Popular Articles

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?

read more
by Beth Ewen
October 2006

Related Article

For better PR, create a newsroom culture in your company

Read more

Education

Saint Mary’s MBA aids launch of Fabelos Imports, owner says

A trip to China made the difference to Frank Abange’s business, Fabelos Imports at Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis.

The trip in March was the required capstone to his degree, a global-focused MBA that is offered at Saint Mary’s University in the Twin Cities. His is the first graduating class.

“I’ve had the idea of bringing distant cultures closer to home,” says Abange (pronounced a-BONG-gay). Fabelos Imports sells African masks, ceramics, vases, jewelry, wooden sculptures from Bali and Indonesia, and musical instruments.

The focus of the program was “teaching you how to do business with a global mindset,” he says, “looking at the world as one global marketplace.” He’s from Cameroon, and came to the United States in 1999.

His trip to China in the spring led to contacts. “My very first day was nothing like I’ve experienced before. It’s a developed world with a lot of culture and influence. When you get in there, you feel like you’ve traveled.”

He met with students at universities in China, and went to a trade fair where he took a business card. He e-mailed the person he met, but there was a language barrier. He found a shipping agent in California who became the intermediary.

The other hurdle was paying for the goods. A local banker insisted on a letter of credit, but the Chinese company demanded cash.

“I didn’t know who I’m dealing with,” he says. But reassured by his shipping agent that it was OK, he wired the money. “It’s interesting for you to make the decision to wire money,” he says.

Abange used savings and a loan from the Neighborhood Development Corp. to start Fabelos Imports. His next goal is to sell to Fortune 500 companies, “to put products in their workplace to represent the cultures in their work force,” he says.

Frank Abange, Fabelos Imports: 612.872.8252; frankabange@fabelosimports.com; www.fabelosimports.com. Saint Mary’s University: www.smumn.edu