of prepared ingredients and recipes for customers struggling for dinner ideas, Firquain said, with popular options including a bison cheeseburger quesadilla and a soba noodle bowl with spicy chicken.

Meals run the spectrum of flavors, uniting comfort foods with uncommon ingredients, she said, with pricing for each box based on the cost of the ingredients inside.

“We say that we are good food for real people, so we know people are still going to go out to eat sometimes, but people still want to cook at home,” she said. “And for those people that want a high-quality, restaurant-style meal that’s locally sourced, it’ll be done in 20 or 30 minutes.”

NEW OFFERINGS

The company also recently launched Give Some Happy gift boxes, which include mugs, coffee and Happy Food gift certificates, Firquain said. They’re functional presents for clients or friends, she said.

Happy Food plans to enlist three more grocers this year as part of an app release that aims to solve the most common problem customers face with the meal kits: finding them.

16

THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

“Right now, you don’t know when you go to the grocery store if the meal that you’re looking for is there or not,” Firquain said.

“You just see what’s there and you buy what you want, but a lot of times customers are looking for a specific item—so this would enable you to know where exactly to find that item and which location.”

Elyssa Bezner is a reporter for news partner Startland News.

C O M PA N Y T O WAT C H K C

CHICKEN N PICKLE

E N T R E P R E N E U R S

‘Bigger and Better’

(Photo courtesy of Austin Walsh Studios)

ENTREPRENEURS PLAN TO EXPAND WITH UNIQUE CONCEPT. ENTREPRENEUR

Bill Crooks C O M PA N Y I N F O R M AT I O N

Chicken N Pickle 1761 Burlington North Kansas City, Mo. 64116 ChickenNPickle.com (816) 537-1405 TYPE OF BUSINESS

Restaurant and bar with indoor/ outdoor entertainment complex YEAR FOUNDED

2016 E M P L OY E E S

150

ickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation, so it should be no surprise that Chicken N Pickle has expansion plans of its own.

The owners of the North Kansas City hotspot broke ground on their second location in May in Wichita, but the expansion won’t stop there. Kellen Mumm, vice president of business development, said the company could have as many as 10 locations within three years.

“We’re going to ramp up quickly,” he said.

Mumm said Texas is a likely target for a third location, and Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio are on a short list of possibilities along with Denver, Oklahoma City and Omaha. He said the company has no plans to franchise locations in the short term.

Chicken N Pickle combines a casual restaurant and rooftop bar with an indoor/outdoor entertainment complex that features games like cornhole, oversized Battleship and Jenga and, of course, pickleball.

The paddle game has been around since the 1960s, but it has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years. According to the USA Pickleball Association, nearly 3 million Americans play the game at least once a year. Although its growth is due, in part, to its popularity with the older generation, Mumm said Chicken N Pickle has wider appeal.

“The younger crowd want a craft beer and something to do, rather than just sitting around a bar,” he

P

said. “Pickleball is perfect. You can play with your friends and have a beer afterward.”

Mumm said most Chicken N Pickle customers aren’t avid pickleball players, but the business has a good core of regulars who are.

“A lot of people come for lunch or a beer, and they don’t even know we have pickleball until they get here,” he said.

The game, and the venue, are popular enough that Mumm said courts are often reserved more than a week in advance during the weekends.

David Johnson, chairman of Maxus Properties in North Kansas City, came up with the concept for Chicken N Pickle, then brought on Bill Crooks as a partner.

“David had rough idea of what he wanted,” Mumm said. “Bill put method to his madness.”

Crooks has opened restaurants in Wichita before during his long tenure with Overland Park-based PB&J Restaurants Inc. “He has a lot of experience franchising and building new concepts,” Mumm said. “He’s a huge part of this. He’s a big reason we‘re in Wichita.”

The Wichita location could offer a glimpse of Chicken N Pickle’s future. At 10,000 square feet, the restaurant will be nearly twice the size of the North Kansas City location, allowing it to offer a more diverse menu. The venue also will have 10 pickleball courts, compared with eight in North Kansas City.

“The next iteration will be bigger and better,” Mumm said.

David Mitchell is a freelance writer in the Kansas City area.

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

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E N T R E P R E N E U R S

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Health Tech Firm Raises $200K+ in Seed Funding COMPANY // PatientsVoices ENTREPRENEUR /

Mary Kay O’Connor WHAT THEY DO // Founded

in 2013, PatientsVoices technology analyzes patient feedback and develops a road map for change within health care organizations. The health tech firm uses the qualitative responses that hospitals already collect—comments on surveys, complaints and social media—and sends them through a deep learning model that labels and classifies both ideas as well as sentiment, according to founder and CEO O’Connor.

RECENT FUNDING // Competing for a spot in a Nashville health

tech accelerator, PatientsVoices landed its first round of seed capital—with a booster shot from the State of Missouri.

A $150,000 innovation grant from Jumpstart Foundry investment group represents a leap forward for PatientsVoices, O’Connor said.

Missouri Technology Corp. added $75,000.

“This investment allows us to take our software to the next level so we can serve more health care professionals,” she said.

WHAT’S NEXT // “Hospitals are willing to pay for tech applications

like PatientsVoices because they are competing for patients and need to attract and retain patients to cover their fixed costs,” O’Connor said.

“In this new world where patients have become health care consumers, hospitals must deliver not just good medical care but also a positive health care encounte—from the patients’ perspective,” she said.

CONTACT // PatientsVoices.net // (816) 866-0363 From news partner Startland News // StartlandNews.com

Bad Weather Opened Market for Garage Door Supplier Denise Dahms’ family has been selling garage doors for more than 60 years, but the family business barely survived its first year.

In 1955, Gene Renner, Denise’s dad, was selling garage doors— among other things—for a local lumber company. A year later, he started R&R Garage Door with his father, Elmer Renner, but the company struggled.

Gene Renner wanted out of the business, but an F5 tornado in May 1957 changed his mind by tearing a 71-mile path of destruction through the metro and surrounding area.

“They were thinking of closing,” Dahms said. “Then the tornado hit. Instead of closing, they sold garage doors out of a trailer in Ruskin Heights.”

Kansas City experienced a building boom in the aftermath of the storm. Gene Renner renamed his company Renner Supply, adding hardware to its offerings.

“After the tornado, other things came into play,” said Dahms, president of Renner Supply and Delden Manufacturing Co., which the Renners and their partners formed in 1964. “They thought they could supply more things to builders.”

Renner—which now focuses on garage door sales, service and installation—has changed with the times as garage door production has shifted through materials including wood, steel, fiberglass and aluminum. Today, Delden and Renner have more than 100 employees and five locations in Missouri and Iowa.

Marketing manager Brad Dodson noted three keys to the companies’ long-term success—premium components in all Delden-branded doors, multiple brand options and custom doors built in-house.

Dahms added two more.

“We have good service and good employees,” she said.

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

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RIPPLE GLASS

E N T R E P R E N E U R S

A Passion for Recycling After more than 1 billion bottles, firm aims to continue expansion.

I

f you use food and beverage products that come in glass, “Ben” hopes you will help feed the big purple bins throughout the Kansas City area.

“Ben” is the purple winged bottle mascot of Ripple Glass, the area’s recycler of glass products with purple containers across the metro and beyond. In 2017, the company celebrated recycling its 1 billionth bottle, and next year, Ripple will mark its 10th anniversary.

“Our mission is to keep glass out of landfills and make recycling work,” said Michelle Goth, the company’s Kansas City general manager. “That means we need to be both the recycler and help create the systems that allow people to get glass to us.”

THE PROCESS

Ripple Glass was created out of need for a local glass recycler. In 2009, Boulevard Brewing Co. was committed to moving toward zero waste—including its glass beer bottles. With the backing of local companies and community organizations, Boulevard created Ripple Glass as the solution. With the sale of Boulevard Brewing, Ripple was sold to a group of owners.

With its facilities at 1642 Crystal Ave. in Kansas City, Mo., Ripple is the so-called middleman in the recycling loop.

“You cannot take used glass and use it to make new products without intervention,” Goth said. “Our primary function is to be the processor for that glass.”

Ripple has more than 100 recycling containers throughout the metro and serves

other communities in a nine-state area; everything collected is transported to Kansas City for processing. In addition to food and beverage containers, Ripple accepts candle jars, cosmetic bottles and jars, windows, shower doors and table tops.

Once the glass is picked up, it goes to Ripple’s processing facility for a multistep process.

“It goes through decontamination for the removal of all large nonglass materials, an initial crush to reduce whole containers into smaller pieces, then drying, optical sorting to remove small contaminants and separate colors,” Goth said.

The end of the process includes grinding and screening to match customers’ specifications. The finished material—a furnace-ready cullet—waits in silos to be loaded into trucks for transportation to its customers.

Ripple only has two customers for its glass cullet: Owens Corning here in the metro purchases it to make fiberglass insulation, and Oklahoma-based Ardagh turns it into new glass bottles, which it supplies to Boulevard Brewing, among others.

ROOM FOR GROWTH

Only 20 percent of Kansas Citians currently recycle glass; Ripple would like to see that number climb.

“The biggest competition is the trash can … and all the glass that is going into landfills,” Goth said. “We are trying to make it more convenient.”

Ripple’s purple bins have helped promote its efforts.

“They’ve helped bring visibility to the program,” she said. “They act as their own billboard or marketing tool.”

One fun effort the company has undertaken is using its large purple recycling containers as “canvas” for murals around the city. The first bin in the series features Boulevard Brewing and was created by Boulevard designer Frank Norton. It features a cartoon version of John McDonald, Boulevard founder and a partner in Ripple Glass. The mural bins will travel to various locations around the city.

PASSION FOR RECYCLING

Ripple has expanded its efforts recently by starting a recycling program for area bar districts.

“We are servicing just parts of the metro area now, but we hope to be metrowide next year,” Goth said.

Ripple also is expanding its reach beyond the 95 communities it already serves outside of the metro Kansas City area. Recently, Goth was instrumental in signing up the first community in Oklahoma.

The staff has experienced steady growth, hiring 10 people in the last year alone. Now with 25 employees, Goth said the team has been critical to Ripple’s success.

“We hire people who are passionate about Kansas City and think what we do is fun,” Goth said. “I think it’s important when you are pushing the rock uphill to increase recycling participation that we have people who have passion for doing things that benefit Kansas City.”

Ruth Baum Bigus is a freelance writer in the Kansas City area.

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

21

ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY K C

( by Kate Leibsle)

E N T R E P R E N E U R S

‘We’ve Been Blessed’ Phil Giordano has grown his business despite some knotty situations.

W

e all know that Mother Nature works in mysterious ways. Nobody knows that more than Felici “Phil” Giordano, owner of Grade-A Tree Care.

Working full-time as a tree trimmer for the International Brotherhood of Electrical 22

THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

Workers, Giordano had picked up extra jobs and customers off and on for a few years, but a winter storm in the early 1980s catapulted his business into high gear.

Before the storm, Giordano had been picking up customers for his business No Worry Tree Trimming primarily through word of mouth and a small ad in the now-defunct Wednesday Magazine.

But the storm prompted weeks of cleanup from every tree trimming company in the area, and Giordano ended up buying a new

truck and chipper after that to keep up with the damage removal.

The surprise snowstorm of October 1996, where trees full of fall foliage were covered with ice and came crashing down throughout the metropolitan area, sealed the deal for him as a business owner, but he stuck with his IBEW job a bit longer for the benefits.

Soon he was making more money on the weekends than during the week. When he didn’t get a desired promotion, he decided the time was right to quit his day job and concentrate on his own enterprise.

“I figured if I was going to have to go back to tree trimming, I would do it for myself,” he said.

Investing in

SAFETY and

YOUR BUSINESS Kirberg Roofing

2017 Safety Grant Winner

top // The Grade-A Tree Care team. inset // Track lift equipment for trimming. (Photos courtesy of Grade-A Tree Care)

He later merged with another trimmer using the name Grade-A Tree Care. When Giordano bought his partner out in the early 1990s, he kept the name, incorporating his old name into the tagline: “There’s ‘No Worry’ with Grade-A!”

thriving, working for his father and preparing to take over someday.

Giordano is working on a succession plan but isn’t ready to stop running his business just yet. With 10 employees and needing more, he is still in a growth mode.

Hitting a briar patch Just as Giordano was really taking off in business, things became bumpy in his personal life. Giordano’s youngest son, Nick, was born with cystic fibrosis.

To care for Nick, Giordano gave up working on the weekends. He knew it was time wellearned after years building the business.

“I really bonded to Nick, so much so that he grew into my business partner,” he said.

As Nick grew and took on more responsibility, Giordano decided it was time to move the business out of his house and into an independent office. Since then, it’s been full-steam ahead as an entrepreneur—including buying out a competitor a few years ago.

When Nick started losing lung capacity a few years ago and was put on a transplant list, Giordano spent more than 14 months waiting for the phone call that finally came, giving Nick a double lung transplant. Today, Nick is

Staying on solid ground His advice to budding entrepreneurs is pretty simple: Say what you are going to do and then do what you say.

People are looking for people with character.

That’s important to him in business partners as well, after enduring a bad time with a bank that made his financial situation overly complicated and then overly precarious. He finally hired the right CPA and the right bank to get it all figured out and back on track.

“Do your due diligence,” he said. “Don’t assume the people working for you are doing the right thing.”

Still, he has loved being a business owner.

“It’s been fun and exciting,” he said. “We’ve been blessed to play the game. I feel a great sense of debt to everyone who has been with us throughout.”

Kate Leibsle is a freelance writer in the Kansas City area.

SAFETYFANATICS.COM

© 2018 Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance.

All rights reserved.

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

23

The headquarters of Advantage PressurePro is a historic home in Harrisonville, Mo. The company is run by the Zaroor family.

24 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

KC ENTREPRENEURS

Driving Innovation Family business keeps rolling with patriarch’s idea, adding and improving along the way.

ENTREPRENEURS

Jason Zaroor, Vanessa Zaroor Hargrave and Rhita Zaroor C O M PA N Y I N F O R M AT I O N

Advantage Pressure Pro LLC 205 W. Wall St. Harrisonville, MO 64701 (816) 887-3505 pressurepro.us TYPE OF BUSINESS

Manufacturer of tire-pressure monitoring systems YEAR FOUNDED

2003 E M P L OY E E S

11 KEYS TO SUCCESS

Developing a reputation as the best product in a niche market has helped the company expand from RVs to commercial trucks to “anything with pneumatic tires.”

left // Advantage PressurePro

exective team includes, from left, Vanessa Hargrave, COO and chief marketing officer; Rhita Zaroor, founder and chairwoman; and CEO Jason Zaroor. inset // Founder Phillip Zaroor. (Photo courtesy of Chris Crisman)

P

hillip Zaroor wasn’t a truck driver, fleet ‘THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING GREAT’ manager or inventor. But he was an Jason Zaroor said that first product was “basic, and entrepreneur, and when a truck driver a bit cumbersome,” but it also “was the beginning of showed him an idea—sketched on a something great. It opened a lot of people’s eyes.” napkin—for a tire-pressure monitoring system, Vanessa Zaroor Hargrave, Phillip’s daughter Zaroor was convinced it was a good one. and PressurePro’s chief operating officer and chief Zaroor also marketed things like golf clubs and marketing officer, said earlier tire systems didn’t fishing poles in his unique career, but this concept read tire pressure but attempted to predict low was different. tires based on other traits, such as tire “It was something that fulfilled his circumference. TireMate was different vision of not just creating a product in that it actually read and recorded but an entire market,” said Jason pressure and sent alerts to drivers.

Zaroor, Phillip’s son and CEO TireMate was such a new of Advantage PressurePro LLC, concept that the company had based in Harrisonville, Mo. to educate potential customers The elder Zaroor had already and convince them that they tried some more traditional needed the innovation. career paths before he became “There was a huge need,” a pioneer in the tire-monitoring Jason Zaroor said. “Dad was Phi llip Zaroor business. He owned a clothing store convinced that if we built it, people and a deli before going to work as a would want it.” national head hunter for an executive search Mailings and trade shows helped, but company. That job led to a role with a client: tool developing a reputation was critical, too. The manufacturer RB Industries Inc. in Harrisonville. company developed an after-market display for Zaroor also tried early retirement, but that recreational vehicles, and that market became an trucker’s sketch brought him back to work. early target.

“Nobody was surprised when retirement didn’t “That’s a tight-knit community,” Zaroor said of last,” Jason Zaroor said of his father, who died in RV owners, “and it caught on by word of mouth.”

2016. “It wasn’t long before he drove Mom crazy Advantage updated and improved its products at home.” throughout the 1990s before incorporating Phillip Zaroor bought the trucker’s idea, Advantage PressurePro LLC in 2003. A year later, patented it and founded Advantage Enterprises the PressurePro-branded line of tire-pressure in 1992. By the end of the year, TireMate was on monitoring systems (TPMS) was introduced. The the market. company’s earlier products had location-specific

by David Mitchell // photography by Dan Videtich SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

25

Technical intern Caleb Zaroor runs an underwater test on the product to check for leaks. At right, solutions support specialist Zachary Matkosky runs diagonostic tests using tire valve stems.

limitations, but its new TPMS products had universal sensors that made them easier to use.

PressurePro had found a niche with RVs, but who else could benefit from the technology? Tire monitoring has been a standard feature on cars made in the United States for more than a decade, but that’s not the case for commercial trucks and heavyduty construction vehicles.

Zaroor said that for commercial trucks, PressurePro works with technology partners to piggyback on systems that already track metrics like driver hours and vehicle health.

“We can add our product to a screen they’re already using,” he said. “You get a picture of how the truck and the driver are performing with real-time data.”

That data, Hargrave said, can allow a manager to monitor an entire fleet remotely and pinpoint any weaknesses or problems.

Hargrave said return on investment varies based on several factors, including what a truck is hauling and how heavy the load.

Regardless, she said PressurePro improves fuel efficiency, increases tire life and improves safety.

PENETRATING NEW MARKETS

Although PressurePro is an after-market product for commercial trucks, the company is partnering with manufacturers in other industries to make TPMS a factory option. Such partnerships include recreational vehicle makers Winnebago and Newell Coach; Wenco mining solutions;

26 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

“It’s amazing to see the people who come to us and say, ‘We want to use your system.’”

Vanessa Zaroor Hargrave // COO and Chief Marketing Officer

and Caterpillar heavy-duty equipment, she said Hargrave said manufacturers are eager to partner with PressurePro rather than developing their own technology.

“They don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” she said. “They want to bring in someone with expertise and experience.”

Hargrave said manufacturers of other products that the family had not originally targeted— such monorails and irrigation

units—also have inquired about TPMS. “It’s amazing to see the people who come to us and say, ‘We want to use your system,’” she said.

“Anything with pneumatic tires is a possible market,” Zaroor added.

The company’s latest product, Pulse FX, is targeting a new segment—towing. The product, which launched in June, allows users to monitor their tires via an app on their smartphones.

“You could use this to monitor

“We don’t have the typical problems a lot of business might have, like people not showing up. That’s the best part.

We all get along.”

Jason Zaroor // president and CEO

1

anything you tow, like a camper, horse trailer or boat,” Zaroor said.

“These are high-dollar assets, and people want to protect them.

Tires are a big risk, and this is something easy to add on.”

Towing, Hargrave said, is just the start.

“We already have people saying, ‘We’re going to try it with this instead,’” she said.

“People get creative,” Zaroor said.

‘THINK GLOBALLY AND ACT LOCALLY’

PressurePro, which is sold through a network of dealers on five continents, is now producing its sixth generation of products.

TireMate was manufactured in Taiwan, but after a few years the company shifted production to Michigan.

“We’re proud of that,” Zaroor said. “It’s not the cheapest way to do things, but it improved

communications and product quality.”

One of the many lessons Phillip Zaroor taught his children was to “think globally and act locally,” Hargrave said.

“Dad coached Little League and Pop Warner football for years,” she said. “He was involved with local festivals and the rotary club, so we grew up with that. When we started working with him, he really encouraged us to get involved with community.”

Hargrave has been co-chair of Harrisonville’s Just4Me program for eight years. The initiative provides three monthly food deliveries to children in need during the summer when schoolbased assistance programs are unavailable. The co-chairs raise funds, purchase food and manage volunteers to pack and deliver it.

“We raise $12,000 to $15,000 each year, which isn’t easy in a

community of 10,000 people,” she said.

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

Although Phillip Zaroor is gone, Pressure Pro remains a family business. Five of the 11 employees are relatives. Six of the 11 are 30 or younger.

“We don’t have the typical problems a lot of business might have, like people not showing up,” Zaroor said. “That’s the best part.

We all get along.”

Zaroor took over the roles of CEO and president after his dad, at age 67, died on Father’s Day two years ago, succumbing to an 18-month battle with cancer.

“It took a while to heal,” he said, “but now I think we’re stronger than ever.”

David Mitchell is a freelance writer based in the Kansas City area.

2

3 1 Automated optical inspection machine.

2 Surface mount placement machine.

3 Selective soldering maching.

(Photos courtesy of eCircuits owner Richard Limbach) SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

27

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EQUITY BANK NAPKIN STORIES

SPEAR POWER SYSTEMS

Powering Growth WHEN YOU COMPETE IN AN INNOVATIVE INDUSTRY, CONTINUED GROWTH DEPENDS ON INNOVATIVE PARTNERS. upplying energy-storage solutions for clients with some of the world’s most demanding energy-storage challenges requires a level of innovation not every business owner has to contend with.

S

For Jeff Kostos, president and CEO of Spear Power Systems, his own company’s survival— and often that of his clients— depends on staying ahead of the game. The company he co-founded with Dr. Joon Kim in late 2013 designs and manufactures highperformance, advanced battery systems for the Department of Defense as well as the marine, oil and gas, and mining industries.

Industrial applications include ships and ferry boats, electric mining equipment, electric robots for logistics warehouses, light rail and unmanned vehicles.

“Safety and high-energy or high-power density solutions are the things that differentiate us in the market from a products standpoint. We spent a lot of R&D money and investment in that area, and we came up with some really good ideas and intellectual property,” Kostos said.

About half the Spear team has been together since the company was founded. Kostos said that core of experience has allowed the company to create a very good network of industry relationships that help them stay on top of technology advances.

SHARE YOUR NAPKIN STORY

Some of the most amazing business stories started as an idea scribbled on a napkin.

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Visit: Equitybank.com/napkin-stories

“It’s easier to stay in tune with technological developments within our industry when you have a very good network,” Kostos said. “When you have a good reputation, people are more transparent and share information.”

Kostos’ more than 25 years’ experience in the energy industry has given him a perspective on what it takes to be competitive: product differentiation, a strong team and financial partners who are willing to invest in innovation.

POWER OF BANKING RELATIONSHIPS Spears is tracking nearly 60 percent revenue growth over 2017, and its opportunity pipeline has quadrupled over the past 18 months.

Not content with the state-of-the-art, Spear’s team constantly looks for ways to expand the boundaries of power, energy, temperature and safety. For example, most mining vehicles rely on internal combustion propulsion, which produces emissions that must be removed and replenished with fresh air for the mine workers. A high infrastructure cost is associated with that process.

Spear works to reduce the cost, improve safety and boost productivity by developing batteries for electric mining vehicles.

“We originally started with a big-box bank,” said Kostos. “They didn’t visit for two years and therefore didn’t understand our business. It became evident to us that we needed different banking tools to support our growth. If you don’t know the business or understand the business, you can’t provide the right tools. So we switched to Equity, and it’s just the complete opposite experience.”

MARKET DIFFERENTIATION Kostos pursues a strategy of focusing on high-value, fast-growing niche markets where there are few competitors, rather than on high-volume opportunities such as automotive.

SPONSORED CONTENT

One of the ways Spear finances its growth is through its relationship with Equity Bank.

He said Equity asked a lot of great questions and listened to come up with the right solutions to finance Spear’s growth. They’ve used a working capital line of credit, an SBA export working line of credit and other tools.

As Kostos looks toward the future, he likes what he sees. Spear has received contracts

TOP Battery charging equipment. (Photo courtesy of Spear Power Systems

for the first fully electric ferry boat in the U.S. and the first two hybrid-electric ferry boats in the U.S. In January, the company moved to a new facility that is five times larger than its previous one.

Kostos said they are studying expansion beyond their existing footprint so they are prepared if they need more financial or human resources capacity.

“The biggest challenge is managing how fast we scale operations and still maintain the quality and competitive lead time, provide best-in-class responsiveness, etc., and provide the human and financial resources to support that. The challenges when you’re growing are much better than challenges when you’re shrinking. So we’re quite excited.”

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

29

FUTURE

ENTREPREN AREA PROGRAMS PREPARE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO TAKE THE REINS IN BUSINESS.

BY KATIE BEAN

K

ansas City has a stated goal of becoming the most entrepreneurial city in the nation.

At the same time, business owner baby boomers are reaching retirement age and need to hand off their companies to a new generation of leaders.

Generation Z, currently in high school and college, is starting to enter the workforce.

Programs throughout the metro are ensuring that the pipeline of future business owners and entrepreneurial thinkers stays full by showing high school students what it means to be an entrepreneur.

NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS

One potential future business owner is Evelyn Molina, who earned funding for her business idea at a pitch competition this summer.

Molina is part of the Youth Entrepreneurs program at J.C. Harmon High School in Kansas City, Kan., where she is a senior this year. She has taken classes there including accounting and business management through the school’s business academy.

She works at Leslie’s Taqueria and says she noticed that many construction workers in the area order ahead and pick up orders because 30 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

they don’t have much time for lunch. When it was time to choose a YE Market Day project, Molina explored the idea of street tacos. She and some classmates created a business plan and received a $300 loan from YE to buy supplies for a taco stand. The group earned $800 in one day.

With encouragement from her teacher, Molina hashed out a plan for Evy’s Street Tacos food truck. She presented at a YE competition and moved on to the final round in Wichita in June. Her plan—and her

EURS

mouth-watering tacos, which she gave to each of the judges—earned her $1,500 that can go toward education or her business.

The award money doesn’t go a long way toward potential startup costs—Molina said a used food truck costs about $20,000—so the plan is tabled for now while she focuses on finishing high school and going to college.

But going through the process and earning the validation was invaluable, she said.

“Put in hard work—if you don’t have dedication and take opportunities, you’ll never get anywhere,” she said.

ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET

Molina’s success was in part predicated on her observation of a pain point for local workers—they have a short window to pick up and eat lunch. That’s what several local programs refer to as an entrepreneurial mindset.

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

31

“We don’t think that everybody will or should start businesses, but everybody can and should be entrepreneurial in their thinking,” Katie Kimbrell said.

Kimbrell is director of education for the Kansas City Startup Foundation, which puts on MECA Challenge for high schoolers. MECA stands for Most Entrepreneurial Community in America.

The event is a one-day innovation competition. High school students work with a group of peers and an entrepreneur mentor to solve a business or social challenge. At the end of the day, they pitch solutions they’ve discovered.

MECA Challenge introduces students to “design thinking,” Kimbrell said, that they can use in the classroom as well as in the

1

community. The ultimate goal for KCSF is to train educators in teaching design thinking so they can integrate that concept into the curricula for every subject. That way, the entrepreneurial mindset is continuously reinforced.

“As startup champions, we think everybody should be starters,” she said. “That doesn’t mean they all start businesses or come up with ideas that are high-tech, high growth. Maybe they will. We think the odds of that increase if students are given the opportunity to be working on their own ideas—to be tackling real, local problems with their own ideas.”

KCSF will put on 10 MECA Challenges this school year. Most will be open to students community-wide; only three are private

2

events, Kimbrell said. The first challenge of the school year will take place Sept. 21.

While MECA Challenge is a communitywide initiative, some school districts already have made entrepreneurial lessons part of the curriculum. That’s the case for Blue Valley’s Center for Advanced Professional Studies.

The CAPS program, which started in the Blue Valley district and has shared the model with other school districts, has “strands,” or concentrations. The accelerator strand includes an entrepreneurship class taught by Mike Farmer, a founder of startup Leap2 and Techstars entrepreneur-in-residence.

Farmer said his goal is to teach a “growth mindset.” Rather than lecturing on business tenets, his students spend a semester working toward bringing a concept to market. Farmer lays out the timeline, but most of the classwork is student-led.

“Much of what I talk about, the way I teach, is show, don’t tell,” he said.

Farmer used the analogy of dribbling a basketball: It’s easier to give students the ball and let them figure it out than to explain it.

“That encourages them to be resourceful and to connect their own dots.”

Connecting the dots builds that mindset of problem-solving, he said, that can apply to any situation.

“The elegance of this is it can serve the person who wants to go right to work, and students applying to highly competitive schools can differentiate themselves,” Farmer said.

REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

3 1 Production department manager and head designer Aaron Fletcher in the All Things Independence retail store. (Photo courtesy of Independence Schools) 2 Blue Valley School CAPS students present their business concepts at the Annual Innovation Showcase, part of their Innovation and Entrepreneurship class. (Photo courtesy of Mike Farmer) 3 J.C. Harmon High School student Evelyn Molina accepts her $1,500 check from the Youth Entrepreneur National Summit vice president, Heather Love. (Photo courtesy of the Youth Entrepreneur program) 32 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

The entrepreneurial mindset gives students a strong foundation to venture out into the business world. Independence School District has gone a step further, letting students run businesses in the city’s downtown.

ISD structures its curriculum around career academies, from industrial technology to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The academies are based on workforce needs in the Kansas City area. All students graduate with either college credits and/or certifications that qualify them for jobs in their area of study.

Students in the business academy work at the district’s retail store, All Things Independence. The store is overseen by a faculty member, but students are in charge of

ENTREPRENEURS Get to Know Gen Z, the Latest Generation to Join the Workforce

G

en Z is the demographic cohort after the millennials (aka Generation Y). There is not a hard start or stop date to define the cohort known as Generation Z, but many demographers use birth years from the mid1990s to mid-2000s.

This cohort is currently entering the workforce and will impact the way we conduct business for decades to come.

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GENERATION Z?

» As children of Generation X, Gen Zers are reluctant to embrace the concept of the American Dream. The Great Recession taught them to be independent and entrepreneurial after seeing parents and siblings struggle in the workforce. » A growing trend among Gen Z is to skip or defer higher education in favor of moving straight into the workforce.

This allows them to gain experience and credentials and avoid years of debt. » They are coming of age in a post-9/11 world and they are living in a country that has been continually at war. As a result, they are more cautious, less optimistic and less naïve than millennials. » Gen Z are digital natives, having had internet technology from birth. They have always lived in a highly connected world. Multitasking across digital platforms is second nature for them. Their

ordering, staffing, marketing, accounting and even payroll. Students also run a screenprinting operation that serves school groups, teams and community organizations.

“Most everything is student-driven,” said facilitator Cindy Schluckebier. “That’s why this works—freedom and mutual respect. In the real world that is so true—a thriving business doesn’t work without leaders giving trust.”

attention spans are short, but their demands of technology are high. » Gen Zers are educated, industrious and eager to build a better world. This is in contrast to millennials, who were said to be overconfident and entitled.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE WORKFORCE OF TOMORROW?

» Members of Gen Z are defined by their competitiveness. They like to work alone and want to be judged and rewarded on their own merit. They will want equal time for group work and independent work. This will impact the way you structure work groups, as you will need to balance Gen Z needs with those of millennials, who seek collaboration. » Gen Z will flourish in the workplace with less hierarchy and more autonomy.

Corporate “fit” means everything to them. » You cannot bribe Gen Zers with cool incentives. Don’t try to woo them with sleek furniture, gaming consoles and beer on Friday. » They seek purpose-driven work that promotes social change. » While millennials came of age during a time of economic expansion and were shocked to find an unwelcoming job market after college, Gen Z has been shaped by the Great Recession and is prepared to fight hard to create a stable future for themselves.

It’s not only hard skills that students learn in the store, Schluckebier said—they develop soft skills like leadership and communication that they can take into any future job, even if it’s not in business.

But most graduates of the academy do go to college with plans to major in business, Schluckebier said. And they’ll be able to draw on their experience from working at the store

» Given the trend in deferring higher education, don’t disregard potentially great candidates from Gen Z just because they don’t have the post-secondary credentials you usually look for. They might have all of the skills you need, just from a different source. » Don’t assume that their use of technology is distracting or unproductive. Rigid use policies will undermine their organizational effectiveness. Give them the latitude to use technology as they see fit. » Gen Z values authenticity and transparency. They can handle the truth. » When it’s time to talk about big issues or ideas, Gen Zers prefer face-to-face interactions.

BOTTOM LINE

» A new workforce generation has arrived. » Their motivation is vastly different from the generation preceding them. » Their relationship to and use of technology is unprecedented. Don’t try to understand it; just let them get the job done. » To effectively leverage their potential, seek to understand their motivations and work preferences, and adapt the work environment accordingly.

Jennifer Collet is the business development specialist at Blue Valley’s Center for Advanced Professional studies. CAPS is a model of how business, community and public education can partner to produce personalized learning experiences that educate the workforce of tomorrow.

throughout college and their careers—and parlay it into leadership of Kansas City’s businesses, small and large.

Katie Bean is the editor and managing director at Thinking Bigger Business Media.

(913) 432-6690 // kbean@ithinkbigger.com SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

33

BIGGER | strategy S M A R T

( by Kate Leibsle)

S T R AT E G I E S

An Open Book Bank takes ‘ask me anything’ approach with employees and customers.

B

rian Unruh, CEO of NBKC Bank, has a different leadership style than some other business owners, and he is perfectly OK with that.

What sets his style apart? In a word: communication.

Unruh communicates with everyone in the bank and his orbits. It starts with his leadership team and extends to employee and customers.

His strategy is that transparency, telling the truth and letting everyone in on the information—good or bad—leads to more productivity, a more fun workplace and, in the end, a better financial picture for everyone involved with nbkc.

‘Employees know that we are authentic’ Unruh and his founding partners started NBKC 20 years ago. The bank has always had a focus on home loans, working with small businesses and consumers, and making small business loans.

It’s also been about creating a place that’s different in the banking world.

NBKC is heavily reviewed online, and Unruh not only reads every review but tries to respond to them. All of them. The company also receives high marks from employee on Glassdoor.

“Our employees know that we are authentic,” he said. “Our culture has a way of self-policing to weed out big egos.”

Unruh and the leadership team host meetings monthly with groups of employees.

You are invited to the meeting in the month of your work anniversary. If you were hired in January 15 years ago, you are a part of the January meeting, just like someone hired this year.

“It’s their meeting,” Unruh said. “They can 34 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

STRATEGY

Transparency with both employees and customers.

C O M PA N Y I N F O R M AT I O N

NBKC Bank 8320 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Mo. (816) 965-1400 NBKC.com TYPE OF BUSINESS

Bank focused on home and small business loans.

FOUNDED

1999 E M P L OY E E S

300 left // Employees participate in a beer pong tournament. above // NBKC Bank lobby.

(Photos courtesy of NBKC Bank)

ask questions about anything and bank will provide them office space get an answer.” at its South Kansas City headThat kind of candor with quarters in addition to mentoremployees is easy when ship and strategic introductions. things are going well, but Nontraditional Unruh and his leadership approach team do it all the time— Unruh is proud of what including through the is being built at NBKC for really tough times of the employees and customers. He last decade. loves that employees still show off B rian Unruh “We talk about the hard stuff,” the company’s relatively newly remohe said. “We try to be the same deled headquarters to friends and family. people in every setting, day in and day Company expectations are high, and people out. It’s sometimes tough, but it’s worth it in the end.”

Building up KC Today, Unruh is spending more time in a mentor role, working with young startup founders.

“They want to do things the right way,” he said. “It’s rewarding to be considered a mentor.”

With that goal in mind, NBKC has partnered with LaunchKC and others to create Fountain City Fintech. The accelerator is open to financial technology startups world-wide; five will be chosen for the cohort starting in October.

Each of the selected companies will receive an investment in exchange for equity. The

are expected to work hard, he said. But that pride in their workplace comes through in their work product.

“Our leadership team is a bunch of good thinkers about how the business world operates outside of banking. We don’t look at the traditional approach of banking. We have ventured so far away from that because we have to in order to sustain—it’s either disrupt or be disrupted,” Unruh said.

“We talk a lot about clear vision and authenticity. We let our work stand on its own.”

Kate Leibsle is a freelance writer in the Kansas City area.

SMART STRATEGIES Want to do more with your business? Get smart.

Our Smart Strategies articles offer advice from experts and experiences from other companies about what works—and what doesn’t.

Whether it’s a learning opportunity or just a refresher, these guides offer a resource for owners to think bigger and do business better.

Want to share your expertise with our audience? Contact editor@ithinkbigger.com with a topic and description of a proposed article.

Read on for more Smart Strategies SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

35

BIGGER | sales S M A R T

( by Diane O’Byrne)

S T R AT E G I E S

10 Steps to Closing a Sale Following the process leads to deals.

C

losing the sale is the most requested topic clients ask for in coaching, yet it should be a simple step for building your business.

Most entrepreneurs start a business because they have an idea for something the market needs. So why does selling that product seem to be the most daunting task?

You don’t consider yourself a salesperson; you’re a business owner. That’s where a paradigm shift needs to happen. Successful sales people are three things: 1. Educators // Your customer may not even

know about your product or service and why they need it.

2. Problem-solvers // Your product solves a

need they have. The best “sales people” don’t 36 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

push things on customers or talk them into something they don’t need. You are providing a solution to a problem that keeps your client awake at night.

3. Farmers // Your customer may not need your

product today, but you are planting the seeds for when they may need your product. Or they may have a friend who needs your product. As you continue to constantly plant those seeds, you’ll soon reap the benefits and continue to grow your business.

Once you understand approaching the sales process from this direction, you’ll find success!

The Sales Process The word “process” defines sales. It is a step-by-step strategic and systematic way to consider approaching your customers.

When salespeople falter in their closing process, it’s usually because they’ve tried skipping over a step or not giving a particular step

enough attention. Think of sales like a ladder: You’ve got to start on the lowest rung and climb each rung to get to the top. Miss one or two steps, and you’re likely to fall.

Make sure to follow each of these steps: STEP 1 Prospecting: Not everyone needs your product. Identify upfront to the best of your ability who is a likely candidate for needing your product.

STEP 2 Make sure you’re speaking to the decision-maker. Many people in a company can say “no” or “maybe.” Find out who can give you a “yes.” In today’s business climate, it’s often a group. You need to get in front of every decision “influencer.”

STEP 3 Speak in their language: Research shows people process information in four different ways: Analytical, Driver, Expressive or Amiable. Your presentation needs to speak in the customer’s specific language.

For Analytics, talk details. For Drivers, you need to get the point quickly. If your customer speaks Expressive language, you need to present your product in terms of ideas and concepts, not technical details.

And you need to develop a relationship with any customer who speaks the Amiable language before they will ever consider buying from you.

This step is the one most sales people try to skip over—and is the one that will certainly kill your success.

STEP 4 Questioning process: Most salespeople know they need to listen to their customers. But you have to ask the RIGHT questions to get to the answer you want: buying your product. All questions should follow the five W’s of who, what, where, when and why. Open-ended questions will get you more information to help you solve your customer’s needs.

STEP 5 Needs analysis: If you have done an effective job of questioning, you will understand the client’s needs and how your product satisfies those needs.

STEP 6 WIFM: All a client cares about is “What’s in It For Me?” Everything you say should let the client know specifically how your product will benefit them. Address only those benefits you’ve identified they care about. Give the customer those benefits in

Think of sales like a ladder: You’ve got to start on the lowest rung and climb each rung to get to the top. Miss one or two steps, and you’re likely to fall.

an inverted pyramid format. Offer the most important benefits first.

STEP 7 Overcome their objections: First, acknowledge the client’s concern. Address the concern and then have them repeat it back to you to ensure they understand.

STEP 10 Say thank you and stop talking.

Too often sales people will keep talking themselves out of the sale.

Follow this sales process step-by-step, and your business will continue to grow stronger!

STEP 8 Re-establish benefits: Recap how you are solving a problem for them.

STEP 9 Ask for the business: If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Most salespeople often make a terrific presentation and assume their customer will buy. You have to ask!

Timing is everything; you need to read a client’s buying signals—53 percent of their message is nonverbal. Watch their body language and be conscious of yours.

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Diane O’Byrne’s mission statement is to help others find their success in sales.

She is managing partner of Competitive Resources and works with a variety of industries. As a sales coach, she coaches all sizes of companies as well as individuals to build their business. She has more than 30 years of sales and management experience. dcobyrne@gmail.com // (913) 484-6094 // Twitter: @dobyrne // CompetitiveResources.net

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37

BIGGER | hr S M A R T

( by Julie Anderson)

S T R AT E G I E S

Creating a College Recruitment Strategy Small businesses can compete for next-generation talent, even on a budget.

A

fter Labor Day, the busy season for college recruitment is on. University campuses across the U.S. are welcoming incoming freshmen, and a few weeks into the school year they’ll be rolling out the red carpet for corporate recruiters.

Between job fair registration, booth presentation, collateral and travel, college recruitment can seem overwhelming to an employer. For a large and growing corporation, college recruitment is a natural fit. For a small- or medium-sized business, the idea of a formal recruitment program may seem unnecessary and a bit intimidating.

Without a doubt, the recruitment landscape continues to evolve with changes in the economy, technology and even government regulation. As business thrives and company leadership ages out, recruiting fresh talent is critical to sustainability and growth.

38 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

Small businesses regularly compete against larger organizations with deeper pockets and robust benefits. How can a small business create a pipeline of new talent to support a changing workforce? The answer: college recruitment.

The Basics An effective college recruitment program begins by understanding what is involved and whether there is value for the business.

What

» Building relationships with university career services counselors » Posting to free campus job boards » Attending student career fairs in the fall and spring » Conducting on-campus interviews » Hosting company information nights on campus or with student organizations When

» Fall and spring semesters » Fall fairs are the most well-attended and typically take place the second or third week in September

» On-campus interviews occur in October and November » Offers are extended before Thanksgiving for June start dates » Spring recruitment still reaps notable talent but is less likely to be the top 10 percent of the class, which is snatched up in the fall or following a summer internship Why

» Gain a fresh, innovative approach to business and industry » Employ the latest in technology and industry knowledge » Groom new talent to fit your business process and culture Internship Programs Traditionally, successful programs focus on engaging students two to three years before graduation through an internship. Effective internships begin with defining the role and determining how a student might bring value and gain industry insight. Students who have a positive, impactful internship experience often

can serve as an on-campus advocate for your employer brand.

Ideally, the internship experience gives the student an appreciation for the company culture and development opportunities.

For employers, the temporary nature of an internship provides a chance to assess skill set, cultural fit and overall potential.

Most successful internships result in a full-time offer as the student enters his or her senior year—all the more reason that it is important to engage students early and provide an internship program that aligns with their education and solidifies interest in full-time employment.

Building Relationships Employers don’t need a bottomless recruitment budget or a flashy booth to attract students. In fact, job fairs are not entirely necessary to land college talent.

Low-budget recruitment programs can benefit from free job postings and candidate

No business is ever too small to consider participation in college recruitment. With a little creativity and a thoughtful approach, businesses of any size can benefit from a college recruitment program.

database access from the comfort of an office.

However, building relations with university career services is key to company brand awareness among students.

By volunteering to conduct mock interviews or hosting a company information night on campus, an employer demonstrates interest in the student body and makes a positive impression on the career services staff. For the low cost of travel, soda and pizza, an employer can tout the company brand to a roomful of

students and leverage their sway with other students across the campus.

Another way to maximize a recruitment budget is membership in local groups that promote collaboration with fellow college recruiters and university career centers.

Most are low cost, highly relational and offer periodic events to gather, learn and share best practices.

No business is ever too small to consider participation in college recruitment. With a little creativity and a thoughtful approach, businesses of any size can benefit from a college recruitment program.

Julie Anderson is talent acquisition operations director at OMNI Human Resource Management of Overland Park.

In addition to her 20 years of experience in talent acquisition, Anderson has been involved with the Kansas Association of Colleges and Employers (KACE) for six years and currently serves on the board as employer adviser.

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SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGERÂŽ

39

BIGGER | customer service S M A R T

( by Aaron Reese)

S T R AT E G I E S

For Expensive, Complicated Purchases, the Bar is High for Customer Service Understand the buyer’s mindset to avoid complaints.

N

ew car dealers bear more responsibility than nearly any other industry when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Due to factors that increase stress and magnify the personal value of a vehicle purchase, car dealers must show unwavering patience and engage in transparent communication to ensure their customers have a positive experience. Anything less and complaints will follow.

Industry prone to complaints Before stepping foot in a dealership, circumstances inherent in the industry increase the likelihood that a consumer will file a complaint with the BBB. While this does not absolve dealers of their responsibility to limit complaints, it is an indication of why dealers consistently occupy a spot in the top-10 most-complained about industries. » The product is expensive // BBB files indicate that new-car sales in Kansas City 40 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

have the highest median purchase price of any industry at $17,000. The next highest is the roofing industry, with a median product price of $8,900. » The product is new (or nearly new) // In the customers’ mind, this means they should face fewer problems with the product. It has not yet degraded in condition or value. » The product is technologically complicated // Essentially nothing a consumer will buy is more complicated than an automobile.

Cars have 30,000 parts, many of which are now controlled by computer. They’re so complicated, in fact, that repair work is specialized. Different shops work on different components. That’s 30,000 opportunities for something to malfunction or fail. » Consumers must rely on the expertise of the dealer // Consumers, in general, already rely on businesses for knowledge of the product being sold. That’s why the FTC closely regulates the claims businesses make about their products. Consumers have their own lives and careers. They’re not informed on every product and can’t

always know when a claim is deceptive.

The more complicated the product, the less likely it is that a consumer possesses the necessary knowledge to understand when they’re being treated fairly. For the most part, consumers cannot avoid relying on the dealership for its expertise.

» Everyone needs a car in their daily lives // According to the U.S. State Department, 95 percent of Americans own a car and 85 percent go to work by car. The need for reliable transportation is commonly included on job applications. Consumers purchasing a vehicle do so because they need to go to the grocery store, to drop kids off at school and to get to work.

Aside from those driven by movie stars, cars are rarely vanity purchases.

Most-reported problems In practice, this means car buyers are primed for intense dissatisfaction if anything goes wrong. And things go wrong.

BBB has 12 complaint categories. In the Midwest, there are three common complaints against dealerships that relate to issues occurring after the sale:

Want to

1 Service issues: 21 percent 2 Guarantees or warranty issues: 17.6 percent 3 Customer service issues: 16.1 percent

Best responses A previous BBB Smart Strategies article focused on sales practices. (Read it online at iThinkBigger.com.)

When complaints are about post-sale disputes, they require more in-depth processes.

Based on complaints the BBB receives and dealer responses to them, the best dealerships have implemented the following three practices to reduce post-sale disputes: Document all communication with a customer from the time they buy their vehicles to the time they sell it // They embrace customer curiosity

and take time to answer questions. When they do, they document it. It’s useful to see what steps have been taken to resolve a dispute and, more importantly, it’s useful in cultivating a relationship with the customer.

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(816) 235-6675

Update the customer // This is a common best

practice in any industry but takes on special importance with vehicles. When a customer’s vehicle is having problems, chances are, it’s the most important thing on their mind. By letting a customer fixate on the issue without giving an update, a dealer is running the risk of the customer becoming angry. Contacting the customer, even to give them bad news, is better than letting their nerves overtake their reason.

Educate the customer // Brevity is not always

the best policy. As mentioned above, when customers don’t understand a product, they’re prone to nervousness. They feel adrift. They can’t be sure if they’re being treated fairly.

The best responses to complaints explain the details of the situation. Better yet, they show the customers with pictures.

BBB of Greater Kansas City has been helping to create trust between consumers and businesses since 1916. Aaron Reese not only educates the public about consumer and business matters, he is also an investigator for BBB.

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

41

BIGGER | finance S M A R T

( by Mike Wesley )

S T R AT E G I E S

equipment, such as the credit card terminal.

Do not rent or lease your equipment—always purchase your equipment. Processors make way more money on merchants who lease equipment rather than merchants who buy it.

In fact, there can be more profit on leasing the equipment than there is on the processing side of the business.

Consider this breakdown on leasing equipment: The processor tells you the price is $35 to $50 a month. Then you find out it is a four-year lease, so you’ll spend between $1,680 and $2,400 for a terminal you could have purchased for less than $300. So always purchase your equipment.

However, I do not recommend buying used equipment on eBay or similar sites—there are compatibility considerations that may make that used equipment worthless.

Two Key Rules of Credit Card Processing Tips allow business owner to retain more of the money they earn.

T

he industry of credit card processing is a necessary evil.

As a business owner, you need to be able to accept credit cards a a form of payment for your products. To do this, you do not talk with MasterCard, Visa or Discover. You have to work with a processor, and there is a fee to do this.

The processor provides the terminal or device that accepts the credit card and the gateway to get the money from the customer’s bank to the merchant’s bank. There are good processors and there are bad processors. So to make sure you have the upper hand, here are tips for you, the merchant.

Contracts 1 Require that the processor has NO CONTRACT—make a deal that it is monthto-month with no cancellation fees. Make sure it is in writing.

42 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

Why, you ask? It all comes down to one word: Leverage. You want to have the leverage, not the processor.

Once you sign the documents, the managing bank, commonly called the processor, can raise your rates whenever they would like, no matter what the representative says, because it is in the paperwork you signed that you probably didn’t read.

An example is the processor adds an annual fee of $100. (This happens.) You, the merchant, can’t complain—you just have to pay it because you are in a contract and do not have any leverage.

If you do decide to leave, there will be a cancellation fee—usually between $250 and $500. Or maybe you get the one where the sales representative puts in a cancellation fee of $7,000. The processor is not motivated to do anything because they make money whatever you do.

If you do not have a contract, you have the leverage, and so you can inform the processor that you have the option to either change processors or they can eliminate that fee to keep you as a customer. It’s all about leverage.

The same is true with contracts on

No such thing as ‘free’ Remember the old adage, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. This refers to the idea that it is impossible for a man to get something for nothing. What you think is free isn’t.

The new thing is “no contract and the equipment is free.” Sounds great, doesn’t it? … until you find out what is really happening.

The representative will tell you that that is correct: There is no contract and the equipment is free. He forgets to tell you that if you do not process with them for three years that they will charge you $800 for the equipment, and it will be deducted out of your bank account.

This is the same equipment you could have purchased for $300. So now the processor will be able to raise your rates, and they do not care if you complain because they will make money whatever you do.

2

Follow the rules In summary, make sure you are not in a contract with your processor, and be careful when they tell you something is free. By following these two rules, your experience with credit card processing will be more efficient and profitable for you.

Happy processing!

Mike Wesley is an independent contractor at KC Payment, specializing in helping local business owners to reduce the time, energy & frustration associated with credit card processing.

(816) 210-4067 // Mike@KCPayment.com

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How to Spot Phishing Attempts Before You’re on the Hook I

n the security world, it seems like every day brings another story of customer data being compromised. One of the latest examples comes from Children’s Mercy Hospital, where patients are still finding their data endangered after an email phishing scam hit more than 60,000 individuals back in January.

1 Update your security software. // Countless anti-spam

Despite mass awareness of these potential threats, email phishing attacks continue to successfully steal personal data from vulnerable companies. For those committing the attacks, it’s clearly an effective and fairly simple way to extort money and disrupt the status quo.

2 Create password protocols. // Basic security measures,

And the approaches are only becoming more creative and refined. Phishing emails look innocuous, but they’re dangerous and pervasive. It’s time you learned—once and for all—how to identify phishing attempts when they occur and keep your data safe from prying eyes.

Easy Exploitation Phishing’s popularity is simple to explain: There’s no barrier to entry, no major investment and little needed beyond an internet connection, a computer and malicious intent.

One of our customers once informed me of a sophisticated attack they endured. In this case, the attacker utilized publicly accessible information from Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. The attacker was able to learn that wire transfers were a frequent part of the customer’s business dealings, who often made these requests and who fulfilled them. Then, all it took was a false email that appeared to come from the CFO to the accounts payable employee requesting a wire transfer, and the attacker was able to falsely solicit free money from the company.

Exploiting publicly accessible information is an increasingly used tactic, as many of us utilize social networking sites to make connections both within and outside our business relationships.

These sites are phenomenal research tools for making business contacts but also for bad guys to get everything they need to commit fraud.

Protect Yourself and Your Company From Phishing With phishing so easy for attackers to attempt, how can businesses protect themselves from this vulnerability? Follow these three steps for optimized security against phishing scams.

filters and anti-virus programs exist to help screen for fraudulent emails. Although no system is foolproof, and none can successfully screen 100 percent of phishing attempts, a robust security system can certainly help catch a good number of attackers before they can strike. from utilizing different passwords on different accounts to regularly changing passwords on a two- to three-month basis, can go a long way toward keeping email accounts safe. Consider investing in a password storage tool to make it easier for users to follow the password policy.

3 Keep an eye out for warning signs. // No password

protocol will be sufficient if your employees can’t spot a phishing attempt when it arrives. Teach users to look for unfamiliar formatting, unusual requests or misspelled URLs and email addresses before clicking on any link or submitting sensitive information.

As I stated earlier, no system is infallible, and phishing attempts can and will get through. But by preparing both your software and your employees to watch for attacks, you’ll give yourself the best chance to keep your data safe.

Jon Schram is the founder and CEO of The Purple Guys, a Midwest-based information technology support company. The company has grown since 2001 to become the Midwest’s premier IT support company, with more than a 96 percent customer satisfaction rating. Jon and his wife, Jill, have founded two businesses.

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SCALEUP! KC

POWERPLUS CLEANING SYSTEMS

( by Dawn Bormann )

The Power of Outside Opinions EXPERTS, PEERS HELP SHIFT MINDSET FROM CORPORATE TO SMALL BUSINESS hen Vince Barreto started PowerPlus Cleaning Systems in 2014, he knew the market was hot for his industrial cleaning system.

He conceived the concept and collaborated on the development of the technology that cleans boiler tubes at coal-fired power plants without having to shut down. It uses a series of controlled pressure waves to proactively dislodge buildup from heat transfer surfaces.

He celebrated profound success in his first year alone.

“It was like shooting fish in a barrel,” Barreto says.

He was so busy filling orders, which are custom-engineered projects, that it was

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44 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

difficult to keep up with sales. Each order can take 18 to 36 months before budget approval, project execution and final payment. Barreto brought on distributors to assist his threeperson team but knew he needed help to scale further.

That’s when a business adviser suggested he try out ScaleUP! Kansas City.

ScaleUP! KC is a free program offered by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center with support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The program includes classes, peer mentoring, professional guidance and more. It’s available to small businesses like PowerPlus Cleaning Systems that operate in a market capable of supporting more than $1 million in annual sales and that want to rapidly grow the business.

ScaleUP! drastically changed his business strategy.

“ScaleUP! provided me some really sub-

stantive and critical training and perspective that I really needed,” he says.

MONEY MATTERS

For starters, ScaleUP! experts urged Barreto to flip his thinking when it came to financially sizing up his business. It was eye-opening for the entrepreneur, who thought he knew his numbers inside and out.

For instance, each job at a power plant can take a year or more. Barreto never used to worry about the lag time it took for him to get paid for a project because he knew there was plenty of work and the profit margin was high.

“I may go months without a major deposit,” he says. “The banks don’t like that. They want to see regular receipts.”

That’s a critical lesson because Barreto will need a bank to help take on projects as he scales. Barreto needs to be able to buy

SPONSORED CONTENT

materials should he land jobs in China, South America and several other places at once.

“I can’t write a check for a half-million dollars,” he says. “I could get too many orders and not be able to fund them.”

He needed to think about how every job affects his credit—which means he can’t take every job thrown his way.

SHIFTING THE MINDSET

Part of the challenge was getting Barreto to think differently. Barreto, who has a minority business enterprise certificate, spent 25 years working in middle management, mainly for General Electric. In fact, he was named on the patent for the IMPULSE cleaning technology while working at GE. It allows coal plants to clean every 30 minutes during production instead of using erosive soot-blowing systems or shutting down the heating unit to clean manually. Barreto’s system is more energy-efficient and saves money.

But the technology was largely forgotten when GE sold the division to a new company.

That’s when Barreto bought it, tweaked the product and started on his own.

The entrepreneur immediately called on $5 million in open proposals that nobody was calling on.

ScaleUP! experts praised that foundational work but pointed out that he needed to open his mind further. He couldn’t rely on the same strategies as GE because he was running a small business that wasn’t backed by a massive team from a multinational conglomerate.

It’s a blessing, they said, because it frees Barreto up to look at his customers differently.

Barreto had focused entirely on high-dollar, coal-fired power plants. ScaleUP! coaches asked him a critical question: Why limit your customers to power plants? Reaching new markets was essential for scaling, they said.

Barreto took their advice and was surprised at how many diverse industries needed his help. He expanded to industries like pulp and paper, and biomass-fired boilers.

He even found a group that burns chicken manure. That system was shut down every three weeks for thorough cleaning until Barreto found them and revolutionized their operation.

“I’m finding this all over the place,” he says.

That one ScaleUP! tip changed the course of his business almost overnight.

“I wouldn’t have turned my focus to these other industrial applications because my mindset was from GE,” he says.

The new opportunities improved his bottom line and proved ideal for banks.

“The buy cycle for these smaller industries may only be three months or six months,” he says. “The cash flow and ability to close a deal in a smaller time is huge.”

SETTING A NEW COURSE

ScaleUP! has proven to be one of the most valuable resources Barreto has encountered.

“It has changed the complexion of my business,” he says.

Barreto sheepishly admits that he initially rejected the program when a business adviser first suggested ScaleUP! His immediate thought was “I don’t know that I have time,” he says.

What could other businesses teach him, he wondered? He was in a specialty market.

“I was blissfully confident of my success,” he says, laughing.

ENTREPRENEUR

Vince Barreto COMPANY

PowerPlus Cleaning Systems PowerPlusCS.com PowerPlus Cleaning Systems sells technology to clean heat transfer surfaces in places like coal-fired power plants. It offers a series of controlled pressure waves to proactively dislodge buildup without having to shut down the system.

ARE YOU READY TO SCALE UP?

ScaleUP! Kansas City—a free program for KC small businesses—is looking for companies that want to supercharge their growth. Learn more at www.scaleupkc.com

He quickly learned that other entrepreneurs had encountered the same challenges he has encountered or will face. The diverse lineup of entrepreneurs offered a wealth of resources and professional friendships. One entrepreneur suggested that Barreto hire an outside agency that specializes in making cold calls for businesses. Others told him about a customer relationship management tool and a new inventory system.

Those contacts will be essential as Barreto scales. He’s already hired more distributors and is working on a major agreement to collaborate with a competitor.

Barreto also was awarded funding from the Energy Sandbox, a division of the Digital Sandbox KC for a new patent he’s working on. The Sandbox provides proofof-concept funding.

Barreto’s son, Jordan Barreto, who handles inventory and engineer drawings for the business, can easily see how ScaleUP! changed his dad’s leadership perspective. Best of all, he knows that the company will continue to benefit from the rich network ScaleUP! offered.

“He knows what direction he wants to take the company now,” Jordan Barreto says.

“Before, we were doing the same thing GE was doing.”

Dawn Bormann is a freelance writer in the Kansas City area.

SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

45

IN FOCUS

SENIOR SERVICES ( by Kate Leibsle )

2018

SE N I O R S E R V I C E S

46 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

BO

OM

WIDE RANGE OF BUSINESSES CATER TO AGING POPULATION. he numbers are staggering—but so, too, are the opportunities.

Baby boomers—Americans aged 55 to 75— number anywhere from 75 million to 83 million in the U.S. Generation X, which is the next younger group at ages 38 to 53, includes 61 million to 65 million people. In the next few years, most of them will be seniors or caring for seniors.

Businesses that are ready and waiting to cater to the needs of seniors will be in high demand.

T

In an addition to offering needed services to these groups, business owners are looking at the groups of people with the most disposable income and the most time to spend it. Also, as rule, boomers and Gen Xers are working and living longer and looking for goods and services to help make their lives a little easier.

Kansas City has any number of entrepreneurs who are already building businesses designed to help seniors and their families. Just a few are highlighted here, but as the years go by and the population and needs increase, you can be sure that more will join their ranks.

BROWN BUTTON ESTATE SALE SERVICES

Michael Fry and his brother, James, didn’t set out to be in the estate sale business. But after attending a number of James and Michael Fry estate sales and seeing how many were poorly run, the two decided it wouldn’t take much to improve the service. With that goal in mind, Brown Button Estate Sales Services was born.

“It’s an unusual industry,” Michael said. “Estate sales are not regulated. People just turn over their keys and their homes without a SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

47

IN FOCUS

SENIOR SERVICES ( by Kate Leibsle )

2018

thought. There are just so many bad actors in the industry.

“We saw the opportunity to do better, to run them with dignity.”

Building the business wasn’t easy.

“We were completely naïve when we started,” Michael said. “The average estate sale nationally is $11,000. It’s really easy to put more into it than you get out. There were two times in the first three years that we almost closed.”

An estate sale in a $2.5 million home was the turning point both for the company’s bottom line and its focus. The Frys realized that their sweet spot would be high-end estate sales. Today, they concentrate on Leawood, southern Overland Park, Sunset Hills, Mission Hills, etc.

“We put a lot of emphasis on our culture, working with compassion,” Michael said.

Expansion is the next step. This summer, the company launched Circle Auction to help clients sell especially valuable items on an

international platform. Brown Button also plans to open in Nashville by the end of the year and has a goal of a number of new locations over the next five years, taking advantage of the growing senior demographic.

Businesses that are ready and

AGEWISE ADVOCACY

The company focuses on four areas: transition planning, helping seniors and their families deal with the crises and challenges of aging, illness or dementia, conflict resolution and money management. From making an end-of-life plan to mediating family disputes over furniture to helping seniors with daily money management, AgeWise’s five social workers and an accountant are available for virtually anything a senior needs.

“It’s really a privilege to walk this path and make it a little easier to get their needs met,” Lambert said. “We can’t change the aging process, but nobody’s alone.

“Facing the future by planning ahead can be a little emotionally difficult, and not a lot of people are willing to do the hard work, but it’s the best way to get what you want as you age.”

Getting older isn’t something many people look forward to, but it’s an inevitability. Still, planning for how life decisions should be made if or when an individual can’t make them independently isn’t easy.

AgeWise Advocacy is devoted to helping seniors and their families/caregivers navigate the choppy waters of aging.

Dana Lambert, one of AgeWise’s founders, is a social worker with a special passion for working with seniors.

“We as a society aren’t aging well,” she says.

“Things either come to a head or everything comes crashing down. We started the company to help seniors plan ahead.”

waiting to cater to the needs of seniors will be in high demand.

SOUNDSCAPING SOURCE

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5

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Rachelle Morgan is an accidental entrepreneur. The music therapist knew she wanted to live in her native Kansas following college; but with limited numbers of jobs available in her field, she created her own, starting a service for senior living facilities, hospices and private clients.

Since high school, Morgan has known she wanted to work with seniors and with music.

“Music unlocks something in us,” she said. “It brings out emotions and memories in all of us.”

6

1 18K gold Faberge style egg charm necklace, for upcoming auction. 2 Chanel quilted medallion tote for upcoming auction. 3 Carved coral figure sold at auction 4 18K gold Rolex oyster perpetual watch with diamond bezel for upcoming auction. 5 Buccellati sterling bird sold at auction (Photos courtesy of Brown Button Estate Sales Service) 6 AgeWise Advocacy & Consulting staff, from left: Nicole Black, MSW; Stephanie Missey, accountant/client daily money manager; Caroline Dawson, MSW; Dana Lambert, co-owner, MSW; Andrea Leavitt, co-owner, MSW; Genay Snell, BSW. (Photos courtesy of AgeWise Advocacy) 48 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

her keepsakes were in a box in her daughter’s Morgan and her team work with many Dallas home—not in Kansas City. senior living communities in A lightbulb went off, and Past Greater Kansas City as well as Perfect Stories is the result. three hospices. In addition Berwald-Viar and her to providing in-person team work with senior music therapy, they help living communities and staff members develop their residents as people and facilitate music are moving in to gather programs. keepsakes into a History She also helps other Trunk and produce a music therapists develop coffee table book docuthe business side of their Ra n che menting the resident’s life practices. She shares lessons l l e Mo r g a stories and memories. But they she’s learned through the years do more than that. about marketing, strategy and When they find residents with similar other business practices.

Morgan’s seen firsthand how music can help. stories or interests, they help introduce them to one another, hoping to turn strangers into “I had a client who had some agitation friends and make connections, which enhances related to his dementia,” she said. “He wasn’t the culture at the retirement community. supposed to have any particular musical “We really work alongside the resident, as talent, but one day, when I started singing ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ he started singing with a friend to help them connect and open up, to me—much to the surprise of his wife. We kept ease into their new community,” she said.

Berwald-Viar’s goal with both companies singing together over the next several sessions is simple: “Why not celebrate people’s lives and eventually had about 20 songs that we all while they are with us?” could sing together. This husband and wife got to have this beautiful shared experience in Kate Leibsle is a freelance writer in the Kansas City area. music together.”

Morgan’s business is definitely in a growth mode as people recognize what music therapy can do for loved ones as they age.

“I really believe people deserve meaningful music experiences until the end of their lives, with the people they love around them,” she said. “I’d love to see it in every senior community and hospice.”

2 CELEBRATING PERSONAL TREASURES AND PAST PERFECT STORIES

Moving into a retirement community or downsizing into a smaller home isn’t easy for most seniors. Letting go of possessions involves more than just leaving behind pieces of furniture, books, clothes, etc. The memories connected with “things” is strong.

For Kim Berwald-Viar, it’s those connections that have helped her build two businesses.

Celebrating Personal Treasures works to tell people’s stories, primarily through videos, often at funerals. Then a few years ago, Berwald-Viar was doing a workshop on memory-keeping at a retirement community and had asked residents to bring keepsakes.

One resident was sad because she realized

ONLINE Dawn Crouch founded the Aging Parent Answer Team to educate seniors and their families on topics including downsizing, financial concerns, care options and more.

At iThinkBigger.com, she answers four questions her team is frequently asked.

1

3 1 Soundscaping Source participants in a music group at Platte Senior Services (Photo courtesy of Jessica Dittemore Photos & Design)

2 Celebrating Personal Treasures

storytelling studio for individuals or companies who want to tell their story in video, book or website.

3 & 4 PastPerfect Stories help

assemble History Trunks packed with keepsakes and stories to pass down to future generations. (Photos courtesy of Freeland Photography)

4 SMART COMPANIES THINKING BIGGER®

49

1MC Settles In Clarence Tan, co-founder and CEO of Boddle Learning, presents his startup at 1 Million Cups Kansas City on Aug. 1. 1MC moved to Plexpod Westport Commons in August. (Photo courtesy of Tommy Felts/Startland News)

Wind Power Support Tradewind Energy, Lenexa, put on an event Aug. 7 to celebrate U.S. leadership in wind power. U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., center, attended, along with Tradewind employees and clients. (Photo courtesy of Scott Currens)

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New League of Leaders The Doniphan Leadership Institute, a six-month executive training program, graduated its 23rd class June 27 at William Jewell College. The 20 Doniphan Fellows live and work throughout Greater Kansas City. The next cohort begins Sept. 7. (Photo courtesy of Dale Garrison) 50 THINKING BIGGER BUSINESS // September 2018

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