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May 01 2009

American Entrepreneur | Mark Spencer

Louisville

Miller-Diehl Construction & Insurance Restoration

Mark is inspired by entrepreneurship. His first business was selling baseball cards. He quickly realized he was making more in this side business than he was at the accounting firm where he was employed. After being a staff accountant, Mark had a short adventure as a candy store owner, but knew that also wasn’t for him. He was just treading water, working more hours a week than he wanted to, looking for something with promise, something that he could see a future in for himself.

As a homeowner, Mark had an inherent interest in real estate and had already bought rental properties. When the chance to purchase an established construction company came up, he decided to go for it.

Miller-Diehl had grown for several generations in Louisville under one family. The last of the family was retiring, and Mark took over the reigns.

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Mark Spencer, owner of Miller Diehl Construction, on site.

Miller-Diehl’s business is diversified with many types of client so that the crew has work throughout the year. Insurance restoration is half of their business and the other half is petitions remodels and kitchens. Winter is typically a slow period for most contractors, but it is a time when the most flood and fire damages occurs in the home. He sees this as a unique differentiator for a construction company in the Louisville area. Mark told us that Miller-Diehl is very busy this year, mostly due to a season of hurricane winds and ice storms.

Mark spoke at length about building a business with employees. People work harder if they like and respect you, and Mark works hard to build a team relationship. Coming into an established business can be difficult, but Mark prioritized the expertise of his employees and made his role to do the bidding and the administration, which made for a smooth transition.

Miller-Diehl is having its best year; business is up over 50% from a year ago, though Mark was cautious, explaining that he felt much of the company’s recent success was related to the atypical storms that came through Louisville the previous winter.

Mark’s story is a familiar one. The threat of becoming the company man, who at 55, is told that the company doesn’t need him. The veteran company man who is replaced by someone younger, more technically savvy and less expensive. Mark knew this was not where he wanted to see himself, so he took control of his fate. As an entrepreneur the ceiling is as high as you dream it, but that’s tempered, Mark reminded us, with a floor that is a lot lower.

As for Mark? He likes the risk.

An Intimate Portrait of the American Entrepreneur Project is sponsored in part by the automated marketing gurus at Infusionsoft

and is championed by the spirited zeal of The Toilet Paper Entreprenuer and TPEs across the universe.

Apr 29 2009

American Entrepreneurs | Alex Wander & Adam Thuerer

Hillsboro, Missouri

Lone Oak Organics

Welcome and congratulations to Adam Theurer and Alex Wander, founders of Lone Oak Organics, the first certified organic hydroponic greenhouse in the St. Louis area – today is the company’s official grand opening.

Adam and Alex see themselves as stewards of the environment. They are promoting organic food as a way to get St. Louis eating healthier and more nutritious food. Lone Oak Organics is very conscious of the effects of traditional agriculture on the land and have incorporated environmentally conscientious practices into their business.

Lone Oak currently focuses on growing locally grown organic culinary herbs. They grow peppermint, chives, sage, oregano, savory, arugula, parsley, dill, cilantro and of course, basil. Offering a locally grown, organic alternative eliminates the need for grocers to fly culinary herbs from Southern California.

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Hydroponic watering in action.

Like Paul Scheiter of Hedgehog Leatherworks, Adam and Alex graduated in 2008 from St. Louis University’s Center for Entrepreneurship at the John Cook School of Business, facing one of the worst years in decades for business major graduates. Adam had a background in agriculture and access to his family’s land. Alex has a background in marketing. They met in the SLU Entrepreneurship Program, and joined forces to start their own company, launching Lone Oak Organics ten months ago.

Adam sees the recession as being a key component to the sucesss of their start up. Building the greenhouse was less expensive than it would have been a few years ago. They were able to purchase equipment secondhand at a discount. The higher cost of gas has actually worked in their favor, driving up the cost of purchasing organic herbs from out of state.

Maintaining a healthy environment is important to both Adam and Alex. They see green business as the place to be, and are ready to position Lone Oak ahead of the local St. Louis market. They plan to eventually be in downtown St. Louis, developing an urban organics center for fresh produce. The stacked hydroponics growing system maximizes the use of space and during the cold winters of St. Louis when the temperature can drop to near zero, the Lone Oak greenhouses are heated with a wood-burning furnace, using a renewable fuel source.

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Adam Thuerer and Alex Wander stand amongst the basil, at the Hillsboro based Lone Oak Organics, that supplies locally grown organic culinary herbs to St. Louis.

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Adam Thuerer, co-founder and Operational Manager of Lone Oak Organics, changed his shirt, and began harvesting some basil for us to sample.

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Alex Wander, co-founder and marketing specialist of Lone Oak Organics, shows us some fresh mint in the Hillsboro greenhouse.

Alex says that although Lone Oak is in start up mode now, the business has the potential to thrive. Alex and Adam are invested in building a strong client base in their community. Lone Oak is actively available to their customers: offering booths at Farmer’s Markets, demonstrations in local supermarkets and building a stockpile of herb-based recipes on their Website.

Adam and Alex are thrilled to be working in sustainable agriculture and providing healthy food for St. Louis. Currently, Lone Oak is looking for additional financing to expand their greenhouses and connect with other growers. They are working on creating streamlined systems to grow their business efficiently, and bring their local market what it wants. Lone Oak is also actively looking for a botany and horticulture consultant. Please contact Alex Wander directly at alex(dot)wander(at)loneoakorganics(dot)com if you are interested in learning more about Lone Oak Organics.

An Intimate Portrait of the American Entrepreneur Project is sponsored in part by the automated marketing gurus at Infusionsoft

and is championed by the spirited zeal of The Toilet Paper Entreprenuer and TPEs across the universe.

Apr 13 2009

American Entrepreneur | Paula Kidd Casey

Wichita, Kansas

Sackaroos

Paula Kidd Casey, a Wichita based attorney, started her own law firm in 1986. Two years ago, she was on a golf course chatting with her college roommate Sue Burnett about what was important to them. Paula really wanted to do something for the environment, and she mentioned to Sue that she was looking for some kind of reusable shopping bag system, but couldn’t find what she wanted. Sue put the brakes on the golf cart. She had made the bag that Paula was looking for. After a few revisions on Sue’s initial concept, the Sackaroo was born. Soon after, Sackaroos Reusable Bags was incorporated and the Website launched.

Sackaroos is a reusable bag system, handmade in America. It is a compact shopping bag that hold multiple mesh bags. Rather than having a motley assortment of canvas bags in the back of the car, consumers can use the neat Sackaroo system that contains four mesh bags. You can see through the mesh so you know which bags contain which foods, and each bag hold the same volume as a traditional paper grocery bag. The outside pocket of the Sackaroo can hold keys, a wallet and shopping lists.

Paula Kidd Casey, co- founder of Sackaroos, author of Getting the Bigger Picture in Your Divorce, and attorney based on Witchita, Kansas.

Sue Burnett still handles manufacturing. Mike Casey, Paula’s husband, works on the customer service and marketing, though he admits he’s at the beginning of the learning curve in terms of social media marketing.

Having experience in her own law firm gave Paula an understanding of what it takes to start a business. She told us that she had no preconceived notion that they would be millionaires in the first year. She reminded us that “you have to be tenacious enough to stay with it and you have to be wiling to change when things happen.”

Paula Kidd Casey, co-founder of Sackaroos, and details of the reusable shopping bags.

Mike described Paula as having “a burning desire to do something other than practice law”. He went on to explain, “She never says we can’t. She says how can we? Grab hold, hang on and get out of her way.”

Paula has her own words of encouragement for burgeoning entrepreneurs, “Think outside the box. Be flexible with change. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Paula doesn’t see herself as brave, she just wants new and exciting things in her life. She is afraid of being the kind of person that doesn’t have the initiative to follow through on her ideas. She doesn’t want to waste her passion.

In addition to her family law practice and Sackaroos, Paula has written a book, Getting The Bigger Picture In Your Divorce and it’s not the 60 inch TV. She also patented a magnetic counting bracelet called Counter Clock.

No passion being wasted here…!

An Intimate Portrait of the American Entrepreneur Project is sponsored in part by the automated marketing gurus at Infusionsoft

and is championed by the spirited zeal of The Toilet Paper Entreprenuer and TPEs across the universe.

Apr 13 2009

American Entrepreneur | Devin Walker

Lawrence, Kansas

PrintPop

Devin Walker welcomed us into his home, nestled at the end of a curving drive in a small housing community in Lawrence, Kansas. Outside the house looked like many others on the street. Inside, his home burst with color, personality, loads of original art, two pianos and countless guitars.

On his journey to being an entrepreneur, Devin joined the military and immediately knew that it wasn’t the life for him. He didn’t want to be told what to do, what to wear, what to look like. After the military, Devin ventured into the dotcom world, worked for a record label, designed Websites, but fundamentally knew that while he was gathering skills and knowledge, this manner of work didn’t make sense to him. He was tired of helping make other people rich. He resigned from his job, enjoyed a few months playing golf and then launched PrintPop.com.

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Devin Walker, CEO of Printpop, in his home office standing in front of two of his own paintings.

Printpop is an online company that allows unknown, undiscovered and emerging artists to upload their original artwork and share it with the world. The company prints, packages and ships digital reproductions of the artwork, allowing artists to keep their originals and access a larger audience for selling limited edition copies.

Devin conceived PrintPop in 2001, after a friend asked him to send her a picture of one of his paintings. He emailed her an image, but wondered if he could send her a large print reproduction. He looked through the Web, but found no sites that would allow him to upload his original artwork and make a quality digital reproduction. He began to take notes and approached some venture capitalists. After a few meetings, he took a look at his personal finances and took a leap of faith to do it on his own.

Coming from the very high cost of living in San Francisco, Trent and I were amazed with the large and affordable housing we saw as we crossed the Midwest. Devin sees his geographic location as a key factor in the success of PrintPop. The city of Lawrence fosters its artist community, and the local government supports small businesses. Devin’s own cost of living and doing business is much less than on the coasts.

PrintPop is now thriving and growing. Active artists on PrintPop hail from 43 US states, 7 Canadian provinces, as well as Egypt, South Africa, Russia, China and across Europe. In the last twelve months, PrintPop has seen 400% growth, much of that Devin credits to social media marketing.

PrintPop keeps it fresh and innovative:

- This year PrintPop will be rolling out a completely revamped site. Stay tuned!

- Art Star: A contest recognizing the top-selling artists. The winner will receive a solo gallery show hosted by PrintPop including entertainment and local PR.

- PrintPop makes its presence known by sending an artist look-alikes (think Frieda Khalo or Andy Warhol) to local art events.

- PrintPop has expanded to GiftPop.com

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Devin Walker, CEO of Printpop, enjoying trading Hawaiian boyhood stories with Trent.

Next to Devin’s desk is a bookcase looming with tomes of business books, including The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and Sex Money Kiss by Gene Simmons, a performing artist with an amazing American dream story. According to Devin, the Gene Simmon’s book is a must read. To quote the CEO of PrintPop, “All business books are essentially the same story: how to succeed. If you don’t speed, you’re never getting a ticket. If you work hard, you’ll be rewarded.”

Devin is confident this economic environment won’t break him. He sees himself as responsible for artists’ passions. He has built a community of artists that count on him. Printpop is based on getting artists recognition and compensation for their work.

In the end, Devin is one happy guy. He gets paid to do what he loves, for the coolest people on the planet – artists. Devin Walker is proof that you can be successful doing what you love and giving back to a community you care about.

An Intimate Portrait of the American Entrepreneur Project is sponsored in part by the automated marketing gurus at Infusionsoft

and is championed by the spirited zeal of The Toilet Paper Entreprenuer and TPEs across the universe.

Apr 13 2009

American Entrepreneur | Jean Lozada

Platte City, Missouri

Jeanie Naturals

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Jean Lozada and her husband Angel warmly ushered us into their immaculate home. The living room opened to the kitchen where windows looked out to rolling hills and sunlight streamed into open rooms. Jean gestured to this serene environment and told us this was where she made her products. The only hint that it was her workshop was a lingering sweet scent in the air.

Jean grew up in a family that loved and valued fragrance. Her great grandmother made her own homemade herbal blends. Like the love of fragrance, entrepreneurism is also a family tradition. Jean’s brother works as an independent real estate agent, a career that Jean briefly flirted with herself. While she didn’t continue in real estate, she referred to her brother as her business role model.

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Jean Lozada at her home in Platte City, Missouri with an assortment of her Soy and Shea Butter Body Massage Candles.

Jean described herself as a former company girl. She was very loyal to a large company but suddenly found herself part of a massive downsizing. At that point she knew that she wanted to work for herself, and Jeanie Naturals was born. Hers was a sentiment that we heard a lot in our journey meeting entrepreneurs across the country; the time Jean puts into her business doesn’t feel like work. She told us that when her husband is working out of town, she can be engaged in creating her product for ten and twelve hour days. It doesn’t feel like her previous desk job, where she would be ready to punch the clock at five. Since founding Jeanie Naturals, Jean loves having control over her own work schedule.

Jeanie Naturals is an eco-friendly company that manufactures natural and organic products for the home and body. All of their formulations begin with a base of herbal teas and botanicals. The Jeanie Naturals line includes soap, lotion bars, candles, and body massage candles; each product comes in a variety of natural scents.

On the home front, Jean treasures the support of her husband, Angel, and her family. She is also actively involved with the Indie Beauty Network, and cites Donna Maria Coles Johnson as another mentor. The low cost of living in Missouri, the love and support of her husband and freedom of being her own boss allows Jean the creative reign to experiment and play with new products.

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Jeanie Naturals relies on word of mouth, and social networking sites to promote products. Jean measures Web analytics and adapts her marketing based on that information. Recently Jean made the major decision to reduce the amount of products she offered. She wanted to keep Jeanie Naturals a one-woman show, and it was difficult to keep up with demand. She thought carefully about what she enjoyed creating most, and what products made up the majority of her sales. And there was a connection. Jean enjoyed her time making candles, and knew that she crafted each one with love. When she realized that the candles were also the biggest selling product, it was easy to trim her product line.

For Jeanie Naturals, the company motto is to have fun doing what you love.

An Intimate Portrait of the American Entrepreneur Project is sponsored in part by the automated marketing gurus at Infusionsoft

and is championed by the spirited zeal of The Toilet Paper Entreprenuer and TPEs across the universe.

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Tag Archives: automated marketing

American Entrepreneur | Mark Spencer

American Entrepreneurs | Alex Wander & Adam Thuerer

American Entrepreneur | Paula Kidd Casey

American Entrepreneur | Devin Walker

American Entrepreneur | Jean Lozada