Joe Keeley, 25, started with a student project that he?s working to build much, much bigger.

As a 19-year-old college student, he launched a successful summer nanny placement business matching college students with families. Around graduation, he attracted the attention of Minnesota businessman Peter Lytle.

Lytle, well known for business turnarounds and his 2002 bid for Fingerhut, was so impressed with Keeley?s business model that not only did he invest in Keeley?s company ? providing an infusion of much-needed capital ? but also partnered with him to design a bigger and better concept that expanded into tutoring.

Now, the pair are in the process of nationally franchising the Wayzata-based business ? called College Nannies & Tutors Inc. ? with plans of opening 200 locations in five years.

Keeley, president and CEO, says the business hasn?t always been smooth sailing. When he launched what was then called Summer College Nannies in 2001 during his sophomore year at the University of St. Thomas, he was running it from a hohe shared with a bunch of guys.

He says that wasn?t exactly conducive to running a company, especially one dedicated to kids. He also was balancing the life of a full-time student and business owner.

Liza Minnelli is not only still standing, but she also can still belt out a song.

This astonishing fact was revealed to me in September, when I saw her in person at a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims in New York City?s Gershwin Theater.

There she was, boot-cut pants showing off dancer?s legs, glittery swing coat concealing ponderous upper body, big eyes made huge with a pound of makeup. Backlit, and fronted by the opening to ?New York, New York? played by the Liza Minnelli Band, she started delivering her number.

And I thought: If Liza can keep kicking after everything she?s been through, so can Upsize, so can any growing company.

Two years' worth of owners, on what it's really like to be in business

Just after Sept. 11, 2001, the stock market had gone south, which led insurance companies to charge more for coverage.

Furthermore, the number of claims and their monetary cost had skyrocketed at Driessen Culligan. The company?s rates had doubled, and the water purification franchisee in Northfield had become almost uninsurable.

After speaking with an insurance salesman, Dan Driessen, CEO, entered an unusual partnership with RJF Agencies Inc., an independent insurance broker that also works with companies to install safety measures, action plans and other strategies to reduce the risk and likelihood of future claims.

If Joe Robbie had gotten his way, Dakota County would be a far different place than it is today.

In the early 1960s Robbie was the chairman of the Minnesota Municipal Commission, a government organization that had strong input on annexation issues.

Robbie, who eventually became the popular owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL franchise, believed bigger was better. He dreamed of one giant city consisting of what is now Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville and Rosemount.

Those six cities today make up the economic heartbeat of Dakota County, now the third most populous county in Minnesota.

When Mendota Heights-based CPA Richard Schmitt needs to find answers to questions on workers compensation or employment law, he knows he can find ideas through other small-business owners he?s met through the Northern Dakota County Chamber of Commerce.

When Phil Brunger of Intellifeed Inc. needed assistance attracting highly skilled employees to the Rosemount-based company, he consulted with Joe Klein of the Department of Employment and Economic Development Division in West St. Paul.