Small-business entrepreneurs are essential pieces of our local economy’s puzzle. They’re constantly on the move, rolling the dice and taking risks to stay ahead. What keeps them motivated? How do they approach challenges? What kind of advice can they offer other entrepreneurs? TwinWest asked our 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year and Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year finalists to give us a glimpse of their winning strategies. Read on for their responses, and don’t miss the opportunity cheer on these hardworking businesspeople – just a few of many who keep our region’s economy at the top of its game – at our 2008 Small Business Awards Luncheon on Thursday, May 15.

TwinWest Chamber of Commerce 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists	TwinWest Chamber of Commerce 2008 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists
Mike Anderson QuarterTon Productions, Inc. 320.257.8787 www.quartertonproductions.com	Alex Levin ThermoDynamo Productions 612.250.2828 www.thermodynamo.com
Tom Miller Financial Concepts, Inc. 763.450.1800 www.fci-benefits.com	Jeff Peterson Total Energy Concepts, Inc. 763.536.0027 www.totalenergyconcepts.com
John Packard Culligan Water Conditioning 952.912.7363 www.culliganwater.com	Mark Suppes Shred-N-Go, Inc. 763.551.8400 www.shredngo.com

Mike Anderson QuarterTon Productions, Inc. Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist

Mike is co-owner and chief financial officer of QuarterTon Productions, Inc. in St. Cloud. He purchased a 33.3-percent stake in the company 11 months after the company was incorporated in 2002, and he has since joined the remaining co-founder in half ownership. QuarterTon Productions is a video production company that assists communicators in reaching their audiences by creating electronic media that is clear, dynamic, engaging and effective. What is it about your particular line of work that keeps you in the game? First, the variety: one week, we’re recording open-heart surgery; the next, we’re producing a furniture commercial. Second, it’s exciting to not only build our own company, but to help others build theirs.. Have you ever rolled the dice and made a risky business move? Where did you land? Aside from the huge risk of starting our own company, our biggest risk – and the one that required the greatest effort and financial obligation – was designing, building and moving into our current production center. Describe a recent win you’re proud of. We believe in the win-win theory: we win when our clients win. We recently produced a recruiting video for a client who received unsolicited positive feedback from a national industry expert. What’s one essential part of your daily strategy? Communication, communication, communication. Whether it’s sending a text message to round up participants for an early meeting, notifying clients of the status of their project or gathering to play ping-pong after a long day, we realize how important active communication is in our company.  What piece of the puzzle would you give to a struggling entrepreneur? You can’t always wait for the puzzle to be complete to make your next move. There is no perfect time to start an entrepreneurial venture, and you don’t have to be a mastermind. Being an entrepreneur isn’t a job; it’s a way of life.

Tom Miller Financial Concepts, Inc. Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist

Tom is CEO and principal at Financial Concepts, Inc. in Plymouth. The company was founded in 1983 and currently has 30 employees. Financial Concepts, Inc. is an independent, full-service consulting firm that helps clients develop and manage customized strategies for group benefits, retirement plans, executive benefits and wealth management. What is it about your particular line of work that keeps you in the game? I love working in a team environment. We have created a team-oriented culture that carries through to our client deliverables and services. Knowing we’ve made a difference is really what keeps me in the game. Have you ever rolled the dice and made a risky business move? Where did you land? We recently decided to build and design our own office building rather than lease. We wanted to invest in the best solution to suit our long-term business needs, including our growth for the next 10-plus years. The move proved to be successful. We now have an office space with training facilities, room for future development and a strong, growing team to service our clients. A move well worth the risk! Describe a recent win you’re proud of. This past October, we were awarded the 2007 Better Business Bureau Integrity Award. In our industry, staying ahead of the curve and maintaining integrity is vital due to constant regulation changes and mandatory updates most industries do not face as frequently as we do. We’ve always taken pride in our efforts to provide due diligence and hold ourselves to the highest standards of ethics, so it was rewarding to receive this recognition. What’s one essential part of your daily strategy? I spend the last 15 to 20 minutes of each day preparing for and writing down my upcoming priorities. This sets me up for the specific tasks that will need my attention the next day. It is also very important for me to stay engaged individually with my team and keep the channels of communication open. I like to walk around the production floor and ask how they’re doing, if they’ve had a good day or if there’s anything they need assistance with. What piece of the puzzle would you give to a struggling entrepreneur? Take a step back and examine your current situation, and ask yourself, “How did I get where I am?” Reconfirm you have a viable product or service. Redraft your business plan, concentrating on your core business values and what you do best.  Remember: “Make your plan – work your plan.” It takes a lot of hard work and there are very few, if any, shortcuts.

John Packard Culligan Water Conditioning Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist

John is the owner and president of Culligan Water Conditioning in Minnetonka. His father founded the company in 1946 and it currently employees 398 people. Culligan Water Conditioning provides sales and service of water softening and drinking water products for residential applications, bottled water for residential and commercial consumers, and water conditioning for commercial and industrial applications. What is it about your particular line of work that keeps you in the game? Having very satisfied customers or employees tell us how they appreciate the experience. Have you ever rolled the dice and made a risky business move? Where did you land? A number of years ago, I was given less than five minutes to make a decision to buy two companies we had a small interest in. It required significant bank borrowing, and I decided to do it. Subsequently, that caused me to buy three additional companies, and today, those companies are very successful and are strengthening our overall organization. Describe a recent win you’re proud of. As a way to improve our decision-making, we developed two groups of employees: 1) teams of top departmental managers to help make decisions, and 2) “champion teams” to improve on the execution of those decisions. This structure has improved our ability to make better corporate decisions and carry them out more effectively, and it has provided the additional benefit of further developing and recognizing more of our employees.   What’s one essential part of your daily strategy? I like to have face-to-face meetings with individual key employees as a way to communicate important issues rather than using e-mail or talking on the phone. I do this to keep in touch and better communicate a sense of urgency or importance of an issue. What piece of the puzzle would you give to a struggling entrepreneur? Make sure you have the right people on the "bus."

Alex Levin ThermoDynamo Productions Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist

Alex is the founder, producer and director of ThermoDynamo Productions in Edina. He founded the company in 2003 and currently employs 10 contractors. ThermoDynamo Productions is a Web design and development group that has partnerships in the U.S. and former Soviet Union. What is it about your particular line of work that keeps you in the game? Web design and development is one of the major forces that builds the World Wide Web. Building even a small part of such an awesome entity is a great privilege. When businesses need to go online, they call on the experts. Working flexibly with a variety of industries keeps our ideas fresh and innovative. Have you ever rolled the dice and made a risky business move? Where did you land? The very nature of the word “entrepreneur” carries with it the undertaking of risk. The risk I took was not following the mold that had defined success for so many others.  Describe a recent win you’re proud of. Crossing the 100th-completed Web production milestone, which is a great source of pride considering we started at zero. What’s one essential part of your daily strategy? I stay on top of my to-do list, and I constantly monitor emerging technology and best practices in our industry to make sure our clients are getting the best service. What piece of the puzzle would you give to a struggling entrepreneur? If you believe in your idea, never give up! As Theodore Roosevelt said, "The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything." Amen.

Jeff Peterson Total Energy Concepts, Inc. Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist

Jeff is president of Total Energy Concepts, Inc. in New Hope. He founded the company in 2005 and currently has two employees. Total Energy Concepts, Inc. is an energy optimization company that, by installing TVSS (transient volt surge suppressors) and PFC (power factor correction) units, helps facilities reduce electric energy consumption by at least 15 percent. What is it about your particular line of work that keeps you in the game? I am one who definitely believes it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. For me, it’s not about the sale of a product, but knowing that every day, I’ve helped someone reduce their overhead and energy consumption and helped make them a stronger company. I’m not a “tree hugger,” but I believe every business and person has a duty to help protect our planet and do their part to “go green.” Have you ever rolled the dice and made a risky business move? Where did you land? In my past, I sold memory cards for digital cameras. This was a very stable product line and I was doing well. But when I was approached to take on an energy system (that I knew nothing about) to help businesses reduce their energy costs, I just felt it was the proper thing to do. So I rolled the dice and started all over with a new product and new customers. I know now it was the right decision for me and my company.   Describe a recent win you’re proud of. Every day, our company strives to attain 100 percent customer satisfaction. Recently, we were awarded the business of a national customer based not only on our performance during a test period but also on our outstanding ongoing customer service. Doing your best is great, but surprising customers by doing the unexpected is the best. What’s one essential part of your daily strategy? Every successful person has goals, strategies and a map of how to achieve the nearly impossible. But, building relationships is by far the number one philosophy any business or entrepreneur must subscribe to. People buy from people they like, respect and feel comfortable with. This is my main business and personal strategy. What piece of the puzzle would you give to a struggling entrepreneur? Hold up your hand and look at it: you have four fingers and a thumb. In your marketplace, always try to be the thumb – in other words, offer something different. Show prospective clients how you’ll solve their problem, and your business will stand out.

Mark Suppes Shred-N-Go, Inc. Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist

Mark is president and owner of Shred-N-Go, Inc. in Plymouth. He founded the company in 2003 and currently has five employees. Shred-N-Go, Inc. is an on-site mobile paper shredding service operating throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin.  What is it about your particular line of work that keeps you in the game? The difference between average and the best is extraordinary customer service, which starts with each staff member having a positive attitude and ends with meticulous attention to detail. People enjoy working with people who are positive, professional and helpful. We've never lost a customer due to a security breach or customer service failure. As a team, we're very proud of this track record and expect it to continue. Have you ever rolled the dice and made a risky business move? Where did you land? In 2004, we were asked to be part of an organization that solicits national shredding contracts. As a start-up, we were hungry for business. The principal individual turned out to lack integrity and management competence, and we lost money. We landed on our feet, and I learned several valuable lessons: trust yourself and don't look to others to drive your business. Describe a recent win you’re proud of. Due to signed confidentiality agreements we're not allowed to discuss specific customers. That said, we recently contracted with a local Fortune 500 company to implement a national shredding program whereby we shred in Minnesota and utilize subcontractors elsewhere who have the same industry accreditations as Shred-N-Go, Inc.  They love what we've done with respect to customer service and centralized billing.  What’s one essential part of your daily strategy? I'm a linear thinker and adhere to the adage "plan your work and work your plan." At the close of each day, I prepare a to-do-list for the following day. Over the years I've found this beneficial as it provides structure, discipline and priority. If I don’t use this technique, I get pulled in too many directions and don't get anything done. What piece of the puzzle would you give to a struggling entrepreneur? 1) It's imperative to have the support of your spouse. You can't fight battles at home and in the marketplace and expect to win them both. 3) Passion and persistence are virtues. 3) People in general are afraid to fail. Don’t be. I've failed before, and it's not so bad.