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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
March 2008

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Management

INFORMER :: MANAGEMENT

Newly named Clearfield
hits another first:
profitable quarter

by Beth Ewen

The first profitable quarter was a notable achievement for Clearfield Inc. and its new CEO, Cheri Beranek Podzimek.

?In our first quarter? for the company?s new fiscal year ?we recorded $120,000 of profit,? she says, the first time ever for the 20-year-old firm. They had a little party.

Podzimek has led a transformation of the firm, including a new company name and the shuttering of some of the company?s original business lines, under direction of the board of directors. ?It?s hugely been in transition,? she says.

Formerly called APA Enterprises Inc., the company used to develop high-tech precision optical lenses and ultraviolet light detectors, but the business lost money. About five years ago, she says, they formed a subsidiary to provide revenue, APA Cables & Networks. Over the last few years, APA Cables & Networks went from $11 million to $18.5 million in revenue.

Podzimek was running the subsidiary, which is now the main business, and took over as CEO. Clearfield is focusing on supplying copper and fiber-optic equipment to rural telecommunications companies.

?The final actions were taken in June but it had been going on for a long time,? she says about all the changes. ?My focus was to keep the subsidiary operating without getting distracted. We spent a lot of time sticking to our values.

?What we talked about is let?s just focus on fundamentals: customer needs, customer service, taking the order. It?s nothing really fancy. It?s attention on the core blocking and tackling.?

Cheri Beranek Podzimek, Clearfield Inc.: 763.476.6866; cpodzimek@clfd.net; www.clearfieldconnection.com