Fargo INC! October 2022

Hiring is Hard

Everyone is struggling to hire right now. My brother, the real business expert in the family, owns Fargo Phone Repair on 25th St. S. in Fargo and is facing the same difficulties as all of you. He has been trying for months to find someone, a third person to join his team, offering what I believe is very competitive compensation.

However, he has received very little interest from job seekers. In an effort to fill the position, he has even gone into job fairs guerilla style, handing out printouts to attendees. For the record, when he told me about this, I was dying laughing picturing him doing this while avoiding security. And that’s why you are reading this today. I'm also sharing to let you know that you are not alone in your hiring efforts.

Here at Spotlight, we have faced hiring difficulties for sure, however, for the most part, we have been able to fill our open positions in time. Currently, we have a position open for people interested in producing content for a business audience and you might be just the person for the job! Or [*puts on salesman hat] perhaps the job might just be for you.

If it's your thing, I highly, highly doubt that you could find the opportunity to interact with such a wide array of community members outside of our building. Over my 3 years working here, I have interviewed CEOs, politicians, felons, moms, children, chefs, construction workers and everyone in between. How fun is that?

Brady Drake Fargo INC! Editor

Brady Drake, Fargo INC! Editor

EDITORIAL BOARD

GREGORY WALD Acquisitions/Communication Moore Holding Company

October is ESOP Month for businesses like the one that employs me, Moore Holding Company. It’s a time for us to celebrate, as ESOP stands for Employee Stock Ownership Plan, and it means that our business is owned by its employees.

The ESOP business model has many advantages, the most important being that employees feel like owners, because they are. We all understand that our individual performance contributes to company success, which directly impacts us when our annual stock value is announced.

Our share of the company’s overall value is an extra retirement account for us, in addition to our employer’s more traditional 401(k) plan, which they also contribute to through a match.

If you’re intrigued by the employee ownership model, there are lots of resources to explore, including The ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO).

ERIC WILKIE CEO FM Area Foundation

Fall is here in the FM area. My family spends much of our time in the summer in lakes country, so we miss out on a lot of fun local events here in Fargo-Moorhead. This fall, we’ve been making an effort to catch up on some of the great offerings in our community, before winter arrives.

One event that we love to attend and hate to miss in the summer is the Red River Market located in the heart of Downtown Fargo. Both personally and professionally I believe the Red River Market is a community gem.

The FM Area Foundation has a history of supporting the work of this weekly summer event. The Red River Market helps us fulfill our mission by creating space for all people to experience locally grown food, for artists to share their work, to connect citizens to our area nonprofits, support small business, increase access for all to local and healthy produce, and create a welcoming place right here in downtown Fargo. We are proud to support the Red River Market.

If you haven’t been to the market, better hurry, there’s only a few left, I promise you won’t regret it!

SHANNON FULL President and CEO FMWF Chamber of Commerce

My family and I moved to the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo area roughly two years ago, and we have been in constant awe of the greatness, opportunity and immense potential of this region. The people here are positive, passionate and sincerely care about our community and the future of our region. People here show up when there are problems to solve, questions to ask, help to offer, events to attend, celebrations to enjoy and so much more.

The active collaboration between organizations, individuals and our cities is also something special about this region. Putting the interests of others first and forming true teams and partnerships are things I notice often in our community, and sets us apart from other regions across the nation. Fargo Moorhead West Fargo is a fun, inviting and vibrant community with endless opportunities. I am happy to call this place my home.

JOHN MACHACEK Chief Innovation Officer Greater FM Economic Development Corporation

If someone were to ask you, 'what does Fargo mean to you?', you could look at that question and answer it in various ways. I’ll answer it by looking at “Fargo” as more of a word or vibe, and less of a geographic or municipal definition.

I think of the t-shirt I have that simply states, “I BELIEVE IN FARGO”. I wear that shirt because I am proud of being from here and want to show that off (especially when I travel). But what drew me to buying that shirt was for what I feel that “believing in Fargo” stands for.

I’ve lived here for over 30 years, and it’s what I saw over the past 5-10 years that really makes me believe in the Fargo vibe. It’s the way many people are embracing change and positivity and creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset.

In fact, I only have so much room here, so if you look at that mindset definition here: (elimindset.com/entrepreneuriallearning/what-is-mindset), this describes “Fargo” well. I can think of many wonderful people in our community who fit into that definition. Those words & actions of the mindset are contagious, which gives me hope that the belief in “Fargo” will get stronger & stronger for those that choose to live here to be a part of it.

JENNY SHEETS Manager Founders Programs

Recently I visited a city in the south known for its vibrant arts, culture, and outdoor recreation. I heard from key individuals responsible for the strategy behind these initiatives: drive community and economic development with a cohesive brand. It was inspiring to see how an entire region could rally behind a brand, which made me pause: what is Fargo’s brand?

We are quickly becoming a startup city, making it easier for entrepreneurs of any stage and background to start a company. We have incredible art museums, a soon-to-be science museum, music venues, and public art. We have a welcoming and walkable downtown. We have fantastic schools, safe neighborhoods, and delicious restaurants from around the world. But, is our brand cohesive? It’s getting there. Ultimately, Fargo welcomes new ideas. Education and adoption may take time, but for the most part, people are curious. And I think that’s our brand: Fargo is intellectual, ready to learn, ready to keep progressing, and ready to come together to build the best community possible

Tips to Help Businesses Manage Cash Flow Today

TThe business landscape has changed dramatically—and sometimes unpredictably—over the past few years. While there is no crystal ball for the future, some trends have emerged that look to stick with us for the foreseeable future. These include a desire for a more robust, protected supply chain, higher interest rates compared to the past few years and rising expenses.

All of these have an impact on cash flow for businesses and should be considered for both short and long-term planning. While changing business practices can be a challenge, your banking business advisor can help reset your cash flow in a way that works.

Talk to your bank sooner than later if you need cash flow help

Contrary to what some business owners think, one of the first calls you should make when confronting cash flow issues is to your banker. There is a serious upside to getting those conversations started sooner than later: Banks can help proactively restructure debt so that it accommodates a business’s projected cash cycle, and give owners an opportunity to make changes to their cash flow from a stronger position. Waiting until you are in a pinch makes it harder to shift resources or renegotiate terms. Early action will give you more options and flexibility in terms of what you can do.

Get back to basics with budgeting

During years of very low-interest rates, some businesses got out of the habit of budgeting and making projections—often there was access to cash to bridge a shortfall. As expense costs have risen and lending has tightened, now is a good time to get back in the practice of more closely budgeting your cash flow cycle and updating numbers to most accurately reflect how long it takes to get inventory, turn it over, receive payment for finished goods or services delivered and so on.

Factor in supply chain factors that may be here to stay

Few parts of the cash flow cycle have been more disrupted over the last few years than the supply chain. Businesses have had to wait longer—or even cease production—due to gaps in the availability

of parts and materials. Many businesses now opt to hold larger amounts of inventory to compensate. What was “just in time” is now “just in case.” Shipping times are less predictable and shipping costs have fluctuated with energy costs. All of these affect cash flow, and to the extent that they are the “new normal,” cash flow needs to reflect that reality.

Optimize government programs designed for your industry, if applicable

A number of government programs have been established or expanded to help businesses, especially small businesses, get through financial tight spots. Whether in the form of employee retention credits or loans or credits from the U.S. Small Business Administration or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (depending on the business), a business banking advisor may be able to help an owner find a program that fits.

Consider how banking tech and financial strategies can help you improve cash flow

Not all changes of the last few years are negative. Businesses and consumers have fully embraced digital transactions, which are more certain and can mean faster payments than previously expected. Upgraded financial management software can keep a closer eye on cash flow. Debt swaps can help manage interest rate risk. And rising interest rates may improve returns on certain short-term investments businesses may hold, such as laddering treasuries. Talk to your bank about how to take advantage of these solutions.

For business owners and managers, cash flow issues can seem daunting, especially if they are squeezed by larger suppliers, customers or creditors. Alerus has experience helping navigate these challenges and can offer advice and help make connections that may enable a business to emerge in a stronger position than before. Talk to an Alerus business advisor for cash flow management guidance that matches your unique situation and goals.

Meet The Team

MIKE

BRADY KIM

LEVI

TY

GENEVA GRANT BEN JOSIAH

JENNY MEAGAN

NICK PAUL DEVAN

TORI

KACEY

JESSICA

KODI

TARA

TOMMY

KELLEN

KELLAN

JONATHAN

JOHN

CHECK OUT

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA'S OTHER PUBLICATIONS

At Design & Living Magazine, we love to share all of the fantastic local art, architecture, home decor, interior design and landscaping in the FMWF area with our readers.

designandlivingmagazine.com facebook.com/ designandlivingmagazine Instagram: designandlivingmagazine

Bison Illustrated is your number one source for all of the behind-the-scenes action inside the North Dakota State University Athletic Department.

bisonillustrated.com facebook.com/bisonillustrated Twitter: @bisonmag Instagram: bisonillustrated

Fargo Monthly is an award-winning publication dedicated to highlighting Fargo-Moorhead and what makes it a truly enjoyable place to live.

fargomonthly.com facebook.com/fargomonthly Twitter: @fargomonthly Instagram: fargomonthly

Future Farmer is our farming publication which brings great tech-focused content to readers across North Dakota and Minnesota.

futurefarmermag.com facebook.com/FutureFarmerMag

You may already be familiar with our Faces of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo publication which we publish once per year in order to highlight the faces behind all of the great businesses in the community.

Here are four questions you can ask to help determine if a PBM is prioritizing your best interest.

1) Are your pharmacy benefit partners truly objective? It’s a good idea to check how your pharmacy benefit partners are paid. PBMs indeed receive money from drug manufacturers, but how much do they pass on to you as the plan sponsor? This question is crucial because it directly affects your bottom line. In many cases, there are hidden revenue sources that aren’t passed along to employers.

One way to ensure objectivity is to find out whether pharmacies, where your employees buy their medications, get paid less by the PBM than what you’re billed. This is called spread pricing, a lucrative tactic that has more than doubled PBMs’ income from 2014 and 2016, according to Pew Charitable Trust. Spread pricing is often not disclosed to the employer which is why is critical to ask your PBM about their drug pricing.

2) How cost-effective is your formulary? Understanding your formulary – the list of drugs your health plan will cover – is critical to reducing your health plan costs. It‘s your best tool for managing costs. High prescription drug rebates may sound attractive, but they’re based on high use of expensive brand-name prescription drugs. The result is wasted money on prescriptions when clinically equivalent generics are available for less cost.

3) What’s being done to ensure high-cost drugs are dispensed only when medically necessary? PBMs should ensure that the prior authorization process – a health plan cost-control measure – requires a medical justification before disbursing any high-cost drug. It’s important to look for PBM services that support using lower-cost drugs first. One way to gauge this is by looking at your plan’s generic utilization rate (GUR), which is the rate generics are used as a percentage of all prescriptions in your plan. It should be at least 90%.

4) How are plan members being supported to ensure that they stick to their therapy regimen? It can be hard to follow complex drug therapies when you’re feeling unwell and confused. Your members need support to ensure they stick to their medication plans to avoid extra expenses. Ask your PBM what they do to help keep people on track with their treatments. Look for medication management programs, with clinically trained pharmacists to review members’ medication usage and disease and case management services. These programs are vital to improving member outcomes and driving down overall health care spending.

The easiest route to a pharmacy benefit that improves health and manages the lowest net cost is to work with a partner whose business model is based on integrity and full transparency.

Visit healthpartners.com/pharmacybenefitfacts to discover the right knowledge you need to ensure your company’s pharmacy benefits plan is designed to bring the best value. HealthPartners is a nonprofit leader in bringing trusted care and award-winning integrated medical, dental and pharmacy benefits together for more than 60 years. We offer a range of health plan options for employers of all sizes in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Supporting and Strengthening Women Business Owners Across the State

By Chisty Dauer, Executive Director, NDWBC | Photos by Geneva Nodland

Bobbi Hepper Olson Hepper Olson Architects

There’s more behind the stones of the bank building in Buxton, ND, than one might think. Built in 1892, the building sat unused for nearly 30 years until Bobbi Hepper Olson, owner of Hepper Olson Architects, cast her vision for the old structure and created the nonprofit “Buxton in Bloom” to light up the community and save the deteriorating structure.

The renovated building now houses the history of the bank, the city, the high school, Traill County and more. The building is also home to Hepper Olson Architects, allowing their team to highlight the historic interior when visitors come to the space.

Bobbi specializes in historic architectural preservation projects, an interest that sparked early in her career as she researched and repaired old structures in downtown Grand Forks after the 1997 flood. “It’s fun to see how old buildings were constructed and how they failed.

You get to see what areas deteriorate quicker than others. It’s a good knowledge base for building better projects in the future,” she said.

She took a solo path to success in her career, and she credits several mentors she had along the way for supporting her. More recently, Bobbi has explored her curiosity about networking with like-minded business owners, especially women.

From Sole to Strength

Bobbi connected with the North Dakota Women’s Business Center where she met a network of women business owners sharing their goals, achievements and struggles in business ownership.

“This group helps me look at business differently,” she said. “I haven’t had negativism being a woman in my profession. But I have learned about the

challenges other women face. Hearing those perspectives has helped me ensure I’m providing a positive work environment in my own business.”

Bobbi said the interactions and shared connections she’s made through the organization have also greatly increased her awareness and opened her eyes to how she can give back.

“There are a lot of creative, energetic and driven women out there. I love that the North Dakota Women’s Business Center gives us an avenue to join and strengthen each other,” she said. “And it’s not necessarily just women strengthening women, it’s women strengthening the people around them.”

The North Dakota Women's Business Center is the leading voice, resource and partner for women business owners. Over the years that this publication has been in existence, their impact has been pallpable. We can't tell you how many women business owners have told us about the impact that NDWBC has made in their lives. We can't highlight all of those indivduals, but we can highlight a few and you can find three below.

Veronica Michael

CEO Prairie Products

North Dakota’s rolling prairies and nutrientrich soils are ripe for emerging agricultural markets. Prairie Products CEO Veronica Michael identified these strengths in the state as the perfect opportunity engage in the industrial hemp market.

Veronica believes hemp can transform our economy and world, and she kicked off her entrepreneurial journey to do just that by founding Prairie Products in 2018 with our team. The company produces high-quality, wholesale crude CBD oil. Prairie Products also offers toll and split processing, which allows hemp farmers an accessible way to outsource their hemp manufacturing.

“Using hemp to offer the world its healing benefits was an obvious fit, but my first interest in hemp was in extraction of the cannabinoids. I believe the future of hemp is in a dual variety that allows growers to market hemp for its grain, fiber and hurd,” Veronica explained. “Growing agricultural hemp in this way will allow our region to capitalize on agricultural acreage, growing conditions and harvesting.”

From Scared to Safety

Prior to Prairie Products, Veronica’s work focused on human development and management in higher education and a variety of nonprofits. The shift to entrepreneurship was a bold, daunting step, but Veronica forged her own path with support, resources and connections through the North Dakota Women’s Business Center.

She attended networking group meetups with other women business owners through the North Dakota Women’s Business Center. Veronica was the only person in her group without prior entrepreneurial experience. She recalls feeling initially scared and embarrassed about what she didn’t know as a new entrepreneur. The group helped her dissolve these feelings quickly, and Veronica said she felt welcomed and supported in working through the challenges that come with business ownership.

Networking with other women who could lend their own unique learned experiences offered Veronica a vastly different perspective

in which to navigate her own journey. “I believe timing is everything. Prior to getting involved with the group, I was trying to simply keep my sanity,” she explained. “This experience introduced me to new concepts and new ideas. The North Dakota Women’s Business Center creates a space for entrepreneurs to learn, share and discuss the reality of working your tail off and how that impacts the rest of your life.”

Going through funding and revenue scenarios, navigating COVID-19, growing business relationships, it’s a lot—especially if you’re doing it alone. “Business is hard. Entrepreneurship is difficult. I was filled with isolation and doubt,” Veronica shared. “I didn’t just need an ‘atta girl,’ I needed to be real and vulnerable about these concerns in a confidential, safe space. I found that safety with the North Dakota Women’s Business Center.”

To learn more about Prairie Products, visit prairieproductsnd.com

Dani Gilseth, Dori Walter & Aimee Hanson

Grateful Cratefulls

Helping people ‘brighten someone's day.’ That’s the purpose behind Grateful Cratefulls, LLC, a gifting service started by Dani Gilseth, Dori Walter and Aimee Hanson in 2018.

“We’re here to send a hug through the mail or help people celebrate with a unique, thoughtful gift,” said Dani, co-founder of Grateful Cratefulls. It’s a deeply personal tie for this motherdaughter-aunt trio, who were inspired to create Grateful Cratefulls by the outpouring of love they witnessed when a family member was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Grateful Cratefulls went from an idea to reality in four short months. Once the business was up and running, Grateful Cratefulls grew rapidly, causing a relocation that tripled their space and allowed them to add full e-commerce and customized business gifting. Despite its larger space and big growth, they’ve kept their desire and motto consistent: keep it local and loveable.

“We take special consideration in filling our crates with products made in the Midwest. New items must have the right look, feel and owners behind the business,” Dani said. “Supporting our North Dakota-owned business means you’re also supporting 40 other Midwest businesses that make the products featured in our crates.”

From Trio to Troupe

Immediately after launching their business, Dani, Dori and Aimee discovered the North Dakota Women’s Business Center. The trio found immense value in the opportunities to connect and learn from other women business owners.

“It’s a sense of comfort, knowing we have a group to trust. If we need advice or have an idea to bounce around, we have a group in our corner that is ready to listen and advise,” Dani explained.

Dani described the North Dakota Women’s Business Center as a platform

for women-owned businesses that want to rise together and see each other succeed.

“We’re happy to have access to a network of fantastic business owners who shine and want you to shine, too,” she said.

ndwbc.com

Instagram: ndwbc Facebook: @ndwbc Twitter: @ND_WBC

For help with your business visit ndwbc.com or scan the QR code below.

An Update From

Fueling Our Future

In May 2019, the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation announced a joint venture called Fueling our Future (FOF) to "provide a platform for regional leaders to convene, identify, understand, discuss and invest in macro-economic and community-based initiatives that will have lasting regional impacts." Now, in its fourth year, the initiative's governance board has some critical information and insights to consider, and some important decisions to make for the next phase of the long-term project.

In September, the executive committee, which includes:

• Judd Graham, Dacotah Bank (Chair)

• Peter Stenehjem, First International Bank (Vice Chair)

• Shannon Full, The Chamber (Secretary)

• Joe Raso, Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC (Treasurer)

• Chad Flanagan, Eide Bailly LLP (Member at Large)

Spent time reviewing a recently released Master Talent Plan that was produced by Ted Abernathy and Casey Steinbacher with Economic Leadership, a nationally recognized economic development consulting firm, in order to determine a strategic action agenda to improve the quality and quantity of the Fargo-Moorhead region's greatest challenge— workforce development. In the coming months, the board will use this report, feedback from other community leaders, their own knowledge of the area and a host of other resources to determine the future of the region, including future programming and areas for investment within the workforce and other critical development areas.

By Brady Drake

I 20Suggested Strategic Actions From the Report

*The full report can be found at fuelingourfuture.net/materials/

Note: These are the suggested action items provided by the organization Economic Leadership, but may not be the action items the Fueling Our Future initiative will necessarily be implementing. This is, instead, a highlevel look at the recommendations the Fueling Our Future team will take into consideration when putting together aspects of their Fueling Our Future 2.0 action plan, which will be released toward the end of 2022 and early 2023.

Goal One:

Develop and fund a systematic approach to align workforce efforts region wide.

1. Aggressively promote Ignite FMWF (ignitefmwf.com) and other partner tools to drive regional collaboration and workforce program alignment.

2. Create contractual agreements between Fueling Our Future, the EDC and The Chamber, and letters of agreements between all other institutional partners, detailing their commitments and their expectations of each other. (In the interim between the start of this plan and the Fueling Our Future 2.0 completion, retain a project manager to maintain momentum.)

3. Conduct a Fueling Our Future campaign to provide 5 years of commitments to the workforce agenda.

Fueling Our Future Investment Breakdown

4. Pursue a dedicated source of public sector funding, like the Job Development Authority model in Cass County and Joint Powers Agreement model in Clay County, to ensure a consistent investment in workforce development and job growth that leverages private investment.

5. Create an internal communication plan for Fueling Our Future to keep partners and investors informed and engaged.

6. Adopt a Collective Impact Model with Fueling Our Future designated as the backbone organization.

• Create a dashboard of regional workforce indicators and plan metrics including target goals for success.

• Assign lead responsibilities for each of the recommendations.

• Communicate progress through regular partner meetings no less often than quarterly in the first year. The backbone organization would be responsible for an email each month with news and progress. Hold a regional workforce summit each fall to share successes, the next year’s top goals and what you need from attendees.

• The designated backbone organization would be responsible for engaging new members, securing needed financial commitments, and maintaining focus and momentum.

The Fueling Our Future Governance Board

Judd Graham, Dacotah Bank (Chair)

Peter Stenehjem, First International Bank & Trust (Vice Chair)

Shannon Full, the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber (Secretary)

Joe Raso, Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC (Treasurer)

Bernie Dardis, City of West Fargo Chad Flanagan, Eide Bailly Jusin Forde, Midco

Al Hurley, Essentia Health

Tim Mahoney, City of Fargo Tiffany Lawrence, Sanford Health Taya Spelhaug, Microsoft

Steve Swiontek, Gate City Bank

Goal Two: Expand and Retain the Regional Labor Pool

7. Enhance Support for Liveinfmarea.com, FM Welcome Party and Campus FM.

8. Create a community acclimation program with concierge services for regional employers that includes a dedicated staff position to engage and connect businesses with fewer than 200 employees to workforce services with ongoing support.

9. Actively engage the region's five colleges and universities in collaborative recruitment and retention initiatives that leverage their assets as part of an aligned regional workforce strategy.

10. Refine the branding message by conducting a social media audit to provide a review of what both locals and others are posting about the region on digital platforms and utilize it to deliver more strategic messaging and engagement of key influencers.

11. Build on the recent collaborative workforce campaign to build awareness in the Minneapolis-St Paul Region through a two-year campaign. Investigate Chicago and other Midwestern metros as additional targets.

12. Convene Fueling our Future and related stakeholders to assess and possibly invest in programs to scale the regional capacity to integrate immigrants and previouslyincarcerated individuals into the workforce.

13. Support the development of specific policy and program strategies to elevate and address workforce solutions at the State legislative level in North Dakota and Minnesota. Prepare an annual legislative agenda.

14. Support the North Dakota and Minnesota State Chamber efforts to modify childcare rules and regulations to encourage additional childcare capacity.

Goal Three: Prime the Workforce Pipeline

15. Continue support for the Cass County Career Innovation Center and the Moorhead Career Academy.

16. Integrate the Ignite FMWF Components into the overall K-12 engagement strategy.

17. Work with all the school systems to create a guide of all CTE offerings in the region and widely distribute to businesses and parents of students.

Goal Four:

Enhance and Match Adult Skills

18. Continue support for Emerging Digital Academy with three cohorts per year of immersive coding bootcamp.

19. Integrate the Ignite FMWF Components into the overall skills development strategies including online training opportunities and resume building.

20. Explore designating an intermediary organization to support private apprenticeship growth in technology, healthcare and construction trades.

Initiatives Developed and Supported by FOF so Far

• Ignite FMWF - a systematic workforce initiative constructed through regional collaborative relationship development supported by a strong robust technology platform.

• Building Inclusive and Equitable Workplaces - a free six part educational video series put on by The Chamber and hosted by Kira Kimball which was designed to help bridge gaps in the workplace.

• Campus FM - an initiative focused on student engagement with a goal of retaining more college students in our metro.

• Career Workforce Academies

FOF provided support for both the Moorhead Career Academy and the Cass County Career Academy, which are two career and technical training centers to provide career exploration and training for some of the region’s most in-demand careers.

• Emerging Digital Academy - an immersive 20-week course teaching the concepts of coding. It is North Dakota's only immersive coding bootcamp.

• Document-Ready Siteshelped establish two "documentready sites" where much of the planning, zoning, surveying, title work, environmental studies and other necessary steps for opening an office can be proactively completed. This was done in order to make it easier for businesses to discover and develop in our region.

• Workforce Exposure

Initiatives - started the intern development series "Building Successful Internship Programs," a training series offered to businesses to start to grow or improve their internship programs..

Q &A

With the FOF Leaders on the 20 Suggested Strategic Actions

Q: I noticed in the investor report that an objective was set to create a campaign to improve public perception of the initiative. What are some of the misconceptions about the program you'd like to clear up?

This is a young partnership between The Chamber and EDC and over half of its existence we were going through COVID. Some people may not know about the many initiatives we have

developed and supported. So using our recent investor report to share our progress in these areas is important. It also shows the importance of collaboration between the region’s two largest business development organizations.

-Joe Raso, President & CEO, Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation

Q: Could you give our readers a little more insight into how the 20 action items were created?

The consultants we worked with have an incredible amount of experience in developing reports similar to the workforce and talent strategy they developed for our region.

To expand our labor pool, or those who are working within our community, we can either (1) attract more people to live in our region or (2) help people who have left the labor pool to re-engage in it and bring them back. From this, there are additional focuses, which the consultants outlined via these 5 points:

Growing the labor pool can be achieved in 5 ways: (1) attracting more working age adults to move to the region than move away, (2) capturing more graduating students to live and work in the region, (3) aggressively promoting the region for international immigration, (4) engaging more of the people living in the community to join the labor force (mothers, older ex-workers, transitioning parolees, disengaged youth) and (5) as a long-term strategy, having more children that grow up and stay local.

-Peter Stenehjem, President, First International Bank & Trust

Q: How can businesses get involved?

There are numerous ways for businesses to get involved. Leaders can find more information on the Fueling Our Future outcomes, initiatives and future direction on the website, fuelingourfuture. net. In addition, if companies are interested in growing and sustaining their talent pipeline, they can visit the Ignitefmwf.com website where businesses can create a simple profile, post jobs and internships and see a list of all of the skill-based volunteer opportunities that currently exist. These include opportunities such as speaking in a classroom or to a group of job seekers, providing a job shadow or internship, mentoring a student or job seeker and sitting on an advisory board to bring industry experience to the table. In addition, businesses can reach out to the team at The Chamber or the EDC to discover opportunities that specifically align with their individual business goals.

Q: Why should local businesses care about Fueling Our Future?

In essence, FOF is about the future of the region, with a targeted focus on business development and economic vitality. That

In addition, advisory councils are currently being formed in 8 major industry sectors. One other opportunity that is launching soon is the Community Concierge Program which will feature community and business people that are passionate about this region serving as community champions to others moving here. This is a very simple and low-time commitment offering. For more information on this program, people can contact the team at the Chamber Foundation to get involved.

-Shannon Full, President & CEO, the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce

alone should have all local businesses interested in its development, financing and ultimate success.

-Joe Raso, President & CEO, Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation

Q: Why are Liveinfmarea.com, FM Welcome Party and Campus FM all so important for expanding and retaining the regional labor pool?

Regional branding and placemaking are critical aspects as communities across the country battling for talent. Liveinfmarea. com is a place where people interested in the Fargo region can go to learn more and start to explore. FM Welcome Party is an opportunity for those new to our region to learn more

and develop meaningful connections. Our region has tens of thousands of college students and Campus FM is critical in ensuring we are able to keep those students in our region postgraduation. The goal is to continue to get new community members to like and engage, with hopes they stay, work and give back.

-Peter Stenehjem, President, First International Bank & Trust

Q: Is there any update you could give our readers on the research into Chicago as a possible workforce campaign destination?

Talent recruitment is one of the top priorities of the next phase of Fueling Our Future. The Chicago marketplace is a new recommendation within the plan so there will now be a deep analysis and strategy development to see if this is a viable opportunity. An initial project was recently conducted to do some strategic outreach into Minneapolis and it had positive results regarding brand awareness and heightening the opportunities of this region. A similar approach may also be deployed for the

Chicago marketplace. The plan clearly stated that we need to increase brand awareness including our quality of life amenities, higher education offerings, company and career opportunities, etc. Markets like Minneapolis and Chicago are significant targets for us to recruit talent. In addition, there will be significant emphasis on recruiting from outside the U.S. as well as we see increased opportunities surrounding New American and refugee efforts.

-Shannon Full, President & CEO, the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce

So that is what has happened so far, but what is to come?

At the end of October, a full strategic action plan will be presented to the Fueling Our Future Governance Board from the consultants, Economic Leadership. The Governance Committee will then convene business and community leaders to vet the plan, and gather feedback, insights and concerns. Based upon that feedback, priorities will be established, structure and governance will be developed or enhanced and a corresponding budget will be formulated and approved.

Finally, the Governance Committee for Fueling Our Future will then launch the plan and funding strategy to the region.

The FMWF Chamber Foundation receives $9.62 million EDA grant

By the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce

On August 3, The Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber Foundation was awarded a $9.62 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) Good Jobs Challenge Grant. The FMWF Chamber Foundation, in collaboration with backbone organizations such as Grand Farm Research and Education Initiative, North Dakota State College of Science, Emerging Prairie, University of Mary and Workbay, will bolster the region’s economy by developing the skilled workforce needed to support the regional agriculture, manufacturing and cybersecurity/I.T. industries.

In partnership with local employers, The Chamber Foundation will ensure that training programs meet the unique skill needs of our local employers and the regional economy. With a focus on underserved communities—including people of color, immigrants, veterans and military spouses, justice-involved individuals—the grant will allow The Chamber Foundation and its partners to provide a variety of wraparound services and reduce barriers to starting and completing training.

The Good Jobs Challenge Grant was a very competitive process with only 32 projects awarded out of over 500 applications nationwide. Of that, this was the only awarded EDA grant out of 20 applications submitted by organizations in Minnesota and North Dakota. 78 letters of support were submitted on behalf of employers in the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo region. The Ignite Initiative Regional Workforce Training System (IIRWTS) is a collaborative approach to addressing the metro area’s most pressing workforce needs. The IIRWTS addresses several barriers that prevent or discourage members of underserved populations from enrolling in skill training programs. Over the next three years, the region can expect over

900 participants to receive training through the program.

Sign up to collaborate and get connected with our future skilled workforce. In the next months, RFPs will be issued for non-profits that offer services in transportation, childcare, and English language services. Fill out the interest form to be kept in the loop; get involved today!

For more information, head to:

Spotlight’s Web Design is Here For Your Company’s Needs

A conversation with Nick Schommer, Head of Business Development at Spotlight Media

By Grant Ayers

potlight Media is many things more than just a magazine company. Did you know that we’re not only a full-service marketing agency but that we’re also at the forefront of web design? I sat down with

Nick Schommer, Spotlight Media’s Head of Business Development, to discuss the work in our web design and development division, some of our most notable clients and how people can begin working with us. While Spotlight Media has been offering web design services for 4 years and has served 70 websites in that span, Schommer, as well as other in-house developers, have over a decade of significant expertise and experience.

Customized website design and development can become very ambiguous, very quickly. Developers can create a very simple website that's a handful of pages, all the way up to a full e-commerce site that’s completely custom-developed, or anything in between. What we focus on is trying to create forward-thinking and great-looking websites that are not only functional but also help customers drive leads.

Nick Schommer,

Head of Business Development at Spotlight Media

DID YOU KNOW?

Nick Schommer has been a part of 200-plus website design builds over the past 10 years!

Some of our work with Hireclick

OUR EXTENSIVE LIST OF SERVICES!

Spotlight Media is still primarily known as a print media company. Some people may be unaware of the capabilities that we have with web design, as well as the companies that we’ve worked with to prove our reputability, such as Hebron Brick and Thunder Seed.

Q&A

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN HOW SPOTLIGHT MEDIA’S WEB DESIGN PROCESS WORKS FOR THE CUSTOMER?

I think it just comes down to what the customer wants. I like to compare building a website to building a home. Oftentimes, a lot of people tend to look at websites like magic. They often think that it’s just “drag and drop” and that it's really easy and basic. When I use the house concept, it tends to put a much more realistic perspective in their head. You can have 2 different 2,500 square-foot homes, right next to each other. One can be worth $200,000, while the other can be worth $1 million. The difference is what went into the house.

That's very similar to a website. If you have granite versus laminate countertops in a house or other accessories, those little things add up in value. That's a very simplistic way to think of a website in terms of costs and how it's been built. Sites like GoDaddy and Wix are really easy tools for anybody to build a website. Anyone can get a website up and running pretty easily, but to make it look good, function correctly and offer a good user experience is a whole different ball game.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGER THINGS THAT SPOTLIGHT MEDIA DOES TO DRIVE TRAFFIC OR GET PEOPLE TO CHECK OUT WEBSITES THAT WE BUILD YOUR CLIENTS?

We look at this as a reverse engineering process. We ask ourselves “What is the main goal of this website?” I would say that 9 out of 10 times, the goal is to drive leads to a certain page. Currently, we're building a client’s website where they want users to come to the site with the goal of scheduling a tour. When that tour is scheduled, they see the team, location, founder’s name, email and so on. Our job is to drive traffic to it. There's a lot that goes into that, but we're using design and strategy to persuade people to go where we want them to go within the site.

OUR WEBSITES ARE DIFFERENT. WE BUILD DYNAMIC SALES TOOLS TO INSPIRE ACTION & HELP YOU GROW."

HOW MANY WEBSITES HAVE BEEN BUILT IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS AT SPOTLIGHT MEDIA SO FAR? WHAT HAS SPOTLIGHT MEDIA LEARNED THROUGH ITS GROWING EXPERIENCE?

We've designed and built out dozens of websites with varying levels of size and impact in their market. I've realized throughout my experience of building websites that making a website solely look good is easy and solely making a website function is easy, but it's more challenging and most important to incorporate both of those.

One of the things that we realized is that some people are very good at designing, while others are very good at building and developing, but companies can have a tough time finding people who can bring it all together. When we look at other competitors, some websites are very logical and function great, but they look terrible. That blend of design and development can make or break a website, and Spotlight has both qualities so that we can help with setting up a plan and getting more website traffic.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER SPOTLIGHT MEDIA BUILDS OUT A CLIENT’S SITE?

We have a hosting maintenance plan that we usually keep clients on for a low cost and keep that relationship between companies. We hope all of our customers enjoy the process and want to continue to partner together in different ways, whether it be through sales, stories or any other to keep that business relationship steadily going.

WHY SHOULD A NEWCOMER WORK WITH SPOTLIGHT MEDIA FOR WEB DESIGN?

We build websites in a very entrepreneurial way. We're always looking for resources & tools that help us be more efficient throughout the process. That efficiency helps us cut unnecessary costs without cutting corners on design. With the technology that we have today, we're able to deliver high-quality designs that function just as great without having to build a completely custom-developed website. We use WordPress which is an open-source platform in which we have the ability to do anything we want, but it also has a strong community that builds different plugins/widgets that we can utilize for certain functionalities that we need.

WORDS FROM OUR CLIENTS

“We have used Spotlight Media for the last couple of years in a variety of capacities including website development, video production and product materials (brochures, etc). They have always been easy to work with, communicate well during the process and deliver as promised. They have really become our outsourced marketing team. The work they do allows us to focus on the work we do at the core of our business.”

• ASPIRE BANK

“I am the Chief Marketing Officer for the Avalon Events Center and we had Mike and his amazing team design our newest website. We had originally intended on having them update and fix the website we had, but after our meeting we had no doubt having them build us a new site was the direction we had to go. Not only was there an amazing design concept, but they also created the content and optimized every aspect imaginable. The turnaround time was head spinning. We were so happy with our end product. We highly suggest this amazing company for any content from print to digital.”

Some of our work with Hebron Brick

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST TIPS YOU HAVE FOR CLIENTS?

I think that the content they offer on their website is critical to the success of the site. When people come to us to redo or improve their website, and they don't have good content, or simply enough content, but they want to boost their SEO and website traffic, it’s not going to work out well for them. I think just having the content, in general, is more important than most people would assume.

I strongly believe that the process of how a website is I strongly believe that a website should be as simple and clean as it can be. It should have a clear direction or call to action so potential customers can get the information they're looking for as fast and easy as possible. For a high-quality site, a lot goes into it and it’s far more than just a template. When people begin making their own website on Wix or any other free website design website, they see the “drag and drop” option and find it to be easy for them. However, when they see the final product, they’re quickly going to realize how much time they wasted when they expected a lot more out

of it. We can deliver what you were expecting to see and more. We have designers who are creating custom graphics, layouts and designs for the site and client’s use.

Another thing that I hope people understand too is what the typical investment looks like. I think that a lot of people believe that you can get a perfect website for $5,000. In reality, your website is never going to be perfect and you should be constantly updating and changing it so your website reflects the changes in business or how customers are engaging with it. At the end of the day, your website should be your #1 sales rep. It's there 24/7, 365 days a year and it never gets sick or asks for time off. Anyone who is looking for information is either asking Google or a friend for help. We can talk more about the friend later, but the importance of a good website is still undervalued in a day and age when technology and information are at everyone's fingertips.

Some of our work with Rice Companies

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA’S DESIGN PROCESS

DIRECTION

From rapid prototyping to production, our UX / UI design is focused on customer experience, ensuring that every interaction reflects your brand and delivers greater value.

CONTENT

When created strategically, content reflects the brand, aligns with the design and platform and acts as the touching point between brand and consumer. Content does more than express corporate messages—it starts real conversations.

DEVELOPMENT

Our design and development teams work collaboratively. Development not only turns our strategy and design into something tangible; it plays an important role in completing the

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA’S WEB DESIGN STRATEGY

Digital Strategy Consumer Research

Research

data & SEO

Strategy Design

Direction

Design

| Responsive Design

Platforms

Development Development Creative Development

Development Functional Prototyping Content Management

Style Guides

Some of our work with Thunder Seed

Why Invest Into A New Website?

94% OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS RELATE TO YOUR SITE’S WEB DESIGN - RESEARCH GATE

Your audience’s first impression can have a lasting impact on how they perceive your business. When it comes to your website, the majority of first impressions come from your site’s design.

75% OF WEBSITE CREDIBILITY COMES FROM DESIGN - STANFORD RESEARCH

When someone finds your business online, you want them to see that you’re a legit business. With so many unsafe sites on the web, a poorly designed website can make you look like you’re untrustworthy or running a scam.

73% OF COMPANIES INVEST IN DESIGN TO HELP THEIR BRAND STAND OUT FROM COMPETITORS - RESEARCH BY ADOBE

At least 73% of companies invest in design, from product to website design, so they can differentiate themselves from their online competitors. When you’re competing with dozens of companies on the web, you need to give your website a unique touch to help you stand out.

USERS SPEND 88% MORE TIME ON PAGES WITH VIDEOS - SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK STUDY

When you’re optimizing and building your website, don’t neglect the integration of videos. Users spend more time on pages with videos. This tool not only makes your site more visually appealing, but it gets your audience to engage with your website.

MAKE SURE YOUR WEBSITE IS OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE - RESEARCH BY QUARTZ

70% of all internet access comes from mobile phones. With so many existing and potentially new visitors who will be checking out your website on their phones before their computers, make sure you optimize the mobile experience to ensure a positive lasting impression for your visitors.

89% OF CONSUMERS WILL SWITCH TO A COMPETITOR AFTER A POOR USER EXPERIENCE - SALESFORCE RESEARCH

Not only do you need to worry about setting a positive first impression, but you also need to worry about maintaining that positivity as users continue to browse on your site. A beautifully designed website will go to waste if users can’t correctly browse your website and find information.

A WORD FROM OUR CLIENT

“I've been working with Spotlight for a year as they've helped with web development, digital advertising and video for the organization I work for. The experience has been great. I appreciate their willingness to learn about our organization and help take our brand to the next level. The Spotlight team is always readily available for assistance whenever it is needed!”

FOR PEOPLE LOOKING TO GET INVOLVED WITH OUR WEBSITE DESIGN SERVICES, WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR THAT?

I think the best method is to sit down with myself or one of our other sales representatives and uncover what their goals and needs are since everyone's a little bit different. At the end of the day, everyone wants more business and to drive traffic to get leads. There are 100 different ways to build a website. We can figure out what's right for you and start to build around that.

Working with us is as easy as booking a 15-minute meeting! A Spotlight Media representative will join you on a brief Zoom call to discuss your company’s needs and goals with your website.

Office Space Products with InterOffice

An office space can oftentimes be a reflection of the culture within it. Having strong office furniture can keep a space from becoming outdated and a thing of the past. Check out a select few of the latest and greatest office space products from InterOffice!

By Grant Ayers Photos provided by InterOffice

Aeron Chair

The Aeron Chair from Herman Miller is described as ergonomic to the core. This chair was designed for a wide range of body types to utilize. The

The Framery One Booth incorporates the latest technology, leading sound insulation standards and echo-free acoustics. This booth is a place where individuals can get work done without being disturbed by outside noise or distractions. You can also feel confident that private conversations are not being overheard by people outside the booth.

Renew Height Adjustable Table

The Renew Height Adjustable Tables offer a healthier way to work by making you move from sitting to standing a natural part of your day. Renew provides a full range of

Oripura Laptop Stand

The Oripura Laptop Stand positions your laptop so it is easier to see wherever you are working. Raising your

Spun Chair

The Spun Chair is a balance of fun and functional. Made from polypropylene material, the Spun

Eames Lounge Chair

The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman was introduced in 1956 and have endured since. The Eames Chair takes a modern take on a nineteenth-century club chair and is one of the most significant furniture designs of the twentieth century. The Eames Lounge Chair is available in a variety of veneers and upholstery options to fit in perfectly no matter the space.

Reff Private Office

Reff Private Office from Knoll helps create an environment that is ideal to focus on work, minimize distraction, and promote concentration. Reff offers a high level of personalization to create private offices that support various workstyles to meet everyone's needs.

Rockwell Unscripted Media Cart

The Rockwell Unscripted Media Cart allows people to connect and share content in any place across the workplace with its easily moveable stand. Two sizes of the cart are available, one with the capability of holding a TV up to 55" and one able to hold a TV up to 65", this cart makes presenting and sharing easier.

Canvas Workstations

Canvas Workstations create inclusive and enclosed workspaces that give individuals the space to get work done. Canvas offers the flexibility for space to work, storage, privacy, and collaboration. With a multitude of materials and finish options, Canvas Private Office Workstations can be designed to fit the aesthetic of any office.

Table and Desktop Power

Today's workforce expects access to power throughout the office. With more fluid spaces and mobile devices now integral to work, power must be available wherever people may land throughout the day. Mounted above or below the work surface, or inset, Knoll universal power options are available in a variety of sizes, styles and capacities.

Control Table Lamp

The Muuto Control Table Lamp brings an iconic bulb into a modern context. The lamp's name showcases its ability

Series 2 Storage

Storage that works for you. Through smart engineering and innovative construction techniques, Knoll has achieved a lowerpriced storage collection without sacrificing quality, aesthetics, or, most importantly, durability.

Various Office Artwork

InterOffice offers artwork in a variety of styles, sizes and colors. You can select with a frame or just canvas. Their designers work with you to find the perfect piece(s) to complete your space.

Contact InterOffice

By Grant Ayers | Photos provided by PRO Resources

Top Ten Tips for Onboarding

with

Megan Johnson, Human Resources Director of PRO Resources

No matter the work environment, it’s crucial for new employees to have a warm welcome by the organization. Entering a new work environment can oftentimes be overwhelming, as they’re faced with endless new rules and standards that come with any new job. I discussed some of the most vital tips organizations should follow when conducting employee onboarding with Megan Johnson, Human Resources Director of PRO Resources, who’s ready to assist you with any HR Consulting needs you may have.

should complete the following before the newcomer’s first day:

Have a detailed offer letter for the employee.

The offer letter can state where to park, what to wear, as well as any other small details that they should be aware of for their first day. Who will be greeting them? Will they have their picture taken on the first day? Is there a standard dress code they should be immediately aware of?

Ensure “pre-boarding” is complete.

Prior to the new employee’s first day of work, it’s critical to have all technical details handled. While the standards vary from organization to organization, the majority

1. Have their work computer, email and phone ready for them with instructions and passwords prior to the first day.

2. Have other team members from the team send a “welcome” email or message.

3. Welcome them on social media platforms.

4. Message them a picture of their office, or a short video of the team saying hi.

5. Be creative and think outside of the box when wanting to welcome them. Set yourself above the standard!

“Having all these guidelines ready on the employee’s first day shows that the organization is excited for them to start. You

never want to be the person, or company, that ‘forgets’ the person is starting today. Don’t be the supervisor that is too busy to introduce yourself and welcome them to the company. How embarrassing would that be?” - Megan Johnson

What is the company about?

On their first day, it’s important to explain to them what the company is and representative of. Topics can include company culture, mission, history, expectations of the employee, salary and benefits information and more. Be ready to answer any questions they may have!

Provide the necessary policies.

When meeting on the first day and supplying materials, the organization should have copies of employee handbooks, contact information for human resources and company programs (Wellness, EAP, etc) ready for the new team member to review and learn.

Create an environment that makes them feel welcome!

Boost their excitement on the first day by making sure that their office or desk is ready for them, complete with some company merchandise! This could be done by offering something as small as a plant, company sticky notes and pens, clothing, a portfolio, a coffee cup or a $10 gift card for coffee. Anything to make them feel welcome and a part of the team!

While orientation is necessary for completing paperwork and other routine tasks, onboarding is a more comprehensive process. Onboarding is a process of introducing new hires to the new job, acquainting them with the organization’s goals, values, rules, responsibilities, procedures and socializing the new employee into the organization's culture. Good onboarding leads to higher employee engagement and greater retention rates!

Think Outside The Box!

Assign the new employee a mentor or ambassador.

New employees are more than likely going into the position knowing very few people in the organization. Assigning them a mentor or ambassador gives them someone they can go to ask questions and meet with to get a better sense and understanding of company culture. They can do smaller tasks, such as giving them a tour of the building(s), or larger tasks, such as helping them build connections, both internal and external to the company.

Have a detailed outline of the first 1-2 weeks of orientation ready for them.

While the new employee may have a sense of what the job entails, but most likely are unaware of much past that in the environment. Is there a team lunch on day one? Who will they be introduced to or meeting with? Are there any internal trainings that need to be completed?

“At PRO, I got a detailed schedule of what my first two weeks would look like. The schedule included what clients I would be going to, what internal departments I would meet with and shadow, as well as how our jobs interacted with each other.” - Megan Johnson

Sometimes, organizations will have new hires complete a “fun form.” This form asks the employee about some of their favorite things, including coffee, restaurants, places to shop, donut, candy, pizza, ice cream, alcoholic drink, clothing size, wedding anniversary, birthday and more. This gives the employer and their supervisors an idea for birthday and anniversary gifts or meals.

Schedule regular check-in’s with the new employee.

Scheduling regular check-in’s can open up and encourage communication within the company and help build a relationship between the employee and employer. It’s important for the employer to reach out and ask them if they have any questions, need clarification on job duties, expectations, policies, troubleshooting, ask for feedback or solve any concerns they may have.

While this is far from an end-all, be-all on proper guidelines to follow when onboarding a new employee, we’re confident that these are great techniques to make sure that new employees are being welcomed with open arms and their motivation is kickstarted to work

Contact PRO Resources

Phone: 800.776.4671

Email: hello@proresourceshr.com

These forms can include I-9 employee verification, W-4 Form, direct deposit information, as well as NDA and noncompete forms, if applicable. Furthermore, they should have proper access once forms have been filled out. Does the employee have keys or card access to the building if necessary?

Web: ProResourcesHR.com

Facebook: @proresourceshr

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/proresources

Address: 1111 Westrac Drive, Suite 108 Fargo, ND 58103

Ensure that the new employee knows the difference between onboarding & orientation.

Make sure all forms are properly filled out and completed!

Bill Rothman, Chief Financial Officer of Kilbourne Group

Understanding Opportunity Zones

with Kilbourne Group’s

Bill Rothman

Opportunity Zones are an economic development tool that can easily be overlooked by business owners if they aren’t aware of their investment potential. We sat down with Bill Rothman, Chief Financial Officer of Kilbourne Group, to discuss what and where Opportunity Zones are, as well as how someone can use them to their advantage for their business.

How did Kilbourne Group become involved with Opportunity Zones?

This legislation had been contemplated by Congress for about 10 years. It started during the Bush administration, went through the Obama administration, and was approved as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December of 2017. It is thoughtful, bipartisan legislation designed to encourage long-term private sector investment into disadvantaged areas and communities by providing compelling tax incentives. As part of the legislation, each of the states were tasked with designating areas under certain economic conditions and barriers that were considered opportunities based on the 2010 census. When economic data was taken, downtown Fargo, the industrial area, and a couple of small pockets within the Fargo metro area were determined to be eligible. There are a number of readily identifiable investment types in Opportunity Zones, including commercial real estate development and renovation, opening new business or expanding existing businesses into Opportunity Zones, and large expansions of businesses already located in Opportunity Zones.

Can you give a bit of background on Opportunity Zones for readers new to the topic?

According to the Urban Land Institute:

“Here is how it works: If a taxpayer sells an appreciated asset, such as stock, real estate, or some other capital asset, that taxpayer is normally liable for payment of a capital gains tax of up to 20 percent. Under the new tax law, the taxpayer may now defer payment of this capital gains tax liability by reinvesting it in a “qualified opportunity fund” (QOF) within 180 days of the sale.”

If the QOF invests its capital in a [Qualified Opportunity Zone] for at least 10 years, the investor’s share of capital profits in the QOF will be treated as 100 percent tax free.”

Opportunity Zones are an alternative to the traditional 1031 Exchange, with which you can sell a property held for business or investment purposes and swap it for a new one that you purchase for the same purpose, allowing you to defer capital gains tax on the sale. Opportunity Zones expanded the deferral of capital gains to include sale of stock, sale of businesses, major assets that you might sell within a business and a number of other different things that create a capital gain.

DID YOU KNOW?

Kilbourne Group's Opportunity Zone projects opened up roughly 360 brand-new apartments in downtown Fargo this year.

Photo by Dan Francis

The Kesler Building in Downtown Fargo

Photo by Dan Francis

Photo by Dan Francis

Founding Fjell Capital

Tom Stadum launched Fjell Capital as his independent wealth management firm that is committed to helping families manage and protect their wealth through financial plans that account for asset management, retirement planning, wealth transfer, strategic philanthropy, exit planning and tax and estate concerns. Since launching, Stadum has ranked in Forbes’ 2020 Top 10 Best-In-State Wealth Advisors, as well as ranked #1 for Forbes Next Gen Best-In-State Wealth Advisors in 2019.

Lykkly is a FinTech company that offers financial solutions through their software as an employee benefits platform. Despite close ties to wealth management firm Fjell Capital, Stadum affirms that they are two completely separate companies with varying goals and objectives. Instead, he defines them as “sister companies” that have common traits but no interaction with one another.

Two years ago, Stadum and his partners had the initial idea for Lykkly while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. “When I learned about the idea of a FinTech solution to add to employee benefits, I knew that this would be it. In a wealth

management business, an advisor simply can't serve that many clients. So, we brought forth a software solution. We incorporated one year ago and we're in the process of raising a grant right now,” Stadum said. “From a company perspective, we've been incorporated for a year. In terms of timelines, we're going to have the app online by January 1, 2023, but we're hoping it's going to be a little bit sooner. We have companies throughout the United States and all the way down to Florida that have signed up for the beta program already. So far, we have really good initial traction on the platform.”

Did You Know?

The name “Lykkly” stems from the Norwegian term “lykke,” meaning happiness or good fortune!

Lykkly isn't just another Robin Hood where you can buy and sell stocks. This isn't another just dashboard where you can see how much money you have in your 401K and bank accounts. We're really trying to build a useful, intuitive tool where we can help people every single week through engaging content to make strides in their finances.” - Tom Stadum

better for their employees and ensure that they’re doing everything in their power for an employee’s mental health.”

Stadum believes that there’s a hole within the wellness space that Lykkly can fill, in turn, positively impacting the lives of users. Less stressed people spend less time thinking about their money and can focus their attention on their work, in turn increasing productivity. When they get home after work, they can focus on their family and not be bothered by external stressors.

“This is a software problem because we want to reach everyone across a very huge market and there just aren’t enough people to help our country. There are around 127 million full-time workers in our country. There are 19 million college students in our country. That's a lot of people that need financial help,” Stadum said.

What do you believe that more people should be doing for less financial stress?

“What’s most important to ease that burden is to simply spend time working on their relationship with money. People get stuck in procrastination more often than they should. At the end of the day, all that does is fuel stress. I think being cognizant of the fact that you have to keep moving financially is one of the most beneficial things someone can do for themselves. Secondarily, I think it’s important to understand that the world is much different than it was a few years ago. From the work that we've already done in the market for Lykkly, it’s clear that people and companies are operating completely differently than they were in 2019. Money is on the minds of a lot of people, but we’re proud that we’re one of the few companies that have been created in the ashes of some pretty serious change. We want to drive and equip people to take charge of their money and put themselves in the driver's seat of their finances during these times.”

- Tom Stadum

Services including Mint Mobile, Robinhood and Fidelity are some of the largest financial platforms that come to the general market’s mind. However, Lykkly is hoping to set themselves apart from the competition by doing things with an extra level of care and compassion for the customer.

“Our focus on mindsets and behavior is completely different. A lot of our competitors in this

space tells their clients, ‘Hey, here are all of our resources. Good luck to you!’. On the other hand, we actually want to help and understand their goals. A lot of companies are trying to sell wellness solutions to employers, but really all those wellness solutions are just repurposed dashboards that have been around for 10 years. Another dashboard likely isn't going to change someone's life and spending habits. However, creating an engaging experience with unique content at the right frequency delivered will ultimately bring substantial progress to a user’s financial life,” Stadum said.

While the program was born and based out of North Dakota, Stadum and his partners’ ambition expands far further than our local community. The Lykkly team has been vocal about their hopes of it taking off and becoming successful with clients not just in North Dakota, but across the United States.

“This is far from just a Midwest company. We want this thing to create jobs in North Dakota, but we also want this to make a difference across the country. I'll tell you as somebody within the wealth management industry, everyone's trying to figure out how they can target these young people that could benefit from bettering their financial situation, and then determining what the best way to help them

Did You Know?

Tom Stadum has been surrounded by the world of finances throughout his life, as he’s a third-generation financial advisor.

could be. How can we offer them solutions to actually get them into a place where they can become better and more profitable citizens of financial services?” Stadum said.what the best way to help them could be. How can we offer them solutions to actually get them into a place where they can become better and more profitable citizens of financial services,” Stadum said.

One of the routes that the team behind Lykkly is exploring is through an engaging platform experience. Stadum noticed that the algorithms behind social media including Facebook, TikTok and more are rather addicting. Leaning into those natural tendencies to pursue social media, Stadum aims to push a platform that’s equally engaging, yet significantly more beneficial to the targeted audience.

“My dad is 74 years old and he'll watch Instagram Reels every night. We want to create an engaging experience through an app and user-generated content that's very natural. Most people think about their money daily, as they think about how much they're spending at the grocery store, restaurants, on bills and whatnot,” Stadum said. “Through the platform, we want to create a natural rhythm and cadence for people to work on their money and financial habits in a way that's natural for them. Having a retirement calculator

isn't necessarily going to change behaviors. Rather than tell people their outcomes, we want people to find their own outcomes with our resources and learn from the experience. We provide a platform in which people can empower themselves, educate themselves and be happy with their money.”

Many people may be uncertain about the economy’s future, as well as their personal finances in the near future. However, Stadum appears to be confident in the future, as long as Lykkly makes the impact they intend it to.

“People worry about their money and different financial outcomes all the time. As Lykkly forms, we’re focused on putting a real effort into building a company that isn’t about distributing a product, but rather about equipping people with the right knowledge, as that's what's going to yield real change. When you examine companies’ benefits, 60,000-plus employees of these big companies have already had benefits similar to this, but what we want to do is drive them down to smaller companies, as that’s where the market is going,” Stadum said.

An All-New Podcast!

The “Happy with Money” Podcast, developed for the Lykkly platform, is hosted by members of the Lykkly team and aims to tell personal stories of people with their money. Listeners can currently check out new episodes every Wednesday on all major podcaststreaming platforms..

While the program may not be fully launched at the time of writing, companies looking to get involved on the ground level can enroll in the beta or pilot program today. Companies can receive early access to the platform by going to Lykkly.com and entering their email address to receive further details and support for enrollment.

Lykkly aims to not only bring companies a new, useful benefit to include in their packages, but to reinvent financial wellness services that make a legitimate impact on users. The service brought forth by industry veterans was designed to bring positive change in a person’s financial mindset and spending habits. With an ambition to launch across the country, Lykkly is bound to grow immensely over the

Concordia's Entrepreneurial Mindset Training

Get an exclusive preview of Concordia College's new program for entrepreneurial leaders in the community

By Josiah Kopp & Bree Langemo

lthough Fargo-Moorhead has been an epicenter for entrepreneurship for years, Concordia College's new entrepreneurial training program is bringing entrepreneurship to community leaders equipping them with critical skills and valuable tools that will drive innovation in their organizations.

In partnership with the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative, Concordia is offering entrepreneurial training that uses an experiential, problembased methodology called the Opportunity Discovery Process. Participants are encouraged to apply what they are learning within realworld, ambiguous, resource-constrained circumstances, enabling them to develop entrepreneurial attitudes, behaviors and skills.

Here you will get an overview of the program, how it works, testimonials from people who have completed the program as well as some exclusive content from the program itself.

The entrepreneurial mindset consists of our underlying beliefs and assumptions.

To test our assumptions and discover new opportunities, we use the Opportunity Discovery Process.

The Opportunity Discovery Phase consists of three phases: problem finding, problem solving, and creating value.

Photos provided by Concordia College

Outline of the Training

Concordia College now offers Entrepreneurial Mindset Certification Training for profit, nonprofit, academic and government organizations interested in cultivating entrepreneurial leaders. The training is delivered by the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative virtually in ninety minute sessions over a four week period through Concordia's Center for Entrepreneurship.

Session 1

In the first session, participants will delve into the entrepreneurial philosophy that is the foundation of the program. In this session, entrepreneurship is redefined as more than business creation but rather a mindset, a way of thinking and acting that can be applied in any leadership role.

Session 2

In the second session, participants are introduced to the Opportunity Discovery Process, using a canvas to break down a real-world problem that they want to solve and identifying key stakeholders to interview.

Session 3

Participants iterate the problem they are working to solve by adapting their canvas based on feedback received from key stakeholders. In this session, participants also hear from real world entrepreneurs from the Fargo-Moorhead community.

Session 4

In the final session, the participants share key takeaways and next steps for their Opportunity Discovery Process. Participants also discuss how the training will be applied in their own leadership roles. Upon successful completion, participants are certified to facilitate the entrepreneurial mindset curriculum in their own organizations.

Exclusive Pieces from the Opportunity Discovery Process

We sat down with United Way Senior Community Engagement Manager Taylor Schnitzler to walk through exclusive pieces of the Opportunity Discovery Process and how she applied them to her entrepreneurial ambitions while taking the program.

Canvas Phase 1: What problem do you want to solve?

STEP 1: Define the problem

"In my case, I looked at it from the lens of mental health, which is a large issue in the world. The next step is about narrowing it down to see what avenue you want to go towards. Having two young children and being a new parent, I want to make sure that their behavioral needs are met. Then I thought, 'do other people have this problem?' Absolutely they do. 'Is this problem worth solving?' Yes, it is. Those are the kind of questions that you go through in your mind when defining the problem."

TIP: Keep in mind that you are defining the problem based on your own assumptions that need to be tested.

STEP 2: Identify and interview key stakeholders who have the problem

"Next, I had an impact panel with experts, who I was so fortunate to have through the program that I oversee. They describe the problems that a lot of schools are having and how teachers don't necessarily have [the tools] to help themselves when [students] have behavioral issues in the classroom. Hearing that only reiterated the fact that this is a need. Full-service community schools were talked about, as well as bringing in a school community coordinator into the schools. It's really that research that kickstarts that project into that creative thinking and innovative thinking." Important questions to ask are: what are we doing? what aren't we doing? and what potentially could we do?

TIP: Create a list of questions to ask stakeholders that allow you to test your assumptions.

STEP 3: Revise the problem based on stakeholder feedback

"In the research phase, when you talk to individuals, you realize that maybe there's something else that sparks interest, such as having mental health providers within schools—that was a large one. Not only does it benefit students within schools but it also benefits the teachers. Having something centralized within a school system is important—that was one of the 'aha!' moments for me. This goes beyond early intervention for toddlers; how can we continue to … create ongoing resources for students and teachers?"

TIP: Determine which assumptions were challenged and any knowledge gaps that require further investigation.

Testimonials from People Who Have Completed the Training

Director of Operations, RMHC Fargo

"This program intrigued me as a proactive way to recognize opportunities and solve problems from a different perspective. This training helped me stretch beyond just solving problems that are presented, but to proactively look for ways we can improve the RMHC experience for all who walk through our doors. Mindset matters and I’m glad to have been able to make improvements to our volunteer experience. This course has helped me grow and will have a lasting impact on our mission."

Ashley Petersen Taylor Schnitzler

Senior Community Engagement Manager, United Way

"I understood prior to the training that this course had the potential to impact my life and livelihood—who I am at work and who I am outside of work. The course reminded me that we all possess an entrepreneurial mindset, however, forget to tap into it. The insights are there, we simply need to remember to pause, redirect our thinking and embrace alternative ways of discovering solutions. My role as Senior Community Engagement Manager at United Way of Cass-Clay gives me opportunities to explore new ways of expanding United Way’s footprint and impact on our community. One thing I’m currently working on is how to expand the generational diversity depth and breadth of our programming, so the appeal widens and includes more community members. The United Way Emerging Leaders program is evolving to Lead UNITED in 2023. In my role of overseeing this program, the new shift allows me to think creatively and innovatively."

The next Entrepreneurial Mindset Certification Training will be offered February 3-24, 2023. To learn more, visit concordiacontinuingstudies.com/mindset or email Bree Langemo at blangemo@cord.edu.

Photo by Josiah Kopp

American Dream

NNed Halilovic had little to nothing when he came to America in 1996. As a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Halilovic pursued the American dream to find success in launching his own business, Ambassador Cleaning. After graduating from Concordia College, where he studied Political Science and Pre-Law, Halilovic founded Ambassador Cleaning in 2002.

Ambassador Cleaning provides a wide variety of cleaning, detailing and janitorial services for companies of all sizes. In 2007, Halilovic opened a local franchise of Rainbow Restoration. Rainbow Restoration, unlike Ambassador Cleaning, specializes in emergency cleaning services, such as water mitigation, carpet cleaning, and fire and mold remediation.

We sat down to discuss what inspired Halilovic to pursue his entrepreneurial passion, his journey to success and some of the challenging hardships that he’s found growth in.

By Grant Ayers

Q: Did you always want to own your own business growing up, or is that something that just happened?

A: My dad was a businessman. He had a store, like a Herbergers, with stylish clothing. I was always working as a kid in a store with him, but I didn't really know that I'd be in business like him. The idea of a cleaning business came when I was in college. My mom never imagined that I would do a cleaning business. When I graduated from Concordia College and started the cleaning business, she said, "Well, why did you go to college?" It opened lots of doors. You still have to get educated, design your ideas and connect with people. With college, it's much easier to change careers, whether it's teaching, opening your own business or any other path.

Q: Did you always think about being independent and wanting to own Ambassador Cleaning?

A: As a kid growing up, I wanted to like be a businessman like my dad to have independency. On the other hand, I always wanted to be Secret Service, CIA or FBI. I would have loved to do that. But obviously, in my last year at Concordia College, I started cleaning. From a cleaning aspect, I think in America everybody needs cleaning. American people don't like to clean, and they would rather have somebody clean for them. In my last year of college, when I would clean a quite messy place and make it look good, I would feel really good about doing that. Then I thought that there are a few things that everyone needs and will never die, with cleaning being one of them. Whether it be industrial or commercial, it doesn't matter. So I thought that was a really great business concept to have. I didn't waste any time. As soon as I

graduated, I got one account and started cleaning. I was the only employee, cleaning by myself, and one by one it grew into the self-owned Ambassador Cleaning.

Q: How long were you the only employee of Ambassador Cleaning?

A: Three months. Then I got more and more accounts, and I couldn't do it myself because it was so popular. I hired more people through word of mouth.

Q: Do you remember how many hours you were working a day approximately?

A: When I was by myself, I would be doing sales, marketing and door-knocking. Then I would clean early morning and late evening. So, I was putting in about 12 to 15 hours a day, every day, for three years. After those first three years, my wife came in and she helped me a lot.

Q: What allowed you to scale up when a lot of other cleaning businesses just stay at one level?

A: My goal was to have a half million dollars, then I wanted to have a million, then three million, then five. My goal was, and still is, always increasing. When I started, I couldn't have freedom if I was just by myself. I was working Saturdays and Sundays. I could never go on vacation and I couldn't call in sick. It was like I was in prison. I knew from day one, that specific lifestyle wasn't for me. I knew that I was going to do this and keep working hard until I succeeded and could move out of that lifestyle.

Photos Courtesy of Rainbow Restoration

A: I was blessed with good employees who are people that came to this country to work. I have this theory of managing people where I won't be on your case 24/7 or checking in on you every day. I show them the account, train them and tell them what is important to me. I give them the freedom to work at their pace, but they're going to get paid much better if they do a quality job in a shorter amount of time. If the manager says that things aren't up to standard, they're going to go back and fix it on their own time. If they do a good job and stay focused on their work, then they'll be able to enjoy the freedom of not being tied to punching in and being at a certain location at a certain time and they'll make good money.

Q: It sounds like it's important for you to keep it kind of simple as far as the number of rules you have.

A: As long as they bring the quality customer service we advertise, that's what matters most to me.

A: Hiring somebody who will replace me and who looks for the quality that I wanted was a challenge. I can't check all accounts. I needed to find an individual who can go out there, click with employees, check these accounts and be positive. Hiring a good manager was tough and challenging to find. That was the first two to three years, but I found a guy that I trust and he's been with me for 17 years.

A: We just started talking and I offered him a couple of accounts for him to clean and check. He liked it and he really proved himself. As far as managing, checking and reporting to me with suggestions and coming up with ideas about how can we save money, which was very helpful. He was willing to go the extra mile. After I got married and stuff, my wife also manages some accounts and employees, so it's not just things on my own. Later on, we had to find an office manager to answer the phones and stay on top of invoices. Now she's been with me for four or five years.

Q: What’s your operating standard process to ensure employees are up to your standards?

Q: What have been some of the challenges you faced along the way in growing your business? How did you address those challenges?

Q: How did you find a great manager like that?

Q: How have you managed to retain employees for so long in both businesses?

A: We offer medical insurance for full-time employees and vacation pay. We like our employees to stay with us. Most of our employees have been with us for over 10 years. 70%, I would say, have been there for 10-plus years. Many are at the five, six and seven-year mark, but the majority of them have 10 or more years. I'm not the bossy type. I always try to give my employees a lot of respect and I get respect in return.

Q: Are there any other important lessons that you've learned along the way that you think our readers might appreciate?

A: Great customer service in America is something that you must have, no matter the type of business. Working with Bell Bank and SCHEELS for years has shown me that customer service is so important, as well as how important it is to surround yourself with good people that will look after your back and make sure that your business is running efficiently. It's also important to help the employees feel comfortable and friendly and they won't want to leave. If your competitor comes to your employees and offers a couple of bucks extra, the goal is for them to say "No, thank you. I like the freedom and I'm happy." I think providing excellent customer service and treating your employees the way that you want to be treated in a friendly environment will keep you going and growing.

Q: Have you faced any staffing issues lately at either Ambassador Cleaning or Rainbow Restoration?

A: Yes and no. For example, I want to hire an operations manager, or possibly, General Manager, for the Rainbow Rainbow International Restoration side of my business and that has been

a bit of a challenge. But we haven’t been like other businesses that were forced to close their doors. We haven’t had their staffing issues, thank God.

Q: Do you still hire people predominantly from the Bosnia-Herzegovina region?

A: No, we have people from all over now, including people from Africa and from the Middle East. We have a very unique and diverse staff. The refugees that come here are a true labor force. If you look at big companies like Marvin windows, like 80% of their staff is immigrants. Some of these companies would not be existing here if there were no refugees or immigrants from the Middle East or Bosnia. If you're looking for a long run, these are guys that will stick around and remain loyal to you if you just treat them how employees should be treated. If they invest a little bit in them and train them, these people will stay forever.

Q: Is investing in your employees something that you've tried to do with both Ambassador Cleaning and the franchised Rainbow Restoration?

A: Yes. Employees with a lot of accounts get their own vehicle, and they drive to and from accounts with it. I give them vehicles, health insurance, and holiday and recreation pay. It's important to find a niche to attract people to come to you. When you bring one good, hard-working employee, you want him to brag about the business and talk about you to another person. Then that person can say, "This guy told me so many good things about you and I want to work as he does." Then he's happy and going to bring more people on board. That's what happened to me. One guy started working for me and he brought in probably seven or eight guys whom all began working full-time for me. I think it’s important to make people happy and help them like the work they’re doing.

A: I think for anyone opening a franchise like Rainbow Restoration, I would definitely encourage people to look into the franchise model because you have support. Your paperwork is done and everything is already there. You just have to come and run it. You have to do the sales for yourself and employ people, but a franchise gives you an extra push compared to starting your own business. Franchising already has everything, from marketing to sales and all the tools that you could need.

Q: Do you have any tips for people with opening a franchise, no matter the industry?

A: Look at what their values are, what they stand for, how many franchises they have and why people like them. Do your research into their mission, purpose and why they started. I don't think that you can go wrong if you have money to invest in the franchise as long as you do the things that they tell you to do. You have to do the sales and put in the work to see the benefits, but it's going to be worth it.

Contact

Cleaning

Contact Rainbow Restoration

Q: What's it like running a franchise like Rainbow Restoration? I have to imagine there are some unique components.

10

Questions 10

ohn Machacek, Chief Innovation Officer for the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation, has worked with countless startups throughout our community over the past nine years. He knows their ups, and their downs, but most of all, he knows the questions to ask them. Here are John Machacek’s 10 questions for Windsor Waffles' CoFounders Iby and Michelle Nemati.

By John Machacek Photo by Josiah Kopp

01

Will you please tell us your Windsor Waffles elevator pitch?

Iby: Michelle and I have discussed elevator pitches, but we have always preferred our why: We make waffle wishes come true, bringing joy, happiness and color to your everyday, creating memories to be shared and treasured from baby showers to birthdays to weddings.

02

What prompted you to start the business and why a waffle-on-a-stick business?

Iby: We have both had an entrepreneurial mindset from a young age and we had always wanted to create businesses. We both went to university and got busy in our careers and we never really felt like we had the time to focus on a business. When we came up with Windsor Waffles, we had multiple business ideas in mind but we wanted to create something where we could gain lots of experience while starting simple, and create something fun. We both love food, especially desserts, and wanted to do something that would make people happy and put a smile on faces no matter the age.

Both of us really wanted to learn, making sure we knew how to manage things from the ground up and gain experience in all facets of the business. We also wanted to create something where we would be more in control of hours worked so we could learn the business better which would in turn help create more time to coach and transfer knowledge to our teammates. We did this so we could focus more of our time on growth and strategy and work on the business rather than just in the business.

03

It is quite an interesting food product. Did it take a lot of testing and trial and error to get it right?

Michelle: There was a lot of testing, trying new flavors and processes until we felt we got it right. For example, initially just developing the batter consistency to stay on a stick was a task. The fun part was taste testing; both of us love all things sweet so we had originally come up with 10 flavors of various kinds. We involved our friends and family in our version of a fun focus group, using a variety of demographics spanning regions, ages and jobs which helped to narrow down flavor options, and create some new flavors too. Iby, being from England, wanted to do a lot more of the Nutella based Windsor Waffles but after the Friends

and Family Focus group we realized that here in this part of the USA, things are much more peanut butter based which is not as common back in England. The popularity of cinnamon sugar surprised us both and was a recommendation from the taste testers. Another totally unexpected side of the business that we ended up getting very familiar with was how to adapt our product and set up to handle the elements. Until you have to work outdoors, you really learn how varying and extreme the weather is in ND/MN.

04

I first met you two at a GFMEDC FM Welcome Party. This was before Windsor Waffles and you both had regular “8-5” jobs. What made Iby make the switch and go full-time into Windsor Waffles?

Iby: While both working full time, we realized that the type of jobs and careers we had chosen were never really an 8-5 job. I was working late evenings and weekends too, it was just the nature of being in the mortgage profession. So, with me working so many hours we realized that one, we would find it difficult to find any time to ever get a business started, and two, I was already working so many hours, so if I’m going to put that many hours into a business it might as well

10 Questions

be my own. And three, we were waiting for a perfect time to start a business for years and realized that if we don’t start it now when will we? So, we tested the business model and concept at the Folkways event Christkindlmarkt here in Fargo. The event organizers Joe and Simone answered a lot of our questions and we were lucky enough to get accepted into their event to trial our concept. Once we did that first event there was no turning back; the reaction from customers was better than we could have imagined, so I jumped in with both feet and started designing a sustainable business model where I could replace my income.

05

You do both public events, such as the Red River Market, as well as private events of varying sizes. What can you tell me about your strategies for event sales?

Michelle: We have changed up our strategy over the

years to adapt to the nature of our business. We like to incorporate a variety of public and private events of all sizes. For the first few years it was finding out where our product did the best at and capitalizing on those events, especially when the summers are short. The community has been a great support for small businesses like us to start and grow. Events like the Red River Markets, Night Bazaars and food truck festivals have been such an amazing thing for us and a way for us to increase our visibility and awareness. Public events have also led to many private events. One strategy we have taken is creating hard copy materials to have at our booth – tri-fold brochures with product images, info on pricing and how to place a special event. Through having these materials on hand, we have been able to book customer or employee appreciation events, private parties, weddings, graduations, etc. Our primary focus has been the metro area, however, over the past year or so we have expanded our events to Minneapolis, Detroit Lakes, Bismarck, Minot, Grand Forks and even recently to New Salem.

06

I can tell that planning, process and consistency are important to you and your brand. What kind of processes to you have in place to effectively operate your business?

Michelle: I am much more of a scenario planner than Iby, however, we both agree that processes are important for a business to succeed. This goes from quality standards to making sure the business is running as efficiently as possible. We have continuously learned and toyed with perfecting our processes and are now at a stage where we have standard operating procedures with feedback and creativity from our teammates to create these. The attention to process has been helpful in training staff and developing team leads which has allowed us to shift responsibility so we no longer always need to be on onsite. But even though I am a huge planner, I have come to realize that you can have the best plan but things

can change and obstacles can present themselves. You just need to know that it’s okay if things go wrong –you just need to react, learn and adapt. From adversity, struggles and obstacles can come better processes.

07

Have there been any particularly helpful resources for you along the journey?

Iby: We have been lucky to have a lot of great resources in North Dakota and Minnesota. One of the biggest things we learned was while you can Google things to learn, sometimes it can be easier to pick up the phone and have a five-minute phone call rather than spending hours researching online. For example, there are many resources at your fingertips such as info from health inspectors, patent offices and also leaning on other business owners in the community has been a great help and resource. Fargo Moorhead is so community-based that many other entrepreneurs

have given tips and tricks they’ve learned. The owners of Thunder Coffee have been so helpful and have given us great advice and each owner has their own set of knowledge; plus, they’ve let us do some pop-ups there in the winter months which we have been very grateful for. We also attend as many entrepreneurial events as possible, such StartupBREW, as these events are a great way to surround yourself with like-minded people and an entrepreneurial community. It is really important to find people that you can surround yourself with who are positive and entrepreneurial. This community is great for that.

08

Is there anything new on the horizon for your business that excites you?

Michelle: We continue to focus on growing the business through more events and locations, but we are also working on some cool things to grow our brand as well

as test out new product offerings. Follow our website and social media pages to stay up to date on where you can find us and our new offerings to come.

You can follow us on Facebook + Instagram: @windsorwaffles Website: windsorwaffles.com

09

Iby: Start now! Don’t wait. There is never a perfect time to start a business. Start now and figure it out as you go, as there will always be obstacles but that is not a reason not to start something. Obstacles are the reason to start something and where your business will find strength in adversity!

Michelle: Take time to appreciate and celebrate your achievements as they come.

10

What can we do as a community to help Windsor Waffles succeed?

We would love to be part of your personal and company events. We love working with groups of all sizes and needs. This can include company Christmas parties, customer appreciation events, weddings and graduations. Find us on social media, and like our Instagram and Facebook pages.

Facebook: @windsorwaffles Instagram: @windsorwaffles windsorwaffles.com

About John

If you could go back in time to Iby and Michelle from a few years ago, what hindsight advice would you give yourself?

WOMEN YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Emily Buckingham

OWNER, F45 STUDIO

Emily Buckingham wants you to strive through the chaos. She is the owner of F45 Studio, which she started with her husband only a few months ago. Moving to and starting a business in a new community with a young family is tricky, but with set guidelines, a strict schedule and help from new neighbors, they are making it work.

Q. Tell me a bit about yourself.

A. I’m from northern Minnesota. Living up there, I was able to be part of a lot of extracurricular activities, which is what sparked my interest in sports and sports medicine. We didn’t have an athletic trainer who was there regularly, but we had one that traveled. That sparked my interest in the body and sports medicine.

I went to school at the University of North Dakota and completed their athletic training program. I thought I wanted to go on for physical therapy, but was undecided. I moved to Wyoming and then California, working with students at both stops. I also worked with professional athletes in a biomechanics research lab. I fell in love with sports medicine and got to really see the whole spectrum of age for athletes. When my husband proposed, we moved back to Wyoming, then we went to Colorado. We really state hopped for the last few years. He got a job offer to move to Texas, and I figured our bags were still pretty much packed so we might as well! I took time off work, because you have to take a test for every state you practice in, but an opportunity with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association came across my desk. I got to work on the business side of the sports world there, and I really loved that. When COVID hit, we tried to figure out how to travel to see family, and we had been talking about how every place we’d lived there was an F45 studio and we thought it would be great to own one. We figured Fargo would be a great location because it was between both of our families, and there wasn’t an F45 studio up here.

Q. What is F45?

A. F stands for functional and 45 is the amount of time you do the work for. A friend and I had been gym hopping and trying out a bunch of free trials for different places, and we fell in love with the F45 studio. It’s like rehab on steroids. It’s what we would do with people for sport performance. It was such a unique concept and such a sustainable way to work out that I fell in love with it. The brand as a whole’s tagline is “Team Training, Life Changing.” When I was home with our son, I had the time to

really figure out what I love about sports medicine and what my passions are. I just want to help people be the best version of themselves, and to be that you have to have a happy and healthy life. You have to wake up and feel good and know how to move your body right. Community is a big part of that, too. F45 encompasses that.

We are so excited by the response we’ve gotten from those in the community. The diversity of ages and people who come into the studio is really great to see and really eye-opening. It’s still super brand new. We soft opened in April and officially opened in May, but having been open for only a short period, we’re super happy with what we’re seeing. We had a guy come in with a resting heart rate of 90 beats per minute and now it’s at 60 beats per minute. It’s so incredible to see how people’s bodies and confidence and abilities have changed since coming in. The company also has a “no mirrors, no microphones, no egos” policy. You take the pressure off of yourself, and it helps make what you learn here applicable to the rest of your life.

Q. What was it like to open a business in a community that you had just moved to?

A. Initially, it was pretty scary. But the community in Fargo is truly so incredible. The person we reached out to, to be our realtor, gave us great insight on who to connect to on the build-out. We got involved with the chamber, and those members have been so supportive with the new business process and making introductions. Right away, it was scary because we had no clue what we were doing and didn’t know many people. Everyone we’ve met has been willing to help and give advice, and we’ve learned a lot through word of mouth. We’ve been so appreciative of how, in true Midwestern passion, we’ve been welcomed here.

Q. Tell me about your experience opening a franchise.

A. F45 as a franchise is great because you get a ton of support and resources. With a franchise comes a lot of rules and regulations, so they’re very strict on how the studio looks, how the build-out looks

and even the striping on the walls has to be a specific height off of the floor. Everything has to be perfect, which is great because it’s a consistent product. F45 is in 65 countries globally, so if you walk into a studio in Canada, they’re doing the same workout we’re doing today. So, for the community, it’s great to have that uniformity, but it’s difficult as the owner to have to get approval every step of the way and meet those criteria. It helped us get off the ground quicker because we didn’t have to figure out the technology or any of the back-end things that you don’t really think about. There are two sides to it.

Q. I imagine it takes some of the creativity out of the process but also takes some of the pressure off as a new business owner.

A. Definitely. F45 is great at allowing us to be creative. I do all of the social for us. They give us parameters of what to post, but we solely own and operate those channels how we want. You can get creative about how to run the business.

Q. Especially for small business owners and for women, it’s so hard to strike a balance between personal and professional. I assume with your family being so involved with the business, those lines are even more blurred. How do you set boundaries and make sure you’re caring for yourself?

A. It’s tricky, especially with a newborn. I get incredible support from my husband and he’s great about taking the kids if I need to take some time for myself. I grew up in the country so being in nature is how I recharge. Being able to go for a walk and go outside is what helps me fuel up for the next day. One thing I did early on in my career was create a habit of time blocking my day. I set up from this time to this time, I work on this, and then this time to this time, I work on this. It helps keep me organized and sane when it’s pure chaos and you just have to strive through it.

What Is a Startup Community?

By Jenny Sheets

SStartups are more than ideas that just form in someone’s garage over pizza (although that still happens). Startups are the manifestation of ideas; they are catalysts for economic and community development; they bring unique excitement and energy to communities. The people behind the startups, whether they are the founders or employees, help build the community by sourcing local talent, hiring college students as interns, bringing in development dollars and inspiring all of us with their risktaking and moonshot ideas. Because of startups we all can ask, “What if…” and see what’s truly possible.

The Idea Behind ‘Startup Communities’

Brad Feld is an entrepreneur and investor who co-founded Techstars, an investment-backed accelerator, in 2006. After working with so many startups, and seeing the positive growth in his town of Boulder, Colorado, Feld wrote Startup Communities, a book outlining what it takes to build a successful startup community. Our staff at Emerging Prairie are all asked to read this book because we believe in the philosophy and sentiment that the more startup activity we can encourage, the more community and economic opportunities for all of us. And who doesn’t want to say they supported “the next big thing?”

The Foundation of a Startup Community

After seeing the success in Boulder and studying other startup hubs like Boston

and San Francisco, Feld believes strongly that a startup community must start with the following foundation:

Entrepreneurs must lead the startup community.

This means entrepreneurs must lead programming, initiatives, events and anything that supports startups. For example, at Emerging Prairie, we host many events targeting startups, such as our private capital event, Prairie Capital Summit. We source input from local entrepreneurs and we put startups on stage who want to be featured because if entrepreneurs aren’t behind this event, then what’s the point?

The leaders must have a long-term commitment.

The entrepreneurs who are going to make an investment of time and energy into the community must be here for the longhaul. Luckily in the Fargo metro, many people feel invested in this community and have a desire to stay. While we should encourage every entrepreneur to be a leader, our startup community is most likely going to see the most success with someone who is here to stay rather than here to step into the spotlight and then leave.

The startup community must be inclusive of anyone who wants to participate in it.

In short: the more startup activity, the better. Forming a startup and selfidentifying as an “entrepreneur” can be intimidating, especially if someone does not see themselves represented in what they believe a successful “entrepreneur” to be. There are more and more programs

forming to encourage individuals of all ages and backgrounds to explore what it means to start a company. Right here in Fargo we have gener8tor, which has two accelerators that provide an immense amount of business support and are aimed at being as inclusive as possible. Additionally, Builders and Backers, a new program to Fargo, invests in very earlystage ideas, helping entrepreneurs test their concepts.

This inclusivity will help our entire community. Feld writes: “Building a startup community is not a zero-sum game in which there are winners and losers; if everyone engages, they and the entire community can all be winners.”

The startup community must have continual activities that engage the entire entrepreneurial stack.

There are many key players involved in a successful startup community (see below) and they must all be engaged in meaningful ways. This includes hackathons, startup competitions, pitch nights, deeper networking events and more. By providing opportunity to build social capital and connecting key players in authentic ways, everyone feels a deeper connection to their role in the startup community. For example, Emerging Prairie’s weekly speaking series, StartupBREW, showcases two founders who tell their “founder story” on stage. However, we also highlight community builders and supporters who make the startup ecosystem what it is. The event also allows for low-stakes socializing over coffee, giving people the time to talk one-on-one and create relationships and opportunity. The result? People have been offered jobs because of StartupBREW, found new opportunities, been inspired

Jenny Sheets is the Director of Startup

to start their own companies, have met accountants and lawyers and more. The entire entrepreneurial stack is engaged, which benefits our entire community.

Key Players in a Startup Community

Entrepreneurs — Like noted above, entrepreneurs must be leaders. They must want to see the startup community succeed and they must lead the charge. Entrepreneurs may be early stage, experienced later stage, students, tech, brick-and-mortar—the point is, they are diverse and representative of an inclusive environment.

Government — Government officials must be supporters, not leaders. They should ask entrepreneurs what they need and be transparent about what can be done and what can’t. Finally, and very importantly, they should be actively engaged in the startup community and excited for the entrepreneurs.

Universities — Universities can be a hub for startup activity: from the students to professors, to research labs and entrepreneurship programming—startups don’t just happen in the business school.

Investors — Investors are a key player to a startup community, but entrepreneurs are the ones doing the hard work. Investors should be supporters to the startup ecosystem, not gatekeepers of capital.

Mentors — Mentors are different from advisors because there is no exchange of equity or payment. Mentors are experienced entrepreneurs and investors who want to give their time because they believe in the startup community.

Service Providers — These players are

critical and often overlooked: lawyers, accountants, marketing consultants, etc. If service providers want to be really progressive and invested, they will offer their services at no charge to early stage startups. The long-term benefits will come around to everyone.

Large Companies — Large companies can create space and resources that support startups. Why would they spend time and resources to do this? By creating programs that help startups succeed, the larger companies can enhance their own ecosystem. Not only may it be considered “good will” to the community, but allowing employees to engage with startups can improve job satisfaction and retention.

Building a Startup Community in the Fargo Metro

We have a thriving startup community in the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo region and it’s only getting stronger. There are more events for founders to engage with one another and key players in the community. There are more financial resources for startups from the state, private investors and grantors. It’s not a zero-sum game in which there are “winners” and “losers.” The more inclusive we are, the more activity there will be, which benefits us all. As we continue to grow and build our own unique startup community, we must be willing to experiment and fail fast. Maybe we try a new type of funding or a big event; maybe we try offering free support and resources—whatever it is, we owe it to our entrepreneurs and our community to try.

Bree Langemo, the Director of Concordia’s Center for Entrepreneurship, believes strongly in building an entrepreneurial community. Langemo says, “Entrepreneurial communities attract entrepreneurial people who work to solve problems, create value

and contribute to society. In a time when people can work remotely and placemake in the location of their choice, it is critical that communities pay attention to cultivating their entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

An easy way to elevate entrepreneurs in our community is to, as Langemo says, “Pay attention.” Get to know your startups and the key players. Ask them what they need, celebrate their successes, and remember that founding a company is incredibly challenging. Let’s build a supportive startup ecosystem and encourage activity. Let’s make the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo area one of the best places to start a company in the world. Because, why not?

Every employee at Emerging Prairie has to read Startup Communities by Brad Feld, a book outlining what it takes to build a successful startup community, in order to further their mission of supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Programs at Emerging Prairie, a company focused on uplifting the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

BY TOM KADING

“Patent Trolls” –what you need to know.

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You no doubt have heard of trolls before on the internet and social media. But did you know that there are so-called patent “trolls” who make a living suing for patent infringement? To understand this phenomenon you first need to understand what a patent is.

A patent gives you a legal monopoly over a product. The right to get a patent is enshrined in the Constitution and Congress has enacted laws to protect inventors’ ideas and products. A patent forbids others from making, using, selling or offering to sell a product without authorization that is similar or identical to the patented product. A patent usually lasts for 20 years. Who can infringe a patent? The short answer is nearly anyone can infringe on a patent. The list includes manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and even consumers if they use a product/process without authorization. Sometimes authorization is given by licenses or other methods. But the bar is not very high when it comes to an infringement analysis.

There are different types of infringement as well. One type is literal or direct infringement. This type of infringement is remarkable because there need not be any proof that the infringer was aware of the patent in the first place. Another type of infringement is contributory infringement. In this case a person aids a direct infringer by selling a component of the patented

invention. This type of infringement does require knowledge of the patent, however. Lastly, there is something called induced infringement. In this case a person can be liable if he or she actively induces someone to infringe on a patent.

You can buy a patent, and many companies and individuals do that very thing. Once you own a patent you can stop others from infringing on the patent by starting a lawsuit. This is where patent “trolls” come in.

A patent troll is a company or person who threatens to sue or does actually sue for patent infringement. The troll uses the patent infringement lawsuit as a way to win court judgments for a profit or to limit and stifle competition. A troll usually doesn’t produce anything and is usually not marketing a product. A troll may own multiple patents. The troll usually has some claim that the patent is being infringed in some way, often in a questionable fashion. Of all the lawsuits filed in the federal courts per year, some 5,000-6,000 are for patent infringement and many are from patent trolls. One company is particularly bad.

Thomas Kading Attorney at Fargo Patent & Business Law, PLLC Photo provided by Tom Kading

From 2010 to 2019, it filed 460 lawsuits for patent infringement. In 2019 alone it filed 44 lawsuits.

Business owners and companies, if they are in operation for any length of time and produce products, are targets of patent trolls. One estimate is that about 10,000 companies have been sued at least once by a troll. Worse, these are usually small companies. About 50% of companies sued for patent infringement make less than $10 million dollars. This hurts the company financially because going to court is expensive and lengthy. While about 95% of cases are settled out of court, getting to that point costs a lot of money. The average cost for patent cases is between $2.3 to $4 million. Worse yet, it takes upwards of three years to have a case heard by a jury.

Awards by juries have also increased over the years. For example, in 2010 the median award by a jury for patent infringement was 1.9 million. In 2017 that number was 10.2 million. In 2020 some estimates have the amount awarded by juries as $4.67 billion. That’s a lot of money.

These cases are on the rise for obvious reasons. Patent troll lawsuits grew 500% over the last decade. They show no signs of slowing. The types of companies that get sued have narrowed somewhat. In 2020, roughly 65% of companies that are sued are in the technology sector.

Patent trolls usually don’t file their lawsuits in a convenient court location. Because of the nature of patent lawsuits, some judges have begun to specialize in these cases. Texas and Delaware courts are two examples. In 2022 there was a 216% increase in filings in Texas. It has gotten so bad that companies are trying to influence potential jurors in the community. The best example of this is a skating rink. Samsung was getting sued so often in Texas that it built an outdoor skating rink in one community to gain favor from the residents. While this might not be such a big deal in North Dakota, in the heat of Texas it is quite an undertaking.

Resolving these types of lawsuits can happen in a number of ways. A company may choose to purchase a license for the product from the troll. This is often the least expensive option. Another option is to settle with the troll for the cost it would take to defend against the lawsuit. A third option is to vigorously defend against the troll. This is the most expensive way, however. The troll is counting on not having to go to court and spend the money they would need to spend in a lawsuit. The company, if it is financially secure, may choose to defend itself as a deterrent to other trolls.

There’s no doubt this type of litigation is unsavory. Instead of producing something and marketing it, trolls seek to gain a financial advantage by threatening to sue

or actually suing. The best way to respond to a troll is to contact a lawyer who has experience in patents and intellectual property. They can counsel you on the best way to respond and hopefully resolve the claim for the least amount of money. Our system certainly needs more legislation from Congress to discourage trolls from filing these types of lawsuits. Unfortunately, until that happens, trolls are not going away.

The information provided in this article does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. All information, content and material is for general informational or educational purposes only. Information provided may not be the most up-to-date legal information, and it is recommended that readers contact their attorney to obtain advice on any particular legal matter.

Fargo Patent & Business Law, PLLC

Phone: 701.566.7571

Email: info@fargopatentlaw.com

Web: fargopatentlaw.com

Pencils Plus

JJayme Burlison stands in the middle of the Wahpeton Community Center. Organized groups of backpacks line the walls while the center of the room is filled with what appears to be a small mountain of cardboard. Jayme and her co-worker, Becky DeVries of the Three Rivers Crisis Center in Wahpeton, ND, have just finished filling the last backpack with supplies for the Pencils Plus: Richland-Wilkin School Supply Drive.

The drive, which took place August 11, marks the second year that the Three Rivers Crisis Center has hosted Pencils Plus, and it is more than a little unusual to have a school supply drive run by an entity which provides services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and child sexual abuse. For years the school supply drive was run by the Richland Wilkin United Way, which dissolved in December 2019. The following year the Richland/Wilkin Community Foundation did a COVID version of the drive. When they realized the continued depth of the need for the program, the Foundation asked if any of the area nonprofits would be willing to take on the task for 2021. Three Rivers Crisis Center stepped up.

“No one else volunteered and we knew it was a huge need, so we just jumped in,” Jayme said. “It was the end of June and we went in blind. It was just ‘this is what

we’re doing now’ as we rushed to pull everything together by August.”

“Collette Barton, who was the director of United Way here for many years, was so invested in this program and has just been invaluable. She didn’t want us to have to start from scratch, so she gave us all the information she had,” Becky said. “It was such a huge help last year when we knew nothing.”

When United Way began the program, it provided around 200 backpacks. Over the years, the need has steadily increased, bringing this year’s total to 600. Three Rivers Crisis Center pulls the school supply lists from all eight school districts and makes an effort to obtain the most commonly requested items by grade, including glue, markers, notebooks and scissors, with special efforts to obtain the brands requested by teachers so that there is a consistency in both quality and inclusion in the classrooms.

“Last year was a wild ride,” Jayme said. “This year was so different. We knew we were doing it so we were able to plan and ask for help. People have been amazingly supportive, either donating money or school supplies. We’ve gotten a lot of support from businesses; some collected from their employees. ABU Trailers donated a utility trailer for us to auction off. It’s been amazing.”

“Bobcat went through our Amazon Wishlist and we kept getting package after package,” Becky said. “People

have been so generous financially. And we’ve had so many volunteers who have contributed to helping pack the backpacks and to keep us organized and help promote. Three young men from the Valley Lake Boys Home offered to help set up tables and move backpacks for us after playing basketball during their summer school program. People have been so willing to jump in to make this happen.”

While the Richland-Wilkin Backpack & Coats for Kids Distribution is a one-day event shared with the Optimist Club of Wahpeton, who collect winter gear for school students, Three Rivers maintains that financial resources must be collected all year round to make the program successful. Although the Three Rivers Crisis Center’s staff all volunteer their time, the Richland-Wilkin School Supply Drive does not fall within the Center’s scope of practice. Therefore, no funds from the non-profit can be used to purchase supplies for the initiative. This makes community donations, like the $1000 gift from the Cass Clay chapter of the Awesome Foundation who named Pencils Plus their August 2022 grantee, vital to the continuation of the program.

“When we have financial contributions and know what we are getting we can take that money and search for deals. There are often big sales in December and January, and because they are off-season we can search for those and make a bulk order to store for the next year,” Becky said.

BY Brandi Malarkey

“With costs going up we need to shop like that to make it work,” Jayme said.

With so much community support Three Rivers Crisis Center is looking to make Pencils Plus a separate non-profit with a mission statement more in line with education in hopes of opening additional avenues of funding.

“We’ve had so many volunteers express interest in being involved,” Becky said. “We’re just so thankful we live in the community we do.”

Facebook:

Donations can be made via PayPal or items purchased off the Amazon Wishlist.

All these boxes you see were filled with school supplies. It's just crazy.

You hear 600 backpacks and don’t realize how much it takes to fill them!”

The Cass Clay chapter of the Awesome Foundation awards a $1,000 gift each month for awesome ideas of all sorts. Grant recipients do not need to be associated with a non-profit. Applications can be made at awesomefoundation.org/en/chapters/ cassclay.

Photo provided by Brandi Malarkey

BY Paul Smith, Fargo Director,

SBDC

Preparing to Exit Your Business

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As I meet with and assist hundreds of small business owners in our region each year, the number who request assistance to sell their businesses continues to increase.

No matter how much you enjoy working in your business, inevitably there will come a time when you want to retire and/or sell your business. With baby boomers transitioning into retirement by 10,000 each day, the next decade is predicted to bring one of the largest transfers of wealth in U.S. history as up to 70% of small businesses will change hands. But are you ready to exit? And is your business ready to be sold?

Check out these sobering statistics:

j Because of the increasing number of businesses listed on the market, experts predict only 20% will actually be sold.

j Three out of four business owners either can’t afford to retire, or plan to use their business as the primary source of funding for their retirement.

j 93% do not have a plan for life after exiting their business.

j Half have no written transition plan for their business.

j Nearly half will exit involuntarily due to illness, death, or forced exit; yet 40% have no plans in place to cover these events.

HAVING A PLAN MATTERS

The key to a successful business exit is having a plan—and the earlier the better.

Research has shown that business owners who go through an exit and succession planning process 12-36 months prior to selling the company are more likely to:

j Increase the value of the business and payout to the owner

j Pay less in taxes and have more accumulated personal wealth

j Transition more successfully into the next stage of their lives.

j Have fewer regrets after exiting

A business owner should develop a master plan that integrates business, personal and financial goals into their exit strategy. This process consists of three major components, referred to as the ‘three legs of the stool.’

j Business value

j Personal wealth planning, risk and tax

j Personal wellness & life after exit

Consulting an expert or credentialed business advisor to help you work through these areas can help you begin planning for your business exit. Once you have this information you will be in a better position to make decisions around your exit options and timing. The earlier you begin planning before your exit, the more options you will have. Be sure to continually update your plan as circumstances change.

EXIT STRATEGIES

Below are some common ways a business owner might transfer ownership and control of a business; each has its pros and cons:

j Family Succession – The largest portion of small businesses are family businesses, and in some cases it’s possible to keep the business in the family.

j Employee buyout – An owner offers employees the opportunity to buy into the company, often funded over time, out of the growth of the business.

j Sale to outside third party – This could be a strategic partner or even current competitor.

j Liquidation – This involves the sale of assets and ceasing business operations. Typically, this is the least desirable option and generates the lowest payout to the seller.

VALUATION

An accurate business valuation allows you to make a realistic estimate of the profit from a sale, and whether this is going to be sufficient to meet future needs.

There are several different methods which are commonly used in pricing a business. While a costly formal business appraisal is sometimes beneficial and even required, an approximate value or “reasonable range of value” usually can be determined by doing a pricing analysis and applying industry specific pricing guidelines or “rules of thumb,” which are based on thousands of completed transactions and input of industry experts.

These pricing guidelines typically include: 1. Seller discretionary cash flow, and 2. Applying a percentage to the annual gross revenue of the business. The most accurate of the two methods involves adjusted discretionary cash flow, which is the “total owner’s benefit” derived from owning the business (i.e. salary, net income, retirement contributions, health and life insurance premiums, vehicles). Almost all privately held businesses will appraise for somewhere between one to five times seller discretionary cash flow. Exactly where the business falls in this range depends on the type of business and risk factors which such as lack of marketability, which may reduce the price. None of these guidelines include the value of any real estate on hand.

In the final analysis, the value of the business is the price that a willing seller and buyer can agree on. Buyers look for a return on their money. The higher the perceived return on investment the more attractive the business. And of course, the more attractive the business the more buyers are prepared to pay.

WHY BUSINESSES DON’T SELL

There are a number of issues that can contribute to an unsuccessful sale or a completed sale for less than potential full value. Some major factors include:

Unrealistic owner expectations. May include overpricing a business and/ or unreasonable terms and/ or structure such as refusal to negotiate equitable seller financing or earn-out.

Decreasing revenues or profits. This will likely have a material impact on the business valuation since businesses are purchased based on anticipated future performance but valued based on historical earnings.

Inaccurate or incomplete financial statements. A business owner should ensure that the books are accurate, detailed, up-to-date and professionally managed.

Customer concentration. A business lacking a broad and diverse base of customers possesses a higher degree of

Paul Smith is Director of the ND SBDC Fargo & Southeast Center and Accredited Business Intermediary (ABI). The ND SBDC network of credentialed advisors empower North Dakota small businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive by providing no-cost, confidential business advising services and resources at every stage of a business life cycle. In 2021, the program assisted approximately 1,800 clients across the State and assisted in capital formation of nearly $74M. The Fargo and Southeast Center offices are located in the NDSU Research and Technology Park Incubator. For more information or to register for services, please visit ndsbdc.org.

risk for a buyer as the loss of any one of these large clients could have material impact on future earnings.

The owner is the business. Buyers want a business that can operate independently from the current business owner.

Industry or market is declining. Businesses in a shrinking industry will face an uphill battle when it comes time to sell.

Commercial property issues. Business transactions involving the sale or lease of commercial real estate can be impacted by the value of the property, zoning changes, lease agreements, required environmental assessments and other issues.

Lack of professional advisors. At a minimum, it is recommended you have a certified exit planning advisor, wealth manager, business attorney and CPA who specialize in structuring business transactions and tax strategy.

GET HELP EARLY IN THE PROCESS

The good news is most of the factors above can be minimized or avoided if given enough time to plan – ideally 12-36 months

prior to your target date for selling your business.

Start by asking yourself the following questions:

j

How much do you think your business is worth now?

j When would you like to sell?

j How can you increase the value of my business and improve profit and growth?

j What would you like to do after you exit?

j What annual income would you need post-exit to fund your future lifestyle?

j Who would you like to sell or transfer your business to?

j What steps do you need to do to achieve this outcome?

j What plans can you put in place now to ensure you will enjoy this transition and have no regrets?

We can help you manage the process so you are better prepared and can maximize the value of your business.

For a copy of our free Exit and Succession Planning Guide and/or request help from a credentialed business advisor, please register online at ndsbdc.org. Start now!

Academic Insight

The Strategy Canvas: Illustrating Organizational Strategy on a Single Page

IIs it possible to illustrate an organization’s strategy on a one page document? Absolutely!

Authors W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne created a tool called The Strategy Canvas that does just that. When properly constructed, the result will be a document that will increase the likelihood that a proposed strategy can be easily understood by all members of the organization and that will most likely be implemented. For my article in this month’s issue of Fargo, INC!, I will provide you with an overview of The Strategy Canvas and several reasons why using this tool will be of value and benefit to your organization.

By Shontarius D. Aikens, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Management at Offutt School of Business at Concordia College

What is a Strategy Canvas?

A Strategy Canvas is a tool that helps managers to “evaluate differences among competitors” within an industry.

The structure of a Strategy Canvas is comprised of three components. The first component is called Factors of Competition, which is a list of several factors (depicted on the horizontal X axis) that are important to customers when purchasing a product or service. The second component is called Offerings. Within each Factor of Competition in an industry, companies invest resources and/or offer amenities and benefits.

Using a range of low to high, the level or ranking of offerings by a company in each factor is depicted on the vertical Y axis.

By combining both components, one can plot points on a graph chart. The third component is a Value Curve, which is simply connecting the dots plotted across the chart for a single company. Since each company has its own value curve, multiple company value curves can be included on a Strategy Canvas and can be distinguished by color coding each value curve. Kim and Mauborgne highlight several features of a Strategy Canvas:

“First, it shows the strategic profile of an industry by depicting very clearly the factors that affect competition among industry players, as well as those that might in the future. Second, it shows the strategic profile of current and potential competitors, identifying which factors they invest in strategically. Finally, our approach draws the company’s strategic profile—or value curve—showing how it invests in the factors of competition and how it might invest in them in the future.”

For more detailed instructions on how to create a Strategy Canvas, to see a visual of what the finished product looks like, and to read how a company implemented this tool to make a dramatic and effective shift in organizational strategy, I highly recommend reading Kim and Mauborgne’s 2002 Harvard Business Review article titled “Charting Your Company’s Future.”

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What are the benefits of creating a Strategy Canvas?

So why should your organization consider creating a Strategy Canvas? There are several reasons. The first reason is that the process for creating a Strategy Canvas requires organization members to get objective data on the real reasons why customers use their products or services. Identifying the true Factors of Competition requires managers to get out of the building and to engage and interact with customers. Kim and Mauborgne suggest talking to not only customers, but also to lost customers, competitor’s customers and, if possible, watching users of your products and services in action. Too often, especially when working too closely with a product or service over time, managers can develop an inaccurate or out of date understanding of what customers are really looking for in their products or services. Identifying the Factors of Competition within an industry keeps the organization aware of potential changing needs or preferences of customers.

The second reason is that a Strategy Canvas provides an organization with an honest assessment of how they compare with competitors. As previously mentioned, one of the first steps in creating a Strategy Canvas is to accurately identify the Factors of Competition in the industry. Once those have been identified, the next step is to determine where an organization and its competitors are ranked in terms of the value offered for each of those factors (whether high or low in offerings). For example, let’s say that the three Factors of Competition identified for your organization’s industry are 1) price, 2) customer service and 3) product quality. And in your

analysis, it was determined that your organization was the leader in terms of price, while customer service was viewed as average and product quality was viewed as below average in comparison to your competitors. This is essentially identifying an organization’s strengths and weaknesses as perceived by customers. Knowing this information enables the organization to determine which activities should be continued in order to maintain or build on their strengths while determining what future investments are needed to improve in other areas of importance to customers. From the scenario provided, the overall result is that this insight gives managers some direction on what needs to be done to increase the organization’s ability to compete in the industry on multiple factors rather than just one.

The third reason why a Strategy Canvas would be beneficial to your organization is the increased likelihood that action would be taken to implement the strategy.

Formulating a strategy is one thing; executing strategy is another thing. And according to strategy scholars and practitioners, most strategies fail due to poor or lack of execution.

One reason for this, as suggested by Kim and Mauborgne, is that typical strategic planning documents are too long to read. The simplicity of a Strategy Canvas is that it is a short document (1 page) that can be easily read and understood by all employees. Why is this important?

More individuals who have a clear understanding of the organization’s strategy will lead to more actively engaged individuals taking actions to move the organization in the desired direction.

Dr. Aikens can be reached at: saikens@cord.edu

If you’ve spent time in the “marketing world” at all, you’ve heard the saying, “the money is in the list.”

It’s true.

Your prospect list can be (after the people that work for you) your most valuable resource.

But here’s the catch:

You can have the biggest list in the world, but if you don’t know how to leverage it for your greatest advantage, you’re not going to get the results that you seek.

So, let’s dive into the topic of audience segmentation by buyer personas and show you the very best thing you can do with your email prospect list—segmentation.

What is a “Buyer Persona”?

Think of a buyer persona as a fictional person you have created to represent a segment of your audience. You would

give that buyer persona the attributes, likes, dislikes, style, buying habits and thinking patterns of that audience segment. That fictional character–you could even give them a name–then becomes the template of your ideal customer in that audience segment, giving you a clearly defined target(s) for your marketing team.

An Example of Buyer Personas

If you were a vitamin company, you would build a buyer persona representing each potential segment of the general population that would be a likely customer of yours. You would have a buyer persona for each of the following:

• Young, active men

• Young, active women

• Expectant and nursing mothers

• Caregivers of young children (parents – because children don’t buy their own vitamins)

• Middle-aged men

• Middle-aged women

• Older men

• Older women

Each of these “segments” of your potential customer base has two things in common.

I. A reason to buy your product

II. The means with which to buy your product

However, using the same messaging to promote your product to all these segments is a BIG MISTAKE and a waste of your marketing budget and resources.

Shawn Peterson is the CEO of Quantum Business Solutions. He comes with a decade of experience in the technology services industry as an executive. Shawn is a visionary focused on high growth and performance through sales, marketing and client experience.

Audience Segmentation by Buyer Persona – The Best Use of Marketing Resources

Let’s stick with the vitamin company example for a moment.

If you are the average 65-year-old woman, you’re not likely to be persuaded by a social media ad or an email that has been geared to grab the attention of an active, muscular 25-year-old male that hits the gym every day at 6 a.m. before going to work.

Why?

Because they are two separate audience segments.

Here’s what separates the audience segments:

• Different ages

• Different needs

• Different goals

• Different opportunities

• Different problems/pain points

• Different genders

• Different values and ideals

Sometimes, audience segmentation is also divided by different cultures or different geographical regions as well.

So, you can see how widely your potential buyers can vary. Pushing out the same marketing messaging to everyone simply drains your marketing resources, lowers your conversion rate and dilutes your message.

Marketing to “everybody” is always a mistake.

Even national television commercials that run continuously on television have a specific buyer persona in mind. The marketing team behind the national commercial chooses not only the time of day but also the shows in which the commercials appear based on the time of day that their buyer persona is likely to be watching and the shows that their buyer persona is likely to enjoy.

Where is Audience Segmentation Most Profitable?

As we’ve noted, the most common marketing avenues where marketing segmentation is utilized are email marketing and social media marketing. However, in the race to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, don’t forget the B2B marketing avenue of LinkedIn prospecting and old-fashioned (but still highly effective) direct mail campaigns.

Social Media Marketing

In the case of building out ads for your social media marketing, you can (and should) use the targeting filters in the platform’s ad creation tool to narrow the ad audience to the specific persona addressed in the ad’s messaging.

For example, if your ad is about B2B technology support for insurance companies, you want to ensure that you’re targeting decision makers within the insurance industry—not someone in construction.

Why?

Because even though both industries use technology, they have different pain points and need different things from their technology support resources. The messaging that will resonate with your insurance decision maker persona isn’t the same messaging that will win over the leader of a construction firm. In fact, messaging delivered to the wrong audience segment may backfire and turn them off rather than spark interest in your brand or product.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is the Holy Grail of advertising opportunities at the moment. Why? Because it is cost effective and requires no middle-man such as a newspaper, radio or social media platform.

But, as we have already noted, it’s a mistake to gather a massive list of email addresses and blast away with advertising emails to that list.

Instead, create buyer personas that represent the different ideal customers that you’re trying to entice to buy your product or service. Next, segment your massive email list based on the buyer personas that you have identified in your market research.

Now that you have a segment for each buyer persona and have separated your email list accordingly, you can create customized marketing emails that speak directly to the recipient’s hopes, fears, needs, ambitions, point of view, etc.

By curating your email list in this fashion, you are giving yourself the best opportunity to show your ideal buyer that you identify with them and that your service/product is right for them.

Where is Audience Segmentation Most Effective?

Your brand has an image and ideals associated with it—and that’s a good thing.

What many internal marketing teams often forget is that each segment of their general audience—each buyer persona— comes with its own well-defined set of values, hopes and aspirations. By segmenting your audience, you have a much greater opportunity to speak in the emotional or heart language of your buyer persona.

Why is this important?

Simply put, people generally don’t buy with their head. They buy because they need a product and identify, at an emotional level, with the story that the brand is telling in its marketing efforts.

Why McDonald’s and not Burger King? Why Pepsi and not Coke? Why Hershey’s instead of Mars?

Buyers are becoming more interested in aligning their buying habits with their personal values. By segmenting your prospect lists, you can speak more effectively to the places where your brand values align with your buyer persona’s unique outlook and set of ideals.

In Conclusion

Marketing teams that fail to segment their prospect lists in line with predetermined buyer personas are missing out on prospects that could be in their sales funnel. But more than that, they are losing the opportunity to cultivate a relationship with unique segments of their audience based on shared values and ideals. These unique brand/prospect relationships, if carefully managed, can become significant—and valuable— assets for your business in the future.

Quantum Business Solutions

Phone: 712.389.4639

Email: shawn@thequantumleap.business

Web: thequantumleap.business

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