Fargo, N.D.-based store receives national recognition

BY LISA GIBSON

Mode, a fashion retail store based in Fargo, N.D., has been named a Dream Big Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winner by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Founder and Chief Operating Officer Ciara Stockeland says the application process was rigorous, but worth the work.

“We’re really excited about winning,” she says. “It gives us the opportunity to talk about the contribution we make to the state.” Mode has locations in Fargo, Grand Forks and Bismarck in North Dakota, but also in Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina. Still, those outof-state stores have an impact on North Dakota. “As we keep adding stores, we add North Dakota jobs because our headquarters is here.” All inventory comes through the Fargo office, she adds.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announces 100 Blue Ribbon Award winners each year, selected from applications and judged in four areas: strategic planning, employee development, customer service and community involvement. Separate from Mode’s own application, the North Dakota Chamber of Commerce nominated the company, also, based on those merits, Stockeland says.

Mode sets itself apart from other applicants in many ways, she says. It’s femaleowned and runs multiple community-oriented programs, including one in which each store location chooses a woman in the community each month and donates two pairs of jeans to her. Stockeland says that woman can be someone who has survived cancer, or someone a Mode store manager sees struggling in the grocery store. “That’s something we do to let women know we care,” she says. “It connects the employees at the store to the community outside their doors. (It lets people know) we’re more than just sales.”

The company also is involved in mentorship programs in the communities it calls home, training women to be leaders not just in the company, but in their lives and in future employment opportunities, Stockeland says.

“Small businesses across America today face more economic and regulatory hurdles than ever before, but each of these outstanding companies is rising to the challenge,” says U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donahue, in a statement. “These Blue Ribbon Award winners have worked hard, taken risks and achieved success, helping strengthen their communities and local economies.”

The winners also are eligible for the Community Excellence Award, which recognizes one business with notable success and is chosen based on votes from the businesses’ communities.

North Dakota has a lot to offer by way of business, Stockeland says, and the fact that Mode received this year’s Blue Ribbon Award is a testament to that.

Minnesota also had a few winners. They are: Carlson Capital Management of Northfield, Custom Alarm of Rochester, CWS Inc. of Rochester, Domaille Engineering of Rochester, Xylo Technologies Inc. of Rochester and Minnesota Ultra Paws of Baxter. PB

Lisa Gibson Editor, Prairie Business 701.787.6753 lgibson@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

ABOVE: Seth Arndorfer, CEO of Dakota Carrier Network

UPPER LEFT: Before construction, Dakota Carrier Network's data center in Bismarck, N.D., consisted of about 40,000 square feet of space.

LOWER LEFT:When completed, Dakota Carrier Network's Bismarck, N.D., data center will be about 70,000 square feet.

IMAGES: DAKOTA CARRIER NETWORK