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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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by Andrew Tellijohn
December 2007

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Best Practices: Intro

BEST PRACTICES: INTRO

strong showing
30 finalists share their best ways to build a business
by Beth Ewen

WHEN UPSIZE BEGAN its third annual search this spring to find the smartest ways to build a business, we went to the best source: the owners of growing companies.

In the pages that follow, we report their 30 best practices and tips for applying those ideas to your own enterprises.

We asked for best practices in six areas crucial to operating a business. Our judges considered the flood of nominees, and chose in July five finalists in each category based primarily on the impact of the best practice on company performance.

On Oct. 25, 2007, those CEOs, presidents, directors and managers gathered for an energetic and informative day: the third Upsize Business Builder Awards & Seminar, presented by Winthrop & Weinstine.

In each of six panel discussions throughout the morning, five finalists detailed what works for them and answered questions about how to make it work for others. A sixth panelist, an expert on the topic invited by Upsize, helped attendees apply the best practices to their own growing enterprises.

The day wrapped up with an awards luncheon, in which a winner in each category was announced. They are: Best Practices in Finance & Operations: PowerObjects. Best Practices in Customer Relations: ORBIT Systems. Best Practices in Technology & Innovation: Innovative Tools & Technologies. Best Practices in Community Impact: Evolve Systems. Best Practices in People & Workplace: Aeritae Consulting Group. Best Practices in Communications & Marketing: Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Ministries Foundation.

Finally, we named the Upsize Business Builder of the Year, based on revenue increases over three years and overall approach to driving healthy growth. Lighthouse1 LLC is this award winner. CEO Jeff Fritz details his strategy for grabbing up as much of a hot new market as possible, as quickly as possible, in our cover story inside.

Sponsors of the event and invited guests provided expert panelists and moderators throughout the morning, as well as judges for the selection committee this summer: Brian Kensicki and Mark Gleeman of Winthrop & Weinstine, the Minneapolis law firm; Kirk Hoaglund of Clientek, the Minneapolis information technology consulting firm; Elin Raymond of The Sage Group, the Minneapolis marketing and communications firm; Kathy Moriarty of the Neighborhood Development Center, the St. Paul resource organization for entrepreneurs; and Barbara Klas of the International Institute for Women Entrepreneurs, College of St. Catherine, a St. Paul resource organization.

Joe duBord and Brian Hagen of This Clicks Interactive, a division of MediTech Communications Inc., (www.gomeditech.com) produced the video presentation of all finalists, sponsors and award winners.

Complete coverage follows of 30 best practices, six experts? advice, six winners? philosophies, plus detailed advice and ?lessons I learned? from the Upsize Business Builder of the Year.