Cover Story
Cover Story -Be Prepared
In mid-2008, Owatonna-based General Equipment Co. was going gangbusters. The construction equipment maker had a 12-week lead time on projects and life looked good. President Dennis Von Ruden remembers going into a staff meeting around that time and sharing his plans to downsize the company. “They looked at me like I was crazy,” he says. […] Continue reading →
Letter From the Editor
Letter From the Editor
The co-founder of HabitAware, Aneela Idnani Kumar, was clearly emotional as she pitched her company’s concept to a panel of judges and audience members at MEDA’s $1 Million Challenge for Minority Entrepreneurs earlier this year. And that was a big part of her power. “At around age 12 I started pulling out my hair. Weird, […] Continue reading →
Back Page
Back Page – Interview with Diane Rucker
St. Paul-based University Enterprise Laboratories opened in 2005 with 125,000 square feet of space and 21 wet labs for life science companies. It was founded as an incubator for new businesses and for the last 15 years it’s been nearly full. In May, UEL opened the doors on a $6.4 million, 19,000 square foot expansion […] Continue reading →
Business Builders
Legal
JUST LIKE IN A MARRIAGE, no one at the outset of a closely held company expects things to go south and end in divorce. But just like in a marriage, the best time to address what will happen if things do not go as hoped is at the outset, when everyone is excited and working […] Continue reading →
What is EOS and why your business should consider it
EOS (a registered trademark of EOS Worldwide) stands for Entrepreneurial Operating System. It comes from the book Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman. EOS lays out a complete set of simple concepts and tools designed to help business owners and their teams clarify and execute their vision, become a healthier and more functional team, and successfully grow their business. Continue reading →
Key Employee
MANY BUSINESS OWNERS envision one day transitioning ownership of their company to an “outside” buyer. It could be a “financial” buyer (think, private equity group) or a “strategic” buyer (think, acquirer in the same industry or business). Regardless of the description, potential buyers look to reduce risk associated with their investment in your company. The […] Continue reading →
Coaching
LET’S BEGIN BY LOOKING at how one gains knowledge. We gain knowledge by either: taking action based on what we feel should be done (i.e. firsthand experience), learning from others directly through observation or instruction, or learning from others through written material. some combination of the above As we go through life, we generally find […] Continue reading →
Catching up
Catching Up with Adrian Coulter
When Adrian Coulter, founder of XL Feet, participated in the Upsize Growth Challenge in 2014, his goal was reaching $1 million in sales. Mission accomplished. Growth has come steadily in the five years since he took part and much of it, he says, has been a result of more efficient systems. Previously, Coulter says, every […] Continue reading →
