Upsize Minnesota March April 2019

HOW TO

BE HEARD Business group partnerships, speaking opportunities help small business build strong voice at the Capitol

“Start out by going to your party’s local committee hearings to find out what people are doing. Go online and start looking at some of these bills.

Watch Almanac at the Capitol on Channel 2.”

— Todd Mikkelson, RM Group LLC

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CONTENTS March • April 2019 • Vol. 18 No. 2 • www.upsizemag.com

PAGE 16

Cover story

Have a political voice: Whether it’s health care, taxes, benefits or some other issue, what happens at the state Capitol in St. Paul affects small businesses. Make sure you’re aware and consider testifying in front of a committee to ensure your voice is heard.

BY ANDREW TELLIJOHN Cover photograph by Tom Dunn

PAGE 4

From the editor:

Bb BUSINESS BUILDERS

Editor Beth Ewen uncovers one reason why PAGE 6 employers may be having trouble recruiting CHANGE new talent: the application process.

Changing consumer attitudes provide opportunities for small business.

PAGE 20

WORKSHOP: Hiring hungry team players and training sales staff to problem-find rather than problem-solve help increase a company’s revenues and profits.

PAGE 4

by Carlos Castelán, The Navio Group

Who’s who at Upsize magazine, and how to reach us.

PAGE 10

CATCHING UP:

Make good decisions to maximize your company’s sale value.

Warren Stock, co-owner of Central Roofing Co., prepares for retirement, transfer of company to his children.

Staff list:

Upsize Minnesota (USPS 024-029) is published bi-monthly for $20 by Upsize Minnesota, 3033 Excelsior Blvd, Suite 10, Minneapolis, MN 55416. Periodicals postage paid at St Paul, MN and additional mailing offices.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Upsize Minnesota, 3033 Excelsior Blvd., Suite 10, Minneapolis, MN 55416

PAGE 24

EXIT

by Kathy J. Klang, Cummings, Keegan & Co. LLC

PAGE 12

MANAGEMENT Avoid status quo. Be ready for change that can move your business forward.

by Mari Kautzman, TempWorks Software

PAGE 14

SOCIAL MEDIA Don’t overlook planning when establishing a social media strategy.

by Jessica Petrie, Maccabee Public Relations

PAGE 28

BACK PAGE: Faith’s Lodge introduces Hope Works Here benefit for parents mourning a child’s death or difficult diagnosis.

Planning now means peace of mind later.

What happens if…

THE ECONOMY WEAKENS

RETIREMENT LOOKS VERY TEMPTING…

A DIVORCE OCCURS IN THE FAMILY

YOU DESIRE A CHANGE IN LIFESTYLE

YOUR KID DOESN’T WANT TO RUN THE BUSINESS

THERE’S AN UNEXPECTED HEALTH ISSUE

YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER WANTS TO SELL

CK&Co. can help you proactively prepare your transition with our 4-step action plan.

Visit us at lp.ckco-cpa.com/upsize to learn more.

Download our free Succession Planning Guide Online lp.ckco-cpa.com/upsize

tax • audit • accounting business consulting (952) 345-2500 www.ckco-cpa.com

Member of

bloated

EDITOR

Beth Ewen bewen@upsizemag.com

MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Tellijohn atellijohn@upsizemag.com

DESIGN DIRECTOR Jonathan Hankin jhankin@upsizemag.com

CIRCULATION MANAGER Georgene Bergstrom gbergstrom@upsizemag.com

PHOTOGRAPHER

Tom Dunn tom@tomdunnphoto.com

HOW TO REACH US To subscribe email Georgene Bergstrom, gbergstrom@upsizemag.com or visit www.upsizemag.com With story ideas email Andrew Tellijohn, atellijohn@upsizemag.com To advertise email Wes Bergstrom, wbergstrom@upsizemag.com To order reprints email Georgene Bergstrom, gbergstrom@upsizemag.com To order extra or back issues email Georgene Bergstrom, gbergstrom@upsizemag.com To suggest Web resource links, links@upsizemag.com

UPSIZE MINNESOTA INC. Lake Calhoun Center • Suite 10 3033 Excelsior Boulevard Minneapolis, MN 55416

Main: 612.920.0701 Website: www.upsizemag.com © 2019 Upsize Minnesota Inc. all rights reserved

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

So, they wanted an editor and writer, I surmised.

The kicker, though, in a different but similarly verbose job description, was after all those skills needed in thought leadership, strategic communications, partnering with a broad spectrum of stakeholders and the like, was this: “Must excel in creating PowerPoint presentations.” Really?

If I possessed all those other grand and glorious skills, nobody else at this multinational corporation could bang out a decent PowerPoint?

Ultimately, thanks to tele-commuting and the modern wisdom of my bosses, I was spared a long search. Based out of Chicago, I will remain as senior editor of Franchise Times, reporting and writing engaging and useful articles—also known as content-focused product I’m told—and as editor and co-founder of Upsize, writing this column each issue for readers I adore.

Meanwhile, my tip of the day for employers desperate for talent is straightforward: Fix your hiring process. Make it simple, stop the bloviating and put an accessible human in charge of your search.

As for me, I’m thinking all I need now is a new title. Assistant Vice President of Content-Centric Product and Strategic Thought Leadership? Sounds about right.

And regarding my PowerPoint skills, my younger colleagues say everyone uses Visme or Haiku Deck now anyway. Take that, anonymous hiring manager.

Beth Ewen Editor and co-founder Upsize Minnesota bewen@upsizemag.com www.upsizemag.com

PHOTO BY JONATHAN HANKIN

PUBLISHER

Wes Bergstrom wbergstrom@upsizemag.com

I

recently ventured into the cold, cruel world of job hunting in a new city without my vast network of contacts for the first time in 21 years, and I believe I’ve discovered the reason why so many employers (all of them) are having such a terrible time recruiting new talent.

Your process probably stinks.

First, there are the platforms, all different, all with varying requirements, almost all completely annoying with one exception, LinkedIn (thanks LinkedIn). Many platforms direct you to each individual employer’s job site, and each individual employer’s job site is cumbersome in its own very, very special way.

One prospective employer required me to copy and paste each individual job and education credential already detailed on my resume into individual fields on its application, then asked me to upload my resume. This defines repetitive.

Another required me to apply, then see if I qualified to take a civil service exam through a mysterious process. I didn’t, I was told about three weeks later via a noreply email. I pride myself on my sleuthing skills, but I struck out searching for a working website, a responsive email recipient, or anything else that would tell me why. As for a real person to talk to? Puh-leeze.

Then there are the job descriptions themselves, which are so ridiculously bloated they remind me of those humongous chicken wings at restaurants these days that a colleague calls “McFrankenwings.” You don’t even want to know how many hormones were pumped in there.

My favorite for most pretentious was a job for VP of Product. “We’re in search of an experienced product-focused content leader that is experienced in managing and leading editorial teams to innovate on exciting new ideas and fulfill on strong foundational products,” the description began. It then detailed 18 required responsibilities and skills such as leading “our star-powered editorial team full of writers, editors and designers” and working “crossfunctionally with Editorial, Sales, Marketing, Development and Ad Ops to ensure the value of our content-driven products is realized both internally and externally among prospects and existing customers.”

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change

BUSINESS BUILDERS

Changing consumer demands create small business opportunities

by Carlos Castelán

TIPS 1. Gather customer feedback and use it as a way to understand the resonance of your products and to avoid stagnation.

2. Monitor the competitive landscape regularly, but not to be a fast follower. Use the intelligence to monitor the broader market landscape for new opportunities.

3. When testing new offerings, consider launching minimum viable products, which provide companies an opportunity to test market reception of a product before investing significantly.

4. Gathering customer feedback earlier in the development cycle allows companies to make more informed decisions about how or whether to proceed with product development.

5. Shorter innovation cycles coupled with aggressive use of early customer feedback provide small businesses with a competitive advantage to stay ahead of the market.

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

FOR FANS OF CLASSIC MOVIES, there’s a great final scene from “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid” where the Peruvian army is bearing down on the named protagonists. Pinned down, Paul Newman (Butch) turns to Robert Redford (Sundance) to ask if he’s seen the lawman, Joe Lefors, that’s been chasing them. Sundance responds, “Lefors? No why?” And, in one of the classic closing movie lines, Butch responds, “Oh, good.

For a moment there I thought we were in trouble.”

The line is brilliant on so many levels, not the least of which being the pair assumes they will emerge victorious in yet another battle with no real notion of the far greater danger that awaits them.

The line resonates and is relevant today because it’s a symbolic way to think about well-established businesses in an era of continuous change where shifting consumer demand creates risk for companies.

Look no further than some of the largest consumer packaged goods companies that have tumbled in recent years as consumer preference for healthy foods has changed and the advantage has swung toward masses of upstart brands.

It’s more important than ever for businesses of all sizes to anticipate what’s around the corner and stay ahead of continuous change. From our work with clients, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to some of the fastest growing businesses in America, we’ve observed key ways that these organizations meet changing consumer demand.

Here are three things small businesses

can do as well, if not better, than larger enterprises: Gather customer feedback Gathering customer feedback is a key way for businesses to understand the resonance of their products and brand with customers to avoid stagnation. One of the main ways companies gather this information in a qualitative fashion is through the Net Promoter Score (NPS).

As an example, Apple’s retail business places a significant emphasis on NPS to measure the performance of its stores.

If a business operates brick-and-mortar stores, another metric that can help management teams understand customer reception is foot traffic to the store combined with some measure of digital engagement, such as traffic to the website within some sort of radius of the store. The purpose of this data is gathering a holistic understanding of whether the business is trending up or down in terms of engagement, because customers provide silent feedback by how they vote with their time.

On the qualitative side, management teams that gather qualitative customer feedback — be it through what customer-facing employees have heard or through a customer advisory council — can sharpen their product offerings or unearth new opportunities to solve customer pain-points. Glossier, a fast-growing e-commerce company, has a dedicated Slack channel for everyone in the company to view customer feedback that comes in via NPS survey as well as a channel consisting of several hundred

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anti-fraud Bb

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MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

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of its best customers so they can provide feedback on new ideas. In sum, gathering quantitative customer feedback helps management teams understand where business is trending while qualitative feedback helps provide richer insights and new opportunities.

Understand the competitive market Another way for small businesses to understand shifts in consumer demand is monitoring the competitive landscape on a regular basis. Often companies do this to understand “best practices” or what to copy and be a fast follower. However, what we have seen successful companies do is use competitive intelligence information to their advantage by monitoring the broader market landscape and stitching together the data points to identify macro shifts to pursue new opportunities.

As an example, if a grocery store notices several competitors offering home delivery of groceries in the local area it’s helpful to monitor and gauge whether their own customers find value in that offering. By gathering customer feedback or knowing customer pain-points (see above), the grocer can decide on whether this strategy makes sense for them or whether it presents an opportunity to offer a different type of experience for customers that choose to come into the store. For example, this might lead to expanding a sampling program to introduce new brands to customers or a curbside pickup, so customers don’t have to take all their groceries to the car. Knowing the competitive landscape — along with gathering regular customer feedback — allows management teams to make more informed decisions that pertain to unique value for customers.

competitive landscape, it is then able to identify new ways to create value for its customers. A great way for businesses to test new offerings in an inexpensive manner and then compile the subsequent customer feedback is launching minimum viable products (MVPs). This allows companies to test the market reception before investing significant resources to minimize risk if the offering falls flat. This approach is not designed to be a “spray and pray” approach with little thought in the concept but rather to gather customer feedback earlier in the development cycle to make more informed decisions.

As an example, restaurants often take this approach with specials to gauge customer reception, refine, and then integrate into the main menu. Because some mature brands view this approach as a risk to their brand if an MVP does not meet customer standards, such a perception and their longer innovation cycles provide small businesses with a competitive advantage to be ahead of the market. Identifying ways to meet new customer needs and test offerings via MVPs is a great way to continue to grow the business and further cement the customer’s affinity.

These are just a few of the ways small businesses can build and maintain a system to stay ahead of changing consumer demand. Through dedicated work, management teams can, unlike Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, know what’s around the corner by finding new opportunities to meet their customer’s changing preferences.

“What we have seen successful companies do is use competitive intelligence information to their advantage by monitoring the broader market landscape and stitching together the data points to identify macro shifts to pursue new opportunities.”

Carlos Castelán The Navio Group

Test new offerings When a business compiles regular customer feedback and understands the Carlos Castelán is the managing director of the retail consultancy The Navio Group: carlos@thenaviogroup.com; www.thenaviogroup.com.

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

www.upsizemag.com

Thursday, May 23rd

A Luncheon Workshop at the Minneapolis Club

ACQUISITIONS A rapid-growth strategy

Growth is essential to a company’s success, not easy to achieve and even more difficult to sustain. Or not! A strategic acquisition may prove to be quicker and easier than organic growth. A panel of experts presents helpful information on the topic, and answers questions from the audience.

Cost: $34.00, which includes the program, lunch and parking during the event.

Location: The Minneapolis Club, 729 Second Ave. S. Enter the parking ramp from the 8th Street side.

SPACE IS LIMITED! REGISTER NOW, go to https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4090191 For questions, please contact the Front Desk team of The Minneapolis Club 612.332.2292 or concierge@mplsclub.org

SCHEDULE: 11:00 – 11:30 — Registration & Networking | 11:30 – 1:00 — Introductions, Lunch & Workshop | After 1:00 — Networking www.upsizemag.com

MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

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exit planning

BUSINESS BUILDERS

Business valuation: part numbers, part story

by Kathy J. Klang

TIPS 1. Use a bifocal lens to make decisions so the short-term gain won’t reduce long-term value.

2. Understand the risk factors that drive value to help guide your decision-making.

3. Capture your narrative as it happens. You never know when you may need to tell your story.

4. Don’t let outsiders dictate your reporting needs, as it may differ from a buyer’s requirements.

5. Balance your marketplace position with personal plans, because the timing of your exit strategy may not align.

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

REMEMBER WHEN you were a child and adults asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Inevitably, the answers were lofty, even a bit silly: A police officer; a teacher; or a caped super hero with the ability to fly.

Children have little trouble dreaming up vivid images of their future selves.

Ironically, as adults owning a business, the future can be a bit cloudy.

Hardly anyone bothers to ask “What will your business look like when it grows? Why are you in this business?

What will happen to it when you’re ready to move on?” If someone asked, would you have an answer?

For some self-employed, the business may simply be providing a good job and a great lifestyle, but a job to abandon at retirement. The company dissolves without any residual value. However, if your company’s story includes trying to build something larger – creating a family legacy or building the next hot trend to be acquired for millions of dollars – then learning how to make valueenhancing decisions is important.

From capital purchases to people, inventory management to tax planning, maximizing the value of a business requires being thoughtful about risk, managing investments and cash, and developing a longer-term decision model.

Short-term thinking boxes us into asking the wrong questions.

Take tax planning, for example. For many, tax planning is a way to extract every possible dollar from the business at year end. Capital investments for

pure tax-advantaged reasons are another potential pitfall. In the long-run, the value of the business may suffer.

Let’s say your year-end tax planning includes buying a piece of equipment to take advantage of big accelerated depreciation write-offs. Before running to the dealership, stop and visualize a long-range point of view. Will owning a new truck solve a business need? If not, could that capital be applied to another area of the company and ultimately increase the future value?

Many tax-saving planning strategies don’t really save taxes — they just kick liabilities down the road. That does not necessarily imply they are bad ideas. Tax strategies should be balanced through the lens of long-term and short-term benefit. Maybe leasing instead of buying that vehicle will free up capital to fund other projects with greater potential for return on investment. Better yet, maybe keep the old truck and instead hire a production manager who will help extricate you from day-to-day operations — bringing you closer to your goal of a more selfsufficient business. A deeper management team can decrease risk, thereby increasing the overall value.

Focus on building a narrative for your business Why? It’s a matter of preparation. If you are planning to sell your business or do estate planning someday, you will need to hire a professional to develop a business valuation report. The report will determine the value of the company by telling the story of your business from three perspectives:

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•

•

•

The market story that paints a picture of your industry and competition as well as the historical and projected health of your industry.

The financial story of your business, analyzing everything from multi-year financials to inventory and other assets.

The ownership story that will impart readers with an analysis of your business structure, including management, technology, systems and the brand value you have built.

Inventory is another area requiring careful consideration, especially when managing cash flow. There may be pressure to write-down slow moving materials off the books. However, if those assets still might be utilized long-term to build or service customer needs, such assets may have sufficient value and therefore should remain and be valued accordingly.

It takes years to build a reliable financial reporting profile Preparing solid financial reporting systems today will make life easier down the road. Many closely-held businesses don’t collect monthly, quarterly and annual financial data because they aren’t required to report to a bank, investor or shareholder. Unfortunately, this makes it nearly impossible to derive a proper value of the business, or at least one that an outsider would trust. If you plan to sell your company in the next five to seven years, consider investing in accounting systems and financial statements that follow generally accepted accounting principle (GAAP) standards.

Timing is everything.

Managing risk requires being mindful of your current position in the marketplace. You may not be ready to retire, but you recognize that your business is in a declining industry. If true, you may choose to sell quickly before value slips. Contrarily, maybe your company is a star player in a hot niche industry and you have found yourself riding the crest of a wave. In either scenario, being cognizant of value and being prepared to sell at any time will help you maximize the value of your business investment. For this reason, having the framework for your story — including the financial reporting, history of making good value decisions as well as solid management and brand investments—is essential to creating a business that is almost pre-packaged for sale whenever markets prove most advantageous.

Generally, don’t let the company buy your personal items.

Another common mistake closelyheld and family-owned businesses make is to blend personal expenses and luxury item purchases into their business.

When potential buyers discover that the 40-foot yacht shrink-wrapped in the warehouse is on the books as company transportation, a large red flag goes up.

Outsiders will likely view it as a misuse of capital. Worse, they may suspect other misleading information with the company’s financial performance.

How will your story end?

Building your company story takes years of discipline, sacrifice and making difficult, but thoughtful, decisions.

Value-based decision making will sometimes run at odds with immediate tax savings and after-tax current earnings. However, if you build a company that has maximized its value to potential buyers, you have won the value game, thereby earning the ability to take month-long vacations in warm, sunny places. After all, your company’s story should have a happy ending, shouldn’t it?

“Having the framework for your story — including the financial reporting, history of making good value decisions as well as solid management and brand investments — is essential to creating a business that is almost pre-packaged for sale whenever markets prove most advantageous.”

Kathy J. Klang Cummings, Keegan & Co. P.L.L.P

Kathy J. Klang is managing partner with Cummings, Keegan & Co. P.L.L.P.: 952.345.2500; kjklang@ckco-cpa.com; www.cummingskeegan.com

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MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

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management

BUSINESS BUILDERS

Building efficiency into the workplace

by Mari Kautzman

TIPS 1. Be wary of the status quo. Don’t continue to do things because that’s how they’ve always been done.

2. Communicate to your employees why changes are being made so they understand and buy in to the goals.

3. Seek feedback from your employees. They experience your processes firsthand every day.

Schedule formal opportunities for them to provide feedback.

4. Gather feedback from your customers, whether via a periodic survey or a personal call.

Whether it’s a periodic survey or something less formal, prioritize getting meaningful information from them.

5. Don’t be afraid of change, but don’t do so just for the sake of doing so.

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

FOR AS LONG as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with the inner workings of businesses and how they can be made more efficient. From one of my first jobs in a pizza restaurant, where I developed a process to get servers clocked out sooner, to my current role at TempWorks Software and Lone Oak Payroll, where I’ve taken deep dives into each department to see what makes them tick, I look for ways to improve profitability along with client and employee satisfaction.

Although there’s not one formula that creates efficiency within every business, I’ve found there are common themes that span industries.

Here are a few tips on improving your workplace’s efficiency — and, along with it, your bottom line.

Continually assess current processes It’s easy to get comfortable and continue doing things because “that’s how we’ve always done it,” but be wary of the status quo. Keep a pulse on your processes and employees, and act sooner rather than later when you see something that needs to be addressed. The longer you wait, the harder it is to change. Be sure to explain the “why” when it comes to communicating the adjustments to your employees. If they understand where you’re coming from and know what the goals are it will be much easier to get their buy-in.

Ask for employee feedback.

People are your most important

resources. They are ingrained in the operation of your business and are the touchpoint with your customers.

They experience your processes first-hand and interact with each other and your management team daily. So, while a company procedure might seem like a no-brainer to the leadership team, it might not actually work for the staff that works in that realm daily. Schedule formal opportunities for employees to provide feedback and ideas, but also take note when they drop in for a quick conversation or shoot you an email.

Listen to your clients Just as your employees are the pulse of your operation, your clients are what keeps your business going and growing. Gather feedback from your customers. Whether it’s a periodic survey or something less formal, such as a personal call to see how things are going, prioritize getting meaningful information from your clients. And then listen – really listen – to what they are saying. In addition, take note of influxes of new customers along with spurts of lost business.

Observations from these ebbs and flows could help distinguish successes and pain-points that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Invest in your employees Some of the biggest inefficiencies we’ve solved have related to personnel training and turnover. Take the time to have a thorough onboarding experience. It will pay dividends to

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have fully-trained, confident employees ready to contribute in their new roles. Also get to know your team and their strengths and skillsets. What roles might they be a good fit for down the road? What are their career aspirations? Understanding what they might want to grow into will help retain them and build a natural pipeline for talent. Well-trained, challenged, happy employees are the most efficient kind.

On the flip side, know some turnover is to be expected, so do your best to prepare for when it does. For example, we discovered an opportunity to improve our management structure when one key person moved on from the company a few years ago.

At that time, we were left working quickly to determine how to proceed with not only filling the role but also ensuring day-to-day tasks were completed in the interim. This led to us creating management teams instead of relying on one manager. Now, a group of individuals fulfills the functions. Providing more employees with more responsibilities also serves as a buffer for people to take vacation or sick time without worrying who will cover for them and for those who may move on or be promoted.

Don’t be afraid of change, but be cautious of doing it just for the sake of change.

In our innovation-focused world, it’s easy to jump into the next trend, latch onto the newest technology or think your current way isn’t the best way. Don’t run away from the latest and greatest, but approach with caution. You and your employees know your business better than anyone and only you can truly see what will be beneficial.

As a company that’s grown from 40 employees to more than 160 in just a few years, we’ve experienced

how important change can be. Some elements of business simply don’t translate in scaling up that quickly.

But on the other hand, we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. So, how did we navigate these waters? By staying true to our company and employees and making sure each adjustment served a purpose, and that we weren’t creating solutions to challenges that didn’t exist.

Before making a change, be it large or small, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Will it improve the customer experience? Does it make your team more efficient or solve a pain-point? Will it increase profitability? These are just a few questions to consider. The reality is that there’s no way to know if a change will work until you try it. So, if you’ve given it thoughtful consideration, taking research, metrics and your experience and industry knowledge into account, try it.

Don’t be afraid to revert back to the previous process if it doesn’t work as expected.

Creating a more efficient workplace will help you meet and exceed your goals, whether you’re considering small tweaks to improve service department response times, brainstorming ideas to reduce the amount of back-office paperwork or are tackling large-scale projects that will take your business to the next level.

Seek opportunities to improve, and see the results.

“Keep a pulse on your processes and employees, and act sooner than later when you see something that needs to be addressed. The longer you wait, the harder it is to change.”

Mari Kautzman TempWorks Software and Lone Oak Payroll

Mari Kautzman is the chief operating officer at TempWorks Software and Lone Oak Payroll: 651.452.0366; mari@tempworks.com; www.tempworks.com and www.loneoakpayroll.com. www.upsizemag.com

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social media

BUSINESS BUILDERS

Preparing your business for social media success

by Jessica Petrie

TIPS 1. Have a strategic social media plan in place. It’s an important part of your marketing communications strategy and should not be run without a plan.

2. Conduct a social media audit to figure out what is working and what you need to change.

3. Don’t initially sign up for every social channel just because it is there. Target a couple that hit your target market.

4. Set goals and define what success will look like.

5. Social media should not be used solely for sales. Roughly 80 percent of your posts should be used to build brand awareness or to educate and entertain your audience.

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

IT SEEMS THAT EVERY Minnesota business — big and small — has some level of social media presence today, and for good reason: Hootsuite’s 2019 Global State of Digital report states that there are nearly 3.5 billion active social media users worldwide. If you’re not already using social media to grow your business, chances are you’ve considered it. When used correctly, social media brings value to businesses: it can increase brand awareness and loyalty, boost web traffic and search rankings, act as a cost-effective marketing tool and offer a space to authentically connect with your customers.

But, to make social media work for your business, it’s important to be mindful and strategic about how you use it. Consider the checklist below to increase your chances of social media success for your company.

YOUR CHECKLIST FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS: Have a strategic social media plan in place Because it’s fast and essentially free to start using social media, it’s tempting to jump in and begin posting without a plan.

But this mindset doesn’t set your business up for success. Rather, social media should be seen as an important part of your marketing communications strategy.

As you plan, consider the following: • Who will manage your social channels?

• Who will write and post the content?

• Are there any topics you want to steer clear of?

• Who needs to review and approve social content before it’s posted?

• Who will respond to questions and complaints, and what’s the protocol for responding? (Hint: You’ll want to respond sooner rather than later.)

Conduct a social media audit Whether your business is already active on social media or not, conducting a comprehensive audit is a great way to assess what’s working and what could be improved.

If you’re already active on social, step back and ask: Are your channels set up correctly with completed bios and links back to your website? Are your social media handles consistent across all the platforms you’re using? Is your content relevant and balanced (meaning not entirely sales messages)? Note which posts earn the most engagement (likes, comments, shares) and which posts are ignored. Are you missing opportunities to engage with your social followers?

If your company is not already active on social media, review what your competitors and other brands you admire are doing. Pay attention to: • • • •

What social channels they’re on.

How often they’re posting.

What they’re posting about.

How they’re engaging with followers. Are they asking questions?

Posting polls? Sharing content their audience would be interested in versus pushing their own sales?

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Choose the social channels that make the most sense for you.

Don’t sign up for every social channel just because it’s there. Instead, choose one or two channels that your target audience already uses and build a strong presence on those channels first, then consider expanding to other channels in the future. Also consider the products or services your business offers. For instance, Instagram makes more sense for a visual business, such as a florist, than for a professional services company such as an accounting firm.

Set goals and define success at the beginning.

Because of the nature of social media, it’s not always easy to quantify success.

Define what success looks like to you and how you’ll measure your return on investment. Some of the most common success metrics include: • • • • • •

Increase in followers or likes High engagement rate Number of link clicks Boost in your website traffic Email list sign ups Overall brand awareness

Once you decide what success is for your business, set measurable goals to work toward, such as increasing follower count by 10 percent or securing 20 new sales leads through your social media pages. Setting these goals upfront will give you something to measure against in the future.

Have a clear social voice.

Determine your social voice and be consistent. It should be authentic to your brand and also make sense for the channel you’re on. For example, if you offer more serious services, avoid making too many jokes or sharing superfluous content (like memes or cartoons).

Or, if you’re using Facebook, consider a more conversational, relatable tone.

Create a social content calendar.

Use a spreadsheet to plan and track everything you’ll post on social media.

Proactively planning your content helps you avoid having to scramble when you haven’t posted in a while. Be sure your calendar is flexible enough to make changes as necessary (for instance, to respond to relevant news or share your company culture in a natural, spontaneous way).

Follow the 80/20 rule.

Remember: Social media is not a megaphone for your brand to push its product. It’s a place to increase brand awareness and community engagement. As you plan your social content, keep in mind that roughly 80 percent of your posts should inform, educate or entertain your audience, while only 20 percent should promote your brand or sell your products (with a heavier emphasis on your brand than on selling). Social media is not a sales tool, and customers may unfollow you if you use it solely for advertising.

Adapt as needed.

Watch analytics within each channel, especially the metrics you identified in the goal-setting stage, and use that data to identify emerging trends and see what is and is not working. Then adjust your strategy. Social media is constantly changing, so adapting your strategy as needed is key.

Social media is a wonderful business communication tool — when it’s used correctly. As with any marketing communications tools, its success hinges on thoughtful planning and execution.

This checklist should get you on your way to enjoying the benefits social media can offer your business.

“Social media is a wonderful business communication tool — when it’s used correctly. As with any marketing communications tools, its success hinges on thoughtful planning and execution.”

Jessica Petrie Maccabee Public Relations

Jessica Petrie is an account manager at Maccabee Public Relations: 612.337.0087; jessica@maccabee.com; www.maccabee.com.

www.upsizemag.com

MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

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Getting involved

Visiting lawmakers, joining organizations help small business owners have a say at the Capitol

M

usician. Videographer. Graphic designer. Inventor.

Business owner. Candidate for the Legislature.

Todd Mikkelson has had a varied career.

Currently he owns the RM Group LLC, which sells the Rain Maker Spray Rack and other products for water and air testing of windows and other items. But he finds time to stay informed and involved at the state Capitol in St. Paul, educating and testifying on issues related to small business.

This isn’t a new interest for Mikkelson. He ran for the state House as a Democrat in 2012 and 2014. He lost, but says several party officials congratulated him for narrowing the margin over previous elections in his district.

During those contests, he met a lot of influential House members and learned a lot about navigating the legislative process in St. Paul. He’s also picked up some pointers on how to have his voice heard.

Other small business owners can, as well, he says. Whether it’s taxes, the cost of health care, mandatory paid leave or another issue of importance to you that nobody else has thought of yet, your opinion can and should be heard – but, Mikkelson says, you have to invest the time to make that happen. Go to the Secretary of State’s website, he says. Find your district. Attend a meeting.

“Start out,” he says, “by going to your party’s local committee hearings to start finding out what people are doing.

Go online and start looking at some of these bills. Watch Almanac at the Capitol on Channel 2.”

It’s going to take time

by Andrew Tellijohn

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM DUNN

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Mikkelson was a musician when he got pulled in as part owner of a video company in the mid-1990s. The biggest client was an international window company and his firm had made safety and promotional videos. They wanted video of a spray test on windows that were already in houses.

“When I was out doing these videos the equipment the

www.upsizemag.com

“Start out,” he says, “by going to your party’s local committee hearings to start finding out what people are doing. Go online and start looking at some of these bills.

Watch Almanac at the Capitol on Channel 2.”

— TODD MIKKELSON, RM GROUP LLC

www.upsizemag.com

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COVER STORY engineers were using wasn’t working very well,” he says.

“They were trying to rebuild the laboratory setting in somebody’s backyard.”

He came up with an idea for a spray rack, had it patented and four years later was selling them. He’s since developed several other similarly purposed products.

“I’m in a different world than I strived to be in,” he says.

He knows being a business owner takes time and that it’s hard to stay up on legislative affairs.

“I can’t be at the capitol five days a week working on this stuff,” he says.

But he says it is important that small business owners carve out time to be heard, so they can be represented as well as large corporations are at the Capitol.

Several resources exist to make it easier, he adds. The legislative website has schedules and detailed information about existing bills and, through My Bill, people can search the history of an issue, Mikkelson says.

He’s gotten involved with the Main Street Alliance, through which he tries to help educate business owners on issues and get them to, at least occasionally, take the time to testify at House or Senate committee hearings. To do so, Mikkelson adds, business owners need to know they’ll be committing at least half of a day, if not an entire one. But he says many feel it’s well worth the effort.

“It’s actually an enjoyable thing to do,” he says. “Now we have a group of small business owners who are willing to do this and we are bringing them to the Capitol and letting them have their own voice.”

“The best way to talk about these issues is contacting their representatives directly,” Horowitz says. “A lot of times legislators don’t hear from small businesses. One email or one phone call will go a long way. … Legislators really do care about what small business owners have to say.”

Join a group

Business owners who have an idea they’d like to see codified through the Legislature are going to have a hard time making that happen alone, says Mike Hickey, Minnesota’s state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses. There are citizen lobbyists working at the Capitol, but passing legislation that way is an uphill climb.

“It’s pretty hard for an individual to do that unless they are able to put a tremendous amount of time in,” he says. “For anyone who has a full-time job or is running a business that would be extremely difficult.”

Business owners are often more motivated than others because a lot of the issues facing state government have a tremendous impact on their bottom lines, Hickey says.

That’s often why people join groups that have governmental relations or lobbying services, he adds.

Any group is going to keep its membership apprised of important happenings through sending legislative alerts at the proper time. That’ll be both to keep them informed and to try to get their members revved up and ready to pay attention or even testify on the issues that matter the most.

“You just hope you have some motivated members,” Hickey says.

For more general issues, such as taxes, regulations or health insurance, the NFIB might be a good place to start.

Legislators want your feedback The organization has about 10,000 members statewide and It’s not only enjoyable, at times, but it’s vital, because around 300,000 nationally.

For a more nuanced issue, such it’s the only way for small businesses to build a voice, says as a regulation that would affect truckers, a specialty orgaCorinne Horowitz, Minnesota state director for the Main nization like the Minnesota Trucking Association might be a Street Alliance.

“A lot of small business owners want to understand what better fit. is happening, but are so busy running their businesses, that “Being a member of a group is certainly going to give you they aren’t paying attention to what is impacting them,” she an edge,” says Hickey, who adds that people can find such says. entities via Google or through the media. “There’s a lot of Horowitz recommended getting involved with one or ways they can find out. You’re going to have a better effort if more organizations, because they often have different isyou are doing it as part of a group.” sues on which they are focusing resources. Health care and paid family leave, for example, are big with the Main Street Business owning senator says reach out Alliance right now. Some other issue might be the focus of Pine City Republican Sen. Jason Rarick is an electrical conthe Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, a local chamber or a tractor who owns and operates Rarick Electric. He’s serving local business association. his first term in the state Senate after having been elected to Letters to the editor can be an effective way to communi- the state House three times. cate with a large swath of legislators. Or, if a business owner He had never considered running for office, though he is ruminating over a new idea, they can reach out directly to had long been involved with his local planning commission lawmakers – their contact information is online – to see if and then the Pine County Republicans. As a result of that they’d be interested in sponsoring a bill. involvement, he was contacted by a former state representa18

UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

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COVER STORY

tive who asked him to run for office.

Rarick understands being busy, but adds that if entrepreneurs want to have a say in politics, they have to stay informed and form relationships with their representatives.

In turn, he says, those people, when issues of importance to business owners arise, can act as eyes and ears for them.

“The best thing business owners can do is contact their representatives, whether it’s at the state level, the city or the county, and stay aware of what is being presented,” he says.

“That’s one of the things I have noticed and heard from people is they’re so busy running their business they get blindsided by things that are coming up.

For those business owners with an idea but no real background in promoting or creating legislation, Rarick says there are legislative staff who can help sort out the process.

“Even if it’s kind of a concept, reach out,” he says. “The advantage here is we have access to people whose role here is to do the research and help you find out how to put legislation together to address the things people are bringing forward.”

He echoed other sources, who suggested involvement in various industry and business groups and verified that when entrepreneurs and business leaders can carve out time to

www.upsizemag.com

testify in front of committees it can go a long way toward changing minds.

“That really helps present the case and get bills passed through committee,” Rarick says. “Those personal stories and the examples people have lived through are the ones that really have an impact and win over the vote.”

CONTACT: Mike Hickey is state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses: 651.293.1283; www.nfib.com.

Corinne Horowitz is state director of the Main Street Alliance: 612.232.1655; corinne@mainstreetalliance.org; www.mainstreetalliance.org.

Todd Mikkelson is owner of RM Group LLC: 952.220.5639; todd@toddmikkelson.com; www.sprayrack.com Sen. Jason Rarick is a state senator and owner of Rarick Electric: 651.296.1508; sen.jason.rarick@senate.mn; www.senate.mn.

MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

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WORKSHOP: Revenue

BOOSTING YOUR BUSINESS Experts share thoughts on raising revenues, pushing profits

By Andrew Tellijohn

Photographs by Jonathan Hankin

T

rain your sales team so they are working with prospects to find and solve problems instead of just plowing forward with a list of solutions that the target company might not need. Make sure your finances are not only accurate but detailed enough so that you can figure out what is working and what isn’t. Build your company to be different than anyone else on the market – and have fun doing so.

These were among the insights shared by a panel discussing strategies for boosting revenue and increasing profits at the Minneapolis Club in Minneapolis hosted by Upsize magazine and Rick Brimacomb’s Club Entrepreneur.

Changing the sales mindset

Scott Plum, founder and president of the Minnesota Sales Institute LLC, started selling real estate in 1987.

He did that for 15 years before starting his company, which aims to improve the performance sales people get from their behaviors.

Whether those sales people are coming to him for assistance by choice or they are referred by their boss, Plum says he thinks its important to get them thinking the right way.

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

Rick Brimacomb, ClubE A lot of sales people I talk to were taught at a young age not to talk to strangers. Others were raised to believe it’s not polite to talk about money. “How’s that going for you as a sales person?” he asked. “These beliefs have a direct impact on the behavior. These behaviors give us the results. I believe every result we have starts with the behavior. What are we doing and what are we not doing. And that starts with the belief system we start with.”

Those perceptions are important, but so is altering

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WORKSHOP: Revenue

“There’s a great world out there to be had where we have so much opportunity.

We have to get after it. We have to be ambitious and believe in ourselves and we need to grow. We have to do something different. Let’s go do cool stuff and not try to be just like everybody else.”

—Ron Leander, Leander Limited the way sales people prepare for their meetings. If they meet with a prospect armed with nothing but information about the solutions their companies offer, they risk insulting their counterpart by insinuating there are problems that may or may not exist.

Instead, sales people should work together with prospects to identify problem areas and then see if any of their products or solutions can help meet a need: Be a problem finder, not a problem solver.

“I teach sales people to get on the same side as their prospect and work together on a problem, work together toward a goal,” Plum says. “When you do that you are collaborating, you are committing and you are going to have a customer for life.”

www.upsizemag.com

People are most important

Plum and Ron Leander, founder and CEO of Leander Limited, both agree on the importance of finding the right people, training them well and doing what is necessary to keep them around. It’s expensive at times, but it’s also vital to the health of a good organization.

“We get things done through others,” Leander says.

“Building that right organization where you’ve got a group of rock stars, people that have an itch they can’t scratch, they’re just never going to give up and they’ve got curiosity. There’s no better way to build ROI than that.”

Leander says building a strong culture is important and that employees should be team players. Whether a highly compensated sales person or not, he says,

MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

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WORKSHOP: Revenue everyone within the company must be working toward the same end goal.

If you find people who will do that, they will do anything for you, even when times are tough, he says, adding that if they are only in it for the money they’re likely to leave when hard times hit.

“One of the keys to sustain growth is hanging on to our people and developing them,” Leander says.

“So, as we look for them, we really want to look for cultural fit first.”

On the sales side, that retention can be helped along with proper training that will help sales people excel and then by never capping their compensation when they do good work.

“Offering incentives for sales people to go beyond expectations is a good way of investing in them and maintaining retention,” Plum says. “Looking at ways to recognize sales people – if you can put an ad in a publication and you can honor a sales person ... that really is a good incentive.”

Good financials are fundamental

Struggling companies need to be realistic and have a good understanding of what their finances look like, Leander says. When he starts trying to help boost their revenues and profits, the first thing he does is make sure the books are accurate and detailed enough to illustrate what is working and what isn’t. He talked with one business owner who indicated he’d gotten friends to put $900,000 into his business to keep it alive. But the debt was not visible on the balance sheet.

“Two sets of books,” Leander says.

One set showed the company being just $500,000 in debt, leaving Leander thinking the company should be in better shape. The other set showed the debt “and it’s never going to come out,” he says. “In about 30 seconds I was out of there.”

At another firm, he worked with an owner who was

CONTACT THE EXPERTS RON LEANDER is founder and CEO of Leander Limited: 651.636.6402; rleander@leanderlimited.com; www. leanderlimited.com.

SCOTT PLUM is founder and president of the Minnesota Sales Institute LLC: 612.789.5700; scott.plum@mnsales. com; www.mnsales.com

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

spending $30,000 a year maintaining each truck in a fleet he owned when he thought the cost was between $5,000 and $7,000 per truck. That owner also would make acquisitions of other companies with similar sales while not looking at the significantly different profitability levels of those acquisition targets.

“You don’t care which one you buy with your million dollars,” he says he told the owner. “Why would you do that? Stop doing that. Be thinking about what you do and how that fits into your overall game plan. Especially if you are doing (mergers and acquisitions) work.”

In that same vein, Plum encouraged business owners to make sure sales people quit offering discounts in order to get prospects to sign deals. It’s a shortcut, he says, and a costly one in that it hurts the company’s financials in the long run.

When they bring back a prospect that is not a very good fit, we end up spending a lot of time with them,” he says. “We end up cutting into our gross margin, which then affects our net profits because we’re spending time with prospects that are not qualified because we don’t have a clear value proposition.”

When he’s working with executives, Plum spends time focusing on the company’s value proposition and getting sales people to build relationships through better conversations.

“Start by creating more opportunities, then leverage those opportunities,” he says. “Every transaction is a chance to build a relationship.”

Too often, he says, they end up cutting the price just to win the business. If it comes down to needing an incentive to finalize a deal, trade something, he says.

“What can you trade?” he says. “How about a testimonial? Are you willing to give us a discount? Well, maybe if you do a testimonial for us.”

Have fun, push yourself, ask for referrals and grow.

Plum says one big but easily fixable mistake sales people make is an unwillingness to ask for referrals.

Even at meetings that don’t end in deals being made, if the conversation went well, prospects typically have no problem providing referrals.

“If you have a positive impact on the experience and you’re working with someone that enjoyed working with you, guess what they’d want to do? They’d love to introduce you to somebody else,” he says. “But we don’t ask. We don’t ask for an introduction.”

Leander agreed that sales people and entrepreneurs, in general, have an unwarranted fear of asking for referrals that they should get over.

“Don’t be shy about asking for introductions,” he says. “People are happy to do that.”

He adds that while there are times when financial,

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WORKSHOP: Revenue

“I teach sales people to get on the same side as their prospect and work together on a problem, work together toward a goal. When you do that you are collaborating, you are committing and you are going to have a customer for life.”

—Scott Plum, Minnesota Sales Institute LLC skillset or other shortcomings affect a business, there are others when entrepreneurs are held back as much by their own self-doubt as much as anything, Leander says.

Leander wants them to grow, make money and build their business beyond even their own expectations.

That can lead to awkward conversations, at times, but it has also spawned many turnarounds.

“I like to challenge people by saying ‘what are you really capable of doing?’” he says. “I think you can do more than you ever thought possible. What I do is focus on getting that to happen for the people I work with.”

Leander then closed by imploring business owners to be creative and different and to have fun in their work.

www.upsizemag.com

“There’s a great world out there to be had where we have so much opportunity,” he says. “We have to get after it. We have to be ambitious and believe in ourselves and we need to grow. We have to do something different. Let’s go do cool stuff and not try to be just like everybody else.”

Then, once they’re achieving success, he says, business owners should tell the world.

“Let’s set ourselves apart and differentiate,” he adds. “Then we’ll have a great story to tell and then go tell everybody your story. Don’t be shy about it.”

MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

23

catching up

by Andrew Tellijohn

Taking the next step

CEO Warren Stock is eyeing retirement as Central Roofing begins transitioning toward its next generation of leaders

TIPS 1. Hire people with talent and find a place for them.

2. Trust your instincts and your people.

3. The corporate world is much better than entrepreneurs at creating systems.

4. Honest budgeting is vital.

Many businesses fail because they don’t know their true costs.

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

W

hen Upsize caught up with Warren Stock in 2011, he and his wife, Gerry Stock, had recently purchased Central Roofing Co. from its parent company, Tecta America, in an effort to get back to their entrepreneurial roots.

He worked at Tecta for eight years after he and his wife sold their previous company, Stock Roofing, to the commercial roofing giant in 2003.

While he learned a lot during his tenure with a larger corporate entity, the pace and decision-making process eventually drove him back to small business.

So, when the opportunity arose, the Stocks purchased Central Roofing (where Warren’s career actually started in 1974) from Tecta and, in the years since, the company has increased revenues from around $14 million in 2011 to just over $40 million each of the last couple years. The employee count has gone from about 70 to about 250.

And he’s helped restructure the company’s sales strategy. Instead of bidding primarily on public projects where low bid wins, the company now focuses primarily on marketing itself not only as a builder but as a service provider that can extend the lifespan of roofs by servicing them throughout the entire period of time.

“That’s probably our biggest change,” he says, adding that Central Roofing’s service department has gone from two trucks to 18 with plans to buy a handful more this year.

It hasn’t all been easy street. The company started a mechanical division a few years ago that serviced HVAC and boilers through existing leads. That was operational for about nine months before the Stocks pulled the plug because it couldn’t stay on budget.

But by and large, he says, things have gone well. And now, after 45 years in the industry, he’s preparing for retirement.

“I’m working my way out the door,” Stock says. “Which is surprisingly a whole new set of challenges. Most people go ‘I’m going to retire and this is the date.’ It doesn’t work that way as a business owner. There are all sorts of things you don’t think about that you have to start thinking about.”

Among those things was making sure people accepted the decision and didn’t, in a panic, leave immediately for another job. He’s been working through the transition for going on two years.

His wife, Gerry Stock, remains CEO and she’s not quite as ready to retire. Son, Jason Stock, has taken on an increased role with the company.

He’s now chief financial officer and he handles banking relationships and other financial responsibilities.

Specifics of how the transfer will take place are still under discussion, but his son and daughter, Jessica Tesdall, eventually will run the company, and Stock says he’s hopeful his grandchildren will too someday. There will be oversight involved, however.

Central Roofing, Stock says, has a strong management team in place that meets every other week to discuss important issues. The company also has put in place a separate advisory team, made up of representatives from the company’s bank, insurance company, bonding company and accounting firm, all of whom will have input in major decisions going forward.

Stock himself, however, has begun the process of letting go. He plans to be done by January 1, 2020. He’ll be available by request for special projects, but he’s grown comfortable with the new management structure and is happy letting them make most of the day-to-day decisions.

“At first it was very difficult to let people make decisions without jumping in and telling them they had to do it this way,” he says. “I’m getting better.”

While Stock clearly is an entreprewww.upsizemag.com

PHOTO BY JONATHAN HANKIN

PHOTOS BY STEVEN BERGERSON, BERGPHOTO.COM

Central Roofing Co. has worked on several prominent projects, including the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and the Wells Fargo Towers in Minneapolis.

neur, he says he was a better business owner the second time around for having spent time with Tecta.

“I was surprised how many things I did take from the corporate world,” he says.

There, Stock says, he learned the importance of budgeting, planning ahead and thinking big with less fear.

He adds that when it comes to accounts receivable, accounts payable, human resources and other systemsrelated activities, the corporate world typically runs circles around small businesses.

“I didn’t appreciate the corporate world until I came back into the entrepreneurial world again,” he says.

“There are a lot of things the corporate world does right. The corporate

Central Roofing Co. CEO: Gerry Stock Headquarters: Fridley Founded: 1929 Revenue: North of $40 million Website: www.centralroofing.com

world has the plan. It’s very hard. The entrepreneur just doesn’t grasp or understand how important those things can be. The most important thing is budgeting. If you are not really doing honest budgeting and projections, you don’t know where you’re going.”

As he prepares to move on, Stock says he’s learned to trust his instincts and trust his people.

“In 2011, everyone was saying ‘ask Warren,’” he says. “In 2019, I don’t hear my name that often.”

He’s been thoroughly impressed by the work his son has done managing cash flow and negotiating banking relationships. And he believes Central Roofing is in good hands.

“This is Central’s 90th anniversary and my perspective is to see it get to 180,” he says. “That’s what I’ve been trying to set up in this transition.”

“I’m working my way out the door.

Which is surprisingly a whole new set of challenges. Most people go ‘I’m going to retire and this is the date.’ It doesn’t work that way as a business owner.

There are all sorts of things you don’t think about that you have to start thinking about.”

— Warren Stock

Central Roofing

Contact: Warren Stock is chief operating officer and senior vice president at Central Roofing Co.: 763.572.0660; wstock@centralroofing.com; www.centralroofing.com. www.upsizemag.com

MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

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Our agency has provided personal and business insurance services for the past 30 years. We proudly represent a number of outstanding insurance carriers, including Chubb, Metropolitan, Progressive, Travelers and Kemper. Call us for all your insurance needs!

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UPSIZE RESOURCE DIRECTORY LAW FIRM Lommen Abdo

SBA LENDER Highland Bank

TRANSITION PLANNING KeyeStrategies

1000 International Centre, 920 Second Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55402 612-339-8131 | 800-752-4297 www.lommen.com | Contact: Jesse Beier

Troy Rosenbrook, President | 952.858.4810 Kim Storey, SBA Lending Manager | 952.858.4590 952.858.4888 | www.highland.bank

Minneapolis, MN Keyestrategies.com 763-350-5563 Julie Keyes, Founder/CEPA

Founded in 1943, Highland Bank is focused on small business lending and is an SBA “Preferred” Lender, making us uniquely qualified to help your business obtain the financing it needs expeditiously. Work directly with the decision-makers who will treat you like a business partner. Member FDIC.

“KeyeStrategies LLC advises business owners in Transition and Exit Planning. Julie Keyes is both a Certified Exit Planning Adviser (CEPA) and Value Growth Adviser. She is also a faculty member for the Exit Planning Institute’s Global organization and President of its local Chapter.”

Looking for a business lawyer who speaks plain English and not legalese? Contact Lommen Abdo where we focus on small, medium-sized, family and closely held businesses.

Our attorneys operate like your outside general counsel – providing you effective legal advice and sound business strategies. We are upfront about our costs and will work with you to budget legal expenses.

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mailing services Braemar Mailing Service Inc.

SUCCESSION PLANNING Lommen Abdo

venture capital Brimacomb + Associates

7379 Washington Ave S • Edina, MN 55439-2417 tel: 952-767-0300 fax: 952-767-0345 www.braemarmailing.com cu@braemarmailing.com

1000 International Centre, 920 Second Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55402 612-339-8131 | 800-752-4297 www.lommen.com | Contact: Cameron Kelly

Since 1985 business mailers who value personal service and meticulous attention to detail have found one company rich in both. We are postal experts and list brokers who offer a full service lettershop and data management services. Your mailing, unique or ordinary, in large quantities or small, receives Braemar-style attention to detail. We are proud of the work we do and the customer service we provide.

You owe it to yourself, your family, your co–owners and your employees to have a business succession plan in place in the event of incapacity or death. Every business and every family is unique and your succession plan needs to fit your goals for your business and your family. Contact us to design a plan that meets your goals.

TCF Tower, Suite #1600, 121 South Eighth St., Minneapolis, MN 55402 612-803-3169 * www.brimacomb.com Rick Brimacomb, rick@brimacomb.com Chief Strategy and Relationship Officer Results-oriented advisory firm with unparalleled access to executive suites and financing sources. Emerging companies and established professional services firms rely on our depth of knowledge and deep-network connections to grow client lists, assemble project resources and secure new sources of funding.

GROW OR DIE Move your business forward with investment capital generation, deep-level network connections and strategic refinement consultation from Brimacomb and Associates. We partner with emerging companies and professional services firms to offer unparalleled access to professional resources, executive suites and financing sources.

www.brimacomb.com 612.803.3169 • rick@brimacomb.com www.upsizemag.com

ADVERTISING SECTION

MARCH • APRIL 2019 UPSIZE

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BACK PAGE

Faith’s Lodge offers employers, employees resources for dealing with grief

P

lymouth-based nonprofit Faith’s Lodge has been offering programming and support groups for families enduring the medically complex diagnosis or death of a child since 2007. Late last year, the organization added Hope Works Here, an employee benefit that provides counseling and resources for the affected employee and also educates supervisors, managers and co-workers on how to best handle such situations.

Kelly McDyre, executive director of Faith’s Lodge, joined Upsize’s managing editor Andrew Tellijohn, to discuss the new program. The conversation has been edited for length.

Tellijohn: What can you tell me about Hope Works Here?

McDyre: Hope Works Here is meant to help with the transition of an employee back to work after dealing with the medically complex diagnosis or death of a child.

We really think the employer plays a large role in this, so we created this as an employer provided benefit. It’s not something the employee has to seek out. It’s a way for an employer to say

Kelly McDyre

‘hey we’ve got your back here. This is an awful time for you and we’ve got you covered.’

Tellijohn: How does a company engage the service?

McDyre: Any company can offer the benefit for free and put it in the benefit package. We provide resources in terms of information they can put on their intranet or in their new hire package.

That’s free.

Someone who has decided not to put this in my benefits package can call and receive the service on demand. It’s just as easy as enrolling. People don’t have to enroll but employers can in advance.

Nobody pays until the service is engaged.

Tellijohn: What does the service look like?

McDyre: It has three main elements.

We become a resource for the employer the moment they call. I ask them to tell me what they can about what happened.

I help them identify and work through communication, telling leadership and the rest of the company. We come to the place prepared with all kinds of resources, such as support group referrals.

The second element of the package is support through transition coaching. The moment I get a call from an employer and hear about the details, I know the right transition coach to assign.

A transition coach is a mental health professional. In this relationship there are three visits. The first is one-on-one with the affected employee before they go back to work to discuss fears and anxieties related to returning to work.

Next, the transition coach goes to the place of employment and talks to the team about what happened and what to expect.

The third visit with the transition coach is one-on-one with the employee to discuss how their return has gone. After that session, the employee can continue the relationship or it can end.

The final element of the Hope Works Here program is a certificate for a stay at Faith’s Lodge retreat facility in Danbury, WI, the only such facility in the country dedicated to supporting parents and families coping with these situations. The employer can give that certificate to the employee and say when you’re ready, we have a place for you to go. It provides the employee another new network of support for the ongoing battle they will face. contact: KELLY MCDYRE is executive director of Faith’s Lodge: 612.261.2600; info@HopeWorksHere.com; www.HopeWorksHere.com.

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UPSIZE MARCH • APRIL 2019

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WE MOVE IN ONE DIRECTION

FORWARD. C O R P O R AT E D E PA R T M E N T C H A I R

DEAN D. WILLER P / 612.604.6633 E / dwiller@winthrop.com

Our Corporate & Transactions attorneys use the law to help you reach your goals for your business. We work with clients at all stages of growth, from business formation to succession planning and everything in between, focusing on creative solutions and practical advice that helps you move your business forward.

Investing in you.

Today’s entrepreneur brings creativity, passion, and flexibility to the task of achieving success. Flagship Bank can help because these are precisely the qualities that we bring to each member of our bank, and their community. With six convenient locations, and a staff of experts, we are ready to offer our support.

Let’s talk today.

Grow with us.

Brian Wagner 952.358.2513 Eden Prairie | Isanti | Minnetonka | Ramsey | Wayzata North Oaks | flagshipbanks.com |