The story of Dave is the story of us.
We know Dave. So we work tirelessly to provide him the advanced care he needs. Like our back pain services, where a team of experts repaired his damaged spine — from surgery to recovery. Dave’s back is back.
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CONTENTS FEATURES
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Brent Boles gives his “Spin” on entrepreneurship.
Local businesses help people enjoy the outdoors.
HEART OF THE ENTREPRENEUR
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
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How local companies are handling a retiring workforce.
Dr. David Price discusses the role of creativity in business.
RETIREMENT WAVE
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FROM THE PROFESSOR
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YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS
RESTORING HISTORY WITH A MODERN TWIST
Continuing education outside of the classroom.
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Mark Burenheide repurposes old space for modern living.
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JA OF KANSAS BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
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THE INTERSECTION
Meet this year’s laureates.
Business and government work together.
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STRONGER TOGETHER
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A group of women business owners collaborate for success.
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SECURITY BENEFIT: CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
IN EVERY ISSUE TK BUSINESS EXPERTS
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SCENE ABOUT TOWN Topeka Chapter of the Links Hidden Figure Showing DTI Annual Meeting TIBA Luncheon
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MARK REINERT
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CHRIS OMNI
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MARK REZAC
Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting
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LAST WORD Lonnie Williams shares his thoughts on small business opportunities.
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Stay
Connected
Stay confident in your ability to communicate.
Stay you. The audiologists at Topeka Ear, Nose, & Throat are specially trained in medically-based hearing health care and are committed to providing an accurate diagnosis, solutions that fit your lifestyle and ongoing support.
Services include: Hearing Evaluations Hearing Aid Fittings Tinnitus Evaluations (ringing in the ears) Balance & Dizziness Assessments
We have offices in Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence and Junction City and offer services at several outreach clinics across northeastern Kansas. Visit our website to find a location near you. www.topekaent.com
Call 785-233-0500 to schedule an appointment. 920 SW Lane St., Suite 200 Topeka, KS 66606
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FROM THE PUBLISHER
Regret
Regrets are the lost moments—The "could haves" and "should haves." The things you never want to look back on and know you missed an opportunity or made the wrong choice. For some, it's even used in a mantra they live by… "No Regrets."
When you face any change, you weigh the pros and cons of your choice in an attempt to have no regrets. This was part of my transition from managing TK to sitting on the sidelines as an owner while joining Envista Credit Union. I spent weeks evaluating the transition, the opportunity, the loss, the possible regrets, but nothing prepared me for the actual regret I experienced. It wasn't the career change. Envista is amazing—the people, the work, the opportunity, the product—I couldn't have asked for better. It wasn't the loss of entrepreneurial freedom. I mean let's be real, to put entrepreneurship and freedom together, at least in the early years, is an oxymoron. And, it wasn't the loss of decision-making power that comes with being your own boss. I was prepared to regret losing these things—but surprisingly, I never experienced regret in these areas.
Tara Dimick Tara@TKMagazine.com
The regret was the realization that I had been holding my company and my team back by wanting to control the process of my business for too long. As I look back I "could have" and "should have" given up my control several years ago to this amazing team. In my absence, they have cared as much about the advertisers and content as I have; they have held the vision and mission of TK to insure its quality and standards; and quite honestly, they have replaced me… Beautifully. My regret—be it because of my ego, the financial fears of ownership or just being a control freak—was that I worked in my business too long when I should have been working on my business. So what are you doing in your business that you could give up? Where are you letting your control, your ego or even fear stop you from growing? How do you know your team doesn't care as much as you do? Have you given them a chance? Don't let my regret be yours.
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magazine.com Check out TKMagazine.com to get expert business advice and up-to-date information on business in Topeka. Send your news releases to braden@tkmagazine.com. BUSINESS NEWS
BUSINESS GROWTH
ABWA CAREER CHAPTER TO HONOR LINDA P. JEFFREY, JD as the 2017 Woman of Distinction at the 35th Annual Woman of Distinction Scholarship Luncheon on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. MAJOR SPONSORS AND FULL SLATE OF EVENTS SCHEDULED as the New Heartland Park guides strategic operational realignment and additional staff hiring.
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WASHBURN WIBW 580 AM WIBW 580 AM UNIVERSITY Hosted by Tara Dimick, Hosted by Tara Dimick, CONTRIBUTING EXPERTS HIGH SCHOOL Owner & Publisher of TK Business Magazine Owner & Publisher of TK Business Magazine Chris Omni LEADERSHIP WORKING CAPITAL Dr. David Price ACADEMY has is about local and Mark Reinert been launched by Washburn University’s regional businesses Marc Rezac Leadership Institute thanks to a grant within the KTWU Aly Van Dyke from the Topeka Community Foundation. viewing area. WORKING PUBLISHING COMPANY CAPITAL showcases MIZE HOUSER E2 Communications entrepreneurship and & COMPANY, PA PO Box 67272 provides an atmosphere RELEASES VIDEO Topeka, KS 66667 for sharing business SERIES for 785.438.7773 concepts and practical restaurant business experiences. FOUNDER ǀ Kevin Doel and hotel owners and operators in Tune in to KTWU-HD, cooperation with the Kansas Restaurant Digital Channel 11.1. & Hospitality Association. tkmagazine.com 2017 TK Business Magazine is published by E2 Communications, Inc. Reproduction or use of this publication in any manner without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Every effort was made to ensure accuracy of the information in this publication as of press time. The publisher assumes no responsibility of any part for the content of any advertisement in this publication, including any errors and omissions therein. E2 Communications, Inc. makes no endorsement, representation or warranty regarding any goods or services advertised or listed in this publication. Listings and advertisements are provided by the subject company. E2 Communications, Inc. shall not be responsible or liable for any inaccuracy, omission or infringement of any third party's right therein, or for personal injury or any other damage or injury whatsoever. By placing an order for an advertisement, the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher against any claims relating to the advertisement.
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THE HEART OF THE ENTREPRENEUR
F
OR A PERSON who enjoys working on cars, an auto-repair business may be a worthwhile venture. For someone who loves project management, starting a construction company might be the right path to take. Yet for someone who simply has a passion for working with people, one business isn't nearly enough. This rings true for Brent Boles. Born and raised in the capital of the Sunflower State, Boles attended Topeka West High School. Following graduation, he donned the Ichabod blue and enrolled at Washburn University in pursuit of a communications degree. About four years later, in 1988, an opportunity on the West Coast that couldn't be passed on came knocking, and Boles answered. "I had a job opportunity outside Topeka, and before I graduated Washburn—I was a semester away—I took the job in San Francisco," Boles said. Boles worked for Viking Freight System, a transportation and shipping company owned by Federal Express that did a large amount of work in Silicon Valley. While he enjoyed the job, it wasn't the only thing that kept Boles in California. A reunion took place between Boles and a young
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Brent Boles
SCHENDEL LAWN AND LANDSCAPE & SPIN LLC MADSIDY, LLC woman by the name of Angie, whom he had dated in high school. The two were married, Boles finished his degree, and about six years after Boles moved out to the Golden State, the couple was ready for a change. "When it came time to start thinking about a family, Topeka just seemed like an obvious place we wanted to be, so we returned in 1994," Boles said. "Viking was one of the top 50 companies to work for in America, so it was a great opportunity, but Topeka
TK Business Magazine
was a place we kind of felt was calling us. It's home." In answering his hometown's calling, Boles' entrepreneurial pursuits soon launched. "I got involved at Schendel Pest Services and took a job in their sales department," Boles said of his first job after returning to Topeka. "Schendel was a very small company. We had less than 40 employees. We were pretty small in our footprint and relatively small in revenues."
Boles started with Schendel Pest Services in sales, but it didn't take long before he began moving up the company ladder. "Within a few years, I was general manager of the company," Boles said. Then, once again, opportunity struck. "My boss, who is also my father-in-law, had a partner who was getting out of the business, and so I bought him out," Boles said. "I became a partner, and then we just continued to grow Schendel.”
By ADAM VLACH
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
"It's the challenge of taking an idea and making it better."
Boles helmed the company for years, leading to the opening of 10 offices in five different states. Part of being a great business leader is knowing when to sell, and that is what he did with Schendel Pest Services in August of 2012. "We had a lot of headwinds," Boles said of the business in the time near its selling. "We were no longer a small business. As a mid-sized business with almost 150 employees, the company found itself in
a more complicated business environment, facing issues such as benefits, insurance issues and regulatory compliance. "I had lost my passion— to continue to grow the business—because I no longer had that opportunity," Boles said. "I was involved in more of the [legal] side of the business." But the Schendel brand did not die with the sale of the pest services company. "I had gotten involved with Schendel Lawn and Landscape a few years prior to that, and I looked over and said, 'There's an opportunity to get more involved in that company, help grow it and be a part of something growing.'" Boles said. The chance to build, to "take things and make them better" and to interact with the customer is what Boles said draws him to small business over mid-sized or large operations. "I like to understand and truly be part of the brand identity," he said. Boles' competitive nature became a key factor in his desire to grow Schendel Lawn and Landscape. It’s the aspect of business that requires a competitive flair that Boles loves. “It’s the challenge of taking an idea, whether that’s a new idea or an idea that already exists, and making it better,” Boles said. “When we started Schendel Lawn and Landscape, there were a lot of companies out there doing that kind of work. I’m a very competitive person, so I think it’s that drive to say ‘I
think I can do it better’—that desire to win—is what I like about business.” In addition to Schendel Lawn and Landscape, of which Boles is currently a partner, the Kansas Citybased Spin Pizza franchise recently came to Lawrence as a result of Boles and three other partners founding Spin LLC with the hopes of bringing the popular franchise to other locations in Kansas. The Lawrence location opened in the fall of 2016, and as operating manager, Boles is working on bringing the franchise to Topeka. Boles also owns Madsidy, LLC, a real-estate company he runs with his wife, Angie. "I've been involved, this whole time, in commercial real-estate development, so that continues to be a part of my life every day." Playing such large roles in so many different companies is all a part of Boles' passion and mindset. "It's that serial entrepreneur mentality," Boles said. Topeka, he believes, is a great location for the serial entrepreneurship he loves. "I think there's a lot of wants and needs in our community that aren't being met that small businesses could come in and fill," Boles said. Boles has been involved with the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce in some capacity for decades. For the past six years, he has been on the board of directors, serving the past two years as board chair.
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Boles said being a member of the Chamber grants him many opportunities to help others grow their businesses. Although he loves the “people” aspect of business, Boles believes it is also the most difficult. “The biggest hindrance to small business success is the ability to hire qualified, motivated individuals," Boles said. "I think as a small business, once you get through that, it’s ‘how do you get those co-workers and employees on the same page? How do you get them to understand the brand and what it is you’re trying to accomplish as a company?’ Too often I think people have great ideas, but I don’t think their ideas are shared with people around them, their co-workers.” To attract the best and brightest, that competitive streak is needed once again. Boles uses the efforts at Schendel Lawn and Landscape as an example. “We think we have a good culture, we have a good work environment," Boles said. "Our pay’s competitive. But in today’s world, you’ve got to talk about benefits and retirement plans and health care plans.” However, it takes more than just a competitive nature to successfully run as many businesses as Boles has and does. Beyond his passion for growing businesses and working with people, Boles' ability to recognize and make the most of opportunities is this serial entrepreneur's driving force. TK
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HOT TOPIC BACKFILLING BOOMERS
RETIREMENT WAVE The country’s workforce is continuing to evolve as an estimated 10,000 baby boomers retire each day, a trend that should continue for another dozen years. As they leave health care organizations, financial services companies, manufacturing plants and utilities, retiring baby boomers are making space for a new generation of employees to make their mark.
O
LDER BABY BOOMERS BEGAN their careers when company loyalty, service longevity and guaranteed pensions were commonplace. Now many of these employees are retiring in large numbers, leaving area employers striving for ways to replace their expertise while still maintaining productivity and profitability. Just as retirees are embarking on a new era of reinvention, so, too, are businesses across all industries as they compete for employees to join their ranks.
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AN EMPLOYMENT AGENCY EXECUTIVE’S PERSPECTIVE Paul Bossert, vice president of Premier Employment Solutions, works with a variety of companies to fill everything from entry-level to executive positions. In some cases, businesses haven’t been able to fast-track younger employees into leadership roles quickly enough to accommodate the wave of retirements, so hiring contract labor and/or putting previous employees on the payroll may be used to bridge gaps until permanent replacements can be hired. Along with traditional job posting avenues, companies are using LinkedIn, Facebook and Craig’s List and establishing employee referral programs, says Bossert. “If you find good people and good workers, they tend to hang out with other good people and good workers,” Bossert said. Because the retirement wave is so pervasive and the possible pool of Generation X and Millennial
workers is so much smaller, employers are becoming more creative in not only how they entice workers to replace retirees, but also how they try to accommodate and keep them. “We have a lot of talented people in Topeka, but we also have a lot of openings,” Bossert said. “A few companies are raising wages, increasing health care contributions and, in some cases, reducing qualifications to get people in the door.” Whereas pensions and workday predictability appealed to many baby boomers, a younger workforce is more likely to be wooed by work/life balance, flexibility, a family friendly culture and even access to social media. "As employers, we have to address the ways in which younger generations communicate and digest information through social media and electronic devices.”
A SUPERINTENDENT’S STRATEGY Although companies may be searching for experienced mid-level employees to fill expertise gaps as retirees leave, Topeka Public Schools is facilitating programs and partnerships to prepare its graduates to fill vacancies too, including offering expanded honors and college-level courses aligned with career pathways. “I envision that all students will have access to 30-60 college hours, an associate’s degree and industry credentials while in high school,” said Tiffany Anderson, Ph.D, superintendent of Topeka Public Schools. She cites a current collaboration with Washburn Tech that equips students with an opportunity to obtain a CNA license, journeyman’s license and OSHA training. The new Topeka West High School coffee bar also gives students hands-on barista and bookkeeping experience. Anderson says the new Topeka Center for Advanced Learning and Careers (TCALC), opening in 2018, will introduce even more options for students and employers. The innovative high school program, created in partnership with business and industry, will feature: Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing; Bioscience and Biomedical;
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Business; and Human Services. Students will build knowledge and benefit from professional mentors in their field of interest. “Through TCALC, students have 18 pathways they can explore while in high school, which gives them the skills and training they need to move into a career or college,” she said. “Additionally, we have a robotics lab at Highland Park High School, which trains students on the same robotic equipment that many of our manufacturing plants, such as FritoLay, use here in Topeka.” This year, Topeka Public Schools aligned courses with ACT assessment criteria, started a new mentorship program that pairs high school students with alumni mentors, began a high school senior mentoring program through which central office staff help a student move through college, added monthly college campus visits and hired a college and career advocate. “As a result of the close monitoring, wraparound supports and expanding access and opportunities, I anticipate the graduation rate at our large high schools will increase, and all students graduating will have a post-secondary plan,” she said.
WHAT'S WALKING OUT THE DOOR? GREATEST POTENTIAL LOSSES TO BUSINESS DUE TO BABY BOOMER RETIREMENTS
39%
LEADERSHIP SOURCE: Robert Hall survey of more than 2,100 U.S. CFOs. Responses do not total 100% due to rounding.
23%
LEGACY KNOWLEDGE
15%
NONTECHNICAL ATTRIBUTES
15%
FUNCTIONAL SKILLS
5%
CONTACTS OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATION
4%
DON'T KNOW/ NO ANSWER
A UTILITY COMPANY’S CREATIVE COURSE Westar Energy underwent its first retirement wave about six years ago and began preparing to replace its aging workforce in earnest after assessing the impact of potential employee retirements 10 years out. With its retirement wave now cresting, the company averages 100 retirements a year, 5 percent of its workforce. “We looked at our core values and knew we needed to hold true to those, but we also added one, adaptability, to make sure we could keep up with changes in the industry,” said Jerl Banning, senior vice president operations support and administration. “Replacing baby boomers’ knowledge is critical, and sometimes that knowledge may have just existed in someone’s head. Offering Lean Six Sigma training to streamline processes and increase documentation helps the employees who replace our retirees access that information more quickly.” The utility’s multifaceted employment functions and specialized skill sets spurred the company’s human resources team to expand its partnerships with organizations to further support its pipeline. We had to be intentional about building a broader, diverse talent pool to represent our communities as we filled gaps,” said Steve Boyce, executive director, human resources. “Our job as human resources professionals is to attract the best and brightest people for our communities and work with those individuals to help them achieve their dreams.” To that end, Westar expanded its longstanding collaborations with Emporia Flint Hills Technical College and universities in the state’s regents system to include new relationships with
Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, two historically black colleges. The company also intensified its affiliation with Topeka Public Schools by creating the Westar Energy Education Station to complement STEM curriculum for students in all grades and offering leadership development opportunities to instructors. Kim Konecny, supervisor, employment, oversees a successful college internship program that’s been recognized three times in Internships for Quality of Life by vault.com. Participants have meaningful work assignments, take tours across the service territory, interact with a mentor and enjoy social activities with other interns. “We had 60 interns last year, half engineers and half other disciplines,” she said. “We’re looking for a good mutual fit, and if we see those relationships emerge at the end of the summer, we extend an offer.” Even when interns opt to go elsewhere, Konecny says the internship program creates positive connections, so participants who want to come back to the community often call to express interest in returning to Westar. But the university track is just part of Westar’s employment equation. Skilled crafts professionals are essential. The complexity of safely generating, delivering and restoring power requires not only competence and commitment in an office or power plant setting, but also a considerable amount of courage and confidence to climb a pole in inclement weather. Westar offers week-long, pre-qualification camps that replicate work scenarios to assess the capabilities and continued interest of
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participants from all over the country. Westar picks up the participants’ lodging and meal expenses, a worthwhile investment for finding individuals suited to the work. “We have an intern in Wichita who hitchhiked here from New Jersey and another line apprentice who heard about our company from a person he was stationed with off the coast of Guam,” Boyce said. The company also offers a tuition assistance program and training opportunities to help employees enhance their capabilities as they change jobs, departments and/or divisions. Westar partners with high schools in Topeka, Wichita, Emporia, Shawnee and other communities on Electrify Your Future, which gives students job-shadowing opportunities and exposure to five
different career paths: corporate, engineer, lineman, power plant and substation. In conjunction with Youth Entrepreneurs, Westar Energy launched summer programs in Topeka and Wichita to get high school students excited about math and science careers at the company. A Big Brothers/Big Sisters corporate Bigs program pairs Topeka Public Schools students with company mentors, and Westar employees also teach business principles to students of all ages through Junior Achievement. “We have a big footprint in the state and a strong focus on the communities we’re in,” Banning said. “We work really hard to create an engaging environment. If our managers own that they are leaders, then it’s easier to build tools and programs to inspire people to work here.”
A HEALTH INSURER'S PLAN At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, approximately 25 percent of its 1,600 employees are eligible to retire each year, but on average only 50 do, according to Abby Lear, director of human resources and facilities for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. “Blue Cross still has a large number of employees who have a pension benefit; therefore, we see fluctuations in retirement numbers more from quarter to quarter rather than year to year due to changes in interest rates,” she said. The company has 37 confirmed retirements for the first quarter of 2017, but Lear expects the number to taper off for the remainder of the year. With an average length of service of a little more than 14 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield has been able to replace a 30-plus year retiree with “another tenured, knowledgeable and experienced employee ready to fill that role,” she said. Lear attributes employee longevity in part to the company’s reputation as an employer and the stability of 75 years in business along with leadership and development programs, a collaborative work environment and cross-training efforts within various departments. The company offers a summer internship program for college juniors and seniors with a majority of participants hired into information
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technology, industrial engineering, finance, human resources, government relations and community relations positions after graduation. In addition to working on assigned projects in their area of focus and learning more about the company’s business, interns collaborate on a community service project and wrap up the summer with a final presentation. The company also hires interns for the spring and fall semesters. Blue University, an internal continuing education program, offers a variety of leadership courses and other offerings supplemented through a learning partnership with Washburn University’s School of Business. Participation allows employees to keep their skills current so they’ll be ready to move into new roles replacing retiring colleagues. “The retirement of our baby boomers, which will continue for several more years, is creating a more multi-generational workforce,” Lear said. “We are learning that different generations are attracted to and retained by different benefits, work environments, work schedules and opportunities. We have to balance these changing needs with our overall desire to maintain our strong traditions and culture. Change is something that we have to embrace and constantly adjust to so we may better understand and serve our workforce.” TK
Wfor orking Kansas When you’re working at your job every day, what are you creating? You’re creating a career, a life, and Kansas as we all know and love it. That’s why Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas wants you to thrive … and enjoy being alive. Although life can be uncertain, you can count on us for reliable coverage and personal service. We offer you security, strength and stability – so you don’t have to go it alone. bcbsks.com
N.1639 An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Filename:117BCBS009-TK-Resize"Construction"tofitTKMagazinespecs_3_0_sb Client: Blue Cross Blue Shield Paper: TK Magazine
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www.bartwest.com TK Business Magazine
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FINANCIAL WELLNESS
Photo By MEGAN ROGERS PHOTOGRAPHIE
Mark A. Reinert
REINERT WEALTH MANAGEMENT
A friend of mine likes to say, “If you have more than three priorities, you haven’t prioritized.” No matter what stage of life you are in, one of your priorities should be achieving financial wellness.
F
or most of us, the closer we come to the end of our working years, the more anxiety we experience because of that one elusive question: Will I have enough money to last the rest of my life, in the manner to which I have become accustomed? The relationship between wealth and anxiety depends entirely upon the amount of wealth one has achieved. Up to a certain point, anxiety drops as wealth increases, due to higher security. But, as our wealth continues to grow and crosses another level, anxiety can actually increase due to complexity.
Mark A. Reinert is a dual-licensed investment advisor/broker and a certified financial planner who has been in practice for 28 years.
CFP®, RICP®, MBA
APPROACHING RETIREMENT? What you can do as you enter the retirement red zone. STEP 1 Understand your spending. This is a perfect time to take a hard and honest look at your expenses and decide if they are sustainable throughout retirement. STEP 2 Leave nothing on the table. Most company-sponsored retirement plans provide a matching contribution, which is essentially ‘free money.’ In addition, tax benefits of these contributions can significantly impact the size of our nest egg over time. STEP 3 Don’t stop at the 401(k). Chances are, a significant portion of your net worth is comprised of retirement plan assets (401(k)s and IRAs). It is a prudent strategy to accumulate some assets outside of these plans for additional flexibility, although taxation can have a negative impact. Tax-aware strategies can be used to help minimize the effects.
STEP 4 Invest for the long term. Because our nest egg must last for 30 years or more, achieving a reasonable inflation-adjusted return is crucial. Unfortunately, the allocation of stocks to bonds needed to generate a historical average return of 7% on retirement savings has changed over the last 20 years. It now takes nearly twice the exposure of stocks to achieve the same return due to the current record-low bond yields present today. This changes the risk/return tradeoff entirely, which creates additional challenges. STEP 5 Get a plan. We all know the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best is today, and the same advice applies to creating your wealth plan. If I were about to have a serious surgical procedure, the only question that matters to me would be, “Doc, how many times have you done this before?” We have been providing financial guidance to families since 1989 using our Financial Independence Navigation Strategy.
www.reinertwealthmanagement.com Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC.
INVESTING 18
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YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS
Entrepreneurial education continues to be a hot topic nationally as the face of our country’s workforce evolves to include younger generations, their ideas and working styles. With approximately 7,000 U.S. high school students dropping out each day, according to the U.S. Department of Education, it’s critical that schools have opportunities in place to ignite a mindset for pursuing knowledge.
Continuing Education Outside of the Classroom By PRISCILLA McINNES
I
YE Area Director, NE KS & MO
NCORPORATING ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION into the classroom is key to helping students remain engaged in school and learn business basics that will benefit their future endeavors. However, just as important is continuing education outside of the classroom, giving tomorrow’s business leaders the opportunity to put learning into action. Continuing education outside of the classroom allows students to:
CULTIVATE SOFT SKILLS Soft skills are key to success, regardless of a student’s career path. Whether it’s learning to work as part of a team, accept critique or dress appropriately for a meeting, the earlier students learn and practice these skills, the more prepared they will be for higher education and the business world.
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Programs offering high schoolers the opportunity to develop soft skills prior to entering the workforce also play an important role in building an individual’s confidence. For example, a student interested in a career in sales can take skills learned in the classroom and put them to
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practice in an internship setting, allowing them to bolster their understanding of the business world. From interacting with clients in person to crafting professional emails, outside of the classroom learning is all about reinforcing these soft skills for maximum impact.
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GAIN FIRST-HAND WORK EXPERIENCE One key benefit of continuing education outside of the classroom is its ability to expose students to different career paths early on. This is where internships, mentorships and job shadowing come into play, giving students tangible experiences outside of the classroom that introduce them to industries and opportunities they might not have known about before. Additionally, continuing education outside of the classroom gives students access to professionals who can help prepare them for the real world.
DEVELOP A MINDSET FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION Gaining first-hand work experience not only gives students insight into the workplace, but also helps them discover interests, talents and skills they may not have known existed before. This helps provide clarity on what they want to do moving forward. Whether students take part in a deep-dive into specific subjects, such as leadership or accounting, or cultivate their own businesses, they can find long-term success and fulfillment by extending their learning. These feelings of fulfillment help develop a passion
learners and encourage the pursuit of higher education. In fact, surveys show Youth Entrepreneurs’ students Providing educational graduate and pursue higher opportunities outside of the education at a higher rate classroom encourages the than students not exposed development of the growth to entrepreneurial learning mindset and makes students better problem solvers and value and education outside of the creators. And by creating value, classroom. students are able to improve While the classroom is the place their own lives, as well as the to create a spark for learning, lives of others. resources outside of the classroom take that spark and Programs that offer education opportunities outside of the fuel its fire. TK classroom help create life-long for continuing education, also known as the growth mindset.
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THE HEALTH HIPPIE
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Chris Omni
CERTIFIED LIFESTYLE WELLNESS COACH/PERSONAL TRAINER
Hey Hey Ya. It’s your guuurrrlll, Chris Omni, The Health Hippie. How many of you made a New Year’s resolution? I would go out on a limb and say that over 50 percent of you responded with a “yes.” Did your resolution fall into one of the top three categories to lose weight, eat right and start exercising?
T
ypically over half of the people who made a resolution have “tiptoed” away from the actions necessary to lose weight, eat right and start exercising. That's why I don’t make New Year’s resolutions and I recommend that my clients don’t either.
Chris Omni couples her passion and devotion with 15 years in entrepreneurship, personal training and group exercise.
Instead of resolutions, let's explore
"SOLE-UTIONS." S Start each day by making a choice. O Open your mind and your heart will rejoice. L Learn to laugh and let life unfold. E Enjoy the blessings that each day holds.
WELLNESS IS A JOURNEY that does not just happen on January 1. It is a continuum of practice that ebbs and flows. The six dimensions of wellness include: Physical Intellectual Environmental Emotional Social Spiritual I challenge my clients to be open to all of the various modalities of fitness because meditation is peaceful for some and unsettling for others. Zumba is awesome for some, while others have two left feet. Running is a great escape for some and others would rather swim with sharks. PHYSICAL WELLNESS GOES BEYOND how much you can lift, how many squats you can perform and how many pushups you can do. Physical wellness is developed through a
combination of physical activity/exercise and healthy eating habits. The primary elements include cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, along with flexibility. According to the CDC, we need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week AND two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms). Do you want to go a little harder than “moderate?” The CDC recommends 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity AND two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups. ENJOY THE BLESSINGS that each day holds. Your health and wellness journey is NEVER about being a certain size. The blessing of being alive along with the blessing of the power of choice puts you in a perfect position to make lasting lifestyle changes to achieve optimal well-being. You just need to start. Start MAKIN’ MOVES to be the best version of YOU! Happy Living! To join the Healthy SOLE-utions Community and to receive additional inspiration, visit www.thehealthhippie.com.
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2808 SW Arrowhead Rd Topeka, Ks 66614 785-233-5556 www.AzuraCU.com SPRING 2017 TK Business Magazine
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JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF KANSAS
By LISA LOEWEN
Photos by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
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HE JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT of Kansas Business Hall of Fame recognizes business professionals who have exhibited unparalleled leadership qualities and worked to make the community a better place to live and work. These individuals have not only proven their success in business, but have also played an instrumental role in shaping the vision for a stronger community. Comprised of seven business leaders, this year’s group of laureates is a little larger than in past years.
TK Business Magazine
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Business HALL OF FAME
JA also has expanded its reach to recognize a deserving business leader from outside of Shawnee County. Some of these individuals are lifelong Topekans. Others are transplants that have chosen to dedicate their professional lives to the community. They represent manufacturing, banking, real estate, retail and marketing. As diverse as this group may be, they all have one thing in common: a dedication to growing successful businesses while giving back to the communities in which they live.
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Everybody starts somewhere...
Sold curbside address markers • Peddled homemade personalized golfballs • Walked three paper routes–two in the morning, one in the evening • Service station manager • Junior Achievement laundry detergent project • Pumped gas, fixed flats, sandblasted spark plugs Loaded moving vans • Construction worker • Drafted layouts of high school chemistry labs • Inventoried & shipped school supplies Mortar-tamper, brick-toter, scaffold builder • Dishwasher—Aggieville Tastee-Freeze • Country Club Lifeguard • Frat House dishwasher & table waiter • PB&J Mogul: assembled & delivered sandwiches to college students • Pitchman for Hawaiian tours • Mardi Gras and Worlds Fair tour escort • International tour guide hither and yon (32 countries) • First leasing agent, Fairlawn Plaza • Apartment manager in Oakland neighborhood • Beach route private detective for bus company in Florida • Newspaper ad salesman– Toronto Star • United States Marine • Attorney for Highway Commission • Private Practice attorney in Johnson County • Managing Member, Fairlawn Plaza LLC
Congratulations!
RANDY AUSTIN
BUSINESS HALL OF FAME, 2017
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Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
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Martha
BARTLETT PILAND
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ROM THE SIGNATURE PINK splashes of color throughout the immaculate offices of MB Piland Advertising + Marketing to the trendy eye glasses (also pink), which perfectly accessorize a business suit that might have come straight off of the runway at “Fashion Week,” everything about Martha Bartlett Piland screams creative.
TREATS If you have met with Martha or attended one of her speaking engagements, you know one thing: she always brings treats. This custom stems from an incident during her middle school years when a group of girls on the school bus kept picking on her and saying mean things. When she told her mother about it, the advice she received was “take them candy bars.” To her amazement it worked, and she has been offering people treats ever since. “You can return meanness with kindness. That is what my mother taught me,” Martha says. “So I take that into life.” STYLE She also brings an effortless sense of style. Her closet contains an eclectic mix of vintage items passed down by her mother, trendy high-fashion pieces from her
travels and treasures she has found at stores such as TJ Maxx. “It’s not where you shop,” Martha says. “It’s how you put it together.” Paying homage to her early retail days, Martha actually merchandises her own closet. Clothes are organized from long to short and by color. Even her shoes are displayed by season and shade. “It’s like a surge of energy every time I go into my closet,” Martha laughs. “It makes getting dressed every morning feel like I am shopping.” Born in Hartford, Connecticut, raised in Dayton, Ohio, until middle school and spending her high school years in Augusta, Kansas, Martha appreciates diverse points of view. She also understands that sometimes the path to your end goal takes a detour or two.
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK WE SALUTE YOU Cheers to Junior Achievement for inspiring the hall of famers of tomorrow. They will rock the boat and rock our world.
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DREAMS After graduating from Washburn University with a communications/public relations degree, Martha dreamed of working in an agency where she could put her creativity to work. Unfortunately, no jobs were available at the time, so her first detour led her into a retail position at Dillard’s. While some people would view this as a roadblock, Martha saw it as a chance for her to be what she terms an “intrapreneur.” “I looked for ways to contribute in a meaningful way,” Martha says. “I did special things with merchandising to make certain displays stand out. I sought out opportunities to shine.”
“I lived the mantra, ‘plan your work and work your plan.’”
—Martha Bartlett Piland
And shine she did. In fact, Victoria’s Secret recruited her to be the store manager at the “new” mall in town. Even though she excelled in the retail environment, Martha hadn’t lost sight of her dream to be part of an advertising agency. When a position opened up with AdMark in Topeka, Martha jumped at the opportunity. “I would have swept the floors, anything, just to work there,” Martha says. She spent the next few months seeking ways to set herself apart, to prove she was a good
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hire. That effort paid off and Martha earned a position on the agency side of the business, where she spent the next eight years following her dream. DETOUR Then came the next detour. Having grown as much as she could within the agency, Martha decided to look at the world of advertising and public relations from the client side. She landed an opportunity with Heartland Health, a fledgling insurance company. For Martha, the transition from working in an extremely creative environment to a corporate one was a huge culture shock. The company didn’t have a marketing department—she had to build one. It didn’t have extensive creative resources—she was the “creative.” Even though Martha’s creativity helped turn that fledgling insurance company into a household name, she missed the creative energy that permeated agency life. Her “light bulb” moment came at dinner one night, when her husband, Gary, encouraged her to open her own agency. And just like that, she found herself back on the path to fulfilling her dream. ENTREPRENEUR MBPiland Advertising + Marketing opened for business in 1998. No clients. No employees. No office. Just Martha, fueled by her husband’s faith, working out of a home office. “Even though I worked at the house, I was at my desk
by 7:30 every morning, with a suit and heels on,” Martha says. “If I wanted others to take me seriously, I needed to be a serious business woman.” Branding her company as a “fat-free” business model that provided full service creative without the extra cost, Martha’s biggest challenge was telling her story to bigger clients. She knew she could perform—she just needed people to believe in her. “I lived the mantra, ‘plan your work and work your plan,’” Martha says. That philosophy paid off. Within two years she opened an office space and hired employees to help manage the growing agency. “Being an entrepreneur teaches you that you can do things you never even thought possible,” Martha says. “Having things be my decision, for good or bad, is empowering and energizing to me.” MENTOR After two decades of building her creative legacy, Martha has discovered her true purpose in life: to mentor and teach. Whether it is helping a client understand that engaging customers is all about sensory experiences, or immersing advertising students in agency life so they can see how the “real world” operates, Martha looks for ways to help others succeed. She also has some valuable advice. “Never cheat or cut corners. Always do things that are worthy of your best self.”
Elaine | bar manager Interests: roller derby, arts & crafts, & geocaching Inspiration: connections made between people
515 VanBuren Topeka 785.235.1700 RowHouseRestaurant.net
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Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
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UCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIPS ARISE from a shared understanding of the roles each individual brings to the enterprise. The two must complement each other’s strengths and minimize each other’s weaknesses. Duane and Beth Fager hold very different roles in both business and marriage, but those differences are what make their “partnership” flourish. As the Chairman of CoreFirst Bank & Trust, Duane has continued the tradition of innovation and customer service instituted by his father, Emery Fager, growing the bank from $19 million in assets to more than $1 billion. Beth has served as a community liaison for the bank and has spearheaded fundraising efforts for numerous community projects, including Great Overland Station, Topeka Performing Arts Center, Ronald McDonald House and Brewster Place Retirement Center. Together, Duane and Beth have been the drivers of change, not only within the banking industry, but also within the community. ‘The bank has always had a philosophy of giving back,” Duane says. “The more you give, the more you get back in return.”
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CONVERGENCE Duane grew up in Overbrook and moved to Topeka during his eighth grade year after his father became president of Commerce State Bank in 1959. He graduated from Topeka West High School and then received a political science degree from the University of Kansas.
“I wasn’t thinking much about banking at the time,” Duane jokes. Duane actually worked at the bank during high school as a teller but wanted to spread his wings. He joined the ROTC in college and went into the army as a second lieutenant after graduation, ending up in Italy for two years. Beth moved to Topeka after her sophomore year of high school when her father was appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court. She found herself living just around the block from the Fager family. Having become friends with Jane Fager through church activities, Beth was invited into the Fager home to meet Jane’s brother. “There Duane was, sitting behind a drum set, looking so cool,” Beth says.
Thus began the partnership that has lasted for the past 47 years. INNOVATION When Duane joined the bank at the age of 25, it was still relatively small. He helped establish a marketing department and instituted a “new fangled” idea: market research. Gaining a better understanding of consumer attitudes, the bank jumped head first into new technology. “It was a great strategy with beautiful results,” Duane says. The bank experienced significant growth in the 1970s. Banks in other parts of the country begin putting branches inside of grocery stores. There was nothing like that in Kansas at the time, so when Duane made deals with Dillon’s, Wal-
“In five years, if everyone is having a good time, the bank is doing well, the community is growing and improving, I’d be really happy to look back and think I had something to do with that.”
—Duane Fager
Mart and JM Bauersfelds, it was a bit revolutionary. “We had to get creative with Kansas branching laws,” Duane says, “because branch banking wasn’t allowed in Kansas.” “You had to go change that,” Beth interjects. The bank also raised eyebrows by staying open past 6 p.m. on weekdays and offering Saturday hours. “No one else did that either,” Duane says. “We were doing more business through the drive-up
window than we were doing inside the lobby.” Then came the ATMs. Research showed that 35 percent of customers would be inclined to use ATMs once they understood what they were and how they worked. “That was enough for me,” Duane says. “We had the first ATM in Topeka.” “No, we had the first ATM in Kansas,” Beth adds. The bank opened two ATMs on July 4, 1976, and introduced
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COMMUNITY “At CoreFirst you’ll be working with a team of experts including attorneys, trusted advisors, investment representatives and personal bankers. We’re comprehensive, we’re part of the community and we strive to find the best financial solutions for our neighbors.” Investments are: • Not FDIC insured • May lose value • Not financial institution guaranteed • Not a deposit • Not insured by any federal government agency
Ryan Hellmer Assistant Vice President & Trust Officer
Trust & Investment Services 785.267.8402 • CoreFirstBank.com
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“Telly, the anytime teller” to Topeka. It took almost a year for other local banks to follow suit. GENEROSITY Over the years, as Core First Bank and Trust has grown and evolved, it has been able to support many community activities and projects. The first signature of that generosity was exhibited at the Topeka Performing Arts Center (TPAC). “We got Beth involved in TPAC, and then I assigned my
“Few fundraisers have the advantage that I have had. Commerce [CoreFirst Bank and Trust] always supported whatever I was fundraising for.”
—Beth Fager
dad and all of his networking capacity to help her,” Duane laughs. “This is absolutely true,” Beth agrees. At the time, the arts community was really concerned about the loss of the municipal auditorium venue with the arrival of the new Expo Center. Sitting in a meeting with other like-minded community leaders, Beth listened as John Hunter, a professor at Washburn University, created a vision of what the municipal auditorium could become if it was redesigned into a performing arts center. “A light bulb just went off in my head,” Beth says. “I came home and told Duane. He sent me to talk to the mayor to see how we could make it happen.” The mayor thought it was an excellent idea, but noted that it would require a significant public/private partnership to
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acquire the funding to see it accomplished. The group set up a community board and established a community fundraising team. Emery Fager, who had been “assigned” to help Beth, played a crucial role in securing private donations. “Dad could work a room like no one I’ve ever seen,” Duane recalls. “Except maybe Beth. When people ask me to get involved in fundraising campaigns, I tell them I am happy to do it, but if they want it to be great, they need to talk to Beth.” Duane understands that as part of their successful partnership, if Beth’s role is to raise money for community projects and improvements, his role is to come up with the donations to support those efforts. “Few fundraisers have the advantage that I have had,” Beth says. “Commerce [CoreFirst Bank and Trust] always supported whatever I was fundraising for.” “It’s part of the fabric,” Duane says. “It’s just what makes this work.” Beth always had the assurance of a donor in her back pocket. But more than that, she had access into a bigger pool of donors. “My pitch was always easy. I would say, ‘If little ol’ Commerce Bank can do this, then your much larger company can surely do just as much.’” ONWARD After almost 50 years with the bank, Duane is still working to keep CoreFirst Bank and Trust innovative and customer service oriented. Even though a new president handles the day-to-day operation, Duane is chairman and runs the holding company that owns the bank.
“I want to see the bank do well, obviously. We have two sons, a daughter, a son-inlaw and a nephew who are all actively engaged in the bank.” Five years from now Duane and Beth both say they hope they are still doing the things they are doing right now. “If everyone is having a good time, the bank is doing well, the community is growing and improving, I’d be really happy to look back and think I had something to do with that,” Duane says. As for Beth’s community projects? Riverfront development and the Great Overland Station top her list. Duane helps out on these projects as well but is still happy to take a back seat. “I help, but I don’t have to work that hard when Beth is in the room,” Duane says. ROLES Married for more than 47 years, helping each other grow a thriving business and supporting the community they love, Duane and Beth Fager exemplify the true definition of partners. What makes their joint venture so successful? “You have to like each other first of all,” Duane says. “Then you have to learn to compromise.” “You have to respect the other person’s unique abilities and talents, and accommodate the quirks,” Beth adds. For the Fagers, it is about understanding the role each person plays in the partnership and supporting each other. They enjoy working on different projects, giving each other space to develop their own ideas and then coming together to put on the finishing touches. “Neither one of us ever tried to control the other,” Beth says. “It wouldn’t work,” Duane laughs.
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Volunteer today to inspire tomorrow’s leaders. Visit www.kansasja.org , email tammy@kansasja.org or call 785.235.3700. SPRING 2017
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Randy
austin
W
ALK INTO RANDY AUSTIN’S OFFICE at Fairlawn Plaza and the first thing you notice is the artwork on the walls. Vibrant paintings depict the lives of Native American Indians in vivid detail. The second thing you notice is Randy’s friendly smile and warm handshake. As owner of Fairlawn Plaza, LLC, Randy has exemplified excellence as an entrepreneur, negotiator, landlord, community leader and philanthropist.
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EVOLUTION With almost 40 stores calling Fairlawn Plaza home, Randy has played an instrumental role in the evolution of the shopping center that was constructed more than 50 years ago. He chalks his success up to adaptability and a willingness to take risks. “You have to be able to live and thrive in today’s world, but accept an uncertain future,” Randy says. Accepting an uncertain future is nothing new to Randy. He has been doing it his entire life. A Russian history degree may seem an obscure path to law school, but for Randy it provided the foundation for the man he would later become. IMPACT During his freshman year at the University of Kansas, Randy attended a survey class about Slavic studies taught by Professor Oswald Backus. Ninety percent of the 300-member class failed the first exam. Professor Backus scheduled an individual appointment with every single student to help them better prepare for the next exam. That level of dedication and caring had a profound impact on Randy. He took every class Professor Backus taught, including those in law school. “He became a father figure to me,” Randy says. “He had a towering intellect and a profound sense of humility.” Immediately after graduating from law school, Randy went to work
for the Kansas Highway Commission. Because he was young and single, he found himself handling eminent domain cases all over the state. From there, he moved to Johnson County, where he practiced law until 1986. TOPEKA That year, his life took an unexpected detour. His great aunt called and asked him to move to Topeka to help her sort out the trust left behind when Charles Bennett, the founder of Fairlawn Plaza, passed away. “I agreed to take a six-week sabbatical from my law firm and have been in Topeka ever since,” Randy says with a laugh. That was more than 30 years ago. While Fairlawn Plaza didn’t own the mall on the corner, it did own the land underneath it. The owner didn’t live in Topeka and hadn’t paid the bank for 18 months prior to Randy becoming involved in the business. “We had two choices,” Randy says. “Let it go bankrupt. Or try to buy it and do something with it.”
businesses. In addition to structural changes, Randy also implemented some cultural ones. In an era of landlord against the tenant mentality, Randy came in with a new idea: tenants and landlords have a community of interests. That mutually beneficial approach has resulted in some long-term lessees. The Barber Shop is the same since 1963. Hair Secrets called it home for 26 years, and Dickerson Antiques was there for 34 years before it closed in 2014.
what he or she does outside of business. Based on that measure, Randy easily falls into the “great” category. He is actively involved in the Topeka Civic Theatre Endowment, the Topeka Zoo, the Kansas Humanities Council and CASA. But you should see his face light up when you ask him about Audio Reader, a reading and information service for blind, visually impaired and print disabled individuals. “I just received a certificate for 25 years of service,” Randy says. Having served as the head of development for the past 10 years for Audio Reader, Randy currently reads the Topeka Capital Journal on Sundays. His early work involved reading books on tape.
“You have to be able to live and thrive in today’s world, but accept an uncertain future.”
LANDLORD He chose the second option. But that required a huge investment in both money and labor. Many of the spaces inside of the mall were vacant. It had two empty theaters and they had to find a way to turn a two-story building into a one-story option that was attractive to small retail
—Randy Austin
Randy credits his view of landlord/tenant relationships to his time litigating in the courtroom and the valuable lessons he learned about how to treat people. “I learned early on that I never wanted to be a plaintiff or a defendant in a legal case,” Randy says. INVOLVEMENT That underlying view shines through in every endeavor Randy undertakes. Whether for business, community outreach or his personal life, Randy says he strives to always be honest and fair. The difference between a good businessman and a great one is often found in
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PRIDE Another of Randy’s favorite projects was the “Lion’s Pride” exhibit at the Topeka Zoo, where he helped commission the large statue. “That was one of the best things I’ve even been involved with,” Randy says. When Randy looks back on his life, he sees a number of crossroads where he could have chosen a different path. But the detours and side roads are what made him who he is today. As for what the future holds? Randy holds those cards close to the vest. “I’d love to live in Japan for a year,” Randy says. “There is a lot of secular spirituality there. Plus, there are fewer lawyers in the entire country of Japan than members of the Kansas City Bar Association.”
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Mike
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DeWitt
harkness
F
OR PEOPLE LIVING in and around Topeka, the name Wolfe’s Camera Shop is synonymous with innovative ways to capture memories. From its early roots of selling camera equipment, through its growth into the video era, and now its surge into high-end photo finishing and integrated consumer experience, Wolfe’s has always prided itself on being ahead of the next technological wave. But it is the dynamic duo behind the business that truly deserves the credit for its continued success. Mike Worswick and DeWitt Harkness have been business partners for almost 30 years, but their relationship began much earlier than that. They both attended Topeka High—although not at the same time—and De began dating Mike’s sister in 1966, beginning a friendship that would last for decades. OPPOSITES Although admitted polar opposites, both Mike and De agree that their differences make them more synergistic business partners. “I think about things for a long time,” Mike says. “De is a man of action.” The two joked that if Mike had an idea, he couldn’t tell De until he had it pretty well put into place because otherwise De would
have it done before they had a chance to really think it through. Understanding the strengths of the other, both men play specific roles in the business. Having always been involved in the photo industry, Mike runs that side of the business and serves as president of the Photograph Research Organization (PRO), a position that he has held for more than 20 years. De handles the non-camera side of the business, which at times has included calculators, video, televisions, VCRs, home entertainment and computers. His most recent endeavor has been to implement a state of the art photo finishing business. He also handles employee development. DEDICATED No matter their individual roles, both Mike and De agree that hard work is the key to success. Both men grew up working in their family businesses. At the ripe old age of 13, Mike would ride his bike to one of the Wolfe’s stores after school. De worked in the Harkness Pharmacy at 6th and Burlingame through high school. After graduating from Washburn University with a business degree, Mike worked in retail and the camera supply industry for a few years until he returned to Topeka in 1974 to join his dad at Wolfe’s.
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365.com Ron White @ TPAC Feb 25 Topeka Restaurant Week Feb 28 - March 7 Rock of Ages @ TCT March 3 - April 1 Texas Tenors @ TPAC March 4 Irish Fest & St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 11 Capital Carnage @ Kansas Expo March 17 & 18 Country Gold Tour @ TPAC March 26 Tulip Time April 7-23 Tulips at Twilight April 7 & 8 Paws in the Park April 8 Tulip Time Festival at the Lake April 9 Roar and Pour Wine Walk @ Zoo April 29 To Kill a Mockingbird @ TCT April 21-May 6 Bridge2Bridge 5K April 22 Celtic Woman @ TPAC May 2 NHRA Fan Fest May 18 NHRA Heartland Nationals May 19-21 Germanfest June 3-4 Mulvane Art Fair June 3-4 Capital City Family & Food Truck Festival June 4 Sunflower Music Festival June 9-17 Brew at the Zoo June 10 Tap That: A Capital Brew Fest June 24 Art & Antiques Fair @ NOTO June 24
J
FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN
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“In this business, change is coming with or without you.”
—Mike Worswick
De also spread his wings a bit after graduating from the School of Business at the University of Kansas, but also came back to his roots, joining Mike in the business in 1980. Mike and De have always defined Wolfe’s as a store that provides products that need additional explanation to use. Whether it is a high-end graphing calculator—one of its top sellers in their early days—or a camera for everyday use, Wolfe’s has always tried to stay ahead of the technology curve. EMBRACE “In this business, change is coming with or without you,” Mike says. “If you choose to embrace it, you will be able to stay in business for 92 years.” Embracing that change has led Wolfe’s to downsize back to its roots and delve into a new industry: photo finishing. “Even in this digital age, people still want to get their pictures off of their phones and onto jump drives or prints,” De says. “We help them do that.” Wolfe’s not only provides those services for consumers, but they also offer classes to help people learn how to do it themselves. “We help provide people with an experience as they design their own masterpieces,” Mike says. Sometimes staying ahead of the curve and selling products that require more instruction has meant doing some creative marketing. “We had a lion in the store one time,” Mike laughs. “Uncaged. On a chain.” “Remember the elephant outside?” De laughs. “Or the calliope? It made so much noise, we made a few enemies that day.” After working together for 30 years, Mike and De have learned a thing or two about what makes a business
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partnership successful. They expect the occasional argument. After all, Mike wants to think about things and De wants to take immediate action. But like “brothers” often do, they go in swinging and come out on the other side, not necessarily unscathed, but better for the experience. “Respect is the key,” Mike says. “You have to be honest and fair.” FUTURE After spending the past 30 years helping people bring their memories to life, De is trying his hand at retirement. But, according to Mike, he is always at the store. “Don’t give him that much credit,” Mike says. “He is still president of the corporation. He still handles the big decisions.” De just smiles and shrugs. “I almost had to be threatened with my life to go be a ski bum for six weeks. That’s the only way I will actually stay gone," De says.
“When you have done something for 58 years, it is hard to just stop.”
—DeWitt Harkness
Mike is also considering his future plans. Right now he spends half his time working for PRO and the other half running the business. But as the primary bean counter, media planner and ad strategist, he isn’t quite ready to hang it up. “I’m a born meddler,” Mike says. “I am trying to learn to let others do it without me.” “He is doing a little better with that,” De says. “But that is all I am going to say.” Mike and De have spent a lifetime helping other people bring their memories to life. And in doing so, have created unforgettable memories of their own.
KMC Dermatology and Dr. Skytta
Welcome
Michael P. Gross, MD
Michael P. Gross, MD Carla Skytta, DO Dr. Gross is board certified in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and has been performing reconstructive and aesthetic procedures of the face, breasts, and body for more than 20 years.
Be Your Best You... Beyond the Surface
6001 SW 6th Ave., Ste. 310, Topeka 785-246-5192| KMCPlasticSurgery.com
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Don
landoll
D
RIVE DOWN ANY Kansas highway and you will likely see a Landoll trailer, agricultural implement, forklift, OEM or government product somewhere along the way. Founded by Don Landoll in 1963, the Landoll Corporation employs approximately 800 team members, occupying 900,000 sq. feet of manufacturing space, and ships its products throughout the United States and to 43 countries. The Marysville-based company has four sales divisions: Tillage, Trailers, Lift Trucks and OEM/
Government equipment. Employees drive in from 58 different zip codes, including some in Nebraska. DETERMINED As the second child of eight, raised on a farm near Hanover, Kansas, Don remembers learning early on the value of hard work. “I was raised with a do-it-yourself attitude,” Don says. “If I wanted something, I had to go out and get it.” If his dream had come true after high school, he would have been a member of the Air Force. However, as fate would have it, he failed the physical on a Monday and
was back at home Tuesday ready to go to work for Hanover Implement and Manufacturing Co. There he learned skills of the manufacturing trade until a day that is etched in his brain—Nov. 22, 1963— the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and also the day he became a business owner with the purchase of Quick Service Welding Company in Marysville. Don purchased the business along with a partner 30 years his senior. A few years later, his partner offered to sell him sole ownership in the company. Don was 23. With finances short, Don knew he had to diversify as quickly as
possible. Skeptics warned him that the business would never work. “They didn’t understand the determination I had in my heart,” Don says. That determination led him to say yes when a local farmer asked him to help design a new chisel plow. And in 1968 the Landoll name graced both a chisel plow and a livestock rack for pick-up trucks. Once he had a product offering, Don needed a distribution channel. He attended state fairs and farm shows and soon found a distributor that sold products to implement dealers.
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DIVERSIFY While he was seeing success with his farm implement products, Don recognized the limitations of a seasonal industry, so he diversified once again. Seeing the need for a more efficient way to load and haul farm equipment, Don once again went into the design phase, developing what would become the foundation of the Landoll Corporation—a traveling axle groundloading trailer. With patents in hand, the business was off to the races. “I always followed the same principle in the business,” Don says. “Generate, recognize and take advantage of your opportunities.” Landoll Corporation did just that. When the towing and recovery industry needed a more effective trailer design, Landoll provided the —Don Landoll answer. When the airline industry needed a way to deice the wings, Landoll designed an innovative product that resulted in the production of nearly 2,000 deicers over 14 years for the United States military. When the US Army needed specialized tank transport trailers to support the troops in Desert Storm, Landoll once again stepped in with the solution. Landoll Corporation has trailers hauling things all over the world. “Israeli rockets are mounted on our trailers,” Don says. “We’re also hauling the GPS satellite to the launch pad in Canaveral." Adhering to the philosophy of seizing opportunities, growth has also come in the form of acquisition.
“Generate, recognize and take advantage of your opportunities.”
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Landoll purchased the Drexel Forklift product line, ICON industries, a manufacturer of construction equipment, and Brillion Farm Equipment. EXPANSION With product expansion came company growth. Expanding into multiple facilities and adding hundreds of employees, Landoll has become a premiere employer in Northeast Kansas. With great success comes great responsibility. Don understands that a business is only as good as its employees. As the largest employer in Marysville, Landoll Corporation takes care of its people, providing ongoing training, opportunities for advancement, profit sharing and bonuses. “My goal is for everyone to be happy,” Don says. “We are big on cross training, which allows for flexibility in job opportunities.” SHARE Even though he has received numerous awards throughout his career, Don remains incredibly humble. He also believes in supporting the community and mentoring young people. He has served on many state and national boards and works with the Junior Achievement program in Marysville to offer instruction in the classroom. “I believe I have a responsibility to share my knowledge with the next generation," Don says. “ I always tell them, whether it is your driver’s license, pilot’s license or diploma, it’s TK your right to learn.”
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STRONGER TOGETHER Women-owned businesses are on the rise, and the stores that make up the 21st and Belle Shops are a prime example of how women can work together to ensure individual success.
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By KATHY WEBBER
Photos by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
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YOU KN OW U S BY OUR WO RK
Architecture. Planning. Interiors. Located in Downtown Topeka and newly expanded into Manhattan
AO. D ES I G N 78 5. 2 71.7 0 1 0 SPRING 2017
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T
he six stores that make up the 21st and Belle Shops each have their own unique story. Some have been there for nearly 14 years, others for as little as three months, but they have one thing in common: they are all owned or operated by women. Even though these stores all operate individually, the women who own them work as a team. They encourage each other, complement each other, and look for ways to help each other be successful. LINDA'S HOME AND GARDEN At the south end of the shopping center is Linda’s Home and Garden, offering a wide variety of items such as handbags, jewelry, watches, home and
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Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Opened 14 years ago, Linda's Home and Garden anchors the south end of the 21st and Belle Shops. Kim Swick, manager of the family-owned business, loves to connect with her customers.
garden decor, and other outdoor garden items. Kim Swick manages the familyowned business that is named after her mother, Linda. The store opened its doors at the 21st and Belle Shops in 2003. Before that, Swick’s parents had been in the antique business for 35 years. Swick has traveled with her parents all over the United States doing trade shows. They participate in six shows a year. Although Swick is on the road quite a bit, she still has time to connect to her Topeka customers. “You get connected and attached to your customers and they become like
TK Business Magazine
family,” Swick said. “One of the most fun things about this business is the interesting people you meet. It takes a long time to build your trade and it can be tough at times.” Swick says she never felt any limitations from being a woman-owned business. “I’ve always had a very strong mother, and my dad has always been very supportive. I was raised that you can do anything you want, and just because you are a woman doesn’t mean that it is going to slow you down,” Swick said.
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Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Third-generation lighting storeowner, Kellie Long, likes that Long Lighting Studio is part of a shopping center where storeowners support one another.
LONG LIGHTING STUDIO Another woman business owner going full steam ahead is Kellie Long, owner of Long Lighting Studio. Long has been in Topeka for 16 years and has been at the 21st and Belle location for a little over three years. Long’s family has
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been in the lighting business since 1943, making her a third-generation lighting storeowner. “I grew up in the lighting service and swore I wasn’t going to do it! Everyone in my family except for two cousins are either electricians or in the building field of some kind,” Long said.
TK Business Magazine
Even though she swore she wouldn’t sell lighting, Long obviously enjoys what she does and appreciates working with the other storeowners in the shopping center. “I love what I do and I love it when my customers come back in and say, ‘you did my house five years ago and I still love everything we did!’ There is a lot of personal pride in that and it’s fun to see my employees enjoy that too,” Long said. Besides the camaraderie between the ladies of the other stores, Long says she loves the 21st and Belle location because of the opportunity to do things as a shopping center. One successful event is the Annual Girls’ Christmas Gala held in the months of November and December. The Gala has been quite successful in raising money for the Helping Hands Humane Society. Long says she hopes to do more fundraising events geared toward charities that help women. Long says it nice to know that support and encouragement are just down the sidewalk because the other business owners in the shopping center understand the complex issues that come with being women. “I think that is such a unique draw that we are all women in business and that we can be successful and still manage families and all the other demands,” Long said.
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Lazio's Coffee Bar and Roasterie is one of the oldest stores in the 21st and Belle Shops. Owner Betsy Wunder comments how each store complements the others.
STYLIN’ HAIR STUDIO Tammy Ridgway, owner of Stylin’ Hair Studio, also appreciates the support she receives from the other storeowners in the shopping center. Ridgway purchased the salon three years ago. Stylin’ Hair Studio is a full-service salon that provides haircuts, styling and color, manicures, pedicures, spray tans, waxing, and makeovers for special events. The salon employs seven stylists who either work on commission or rent their space. Ridgway worked as a hairstylist on commission for 16 1/2 years. When the opportunity to buy Stylin' Hair Studios arose, she jumped on the chance to own her own business. “I was actually in between jobs and looking to put a salon in my home when
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Tammy Ridgway jumped at the chance to purchase Stylin' Hair Studio three years ago and appreciates the friendship among all of the shop owners.
I got a phone call that the studio was for sale,” Ridgway said. “It just fell into my lap.” Owning your own business can be difficult, but Ridgway says her transition to ownership has gone well. “I love it! It’s nice to be my own boss. I have made great friendships with these ladies and there is so much support from everyone,” Ridgway said. Ridgway says her stylists encourage their customers to visit the other stores in the shopping center in between services.
LAZIO’S COFFEE BAR AND ROASTERIE One of those stores would be Lazio’s Coffee Bar and Roasterie, owned by Betsy Wunder. Having been located at the 21st and Belle Shops for 14 years, Lazio’s is one of the oldest shops in the center. Serving espresso and fresh brewed coffee, Lazio’s roasts all its own coffee in house and serves a variety of pastries, sandwiches and quiches. Wunder says being in business for 14 years has allowed her to not only build relationships with her
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customers, but also watch her customers build relationships among themselves as well. “A lot of the same people have come in for years,” Wunder says. “We have become so attached to so many people that the thought of not doing this is just really difficult. They have become like family.” Wunder said she also enjoys the relationships she has built with the other storeowners in the shopping center. They all appreciate the balancing act each of them has to do as women business owners.
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Ann O'Bryan, owner of Jess & Rosie's, moved her business to 21st and Belle Shops three years ago. She notes how each storeowner offers the best possible experience for all customers.
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“I’ve seen all the changes over the years,” Wunder said. “This is a nice group that we have here now. The businesses we have in this strip feed off of each and complement each other really well. Every one is very thoughtful of each others' businesses.” JESS & ROSIE’S Ann O’ Bryan, owner of Jess & Rosie’s, says being woman-owned helps their vibe in the community. “People enjoy supporting not only locally-owned, but women-owned businesses,” O’Bryan said. “We all get along and we try to help each other and I think part of that is because we are all chicks!” Jess & Rosie’s is a women’s clothing boutique that also sells Brighton jewelry, TOMS shoes, fun accessories, custom made wooden and metal signs and a candle line made out of recycled wine and beer bottles. O’ Bryan and business partner, Todd May, used to own Boutique ten47 at 10th and Gage. When they moved to the 21st and Belle Shops three years ago because of a need for bigger space and more drive-by traffic, they renamed the boutique Jess & Rosie’s after their grandparents. O’Bryan says she wants her customers to feel good about their purchases and about themselves. “I believe the way you feel in your clothes changes your attitude. I want to be able to help people look and feel their best,” O ‘Bryan said. O’Bryan says that desire to offer customers the best possible experience is part of what makes the 21st and Belle Shops special because every storeowner in the shopping center shares that same attitude. When a space became available in the shopping center, the existing business owners wanted to ensure that the synergy they had established would carry on. So they took it upon themselves to fill the vacant space—with another woman-owned business.
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Jennifer Metzger, along with Jan Hutt and Leslie Hunsicker, established Interior Design Resource this past November as a showroom of product samples and shared resources for interior designers.
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BY THE NUMBERS...
U.S. # OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES IN THE U.S. AS OF 2016
11.3 MILLION EMPLOYS
9 MILLION GENERATES REVENUE OF
$1.6 TRILLION+ Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
INTERIOR DESIGN RESOURCES The newest addition to the 21st and Belle shops is Interior Design Resources, which opened its doors in November. Jennifer Metzger—Fine Design Studio, Jan Hutt—Jan Hutt Interiors, and Leslie Hunsicker—Leslie Hunsicker Interiors established Interior Design Resources as a resource to other interior designers. Membership gives interior designers a place to meet with clients and access to product samples and other resources they can share with their clients. The concept for Interior Design Resources began when Metzger, who has been in interior design for 23 years, wanted to expand her studio from Lawrence to Topeka. “Interior designers go as far as Kansas City to check out samples and other products to show their clients,” Metzger said. “Topeka is just far enough away from Kansas City that I felt interior designers needed a similar type of showroom here. Showrooms like this cost money and if we group together we can help each other by sharing the cost.” Hutt has been in the interior design business for nearly 40 years and has seen the transitions in interior design over the years. “There used to be free standing designer stores spread out all over the city and there just aren’t any more. This
is a new concept to share the cost,” Hutt said. Hutt and Hunsicker have been working with each other for many years. Hunsicker, who has been an interior decorator for 29 years and has worked out of her home since 2002, sees this new space at the 21st and Belle shops as a great opportunity. “Women chat and talk between themselves and since the stores at 21st and Belle has mostly women clientele, I think it will be a benefit to all of us,” Hunsicker said. The women of the 21st and Belle Shops know that success is something that requires hard work. That’s why each storeowner appreciates having other women-owned shops close by to support, encourage and help each other along the way. TK
TK Business Magazine
GROWTH RATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS SINCE 2007
5X
THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
KANSAS # OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS IN KANSAS AS OF 2014
70,900 EMPLOYS
73,300 GENERATES REVENUE OF
$10.5 BILLION KANSAS WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS COMPOSITE RANKING OUT OF 50 STATES (+D.C.)
38TH
SOURCE: www.womenable.com, a 2016 state of women-owned business report commissioned by American Express OPEN
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THE GREAT OUTDOORS Several businesses in Topeka pride themselves on services and experiences with an emphasis on the outdoors. Many business-minded individuals have gone to great lengths to ensure that people in Topeka and the surrounding area have an opportunity to explore the nature around us.
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By RYAN BRINKER
Photos by ADAM COLE
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living
Photo Submitted
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Pools and Spas PG.
Docks and Lifts
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PG.
Hardscapes
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For those of you who would live outdoors if the Kansas weather would allow it, the following Topeka companies make it their business to help you create outdoor spaces that make you feel at home.
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Landscape Design and Installation | Lawn Care and Maintenance | Irrigation
Outdoor imagination for projects big and small. If you can imagine it, we can create it. Topeka Landscape specializes in custom landscape designs that conform beautifully to your style as well as your budget. This year, let Topeka Landscape break down the barriers between inside and out, making your yard a natural extension of your home. Visit our website today to learn more!
topekalandscape.com | 785.232.8873
SAVE THE DATE
37TH ANNUAL SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS GO Topeka and the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce cordially invite you to attend the 37th Annual Small Business Awards Recognition Program. Tuesday, May 9, 2017 12 - 1:30 p.m.
Capitol Plaza Hotel, Manor Conference Center
Tickets can be purchased on GOTopeka.com or call 785.234.2644 #SmallBizAwards17
Entrepreneurial & Minority Business Development A GO Topeka Program
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POOLS AND SPAS
“The health benefits associated with aqua therapy are priceless.” —WAYLON SMITH Owner DeVaders Pools and Spas
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trading in their old hot tubs for newer, more advanced models. “That was my goal,” Smith said. “By taking care of customers, we create repeat customers down the road.” In addition to hot tubs, DeVaders also offers all-weather pool installations. The swim spa market has been growing rapidly as people look for new ways to stay active and healthy.
TK Business Magazine
Photo Submitted
A vision of the ideal outdoor living space probably isn’t complete without a hot tub or spa somewhere in the picture. Simply the idea of soaking in that steaming water makes your muscles relax. In this spirit, DeVaders Pools and Spas has asserted itself as the leading name in hot tubs and all-weather pools for Topeka since 1997. When Waylon and Kristine Smith purchased DeVaders Pools and Spas in 2005, they saw a great business opportunity, especially since Waylon had virtually grown up in the business. “I had worked for DeVaders the entire time going through college,” Smith said. “I had a vision for a hot tub/spa store in Topeka and this seemed liked the way to make that vision come true.” Smith says the timing when they bought the business wasn’t great because the recession hurt the hot tub industry. However, they focused on the service aspect of the business, providing quality maintenance and service for existing hot tubs, and business fell into place. Now that the economy has picked back up, many of those customers are
Photo by ADAM COLE
Devaders Pools and Spas “The older generation needs the aqua therapy, and this allows them to have it in their back yard,” Smith said. “An all-weather pool let’s them use it 365 days a year, whereas a pool, in this climate is only useable for three months out of the year.” Smith says DeVaders Pools and Spas will work with clients and landscape designers to provide the most aesthetic and service friendly installations. This is especially important as people are looking to create backyard havens where the hot tub or spa is incorporated into the surrounding features. As people become more aware, Smith says, the market has been steadily growing. “More people are buying hot tubs and spas than one would think,” Smith said. “Many of the people I meet don’t realize there is a pretty good market for these products here in Topeka.” Whether people are looking to simply relax in a backyard hot tub or reap the benefits of year-round aqua therapy with an all-weather pool, DeVaders Pools and Spas can help complete those outdoor living spaces.
dOCKS and LIFTS
Photo by ADAM COLE
“For those people whose idea of happiness is hanging out on the dock, that's where we come in.” —MIKE KENNEDY Owner CWC Outdoors
For people whose idea of outdoor living includes useable space on the water, CWC Outdoors can build a dock to fit your needs. “Some people can live on the lake and think its pretty to look at and never give a thought to having a dock or a boat,” said Mike Kennedy, owner of CWC Outdoors. “Then there are other people whose sole reason for living on the lake is to enjoy swimming and boating. That’s where we come in.” Castlewood Construction has been a staple of the Topeka community since 1982. CWC Outdoors, however, is a little more recent, having been incorporated in 2012. “It was actually an accident,” owner Mike Kennedy said regarding the origin of CWC Outdoors.
CWC is now the premiere provider for residential dock and lift needs in Shawnee County and the surrounding 25-mile radius. They provide both dock repair and construction of new docks. A dock can run between $5,000 and $70,000, depending on the specifications and particulars. “We mostly build utilitarian docks that people can swim or fish off of or launch their boat from,” Kennedy said. “We’ve even done some docks on ponds.”
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Photo Submitted
CWC Outdoors
Castlewood Construction had a client out at Lake Sherwood who they had worked with for several years. He called up and asked them to build a deck and a dock. When Kennedy informed them that they would build the deck but that the company didn’t build docks, the client simply responded, “No, you don’t understand. I want you to build me a deck and a dock.” So they did. Then they built the neighbor’s dock. And then the lake out at Sherwood needed some work done. In order to complete those repairs, CWC purchased some floats from ShoreMaster, a manufacturer of waterfront equipment. Shortly thereafter ShoreMaster contacted CWC to ask them if they would take over their product line in the region. They began building ShoreStation lifts and it just grew from there.
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Photo Submitted
hardscapes
Photo by ADAM COLE
"We like to make people feel like we are bringing the indoors outside." —CHRIS DITTMAN Owner Hardscapes of Kansas
hardscapes of kansas The term outdoor spaces can encompass anything from simple sidewalks or gazebos to elaborate outdoor kitchens complete with fireplaces, sinks and dishwashers. Regardless of which end of the spectrum customers fall into, Hardscapes of Kansas has a solution to enhance outdoor living. Chris Dittman, owner of Hardscapes of Kansas, opened for business in 2008. “I wanted to be my own boss,” Dittman said. “I wanted to incorporate my own designs and visions of outdoor spaces.”
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Dittman describes hardscapes as any type of outdoor living: retaining walls, paver sidewalks, patios, pergolas and outdoor kitchens. “We like to make people feel like we are bringing the indoors outside,” Dittman said. Dittman says this trend of creating more elaborate outdoor spaces became popular a few years ago, and people have embraced the concept. Homeowners continually make improvements to their existing homes, remodeling kitchens and bathrooms, updating older fixtures and even building on additions to create more space. Once those renovations are complete, home improvement projects often move outdoors. When customers decide to update their outdoor spaces, Hardscapes
TK Business Magazine
of Kansas can help with everything from designing the space, to selecting the materials, to completing the construction. “I also work on the job site as well as designing the projects,” Dittman said. “I’m not a guy that likes to sit in an office. I want to get my hands dirty and cut stone and watch as my design comes to life.” Dittman credits the success of his business to listening to what customers want and helping them find the most cost effective way to make their vision come true. If a proposed outdoor project is a little too expensive, Dittman will explore alternative materials, or redesign the space to reduce the cost. In some cases, he has divided large projects up into more manageable “chunks” that customers can implement over a longer period of time. “Probably 50 percent of our customers are either repeat customers or neighbors of former customers who have seen what we have done and want something similar in their own back yard,” Dittman said. While the fad of luxurious outdoor spaces may be slowing a little, Dittman isn’t worried about the future. “Outdoor living isn’t about how elaborate the space is,” Dittman said. “It’s about enjoying it the way you want to.”
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THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Photo Submitted
recreation
Games to Play PG.
Powerful Toys
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PG.
Ultimate Hunt
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For people who want to venture past their own backyards to enjoy the outdoors, several Topeka businesses offer games to play, powerful toys and the ultimate hunting experience.
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E xperience the Tradition
TO
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P E K A C.C
The Topeka Country Club
EST. 1905
membership - golf - tennis - swim - dining
The Topeka Country Club is in the midst of multi-million dollar clubhouse expansion and renovation. Soon, members of all ages will enjoy spectacular new amenities, including: • • •
Now Offerin
g
Dining Membe rships
A state-of-the-art fitness center with group exercise classrooms A beautiful resort-style pool complex complete with a kids splash pad, a zero edge entry main pool, a lap pool, pool-side pavilion/stage and patio cabanas Plus, new indoor and outdoor dining options for both casual and elegant gatherings
These new amenities are in addition to The Topeka Country Club’s award-winning 18-hole golf course, impressive seven-court indoor/outdoor tennis facility and exciting social calendar. Multiple membership options are available to fit your busy lifestyle. Learn more by visiting www.topekacc.org!
www. topekacc .org
Contact Gina Patterson at (785) 354-8561 or gpatterson@topekacc.org for more information. SPRING 2017 TK Business Magazine
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GAMES TO PLAY
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
"Our biggest hope is that people have a good time and they find the experience rewarding." —RICK FARRANT LINDA FARRANT Co-owners GreatLIFE
GreatLIFE Ask people how they enjoy the outdoors and you may receive several responses: swimming, golfing, running, playing games with their kids. For people in Topeka, one company allows them to do all of those things and more. GreatLIFE offers numerous locations throughout Topeka and the surrounding area where members can play a game of golf, go for a swim, take batting practice, work on technique at the driving range, challenge the kids to mini-golf or try their hand (or foot) at the new 9-hole FootGolf course at Safari Golf. Rick Farrant, co-owner of GreatLIFE, says all of their facilities are designed to enrich the lives of families. “Anything we can do where we can get adults and kids out doing something together, it strengthens that relationship,” Farrant said. Building on that mission to enrich family experiences, GreatLIFE opened its newest adventure: FootGolf.
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When GreatLIFE purchased Safari Golf in 2015, the first thing the company did was sod the greens of the small 9-hole executive golf course to Zoysia grass. This was a bit unusual, but according to Farrant, they had the FootGolf course in mind from the very beginning. “Our FootGolf players get to finish on actual greens with the big cups in them,” Farrant said. “On most courses the FootGolf players have to stay out in the rough.”
Photo Submitted
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Farrant says Safari is a great example of bringing families together to engage in fun activities. For a set fee you can play miniature golf, FootGolf, hit range balls and then do the batting cages. “The amazing part is, that even with my own kids, I have never made it through all four activities in one afternoon,” Farrant said. “But, it’s always been fun.” Farrant says the theory behind the new course is that grandparents can bring their grandkids out to play FootGolf,. The grownups can either join in on the FootGolf game or just bring a wedge and a ball and play right alongside the kids— without worrying about irritating some intense golfers behind them. While Safari Golf is open to the public, GreatLIFE members get a special discount. “Our biggest hope is that people have a good time and they find the experience rewarding,” Farrant said.
POWERFUL TOYS
Photo by ADAM COLE
"There is just such a sense of exhilaration.” —JAKE SCHMIDTLEIN General Manager Cycle Zone
Cycle Zone
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Some outdoor-enthusiasts are looking for more than just a place to experience nature. They want to skim across the water, throw up dust and blaze their own trails. To find the outdoor “toys” that let you feel the wind in your hair, turn to Cycle Zone, located on the north edge of Topeka. Cycle Zone has been providing outdoor vehicles such as ATVs, dirt bikes and personal watercraft since 2002, and new ownership in 2012 meant expansion of products and services. Having grown up riding dirt bikes and ATVs, John Haas, owner of HME, Inc., saw the purchase of Cycle Zone as an extension of his love of all things motorsports, says Jake Schmidtlein, general manager of Cycle Zone. When the opportunity to purchase Cycle Zone came about, Haas had a vision for how much bigger that business could become given the resources. Schmidtlein says that vision has really come into focus in the past few years. The company has almost doubled its showroom and service space and plans to hire additional technicians to provide ongoing service in a timely manner.
Schmidtlein says their goal is to have people come into the store and find a lifestyle of power sports. That lifestyle might include riding dirt bikes with their kids or skimming waves on the lake. It might be riding trails in a UTV or discovering the thrill of all wheels in the air while jumping on an ATV. “When you are riding off-road vehicles, there is just such a sense of exhilaration that is hard to put into words,” Schmidtlein said. “You aren’t going to take your car and jump over something or throw yourself out of your boat, but you can do that with off-road stuff.” Schmidtlein says people who ride power sports equipment are like a
close-knit community who take care of each other. That is why whenever two motorcyclists pass each other on the road, they always wave at each other. “We had a young man that was a customer of the store injured in a wreck six weeks ago,” Schmidtlein said. “We wanted to raise money to help with his medical expenses. In five days we went from idea to hosting and we had a hundred plus people out supporting this kid.” While other businesses allow customers to rent outdoor equipment for short periods of time, Cycle Zone is a sales-only establishment. This emphasis on sales has pitted the business against online vendors, which makes for steady competition. However, Schmidtlein says with their competitive prices and ease of access, Cycle Zone has proven to be a profitable enterprise in Northeast Kansas. “Topeka has been a very kind market to us,” Schmidtlein said. Cycle Zone products range from $5 tire tubes to $35,000 performance machines. With a variety of product lines including entry level to high performance, Cycle Zone has the “toys” to get people off of the couch and into the outdoors.
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ULTIMATE HUNT
Photo by ADAM COLE
“I tell people sporting clays is like golf with a shotgun.” —KEN CORBET Owner Ravenwood Lodge
Ken Corbet has been an active hunter and outdoors person his entire life. He grew up hunting with his father and traveling the country looking for the ultimate hunt. But when the reality of how good the hunting was back at home, Corbet opened Ravenwood Lodge in 1985. “I went on hunts all over western Kansas and other places and I thought to myself, ‘I can do something just as good or better right here in Topeka,”’ Corbet said. “Our property is just perfect for hunting.” They started off small, doing guided hunts. That was 34 years ago. Since that time the business has grown exponentially. Today, hunters come to hunt at Ravenwood from 25 states and from several foreign countries. Several national television shows have featured hunts at Ravenwood, including one that will air this summer. Corbet says that when people come here from out of state, they are amazed at the topography that the area has to offer. Because the Ravenwood property sits in the Dover and Auburn area, the land has everything from creek bottom
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up to 100 people for private events or parties and can sleep 10 for overnight events. The Clubhouse is designed for smaller groups of up to 20 for business meetings. The Mission Creek Lodge, which has been in the family since the 1860s, has meeting space for up to 18 and sleeps four. And the Coyote Den, with its covered porch, grills and smokers adds a rustic feel to small parties and fundraisers. While Ravenwood caters to the serious hunter, recreational clay shooter, corporate businesses or private functions, they also have a number of events geared toward families. On June 3, they will hold Youth in the Outdoor Days, which is free for kids ages 6 to 16. At the event, kids can shoot bows and arrows and pellet guns and enjoy spending time outdoors with a grandparent or other adult. “That’s a cool day to get kids off their cell phones or iPads and get them outside,” Corbet said.
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Ravenwood LODGE
timberland to high plateaus and grassy areas—ideal for a variety of different game. The majority of visitors come for the hunting. The Rooster Pheasant is by far the most popular game, Corbet says, because they are not only a challenge, but also incredibly beautiful. And, you can’t help but be amazed by the dogs. “The dogs are what makes the hunt,” Corbet said. “You get two or three dogs working a big field, pointing and retrieving and doing what they do best, it is just amazing.” Ravenwood supplies guides and dogs on every hunt, or people can bring their own. Ravenwood isn’t just for game hunting, however. People can shoot sporting clays, stay at the rustic bed and breakfast, hold fundraising events, host a dinner, conduct corporate retreats or even get married. “We’ve had people hold big weddings here,” Corbet said. “And they don’t even live in the area.” Corbet says he enjoys being able to help people immerse themselves in an outdoor experience, even if that simply means getting them out of their offices to enjoy a company meeting surrounded by nature. Businesses can reserve space for an afternoon or for multiple days if they need. The Bunkhouse can accommodate
INVITATION TO PAMPER YOURSELF
ACADEMY of
COSMETOLOGY Salon
Enjoy the services at our salon, part of Washburn Tech’s new Cosmetology program. • haircuts & color • manicures & pedicures • facials Walk-in clients are welcome to visit our salon at 109 SW 29th St., east of Topeka Blvd.
Where
e The Rid NEVEsR End !
Gear Up With the Cycle Zone Community And Get a Move On Today! Topeka’s exclusive KTM, Can-Am, Spyder, Sea-Doo, and Yamaha dealer, specializing in both on and off-road motorcycles, watercraft, and rugged ATVs. We are the active authority in our sport, providing a large inventory of products, accessories and the best possible customer service.
785.670.2200 www.WashburnTech.edu 5724 SW Huntoon St., Topeka, Kan., 66604
2921 NW US Hwy 24 | Topeka, Kansas 66618 785-234-3844 | www.cyclezone.com
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THE GREAT OUTDOORS
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adventure
A Fish Tale PG.
With a Paddle
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Dirty Girl
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For those of you who want to catch the big one, shoot the rapids or get a little dirty, three Topeka businesses will help you experience the thrill of an outdoor adventure.
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Alex Heeren, APRN-C
Joseph Gadzia, MD
Michael Kucenic, MD
Kerry Daniels, PA-C
Megan Bartlett, PA-C
We treat conditions of the hair, skin, and nails including: • Skin Cancer Screenings and Biopsies • Psoriasis • Atopic Dermatitis • Acne • Rosacea • Dermatologic Surgery • Eczema • Cosmetic Dermatology • MOHs Surgery
2921 SW Wanamaker Drive 785-318-4214| KMCPA.com
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Photo by ADAM COLE
a fish tale
From the most experienced cat fishing experts in Kansas to those who have never so much as picked up a rod, Catdaddy’s Catfishing Adventures is the place to be for catfishing in Topeka. The reason is simple: Catdaddy himself. Renne Shumway has been running this catfishing business passionately for decades. Raised in his father’s bait and tackle shop right here in Topeka, Shumway credits this upbringing for the reason fishing is in his blood. He deals in catfish, nothing else, no exceptions. “The river’s got a calling for some people, and it was a callin’ me,” Shumway said. People of all ages, from all places, come to fish with Catdaddy. He attributes this loyal following to both the abundant number of great fishing locations around
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the area and the time-honored tradition of fishing. “It’s just like my dad said, ya’ know? It’ll be this way forever,” Shumway said. “The young and the old. They all wanna go fishin’.” Catdaddy will not only show you how and where to catch those prize catfish, he will also show you how to cook them, sharing special recipes passed down through his family. From selecting specific bait for each location, to helping people learn the patience of fishing, Catdaddy’s lifetime of fishing experience comes into play. And his fish stories aren’t too shabby either. Shumway says he is always open to expanding the business if the need arises, but for now, he is just enjoying sharing his catfishing knowledge with
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others. Those who spend the day with Catdaddy will likely finish with some delicious catfish to take home for dinner. Shumway will clean the fish at no extra cost and there’s no need to bring any gear, not even fishing poles. Everything you need is supplied. So long as you have the desire to catch some catfish, Catdaddy will make it happen.
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Catdaddy's Catfishing Adventures
"When they smell the bait, it's too late.” —RENNE SHUMWAY Owner Catdaddy’s Catfishing Adventures
with a paddle
Photo by ADAM COLE
“There is nothing better than experiencing the beauty of Kansas with a paddle in your hand and water under your canoe.” —WILLIAM BARKER Owner Kaw Valley Canoe Rental
Kaw Valley Canoe Rental
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Sometimes an outdoor adventure means exploring a different type of road. For some, nothing beats the feel of gliding down a slow-moving current with a paddle in their hand. For a local canoe or kayak adventure, one has to look no further than Kaw Valley Canoe Rental. William Barker, an attorney by trade, has operated the business independently since 2014. Barker grew
up with a love of the outdoors. He spent many summers canoeing down Kansas waterways with his fellow Boy Scouts. “My parents used to turn me and my friends loose to canoe down the Kaw when were teenagers,” Barker said. “I guess they thought if we were doing that, we wouldn’t be out stealing hubcaps.” As he has grown older, raised a family and built a successful law career, Barker hasn’t lost his affinity for kayaking and canoeing. “I’ve always had a canoe or a kayak or a boat of some kind,” Barker said. “I still enjoy being on the water.” Barker noticed that there wasn’t much of an option for canoe rental in Topeka. Odd, he thought, since there are so many rivers nearby that are ideal for a relaxing float. A little over two years ago, Barker, who owned his own canoe and kayak, decided to purchase
a few more and start a rental business here in Topeka. Through Kaw Valley Canoe Rental, Barker has been able to rent out canoes for school groups, church groups, families, and anyone else who just wants a pleasant day paddling down a lazy river. While Barker will help plan float trips, he does not accompany customers on their adventures. Once they’re on the river, paddlers can camp, fish, swim, float or do whatever they please. Canoes rent for $50 for the first day, $25 per additional day. Barker also offers kayak rentals for those who want a different kind of floating experience. Starting this little “hobby” business wasn’t about making money. For Barker, it was about helping others find that same love of the outdoors that he has always known. “I love watching people as they come back from their excursion,” Barker said. “They are smiling and may be a little sunburned and their feet are wet, and they might have accidentally dropped their camera in the river, but they are smiling.”
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DIRTY GIRLS
Photo by ADAM COLE
“The people who have adventured with us numerous times are building their own adventures now.” —DENISE SELBEE-KOCH JENNIFER WOERNER Co-Founders Dirty Girl Adventures
For people who enjoy getting a little dirt under their fingernails while experiencing an outdoor thrill, Northeast Kansas has the ideal place to go: Dirty Girl Adventures. Denise Selbee-Koch and Jennifer Woerner founded Dirty Girl Adventures in 2013 as a business that focuses on healthy living through outdoor adventure. Selbee-Koch, who is a social worker, and Woerner, who is an occupational therapist, both believe that outdoor activity and good health go hand-inhand. This belief is based on personal experience. They both have found their own wellness improved by staying active and enjoying the challenge of outdoor adventures. They saw an opportunity to bring that same love of outdoor adventure to the people in Northeast Kansas and have been helping people get “dirty” ever since.
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“We find it fulfilling to help people experience nature in a way that is enriching to them and to the other people they are with,” Selbee-Koch said. “Research shows that when you connect with nature, you are better able to connect with yourself and others.” Dirty Girl Adventures finds new and exciting outdoor activities every month. These activities may include: ropes courses, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, canoeing and camping trips. “Our monthly adventures usually sell out,” Selbee-Koch said, “and often within 24-48 hours.” The outdoor adventure company caters to small and large groups, alike. Depending on the distance and destination, they often provide transportation to the adventure site. Groups can spend a couple of hours learning to kayak on Lake Perry or spend an entire day paddling down the Kansas River. They can hike on rustic trails and enjoy the camaraderie of a blazing campfire at the trail’s end. Or, if a group has a more
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exotic adventure in mind, Dirty Girl Adventures will help make it happen. “If you go on an adventure with us, we are going to provide you the level of service to allow you to focus on the adventure, not on planning out the details,” Selbee-Koch said. In addition to planned “adventures,” Dirty Girl Adventures also conducts corporate retreats and office events. They arrange outings that intentionally help cultivate bonding and teamwork, in a fun, safe environment that may challenge people to go outside of their comfort zone. TK
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DIRTY GIRL ADVENTURES
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REAL ESTATE INVESTING
Photo By RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Mark Rezac
KANSAS COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES, INC.
Incorporating commercial real estate into your investment portfolio might be a viable option that can yield some significant returns. If you have been thinking about investing in real estate, here are answers to some commonly asked questions for the first time investor. How much does it cost to invest in real estate? Every person’s financial situation is different and unique. Some individuals may have a substantial amount of cash available or the ability to obtain a loan. Some individuals may partner up with a group of investors in order to purchase a more expensive property Mark Rezac is a partner/retail broker who primarily does retail sales and leasing along with land and multi-family home sales.
REAL ESTATE INVESTING 101 Using Real Estate as a Form of Investment How much of a down payment will be required? Your financial institution will tell you their minimum requirement. Normally a minimum of 20% of the purchase price will be required as a down payment, but some lenders may require up to 50% down. Can I have a 30-year mortgage like the loan I have on my house? Most lenders will only allow a 5 or 10-year loan on a commercial loan. Monthly payments may be calculated on a longer amortization schedule, but after the 5 or 10year loan term, you will be required to refinance or pay off the debt. Do I have to spend more money on the property after I purchase it? Yes. Every property needs continual maintenance, and a property owner needs to have a maintenance budget. Major maintenance items may include the roof, guttering, exterior painting, heating and air conditioning systems, parking lot repair and maintenance as well as re-striping. Additional maintenance items would be lawn care, landscaping, snow
removal for the parking lot and sidewalks, and sign maintenance. What happens to the tenants at the property after I become the owner? Tenants usually remain at the property for the duration of their lease term. At the end of a tenant’s lease term they may either renew their lease or relocate to a different location. What happens if a tenant moves out? First, begin marketing the space as soon as possible. Meet your commercial real estate agent at the vacancy to discuss what is required to market the space. Items including cleaning and updating the space may be necessary. Once a tenant is interested there may be additional expense to fit the new tenant’s requirements or desired floor plan, such as new carpet, paint and other remodeling. How do I manage a property and my current job at the same time? Many investors find it difficult to juggle both jobs. Tenants will call at any time of the day if there is
a problem and want an immediate response. Will your main job allow you to respond to your real estate investments? If not, then you need to include hiring a professional management company as part of your expenses. Who do I need to talk to before I purchase an investment property? This is probably the question that is rarely asked, but one of the most important ones. You should visit with your accountant and financial planner to determine if you have the ability to purchase real estate. A financial institution would be the next visit to determine what you can afford. Then you need to speak with a qualified real estate professional. A real estate fee is a nominal expense if it saves you from overpaying for a property or making a foolish investment. How do I know if an investment is “a good deal”? Ask your commercial real estate agent to create a pro-forma for the property to determine if the property cash flows. Look at the property to determine if there is an upside. What is your exit strategy?
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TOOLS FOR SMALL BUSINESS GO TOPEK A WANTS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO GROW A S A SMALL BUSINESS Making the Topeka economy grow and thrive is what GO Topeka is all about. The EMBD Small Business Incentives Program can help you aquire what you need most to grow.
785-233-1102 | loganbusinessmachines.com
Incentives can be applied towards: • Equipment • Training • Construction & Remodeling • Marketing (New for 2017) Find out if your business qualifies for these incentives by contacting GO Topeka at 785.231.6000 or manderson@gotopeka.com.
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By DR. DAVID PRICE
The Relationship between
CREATIVITY
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Three inter-related concepts that each business owner should know and use PART 1 of a 4-Part Series on Entrepreneurship
CREATIVITY
Every business wants to stay ahead of its competitors, whether on a local or global scale. But how can you stay ahead, catch up to or better yet leapfrog the competition? What is it that can give your firm the separation it needs to gain competitive advantage? This article will discuss how creativity and innovation fuel business creation, growth and sustainability. There is no single, authoritative perspective or definition of creativity. One simple and often used definition is that creativity requires “novelty.� Novelty requires originality and newness, thus creativity is the ability to come up with new and original ideas, or new and unique solutions to problems.
But creativity itself is not necessarily useful. For example, an artist may spray graffiti on a wall and the resulting “artwork” may be certainly considered creative—but does it have use to anyone? True innovation is the conversion of ideas from the creative process into a benefit. This can include new or improved products, services, processes or social causes. Thus innovation certainly requires creativity, but to be called an innovation it must be useful and add value. Which brings us to the final step in the process, developing a business that can take advantage of the innovation or “entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship includes basic business disciplines we are familiar with, such as marketing, finance and management, often referred to as the “business model.” Figure 1 shows creativity as the central spark, taking the creative process and making it beneficial and useful as an innovation and developing a business model that can exploit the opportunity.
FIGURE 1
WHAT IS CREATIVITY? Creativity 101 involves an understanding of convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking is when individuals attempt to solve problems with a single, correct answer. Using rational arguments, eliminating probable incorrect paths, a systematic and logical processes of elimination to arrive at an answer or decision. Divergent thinking is solving problems with many possible solutions – incorporating spontaneous and free-flowing ideas, and in a non-linear fashion. Irrational thoughts and illogical responses to problems are encouraged (at least at first), in order to obtain new and novel answers. An atmosphere that supports trying new things is critical to creativity, as it encourages experimentation. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times before he found a solution for the light bulb. James Dyson had over 5000 failed prototypes for his vacuum cleaner before he found a marketable version. In each these cases, failure
was not a stopping point, but the impetus to keep trying. Learning from previous mistakes allowed them to reach their goals; they had the ability to “fail forward.” DOING NEW THINGS WITH OLD THINGS Recent research suggests that most creativity is not accomplished by dramatic and earth shattering moments of creation, but rather simply “doing new things with old things.” Bob Sutton, a professor at Stanford University, suggests that most new ideas come from an ability of some people to look at the world differently and make novel connections between what already exists. Take the story of Play-Doh as an example. Back in the 1930s, people used coal and wood to heat their homes, and an unwanted by-product of burning was an unsightly residue that would build up on walls. Noah McVicker, a soap manufacturer in Cincinnati, had created a pliable, putty-like substance to remove the residue. However, after WWII, a transition from coal-based heating to natural gas rendered his product irrelevant, and in the 1950s his company was facing bankruptcy. As it turned out his nephew was related to a nursery school teacher, and she had given her students the same putty to play with, and that the children had enjoyed it. She suggested they market the product as a children’s toy called “PlayDoh.” As they say, the rest is history. When first faced with the declining market for the original product, McVicker began taking the usual steps any good businessperson would take: hiring business consultants, developing a new and improved formula, increasing efficiencies in manufacturing, additional marketing, changing management, etc. It took a fresh perspective to see an alternative vision, a new way of doing something with an old thing. WHOLE-BRAIN APPROACH Many of us have heard that there are two sides of our brain, the left side of the brain, which is more rational, logical, linear and quantitative, and the right side of the brain, which is more visual, non-verbal, understands rhythm, uses imagination and is creative. While we may think that creativity is hopelessly trapped in the right side of the brain, recent research suggests that connections between brain neurons move back and forth between both sides when people are at their most creative. That is, to be more creative, we initially begin the creative process in the right side
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Robert Epstein, renowned psychologist and creativity expert, recommends the following proven steps: Write down all your ideas. This amazingly simple act can increase your creative output tenfold. Give yourself tough problems to solve. Examples include learning a new language, a new instrument, or a new dance move. This builds the problem-solving muscles in your brain. Increase your knowledge. The more diverse your knowledge, the more novel connections, especially outside your area of expertise. For example reading a book on a new subject. Change your physical and social surroundings. Multiple new stimuli will put in motion new connections. Move to another area in the office, complete work in a coffee shop or outside, drive to work in a new direction, listen to different music, meet new people from another organization.
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DREAMING OF SOLUTIONS Which brings us to an interesting development regarding daydreaming. Often brushed off as a waste of time, “zoning out” was considered counter-productive. Research from the University of British Columbia suggests our minds are not at rest during these periods, and that we are actually solving problems. They found that activity in the complex problem-solving areas of the brain were highly active during daydreaming episodes. Thus, people who are having trouble solving complicated problems may be better off to leave the problem at hand and let their mind wander. This may help explain why we often have new and interesting ideas while undertaking mundane daily tasks, such as driving to work or showering. How often have we thought “I wonder why I thought of that now?” Interestingly, this aspect of creative people has long
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been frowned upon by the left-brain quantitative elite. Children who had trouble focusing in school or would not pay appropriate attention were duly punished. In today’s knowledge economy, the importance of creativity and innovation is clear. A poll conducted by IBM of over 1500 CEOs discovered that creativity was identified as the No. 1 most critical “leadership competency” of the future. If creativity is this important, shouldn’t we be spending more time on it? Unfortunately, the reverse may be true, as it appears that creativity in the United States may be on the decline. A Newsweek article called “The Creativity Crisis” looked at data from a creative test given to children since the 1950s, and found that the creativity levels of U.S. children has been steadily declining since the 1990s. Several reasons for this were proposed, but one suggested that our education system is not encouraging creativity but implementing standardized curriculum and rewarding rote memorization. Despite these challenges, we are understanding more and more about creativity. An important finding is that creativity can be taught. While some individuals are certainly more prone to being creative, we can all improve our creative output by implementing some of TK the suggestions above.
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STEPS TO IMPROVING CREATIVITY
of our brains, but then jump to the left to analyze the idea and move back to the right side to gradually alter the idea, and so on. We need both processes to be creative. A great book by Guy Claxton called “Hare Brain – Tortoise Mind” discusses how developing an idea is like growing a tree from a seed. Good ideas take time. Claxton argues that creative accomplishments are not usually an epiphany or an “A-ha” moment, but rather the seeds of the idea were planted long ago. The initial idea needs time to gestate as it is not fully developed, or the solution is not quite complete. The right brain-left brain dance needs to play out, as it may require more research (left brain activity), or it has reached an impasse and may require an additional fresh perspective (right brain). Often when people talk of the “A-ha” moment, it was in reality bouncing around in their minds for a long time, being refined and improved, from left to right, until it reached a stage where it all finally came together and made sense.
Dr. David Price is the Associate Professor of Marketing and Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Washburn University.
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Y R O T S I H G N I R O T RES with a modern twist By JAMIE SLACK
Photos by DAVID VINCENT
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VERY INVESTOR HOPES to discover the next best thing and create something interesting and new in the community. Some find it beneficial to work with the history that is abundant in Topeka to create something different, something new. Mark Burenheide is taking key parts of the Topeka area and restoring them to their beautiful origins with a modern twist.
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Photo by DAVID VINCENT
Mark Burenheide, a lifelong Topekan, believes in reclaiming, restoring and repurposing buildings that preserve the history of his hometown.
With You at Every Turn
© Copyright 2015. CBIZ, Inc. and Mayer Hoffman McCann P. C. All rights reserved.
Start Up, Emerging, Growth , Stabilization, Maturity, Exit /IP O Each stage of a business’ lifecycle presents a unique set of challenges and needs. CBIZ and Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. can meet your business needs now and as the seasons change. We offer multiple services with a single focus: your success. ACCOUNTING, TAX & CONSULTING SERVICES provided by CBIZ AUDIT & ATTEST SERVICES provided by Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. (MHM) Together, CBIZ and Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. are one of the Top Ten accounting providers in the country.
785.272.3716
www.cbiz.com www.mhmcpa.com www.cbiz.com/cbizmhm-topeka www.mhmcpa.com
Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. is an independent CPA firm providing audit, review and attest services, and works closely with CBIZ, a business consulting, tax and financial services provider.
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jackson street lofts Mark, a lifelong resident of Topeka, Washburn University graduate, and a trust officer at Capital City Bank, knows the history and beauty hidden in this community and wants to help change the negativity in Topeka and downtown. “This type of thing is happening all over the country, where cities are reclaiming their downtowns,” Mark said. “It’s like a city’s living room where people come together and enjoy festivals and activities.” Mark says he always looked at Topeka as having bits of history that need to be reclaimed and appreciated. For nearly 15 years he has
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been doing just that, buying properties and refurbishing them to their former glory. Some projects have been sold to private buyers, while others have been opened up to renters. “I’ve had a passion for old buildings,” Mark said. “First thing we ever did, my wife and I, when we were in law school, we bought a house in Holiday Park. It had no plumbing, no heating, no cooling—it was a shell.” He realized then that he wanted to restore buildings because he had love of history and architecture, and the stories behind them. Mark transitioned into investment properties and
TK Business Magazine
Photo by DAVID VINCENT
Now known as the Jackson Street Lofts, the Assumption School building was originally built in 1954 to accommodate baby boom children with a Catholic education opportunity.
began work on the 301 and 929 South Kansas Avenue properties. These loft style apartments, which are a throwback to Kansas Avenue in its former glory, rarely have vacancies because of the number of working professionals searching for urban living space. The latest development has been the Jackson Street Lofts at 735 South Jackson Street. Mark remodeled the former Assumption School into 21 urban lofts that are just a short walk from the State Capitol and the new pocket parks on Kansas Avenue. Not only are these lofts close to a number of restaurants and shops, but they also claim a rich pedigree of history.
“The same architect that designed this building designed Topeka High,” Mark said. Each space in the Jackson Street Lofts has small touches of the former elementary school with blackboards and large windows. Some apartments are former nuns’ quarters and fittingly frame the nuanced historical flair. Mark has a belief that you can make change “one building at a time.” He has more ideas to create and uncover hidden gems in the area, but for now he’s focused on finishing out the Jackson Street Lofts, where the waitlist for these newly renovated apartments is growing. TK
Photo by DAVID VINCENT
Future residents of the newly renovated and trendy loft style apartments will be just a short walk to the State Capitol and Kansas Avenue.
Photo by DAVID VINCENT
Mark shows how large 1950s school windows are an asset to a bright and sunny living area.
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CITY PLANNING INSIGHTS
the
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
INTERSECTION:
BUSINESS & GOVERNMENT Meeting and communicating with the City’s Planning Department before, during and after you select your brick and mortar site is critical for saving time and headaches down the road and ensuring your business ultimately opens.
How to open a brick and mortar business In Topeka CALL CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT—after you have some properties identified, they will help determine your next steps. SCHEDULE A PRE-APPLICATION MEETING—The preapplication meeting is tailored to your project and will help you avoid common pitfalls, such as buying a property before you know whether your business would require any upgrades to comply with building and fire codes or a zoning change. “Even changing a property from a restaurant to another restaurant has implications people don’t realize,” said Richard Faulkner, development services director. “Maybe the previous restaurant wasn’t permitted. Maybe the plumbing won’t fit your needs. Maybe codes have changed.” In the pre-application meeting—which will last about an hour—City staff will go over a number of items you need to consider before buying a property, including: • • • • •
Zoning Building codes Fire codes Infrastructure Utilities
It’s OK if you don’t have all the answers, but you should bring a few things and people with you:
By ALY VAN DYKE
Director of Media Relations, City of Topeka
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1. Concept plan, including a description of your business, the services you want to provide and how you will use the property 2. Proposed location 3. Architect/engineer (not looping in a design professional from the beginning can cost you a lot of money in the end.)
Determine type of business use NO EXTERNAL CONSTRUCTION REQUIRED 1. Ask the Planning Department, “Can I operate a ________ at this address?” 2. A planner will determine if the use as described is allowed, conditional or prohibited based on the zoning of that location and also any other physical standards that might apply, including off-street parking requirements. Allowed use: No special permits or approvals from the Planning Commission or Governing Body are required. Prohibited use: Requires a zoning change and approval from the Planning Commission and Governing Body. 3. Once you determine your use is allowed, contact Development Services to determine if a building permit is needed (more about that process below). EXTERNAL CONSTRUCTION ANTICIPATED (NEW BUILDING OR EXPANSION) 1. Ask the Planning Department, “Can I operate a ________ and build a ____________at this address?” 2. A planner will determine if the use is allowed and discuss any physical standards that might apply, including building setbacks, off-street parking requirements and landscaping. Allowed use: If scope of project includes new building, expansion greater than 50 percent or 15,000 square feet of an existing building (or expansion of parking lot by 50 percent) a Site Plan Review application must be submitted to the Planning Department for approval. The owner will need to hire a qualified design professional to do this. If scope of project does not warrant a Site Plan Review application, the owner needs to submit a site plan with the building permit application. Prohibited use: Requires a zoning change and approval from the Planning Commission and Governing Body. ZONING CHANGE PROCESS 1. Pre-application meeting. 2. Submit the rezoning application—The application process will cost $650 or more, depending on the required zoning and size of the property. The application fee goes toward staff time and notice/publication requirements. 3. Neighborhood information meeting conducted by applicant. 4. Public hearing by Planning Commission after legal notice publication and mailing. 5. Decision by Governing Body. 6. Work with Development Services for a building permit.
Things You Should Know About Building Permits After the use has been approved for zoning, you still might need a building permit from Development Services. A change of the use of the building, even if there is no construction, will require a building permit for a certificate of occupancy. Interior or exterior construction will require a building permit, though there might be exceptions for minor construction. The process of obtaining a building permit looks like this: • Hire a design professional to draw plans. • Submit plans to Development Services for review. • After plans are approved, pay for building permit. • Hire contractor licensed by the City of Topeka to perform work. • Call for required inspection. After all work is inspected and approved, a certificate of occupancy can be issued. Some of these permits are based on a flat fee, while others are based on the percentage of the project cost/value. Things You Should Know About Zoning Changes When Planning considers a zoning or use change to a building, they consider three primary interests, in this order: 1. Safety 2. Compatibility and infrastructure 3. Property values Also, as mentioned above, even if the use is allowed, your use still must meet other standards, such as off-street parking requirements. Some of the older commercial properties in Topeka will not meet the parking requirements according to current code. However, if a structure predates the off-street parking requirements, it could be grandfathered in. If the new use of an old property requires more off-street parking than the previous use, the owner will need to provide that additional parking somehow or request relief from the City through a variance.
Topeka Planning Department: 785-368-3728 www.topeka.org/planning
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SECURITY BENEFIT
CELEBRATING 125 YEARS Eleven visionary men with $11 met 125 years ago in Dr. H.A. Warner’s East Topeka drugstore to create a plan to provide working men and women and their children with financial security in the event of illness or adversity. The following Security Benefit timeline celebrates the 125 year milestone.
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SECURITY BENEFIT
CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
1895
Membership increases to 10,770, representing insurance in excess of $18 million and assets of $26,738.
1892
The Knights and Ladies of Security is officially chartered on Feb. 22, 1892.
1903
The society provides flood relief for Kansas and other parts of the Midwest.
1916-1919
National President James M. Kirkpatrick appoints a commission to plan a mutual cooperative farm with a hospital for the general membership and homes for orphans and the elderly. The Topeka Chamber offers a 260-acre tract of land known as Martin’s Hill, valued at $50,000.
1950
On Jan. 1, 1950, Security Benefit ended its tenure as a fraternal society and became a mutual legal reserve life insurance company.
1928
More than 50 orphans and more than 80 seniors live in the organization’s homes, an additional 2,100 members receive hospital benefits during the year and benefits paid since the organization’s inception exceed $52 million.
1940
National Secretary J.V. Abrahams dies, and the National Executive Committee appoints his son, J.H. “Ham” Abrahams, as secretary-treasurer for the association.
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1919
The organization merges with the National American Association of Kansas City and changes its name to Security Benefit Association.
1923
SBA begins constructing a new home office at 7th and Harrison streets.
1975
Employees celebrate $5 billion of life insurance in force.
} 1964 1969
Associates and dignitaries gather on June 3, 1969, to dedicate “Formation,” a metal sculpture “giving witness to aggressiveness and farsightedness” as designed by James Bass, a native Topekan and noted Midwestern sculptor.
SECURITY BENEFIT
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CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
1982
The company forms a holding company, Security Benefit Group.
1998 1992 2001 Security Benefit sells its building at 700 SW Harrison St. to the State of Kansas and donates its child care facility to the YWCA of Northeast Kansas.
2005
Security Benefit launches SE2, an innovative business processing subsidiary company.
Security Benefit is the first for-profit Topeka company to establish a child care center and contracts with Menninger to provide staffing, administration and programming for children ages six weeks to five years.
2010-2016 • A Guggenheim-led investor group acquires the company. • Michael Kiley becomes CEO. • Company becomes a top five player in multiple markets and channels. • Launches first fixed indexed annuity with $1 billion in sales in just nine months. • Launches first custom index with a fixed indexed annuity, again reaching $1 billion in sales in just nine months. • Total company sales exceed $7 billion, an all-time high. • Launches RateTrack® Annuity, a floating rate annuity, first in the industry; sales reach $1.3 billion in nine months.
Fortune magazine’s January 1998 edition recognizes Security Benefit as one of “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” citing its commitment to community through philanthropy and volunteerism and its pension and profit sharing package for employees.
TODAY
125th Anniversary Milestones • Assets Under Management: reaching $35 billion • Assets Under Administration: nearly $100 billion through Security Benefit’s subsidiary SE2 • Accounts: 500,000+ • Employees: More than 1,300 combined Security Benefit/SE2 associates Strength. Innovation. Excellence. These are constants in the very fabric of 125 year old Security Benefit. The company has become a leader in the U.S. retirement market, helping its clients To and Through Retirement.®
“By leveraging nearly 50 years of retirement market experience, with multiple innovative products and a new, highly focused distribution strategy, Security Benefit has moved from a specialty market focus to a company addressing the full range of retirement markets and wealth segments. At the same time, we’ve never lost sight of the company’s established tradition of community involvement and philanthropy. I’ve never been more excited about the future of Security Benefit than I am today.” —Michael P. Kiley CEO Security Benefit
Warning: Rock of Ages contains Adult situations and subject matter that is best enjoyed by patrons 18 years old or older.
t tc B U L C IDS
K
APRIL
3 1 THRU
THEATRE’S BEST PARTY!
MARCH
OM! O B W! HEATRE O W T ! POWPEKA CIVIC DS CLUB TO
I IP -17 K BERSH 6 1 0 2 EM NM O S SEA
Topeka civic theatre KIDS CLUB SEASON MEMBERSHIP TO ALL ACADEMY SHOWS: BANK OF 6 TICKETS Tickets are flexible EARLY RESERVATIONS & DISCOUNT CLASS TUITION
$48 (18 & UNDER) / $60 (ADULT)
topekacivic theatre.com WINTER 2016
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SCENE ABOUT TOWN
Hidden Figures Showing Topeka Chapter of the Links REGAL CINEMAS HOLLYWOOD 14 JANUARY 21, 2017 Photos by ROBIN WARREN, STUDIO 509
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PHOTO 2 & 3 Donors of the Hidden Figures Showing
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Dr. Tiffany Anderson, Dr. Yesha Hardison, Monique Pittman Lui, Jameelah Jones, Dr. Norma Juma, Glenda DuBoise
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PHOTO 1 Jim Klausman, Midwest Health; Wendy Wells, U.S. Bank; Boyd Jantzen, State of Kansas; Joleen Klausman, Kansas Health Care Association; JuliAnn Mazachek, Washburn Foundation
DTI Annual Meeting TOPEKA TOWER JANUARY 26, 2017 Photos by KEITH HORINEK
PHOTO 2 Mike Morse, Kansas Commercial; Connie Michaelis; Pat Michaelis, Midwest Housing Equity Group
PHOTO 3 Greg Schwerdt, Schwerdt Design Group; Shawnee County Commissioner Kevin Cook
PHOTO 4
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Sarah Dunekack, Dillon House; Ann Adams, Premier Real Estate
PHOTO 5 Shawnee County Commissioner Shelly Buhler; Amber Oetting, SynĹ?vim Health Solutions
PHOTO 6 Jennifer Kirmse, Azura Credit Union; Tara Dimick, Envista Credit Union; Karon Lee, GreatLIFE
PHOTO 7
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Topeka Independent Business Association Luncheon
Tim Kolling and Dan Lindquist, Alpha Media
PHOTO 8 Tad Good and Marshall Madill, Integrity Insurance; Melissa Bame, Elk Creek Engraving
LAWYERS TITLE OF TOPEKA JANUARY 10, 2017
Photos by KEITH HORINEK
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for providing HOPE to the children at St. Jude.
Donate anytime at: stjude.org/radio/WIBW
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Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting DOWNTOWN RAMADA JANUARY 19, 2017
Photos by KEITH HORINEK
PHOTO 1 State Representatives Brenda Dietrick, Fred Patton, Jim Gartner and John Alcala with Curtis Sneden, Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce
PHOTO 2 Roger Frye, Ramada; Edie Smith, Marketing Support Group
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PHOTO 3 Patti Bossert and Jamie Stafford, Key Staffing & Premier Employment Solutions
PHOTO 4 Kelsey Papps, Michaela Saunders, Megan Caudill and Rosa Cavazos of Visit Topeka, Inc.
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John Hunter, Heartland Visioning; Michele De Isla, Westar and City of Topeka; Gabriel O'Shea, Forge
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PHOTO 6 Ed Carmona, Briggs Dodge; Jo Ann Long, Sheltered Living; Bill Persinger, Valeo
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LAST WORD
What advice do you have for local business owners? No matter what your business is, you are always in the people business. Take care of your people and they'll take of you. Plan your business and work your plan.
Lonnie Williams
What were your greatest challenges as an entrepreneur? Finding new contacts and finding people that could pass the security clearance. Also, to understand that when I heard the word “NO” it meant that I was that much closer to that “YES” I was looking for.
Photo by RACHEL LOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
In serving as chair of the Small Business Council, what are your hopes for small businesses? Grow the small business community. Get small businesses to buy from each other. Keep our buying in Topeka.
Lonnie Williams, owner of L&J Building Maintenance Services LLC, is co-founder of Living the Dream of Kansas Foundation and treasurer for the African-American Male Leadership Council. He serves on the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce's board and executive board, ASA marketing board, and was recently appointed as chairman of the chamber's newly formed small business council. The small business council is made up of a group of dedicated
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individuals who address issues and opportunities that are important to small businesses in the community. Lonnie knows first hand what it means to be a startup small business owner. He seized the opportunity to become an entrepreneur in 1986 when a lawyer friend mentioned a need for janitorial service at his office building. Lonnie's leap of faith in starting a family-owned business now provides services in five states and employs 47 workers.
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Make large businesses aware that Topeka has qualified small business subcontractors. Build a mentorship program for new and emerging small businesses. What can Topeka's business leaders do help create growth? Small business is the growth of the nation. It's time to incentivize Topeka's small businesses. As people look back at your professional life, what do you hope they think? That I'm a family person. That I always gave a day’s work for a day’s pay. That I'm a God loving man and I gave back.
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