CONNECTIONS September 2013 - Vol. 44, Issue 9
Fortune 500 in Eden Prairie – C. H. Robinson
IN THIS ISSUE... Leadership
Join us on September 19th from 11:30-1PM for our General Membership Luncheon featuring a look at one of our major employers – C. H. Robinson. Our speaker is - Christopher J. O'Brien, Senior Vice President
P2- Article by Pat MulQueeny P2 - Vikings Tickets P2- Export Summit Set P3 - Article By Cathy Haukedahl
Building Successful Businesses P4- Article By Shikha Bagchi P5- Article By Steve Callender
Community Building P6- School District
Networking P7- Caroline Emswiler Brings Wall Street to Eden Prairie
Register today and attend the program to get a quick history of the company, their latest efforts to grow the company and the current trends in the supply chain and logistics industry. More on our speaker - He has been a vice president since May 2003. Additional positions with C.H. Robinson include manager of the Raleigh, North Carolina branch, general manager and later president of the company's European division. Christopher joined the company in 1993. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Alma College in Michigan. Chris also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Additionally – we will be presenting our Small Business of the Year Award at this program. Sponsorships are available – please call 952-944-2830 to learn more. COST: $25- Members, $50-Non-Members LOCATION: Grace Church, 9301 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN, 55347
CHAMBERFEST! September 5th from 4:30PM-6:30PM FREE FOR ALL MEMBERS epchamber2 Follow us on Twitter! Look for us on Facebook “Eden Prairie Chamber” Look for us on LinkedIn “Eden Prairie Chamber” V our YouTube Visit CChannel “EPChamber2” Join the Discussion! epchamber2.blogspot.com
ChamberFest is our annual member appreciation event where we recognize all of our Members and the number of years they have supported the Chamber. There will be many prizes to win and tons of fun to be had, along with complimentary appetizers and cash bar! So mark your calendar for September 5th for this great After Hours Event that you can attend at no charge! You MUST be a Eden Prairie Chamber Member and please call ahead to RSVP for this event. Contact our office with any questions 952-944-2830! ChamberFest will be held at Brunswick Zone XL in Eden Prairie!
THANK YOU to our 2013 Annual Sponsors! Generall Sponsor
Gold Sponsor General Sponsor
Silver Sponsor’s
Bronze Sponsor
YOUR CONNECTION TO BUSINESS & COMMUNITY SINCE 1969
Leadership Opportunities to Finish the Year By: Pat MulQueeny, President Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce
It may seem early to be discussing how the year is ending and the opportunities that will be presented, but once Labor Day is here year end planning seems to begin. So here are some items to be sure you are aware of and take advantage: •Chamberfest – Thursday, Sept. 5 – 4:30 – 6:30 at Brunswick Zone – this is the annual free member appreciation event that draws 150 people. Everyone is invited to attend!!! •Taste the Chamber lunch – Thursday Sept. 26 – 11:30 -1:00 at Buca – this is our member recruitment event – the more businesses involved in the Chamber the more opportunity for our members! If you know a business that would benefit from being involved in the Chamber, invite them to this free luncheon – call Amy Sinclair for details – 952-944-2830. Don’t forget your $100 cash referral bonus! •Splash of Blu Gala – Saturday, October 26 at the Radisson Blu. The excitement is building for our biggest event of the year – do you have your sponsorship in, tickets and guests ready, auction items donated and your “Splash of Blu”? New initiatives coming – keep an eye out for initiatives focused on connecting businesses with education and efforts on workforce skills, plus economic development and a new business resource online for ALL CHAMBER MEMBERS!!!! More to come on these in the future. If you want to be included in these initiatives, please e-mail pat.mulqueeny@epchamber.org or call 952-944-2830.
Export/Trade Summit Set Save the date for Tuesday, October 8th as the Eden Prairie Chamber will be hosting an Export/Trade Summit in coordination with the Minnesota Trade Office. Set to speak will be U.S. Congressman Erik Paulsen and representatives from the trade office. The program will be from 7:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. More details to come
Women’s Networking Luncheon- Shopping Smarter & Healthier September 12, 2013 11:30AM - 1:00PM Join us this month for our Women's Networking Luncheon where we will be learning how to shop smarter and eat healthier from Stacy Klone! Stacy Klone is the founder of KitchenWerks and will be talking about how to shop smarter at the grocery store. She’ll help you learn how to navigate the grocery store, how to read labels, and choose the very best food items for health and value. She’ll also share tips & tricks for storing produce to reduce spoilage, and how to prepare high quality foods for optimal health. LOCATION: Redstone American Grill, 8000 Eden Road, Eden Prairie COST: $25 for Chamber members; $40 for Guests Registration: go to epchamber.org or call (952)-944-2830
This Luncheon is sponsored by Bouari Clinic of Eden Prairie! Check out the insert to learn more about our sponsor! PAGE 2
“Connections” (USPS 729770) is published 12 times per calendar year by the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Periodicals postage paid at Hopkins, MN - POSTMASTER: Send address changes to “Connections,” 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Leadership Chill in the air & a “Splash of Blu” By: Cathy Haukedahl, Board Chair Flagship Bank
The mornings have a chill in the air, summer hours are over and vacations ended with the children going back to school. In Minnesota, Labor Day changes everything. Shifting from summer’s pace to the new focus September brings, often feels more like a “beginning” than New Year’s Day. Early fall has consistently been a time of fresh learning, opportunities and a commitment to excel once again. The pace is picking up now with the awareness that there is only one full quarter left this year to meet our year-end goals, objectives and the New Year’s resolutions that started a full nine months ago. In addition to the anticipation that comes with “start of school”, it is also a time of harvest. Are you reaping the rewards of what you’ve sown so far in 2013? Are you on track to finish this year strong through the holiday season? Time waits for no one and as the daylight shortens. These next few months hold a great opportunity to wrap up a fantastic year. The benefit for all of us is that many of our business associates have the same mindset. As a member community, could collaborating with another Chamber member be a solution for your organization to meet or exceed your annual or quarterly objectives? After a short precious summer of connecting with friends and family, this new season is a great time to expand our knowledge, networks and contributions. Your Chamber membership offers you access to all three. Like you, our Chamber’s goal is to finish the year strong, too. Our organization could not be as successful as we are without our wonderful staff, volunteers and membership involvement. Our traditional way to finish our final quarter of the year is with our annual gala. This event is our primary annual fundraiser, designed not only to have a great time, but also to keep your organization solid - offering staff, programming and activities benefiting every kind of business in our community. Now that summer is a memory, we greatly encourage you to get your gala tickets early before they sell out! Our 2013 Gala, “Splash of Blu” will be held on October 26, 2013 at the brand new Radisson Blu Mall of America Hotel. This event is a “must” for personal and business connections, company recognition and contributing to our Chamber membership. We’ve made ticket purchases, sponsorships and auction donations easy for you on the Chamber’s Event’s page. Simply go to the October calendar, click on the Gala date - Saturday, October 26, and follow the links. I look forward to celebrating with you at the Eden Prairie Chamber’s “Splash of Blu” Gala in October – in the middle of your fantastic fourth quarter!
11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org
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Building Successful Businesses Online & Search Engine Marketing By Shikha Bagchi Search Marketing Wizards LLC
Online Marketing also known as Internet marketing, Web marketing, digital marketing, & eMarketing is basically promotion of products and services through the Internet. Online Marketing is important because that’s where most of our prospects are today. Some Top Online Marketing Strategies: •Search Engine Marketing •Email Marketing •Display Advertising •Mobile Marketing •Social Media Search Engine Marketing Search Engine Marketing is one of the top online marketing tactics and is promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engines. This is done by either optimization also known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) resulting in natural high ranking of a website, or by advertising on search engines also known as Pay-per-Click marketing (PPC). Search engine marketing is important to your business because - most consumers (89%) turn to Google, & other search engine for information on products, services or businesses before making purchases. So should you invest in SEO or PPC? Both PPC and SEO have their unique benefits and you can decide where you’re going to spend your marketing dollars based on your needs. Resources permitting, you can get the best results by using a combination of both SEO & PPC. Benefits from PPC (Pay per Click marketing) to your business: •Immediate Results – traffic, leads & sales within hours & days of launch •You can promote almost anything - website, products, services or events •Pay Only for Clicks •Massive Reach - Google Network alone reaches 80% of online users •Highly Measurable – you can count every click, impression, conversion, lead & more Benefits from SEO to Your Business: •High natural/organic visibility & targeted traffic to your site •High conversions & leads from conversion optimization of your web pages •Cost Effective – one time SEO can lead to continuous traffic and visibility What online marketing tactics you should invest in depends on many things such as - your goals, budget, where your audience is & other factors. Since SEO gives you one of the highest returns among all online marketing tactics, you could start with optimizing (SEO) your website to make sure it is set up to work for you - generate traffic, leads & sales. Shikha Bagchi is a certified professional (from Google and The Johns Hopkins University), her contact information is as below: Principal Consultant Search Marketing Wizards LLC http://www.search-marketing-wizards.com/ Ph.: 952-448-3806
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11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org
Building Successful Businesses Finding Your Selling Process By: Steve Callender Effective Learning for Growth
If you want to improve how you sell your product or service, a good first step is to figure out your own process. Without that, it’s guesswork and luck – you might improve what counts, or you might waste time and effort working on what doesn’t matter. When you map out a process, you can see how it’s working. You can measure it. You can see what efforts lead to what results, and what’s wasted or inefficient. You can improve its efficiency, continually, so you get more sales for less work. So how do you do that? It’s a process (of course!). Start with defining your target audience – because defining it too widely leads to a lot of wasted time and frustration. Who are your best customers? How did you reach them? Why did they choose you? Most importantly, where will you find more like them? This is where interviewing your favorite customers is important, because they’ll tell you what value you bring. They can also tell you what they read, what associations or groups they’re in, how they look for products or services like yours. That’s what’s essential for the marketing part of selling. What’s your plan to reach out to more like your best customers? How will you generate a list of the ones you most want to work with? What sort of outreach plan (advertising, social media, email campaigns, phone work, etc.) do you use? When you write it down, map it out, put it on your schedule and allocate resources (time, money, effort) to it, you can measure your returns to see how well your plans work. What do you do at first contact? What are your goals and objectives in a first meeting or call? How will you achieve those objectives? How do you qualify that you’re talking to the right person about a real need they can do something about? How do you get introduced to the right person, if that’s not the first one you meet? By writing this down, you’ll be able to tell how well it’s working – and if it’s not working, how to change it. The same goes for the rest of your sales process • What’s your follow-up after that first contact? • How and when do you ask for their business? • How do you handle objections or delays? • How do you process the order when they say “Yes?” • What do you do when they say “No?” • How do you get back to them to verify satisfaction? • How do you ask for referrals? When you know and track how your sales process works, you can make it work better. Steve Callender, President Effective Learning for Growth www.effectivelearningforgrowth.com (952) 405 – 8843 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org
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Community Building Update from the Eden Prairie School District By Eden Prairie Schools
Hang on to your backpacks! Another school year in Eden Prairie is about to begin and the district has many exciting things happening during this school year. Here are a few of the highlights happening in Eden Prairie Schools. Superintendent Tryggestad presents revised referendum proposals – At the July 24 board meeting, Superintendent Curt Tryggestad and district administrators presented information on revised referendum proposals to the school board. The district currently has an operating levy that generates about $13 million per year. This levy is set to expire after the 2014-2015 school year. The district’s technology/capital projects levy, which generates about $6 million each year for technology equipment, infrastructure and staff support, will also expire after the 2014-2015 school year. As part of the presentation to the board, district administrators shared information from a community survey conducted in July by Decision Resources, Ltd., a Minneapolis-based research firm. The district had conducted a more comprehensive survey in February 2013. Both surveys indicated that with a strong communication effort, community support exists for the operating levy and the technology/capital projects levy. “The information presented to the board represents the most current information on the legislative changes and our best thinking on how to best meet the future needs of our district,” Tryggestad said. “We are looking forward to assisting the board with its consideration of the referendum ballot questions and to sharing more detailed information with our community.” (This information was submitted for the Chamber newsletter in early August, prior to the board’s final decision on the referendum. More complete information is available on the district’s website at www.edenpr.org.) 3 EPHS Seniors Post Perfect ACTs – EPHS seniors Jacob Dungan, Ella Johnson, and Sasha Warbritton all earned a top composite score of 36 on the ACT. Nationally, while the actual number of students earning a composite score of 36 varies from year to year, less than one-tenth of one percent of students who take the ACT earn a top score. The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, and a student's composite score is the average of the four test scores. Some students also take ACT’s optional Writing Test, but the score for that test is reported separately and is not included within the ACT composite score. ACT test scores are accepted by all major U.S. colleges, and exceptional scores of 36 provide colleges with evidence of student readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead. Scholarship Recipient Hired – Amy Madvig, recipient of the 2012-13 Eden Prairie Schools Multicultural Scholarship, has been hired as a special education teacher at Eden Lake Elementary. Amy is a 2013 graduate of Augsburg College, with teaching licenses in emotional behavior disorders and learning disabilities. She was a student teacher at Prairie View Elementary. The EPS Multicultural Scholarship is one of the ways the district works to fulfill its mission of “educating for success in our diverse and changing world,” and its commitment to close the education gap for students of color. It helps ensure that there are qualified teachers with multicultural backgrounds who have high expectations for all of their students and are able to culturally connect with students of color. The district will begin the process of selection for next year’s scholarship in October when applications are made available at Minnesota colleges and universities. The scholarship is in the amount of $3,000, for one semester. School board election – Candidate filings for the November 5, 2013, school board election closed on Tuesday, August 13. There are three director seats up for election this year. (This information was submitted for the Chamber newsletter prior to the end of the filing period, but a list of the school board candidates can be found on the district’s website.) PAGE 6
11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org
Community Building
Caroline Emswiler Brings Wall Street to Eden Prairie
New York. Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. (TFA) congratulates Caroline Emswiler, CFP®, President of WEALTH Financial Consultants, Inc. of Eden Prairie for attending the Wall Street Academy. The Academy is a comprehensive, professional training program that was conducted in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for select independent financial advisors. Ms. Emswiler was one of only 20 who attended this highly specialized training during the third week of July. Greico Financial Training Institute, a long standing Wall Street educational firm, led by James Greico, conducted the experiential training. Mr. Greico is a recognized leader in training within the securities industry and a highly-respected member of the Wall Street community. The weeklong program included classroom education in the equity markets, economics, financial indicators interpretation, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, bond markets, hedging strategies, portfolio construction, and the historical events that shaped the securities industry. The Academy concluded the classroom training with branding, communication skills, and creating the ideal client experience. Outside of the classroom, Ms. Emswiler was invited to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to observe the floor brokers and market makers to obtain first-hand, behind-the-scenes knowledge of how the Exchange functions. She was a guest of the Deutsche Bank’s Institutional Equity Group where she was exposed to the inner workings of the institutional trade functions and its support of the mutual fund and securities industries. In addition, she toured the NY Federal Reserve, where she gained valuable insight into the workings of the Federal Reserve and its impact on the economy. TFA is especially pleased to support Ms. Emswiler in her efforts to better serve her clients through participation in the Wall Street Academy. Her firm, WEALTH Financial Consultants, Inc., is a full service financial planning and investment advisory firm, specializing in comprehensive financial planning, investment management, equity compensation analysis, retirement income distribution, and risk management. Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc., an AEGON company, is a national full-service broker/dealer offering investment, retirement, and insurance products and services. TFA has over $20 billion under management with more than 4,800 registered representatives serving clients nationwide. TFA is a member of FINRA, SIPC, and is a Registered Investment Advisor. Caroline Emswiler is pleased to provide further information about how she can bring Wall Street to your street. Contact her at WEALTH Financial Consultants, Inc. at 952.294.4921, or at cee@wealth
11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org
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This is a publication of: Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce
11455 Viking Drive, Suite 270 Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Ph: 952.944.2830 Fax: 952.944.0229
www.epchamber.org
SEPTEMBER 2013 - EPC Calendar of Events Monday 2
Tuesday 3
Wednesday 4
Thursday 5
Friday 6
7:30AM - Business Development Meeting
11:30AM - Gala Meeting 4:30-6:30PM - ChamberFest!
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7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@ Breakfast at The Colony
7:30AM - Board Meeting
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11:30-1PM - Women’s Networking Luncheon
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7:30AM - Government Committee Meeting
7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@ Breakfast at The Colony
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8:00AM - Gala Meeteing 11:30-1:00PM- General Membership Luncheon: Fortune 500 Eden Prairie
11:30-1PM - Fusion Meeting
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7:30-9AM - Breakfast Networking with Hennepin Technical College
7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@ Breakfast at The Colony
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11:30AM - 1:00PM- Taste the Chamber!
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PLEASE RSVP FOR ALL EVENTS BY 12 PM THE DAY PRIOR! Visit epchamber.org to view details, pricing or to RSVP today!