The Venture Center

New North B2B
August 2010 

Competing against high volume vet clinics with individual, patient-centric pet care story

SKIP THE BOTTOM-LINE EFFICIENCY EXPERTS. Round out the corners (versus cutting them). Bring in the staff you want and spend the time you need. In short, sometimes, you just have to devote more time, more energy, more heart and more gut-level, one-on-one passion and compassion to your business, even if it means you may not end up relaxing on the biggest yacht in the marina at the end of the day.

That’s the way Dr. Patrick Mahoney, owner of American Animal Hospital in Neenah, does business. Talk to him for more than a few minutes and it becomes obvious that this is more than just a job, and he is more than just a veterinarian. Their mission and motto is: “Caring for your pets as if they were our own.”

Mahoney readily admits that “we run a touchy-feely practice. We are advocates for both the owners and their pets. We are very patient focused. When you bring your pet into our hospital, we actually have a patient advocate. One person will be assigned to be with you. There is a one-on-one from the time you come in until the time you leave.”

As a result, Mahoney sometimes ends up competing toe-to-toe with the growing number of quick-in, quick-out, low-cost, high-volume pet clinics in the area. His greatest joy is the animals and their owners, many of whom become personal friends. His greatest challenge is educating potential clients that quality pet care does cost more than what they might spend at the bare-bones, cookie cutter clinics.

That also helps explain the clinic’s 14 staff members, even though it is not a high-volume practice. The staff bios on the animal hospital’s Web site not only give their professional titles and skills, but also something personal about their backgrounds and, of course, their animals.

That translates into dedicated professionalism. You cannot just drop off your pet for a quick spaying at the American Animal Hospital.

“We require blood testing before surgery and an exam to determine that the heart is good, teeth are fine, and so on. We also use IV fluids,” said Mahoney, all to assure that the animal receives the best care possible and endures as little pain as possible.

The facility is also accredited with the American Animal Hospital Association, which sets high standards for everything from record keeping to continuing education, quality of X-rays, and quality of service.

“Most people do not realize that animal hospitals have no inspection or required accreditation. We’re one of a few in the area that have adopted the AAHA standards.”

North American Fishing Club
July/August/September 2010

This lightweight two-piece brace secures a fishing rod to the arm of an angler who has physical difficulty grasping. The brace’s main piece is secured to the forearm with Velcro straps while the second section is attached to the rod handle with nylon zip ties. Contact Enjoy The Fight at (920) 446-3116; enjoythefight.com.

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WLUK Fox 11
June 21, 2010 

"Lemonade" shown at FVTC

GRAND CHUTE - A room full of job seekers in Grand Chute, looked for inspiration in unemployment Monday.
The group was watching a 36 minute documentary called "Lemonade" at Fox Valley Technical College.

The film follows the story of laid off workers from across the country as they cope with their pink slip. Then begin to find what really drives them, exactly where they're meant to be.

"It is kind of a process, you go through all kinds of phases, you're angry, you're upset, you're sad," Dave Miller of Appleton said.

Miller can relate to the movie.  He used 15 months of unemployment to get more education.

"There's great days, there's bad days," he said.  "There's great hours and bad
hours sometimes."

Miller just learned he's landed a job managing property and asset holds
for a local business.

The filmmaker, Erik Proulx of Massachussets says he hopes the six month project shows workers it's not a pink slip, it's a blank page.

"Losing my job was the beginning of the whole project, when I started losing my job and then blogging to other people who had lost their job and then hearing really inspiring stories," he said of his transition from ad agency employee to filmmaker.

"All of the rules have changed, there are no rules," Chris Czarnick with Job Seekers Network said.

Job Seekers Network showed the film and says it's an important
message.  While unemployement is frightening for many, it can be an opportunity, Czarnick says.

"We as Wisconsin we have an unemployment issue, but I think we
also have a lot of support in place," Czarnick said.

Job Seekers offers five classes in two cities. Each leads about 100
people through a structured search.

In honor of the film organizers served lemonade, but to show
job seeking is hard work, audience members had to squeeze their own.

"It's really inspiring and I loved hearing the stories," Andee Vosters said.

Vosters recently started her own marketing company, after utilizing Job Seekers services.

Proulx is working on a spin-off film that will focus on Detroit.  He says he's also writing a book and doing freelance ad consulting, to earn a living.

View the story: http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/film-shows-opportunity-in-unemployment.

Fox 11 Good Day Wisconsin
June 11, 2010

View the TV spot from Good Day Wisconsin that Mad Dog and Merrill did using Old Man Charley's Brat Sauce!

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/good_day_wi/mad-dog-and-merrill-make-pulled-pork-and-spoon-steaks