[brain teasers]
WE'RE EXCITED tohost 30 CEOs sharing their best business-building practices Thursday,Oct. 25, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Upsize Business Builder Awards& Seminar, presented by Winthrop & Weinstine.
We?ll celebrate at the awards luncheon, of course, but before thatwe?ll offer a unique Upsize morning: six panel discussions whereattendees can hear about these exceptional ideas, ask questions, andmotivate themselves and their teams just as their year-end planningsessions begin.
I hope you?ll bring your management teams and join us for an event thatwill pack your brain with new ideas and your contact list with newleads. Register by visiting dev.divistack.com; click on the event logo.
The presenters are finalists for this year?s awards, selected from aflood of nominations for the impact of their best practice on companyperformance. Here?s a sampling of what you?ll learn:
? Engineered Products Co. created a company scorecard that measuresservice levels, and expanded its error tracking mechanisms to catcherrors during order entry, and from sales reps, vendors and freightcompanies, too. The result: nice gains in orders shipped complete andorders shipped on time, and an impressive overall growth rate,especially for an established firm.
? Mike Otto Construction Inc. built all its practices around ?green?remodeling, long before the current craze to do so, and the result is adistinct marketing plan that appeals to professionals who arehomeowners in its target market, and sets the company apart from a slewof competitors. As Mike Otto says, it?s good for the environment, too.
? Pet Crossing Animal Hospital, a finalist in the Community Impactcategory, provides a safe place for animals displaced by domesticviolence. Dr. Kate Knutson reports that women living with abusivepartners often won?t leave the relationship for fear of what the abuserwill do to cherished pets ? something that our judges for the awards,and probably others as well, didn?t know. Pet Crossing serves a needand educates others, all at once.
? Elvin Safety completed an overhaul of its operations, with a buyoutfrom a turnaround management firm and a repositioning from aproduct-centric firm to a service-oriented one. Revenue increased 25percent with significantly higher margins, and after three straightyears of losing money it?s now in the black. I?m eager to hear CEO BobCass detail Elvin?s moves on the Finance & Operations paneldiscussion.
? Serotek Corp. develops software and technology that makes anycomputer and the Internet accessible to the blind and visuallyimpaired, and has many firsts under its belt: CEO Mike Calvo says itwas the first to make its products Vista-ready; the first to introduceRemote Access Management and Remote Incident Management for corporateIT departments, and now is the first to make Web 2.0 accessible to theblind and visually impaired.
There are a lot more, 25 to be exact. Come see and learn for yourself,and when you?re there please come say hello to me. I?ll be runningaround all morning, talking with as many business owners as I can andof course moderating a few panel discussions and presenting awardsalong the way.
I?d love to hear about what you are doing to build your company?sbusiness. I?ll do my best to include it in an upcoming issue of Upsize.
? Beth Ewen
editor and co-founder
Upsize Minnesota
bewen@upsizemag.com
