March/April/May 2017 B2B

O MA H A B ’ 2

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SPRING 2017

2017 Winners

BEST OF B2B

THE RESULTS ARE IN

REVAMPED RADIO

NRG MEDIA’S IMPRESSIVE EVOLUTION

PROFESSIONAL PETS ANIMALS RESHAPING BUISNESS

ZIPCARS

EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION IN A ZIP

U.S. $3.25

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74470 63856

8

They’ll GO if they don’t GROW

And that’s not good for your company.

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02 |

volume 17 | issue 1

B2B OMAHA MAGAZINE

publisher

TODD LEMKE

vice president

GREG BRUNS

executive editor

DOUG MEIGS

executive vice president sales & marketing

associate editor

GIL COHEN

DAISY HUTZELL-RODMAN senior sales executive editor at large

GWEN LEMKE

ERIC STOAKES branding specialists

HANNAH GILL ALEC MCMULLEN LINDSAY WILSON

KYLE FISHER MARY HIATT GEORGE IDELMAN JOSHUA PETERSON

interns

executive sales manager

WILL PATTERSON SHANNON SMITH

VICKI VOET

editorial assistant

assistant to the publisher creative director

SANDY BESCH MATSON

BILL SITZMANN senior sales assistant art director

ALICIA SMITH HOLLINS

MATTHEW WIECZOREK account assistant senior graphic designer

DAWN DENNIS

DEREK JOY operations graphic designer

TYLER LEMKE

MADY BESCH events/PR contributed photography

ALESHA OLSON

KEITH BINDER SCOTT DRICKEY

accounting

HOLLEY GARCIA-CRUZ contributors

KEITH BACKSEN LEO ADAM BIGA RYAN BORCHERS TAMSEN BUTLER SENA EICHER ANTHONY FLOTT JASON FOX BEVERLY KRACHER CHARLIE LITTON JENNIFER LITTON KARL SCHAPHORST DOUG SCHURING JAMES VNUK

distribution manager

MIKE BREWER advertising information

402-884-2000 subscribe online

OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM/ SUBSCRIBE $12.95 FOR ONE-YEAR (FOUR ISSUES)

B2B Magazine is published four times annually by Omaha Magazine, LTD, P.O. Box 461208, Omaha NE 68046-1208. Telephone: 402-884-2000; fax 402-8842001. Subscription rates: $12.95 for 4 issues (one year), $19.95 for 8 issues (two years). Multiple subscriptions at different rates are available. No whole or part of the contents herein may be reproduced without prior written permission of B2B Omaha Magazine, excepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs.

Unsolicited manuscripts are accepted, however no responsibility will be assumed for such solicitations.

SPRING 2017 |

omahamagazine.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS COVER

58

REVAMPED RADIO

NRG MEDIA’S IMPRESSIVE EVOLUTION

FEATURES

54

PROFESSIONAL PETS

Animals Reshaped Business

60

THE SILICON TRAIL

Omaha’s Connection to Silicon Valley

DEPARTMENTS

46 IN THE OFFICE 50 HOW I ROLL 62 omAHA! Pacific Life

A Family Masterpiece Duck Call

86

WHAT A LOAD OF GARBAGE

New Waste Management Practices

SPECIAL SECTIONS

64 ON THE RISE 82 BIZ + GIVING 94 TOYO! 2017

07 BEST OF B2B 88 BUY OMAHA PROFILE 65 THE FIRM DEAL REVIEW

45 OFFICE FURNITURE 81 OMAHA CVB

85 SALES INSIDER 96 ETHICS

Transportation in a Zip Crazy Gringa Hot Sauce

OMNE partners

Buyer Power Edition

COLUMNS

05 FROM THE EDITOR 49 BRAND BRIEF The Best of B2B Know Thyself

Serving in Open Offices

A Milestone for an Omaha Treasure

What is Your Hourly Wage?

Interests in Conflict

7 3 T R E E S have been reforested due to the printing of this publication.

More information at printreleaf.com

4

YEARS IN A ROW

BEST AD AGENCY BRANDING

DESIGN

VIDEO

WEB

SEO

MEDIA

MAKE 2017 A BREAKOUT YEAR FOR YOUR BRAND. CALL US. 4 0 2 . 3 3 4 . 3 5 3 0 | S L E I G H TA D V E R T I S I N G . CO M

SPRING 2017 |

omahamagazine.com

FROM THE EDITOR

BY DAISY HUTZELL-RODMAN

THE BEST OF B2B B2B Magazine started 2017 by highlighting the many successful women in business around Omaha, and this issue, we bring you the best of the city for business needs.

This contest is a bit different from the Best of Omaha, where the ballot is published online so anyone in the community can choose their favorites. In the Best of B2B contest, the winners are nominated on ballots printed in the 20,000 copies of the winter issue. Each issue of the magazine contained a ballot—a chance for readers to vote on favorite businesses that cater to the local business community (for example: business lunch, carpet cleaning, and much more).

• • • How many of us can truly say we love our work? I do, actually. I look forward to coming to the office. A big part of this is that I work with an incredible team of creatives and salespeople, and one lizard. Yes, lizard—Spike the bearded dragon. Spike came to visit a couple of years ago when the publisher and his family left for Europe, and he has been with us since. He’s docile, usually sitting under his heat lamp hanging around. Sometimes when I am really feeling overwhelmed, I walk downstairs to his aquarium and watch him for a moment, sunning himself, enjoying life.

In the spring issue, we bring you the story of Envoy, which keep cats, dogs, and even a hedgehog in the office. Employees keep treats for the fur-ployees at their desks, and if one of the pets turns up missing, the whole office helps in finding their special friend.

What about you? Do you have a pet in your office? Does your office allow you to bring your pets to work? Or do you vote nay to keeping or having pets in the office? Does the fur or the smell bother you? Follow us on social media and join the conversation (@omahamagazine on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram).

We also have other incredible articles in this issue. Like many forms of traditional media, radio is looking for alternate ways to increase revenue. NGR Media has found new business opportunities through concerts.

Ride-sharing has become a popular trend in the past several years. While people are more prone to call for an Uber in a coastal city where the cost of owning a car is prohibitive, Omaha does offer alternatives to jumping into your own vehicle when you want to go somewhere. One of those alternatives is Zipcar. This car-sharing service allows users to access one of several fleet vehicles in the area by reserving a time and date for a car. The vehicle is then available for the reserver to use by the hour or the day.

And if you need to go outside of the city, traveling to Silicon Valley just became a bit easier by flying on United Airlines’ nonstop flights between Omaha and San Francisco.

This issue of B2B, like all issues, proves to be an adventure. I hope you enjoy it.

B2B Daisy Hutzell-Rodman is associate editor of B2B, a publication of Omaha Magazine LTD. She can be reached at daisy@omahamagazine.com.

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THANK YOU!

B2B OMAHA MAGAZINE

volume 17 | issue 1

For giving us the opportunity to serve your Search, Staffing, and Consulting needs.

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The Right Match - the First Time!

Helping our clients get from GOOD to GREAT, one hire at a time!

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2017 Winner

AND THE WINNERS ARE!…

It’s time to reveal B2B Magazine’s highly anticipated Best of B2B winners list for 2017!

The Omaha-area businesses listed in the following pages are here because readers and customers voted them the best in the city for the services and products they provide in their respective fields.

Best of B2B results were tabulated from ballots sent in from the winter 2016 issue of B2B. Ballots had to be original—not photocopies—and a minimum of 15 categories had to be filled out to be accepted.

The Best of B2B list is organized by categories. If you’re looking for a specific product or service, you can easily find the best. If you see a business you patronize in this year’s list, be sure to congratulate them. They’ll appreciate it!

“Best of B2B has developed into what it was meant to be and what we hoped it could be,” says Todd Lemke, the magazine’s publisher. “Business owners get it—it’s a a contest in which businesses recognize businesses. We feel honored to be able to showcase the very best our city has to offer.”

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B2B OMAHA MAGAZINE

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Quality Carpet Care Since 2004

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Carpet Cleaning Upholstery Cleaning Natural Stone Restoration Grout & Tile Cleaning Pet Treatments Concrete Cleaning Oriental Rug Cleaning 24 Hour Water Damage

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Your Complete Design Specialist

THANK YOU OMAHA for Voting Us Best Residential & Commercial Lawn Care

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Custom Draperies & Blinds | Furniture & Accessories | Color Consultation Remodeling & Rearrangement | Home Staging | Tile, Carpet & More...

Oma ha ’s

Thank You For Appreciating My Designs

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2 Years in a Row! Best Commercial Interior Design

A+ Rating

Office: 402.964.0762 Mobile: 402.670.7566 • www.GloriasElegantInteriors.com

402-556-0595

www.forestgreenlawncare.com

US ON

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Quality, Dependable Trash & Recycling Service SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS For Over 60 Years

2017 Winner

BUILDING SERVICES CARPET & RUG CLEANING Legacy Carpet Cleaning legacycarpetcleaning.com 402-680-6523

Stanley Steemer

COMMERCIAL INTERIOR DESIGN D3 Interiors Gloria’s Elegant Interiors & Consulting gloriaselegantinteriors.com 402-964-0762

CORPORATE FITNESS Get Fit Fitness Progressive Fitness and Performance

COMMERCIAL

• Waste Disposal • Rear Load Containers • Front Load Containers • Recycling

RESIDENTIAL

• Dependable Weekly Trash Service • Trash Carts & Recycling Bins • Weekly Recycling • Weekly Yard Waste

COMPAC TORS

• Stationary Compactors • Self-Contained Compactors • Cardboard Compactors • Recycling • Compactor Maintenance Performed

CONSTRUC TION & CLEAN-UP • Roll-Off Containers • C&D Landfill • C&D Recycling • Green Build Services

DOOR COMPANY

Locally Owned & Operated

Omaha Door & Window

402-571-4926

Norm’s Door Service

abestrash.com | 8123 Christensen Lane

Since 1963

Doors, Docks & Gates – Since 1963 Thank you for Voting us Best of B2B for Commercial Door Service!

Installation, Service & Repair 402.331.8920 · www.normsdoor.com

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B2B OMAHA MAGAZINE

Commercial Waste Removal Commercial Recycling Front Load Containers Rear Load Containers Clean up and Construction Containers Temporary & Permanent

402•339•1229

10203 South 152nd Street • Omaha NE 68138 www.premierwastesolutions.com

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Commercial Waste Removal Locally Family Owned and Operated

2017 Winner

24 Hour Emergency Service No Commisions Earned by Our Techs Fair Treatment to Our Customers 3rd Generation Family Owned Business Residential and Commercial Contractor

UP TO

$2,150 OFF

THE PURCHASE OF A NEW SYSTEM

402.391.2336 | soshvac.com

8314 Maple St. Omaha, NE 68134

SPRING 2017 |

2B

Taking Pride in Our

It's All About Color& PROFESSIONALISM since 1977 CRAFTSMANSHIP

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2016 B2B WINNER!

• INTERIOR PAINT

2017 Winner

• EXTERIOR PAINT • WALLCOVERING • REFINISHING OF EXISTING CABINETS & WOODWORK

ELECTRICAL SERVICE

Mike Gerst - Owner

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millerelect.com 402-341-6479

• STAIN & FINISHING

Commonwealth Electric

2017 Winner

FENCE COMPANY sw-fence.com 402-333-5722

business special needs.

Mike Gerst - Owner

• WALLPAPER REMOVAL

Miller Electric Co.

S&W Fence

I have enjoyed serving I have enjoyed serving Omaha for over 40 years and have We Omaha for 40 years. served over 18,500 customters. have specialty painters Our team is dedicated to serve our thatwith canquality work with YOUR clients and integrity.

40 YEARS OF

BUSINESS IN OMAHA! www.gerstpainting.com

American Fence Company

FIRE PROTECTION General Fire and Safety gfsomaha.com 402-556-6100

FireGuard fireguardusa.com 402-592-1999

Thanks for Voting S&W Fence the Best Again in 2017!

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Abe’s Trash Service

2015 Winner

We’re Not Just About Fences.

www.sw-fence.com • 402-333-5722

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volume 17 | issue 1

B2B OMAHA MAGAZINE

Your Diversified Midwest Real Estate Company

O MA H A ’

Visit us online Ciaccioroofing.com or call 402.293.8707 for a FREE estimate!

8006 J STREET - OMAHA, NE 68127

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Companies

Call Today fo r

402.935.3700

2B

Dial

4420 Izard St • Omaha, NE

STORAGE LOCAL MOVES OFFICE MOVES STATE-TO-STATE TRACTOR TRAILER CONTAINER SERVICES INTERNATIONAL MOVES INTERN YOU LOAD/WE DRIVE VALUE DEAL

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402.493.2800 | dp-mgmt.com info@dp-mgmt.com

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30 Years of Quality, Integrity and Service

THANK YOU OMAHA for voting us Best Roofer again!

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New • Repairs • Reroof • Skylights

Oma ha ’s

Flat Roof Specialists

a FREE In-hom

e Estimate!

SPRING 2017 |

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Your one-stop shop for all your fire equipment needs.

2017 Winner

· · · ·

GENERAL CONTRACTOR Lueder Construction lueder.com 402-339-1000

Fire Sprinkler Systems Fire Alarm Systems Kitchen Ansul Systems Fire Extinguishers

The Weitz Company weitz.com 402-592-7000

HEATING/AC SERVICE

Ultimate Protection. Superior Service.

402.556.6100 • gfsomaha.com

A-1 United Heating, Air & Electrical a1united.net 402-593-7500

SOS Heating & Cooling soshvac.com 402-391-2336

JANITORIAL SERVICE 2B

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Sparkling Klean Services sparklingklean.com 402-399-9233

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Jani-King janiking.com 402-932-0514

ONE CALL. ONE SOURCE.

Full Service Fire Protection Company 2017 Winner

402-592-1999

4404 S 76th Circle | Omaha, NE 68127 | Fireguardusa.com

Celebrating 23 Years in Business!

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LANDSCAPE/LAWN CONTRACTOR Sun Valley Landscaping sunvalleyomaha.com 402-932-5704

Forest Green Lawn & Landscaping forestgreenlawncare.com 402-556-0595

LOCKSMITH Carl Jarl Group carljarl.com 402-393-7800

Aksarben Locksmiths aksarbenlocksmiths.com 402-556-6715

MOVING COMPANY 2B

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Select Van & Storage selectvan.com 402-935-3700

Office Furniture Installers 2017 Winner

OFFICE FURNITURE All Makes Office Equipment Co. allmakes.com 402-341-2413

BOLD Office Solutions

PAINTING CONTRACTOR Gerst Painting Inc. Nebraska Painting

SPRING 2017 |

omahamagazine.com

Move and Relocation Installation and Reconfiguration Warehousing Space Planning and Design Panel and Chair Cleaning “As Is” Office Furniture Inventory Management

Chamber of Commerce Excellence Award Small Business of the Year Winner 3167 Spaulding Street Omaha, NE 68111 Call Today! 402-451-8009

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WE THANK YOU OMAHA FOR AGAIN VOTING OFI THE BEST

2017 Winner

Best of B2B 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013!

PROFESSIONAL IMPECCABLE MEMORABLE ASK FOR BRANDEIS CATERING AT MANY FINE VENUES THROUGHOUT

THE OMAHA METRO. OUR EXCLUSIVE VENUES: LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BALLROOM ANGLIM PLACE

(402) 334-5446 • www.brandeiscatering.com

"Thank you for selecting us the Best Caterer in Omaha for the past 11 years!"

- Joe Thallas Owner/General Manager

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B2B OMAHA MAGAZINE

Serving the Great Customers of Omaha for 72 Years!

Commercial Industrial Institutional Our trained technicians & professional staff will reduce your downtime.

Keep your business humming!

TRUST THE BIG RED TRUCK!

Thank You for Voting Us #1 for 6 Years!

402.733.5500 | 4315 South 50th Street

24/7/365 Emergency Services TrustEyman.com • 402-731-2727 8506 South 117th Street La Vista, NE 68128

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Clean Results.

For all your facility cleaning needs, Jani-King’s trained and dedicated franchisees deliver beyond expectations. Its all the efforts behind the scenes that prepare your facility and company image successfully.

2017 Winner

Call our local Jani-King Regional support office today and discover how our efforts will help your business each and every day so your staff can focus on getting your vision in front of your customers.

PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE Miktom miktom.com 402-681-5243

Parking Area Maintenance

PEST CONTROL COMPANY Professional Termite & Pest Control Inc. Omaha Pest Control, Inc.

Commercial Cleaning Services

402.932.0514 | www.janiking.com

PICTURE FRAMING

© 2017 Jani-King International, Inc. | CD0117-011

Lewis Art Gallery Visions Custom Framing visionscustomframing.com 402-342-0020

Thanks Omaha for over 30 Years!

We would also like to thank Omaha for voting our company the Best of B2B™.

PLUMBING COMPANY Backlund Plumbing backlundplumbing.com 402-341-0450

Eyman Plumbing Heating & Air

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trusteyman.com 402-731-2727

8 Consecutive Years ®

2017 Winner

402.399.9233 | www.sparklingklean.com

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2017 Winner

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Cushman & Wakefield | The Lund Company lundco.com 402-393-8811

It’s That Simple.

DP Management, LLC

REAL ESTATE – COMMERCIAL NAI NP Dodge nainpdodge.com 402-255-6060

OMNE Partners (formerly World Group) omnepartners.com 402-697-8899

ROOFING COMPANY Ciaccio Roofing Email Marketing

Email Hygiene Services

Print and Lettershop Services

ciaccioroofing.com 402-293-8707

Scott Enterprises, Inc. scottent.com 402-571-2364

Did You Know?

Omaha-based Peter Kiewit Sons’, a company involved with transportation, oil, gas, offices, and mining, has been ranked on the Fortune 500 list for 17 years.

Provided by Greater Omaha Chamber

Thank You for Voting Us

BEST OF B2B

for Snow Removal Service • New Roof & Reroofs • Roof Maintenance & Repair • Licensed, Bonded, Insured & Locally Owned in Papillion, NE

Over 130 of the 420 firms providing cleaning and maintenance services have been in business for 15 years or more.

The Roofing Specialists Call us today!

402-740-0800

apconstructomaha.com

In Greater Omaha, over 420 firms provide building cleaning and maintenance services.

SPRING 2017 |

omahamagazine.com

Hope Lodge, 2017

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Boys Town Fieldhouse, 1948 2B

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2017 Winner

Iowa Western Engineering Building, 2015

SECURITY EQUIPMENT/SYSTEMS SEi, Security Equipment Inc. American Electronics

SIGN COMPANY

Building Omaha…

Best Buy Signs

Past, Present and Future

Omaha Neon Sign Company

SNOW REMOVAL SERVICE A & P Construction

Professional. Proven.

(402) 339-1000 • www.lueder.com

“Proud to be voted Omaha’s Best General Contractor”

apconstructomaha.com 402-740-0800

Snow Removal Services of Omaha

TOWING COMPANY Neff Towing Service 402-733-5500

Arrow Towing

Thank You for voting us Omaha’s best commercial real estate firm.

12915 West Dodge Road Omaha | NE | 68154 nainpdodge.com +1 402 255 6060

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THANK YOU FOR VOTING C A P I TA L E X P R E S S

BEST DELIVERY SERVICE!

402.592.9062 C A P I TA L E X P R E S S . B I Z

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OVER

1 MILLION

2017 Winner

APPLICANT SEARCHES PER YEAR

99%

BUSINESS SERVICES ADVERTISING SPECIALTIES Bergman Incentives Ideal Images ideal-images.com 402-596-1002

AUTO GLASS Kryger Glass

SEARCH ACCURACY One Source The Background Check Company provides TotalCheck screening, while maintaining superior turnaround time & customer service.

Winner of the Best Background & Drug Screening category since 2009

Auto Glass Pro omahaglasspro.com 402-896-5255

AUTO LEASING Gregg Young Chevrolet

Contact Us To Get Started Today!

Enterprise

tel 800.608.3645 info@onesourcebackground.com onesourcebackground.com

“YOUR PARKING LOT CREATES A FIRST IMPRESSION OF YOUR COMPANY”

2B

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WE’VE BEEN IN BUSINESS IN OMAHA SINCE 1989

THANK YOU FOR VOTING FOR US!

FOLLOW US:

402-681-5243 12156 Roberts Rd Omaha, NE 68128

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BACKGROUND & DRUG SCREENING SERVICE One Source onesourcebackground.com

planitomaha: A national and regional powerhouse in meetings, conferences & events.

1-800-608-3645

3rd Degree Screening

BUSINESS BROKER The Firm Business Brokerage

402.333.3062 | planitomaha.com | 10832 old mill road, suite 5 | omaha, ne 68154

B2B Mag Winter 2017.indd 1

1/27/17 3:36 PM

Sunbelt Business Solutions

BUSINESS FORMS & SYSTEMS Performance Group Inc. Donis Corp

Did You Know?

Provided by Greater Omaha Chamber

PARKING AREA MAINTENANCE, INC.

33 YEARS

1984-2017

Greater Omaha has a robust data center industry, with 15 data centers from industry giants, including Google, Yahoo!, and PayPal (See prod.omaha.cciconstellation. net/Business-Sectors/Financial Services/ Data-Centers.aspx for the full list).

PARKING AREA MAINTENANCE, INC WE COVER ALL YOUR PARKING AREA NEEDS!

HONOR ROLL 2010-2017

Serving Omaha since 1984 • ASPHALT PAVING • STRIPING • SEAL COATING • FREE ESTIMATES • CRACK SEALING

402.496.3400 PARKINGMAINTENANCEOMAHA.COM

The Greater Omaha region adds around 5,800 new jobs each year, with 9 percent of those jobs in the technology industry.

Over 1,100 of the business service firms have been in business for 15 years or more.

SPRING 2017 |

2017 Winner

COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER

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Thank You Omaha!

For voting the Sprinter #1 in Best of B2B - Delivery Vehicle category.

Billings Photography A Better Exposure

COMPUTER SERVICE DataServ InfiNet Solutions omahait.com 402-895-5777

of Omaha

of Omaha

Mercedes-Benz of Omaha 14335 Hillsdale Ave, Omaha, NE 68137 www.OmahaMercedes.com Contact Robert Quick anytime at 402.891.2618 MSRP for a 2017 Sprinter Standard Roof 2500 is $37,455 excludes all options, taxes, title, regis., transporation/destination charge and dealer prep. 2017 shown with high roof option at $39,950 . (High Roof option $2,495) Options, model availability and actual dealer price may vary. See dealer for details. ** Please obey all speed laws. ©2017 Authorized Mercedes-Benz Dealers.

For more information, call 1-800-FOR-MERCEDES, or visit MBUSA.com

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B2B OMAHA MAGAZINE

In Commercial Roofing, One Name’s On Top.

Nebraska’s largest roofing company is also Nebraska’s cial Roofing, One Name’s On Top. best. When quality is critical to your project, be sure to specify Scott Enterprises.

you need expertNebraska’s design and installation, or our fully staffed, t roofing Whether company is also best. When dedicated service department, Scott Enterprises can o your project, be sure specify Scott Enterprises. taketo care of you like nobody else.

ars, trusted ther projects ...

rk k Tower

SCOTT ENTERPRISES

pping Center Celebrating our 38th year serving the community. We have Arts Building 402-571-2364 | www.ScottEnt.com

been trusted on these and many other projects...

9684 N 109th Street, Omaha, NE 68142

TD Ameritrade Park | First National Bank Tower | Midtown Crossing Village Pointe Shopping Center | UNO Weber Fine Arts Building | Children’s Hospital Aksarben Village | Joslyn Art Museum | Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center University of Nebraska Omaha Baxter Arena

9684 N. 109th Ave. • Omaha, NE 68142 • 402-571-2364 • scottent.com

YOUR CAREER SUCCESS ON YOUR SCHEDULE Online or at a campus near you

For more information call, 402.431.6100, visit omaha.kaplanuniversity.edu or email kpackard@kaplan.edu.

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COPIER SERVICE Marco marconet.com 402-339-3006

Bishop Business

CORPORATE GIFTS Regal Awards Corporate Creations

CORPORATE JET SERVICE Jet Linx JetLinxOmaha.com 402-422-0393

NetJets

DELIVERY SERVICE Capital Express capitalexpress.biz 402-592-9062

MJ Express

DELIVERY VEHICLE DEALER Mercedes-Benz of Omaha omahamercedes.com 402-891-2618

Baxter Ford of Omaha

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Thanks for Voting us Your #1 Locksmith!

WWW.OMAHAGLASSPRO.COM 6701 L ST, OMAHA NE 68117

CALL TODAY! 402.238.1348

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Providing Smart Communication Solutions for 44 Years

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THANK YOU for continuing to vote for Lukas Partners, the Midlands’ leading public relations and fund development firm.

Our team of award-winning PR and fund development experts develop smart communication solutions tailored to meet client needs. No other firm can match our depth and breadth of experience.

Since 1973, corporations, nonprofits and communities have turned to Lukas Partners for strategies and programs that get results from the people who matter to them.

Visit LukasPartners.com

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Celebrating 25 Years

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING Lifespan 2B

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FLEET LEASING All Tech Automotive Omaha Truck

2017 Winner

GLASS COMPANY

Thank you for voting for us!

City Glass Company

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Frame, Enhance, & Preserve Quality craftmanship Expert installation Outstanding customer service Located inside the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art 724 S. 12th St. 68102 402.342.0020 visionscustomframing.com

Keystone Glass Company

INTERNET PROVIDER coxbusiness.com 402-934-3223

CenturyLink

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2017 Winner

MAILING LISTS CAS Inc. cas-online.com 402-963-2000

GoLeads

MAILING SERVICE omahamail.net 402-758-0671

Thank You Omaha for voting BOLD Office Solutions Best Furniture Dealer in 2017! to-Busi essne ss sin MA

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Creating a more Productive, Healthier and Happier Workplace.

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boldofficesolutions.com | 4526 F Street | 402.934.6644

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years Your Single Source Provider for All Your Office Needs!

2017 Winner

MOBILE AUTO DETAILING Office Supplies Breakroom Supplies Business Furniture Facility Supplies Promotional & Apparel Technology Products

Attention To Detail Mr. Mobile

NETWORKING EVENT Greater Omaha Chamber omahachamber.org 402-346-5000

Friday Afternoon Group

NETWORKING GROUP BNI Heartland Center Sphere • Locally Owned & Operated for 30+ Years

OFFICE SUPPLIES

• Access to 40+ Distribution Centers Nationwide • Rewards Program - Earn Points for Dollars Spent

Pay-LESS Office Products, Inc. paylessoffice.com 800-200-6759

• Next Day Delivery on most products

OfficeMax

• Low Competitive Pricing & Easy Online Ordering

PRINTER

• Social Media Giveaways, Contests, & Coupons

Aradius Group (formerly Omaha Print) Printco Graphics

Thank You Omaha!

SALES TRAINING

Pay-LESS Voted Best of B2B 8 Consecutive Years

Richardson

Omaha: 13467 Chandler Rd Omaha, NE 68138

Des Moines: 800 S. 19th St. West Des Moines, IA 50265

Kansas City: 8381 Melrose Dr. Lenexa, KS 66214

www.paylessof f ice.com • 1-800-200-6759

Sandler Training

Did You Know?

Provided by Greater Omaha Chamber

There are over 3,000 firms providing business services in Greater Omaha.

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WATER – BOTTLED Ideal Pure Water idealpurewater.com 402-392-2600

Culligan

WEBSITE DEVELOPER Elevated SEO & Web Design JM Web Designs

WEBSITE HOSTING Omaha Designs Web Solutions

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Here for all of your firsts.

We’re thrilled to be voted Best Bank by the readers of

FINANCIAL SERVICES

B2B Quarterly. Thank you for allowing us to travel this journey

BANK

with you and celebrate all of the firsts that make up your life.

First National Bank

firstnational.com

firstnational.com 402-602-5100

ACCESSbank

CREDIT CARD MERCHANT PROCESSING TSYS Merchant Solutions American Payment Systems

CREDIT UNION Centris Federal Credit Union Mutual 1st Federal Credit Union

PAYROLL SERVICE Profit Advantage profit-advantage.com 402-592-8334

Payroll Professionals, Inc.

Order online

anytime

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“Here for all of your firsts.”/ Job # 16-0104 FY17 Miscel. print

We offer all the B2B printing you need, including January 26, 2017 9:05(like AM UV, Soft Touch TM, exclusive and custom coatings Publication: B2B Quarterly strike-through, reticulated varnish and more), Insertion Order&#:stellar 2196 fulfillment service— skin board packaging Insertion Date: Mar/Apr/May Color: 4/color Size: L - 5” x 7.458”

NT PR I E R

CONTACT US TODAY!

402.593.1080 | printcographics.com

print . bind . mail . fulfill . design . packaging

...and much more!

payrollprofessionalsomaha.com 402-618-2804

Did You Know?

Provided by Greater Omaha Chamber

Our finance and insurance industry is responsible for more than $5.5 billion of the Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA MSA and contributes to more than 10 percent of the region’s GDP. Over 1,800 restaurants and fast food locations in Greater Omaha, including over 60 ice cream parlors.

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FREE TRIAL

New Customer Special.

Try Four 5 Gallon Bottles.

FOOD SERVICES

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2017 Winner

Thank you for voting us best water-bottled Now offering

BANQUET FACILITY Thompson Center at UNO thethompsoncenter.org 402-554-2444

Ralston Arena

CATERER Brandeis Catering brandeiscatering.com 402-334-5446

Thanks again for voting us the #1 CPA firm for the last FIVE years!

Tax Planning & Consulting Financial Statement Assurance Business Valuation & Litigation Support Technology Consulting Payroll / Bookkeeping Forensic Accounting Peer Review Services Employee Benefit Plan Audits Estate Tax Planning Wealth Advisory Services Cost Segregation Studies R & D Tax Credits

www.fzacpa.com 402.496.9100

402-392-2600 mlevine@idealpurewatercom idealpurewater.com

Paradise Bakery & Cafe paradisebakery.com 402-699-5555

COFFEE PROVIDER LaRue Coffee laruecoffee.com 800-658-4498

Red Diamond Inc. reddiamondbevservice.com 402-657-8756

Thank you for voting me Best Payroll Service!

Payroll Professionals Inc.

Bookkeeping & Payroll Services

Kelly Burns

President 402.618.2804 Krb42370@cox.net 2829 S 88th St. Omaha, NE 68124 payrollprofessionalsomaha.com

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#1 IN COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING SERVICES WINNER IN COMMERCIAL SNOW REMOVAL

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5601 Harrison St. Omaha, NE 68157 (402) 932-5704 SunValleyOmaha.com www.commit20.com

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RESTAURANT – BUSINESS BREAKFAST First Watch firstwatch.com 402-932-5691

WheatFields

RESTAURANT – BUSINESS DINNER 801 Chophouse Fleming’s

RESTAURANT – BUSINESS HAPPY HOUR Jams jamseats.com 402-614-9333

13 Consecutive Years!

Shucks

RESTAURANT – BUSINESS LUNCH Biaggi’s Stokes

Delivering Comfort Everywhere Employee owned | 24 Hour Emergency Service

4972 F Street • 402-593-7500 • a1united.net

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Your cornerstone for commercial real-estate

• Village Pointe • Regency

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13340 California Street, Ste 100 Omaha, NE 68154 402 697 8899 omnepartners.com

2017 Winner

Our win is your win.

Thank you, Omaha, for voting us the best electrical service 12 years in a row. We’re honored to have powered this great city for more than 105 years. And counting.

402.341.6479

millerelect.com

S.E. corner of 72nd & Pacific

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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ACCOUNTING OFFICE Frankel Zacharia CPA Bland & Associates P.C., CPA

ADVERTISING AGENCY Sleight Advertising sleightadvertising.com 402-334-3530

Bailey Lauerman

ARCHITECTURAL FIRM LEO A DALY Holland Basham Architects

COLLECTION SERVICE Brumbaugh & Quandahl Merchant Credit Adjusters

Thank you for voting us Best of B2B for the 6th straight year.

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Fas t- Paced Publ ic Rel ation s For the Connected World

Every story. Every tweet.

Every interaction.

PR is vital to your bottom line now more than ever.

Join the world of innovative PR – partner with experts.

2017 Winner

Customer-Based Planning and Communications 402-964-9293 11626 Nicholas Street

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OMAHA MAGAZINE • OMAHA’S PREMIER PUBLISHER 5921 South 118 Circle • Omaha, Nebraska 68137 • 402.884.2000 • 402.884.2001 [fax]

Best PR Agency 9 Years Running!

zaissco.com

Best of B2B

2017 Winner Special Rates Welcome to the Best of B2B winners circle.

Because you are the best, we are offering you our best pricing for the results issue of B2B. Commit to the next four issues and receive the same rate as our 12-issue contract advertisers. PLUS receive the next size up on your ad in the Best of B2B Results issue (Spring, Mar/Apr/May 2017) and also a FREE wall plaque.

Ad Deadlines

Issue

Date Due

Mar./Apr./May 2017 - Best of B2B

Jan. 20 2017

Jun./Oct./Nov. 2017 - Summer

Apr. 14 2017

Sept./Oct./Nov. 2017 - Fall

Jul. 14 2017

Dec./Jan./Feb. - Woman in Business

Oct. 13 2017

Act Now!

Take advantage of this honor and let your customers and peers know how much you appreciate their vote. And just as important: Let potential customers know how much your products and services are valued by the community.

One hundred and HDR. A century of pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

A legacy of bringing innovative solutions to every project—no matter the challenge.

A future of collaborating and creating the only way we know how. Together.

Standard Ad Size Full Page 2/3 Page 1/2 Page 1/3 Page 1/6 Page

*Winner 4x Rate Twelve Issues $2,200 $1,820 $1,490 $1,080 $590

Eight Issues $2,630 $1,950 $1,590 $1,160 $630

Winner 1x Rate Four Issues $2,520 $2,080 $1,700 $1,240 $670

Two Issues $2,830 $2,340 $1,910 $1,390 $750

Single Issue $3,140 $2,590 $2,120 $1,540 $830

Rates are per issue. Each issue has a three-month shelf life. Black & White ads receive a 15% discount. *Rates can be paid monthly (divide rate by three months). See ‘OMag Ad Size 2015.pdf’ for ad specs or online under the ‘advertise’ tab at omahamagazine.com. advertising

sales contact TODD LEMKE todd lemke’s assistant SANDY MATSON sandy@omahamagazine.com 402-884-2045

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hdr100.com

Thank you for voting us best architecture and engineering firm!

We’ve been working on it for a long time!

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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT COMPANY SilverStone Group

Kirkham Michael

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hemphillsearch.com 402-334-4800

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2016 Winner

402.392.1250

8712 West Dodge Rd, Suite 300 | Omaha, NE

AKCLaw.com

Thank you, Omaha – for again voting

Chastain Otis Best of Omaha!

Find an insurance plan built for YOU... not someone else.

Chastain Otis insURanCE & FinanCiaL sERViCEs

10822 Old Mill Rd. Suite 2 Omaha, NE 68154 402.397.2500 www.chastainotis.com

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Serving Omaha’s Legal Needs since 1951 Commercial & Civil Litigation • Divorce and all areas of Family Law including Mediation & Collaborative Divorce • Estate Planning (Wills & Trusts) • Employment Law • Worker’s Compensation • Immigration Law • Personal Injury • Criminal Defense

mcrlawyers.com | 402-492-9800 | 11605 Miracle Hills Dr, Omaha, NE 68154

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INSURANCE AGENCY

Creating the perfect message is only part of your marketing challenge.

In order to drive results, you need to deliver that message to the right people. This raises questions. Who are they? Where do you find them? How do you choose the best possibilities on a fixed budget? For any media question, MediaSpark is the answer. We can discover your best audience. Then, we can tell you where to place your message so that they discover you.

The Harry A. Koch Co. hakco.com 402-861-7000

Chastain Otis Insurance & Financial Services

LAW FIRM

digital media social media traditional media

Abrahams Kaslow & Cassman, LLP akclaw.com 402-392-1250

www.themediaspark.com 402.505.5433

Marks Clare & Richards LLC

PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM Zaiss & Co. zaissco.com 402-964-9293

Lukas Partners

SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT Media Spark themediaspark.com 402-505-5433

AUDIO VISUAL SERVICES OFFERED INCLUDE:

Ervin & Smith

• • • • •

System design/engnering Sales Installation Maintenance and Service Equipment Rental and Operation

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2700 sq. ft. of rental facility for conferencing, meetings, training sessions, receptions, gatherings, and webinars.

Thank You for Voting Us Best of B2B™ 6 Years in a Row! Contact our Highly Trained and Certified Staff at 402-298-5011 | www.conceptsav.com | 4610 S. 133rd Street, Suite 106 | Omaha, NE 68137

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-JOAN NEUHAUS Founded right here in Omaha in 1999 to better serve you

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“A GOOD EDUCATION IS CRITICAL, BUT A LOT OF IT IS LEARNING AS YOU GO AND MOVING INTO OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY PRESENT THEMSELVES,” SHE SAYS. “IF SOMEONE HAD SAID, ‘DO YOU KNOW HOW TO CONDUCT STRATEGIC PLANNING?’ I WOULD HAVE TO SAID, ‘NO. BUT WE LCOME I AM EAGER TO LEARN AND PERSO NAL Y WILLING JE TO DOTMYCOMPAN BEST. SO LET’S GIVE IT A SHOT.’”

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TRAVEL & EVENT PLANNING

Largest local managed fleet serving Omaha, 3rd largest managed fleet in the U.S. Guaranteed availability, guaranteed hourly rates and guaranteed highest standard of safety

AUDIO-VISUAL SERVICE Concepts AV Integration

JetLinxOmaha.com

conceptsav.com 402-298-5011

Ti Technologies

BUSINESS CONFERENCE VENUE Scott Conference Center scottcenter.com 402-778-6313

Thompson Center at UNO thethompsoncenter.org 402-554-2444

EVENT PLANNING SERVICE planitomaha inc.

JET CARD

AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT ACQUISITION & SALES 402.422.0393 • JetLinxOmaha.com

planitomaha.com 402-333-3062

Turner Events & Marketing

FLORIST Taylor’s Flower Shop & Greenhouse Beyond The Vine Flowers & Home Decor In business since 1968 We Rent forks to forklifts

Thank You for Voting Us a B2B Winner for 2017 www.honeymanrentall.com Equipment: 402-331-6013 4423 S. 84th Street

Party: 402-333-2882 11226 Wright Circle

Did You Know?

Provided by Greater Omaha Chamber

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium was ranked No. 1 in the world in 2014 by Travelers’ Choice Trip Advisor for its animal preservation efforts and remarkable exhibits.

WINTER 2017 |

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DIRECT

800-377-6085

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Since 1950, United Rent-All has been Omaha’s trusted partner for events, conventions, receptions and more!

GOLF COURSE Happy Hollow Omaha Country Club

HOTEL Hilton Omaha omaha.hilton.com 402-998-3400

811 S. 48th Street | Omaha, NE Mon-Sat, 7:30am-6:00pm

Magnolia Hotel

Call 402.556.1600

RENTAL SERVICE STORE

unitedrent-all-omaha.com

United Rent-All

Exceptional Meeting Space & Catering as voted by B2B readers

unitedrent-all-omaha.com 402-556-1600

Honeyman Rent-All

TRAVEL AGENCY AurTravel aurtravel.com 402-891-6909

6450 Pine Street 402.778.6313 ScottCenter.com

Travel & Transport

Did You Know?

Provided by Greater Omaha Chamber

In spring and fall hundreds of cyclists take the country’s longest running weekly bike ride­—The Taco Ride—to Tobey Jack’s Mineola Steakhouse for their Thursday night taco special.

El Museo Latino was the first Latino art and history museum in the Midwest.

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Signs, Bus Bench & Sport Complex Advertising Bringing your business three exceptional outdoor advertising options to make you stand out from the crowd. We have 28 years of experience and more than 500 exclusive Out of Home (OOH) locations to choose from with full service in-house design and production.

Get results, stand out and drive your brand forward with the best in outdoor advertising. Visit our website to learn more.

ooa.agency | 402.861.0384

.

S T L U S E R E V I R D E W

Reservations NOW OPEN!

Visit OmahaParksProgram.com

VOTED #1 SIGN SHOP FOR THE LAST 9 YEARS. Thank you, Omaha! We couldn’t be more grateful!

© 2016-2017 Best Buy Signs. All rights reserved

SPORT COMPLEX & ARENA ADVERTISING

We believe a company’s greatest asset is its employees.

This family run business has been helping organizations with their employee benefit programs for over 35 years.

Join our family and protect your greatest asset(s).

Thanks for your vote Omaha!

16820 Frances Street, Suite 202 | Omaha, NE 68130 theolsongroup.com | 402-289-1046

SPRING 2017 |

omahamagazine.com

BY DOUG SCHURING

OFFICE FURNITURE

HOW TO SURVIVE IN TODAY’S OPEN OFFICES

Office furniture dealerships work with companies large and small to reshape their work environments. Here are some observations to keep in mind once the walls have come down.

VARIETY IS KEY Don’t just scrap the panels: Effective openplan work areas need to offer a range of spaces. A “layered” approach may work best. Provide spaces for those people who really need quiet to focus, whether they just find it easier to work in quiet or they are more introverted. Successful spaces work when everyone in the company, regardless of personality or role, feels comfortable and confident in accomplishing their work.

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PLAN FOR THE ENTIRE SPACE, NOT JUST THE CORNERS

GET BOSSES OUT OF OFFICES

Create “enclaves” for collaborative working while making sure those spaces do not disrupt people sitting nearby. While it is important to provide areas for private/ personal time, do not place them so far away that the trek to reach them is not worth it. Create “adjacencies,” spaces offering a phone booth or enclave where you are not walking more than 20 feet to reach them.

Sometimes managers may still need to function behind closed doors, but letting higher-ups spend their days inside old-fashioned private offices while employees work in the open sends a bad message. It also isolates them from the very benefits open plans promise.

Once exposed to this new approach to the workplace, many executives say, “Wow, I’ve learned more about my own company in two weeks than I did in the past two years.”

Design to meet your company goals

A SURVIVAL GUIDE

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Your company needs to ask: What are our goals? “More collaboration” is a start, but “more collaboration between the product team and the sales team” is a goal that you can design your office around. Companies today often say they want to be more like Google.

What is it about the workspaces at Google that you find appealing, and is that something your office’s culture can embrace? It may be more important to uncover how the company identity is expressed through physical space.

While open-plan offices do not fit every company’s culture, they have come a long way from the “cubicle farms” of the past.

More importantly, they are delivering an increasingly comfortable way to work.

B2B

ESTABLISH RULES It’s not enough to create spaces; you have to enforce boundaries. Open spaces create noise. There’s just no getting around it. Rules may be needed about how areas can be used.

Certain spots for working in require a “no phone call” rule. No exceptions! It sounds very corporate and Big Brother to some people, but when you are working in an open space, protocols can be very important.

Doug Schuring is the director of sales administration at All Makes Office Equipment Co.

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IN THE OFFICE | BY LEO ADAM BIGA | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN

PACIFIC LIFE GAINS NEW FOOTHOLD IN AKSARBEN VILLAGE

“STAFF RESPONSE HAS BEEN GREAT, THEY LOVE THE PARKING, THE AMENITIES, THE BRIGHT, AIRY FEEL OF THE BUILDING WITH THE WIDE OPEN LAYOUT, NATURAL LIGHTING, AND CLEAN, MODERN FINISHES. THOUGH WE ADDED ONLY ABOUT 10,000 SQUARE FEET, IT’S ORGANIZED MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY.” -ANGELA GREISEN

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The site of Omaha’s old Knights of Aksarben complex—acres of once-busy thoroughbred horse racing and concert space turned albatross—has blossomed anew as the live-work-play destination spot known as Aksarben Village.

The booming mixed-use development is home to popular eateries, a movie theater, health club, and two colleges. This is part of why Pacific Life Insurance Company moved its regional business operations office from downtown to a new five-story building there in late 2015.

The company’s Omaha office has grown from 250 to 450 workers since the blue-gray motif structure’s 2014 groundbreaking.

The gleaming, glass-fronted Holland Basham Architects design offers many creature comforts and inhabits prime real estate at 6750 Mercy Road.

The new digs provide a branded presence after a low-key profile at downtown’s Landmark Center.

Angela Greisen, Pacific Life assistant vice president for human resources, says, “We couldn’t have our name on the previous building in any big, visible way. We’d been in Omaha 12-plus years and people still didn’t know we were here.” That’s changed, she says, as events “bring thousands of people to the village and our new building with our big branding and signage is right there in the middle of everything.”

“That’s been huge for us. It’s also given us higher applicant flow because people now know we’re here and here to stay and we’re growing.”

Where many employees had to use off-site parking downtown, they now have an 850stall covered garage. A heated, enclosed skybridge connects the building to the garage.

CONT. PAGE 48 Employees at Pacific Life meet in a modern, more casual gathering area.

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A computer screen lets people know when conference rooms are available for use.

FROM PAGE 47 Greisen was part of a project team drawn from each Pacific Life business unit that polled employees about their likes and dislikes.

“The three most important things employees said they wanted were parking, amenities, and a nearby location with easy access,” she says.

Aksarben was the clear site choice. Pacific Life partnered with Magnum Development on the $33 million new build. The company occupies the second through fifth floors.

Eateries and shops fill the ground floor.

“Staff response has been great,” Greisen says. “They love the parking, the amenities, the bright, airy feel of the building with the wide-open layout, natural lighting, and clean, modern finishes. Though we added only about 10,000 square feet, it’s organized much more efficiently.”

Each floor plan incorporates cutting-edge work spaces to enhance communication, team-building, workflow, and group projects via huddle spaces, conference rooms, and commons areas. She says, “Staff can seamlessly interface in real time with colleagues at

other locations through videoconferencing, teleconferencing, and webinar technology.”

There’s a Wall Street trading-room floor look to the third floor internal wholesaling area. Flat-screen panels stream motivational performance messages and live market conditions to the sales desk floor.

In multiple areas, adjustable, stand-up work stations are available. Employees can indulge their freshly brewed beverage cravings at several Keurig stations.

The in-house Park View Cafe is a grabyour-own, pay-with-your-phone Company Kitchen model. The spacious room converts into a meeting-reception space with audiovideo connectivity. A covered balcony offers a panoramic overlook of Stinson Park.

Though not green certified, the structure integrates many conservation features, including energy efficient windows, LED lighting, HVAC that is programmed to shut off when areas are unoccupied, low water usage restroom fixtures, and motion-sensor lighting.

Greisen says employees appreciate Aksarben Village’s warm welcome and plethora of things

to do. Proximity is a big plus, too, as Pacific Life is an employer partner of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, whose south campus is in the village. As an employer partner, company representatives promote their job opportunites and participate in career fairs; staffers also speak to classes and conduct mock interviews when asked. Greisen hopes this partnership will grow.

“We expect an increase because we have a partnership with UNO, and now we are literally on the edge of their campus,” she says. “It’s very convenient. Increased visibility. It gives us even more opportunities to partner with the university.”

This visibility, along with the popular amenities, could mean an increase in sought-after employees at Pacific Life in the near future.

And that can help secure Pacific Life’s future.

Visit aksarbenvillage.com/tenant for more information.

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omahamagazine.com

THE BRAND BRIEF

BY JASON FOX

KNOW THYSELF I have good news and bad news. The good news is that greatness is a state of mind. The bad news is that others’ minds decide your state. As with many things in life, this is true for people as well as brands. A brand is, in its most basic description, what people believe, feel, and think about a company. Companies like to think that their brand (or “brand image” if you’re old school) is whatever they’re currently telling the public it is. Which is rare. However, that is the goal. Because when what people think of you matches up with what you claim to be, you’ve hit the branding bull’s-eye.

Great branding is built on a solid foundation.

This foundation is commonly referred to as a “brand platform.” Used correctly, a brand platform can act as a launching pad for your branding efforts. Conversely, it may resemble the 10-meter Olympic diving platform, except, instead of water, the pool is filled with buy-one-get-five coupons that cause financial ruin and death by a thousand paper cuts.

A brand platform defines who you are as a company in a way that everyone in the organization can understand—even Chuck in H.R.—by codifying beliefs into a framework that doesn’t change with the shifting winds of accounts receivable. The platform becomes the guiding document in how you speak about the brand and how the brand acts. It is no use marketing something and then failing to live up to those promises operationally when people finally find time to “act now.”

There is no standard template for a brand platform. Most advertising agencies that deal in branding have developed their own process and format. I prefer a classic format that defines a brand purpose (why you exist beyond making money or even your current product), brand position (who you are relative to your competition and audience), brand personality (five or six adjectives, none of which are “sleepy”), and brand affiliation (the type of people your brand wants to attract). Feel free to Google these terms. Other platforms include brand archetypes or variations on all of the above. The important thing is that the platform brings clarity, unity, and direction.

So beware the agency attempting to sell you a process that they themselves don’t seem to fully understand—just because it comes with a cool infographic doesn’t make it actionable.

I do not recommend trying to create a brand platform on your own. Anyone inside the company is too close to the situation to be completely objective. Nonetheless, you should be actively involved in the process. An agency that insists on doing everything themselves before delivering a final document fait accompli is probably doing a lot of finding and replacing on a platform they first wrote in 1998.

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Once your platform is in place, use it. This is not as obvious as you would think. Weigh marketing decisions against it. Use it to filter operational objectives. Spread it throughout the company so that when an employee gets asked about where they work, they give an accurate answer. Eventually, because branding is a long game, your brand will be cohesive and consistent. And all your marketing will automatically be strategic in tone and message (and media, too, if you’re paying attention).

You will still need to decide on creative directions and tactics, of course, but you won’t have to do the heavy lifting of figuring out foundational principles every time you write a new tweet. Because you will know who you are. And, more importantly, customers current and potential will, too.

B2B

Jason Fox is a freelance creative director and writer. He can be found at jasonfox.net and adsavior.com.

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HOW I ROLL | BY JENNIFER LITTON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN

A FAMILY MASTERPIECE

DAVE CARROLL’S 1950 MERCURY

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Some childhood memories stick with you. Dave Carroll, a retired Union Pacific manager, holds onto the memory of one fateful childhood leap that dented his grandfather’s prized 1950 Mercury.

“I’ve got so much of my life in this car,” Carroll says. When he was about 6 or 7, Carroll was playing with cousins at a tree house on his grandparents’ farm in Fullerton, Nebraska.

His grandfather John Carroll’s out-ofcommission vehicle sat under the tree house.

“I remember it like it was yesterday. Instead of going down the rope ladder, I jumped out of the tree house onto the car and I caved the roof in.”

Carroll remembered his grandpa’s large hands.

“He got in the car and he took his hand and popped it out, and I thought, wow.” Some wrinkles remained in the car’s roof and would stay there for many decades. “The funny story is, years later, I paid to fix that roof,” he says.

His grandmother, Etta Carroll, bestowed him the car after his grandfather passed away. Then she accidentally sold the car for $50 to a neighbor kid, while Dave was serving in the military during the Vietnam War. Dave and his father, Jack, travelled to Fullerton to get the car back after Dave returned from overseas. The duo were quickly chased off of the property by shotgun.

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FROM PAGE 51

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is just one of the many changes Carroll has made to his car.

“We went downtown and we found the local constable. He was having coffee at the coffee shop. My dad knew him. We told him the story and he said ‘come on, we’ll go back.’” The story ended well for Dave, who was still in possession of the car’s original title. And the car has been with him since then.

“There’s so many things that have been done to this car,” he says.

Over more than 30 years, Carroll says he has spent thousands of hours refurbishing the car. Some projects were finished, only to be torn up again and redone so that he could try the ever-evolving products in the industry that worked better. “That’s my problem,” he says. “I redo things.”

Over the years, the Mercury was transported across the United States on a flatbed trailer while Carroll worked his way up at Union Pacific, from a position on the track gang to one in management at the company’s headquarters. His career led him to places such as Sydney (Nebraska), Denver, and Cheyenne. At every new location, Carroll brought along his beloved Merc’. “My intention was to build it, but being a railroader, I didn’t have the time or the funds.”

He has often lost track of time while working in his garage in the Huntington Park neighborhood in Omaha. “I’ve had my wife open the door and say, ‘you know what time it is?’ I look at the clock and it’s 10 after 1 in the morning and I’ve got to be to work at 6 in the morning.”

Carroll returned to Omaha in the ’80s. He met and wed Dianne Cascio Carroll, owner of Anything Goes Salon. Soon after, he began his odyssey of fixing the Mercury. Having the roof repaired

“It’s not about me. It’s about my parents, and honoring the memory of my grandfather. I kept this car because it was in the family and it’s never been out of the family.”

Carroll’s imagination has affected every aspect of the car, from the striking Candy Purple body color, to the custom purple snakeskin roof interior.

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Dave and Jack Carroll with their family’s 1950 Mercury.

The air-conditioning vents were salvaged from a 2002 Ford Tempo.

He ordered the custom-made steering wheel from California, and the windshield from Oregon. Thanks to Carroll’s insatiable creativity, the car has a digital dash, an electrical door opener, a late-model motor with custom aluminum valve covers, four-wheel disk brakes, rounded hood corners, a smooth dash and Frenched-in (curved) headlights.

The restoration has also been helped by Ron Moore of Moore Auto Body, Rick White of Redline Upholstery, and Rod Grasmick, an antique auto restorer. Using qualified professionals means that Carroll knows his car is taken care of, but he also finds them to be knowledgable friends.

“I have a couple of friends that are helping me with this car, that’s how our [automotive] community is—everybody helps everybody,” he says.

Will the car ever be finished? “My dad is always telling that he hopes to get to ride it in when it is done, and him being 92 years old puts a lot of pressure on me,” he says.

“My wife says, ‘you’re taking forever.’ Well, look at it this way, there’s better and newer stuff coming out all the time,” Carroll says. And so the journey continues.

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FEATURE | BY JAMES VNUK | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN

PROFESSIONAL PETS

HOW FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS HAVE RESHAPED OMAHA BUSINESS “THEY HAVE NOTICED A POSITIVE EFFECT IN STUDIES PETS HAVE ON PEOPLE IN ISOLATED SITUATIONS TO HELP BOOST THEIR MOOD, WELLNESS, AND EVEN IMPROVE PHYSIOLOGY—THINGS LIKE HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND OTHER STRESS RESPONSES.” -TERESA FREEMAN

Some of the names spoken about at the marketing firm Envoy might seem unorthodox: Adam, Steve, Stella … and Butter? These names don’t belong to people, but to a pair of Devon rex cats, a French bulldog/pug, and a mini goldendoodle. Dentists have kept tropical aquariums in their waiting rooms for generations, but expanding a workplace’s pet-tential is far more common than that.

Penny Hatchell and Kathy Broniecki have owned Envoy for 13 years, producing materials for clients as varied as Hiland Dairy, Boys Town, and Max I. Walker Cleaners. The decision to allow pets in the office came from the desire to create a flexible and welcoming work environment: “We love to come to work, and we want our employees to come to work,” Broniecki explains. The decision seems to be working for them: “There’s a much greater overall wellness to the office—our quality and productivity has improved, and it keeps things light.”

The animals are great for keeping employees happy, or helping employees who have a bad day cheer up.

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Nora belongs to Amy Goldyn.

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Kathy Broniecki’s French bulldog/pug, Stella, comes to the office daily.

FROM PAGE 54

“FOCUSING ON SOMETHING THAT ISN’T ANOTHER PERSON, LIKE THE NURTURING QUALITIES OF ANIMALS, CAN HELP CALM PEOPLE DOWN.” -PAM WIESE

“This has been studied and we can see that animals have value in emotional therapy, or to be assistant animals in places like nursing homes,” says Teresa T. Freeman, a therapist in Omaha. “They have noticed a positive effect in studies pets have on people in isolated situations to help boost their mood, wellness, and even improve physiology—things like heart rate, blood pressure, and other stress responses.”

The cats were rescued and considered part of Envoy, while the dogs and a hedgehog are others’ personal pets.

Broniecki says the company is reasonable about how having pets around can affect productivity, too: “It’s natural to get distracted at work, and focusing too hard can just make things worse. Getting by distracted by the pets is a much more positive outlet than other options,” Broniecki says.

Perhaps the greatest boon to Envoy has been the camaraderie the animals’ presence has built.

“One stormy day,” Broniecki says, “Adam the cat went missing. It became an all-hands-ondeck situation in that moment trying to find him.” Everyone keeps treats on their desks for them, and when the dogs arrive in the morning,

they make sure to greet every employee first thing, desk by desk. Hatchell, who takes the cats home with her when the day is over, adds: “even over the holidays, I’ll get texts asking how they’re doing, and even requesting pics.”

That camaraderie is a common bond between employees and furry friends, and can be a way to connect with shyer clients or new staff members.

“It breaks down barriers,” Freeman says.

“People may not be comfortable with where they’re at emotionally, or isolated.”

Envoy is not alone in enjoying the pet perks. At J.A. McCoy CPA (located off 90th and Maple streets) Julie McCoy, in partnership with her rescue dog JoJo, tackles that lightning rod of stressful situations—taxes. McCoy has kept a dog at work since day one of starting her firm.

“We work a lot of long hours, and dealing with taxes and estates is often not a fun experience.

But with JoJo here, people look forward to coming in,” she says. Like at Envoy, McCoy has seen the same positive influence in her office: “Clients love it–we get a lot of business by word of mouth because of JoJo.” And of course, employees are encouraged to have play time. “We’re doing stuff that requires a lot of concentration, so it’s good to have a break.”

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Envoy’s office cat Adam, is a rescue cat.

Pam Wiese, V.P. of public relations for the Nebraska Humane Society, also believes that having pets in the office can do wonders to reduce stress. “Focusing on something that isn’t another person, like the nurturing qualities of animals, can help calm people down.” Pets, she says, provide an element of levity that certainly has value in defusing tense work scenarios. She brings her own dog to work every day, but cats, fish, and even critters can all contribute. “We once had a bearded dragon here in the office.

He’d sit out on his rock and sunbathe while people came to visit him over their lunches,” Wiese says. Though the NHS has not made any concerted push to get animals into offices, they have had their share of interested parties looking to adopt. “We’re happy to work with people to find an animal for them,” she says, “as long as it’s an appropriate situation.”

people surrounding them. There’s also the human factor to consider: not everyone is an animal lover. “You’ll need to be considerate of the phobias, allergies, and even prejudices of the people passing through your workplace.”

There are certainly many factors to weigh before introducing a pet into your own office.

“Animals need to be comfortable,” Weise says.

If the conditions aren’t safe or comforting for the pet, that opens up the opportunity for additional problems, like becoming loud or aggressive. If you’re going to have a pet, they will need to have their own private space and occasionally training to cope with many active

Regardless, they were each in confident agreement: their pawed pals have been a big plus for their businesses.

McCoy, Broniecki, and Hatchell were all able to speak to experiences with clients that turned sour because of their furry compatriots, but also noted that they were few and far between. “Only one client of ours didn’t want to come to the office because we had cats,” Hatchell explains. Similarly, McCoy shared that she did have clients with phobias: “We always try to be upfront and communicate ahead we’re a pet-friendly office. When a client comes in that has trouble with that, we make sure JoJo stays in her ‘office’ [and she does have an office, nameplate and all].”

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BY TAMSEN BUTLER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN COVER

REVAMPED RADIO NRG MEDIA’S IMPRESSIVE EVOLUTION

Andy Ruback

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“ANDY’S FULL OF ENERGY AND GREAT IDEAS. HE’S AN HONEST GUY WITH GREAT ENTHUSIASM FOR WHAT HE DOES.” -MIKE KEMP

When the band Train came to Omaha’s Baxter Arena for a concert in December 2016, there were plenty of flashing lights and excited fans.

“But when the lights go out and the audience starts screaming, there’s no rush like it in the world,” says Andy Ruback, general manager of NRG Media. Ruback knows a great deal about screaming fans—when a big concert comes to town the likelihood is that Ruback had his hand in the planning. His role as general manager has evolved over the years from managing radio stations to include managing events brought to town by NRG Media Live.

The business is a natural fit for NRG, which owns stations ranging from Power 106.9 to 1290 KOIL. The company was looking to the future for broadcasting and leaning toward live shows as a way to increase profitability. NRG used their strengths in connecting people to music to expand into the business of concert production. With the radio stations’ on-air talent knowing their listeners’ preferences, the media company naturally knew what acts had potential to bring in revenue, and which ones might not.

Ruback came to Omaha from Lincoln, where he served as general manager for their NRG stations. Upon his arrival at the NRG offices in Omaha in 2012, Ruback went full speed ahead.

He says the intention was never to focus on live shows over radio shows; rather, he called his plans a method for “diversifying for growth.”

Concert production is a challenge that Ruback gladly accepted, but in it, found unique bumps in the road. Some of those bumps included special requirements, such as permits, that needed the legal team’s help.

Shock rocker Alice Cooper, for example, required the team to acquire special insurance because of the pyrotechnics involved with his show. Ruback and his team figured out how to get the right insurance, and now know who to ask the next time someone wants to light up fireworks onstage.

Ruback says some of the more surprising challenges he and his team have faced come from smaller, more routine details.

“I would say it’s more about the crowd experience logistics,” Ruback says. “How do we try to work with the arenas to make sure there’s enough concessions on the floor?

What should be the entry ticket price? What should be the price for the front row?”

Logistics is the simplest description for the business of producing concerts. Is the specific artist available at the time? Is there enough interest in this artist to fill the seats?

Is a venue available on the day needed?

“We could have the great idea, and the right price, but there could be a UNO hockey game and a Lancers game on the night we want, and we’re out of luck,” Ruback says.

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FEATURE | BY CHARLIE LITTON | DESIGN BY DEREK JOY

THE SILICON TRAIL OMAHA’S CONNECTION TO SILICON VALLEY JUST GOT STRONGER

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When United Airlines’ first daily nonstop service flight from Eppley Airfield to San Francisco International Airport eased away from the gate in September 2016, Randy Thelen made certain he had a seat.

The senior vice president for economic development at the Omaha Chamber of Commerce saw the importance of that 7 a.m. flight—believed to be the first regular nonstop service between the two cities in a quarter century. Shortly after 9 a.m., he was on the West Coast, in the fertile Silicon Valley, ready for business.

Despite Omaha’s firm footing in the Silicon Prairie—with tech giants like PayPal, Google, LinkedIn, and Yahoo all maintaining a significant presence in the metro—Omaha long struggled with a serious shortcoming when it came time to recruit more. The same shortcoming didn’t help local technology startups secure financial backing from the apparent overabundance of thick wallet in the Bay area.

Getting from Silicon Valley to Omaha’s corner of the Silicon Prairie was more than a hassle.

It usually required at least one connecting flight, stretching a three-hour nonstop flight into nearly a full day of airplanes and airports … and that’s the delay-free version.

“As much as we don’t want location to be a barrier, there’s a very real situation where Silicon Valley investors won’t fly somewhere if they have to switch planes,” says Dusty Davidson, the CEO and co-founder of Flywheel, an Omaha-based startup that builds and hosts WordPress websites. Davidson is also known for his role in creating Silicon Prairie News and one of the largest entrepreneurial tech conferences in the region, Big Omaha.

“It’s not the connection, it’s the time,” he adds.

The required connecting flights cast a pall over Omaha’s distinct advantage as a low-cost jewel compared to the Silicon Valley. Omaha’s lower cost of living and more affordable housing helps save companies on their largest expense: wages.

Add in the various business incentives available from the state, along with a strong talent pool and sound infrastructure, and Omaha makes an attractive option for startup and established tech companies, with that notable exception.

“We came up short on the connectivity or on the flights in and out of Silicon Valley,” Thelen says.

Then United Airlines made San Francisco’s International Airport the nation’s 25th airport with regular nonstop flight services to and from Omaha. This spring, a 26th regular nonstop Omaha route will open between here and Houston via Southwest Airlines.

“Now, we’ve taken away that competitive disadvantage, and we’ve been able to promote it as an advantage,” Thelen says.

“It really has changed the conversation as we try to continue to build that pipeline between here and Silicon Valley.”

“The ability to have direct service does have an impact on the businesses that choose to do business here,” says Nancy Miller, vice president of operations at Travel and Transport, a national travel booking company based in Omaha. “I think it helps Omaha businesses.”

That an airline would add a regular nonstop flight to San Francisco lends credence to claims of Omaha’s growth as a potential hub in the Silicon Prairie.

“The Omaha economy really seems to have been doing well over the last couple of years,” says Dave Roth, deputy executive director of the Omaha Airport Authority. “It’s just a really positive combination of Omaha and the airlines for those additional flights.”

Omaha has popped up on several national lists as a new hot spot for tech startups.

SmartAsset named Omaha the best city in the nation to work in tech in 2015, and Nebraska has been No. 3 on Forbes’ list of Best States for Business for two years running.

Thelen used his first flight to the Silicon Valley to meet with a dozen tech companies, some who already have outposts in town, and few others he’d like see set up shop.

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“For the cost of one hotel stay and a pretty simple flight in and out, you can get two full business days of work without the hassle of changing planes and the risk of getting delayed,” Thelen says. “The convenience of business travel just went up exponentially, and you can expect that connectivity to continue to grow.”

Executives headquartered in San Francisco can more easily visit and engage with their Midwestern operations. Or, employees based in Omaha can more efficiently meet with leadership in Silicon Valley. Officials at PayPal and LinkedIn—which employ about 2,800 and 300 people, respectively, in the Omaha area—say there is frequent travel between the Silicon Valley and their operations in Omaha, but exact figures were unavailable.

“To have firms like that, that now have much, much easier access back and forth, frankly it makes our location all that more integral to the operation because it’s a simpler connect now,” Thelen says.

He added: “That simple flight makes a big, big difference.”

And even homegrown startups can take advantage. They can get twice as much done on recruiting trips from the valley, whether they are looking for talent or financing.

Davidson, the CEO at Flywheel, says the increased connectivity will indeed make a big difference for local companies raising money. There still remains a lot of work to put Omaha “on the map” with more sources of local capital and slowing the export of the state’s top technology talent, to name a few.

“I don’t know that you’re able to look at [direct flights to San Francisco] and say, ‘Hey, look, we solved the problem,’” he says. “I think there’s 50 things that are contributing, and what you really want to do is, just one at a time, start whittling away.”

Visit omahachamber.org for more information.

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omAHA! | BY ANTHONY FLOTT | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN

DUCK CALL OMAHAN CREATES A UNIQUE COOKING SPRAY

Dennis Schuett

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To hear Omahan Dennis Schuett tell it, he has launched a new product that really is … all it’s quacked up to be.

It’s actually an old product—duck fat. The French have used the versatile, golden, subcutaneous deposit for ages, treasuring it for a dense, savory flavor and the crispy coat it adds to meats and vegetables.

What Schuett has done, though, is new.

Until now, chefs scooped solid duck fat out of containers. Schuett has put it into a canister that delivers duck fat as a spray.

As far as Schuett can tell, no one else has done that.

“We have the only duck fat spray, we think, in the world,” Schuett says. “It’s pretty cool.”

Their thought is correct. This is not Schuett’s first foray into food. A Grand Island native who moved to Omaha 27 years ago, he once had a career as a food broker. He also has part ownership in the Coney Stop restaurant at Millard’s Boulder Creek Amusement Park, a couple of pizza joints around the metro, and (until this summer) Jackson Street Tavern in the Old Market.

Such experience gave the 54-year-old, selfdescribed foodie a good idea he was onto something with his duck fat spray.

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ON THE RISE | BY SENA EICHER | DESIGN BY DEREK JOY

EFFICIENT URBAN TRANSPORTATION IN A ZIP MEMBERSHIP-BASED AUTO PROGRAM OFFERS ALTERNATIVE TO OWNERSHIP

Living in a technologically advanced world has its advantages, like convenience and fiscal recompenses we never could have envisioned.

Zipcar P.R. manager Lindsay Wester, who is based in Boston, explains that Zipcar is as simple as join, reserve, and drive.

As a Los Angeles native who paid car insurance the price of a mortgage in some places, one new convenience I can appreciate is Zipcar.

Business customers begin by signing up online, where they pay a one-time setup fee of $75 and annual membership dues of $35 for each driver.

This membership covers fuel, insurance, mileage, parking, and maintenance. Individuals can pay a $25 one-time setup fee annual dues of $70, or a monthly fee of $7 plus the one-time setup fee.

The program has graced Omaha with its presence for seven years. Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Antje Danielson, current director of education at MIT Energy Initiative, and Robin Chase, co-founder of French chartering service Buzzcar.

The pair created Zipcar to provide a more efficient, affordable method of driving in the city.

The Omaha fleet includes two Honda Civics and a Ford Escape. The Hondas and the Ford cost $8.50 per hour Monday through

Thursday, or $69 per day. The Friday through Sunday rate is $9.50 per hour, or $77 per day for the Hondas and $83 per day for the Escape. The other car available in Omaha is a Volkswagen Jetta, which costs $9 per hour or $69 daily at all times. The cars are parked on Creighton and UNMC’s campuses, downtown at 17th Street and Capitol Avenue, and at Mammel Hall near Aksarben Village.

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Practice Makes Perfect

DR. WILSON ACQUIRES CLINIC PG. 8

Corporate Colleagues Join Forces BUSINESS PARTNERS COME IN MANY FORMS PG. 13

Omaha’s Networking Queen SCHRAGE SHARES GOOD HABITS PG. 6

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Spring 2017

BUYER POWER EDITION

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Spring 2017

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

The Bottom Line

Practice Makes Perfect Dr. Wilson Acquires Clinic Special Section

Features

7 Take Our Hand

The Firm Business Brokerage has over

Questions Every 4 Four Buyer Should Ask

$90 million in assets under management

of current cash flowing businesses for sale—from contracting companies to professional service businesses, to medical-based practices.

Knowing Why You Want to Own a Business and What to Look for

8 A Dentist’s Dream Come True

Preparing on 11 Networth: the Homefront

Chris and Franny Batchelder Provide

Clean Title & Escrow Becomes Clear

Guiding Clients 14 Negotiated: Through Common Traps

Title & Abstract

Jennifer Rattner Gives Her Insight

Business Partners Come in Many Forms

Maureen Tierney

president/editor

Michelle Schrage Shares “How-To’s”

Dr. Heather Wilson Becomes Owner

Colleagues 13 Corporate Join Forces

by Cortney Sells

You Networking or 6 Are “Notworking”?

12 Keeping it Local

Sells Insights

Columns

What makes a Buyer tick?

T

Tips for Preparation

Impact: Choosing 15 Executive the Right Kind of Broker

h i s i s s u e w e e x p l o r e different stopping point in our lives, the motivation behind busi- and so we must approach our desire ness acquisition. for ownership in different ways. Maybe you are burned out and need a change, Most of us have held a regular 9-toor perhaps you have had enough of 5 job, and, unless you’re kidding being someone’s go-to person. You yourself, you’ve thought at one time want to move on, and you want to do or another, “I can do this better.” so as the boss. Calm your nagging fears Better could mean a myriad of by buying an existing business and things. Perhaps you have a better stamping it with your ideas and vision. take on a process, a better product, or a better way to structure your If you are coming to this decision life. Whatever your reason, “better” with a substantial personal portfolio, nearly always means “more.” ownership is less likely about quitting There is not one universal reason a mind-numbing day job and more to buy a business, just like there is about investing in and planning your no perfect time. Each of us are at a next chapter. Perhaps you would like

to leave something for your children, either as an inheritance or a legacy. Or, perhaps you want to dig your hands into business without the hassle of starting from scratch. You would like a bit of fun during retirement, and you do not want to leave your money to the wishy-washy nature of the stock exchange. Whatever your reason, own it. THE FIRM

Spring 2017

The Firm Deal Review

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A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Four Questions Every Buyer Should Ask:

Knowing Why You Want to Own a Business and What to Look for written by Maureen Tierney

“I WANT TO BUY WHAT I CAN AFFORD RIGHT NOW AND THEN GROW IT TO STRATEGICALLY BUY A COMPLIMENTARY BUSINESS.” - Jody Baker

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ot everyone can handle the risk of starting a business, but plenty are able to withstand the hurdles of owning an existing one. Knowing that, below are four great questions that every buyer should ask themselves when looking to purchase a business.

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What’s my motivation?

We’ve all had bad days where we don’t only want to throw in the towel on our jobs, but where we consider the alternatives. The old 9-to-5 just isn’t cutting it anymore, and the looming picture of endless monotony is a heavy stone in the stomach. You look up from your desk and realize that many around you are tackling modern Sisyphean conundrums, so you start searching for better options. Perhaps it comes to a pro-con list outlining the best of what can be and the fall you might take trying to achieve something better.

So, naturally, when the cons outweigh the pros, you give up and convince yourself that an office job isn’t really so bad. That’s a perfectly decent decision, but only if you don’t educate yourself first. Jodi, a buyer working with The Firm, has faced this dilemma herself. She’s spent over a decade working corporate jobs, but felt as if something was lacking. Jodi wanted to make the rules and be her own boss and, frankly, to have something of her own.

Like the example above, she started out by casually hunting for businesses that piqued her interest, but that didn’t work.

“You can’t have one foot on each side of the fence, because then you’re not really looking at a business,” she says. You have to make a conscious effort to move from behind the desk and into the boss’s chair. Simply dabbling in looking at business ownership isn’t enough to motivate you to punch ahead. Having a great idea is nothing until you push the buttons to jump start the future.

What are my limits?

Although Jodi is now serious in finding the ideal business for her needs, she is keenly aware of her financial and personal restrictions. Having spent years in an office environment, she has little to no skill sets when it comes to labor-based industries, but she isn’t letting that limit her options. “Looking at a business in an industry where I have no practical knowledge doesn’t scare me, since I know there will be qualified staff in place to do what I can’t,” says Jodi. What’s more important is how a specific business will fit into her daily life. Will it hinder her time with her family, or will it put too much strain on the checkbook? For Jodi, one important restriction is travelling. “I have a fairly young family, so it’s important for me to be nearby as much as possible. I can’t have a business that will require too much travel time,” she says. Personal limitations aside, Jodi has a targeted salary in mind that has immensely helped her in looking at available businesses. Knowing what The Firm has to offer and learning from her broker at The Firm, she’s educated to the point where she knows exactly what she can afford. “I need to be able to earn $120,000 per year after taxes, and I have a 401K that I can pull $50,000 or $60,000 out of for a 10% down payment. Based on those numbers, I know that I can purchase a business priced as high as $500,000 or $600,000.” Sure, she can take more out of her retirement if need be, but it’s more important for her to weigh long-term risk with the short-term. “I want to buy what I can afford now and then grow it to strategically buy a complimentary business,” says Jodi. Little, if anything, can be gained by overextension, when smaller bites can lead to fuller growth down the road.

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“WHEN I AM LOOKING AT AN ORGANIZATION, I HAVE TO REALIZE THAT THE STAFF WILL BE MINE ONCE THE SELLER LEAVES.” - Jody Baker

What is a deal breaker for me?

Who is my support structure?

Knowing your financial strength is half the battle. Understanding what you’re looking at will win the war. Many businesses and industries go through waves of growth and decline, and Jodi is perfectly aware of that. She’s not afraid to look into why a business may be down one year. “I’ve looked at some ag-based companies and I understand that 2016 numbers are down for most in the ag industry. It was a bad year, so as long as I know the reason behind lower numbers, I’m ok with taking a peek.”

While it’s important to have those around you providing encouragement along this path to ownership, it’s equally important to know who truly supports the business.

Employees are key during transition, as not only do they most likely know more than you about the company or industry, but they will have skill sets you don’t to keep. For Jodi, the staff is almost as important as the numbers. “When I’m looking at an organization, I have to realize that the staff will be mine once the seller leaves. I need them to be well-trained and invested in success,” she says. A company that is too reliant on the owner is dead in the water. You can’t step into someone else’s shoes and expect the same results.

Spend your time and effort on a business where you can lace yourself into it and not have to lace up in your predecessor’s old sneakers.

The other end of the spectrum isn’t always so rosy, either. Some companies see huge growth year after year, but knowing if that growth is simply a bubble is key. “I wouldn’t want to buy a business that keeps growing and seems promising but then fizzles out.” Looking beyond the numbers and learning why they may be up or down can really tell you about a particular industry or company. For Jodi, if the numbers are inconsistent and it’s not clear why, then a business must have a consistent bottom line or the risk is just too high.

Arming yourself with these four questions of knowing why you want to own a business and what could help or hinder that possibility makes searching for a company to own far easier. It will also help alleviate your fears, but it won’t eliminate your risk.

You simply have to decide if the risk of doing the same thing until retirement is better and more satisfying than doing what you want and dream to do. The choice is yours.

THE FIRM

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Are You Networking or “Notworking”?

Michelle Schrage Shares “How-To’s”

written by Michelle Schrage

you are prepared with well-thoughtout questions and you ask them with a genuine curiosity to learn about the other person. Try to avoid “yes” or “no” questions, but rather, ask open-ended questions that elicit a thoughtful and personal response.

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ftentimes I meet two types of people when it comes to “networking” and business—one type says, “Part of my job is that I HAVE to go meet people” and the other type says, “Part of my job is that I GET to go meet people.” Which type are you? Do you genuinely enjoy meeting people, or do you simply recognize its importance and muster through it?

Both types are absolutely okay—but the way we “network” varies based on the way we approach it.

Interacting with other people does not have to be seen as a chore or an unfortunate side effect of entering into a business development role. But it also cannot be seen as simply a fun escape from the workplace. Whether you are an entrepreneur or in a sales role, relationships are what makes things happen. And relationships can only start when we put ourselves out there to meet others.

Knowing people is undoubtedly a valuable commodity—and being known by people is arguably more valuable. So, how does one raise their social capital?

And, more importantly, how does one capitalize on it?

A quote that resonates with me is from Woody Allen, “Eighty percent of life is just showing up.” And that certainly applies when it comes to networking.

Those who can take it to the next level not only show up, but become engaged and are engaging.

I have planned well over 100 networking events over the years, and I have attended twice as many. I have won awards for being involved in the community, and was the 2015 recipient of the Strictly Business Community Distinction Award for Networker of the Year. That makes me wonder—what does it mean to be an effective networker? Is it a natural skill, or is it one that can be coached?

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“IF YOU ARE ENGAGING IN A CONVERSATION, BE PRESENT, ATTENTIVE, AND RESPECTFUL.” -Michelle Schrage Here are some of my keys to effective networking: • Pay attention to your body language.

Smile. Even if you have to force it a little. One of the most effective ways to become approachable to is to have a pleasant look on your face and a welcoming glint in your eye. Keep your shoulders open, your arms separated, and don’t be afraid to lightly touch someone on the elbow or back. Appropriate physical touch can often go a long way in building positive rapport.

• Make eye contact. Even in a busy room, it is imperative to show interest and respect to the person with whom you are speaking. It is easy to get distracted or feel tempted to scan the room in the middle of a conversation, but that is a surefire way to make the other person feel that you are disinterested. If you are engaging in a conversation, be present, attentive, and respectful.

• Ask questions. You should never have to fear an awkward silence if

• Prepare and know what you need to accomplish. The term “networking” can be deemed “notworking” if you are not making progress. Think about a few objectives beforehand: To deepen relationships with people you already know, personally and professionally, to get introduced to people you have not yet met, to find people you can help, to find people who can help you, etc.

Also, attendee lists are often published ahead of time, so do your research.

Decide who you want to meet and plan out how the conversation will go. What action items do you want to propose at the end of your conversation?

• Follow up soon after—connect on LinkedIn and include a personalized message or send an email with your company signature line. One of the most effective strategies for building relationships is to set up a coffee or lunch meeting soon after to get to know one another better and see what assistance you can provide.

• Be genuinely helpful. When others start receiving helpful connections from you, you are positioning yourself as someone worth knowing. That will then help perpetuate additional introductions from your network.

• Go with a wingman. I have accompanied many people to networking events as a source of comfort and support—and quite frankly, sometimes it’s easier to meet people that way. But don’t get stuck in your comfort zone.

We live in an amazing city, and we are surrounded by wonderful, helpful people. I hope you get as excited as I do to go out and meet as many people as you can each and every day! THE FIRM

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Take Our Hand:

Featured Opportunities for Sale 2-Location Barbecue Franchise with Massive Growth Options PRICE $371,000 OWNER PROFIT $154,385 59 percent growth YOY in a hot new franchise category! This exciting and popular franchise is well supported and growing quickly, with over 500 locations across the U.S. and counting. These two locations are so new that the paint is still drying on the walls, and one of them is in a major shopping area that is still undergoing construction.

Midwest Rigging Contractor Assisting Clients with Machinery Installment, Removal, and Relocation PRICE $ 3,146,000 OWNER PROFIT $843,289 A heavy lifting company serving manufacturing, utility, and machinery industries. This rigging business provides the lifting power necessary to move manufacturing equipment, turbines, printing presses, and much more! With seven different lifts, this company is able to take on a wide range of jobs.

Trendy Bicycle Retail in Council Bluffs with Over $350,000 in Sales PRICE $190,000 OWNER PROFIT $118,068 Perfect location, great sales, and superior bikes. For the past 16 years, Council Bluffs has been lucky to have this bicycle retail and maintenance business, but retirement calls, and more than $350,000 in sales could be yours! The only location in western Iowa selling and servicing a major brand, this company also specializes in boutique selections to guarantee the best style and price for all.

Popular Fitness Franchise in Premium Location PRICE $214,000 OWNER PROFIT $77,949 In business for more than 8 years, this innovative fitness franchise keeps customers coming back by constantly refining its business model and targeting a broad audience in order to make fitness appealing and accessible. Equipped with premium facilities that include a variety of fitness gear, tanning gear, and locker rooms with showers, customers have a wide range of choices about how they desire to include fitness into their lifestyles.

Corporate Sales Training & Consulting

Successful Childcare with Enrichment Focus

PRICE $380,000 SALES $158,781

PRICE $660,000 OWNER PROFIT $195,487

A company that implements corporate sales training programs with a 40 percent profit margin. This well-known company provides sales training primarily to larger, corporate clients, specializing in the senior living industry with a focus on increasing their gross sales.

New and Gently-Used Children’s Resale PRICE $280,000 OWNER PROFIT $132,801 Offering convenient buying and selling options to customers, this reseller of new and gently used children’s items is in a prime location allowing them to buy and sell clothing every day. This location has contributed to over a million dollars in sales year-over-year. This store is currently doing 5 percent new clothing and 95 percent resale.

With increasing gross sales and high profit margin year over year, this stand-alone child care facility serves children from 6 weeks to 12 years old. With an all-inclusive enrichment focus, children are exposed to a variety of available activities including dance, music, art, and off-site field trips. State-approved curriculum is in place.

**Counseling & Residential Re-entry with Federal Grant through June 2018 PRICE $805,000 OWNER PROFIT $230,204 Well-run programs and credentialed staff complement this southeastern Nebraska residential re-entry company showing consistent, seven-figure gross sales. Recently gaining a new $70,000 monthly contract as well as a large federal grant, this business offers 80 percent residential rehabilitation and 20 percent clinical therapy, with clients referred by the State of Nebraska, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and U.S. Pretrial Services.

** Broker’s Choice | 110+ Available Business Opportunities For Sale. Please visit TheFirmBusinessBrokerage.com for details Spring 2017

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A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Practice Makes Perfect

“ALMOST 100 PERCENT OF THE PATIENT BASE HAS REMAINED.” -Dr. Heather Wilson

Dentist Designs Her Ideal Clinic and Fills In Her Future written by Kathy Rygg | photography by Bill Sitzmann

However, owning a dental practice was not something she considered. Instead, after graduating from dental school, Wilson moved to Omaha, and, over the next decade, worked for different group practices.

“I was happy where I was and hadn’t been looking to make a change,” she says.

the patients was smooth, too. Almost 100 percent of the patient base has remained.”

Although Wilson says she initially went into exploring the option to purchase with some skepticism, she says there were many signs showing her to go for it. “It was a leap of faith, but it’s paying off,” she added.

ven at a young age, dentist Dr. Heather Wilson knew she wanted to be in the health care industry someday. As is often the case, her journey along the way was varied. The Kansas native’s fascination with helping others led to health care experiences as early as high school. She worked as a nursing assistant at the county hospital and was able to shadow physicians. While in college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she completed internships with an anesthesiologist, a family physician, and a surgeon, but none of it was as hands-on as she had hoped. Her college counselor suggested she look into dentistry, and after her first time shadowing a dentist, she knew she had finally found the perfect fit.

Sometimes the best opportunities present themselves when we least expect it.

Wilson was approached by The Firm about a dental practice in Millard that was for sale.

She and one of her partners at her existing dental group discussed the possibility of purchasing it together, but it was not the right fit for both. Instead, with the encouragement of her colleague, Wilson decided to purchase the practice on her own. “It seemed like a really good fit for me,” she says. The dentist selling the practice was a woman about Wilson’s age, so the demographics of the patients fit, and it was an ideal size for an individual doctor. It also helped that the Millard location was surrounded by neighborhoods with lots of young families, and the doctor selling the practice was looking to spend more time with her own young children.

That payoff hasn’t been without its struggles. When she first purchased the Walnut Grove practice there was a lot of drive-by traffic due to the office’s location next to a grocery store. Unfortunately, when the store closed three months later, the amount of drive-by traffic drastically dropped. “We felt the impact, and it’s been a struggle because the office isn’t easily visible just from the street,” Wilson says. Since most families use a dentist in their area, Wilson has made sure her office is included on all major insurance provider lists, which has been a primary patient source.

In addition to her interest in health care, Wilson was also a talented artist and had been offered scholarships to attend art school. Working with her hands was something she wanted to continue to do, and “dentistry was a good combination of health care and hands-on work,” she says. “It incorporates all of my loves and everything I’m good at.”

The actual sale of the practice took place quickly, about four months from start to finish. Wilson says The Firm was exceptionally insightful in coordinating all the pieces, and even helped her find a banker for financing.

“The Firm is really organized, to the point where all I had to do was sign the paperwork,” she says. “It was a smooth process, and the transition of being accepted by

The Firm Deal Review Seller’s Representative: McGrath North, Tom Worthington Buyer’s Representative: Jeff Cremers Years in Business: 11+ Patient Base: Over 3,900 Lender: Wells Fargo, Katie Todd

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She also thought that the office’s digital X-ray system and computer network needed to be updated and replaced. “I wasn’t happy with the quality of images, so I bought the best system available,” she says. A new network was installed, as were new work stations. “Even though it was a big expense, I don’t regret it because I’m able to provide better service and care to my patients.” Wilson also put her artistic talent to good use by redesigning and redecorating the office, making it her own.

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A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Another challenge with purchasing her own practice was that she now had to be in charge of human resource decisions and needed to hire the right team. She found that not everyone was the ideal fit. “Terminating employees is uncomfortable, and I didn’t enjoy doing it, but it taught me a lot about hiring the right people so that you don’t have to go through those changes again down the road,” Wilson says. She now has the right team in place and can focus on growing the practice and dedicating her time to the areas she deems most important.

The first of those areas fall within her immediate goal for 2017: to increase the number of patients she is able to serve.

Her focus will be on internal marketing and encouraging patients to refer family and friends. “We have referral gifts and bonuses, and emphasize how important office visit reviews are for us,” she says. Social media will be another focus for the year. And even though the grocery store closing created a slow-down in business, she says it has been picking back up since the beginning of the year.

Wilson’s five-year plan includes growing the practice to the point where she has enough patients to expand the office.

The location has two unfinished treatment rooms, so there is physical room to grow.

She would like to finish those rooms and bring in another hygienist or associate dentist, but she needs to wait for the numbers to make sense. In the meantime, Wilson is working hard but enjoying her new venture, with no regrets about making the move.

“There’s something really great about owning your own business,” she says. “It’s not always profitable right away, but you have the autonomy to make your own decisions, and it’s such a boost to your self-esteem to see it grow. The most rewarding part is that pride in ownership.”

THE FIRM

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A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Networth: Preparation on the Homefront

Chris and Franny Batchhelder Provide Tips for Preparation written by Franny Batchelder

For most people, their home is their biggest asset. When it comes to buying or selling a business, you need to know your net worth, and that includes knowing the value of your home. Below are some excellent tips for improvements that will make sure your home is top notch, whether you are selling your home or not.

It is beneficial to have knowledge of what it will take, especially when considering one’s entrepreneurial success in looking to upgrade to that dream home.

How important is it to prep your home for sale?

Prepping your home for the market can make the difference between receiving an offer in a day or having your home sit on the market for months. My husband, Chris, and I are a unique team—we not only evaluate the inside of your home, but the outside, too.

Curb appeal – You either have it or you don’t Curb appeal can either make or break someone from entering your home. When driving by, it is the buyer’s first impression of your home. Chris has owned Precise Lawn and Snow, Inc. for nearly 20 years. He has an impeccable eye for what improvements can increase curb appeal and potentially net someone more for his/her home. He has worked with everyone from residential home owners to larger clients in the financial sectors, apartment communities, medical buildings, and food establishments. Our daughter, who has grown up watching her dad interact with clients, has given him the title of “The Nicest Guy On The Planet,” and says, “he never stops smiling.”

Tips for improving exteriors: • Remove chipped paint from garage doors • Switch out house numbers • Freshen mulch • Edge the lawn • Trim and shape hedges • Polish kick plates and door knobs • Rid front porch of any spider webs or bird droppings • Add colorful flower pots to your front porch Can buyers see themselves inside?

Declutter! You’ve heard it time and time again, and it works. We want buyers to be able to see themselves in a potential

home. Therefore, make as much space as possible in which they can do so. Along with removing clutter, de-personalize the space. Remove any personal photos or items specific to you that could prevent buyers from seeing themselves in your home. Other top deterrents are the smell of animals or smoke. These can turn off buyers before they even set both feet inside.

An updated, clean, freshly scented home already places that one ahead of the rest.

The smallest attention to detail can end up netting you more than you anticipated.

Tips for improving interiors: • Make minor repairs • Touch up paint • Make sure all light bulbs are working • Buy a new entry rug • Brighten up all rooms with light • Get a storage unit and clear out unnecessary item Working with a boutique team We have a diverse team of six agents at Elliott Co. Group and 34 percent of our team’s sales are from outside of our team.

In 2016, the team’s production totaled 63.6 million in sales with 170 transactions. Our percentage of sale price to list price was 98.

Since 92 percent of homebuyers start their search by viewing photos of houses online, our team has a professional photographer produce at least 35 high-resolution photos of the interior and exterior of our listings. Our sellers also have the option of a professionally shot and edited video, using drone footage, to assist in our team’s unique marketing efforts.

If you are interested in receiving a complimentary market analysis or more tips for listing your home, you may contact us at: Franny Batchelder franny.batchelder@ elliottomaha.com or 402-980-5568 Chris Batchelder chris.batchelder@ elliottomaha.com or 402-980-5567 THE FIRM Spring 2017

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The Choice is Clear: Clean Title & Escrow is Now Clear Title & Abstract, LLC Keeping it Locally-Owned and Operated for a Smooth Transition written by Kathy Rygg

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very piece of land, every business, and every home has a record. It sounds vague, ominous, and a bit like something we should all know about. That might be right, but that knowledge leads to a whole chunk of data and jargon that can make your head spin. Oddly enough, that dizzying drop of documentation is referred to as a title, but it is a vital mix of information disclosing any restrictions or encumbrances on a real estate parcel, and it is a safety net for anyone buying property. Perhaps the house you are looking at has a lien on it from a contractor who was never fully paid for a remodel or addition. Maybe the previous owner of a business has back taxes, or maybe that perfect acre of land is under a legal dispute undisclosed by the seller.

Whatever pertinent information you need to know before closing day is available, but only if you know where to look.

There is an entire industry dedicated to fulfilling the grueling task of searching and compiling title information, and Clear Title & Abstract is one such nugget in the title insurance game. Co-owner Doug Goodman, who purchased Clear Title from Patricia Crabb in October 2016, is a veteran of the lending community. He understands the benefit of buyers having everything at hand, and long gone are the days of handwritten records. Goodman is dedicated to “sustaining existing client relationships in Nebraska and Iowa,” a value shared by Crabb, who began the business in 2002 as Clean Title & Escrow. Goodman is also adding an Omaha office located on P Street.

Crabb has quite a history in the industry.

She began Clean Title as a way of keeping title searches and title insurance services

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local. “Our services are for our customers,” she says, as “there are no affiliations” with larger title companies. Therefore, customer service is imperative, and she and her staff have gone above and beyond to get and keep clients. It is this same work ethic she saw in Goodman and his partner, stating that, “Clean Title and Clear Title were an excellent fit, and I am delighted both will be able to continue to grow and prosper.”

Not just anyone could buy her business and client base, but Goodman and his coowner more than fit the bill, as they have also worked in the title industry for years.

Clear Title & Abstract, whose main office is on West Broadway in Council Bluffs, has records dating back to 1853, making it the oldest and most complete set of records in Iowa. Serving not only Pottawattamie County, but most of southwest Iowa, Goodman and his co-owner can now add Omaha and surrounding communities to its roster. The advantage of acquiring an established title company is the existing staff and their experiences in the community.

Crabb’s staff of four is licensed and trained in writing insurance policies and assisting with escrow closings and refinancing. It was important to Crabb that her crew be able to stay on after her absence, and Goodman was more than obliged to retain all employees. Goodman eagerly noted that,“staff is well-trained and responsive to customer needs, and will continue to focus on providing excellent customer service.”

Above all else, maintaining employee relationships with clients was most important to Goodman during the transition. It was not so much that he and his partner were acquiring a physical business,

MAINTAINING EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS WITH CLIENTS WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO GOODMAN DURING THE TRANSITION but all the goodwill and satisfied clientele that came with it. Yes, it was a strategic purchase, but kudos really remain with the dedication to keeping excellent customer service, and Crabb left a tall order to fill.

Her enthusiasm for clients is palpable as she explains her favorite part of any customer’s experience. “When people come in to buy their dream house, of any value, they are so excited and they leave with a smile on their face,” she notes.

Goodman, who has a reliable, trained staff that includes licensed attorneys on both sides of the river, is up to the challenge and looking forward to working more closely with customers in the Omaha and Council Bluffs market. Clients can rest assured that any title, escrow, and abstract needs will be well met by Clear Title, and that Crabb’s hope for a client-centered, locally-owned business will continue on. Doug Goodman would not have it any other way. THE FIRM

The Firm Deal Review Seller Representative: Cremers CPA Years in Business: 15 Reason for Sale: Retirement Type of Sale: Assets & Acquisition

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Frozen Yogurt Flavors a Bold Venture

“WE BOTH HAVE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRITS AND ALL FOUR OF US BRING A DIVERSE SET OF SKILLS.” -Mark Covey

Corporate Colleagues Join Forces to Invest in Franchise written by Kathy Rygg

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usiness partners come in many forms.

Sometimes they are a husband and wife, friends, or people who have worked together previously. For the new owners of the Orange Leaf frozen yogurt franchises in Omaha, it is all the above. Mark and Shirley Covey, together with Babu and Neelima Inti, purchased four Orange Leaf locations— three in Omaha and one in Council Bluffs.

Not only are they family friends, but Mark and Babu have a long work history as corporate colleagues.

Mark and Babu met while working within the Information Technology group for Avaya in Omaha. Babu was a business analyst and Mark a software developer; together they developed software programs for all of the company’s business systems. During their 11 years at Avaya, they often talked about going into business together.

“We both have entrepreneurial spirits and all four of us bring a diverse set of skills,” Mark says. His wife, Shirley, has a business background in sales, and Babu’s wife, Neelima, is skilled in project management.

Although they no longer work for the same company, Mark and Babu intend to keep their current corporate positions. When considering business opportunities, they liked the advantages that an existing franchise offers. “We wanted to buy an existing business that was successfully growing,”

Mark says. “We wanted to be involved but have it be a streamlined business where we could monitor progress, improve efficiencies, and have it run smoothly.”

When the franchise first came up for sale, Mark and Babu looked into it but felt the sale price was higher than they were prepared to pay. Six months later, it listed with The Firm at a lower price, and Mark and Babu decided to seriously explore the opportunity. “We had a good understanding of the business from when we had first looked at it,” Mark says. “Both our families liked the product, the locations were good, and it is a market leader for yogurt chains.”

Babu added that they liked the sellers and felt they were selling for the right reasons. “When looking at a business, you look at the people, the product, and the processes,” he explained. “This franchise has good people who’ve been long-term employees, the product is very good, and the processes are all in place—all things that attracted us.” Despite those elements being in place, the purchase process was not without its challenges.

“We’ve never purchased a business before, owned a franchise, or negotiated a lease, so we’ve had, and continue to have, a lot to learn,” Mark says. Purchasing a franchise within the food industry involves additional

knowledge about food preparation and health codes. “Even though you’re diving into things you don’t always know about, you have to be open to new things and can’t be afraid to fail,” he added. The partners plan to spend the first 6 to 12 months working with employees and understanding the various aspects to the business.

Beyond that, much of their longer term goals revolve around creating new opportunities for the business. This includes developing the catering side of Orange Leaf for private events, participating in Taste of Omaha and other public events, and becoming active in local schools, churches, and other organizations. “We’ve both lived in Omaha for a long time and want to be engaged in, and give back to, the community,” Mark says. “Families spend a lot of time in our stores, including our own, so developing a vision that benefits all families is very exciting to us.” THE FIRM

The Firm Deal Review Orange Leaf Lender: First National Bank of Omaha, Jeff Ash Loan Structure: SBA Location: 4 in the Metro Area Offer to Close: 5 months

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Negotiated: Rattner Guides Clients Through Common Traps

Six Common Roadblocks for Unwary Commercial Tenants

written by Jennifer Rattner, partner at Abrahams, Kaslow & Cassman LLP

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ttorneys play a major part in any business acquisition. A buyer’s counsel will guide them through everything from the purchase agreement to the closing.

Jennifer Rattner of Abrahams, Kaslow & Cassman LLP provides her expert opinion on common traps that she has negotiated on behalf of her clients.

No matter how small a space, or how short a term, a lease can trap even the most seasoned business tenant into unexpected and significant liabilities. Whether you are taking on an existing commercial lease or entering into a new commercial lease, you should be aware of the following common traps when reviewing and negotiating a commercial lease: Maintenance and repair obligations.

Watch out for provisions that impose tenant maintenance and repair obligations that are out of line given the nature of the lease. For example, a three-year tenant should not be obligated to perform maintenance, repair, or replacement of the building’s roof, HVAC, or other systems.

Overly broad indemnity obligations.

Indemnity is an agreement to pay for certain losses and damages suffered by another party. Generally, the tenant’s indemnity obligation should be limited to anything that happens in the premises and anything the tenant and its agents, employees, contractors, and invitees do outside the premises. Make sure that the tenant’s indemnity obligation excludes negligent and willful acts and omissions of the landlord and its agents, employees, other tenants, and contractors.

Re-measurement rights. Landlords often reserve the right to re-measure the premises and/or the building, each of which the tenant should resist. Re-measuring the premises or the building will impact the percentage share of expenses (e.g., common area maintenance fees, taxes, and insurance) the tenant is required to pay each month, since a landlord will only re-measure when it benefits the landlord.

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Subordination without nondisturbance.

Watch out for subordination provisions, which require the tenant to subordinate the lease to an existing or future lender’s lien without a nondisturbance clause. A nondisturbance clause ensures that the lease between the tenant and the landlord will continue under any circumstance (e.g., foreclosure). Unless the lease provides that the tenant’s occupancy will not be disturbed if the landlord’s lender forecloses on the building, the lender will likely have the right to terminate the tenant’s lease. Every tenant should ask for nondisturbance protection.

No or limited cure periods. Default language in a lease may not require the landlord to give notice of a claimed default and may not permit the tenant a period in which to cure the default. A tenant will want both notice and a cure period. For monetary defaults, a reasonable cure period is five

days after notice from the landlord. For non-monetary defaults, the practical ideal is a 30-day cure period after notice from the landlord, with an ability to reasonably extend such period if the tenant is diligently working to cure the default.

Damage penalties. Be careful of overreaching damage penalties. For example, a landlord should not be allowed to recover the full rent, plus a separate amount for any free rent, tenant improvement allowance, or other allowances, all of which are amortized over the lease term and are thus already recovered if the landlord recovers the full rent.

Make sure to hire a knowledgeable attorney to avoid these, and other common traps lurking in commercial leases.

THE FIRM

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Executive Impact

The Law of Threes—Choosing the Right Kind of Broker written by Maureen Tierney, portfolio officer

W

hen deciding if you want someone who works hard, challenges you, or is the ultimate networker—why not have a hybrid?

It’s easy enough to say, “I want to buy or sell a business.” Just eight simple words, and what seems like the oldest transaction in the world. You have what I want, or I have what you want, so let’s make a deal.

But what comes next is the most important step. The decision to buy or sell is tough enough in itself. After everything is weighed, good against bad, finding the right person to help you achieve your goal is choosing between getting the best price or settling for what comes your way.

When deciding on a broker, you’ll generally come across one of three typical approaches: the “hard worker,” the “challenger,” or the “relationship builder.” All have great qualities, but all are ineffective on their own.

Let’s take a quick look at all three and see which one might be the best to have in your corner, given the option.

“The Hard Worker” We all know the guy or gal who devotes him-or-herself to the sale, doing whatever it is to make you happy and to ensure that a deal is made. The question is, what kind of deal? It’s a matter of knowing how to work smarter instead of harder. His work ethic is an admirable trait, but not always in your best interest. He’s so busy trying to close that he can kill a deal and miss an opportunity by not guiding you to the best choice. Essentially, you’re dealing with a people pleaser. He’ll only present to you what you expect to see, and won’t think beyond that to find a new avenue of business that could perhaps be a more lucrative investment. His goal is persistence even unto the bitter end. He will kick that horse long after it is dead.

“The Challenger” The challenger is the person arm wrestling you and defeating you again and again until you knock his knuckles to the table. He will

push you to your potential and make you use muscles you didn’t know you have. He is the polar opposite of the Hard Worker, thinking and seeing above and beyond what you thought was possible. This guy is the protein powder of the brokerage world, appealing to you with growth but in the end his ideas are overreaching and sometimes overkill. The Challenger may be the ultimate eye-opener, but he is overwhelming and can’t always deliver. In the end, he thrives on the strength of an argument.

The Firm Deal Review Cash Flowing Businesses for Sale: 110 Current Assets Under Management: $94MM 18 Industries Represented

“The Relationship Builder” Here we have the ultimate networker. He or she is going to stick with you through thick and thin. You will be so familiar and so comfortable with them that theirs is the first name that pops into your head. This is a great skill to have and is the bread and butter of business. Connections are what make many deals, but someone focused solely on being a Relationship Builder is not always the best advocate. Someone who is great at making and keeping connections won’t always help at the deal table. A lengthy relationship doesn’t automatically mean you will get your money’s worth. They have the tendency to let the relationship drive a transaction above all else. To them, the dialogue is more important than the strength of the deal.

We have examined each one and found that perhaps none of them are overly satisfactory. On their own they might appeal to polar personalities, but most of us fall in the middle and want more than what each can give. All three have their strengths and weaknesses, leaving you wondering which is the best option. Is it possible to get all three? The simple answer is sure, if you know where to look. The best answer is absolutely, and this is what you will get with The Firm. We bring buyers and sellers to the table, having worked hard to meet their needs and market their business. We challenge them to see the potential in a company they may have overlooked and we coach them until they build their vision.

With each associate at The Firm, you’ll get the ultimate hybrid of these three. If you have ever thought about selling your

business, get it valued sooner rather than later. Knowing your company’s worth is half the battle, and our 20-point system is a proven process to get you your best return on investment. If you’re looking to buy, take advantage of The Firm’s connections in financing and community building. We set you up for success.

Take a breath, pick up the reins, and forge ahead. It is time to make your mark.

Maureen Tierney, portfolio officer and copywriter of Confidential Business Reviews.

THE FIRM

Spring 2017

The Firm Deal Review

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GOING GREEN

Help Omaha Magazine Fight Deforestation

OMAHA MAGAZINE HAS JOINED AN INNOVATIVE PROGRAM TO COMBAT DEFORESTATION. AND WE NEED YOUR HELP. The initiative, called Print Relief, plants the number of trees equal to our printing needs by calculating the trees consumed by the printing of our magazine. They plant the number of trees equal to our tree usage in endangered forests around the world.

IN THE NEXT YEAR ALONE, THIS INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM WILL ALLOW US TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PLANTING OF ALMOST 1,500 SAPLINGS IN BIOMES AROUND THE GLOBE THAT HAVE BEEN RAVAGED BY DEFORESTATION.

HERE’S WHERE YOU COME IN: We’d like readers to help

us choose where our trees should go. We will create a survey on our Omaha Magazine Facebook page. You can choose to help reforest Brazil, Mexico, Madagascar, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, or Ethiopia.

We will determine the top vote-getter and pass your wishes on to the folks at PrintReleaf. Then, together, we can help battle one of the greatest threats to the health of this planet.

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OMAHA CVB

BY KEITH BACKSEN

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A MILESTONE FOR AN OMAHA TREASURE This year Boys Town celebrates its 100th year. The Los Angeles Times recently ranked Boys Town’s anniversary as one of the top-10 milestones of 2017, encouraging people to visit the historic landmark and “add cultural and historical heft to your 2017 travels.”

In 1917 Father Edward J. Flanagan, a 31-year old priest, borrowed $90 to rent a boarding house to take care of troubled and neglected children here in Omaha. Since then, Boys Town has grown into an international treasure.

It now helps millions of people from across the globe. It is also one of Omaha’s best-known attractions, welcoming thousands of visitors—including presidents, first ladies, sports legends, and actors—each year. And while the celebrity of Boys Town has certainly helped put it and Omaha on the map, it is the everyday visitor who is the constant. Visitors can explore chapels and gardens, tour Father Flanagan’s home, visit his tomb at Dowd Chapel, walk through the Hall of History, and even see the world’s largest ball of stamps. That’s right— Boys Town is home to a ball of stamps that weighs more

than 600 pounds (talk about selfie gold).

Boys Town offers daily tours, step-on guided tours for bus groups, and interactive tours where all you need is your smartphone.

QR codes are strategically placed outside Boys Town attractions; scan the codes with your phone and instantly access facts, photos, and videos at each attraction.

With the canonization process underway, the prospect of Father Flanagan being named a saint has wide-ranging implications on Boys Town’s future and on Omaha as a visitor destination. In addition to the current $1.2 billion development being planned nearby, sainthood would mean even more growth on and around the Boys Town campus. Father Flanagan’s tomb would be honored in a new structure that would need to accommodate thousands

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of visitors a day. Other developments may include a museum, shops, and possibly one or more hotels. With sainthood comes enhanced international awareness of this historic campus in the middle of the country and would make it and Omaha one of the newest destinations for religious pilgrimages.

It is an exciting time for this Omaha gem that will certainly leave lasting impressions well beyond the next 100 years.

B2B

Keith Backsen is executive director of the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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BIZ+GIVING | BY LEO ADAM BIGA | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN

CRAZY GRINGA HOT SAUCE

Mary Current in the kitchen

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his wife, Constance. The couple worked for Whole Foods. When they moved to Omaha, Anderson helped his mom turn her food hobby into a business. Constance designed the logo with a Medusa-like head sprouting chili peppers. The two shopped the sauces around to trendy eateries like Block 16, and found that chefs and patrons also enjoyed the homemade spicy condiments.

Crazy Gringa has come a long way since Mary cooked and bottled the sauces at home and sold them out of the trunk of her car. Her condiments are now made in a commercial kitchen and are staples at the Omaha Farmers Market, select Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Hy-Vee stores, and some restaurants. She plans on keeping things small.

Working together allows the family more quality time, which is the main reason why Mary likes keeping it all in the family.

“When we make hot sauce, that’s our bonding time together,” Mary says of her and Anderson.

Her husband, Doug, helps with receiving.

Mary also likes maintaining a small operation because it allows her to pour as much of her heart and soul into the operation as possible.

“It really is a labor of love. I’m never going to be rich, but I love to see the joy on people’s faces when we’re back at the Farmers Market and they say, ‘I can’t live without this hot sauce.’”

Peppers range in heat from the milder jalapeño to ghost peppers.

Mary Current and her son, Anderson Current, started making hot sauce three years ago. She never planned on being a commercial food producer despite working the front and back of the house at restaurants, studying culinary arts, and being married to a retired food and beverage director. “It just kind of happened,” she says of Crazy Gringa Hot Sauce’s origins.

One day this foodie and home gardener decided to make hot sauce from her bumper pepper crop. She had made pico de gallo and salsa, but never liquid hot sauce. Friends and family loved that first spicy concoction and wanted more.

Her four main sauces became habanero, jalapeño, datil, and chipotle, each with notes of poblano, anaheim, vinegar, citrus, garlic, and onion. Specialty sauces have followed.

She only arrives at a recipe after much research and experimentation. Finding the right complementary combinations, she says, “is what I really like doing,” adding, “That’s what I get a kick out of. It’s like a gift.”

The initial strong reception got mother and son thinking, especially after the savory micro batches proved popular with Anderson’s friends in Colorado, where he lived with

Just as Crazy Gringa showed up on store shelves, City Sprouts board president Albert Varas sought an area food manufacturer with whom he could partner. He realized these simple sauces with complex flavors have, as their base, items interns can grow and cultivate at the City Sprouts South garden at 20th and N streets. He contacted the Currents and found they shared a passion for building the local food culture.

The Crazy Gringa Hot Sauce maven partners with Omaha City Sprouts on a social entrepreneurship project that may spur more collaboration between for-profits like hers and the nonprofit urban agriculture organization.

CONT. PAGE 84

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Mary wears her passion on her sleeve … make that her arm.

FROM PAGE 83 City Sprouts South grows various peppers for Crazy Gringa’s signature hot sauces.

The boutique company, in return, donates a percentage of sales over four summer weekends to support City Sprouts programs. Meanwhile, Crazy Gringa works with other local growers to supply the peppers City Sprouts can’t.

“We just hit if off,” Varas says. “They are all about community service, engagement, and sourcing hyper-local food with a mission behind it. It was always my dream we would partner on bringing a value-added product to market. It’s a great way to engage our interns.

“The relationship adds revenue and relevance to what we’re doing.”

Having the hand-grown peppers picked and processed in Omaha fits Crazy Gringa’s emphasis on fresh, local, and artisanal. Current also creates limited-run small batches for City Sprouts and other nonprofits to give away as gifts or prizes.

Anderson helped build the raised beds for the peppers at the site that community activists turned from a dumping ground to a garden.

Mary loves that her product helps a community-based ecosystem.

“So many kids don’t know where their produce comes from and City Sprouts helps educate them about how things grow,” she says. “Those interns learn how to garden, so they learn how to sustain themselves and their families. We’re happy to support good things in the community like this.”

Interns gain a sense of ownership in Crazy Gringa’s success.

Varas says, “The interns need something to do and something to believe in. One intern, Rafeal Quintanilla, is a mentee of mine and he really digs the idea that he has a stake in the finished product because he waters and cares for the peppers and harvests them. He has pride in being a part in creating this delicious hot sauce.”

The partnership with Crazy Gringa “has far exceeded my expectations,” Varas says, adding, “It’s not just transactional—it’s been an incredible reciprocal experience.”

Mary Current concurs, vowing the relationship will continue as long as she’s in business.

“It’s an amazing concept. They’re wonderful people to work with. I can’t think of a better place to give back your money.”

More collaborations like this one may be in the offing. ”I think this is a model that could and should be replicated,” Varas says. “My hope is that we will be able to recreate this next growing season with Crazy Gringa and possibly other food businesses.”

Visit crazygringahotsauce.com B2B

SPRING 2017 |

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SALES INSIDER

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by Karl Schaphorst

WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY WAGE? I love sales. It is a career where you, the sales professional, determine your income based on how skillfully you execute the duty. It has a feel of independence, ownership, and entrepreneurship, and it can be extremely rewarding. Professional selling is regarded as one of the top-earning careers on the the planet.

Note to you business owners out there: If your salespeople are making more money than you, don’t be jealous, be excited because they are building your business and increasing its value.

The term “commission” is familiar to ranks of sales professionals. However, I want you to think about your income a little differently.

Rather than earning commission when a sale is made, think about your pay as an hourly wage. What makes your hourly pay different from the familiar, traditional hourly jobs is that your hourly rate will change based on the activity you happen to be doing at the moment.

For example, in my previous career, for every 10 presentations I made, I would close on, and get paid commission for, three orders. On the three projects I won, my hourly rate was great, but on the projects I lost, my hourly rate was $0/hour. I thought “this is just how it is in sales,” so I did little to change or improve my sales performance until I was taught to think of my compensation as hourly. Spending 60 hours per week on sending proposals to my customers meant missing out on my kids’ activities and time with family, all so I could get paid for 30 percent of my time. That made me angry. This is madness, yet a vast majority of salespeople would give you a similar story.

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I think there is a better way to sell that will pay more per hour, which means one can earn their desired wage in less time. I just need to figure out how to get rid of the seven prospects who don’t buy quickly and only spend time on the three who will buy. If I can figure this out, then I will close the three orders, so my pay is the same as before, but I do not spend much time on the seven who do not buy. Can you see how my hourly wage more than doubles?

Since your time is just as valuable as your prospects’ time, only the prospects who plan to buy from you get any of it. In order to do this, you must sort all prospects who talk to you as either buyers or window shoppers. The first step in doing this is to recognize that there are four possible outcomes of a sales call: yes, no, maybe, and clear future. Let’s examine each one.

Clear future: Sometimes your product or service cannot be sold in one call. You might need multiple meetings to formulate the solution and make the sale. This positive outcome is for those prospects who see value in your solution, are willing to move the process forward, and want the sales conversation to continue on a specific day at a specific time.

Thus, the rule is “No more maybes.” If you can make this rule part of your selling system, you will increase your hourly rate and significantly grow your sales. You effectively sort the buyers from the window shoppers and spend more time on those who buy.

Now, I close three out of four presentations I make, my income has increased by triple digits, and I spend less time doing it all.

So, what is you hourly wage?

Yes: Congratulations! You achieved an order and you will earn money.

B2B

No: Shoot! Shake it off. There are plenty of other customers out there who will buy. Did you know that “no” outcomes are good, and they can actually make you money? If you get a “no,” that opportunity no longer consumes your time, which means you can divert time to those who buy, and your hourly rate actually increases.

Maybe: Stay away from the dreaded “I need to think it over.” These outcomes represent the “window shoppers” and will cost you money. These prospects waste your time and consume your resources. Therefore, when a prospect stalls, push them to “no.”

At least a “no” will make you money.

Karl Schaphorst is a 27year veteran of sales who now specializes in training other sales professionals.

He is the president of Sandler Training.

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FEATURE | BY RYAN BORCHERS | DESIGN BY DEREK JOY

WHAT A LOAD OF GARBAGE NEW WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OFFER MORE EFFICIENCY “A MODERNIZED SYSTEM WOULD ALSO INCLUDE EASY WHEELING, AND STANDARDIZED COVERED CARTS WITH LIDS, WHICH ARE MORE AESTHETICALLY PLEASING TO HAVE LINED DOWN NEIGHBORHOODS VERSUS LOOSE BAGS AND INDIVIDUALLY SELECTED CANS.” -JUSTIN VETSCH

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When you hear the words “garbage collection,” you might think of a truck rolling into the neighborhood and a couple of guys hopping off to pick up your waiting bin(s).

What used to be a two- or three-person job now only needs a driver, and the carts hold about three times as much waste as a residential garbage can and can be wheeled around instead of lifted.

It turns out that the Omaha metro area is one of the last places in this country where trash is collected that way.

With the exceptions of the city of Omaha, Bellevue, Carter Lake, and Ralston, every other community in the area is what Shrader called a “carted community,” though there’s a pilot program underway now in Bellevue that is similar to the one in Omaha.

Omaha mayor Jean Stothert wrote in a March 2016 press release, “I feel like our current service is way outdated.”

Efforts to modernize have been underway for some time now, according to an email from Justin Vetsch, 30, the Omaha senior district manager for Waste Management. Waste Management is the company that handles the City of Omaha’s garbage collection services.

“Back in November of 2016, upon the city’s request, Waste Management implemented a pilot program which showcases what a modernized collection system would look like, with automated trucks and standardized 96-gallon carts for trash and recycle,” Vetsch says. “This pilot program will conclude in April. The feedback and comments that Waste Management has received from residents indicates the pilot area is going well.”

Mike Shrader, 57, is the owner/manager of Premier Waste Solutions, a private company servicing Sarpy County, northern Cass County, and western Douglas County. He has been in the waste-collection industry since 1975 and hopes the city’s new system works as well as it has for his company.

“The vast majority of municipalities across the country use some form of a carted system,” Shrader says. The old model of collection, in which employees rode on the back of the truck and picked up the trash, has not been viable since the 1990s. “It’s hard to find individuals who are willing to do that kind of work, week in, week out.”

The Shrader family, looking for a different model, was introduced to an automated pickup system in Arizona, in which the garbage trucks use mechanical arms to pick up 96-gallon carts.

Overhauling the system is expensive, Shrader says, which is why it has not happened yet, but changing to this automated system brings with it a number of advantages.

“As part of the current pilot, Waste Management is collecting the recycling in 96-gallon carts every other week,” he says. “With recycling collection every other week, it reduces truck traffic in the city’s residential neighborhoods, along with reduced emissions from fewer vehicles.”

RECYCLING “Going with a cart system for the recycling is probably the bigger plus,” Shrader says. “Not only do you have a lid on your recycling cart, but you have the capacity of 95 gallons versus 18.”

SAFETY

“In most cases, the ability to have a cart with a lid for recycling dramatically improves recycling participation, as a household may be currently limited due to the recycling bin’s size,” Vetsch says.

“Not only is it more efficient for the hauler, in a sense of one-man crews, it’s also safer,” Shrader says. “When we look at the injuries across the nation … it’s usually the second or third person that’s on the truck.”

The future of Omaha’s garbage collection has yet to be determined, of course. Like any new system, Vetsch says, there will probably be a sense of hesitation.

AESTHETICS When everyone in the neighborhood has the same carts, Shrader and Vetsch say, it gives the neighborhoods a sense of uniformity.

“A modernized system would also include easy wheeling, and standardized covered carts with lids, which are more aesthetically pleasing to have lined down neighborhoods versus loose bags and individually selected cans,” Vetsch says.

“I really hope this pilot program works for them,” Shrader says. “It’s like coming out of the Dark Ages.

“If the city would accept that program, I think they’re going to be very, very happy with that for a long, long time.”

Visit wasteline.org for more information.

B2B

ENVIRONMENT If you have ever had your trash can tip over in a stiff wind, then you know it is a hassle to retrieve trash strewn about your curb and lawn.

“The lids are attached, and they’re on wheels,” Shrader says. “They do a better job of withstanding some of the wind.”

The carts will still fall if the wind is strong enough, but they have an easier time remaining upright, and the lids help make them more “critter-proof,” Shrader says.

Vetsch pointed out that having fewer trucks on the road is good for the environment as well.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

BUY OMAHA PROFILE

OMNE PARTNERS TJ TWIT

Our industry is too often focused on the completion of transactions as the measure of success. At OMNE Partners, we build relationships by providing best-in-class real estate services and looking beyond a single transaction. We believe in treating our clients’ businesses as our own, with great care and end-to-end attention to detail, which only exists in a true partnership.

My career in commercial real estate began at the Omaha-based, family-owned real estate development firm the Slosburg Company. I was fortunate to work closely with the partners of the firm—their knowledge and advice was invaluable. From there, I moved to the Lund Co. Once again, I was fortunate to work with great people. John Lund and the other founders of the firm, Rich Secor and Jerry Kelley, were significant influences from day one. Working directly for Jason Fisher, Lund Co.’s president, I learned how leadership influences company culture and open communication fosters loyalty.

People who work at OMNE Partners can expect a culture that is committed to collaboration across departments. Everyone here is aware of how important they are to our success.

We are very intentional about it. We recently implemented regularly scheduled, very brief (as quick as five minutes), company-wide update meetings. The purpose is to open the lines of communication and ensure everyone is working together outside of what is articulated in an organizational chart. We openly discuss company goals and the specific impact achievement will have on the firm.

One of the tasks we completed through our rebranding was the definition and expression of our principles. What resulted was the beginning of what would become our manifesto. There is one line that sums it up well: “At our core, we care deeply about each other and the community we live and work within.”

TJ and his wife, Kate, have been married for 13 years and have three boys: Max, Ted, and Gus. B2B OMNE Partners 13340 California St., No. 100 Omaha, NE 68154 402-697-8899 omnepartners.com

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COVER FROM PAGE 59 It is a revenue stream in which many community businesses desire to participate, and there are many ways for them to participate, including attaching their name to experiences such as meet-and-greets with the band before or after the show, and attaching their name to souvenirs. Attendees at the Train concert, for example, vied for flashing bracelets and cups branded with a sponsor’s logo.

Signage prominently displayed throughout Baxter Arena featured sponsor logos.

The scenario is beneficial to everyone involved: The band gets to play to a well-attended venue, the fans get to enjoy the band, and the sponsors get to present their message in an effective way.

“On that day, no other media group is producing a concert,” Ruback says. “So you’re looking at content that advertisers want to be a part of, but no other client can do.”

The diversification proved wildly successful.

Ruback says that since 2014, more than 100,000 people have attended an NRG Media Live event. Associate athletic director for University of Nebraska at Omaha Mike Kemp enjoys his business dealings with NRG Media Live and says that when Ruback puts on a concert at Baxter Arena, “it’s not just a concert—it’s an event. He has great vision and ideas, and that’s the true charm of what he does.”

“I think NRG Media does a great job of engaging the community to get behind the events,” Kemp adds. NRG Media has the ability to promote coming shows using the radio stations on their roster and their strong social media presence. This equals solid attendance numbers at concerts and happy sponsors.

“Andy’s full of energy and great ideas,” Kemp says of Ruback. “He’s an honest guy with great enthusiasm for what he does.” Rubak’s vision has evolved NRG Media into much more than an organization simply running local radio stations. In fact, the next time there is a popular concert in town, there is an excellent chance that Ruback can be found there, smiling and enjoying the rush.

Visit nrgmedia.com for more information.

Ruback displays passes from some recent shows.

B2B

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AFTER HOURS

FROM PAGE 64 Upon becoming a member, the company sends the user a Zipcard, which functions as an entry key. The ignition key stays inside the vehicle.

Each user gets one card with their membership, which gives them access to Zipcar’s nationwide fleet. Upon reserving a car, the company digitally connects the Zipcard to the specific car reserved. The user gains access to the vehicle by holding the card to the card reader placed in the windshield. After scanning in with the Zipcard, a user’s smartphone can be a backup to the Zipcard for locking or unlocking the car doors throughout a reservation.

The company first brought their concept to Omaha in 2010, launching at Creighton University, followed by University of Nebraska in 2012, then the Medical Center in October 2015. In Omaha, the target market has been students, but Zipcars also are useful for travelers.

Melanie Stewart, sustainability manager at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine, is in charge of UNMC’s program.

“Last year we had a visiting professor come in, and they had a friend in Lincoln, so they used a Zipcar to visit their friend while in Omaha,” Stewart says.

The Zipcars are also used by visitors of patients who may need to purchase supplies or just take a break from being at the hospital.

Patrick Lin, a 21-year-old Omaha resident, says, “I used Zipcar roughly four to six hours every week during my sophomore year. I first heard about it from some friends in California because they couldn’t have cars during their first year at college.”

Lin enjoys the ability to use a car when needed without the expense of owning it. “Personally, it allows a lot more to get done compared to other services. The only restraint I have is that since there is a time limit, you must plan your activities accordingly. But the per-mile usage you can get when a trip is planned right is entirely worth the time constraints,” he says.

Wester says that Zipcar has remained successful and growing for more than a decade and a half. And as city dwellers become more disenchanted with the idea of owning cars, their success should continue to accelerate.

Visit zipcar.com for more information.

B2B

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omAHA!

Duck fat spray can be used to flavor, and add fat to, a variety of dishes.

“WE HAVE THE ONLY DUCK FAT SPRAY, WE THINK, IN THE WORLD.” -DENNIS SCHUETT

FROM PAGE 63 Vegetables sprayed with it, then roasted, “taste like candy,” Schuett says. It also “floats an egg across a frying pan.” Its high smoke point (meaning it doesn’t burn as easily as butter or olive oil), makes it a great searing agent. Schuett says he also has heard from meat smokers who say it creates great “bark” when used as a rub base.

Schuett touts benefits beyond taste. Duck fat has 20 percent less saturated fat than butter and contains unsaturated Omega 3

and Omega 6, two body-essential fatty acids.

It’s also high in monounsaturated fat, which can help lower cholesterol, and vitamin E. To get such wonders into a can as a spray, Schuett bought state-of-the-art packing equipment that forces the fat into a bag sealed inside a canister. Compressed air evacuates 99 percent of the product and precludes the use of fluorocarbon or additives. “Keeping it simple yet as pure as possible,” Schuett says.

B2B

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TOYO! 2017 TEN OF OMAHA’S BRIGHTEST ARE HONORED complied by Daisy Hutzell-Rodman photography contributed On Feb. 8, the Omaha Jaycees honored the Ten Outstanding Young Omahans of 2017 during a banquet at The Paxton Ballroom.

This award recognized individuals for their commitment to the community and their extraordinary leadership qualities.

“It’s pretty amazing that this award started right here in Omaha, and it truly is an award and recognition of the highest honor,” says Jennifer Anderson, president of the Omaha Jaycees. “The Omaha Jaycees continue to be impressed with the caliber of applicants we see each year, and we are happy that we can continue the tradition of honoring Omaha’s best and brightest.”

CHINH DOAN

RYAN ELLIS

KETV Newswatch 7

P.J. Morgan Real Estate

Doan studied journalism, Spanish, and international studies at the University of Oklahoma and graduated as the “Outstanding Senior.” She is Omaha Tri Delta alumnae president, Young Catholic Professionals’ Parish Ambassadors coordinator, and is the inventory manager for the Junior League of Omaha’s “Project Hope Pack” Committee. She is also a member of Vietnamese Friendship Association of Omaha, and Asian American Journalists Association. She participates in the Omaha Press Club Show and Omaha Fashion Week.

Ellis began his career at P.J. Morgan Real Estate as an intern while attending Creighton University. He graduated from Creighton with a bachelor’s degree in finance. In 2007, Ellis was promoted to vice president and chief operating officer, and in 2009, Ellis was named company president.

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Ellis serves on the boards of Family Housing Advisory Services, Omaha Conservatory of Music, and Fashion Institute Guild. He is a 2014 Leadership Omaha graduate and was awarded the Midland’s Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award in the same year.

The judges for this year’s event were: Mikaela Borecky United Way of the Midlands Jessica Feilmeier Truhlsen Eye Institute, UNMC Nicole Jilek Abrahams, Kaslow, & Cassman LLP Nick Langel Union Pacific Railroad Marjorie Maas Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska Maggie McGlade CQuence Health Group P.J. Morgan P.J. Morgan Real Estate Katie Triplett Nebraska Methodist Health System Michael Young RSM US LLP

This year’s TOYO! recipients are…

MEGAN HUNT Hello Holiday Hunt began her career as a bridal designer.

She is the co-founder of Hello Holiday and is also the founder of Safe Space Nebraska. In 2010 Hunt received Shout Magazine’s 30 Under 30 honor, and in 2011 she was recognized as one of Midlands Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. Her 2014 book, Fabric Blooms, sold out of its first printing in under 24 hours. Hunt has served on the boards of Omaha Area Youth Orchestras, Friends of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, CHEER Nebraska, and Friends of the Nebraska AIDS Project.

EMILIANO LERDA, J.D., LL.M. Justice For Our Neighbors of Omaha Lerda earned a B.A. in communication studies from the University of Northern Iowa and a J.D. from Drake University Law School.

He holds certificates in Public Service Law, Food & Agriculture Law, and International Comparative and Human Rights Law from Drake. He is the executive director at Justice for Our Neighbors of Omaha and has taught “Immigration, Law & Latinos” as an adjunct professor at UNO. He participated in the Nonprofit Executive Institute and Leadership Omaha Class 36 and is currently enrolled in the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program.

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omahamagazine.com

LESLIE FISCHER Together A Greater Good Fischer graduated from Millard North High School in 1995, and with a degree in business administration, minor in marketing, from UNO in 1999.

She is the co-founder of TAGG, a social good app that received the “Excellence in Business Award—Community” from the Greater Omaha Chamber in 2016. Fischer also received UNO’s Young Achievement Award in 2015.

She co-founded Ladies Who Launch Omaha and serves on the board of Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue and B4B Society.

SHEENA KENNEDY HELGENBERGER Live Well Omaha Kids Helgenberger earned a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010. She wrote a thesis under the direction of Dr. Rachelle WinkleWagner about African American women’s experiences transitioning to college. The research resulted in an article in the NASPA Journal.

She is the coalition director for Live Well Omaha Kids, and she is particularly passionate about empowering and protecting youth. The greatest reward of Sheena’s volunteer experiences has been her relationship with her Little Sister, Allanah.

KASEY HESSE Gallup Hesse leads Gallup’s dot-com team as a technology manager at Gallup. She majored in international studies and Portuguese at UNL, and earned an M.A. in mental health counseling from UNO. Hesse is a board member at Bluebarn Theatre, Omaha Friends of Planned Parenthood, and is on the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program’s education committee. She is a 2016 New Leaders Council Fellow and a member of Leadership Omaha class 34.

CLIFF MCEVOY, MPA, MSL

EMILY POESCHL

TONY VARGAS

Buford Foundation

University of Nebraska at Omaha

McEvoy graduated from Saint Louis University and served as an Air Force officer for 6 1/2 years.

He left with the rank of Captain and was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal.

Poeschl is also a 2016 TOYO! recipient. She has a BSBA from UNL and an MBA from UNO, where she is the director of marketing. Poeschl is a member of the Susan G Komen Nebraska Board of Directors, and serves in two national volunteer roles: the Komen Advocacy Advisory Taskforce and Komen Advocates in Science.

She is a member of Women’s Fund of Omaha Circles Group, and United Way Community Investment Review Team. She is also a Girls Inc. Pathfinders mentor, a Delta Gamma Omaha Alumnae Chapter past president, and an SID 502 past trustee.

Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance and Omaha Public Schools Board

McEvoy also earned an MPA from the University of Akron and an M.S. from Creighton University. McEvoy serves on Nebraskans for Civic Reform, the Greater Omaha Chamber’s Young Professionals Council, the Greater Omaha Chamber Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, and is president of Omaha Professionals United in Service. He is the executive director of the Buford Foundation.

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Vargas is a State Senator for District 7 in the Nebraska Legislature, representing the communities of Downtown and South Omaha.

He previously served on the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education. Vargas earned a B.A. from the University of Rochester and an M.Ed. from Pace University and is currently the director of marketing and communications for Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance. He is also serves on the advisory board for New Leaders Council-Omaha.

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volume 17 | issue 1

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96

ETHICS

BY BEVERLY KRACHER

INTERESTS IN CONFLICT Years ago, my colleague Butch Ethington showed me a graphic he designed when he was the ethics officer and ombudsman at Union Pacific Railroad. I still use this graphic in my Creighton classes and the department uses it in our Business Ethics Alliance programs.

It is a pyramid. At the bottom are all the rank-and-file employees, the heart and soul of business. Their No.1 ethical issue, Butch says, is fairness. “She got more time off.” “He was given the opportunity for travel.” “She got to work from home.”

In the middle of the pyramid are the managers and directors. In between the top dogs and rank and file employees, managers and directors have tough roles. Their No. 1 ethical issue is accurate reporting. “How do I make my boss happy about the numbers?”

“How do I showcase my subordinates?”

At the top of the pyramid are the executives and board members of the organization. They spend a great amount of time interfacing with government, the public, and all stakeholders.

Their No. 1 ethical issue is conflict of interest.

Of course, conflicts of interest can occur at any level of an organization. Think about the conflicts that arise for salespeople, or the ones that occur in procurement. Executives have other ethical issues, for example, telling the truth or community responsibilities.

Let’s focus on executives and board members and their conflicts of interest.

Three key questions arise. What is a conflict of interest? Why is it so hard to recognize our own conflicts of interest? What can be implemented to reduce conflicts of interest?

As for the first question, we all know that a conflict of interest can arise when someone is responsible for serving competing interests.

But this is not, in and of itself, unethical. It is what a person does about the competing interests that matter. Classic examples of conflicts of interest focus on financial interests, for example, an executive who shares confidential information, thereby decreasing his firm’s assets and increasing his own. But a more nuanced definition of conflict of interest includes multi-dimensions and is not always about making more money. For example, what about a board member who provides a building to the firm at reduced rent? In this case, she provides a benefit because of her interest. Is this a conflict that is unethical?

It has been said that half of the battle in ethics is being aware that there is an ethical situation in front of you. Why is it so hard to see one’s conflicts of interest? Behavioral ethicists shine a light on this second question. We have psychological dispositions to think or act in certain ways, due to chemistry or socialization, which are unnoticed or disbelieved. Deeply entrenched and habitual dispositions can be healthy, like being confident. But confidence can become extreme and turn into a bias.

Overconfidence bias can block one’s perception of a conflict of interest and when this happens we say a person has a psychological blindspot.

Overconfidence bias can be heard when an executive says, “This is not a problem. If anyone can handle it, I can.” But no one is immune to psychological blindspots and unethical conflicts of interest. No one. The best we can do is recognize our human nature and develop strategies to overcome our extremes. Which takes us to question three.

What can we do to reduce conflicts of interest? At the policy level, it is helpful to have executives and board members sign conflict of interest statements. But make sure the documents are multidimensional, addressing possible financial, as well as non-financial, conflicts. Most conflict of interest statements do not. Second, we can learn from something Bruce Grewcock, CEO of Kiewit, once told me. He says that the company has leaders who are willing to speak up and point out to him when he needs to examine a situation again. He’s expressing the old adage, “surround yourself with good people.” When we do this, we have the best chance of recognizing our overconfidence and reducing the chance that we will act inappropriately and wreak havoc on our world.

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Beverly Kracher, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Business Ethics Alliance and the Daugherty Chair in Business Ethics and Society at Creighton University.

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