Success story: Danni Nicole's
Upscale women's clothing store taps unmet market in northeast Missouri
"I had no idea I would ever go into business," admits 44-year-old Mary Short. Today she owns not one, but two women's clothing stores — both named Danni Nicole's — on Main Street in downtown Hannibal, Mo.
The path that led Mary to her current entrepreneurial circumstances is a circuitous one.
For the first 20 years of her working life, Mary managed fast food restaurants — Taco Bell and KFC — for a franchisee in the Hannibal area. Next, she worked in patient accounts at a local hospital.
While working at that job tragedy struck Mary's family. Her younger daughter — Danni Nicole — died suddenly in an automobile accident at 18.
"I did that job for a couple of years," she says. "I sat at a desk for eight hours a day. I was constantly thinking of Danni. I knew I had to do something to occupy my every moment."
Mary determined her accounting job was not where she wanted to be. She needed a job to engage her energy and capture her interest. It was then she hit on the idea of starting a retail shop.
Two long-time clothiers in Hannibal had shut their doors. One of them was selling its display racks. With encouragement from her husband Lowell and cooperation from her older daughter Crystal, Mary bought the equipment and put it in temporary storage. Next she sought a store location. She found one that needed a lot of work, in the downtown shopping district. It took six weeks to renovate.
In the interim Mary began a search for financial backing. Unfortunately, every bank in town turned her down. They all told her she needed a business plan.
She turned to the local SBA representative, Bob Newman. He pointed her to Charles Holland, a University of Missouri Extension business specialist in neighboring Monroe County. Holland, who is part the statewide Small Business and Technology Development Centers, jumped at the chance to help his new client.
Read this complete success story with additional photos.
Tax season offers opportunities to hone business operations
It's Tax Season! Not the normal time to party, but the perfect time to do a little more for your business than just hand over the receipts to the CPA.
Food for thought: this year, when you are gathering all the leftover bills and receipts to prepare for the annual tax event, take a few minutes to look at your books from a different angle than you do during the rest of the year.
Starting with the profit and loss statement, is gross margin slipping a little bit? That can be an indicator of a lot of things, primarily related to pricing and purchasing. I like to break those down and simplify each for a specific kind of business. Remember, a dollar saved in the purchase of an item equates to at least a buck in gross profit.
So you might want to focus on purchasing issues and ways to tighten that up. For example: whenever purchasing products or services and you have negotiated to the final figure, ask the last question, "Is this your best price?" Be obstinate about this one. It can ultimately reduce your costs to what the government or even Wal-Mart pays!
Read the complete article on tax season opportunities,
Missouri Department of Natural Resources develops team to focus on green jobs
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has formed a new economic development team to develop green business and industry opportunities in Missouri. The new team, part of the department's Division of Energy, will work to establish Missouri as a leading state for environmentally beneficial business and industry.
The team's goals are to promote, attract and retain businesses and industries in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other expanding manufacturing or service fields that help preserve or restore environmental quality.
Three factors underscore the importance of pursuing growth in green jobs in the Missouri: the state requirement that a percentage of electricity generation comes from cleaner energy sources; the national focus on increased use of cleaner energy resources; and the promise of economic advantage for Missouri. Many of the new green jobs related to energy and other sectors will include a combination of traditional, transitional and new occupations that will highlight green skills and knowledge.
For additional information, contact DNR's green team by calling 573-526-7557, e-mail Matt Jarrett at matt.jarrett@dnr.mo.gov, or e-mail the department's Division of Energy at energy@dnr.mo.gov.
Business going green
Green hotels cater to increasing numbers
of eco-conscious travelers
With increasing consumer focus on the environmental impact of everything, it's no surprise that travelers are seeking hotels that consider the environment too. Consumers who buy locally produced food, products with less packaging, and compact fluorescent light bulbs, want lodging that does the same.
"Going green is one of the hottest trends in the lodging industry," says Ray Burger, owner of Pineapple Hospitality, a green hotel product supplier and environmental/marketing consulting firm in St. Charles, Mo. "No one used to talk about green lodging, unless it was about energy efficiency, until California started their program in 2004, and since then it has really taken off."
Missouri's Green Lodging Certification Program began in January 2009 and almost 30 hotels are now certified. The program is conducted through the Missouri Hotel and Lodging Association. Its coordinator, Ramona Mormann, says, "The [green hotel] program uses a combination of self-reporting by member hotels and random third-party inspections to ensure that members are adhering to written commitments to implement strategies to reduce environmental impacts."
Read the rest of this story on green hotels.
SBA News
SBA report indicates nearly two-thirds of new jobs come from small business
WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a recent 15-year period, small businesses created some 65 percent of the net new jobs in the private sector, according to conservative estimates cited in a new report from the SBA Office of Advocacy. In An Analysis of Small Business and Jobs, Advocacy economist Brian Headd notes that many of the new jobs are in new business startups, but an even larger share are in expanding firms of all sizes — particularly mid-sized firms with 20-499 employees.
"More and more, we're finding that both new startups and ongoing high-growth firms have important roles to play in the labor market," said Susan M. Walthall, acting chief counsel for Advocacy. "Fast-growing firms scattered across the economy create a large share of jobs — and because no one can predict which idea will be the next to catch on, it's important to create an environment in which a wide spectrum can start up and expand."
Advocacy's analysis of the quarterly Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that during the 15 years from 1993 to mid-2008, 31 percent of net job gains (jobs created minus jobs lost) came from the opening of new establishments. An even larger share — the remaining 69 percent — were from ongoing firms of all sizes that expanded. (These net figures are based on establishment openings minus closings and establishment expansions minus contractions.)
The business cycle is an important factor in the net creation or loss of jobs. In the current downturn, firms with fewer than 20 employees began losing jobs as early as the second quarter of 2007. From 2008 to the second quarter of 2009, these smallest firms accounted for 24 percent of the net job losses, while those with 20-499 employees accounted for 36 percent; the remaining 40 percent of job losses were in large firms with more than 500 employees.
Kauffman Foundation launches online Energy Innovation Network to close gap between energy innovations, consumer demand
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With more than $80 billion already invested in U.S. clean energy development and another $150 billion being proposed, this emerging industry has been tagged as essential to jump-start the economy and create new jobs. Yet significant barriers plague this highly regulated, complex sector that prevent it from making the kind of progress that such high expectations demand.
Knowing that entrepreneurs can accelerate the clean energy revolution if given access to the right networks, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has launched the Energy Innovation Network. EIN will provide links to technologies, entrepreneurs, finance, buyers and policymakers to make the pathway for energy entrepreneurs more transparent.
"Few industries have had to overcome the high capital requirements, regulatory hurdles and variety of stakeholders that clean energy is facing," said Lesa Mitchell, vice president of Advancing Innovation at the Kauffman Foundation. "While there may be an energy innovation imperative, there is no energy innovation mechanism. The Energy Innovation Network will help close the gap between demand and delivery."
The online network will match researchers, entrepreneurs, buyers, investors and decision-makers to support high-growth energy businesses. It also will provide policymakers with information that will help them develop programs that can support clean energy entrepreneurship.
"Using their connections through the Energy Innovation Network, entrepreneurs will be able to address policy, finance and market structure issues early in their business development, which will help them scale sooner and more quickly," said Kimberly de los Santos, Kauffman Foundation program advisor.
EIN is designed to close the innovation gap between energy research and the market by:
- Connecting entrepreneurs with researchers who can develop new technologies
- Linking startups with energy buyers
- Helping corporations find energy partners
- Informing states that want to enact policies that will encourage clean energy development
- Enabling regions to scale state-level innovation strategies.
Congressman Skelton's annual procurement conference set for June 4 in Sedalia
The 2010 edition of Rep. Ike Skelton's Procurement Conference is set for June 4, at State Fair Community College in Sedalia. This day-long event is designed to help inform small business owners who are interested in learning the details of obtaining business contracts from federal departments and agencies.
"More than 1,500 government agencies and prime contractors have been invited to discuss their contracting opportunities with interested businesses," says Morris Hudson, director of the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers. Exhibitors interested in showcasing their products and services at the conference's trade show should call 573-882-8058 to reserve an exhibition booth. Registration details for business interested in attending the conference will be available in April.
The conference is sponsored by Missouri's 4th District Congressman Ike Skelton in cooperation with MO PTAC, the Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers, the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development at the University of Central Missouri, and SFCC.
New publication emphasizes benefits of employee wellness programs for businesses
Workplace wellness programs are proliferating. They pay off in increased productivity, improved staff retention, higher morale and lower absenteeism. Such programs also can help reduce health care benefit costs for businesses. For every dollar an employer spends on a wellness program, the average return on investment ranges between $3 and $5, according to a report from the Wisconsin Public Health and Health Policy Institute.
WorkWell Missouri Tool Kit, a new University of Missouri Extension publication sponsored by the Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition, walks businesses through the process of creating a wellness program — from understanding the benefits to evaluating the outcomes.
The book provides numerous ideas for wellness plans from simple policy changes (e.g. serving fresh fruit at meetings) to comprehensive (e.g. providing an on-site exercise facility).
The 92-page book is available for $30 from MU Extension publications.
Preview some of the contents at:
Send this newsletter to a friend
Visit www.missouribusiness.net/newsletter to read previous newsletters archived on our Web site.
For more information about doing business in Missouri, visit MissouriBusiness.net or contact one of our service centers.
Subscribe to this newsletter at www.missouribusiness.net/newsletter_sign_up.asp. Unsubscribe information is found at the bottom of each eNews letter. We will never share or sell your e-mail address to others.
Missouri Business eNews is published monthly by the
University of Missouri's Business Development Program.
W1051 Lafferre Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
573-882-4321
