RiehlEvents

We met Jacque Riehl, of Riehl Events, at the Utah Museum of Fine Art.  Having taught in several art museums, and knowing how protective they can be about having their property photographed, we were a bit anxious about getting a property release signed.  No need to worry though. Jacque strolled in, dressed to the nines, and all the staff immediately recognized her.  Within minutes she had a property release signed by museum administration and we were setting up for the interview and portrait session in one of their main galleries.   Only someone with an outstanding reputation could accomplish this, and over the next hour we uncovered how she’s built this and other vendor relationships.

Jacque Riehl, owner of Riehl Events, at one of her favorite venues in Salt Lake, the Utah Museum of Fine Art.

Riehl Events is one of the premier event planning companies based in Salt Lake City.  A successful event planning business, with a corporate and private client base, can take years to build, but Jacque has been able to accomplish this in five years.  Given her answer when asked how her business is unique, her success shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Jacque shared that “Riehl Events is unique because we are very customized.  A lot of event planning and production companies have packages and have a set way of doing things.  When our client comes to us, they are pampered.  The second they walk through our door we become their personal assistant.”

For Jacque and her company, the economy is not presenting an obstacle.  As with all of the entrepreneurs we are interviewing, Jacque is not seeing challenges in front of her, only opportunity.  Jacque tells us, “I don’t want to be fearful. I don’t want to be pulling back.  If anything, this is the time to outshine everyone else, and I feel like we have the ability to do that.”

This is exactly what she is doing.  In the past six months, Jacque has hired 19 staff and projects that this year she will have four new divisions. At the time when everyone seems to be stepping back, she is stepping it up.   She went on to say about the coming year,  “A lot of people say this is the time to hunker down and weather the storm.  I don’t want to hunker down.   I want to get our there and show off and show what we can do.”

As we drove away from the museum, Trent and I mulled over all that Jacque shared with us. We both left with the feeling that we could do what ever we wanted. The reason, just as Heidi Uhl also told us, is that Jacque continues to play to her passion, taking art and design classes to give her clients the best that she can deliver. It was her confidence in knowing that when you love what you do, and you do whatever it takes to fulfill your creative drive, your clients and vendors will love working with you.

Jacque said it best, “When opening a business you always want to know where your competition is, who they are, what they’re doing, and then don’t worry about it.  If you love what you do, you are going to be better at it than 90% of what’s out there.”

For any burgeoning entrepreneur that desires to launch their own business, Jacque reminds us why it is so important to find your passion and love what you do.   “If you really want to be an entrepreneur, you have to find what your burning desire is.  It takes a lot of time, a lot of work, a lot of effort. There is no social life, no family life.  All of that gets put aside until you can get that base to glide a little bit.  If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t be here, because it’s too much.  You are putting other people’s lives in your hands, their livelihoods and their success. “

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.

We met Dan Debenham and Tom C.  Zdunich, at their LENZworks office at the base of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains.  They are living their dream, and maybe my dream a little too.  For real, and if you don’t believe me, here is what Tom said when describing his business,

“We create resorts and resort style properties world-wide into a five six minute video. Our crews get to travel around the world.  Our niche is high-end resort industries around the world and fractional ownership properties and timeshares.  We film resorts and resort style properties world wide into a five six minute video.  Those videos are used on websites and stand alone DVD’s. We also create original television programming.  We have had four television shows hit the air. ”

Tom and Dan amongst the gear that travels with them around the world.

Tom holds on his shoulder the initial equipment investment from his  1997 LENZworks launch.

Tom and Dan serve as a great reminder of what is possible when you are not afraid to follow their dreams.  As entrepreneurs, we are not an easily satisfied group.  We all have the need to create and do our own thing. We reach one goal and that goal leads to the next.  Before starting LENZworks, Tom started as an on camera anchor and Dan was a sports reporter.  They both accomplished their dreams before they started this business.

When spoke with them it was snowing and the mountains weren’t visible, but when Dan led us into his office, he sat in his chair and pointed out the window and pointed to his large bay windows where on most days he has the most beautiful view. Dan and Tom had just come back from one of their most successful conferences.   They worked 16-hour days and were ready to keep on going.  They love their jobs; they love their work, and our time with them was a great illustration of how to succeed in today’s economy.

Pay close attention. For Tom and Dan, success is simple.  People, people, people.

Tom acknowledged the simplicity of this statement, but questioned how many people really understand that it is the people we work with that help make our businesses successful.  Tom and Dan’s practice of this ideal begins with their staff.  They contract teams of  videographers, editors and photographers, and they have learned how to find the best talent and to keep them. ? Tom spoke of one his employees who “has been extremely loyal to us and has just performed amazingly over the years with us, and we have paid him well.  In fact for months we paid him more than we paid ourselves to keep him so he wouldn’t go somewhere else.  That would be hard to swallow for some business owners but that’s the only we can do it.”

They really understand what their employees need, because they haven’t forgot about what it felt like when they out on their own.  Tom tells us “what we have always wanted from the beginning is a group of people that are talented and creative, that can work under one roof and have synergy. Making great stuff and feeling like they are part of something and not just working for me.  They feel that energy and creative spirit that we all have when we are on our own, here.”

Lenz Works is also an example how marketing can happen if your dream is to work with the best and create.  When asked about what marketing they do, Tom answered that didn’t do any, but after talking to them for a few hours it became obvious what they marketing strategy was. Their passion. Dan revealed that all of their clients have either been word of mouth or return clients.  LENZworks will also identify an industry or a company that they think can benefit from their services, create a platform that will be successful and take it to them.  They walk right in the door and tell the potential client that they have created is what that client needs.  They shoot these on their own dime, presenting not just an idea but a tangible and visible product.

Enjoying his work at the editing bay, Tom Zdunich  shares with us some recent skiing footage.

Tom reminds us to not be afraid to fail, “if you can’t fail you will never go anywhere you will always be working for someone else.  When you fail you learn you learn what you did.  You can’t care about failing.  If you fail, you can always get another job.”

Tom and Dan live this.  They create product, and present it to the people who need it.  They are on the cutting edge of their industry, because they are not afraid to create and take risks.

And one more thing, if it is not obvious already, Dan and Tom are really good guys.  When asked what his greatest concern for the year was Tom said,  “People.  Finding the right people.  Still being able to be a good dad to my two girls while keeping this company going.”

Thanks to  Dan and Tom for sharing your American Entrepreneur stories with us!

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.

Michelle McCullough created Doodads Promotional Products to serve the promotional needs of corporate clients and help other businesses bring their branding to new levels.  She met us in the Salt Lake City conference room of one of her clients, and wheeled in a large sample suitcase full of various items branded to particular clients; coffee cups, pens, notebooks, toy cars, bags, even a piggy bank.

Like many of the entrepreneurs we have spoken with,  Michelle isn’t phased by the economic downturn.  She is focused on finding ways to improve relationships with her current clients and she knows that Doodads is going to do more than just survive.

Michelle was educated in marketing and has 9 years of experience on her own.  She has a great relationship with her clients and her suppliers.  She seems to see nothing in front of her but opportunity.

Because she works with so many companies, Michelle is the unique position to see what thriving companies have in common.  The strengths she find in her clients also strengths she build in Doodads.
The two main areas she notices successful companies have in common:

1.  Continuing to invest  to customer service. In an effort to cut back costs,Michelle believes people are cutting back in the wrong place.   She notices people are cutting back in places where she sees a negative affects in customer experience.
As business owners, Michelle encourages us all to ask ourselves “What can we do better? What can we do faster? What can we do more efficiently?
The best companies she works with are constantly evaluate their value propositions and communicate a clear mission statement to their customers.

2. Viewing suppliers as sources of education, feedback and inspiration. Michelle shared with us that she views her suppliers as her allies.  Doodads’ success is intertwined with Michelle’s relationship with her suppliers.  During her interview, Michelle never motioned pricing, but spoke of how one of her suppliers had helped her learn her business and improve her customer service.

Michelle sees her job right now to invest in customer service, go beyond her customers’ expectations, and continue to learn more from her supplier. When we asked her what her hopes are for this year, her answer was “I will double my income.”

We believe she can and will.

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.

The impetus for this project was to document The American Entrepreneur, and gauge how, if at all, the economy was affecting small business. After the first few interviews, we realized that the American Entrepreneur is already way ahead of the rest of the country.  Our project was becoming no longer about how small business owners are reacting to the downturn, but about how the innovation, community, and passion of these individuals has created ways for small business to thrive.

Like any small business owner, we learned from these first few interviews and adapted our project a little to better meet the needs of our subjects and followers.

These American Entrepreneurs in our portraits are not just masters of their craft.  Yes, of course, each of these American Entrepreneurs has worked hard create the best service and product. But what sets these entrepreneurs apart is their openness to share their expertise and advice with us and with you.

We hope that all of our portraits and interviews of entrepreneurs will inspire you and show us all ways to reach more customers, improve customer service, build community, embrace new technology, and something that is increasingly important; building sustainable business practices and strategies to do more with less.

Meet Time and Heidi Uhl of Retrospect Studios, there is much we can learn from them.

Their wedding and portrait photography business, Retrospect Studios,  is thriving.  Tim and Heidi are booked through the rest of this year, and Retrospect has increased to the point where they had to outsource their payments system and their main concern for the coming year was learning how to deal with growth.  Though the studio is physically located in Artspace City Center in downtown Salt Lake, Retrospect shoots weddings on both coasts.  The day we met them, they were busy packing their gear to head off to shoot Bridal Fashion Week in New York.

It became apparent after the first few minutes of speaking with them, that Tim and Heidi have incredible insight on how to make their business thrive.  Their images are beautiful, and this is important theme in our subjects; these entrepreneurs are great at what they do.

For Retrospect it’s not just about creating gorgeous images; Tim and Heidi have set themselves apart by accomplishing the following:  Tim has made himself a resource to leaders in the photography industry and in his community. Retrospect Studios has initiated a system for collecting money that preserves the creative rapport between artist and client.  And both Heidi and Tim acknowledged that part of their success is living in a community that that is affordable, and supportive to artists (art space) which allows them financial security and importantly the time and resources to play.

One of the biggest gems we heard from Heidi was that continued mastery of your craft comes from play with your passion.

Tim and Heidi, thank you for sharing so much about your journey as American Entrepreneurs and your business.

More details on Tim, Heidi and all the American Entrepreneurs we meet will be coming in May.   The best ideas and encouragements from these interviews will be condensed to bite size genius moments on Twitter.

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.