The Venture Center at Fox Valley Technical College helped Louis launch Wolf River Outfitters, a business that introduces the great outdoors to people seeking adventure in tranqulity. In addition, his business also provides great experiences for disabled citizens in our community, thanks to a special invention through FVTC's FAB LAB.Click here to view Louis' video!
GREEN BAY — New North Inc. will present "A Taste of Entrepreneurship" during its annual summit Dec. 8 at the KI Center in Green Bay.
The event features dozens of food venders, showcasing their specialty cuisine and offering samples. More than 1,000 community leaders, entrepreneurs and business leaders expected to attend.
Anyone interested in exhibiting during the summit must register by Oct. 31.
For more information on the 2009 New North Summit, visit www.thenewnorth.com.
New North Inc. is a regional collaboration effort focused on promoting cooperation and economic development in an 18-county region in northeast Wisconsin. The 18 counties included are Outagamie, Winnebago, Calumet, Waupaca, Brown, Shawano, Oconto, Marinette, Door, Kewaunee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Florence, Menominee, and Waushara.
APPLETON — Andy Maracini, former cabinetmaker turned geographical information specialist, has shifted gears in more ways than work.
Last November, he and his wife chose to relocate to the Fox Cities from Marquette, Mich. Having left a small environmental science firm, he started his own business, Superior GIS Solutions LLC, mainly due to the scarcity of job openings in his profession in the Fox Cities.
Q: You're move to the Fox Cities sounds like you took a stab in the dark.
A: Not really. My wife, Patricia Callahan, accepted a position with ThedaCare. She's a pediatrician. It looked like a great opportunity (and) we were familiar with the area. Unfortunately, that's when the bottom fell out (of the economy). I still think we're situated much better than in Michigan. Michigan is really having problems.
Q: You say your own firm wouldn't be possible without Patricia's backing?
A: She's been incredibly supportive. I couldn't do this without her.
Q: You sound really enthused by GIS.
A: I've always loved the sciences. GIS is really unique. It allows me to work with archaeologists, with geologists, with hydrologists. I've worked with landscape architects, with military planners.
Q: Where do you see GIS going for a firm such as yours?
A: I think for a long time GIS has been a support tool that engineers, planners and architects have used. We've as GIS people always been stuck in a back room as part of a larger firm. I think as the industry grows, you're seeing more and more GIS specific firms rather than a GIS department in an engineering firm. So I think there's more opportunity for GIS business.
Q: You mentioned the military and Washington, D.C. How did you develop those contacts?
A: I still have quite a few contacts in the D.C. area, which is where I cut my teeth (after graduate school ). I did a lot of work for the Navy as a contractor. Also, I did some work with the State Department.
Q: If you could pursue specialties in your field, what would they be?
A: My heart is definitely in environmental science. Also, my formal training is in urban planning. I also have a lot of practical experience in facilities management.
Pete Bach: 920-993-1000, ext. 430, or
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The first class of the Pro-Seed Training Program of the Venture Center at Fox Valley Technical College has completed a training program for small business growth. The program combines online curriculum developed by E-Myth Worldwide, with one-to-one business coaching and VIP networking speaker events to help small businesses. Participants identify and create improvement systems through tools, technology and expert insight. The following individuals have completed the program: Jon Bartz, Martenson & Eisele; Carol Brauer, BrightStar Healthcare; Gene Dorn, D&D Excavating & Landscape Service; Don Goggin, Pinnacle Photo & Portraits; Janet Golla, Janet's Custom Design; Sara Holtz, American Animal Hospital; David Kozlowski, Kwik Investments; David Lindenstruth, HuHot Mongolian Grill; Patrick Mahoney, American Animal Hospital; Aaron Matuszewski, Prefinished Staining Products; Jerry Oberstadt, Oberstadt Landscapes & Nursery; Annilee Pietsch, the Pietsch Team; Diane Pruchnofski, P&D Metal Works; Kim Pruchnofski, P&D Metal Works; Andy Reuland, the Credit Coach; and Jeff Schultz, Martenson & Eisele.
Buy local. Those two little words are gaining traction with consumers as more shoppers are thinking about where the stuff they buy is coming from. While some shoppers are focused more on the “green” aspect of buying local – items produced locally create a smaller carbon footprint – others see how buying local provides an economic shot-in-the-arm to a community.
That’s the thinking behind the 3/50 Project, which is gaining traction in the Fox Valley thanks to a trio of business owners enrolled in a custom Pro-Seed class focused on marketing at Fox Valley Technical College.
Andrea Hogan, the owner of Home Things, a small Grand Chute retail shop, first became aware of the 3/50 Project while surfing the Internet. She read a blog by Cinda Baxter, a former small business owner in Minnesota that presented a simple idea: If half of the employed U.S. population each spent $50 a month with local, independent businesses, it would generate nearly $43 billion. Baxter then threw out two other statistics: $68 stays within a community for every $100 spent with an independent business while only $43 of that same $100 stays in a community if spent at a national retailer. If that $100 is spent online, nothing comes back to the community.
“It really caught my eye that by spending money with local bricks-and-mortar businesses we can keep more dollars here in our community,” says Hogan. “Small businesses are vital and key to our community. We need to do what we can to help them thrive.”
Hogan shared her thoughts with classmates Gail Giese, owner of Dinner Helpers in Appleton, and Cindy Glatz, co-owner of Heavy Critters, a concrete statuary business in Oshkosh. The trio – under the guidance of their course instructor, Al Lautenslager, a marketing author, speaker and consultant – decided to bring the 3/50 Project to the region.
“The emphasis of the 3/50 Project is to keep money in the local economy and to communicate why it’s important to keep money in the local economy rather than spending it at a retailer who then sends it somewhere else,” Lautenslager says. “Small businesses need every tool they can and this is a great marketing tool to tie into.”
Hogan says the key is to now spread the word about the 3/50 Project and get businesses and consumers involved. She not only tells customers who come into her Casaloma Drive shop about the program, she also hands out flyers and cards and asks them to spread the word.
