Letter From the Editor

I caught a speech on the radio the other day, by the CEO of The St. Paul Cos. The giant insurance company had turned in a good quarter after several not-so-good ones. Among other reasons, he said, employees were ?thinking like owners.?

Bootstraps Who’s funding your company, I asked Carla Bainbridge. “Me,” replied the CEO of Predictive Profiles Inc., this month’s cover story subject. And what is that like, I asked. “Expensive,” she said. Debt is our friend, I shot...

Growing a company is a calling for many people. Nick Smaby, president of Choice Wood Products, found his calling after years of searching.

He was a writer who didn?t write much for a while, then toyed with the idea of his own book store, he tells Burl Gilyard in this month?s cover story. A detour into carpentry eventually led him to Choice Wood, a home remodeling company that initially had little success. The bad times made it easy for Smaby to buy a stake ? partners were looking for the equity infusion when cash came up short.

Then in 1989 Smaby got a new partner with a sharp eye for finances. The two revamped the company completely and started again. This time they and other new partners have built it into a $16 million home-building and remodeling concern with multiple business lines and clients among the Twin Cities? toniest.

?I don?t want to be rich and brain dead. I want to be poor and turned on.?
So responds Jason McLean, the subject of our Back Page interview this month, when asked whether he believes money or ideas is more important in business. It?s my favorite line in this issue because it puts perfectly the leading motivator for so many business owners.

If I followed right away all the business-building advice in this special edition of Upsize Minnesota, I?d either be exhausted or the editor of Upsize Universe.

There?s a lot here: tips on building bigger and more profitable companies from 27 local experts and four savvy CEOs. That?s why I recommend you take the advice as you need it throughout the coming year. This is an annual publication, the Upsize Business Builder, meant to be a year-round resource for small-business owners and top managers.