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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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Focus
by Andrew Tellijohn
December 2008

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Upsize Business Builder:
Best Practices

30 finalists showcase their
best ways to build a businessby Beth Ewen

WHEN UPSIZE BEGAN its fourth annual search in the 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 August five finalists in each category based primarily on the impact of the best practice on company performance.

On October 29, those CEOs, presidents, directors and managers gathered for an energetic and informative day: the fourth 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, helped attendees apply the best practices to their own firms.

The day wrapped up with an awards luncheon, in which a winner in each category was announced. They are: Best Practices in Finance & Operations: Big Ink Display Graphics. Best Practices in Customer Relations: Paragon Solutions. Best Practices in Technology & Innovation: Creative Water Solutions. Best Practices in Community Impact: Pinnacle Services. Best Practices in People & Workplace: Beehive PR. Best Practices in Communications & Marketing: Chocolat Celeste.

Finally, we named the Upsize Business Builder of the Year, based on revenue increases over three years and overall approach to driving healthy growth. CotterWeb Enterprises Inc. is this award winner, and CEO Daren Cotter details his strategy 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: Steve Baird and Mark Gleeman of Winthrop & Weinstine, the Minneapolis law firm;  Tom Moe of Daily Printing; Kim Brown of JNBA Financial Advisors, the Bloomington wealth management firm; and Elin Raymond of The Sage Group, the Minneapolis marketing and communications firm.

Also serving as judges were Mike Ryan of the Small Business Development Center, University of St. Thomas; Kathy Moriarty of the Neighborhood Development Center, the St. Paul resource organization for entrepreneurs; and Diane Paterson of WomenVenture, the St. Paul-based organization to help women achieve economic independence.

Joe duBord and Brian Hagen of Meditech Communications Inc. and ThisClicks Interactive 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.

Events

Beth Ewen

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