Triad Construction - An Entrepreneurial Story of Challenges & Success

Triad Construction

All markets are being hit by the uncertain economy – and one of the hardest hit is construction. Every day we hear news of more layoffs and worse. It’s enough to want to pull the covers over your head or throw in the towel.

But, as entrepreneurs….throwing in the towel is not an option. It simply isn’t in us to give up. Taking risks is what got us here…finding ways to succeed against seemingly impossible odds in some crazy way - fuels us.

Today we have a great story of how one small, young firm is working to beat the odds. Just entering their 5th year in business, Triad Construction has accomplished things that many firms like them don’t do in a lifetime. In these past 5 years the firm has been named:

• Wisconsin Builder’s Up and Coming Firm of the Year
• The Mayor’s Design Award and Top Projects Award
• Biz Times Fastest Growing Firms
• Waukesha’s Chamber of Commerce Top 10 Firms
• Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce Future 50 Award not once, not twice but this is their third year being honored

Still, it hasn’t been an easy journey. They have experienced layoffs, cutbacks and stiff competition in a market where every contractor is looking for their next job.

Theirs is a story like all of ours – They are asking themselves -what next? How do we survive in a market where no one really knows when things will turn?

Werner and Mike have looked at their business and have come up with some simply strategies to maintain and hopefully grow their business. I have asked them to come on the show today and talk about what they are doing to beat the odds. I believe – regardless of the business you are in – you will find some possible solutions to some of your own business challenges.

Player Development in the Green Bay Packers

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Packer Player Development

Rob Davis of the Green Bay Packers is in the studio with Diane this week discussing the importance of enhancing the members of your team in the best way possible. Davis is the Director of Player Development and is an important figure in the players' professional and personal lives. He is in charge of running Rookie Orientation, Personal Financial Management, continuing education, and player counciling, among several other duties and functions.

Davis knows what it takes to make his team be the best they can be as professionals on the field and engaged citizens off the field. Just like every other business, the Packer organization wants their employees to exceed and flourish in their professional capabilities.

Making your team the best it can be is a great lesson that Davis and everyone else at the Packer organization can offer to other businesses. Improving your employees will improve your business and keep you on the road to success.

Heathcare with Terry Frett

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Terry Frett Talks Healthcare

This week, Terry Frett was back in the studio to talk about the constantly evolving topic of health care. Listen in as he dissects what a business needs to know about new regulations and requirements.

Political Expert Mark O'Connell

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Wisconsin Politics

Mark O'Connell is in the studio bringing you news and information about the political issues important to the state.

Buying Local, Milwaukee

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Buy Local

Buying local is a trend that has exploded with the organic and environmental movements; however, it has profound implications for businesses unassociated with food products and the local economy.

For this show, Diane brings Nancy Quinn to the studio. She works with Our Milwaukee, a business alliance that advocates for locally owned businesses that provide a genuine, quality experience - in celebration of our community's unique character. It is the locally owned businesses that maintain Milwaukee's unmistakable style. Our Milwaukee has 175 business members who range from retailers to restaurants to business-to-business/service providers.

Listen in to hear Nancy speak about what buying local really means, the benefits of patronage to local businesses, and the awareness campaign they are running during the month of April.

Real Estate Tenant Consulting

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The World of Tenant Consulting in Real Estate

After labor, real estate is usually the highest fixed cost for a business. Because businesses invest so much into this area, it would make sense to contact an expert in tenant real estate to be sure you are getting the most with the money you invest.

Jaime Levine from Weiss Berzowski Brady is in the studio with one of her firm's clients, Michael of Cresa Partners, who deals specifically with tenant real estate advising.

Listen in as Diane probes our guests and gets you the information about tenant real estate advising that can be helpful for your own organization.

Taking a Vacation is Good for Business

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Taking a Vacation

This week, Diane talks about a topic that should be considered very important to all small business owners and entrepreneurs, but is ignored by many: taking a vacation. Many small business owners worry that if they take time for vacation they risk losing business, and to avoid the loss of business they just don't take one. However, research suggests that forgoing a vacation, including the psychological and physical health benefits associated with vacation, will not help you or your business.

Some quick facts about taking vacations:
- 66% of bosses worry about their business when they're out of the office and 75% check in by phone or email even when they are on vacation several times a day.
- If there is one thing small business owners can do to improve their companies' performances, experts say, it is take some time off.
- Researchers have found that people who work long hours can even become addicted to their own stress hormones. They feel sluggish when they're out of the office so the head back in for their fix, and the cycle repeats itself.
- Small business people tend to avoid long vacations, but studies show the psychological benefits of vacation start accruing after seven days. It takes most people two or three days just to start relaxing.
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics found that approximately 574 million vacation days go unused by American workers each year.
- The average annual vacation days taken in the U.S. is 13. Compare that to 25 in Japan, 37 in France, and 26 in Germany.
- Studies show that men who take a yearly vacation are 30% less likely to have a heart attack and women are 50% less likely.

Playing with Fire: The Business of Fireworks

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Playing with Fire

It's the Forth of July weekend and everyone has their own traditions: family cookouts, parades, red, white and blue decorations, and of course, there are the fireworks. As you watch the fantastic displays against the night sky, do you ever think of the business that are responsible for the show? Well, we did. That's why we have representatives from American Fireworks and Bartolotta Fireworks in the studio to tell us about their businesses and how they turn a seasonal product into a year-round business.

American Fireworks is a company that sells consumer-grade fireworks for you to set off on your own - make a private show for your family and friends with the help of the staff's recommendations and your own personal favorite fireworks.

Bartolotta Fireworks is responsible for several of the biggest firework displays in Milwaukee including Summerfest's Big Bang, U.S. Bank's 4th of July show, and several of the "fest" firework displays.

Their insights are both enlightening and fascinating. The business of fireworks is truly a fun and unique line of work.

Summerfest's Back!

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Summerfest Show

Summerfest, Milwaukee's biggest and perhaps most loved festival has come to define summer in Milwaukee. But it's no easy task to make Summerfest live up to its long-standing reputation. Hundreds of people work all year long to ensure that the 11 day festival is a success. This year, Summerfest will take place June 24th - July 4th.

Diane talks with Don Smiley, President and CEO of Summerfest, and John Boler, Vice President of Sales and Marketing to discuss their vision, their commitment to a quality event, economic impacts to our community and the kind of collaboration it takes to make Summerfest a success.

Ticket information:
Weekday at the gate = $8 before 4:00 p.m.
Weekend and evening at the gate = $15
Seniors = $3
Children 3-10 = $3
Children 2 & under = FREE
3 Day Advance Purchase Pass = $33

48th Annual Lakefront Festival of Arts

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Lakefront Festival of Arts

You can tell that the summer season is in full swing by the lakefront because next weekend is the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Annual Lakefront Festival of Arts. This festival really marks the beginning of weekends spent on the lakeshore and the unofficial “fest season.” Now in its 48th year, the festival runs from Friday, June 18th through Sunday, June 20th on the lakefront right next to the Milwaukee Art Museum.

This weekend, we invited several people to the show who are absolutely instrumental in putting this festival together. They are: Deb Gerke and Danielle Brinkman, LFOA co-chairs, Sandi Anderson, Milwaukee Art Museum Special Events Director, and Shelby Keefe, LFOA featured poster artist.

Looking for a Good Business Book?

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Business Book Reviews

We are all looking for answers on how to do things better, smarter, faster - especially in this economy. There are several different resources and business books out there devoted specifically to addressing these concerns. Well, now it's summer and time to pull a book off the shelf - or if you're like Diane, pick one of the many books you have downloaded to your Kindle or iPad - and relax outside and read.

There are a plethora of business books available on the market, but how do you know which is the best? What books should you invest your time in reading?

Diane discusses some of the current business best-sellers to add to your summer reading list as well as some new business books out in 2010.

Because Diane discusses so many books on the podcast, the following is a list of the titles and authors mentioned. If you are interested in them, listen to the podcast as Diane summarizes and comments on their merit.

Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard - Chip & Dan Heath

Rework - Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - Daniel Pink

Superfreakonomics & Freakonomics - Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? - Seth Godin

The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

How We Decide - Jonah Leher

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

Nudge - Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein

Louder Than Words - Joe Navarro

The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence - Thomas J. Peters

Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations - Garr Reynolds

Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones - Joseph Jaffe

Good to Great - Jim Collins

The Way We Work Isn't Working - Tony Schwartz, Catherin McCarthy, Jean Gomes

Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work that Matters - Michael Bungay Stanier

Veteran Owned Business

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Veteran Owned Business

In honor of Memorial Day, Diane has a rebroadcasting of the show devoted to veteran owned businesses with her guest Kyle Blades.

We are seeing an influx of people coming out of Iraq and opting to start their own businesses instead of going down the traditional work route; they are doing this through government backed loans through the SBA's Veterans Loan Program.

In the past we have had the good people at the SBA and our friend Eric Ness, the Wisconsin State Director for the SBA, on the show and we have even featured veteran owned businesses. Today we have invited Kyle Blades, the President and owner of "Time for a Rebel," who has stepped out of Iraq and into his own business, to share his story with us.

Differentiation: It's Not Business as Usual Anymore

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Differentiation

While Diane was away on business, she thought that she would re-air one of her most talked about shows - Differentiation.

Differentiation is something that each company needs to discern for itself in order to stand apart from the rest of the marketplace, create an identity/brand, and develop a marketing strategy around.

Listen in to this popular show and brainstorm some ideas for your own business differentiators!

Wisconsin Politics with Mark O'Connell

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Mark O'Connell and Robert Henken

This week our resident political expert, Mark O'Connell, is in the studio with his guest Robert Henken. Robert is the president of the Public Policy Forum, a non partisan government watchdog. The Public Policy Forum focuses its research on education, tax and economic development policy, transportation, public safety, health, public infrastructure and other quality of life concerns in and around Southeast Wisconsin.

The Forum serves the public, businesses, government and other interested constituencies by spotlighting trends, defining emerging issues and facilitating productive interaction among local governments and the private sector to promote sound and innovative policy solutions.

It tracks and compares performance for more than 250 government units in southeastern Wisconsin and suggests ways to improve their effectiveness.

Robert frequently contributes to the Forum's blog, the Millwaukee Talkie, which can be found at http://milwaukeetalkie.blogspot.com/

Risk Management

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Risk Management

When we think of risk management, we think of the financial risks a company takes or the risks we personally make in investing; this is a big part of managing risk in an organization. But there is perhaps and even bigger risk in terms of risk management – the risk of not developing and managing your people.

Business owners carefully assess the ROI for most of our business decisions and put in place processes or checks and balances to ensure our business actions provide the greatest return.

What are you doing to ensure that ROI on our biggest cost and our most important asset – our human capital - is being assessed and managed in the same careful way?

Diane invited John Dirkse, Executive VP of Ageis Corporation, to help her listeners understand risk management in terms of human capital and define ways business people can ensure they are minimizing risk.

The Culture of Riding: Harleys and Business

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Harleys and Business

Summer is right around the corner and the weather is finally behaving as such. When you think of summer in Southeast Wisconsin, some things automatically come to mind: outdoor grilling, boating, water sports, and what many motorcycle enthusiasts consider to be the ultimate sound of summer - the roar of a Harley motor.

In the studio is Kirk Topel, the owner of Hal's Harley-Davidson and he's going to be talking about the business of bikes - riding them, choosing one, trends, laws, costs, etc.

Before Kirk jumps into the world of motorcycles, one of our legal experts, Mike Berzowski, will be discussing another warm-weather topic: dress codes in the workplace.

With the return of warm weather, skirts get shorter, tops show more skin, and both men and women start wearing shorts and flip-flops. As a business, what is an appropriate dress code policy? What can a business actually regulate? And since talking about dress code issues is often uncomfortable for both parties involved, how do you start that conversation with someone who violates the established policy?

Listen in as Diane investigates these timely and weather-related issues!

What Health Care Reform Means for Business

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While Diane was out of the studio, resident health care expert Terry Frett jumped in to talk about the health care reform bill that President Obama recently signed. Specifically, he will be discussing the timeline of changes that will impact employers who currently offer group health insurance plans to their employees and the impact on those who do not. Terry starts this timeline right now and walks through changes made through 2014.

Terry doesn't stop there. Not on does he outline what changes will be happening when, he also outlines what an employer needs to know to prepare for these changes and the potential impact these changes will have on your health insurance plan premiums.

This show is a listening must for anyone with questions about health care reform and what it means for businesses everywhere.

The World of Business Communications

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Business Communications with Jason Kayzar

Technology drives most of what we do every day in business and in our personal lives. Most of us are always looking for the latest and greatest technological toy or gizmo and cellular technology is on top of our watch-list.

This week, Diane has her friend, Jason Kayzar, to come on the show to talk about new innovations and challenges within the world of technology and answer all your questions about how to have the best communication experience.

Buying Local

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Buy Local, Milwaukee

Last week, Diane had the opportunity to speak with several small business owners in and around Southeastern Wisconsin. Their success and continued existence relies on the patronage of their customers. Buying local is a trend that has exploded with the organic and environmental movements; however, it has profound implications for businesses unassociated with food products and the local economy.

For this show, Diane brings Nancy Quinn to the studio. She works with Our Milwaukee, a business alliance that advocates for locally owned businesses that provide a genuine, quality experience - in celebration of our community's unique character. It is the locally owned businesses that maintain Milwaukee's unmistakable style. Our Milwaukee has 175 business members who range from retailers to restaurants to business-to-business/service providers.

Listen in to hear Nancy speak about what buying local really means, the benefits of patronage to local businesses, and the awareness campaign they are running during the month of April.

Entrepreneur Open Mic Day

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Entrepreneur Open Mic

This week, Diane decided it was your turn to talk, Milwaukee! She opened up the show to the entrepreneurs around the area to call in and talk a little bit about what they have done in the past and how their business is doing now.

Listen in to hear from entrepreneurs like yourself this show.

BizStarts Milwaukee

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BizStarts Milwaukee

Recently, there has been such a depression and gloom surrounding the topic of business and small companies. However, the positive is often neglected. This week Diane looks to the bright side of things - funding sources and new business start-up opportunities.

Dan Steininger of BizStarts Milwaukee joined Diane in the studio this week. BizStarts supports the efforts of entrepreneurs in several capacities. It attempts to connect entrepreneurs with the right resources to improve, grow the the number of fast-growing companies in Milwaukee, promote and create a strong entrepreneurial business climate in Milwaukee, and create an infrastructure specifically designed to nurture and grow innovative, fast-growing companies and play an instrumental role in promoting entrepreneurship in educational institutions.

Fifth Annual Micro Entrepreneur Expo

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WCTC Expo

Paul Decker joined Diane in the studio this week as they discussed the Fifth Annual Micro Entrepreneur Expo taking place on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Paul is the president of Positive Presentations and will be the Emcee of the conference.

This year the small business strategy the conference will be exploring is fusion marketing. Fusion marketing involves embracing the beauty and advantage of cooperation with the goal of mutual profitability. Diane will be presenting on this intriguing topic and the conference and gives a preview of what she'll be discussing then on this week's radio show.

Women Putting Their Stamp on Metro Milwaukee

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Women Putting Their Stamp on Metro Milwaukee

This year Diane received the honor of being named the Business award winner for the annual "Women Putting Their Stamp on Metro Milwaukee" award presented by the United States Postal Service.

In honor of the other fantastic women celebrated besides Diane this year, this show is dedicated to all 2010 winners. Diane had several guests this week, all having to do with this spectacular award. The three award winners she featured are as follows:

Doralyn Wilson, the Postal Service winner for 2010, spoke with Diane about her position in the postal service and what motivates her.

Kathryn Dunn, of the Helen Bader Foundation, was this year's winner for the Diversity Champion Award. She provided more information about her organization and discussed her greatest motivation in life.

Leslie Myers, the Abilities Awareness winner for this year, completed our lineup of this year's winners. She works for Independence First and shared her advice to young women across Milwaukee - with and without disabilities.

Congratulations to all of the winners for their accomplishments and what they have done for Milwaukee!

10 Rookie Manager Mistakes

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Rookie Manager Mistakes

Business owners have had to make many internal changes to manage this lagging economy. With all the layoffs and downsizing, many employees have been asked to step into roles they have little or no training for and, in some cases, no inherent skills. Managing is hard work – motivation is even more difficult.

When times were good, many managers and supervisors were promoted into their jobs simply because they were the best at performing a set of specific tasks among a team of people.

However, becoming a manager requires different skills, skills that the recently promoted employee may never have been trained to do. No wonder so many mistakes are made.

This week Diane, along with Matt Hedstrom from LPI, talk about the typical mistakes managers make and things that can be done to prevent the following from happening.

Here are 10 typical mistakes made by first-time supervisors:

1. They persist in still doing their old jobs, rather than their new ones. As a result, they don’t delegate; they burn themselves out while the people who report to them can’t grow and thus feel unmotivated.

2. Out of a sense of insecurity, they sometimes view smart new people as competition, rather than assets. As a result, this de-motivates the people who could well represent their best hope for making the team a success.

3. They can be so afraid of making a mistake that they make no decision at all. By their indecisiveness, they lose the respect of their people – and with the loss of respect comes the loss of any chance to motivate people.

4. They fail to consider the consequences of their promotion on their former relationships with teammates. You can’t be best friend with a subordinate.

5. As a result of these factors, new managers play favorites based on former friendships. That destroys the morale and motivation of everyone else.

6. They see themselves as crusaders. They represent their people against the company, which is bound to end in disaster – or the other way around, which is guaranteed to turn everyone into an enemy unmotivated to perform.

7. When pressured to act unethically, they’re afraid to take a stand and do the right thing. Loss of integrity in the eyes of the workers will inevitably result in de-motivation.

8. They fail to adequately communicate laterally other managers, as well as up to their bosses and down to their own team. To be properly motivated, people can’t be kept in the dark like mushrooms.

9. They fail to reach out for help, thinking they have to be all-knowing. Admitting one doesn’t have all the answers can be an important factor in gaining respect.

10. They’re either too direct or too indirect in their dealings with their subordinates. They have a hard time finding a middle ground.

Mark O'Connell & the Angel Network

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Wisconsin Angel Network

Mark opens the show this week talking about the importance of private sector business success and the positive impact that it has on the state. One of the areas where that success comes from is the start-up and stage one businesses created everyday by entrepreneurs all over the state of Wisconsin.

Businesses in their earliest stages need capital and investors to ensure their success and their ability to procure resources. This is where the Angel Network steps in, a branch of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

According to its website, the mission of the Wisconsin Angel Network (WAN) "is to build early-stage capital capacity throughout Wisconsin, increasing the number and amount of equity investments in Wisconsin's entrepreneurs."

"WAN was founded in January 2005 as an umbrella organization providing services and resources to the early-stage investing community. WAN is a public-private initiative rooted in Governor Jim Doyle's Grow Wisconsin plan and the Legislature's Act 255 initiative; it is operated by the Wisconsin Technology Council."

An angel investor is an early stage venture capitalist and is usually an accredited investor with a net worth greater than $1 million or an income greater than $200,000 for each of the last two years. Having an accredited investor exempts the entrepreneur from federal filing regulations and funding limitations. An angel network, than, is a group of venture capitalists who co-invest in business opportunities.

Mark O'Connell's guest this week is the director of the Wisconsin Angel Network, Joe Kremer. For more information about this organization, check out the website http://www.wisconsinangelnetwork.com

Differentiation

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Differentiation

Last week, over St. Valentine's Day weekend, Diane had a rebroadcast of one of her most popular and insightful shows. The topic? Differentiation.

It's no longer business as usual. These times call for a greater knowledge of who you are in the business world and keener understanding of your competitive edge. It's not just about being good, it's about being different - and knowing how you're different.

How you define and position your business or brand is your secret weapon for growing your business and gaining market share. This kind of marketing is not about trying to be as good as or better than your competition – it’s about understanding and capitalizing on what sets you apart to gain a competitive edge.
Having a clear understanding of your firm’s strengths and challenges is a must if you want to differentiate yourself in the market. Once you know these things inside and out, you will be able to correctly position your business each and every time.

During this show Diane not only discusses strategies and options, but also gives an example of a company that recently worked on their differentiation. Guest Matt Hedstrom from LPI came into the studio to talk about what their firm did to better define their business, expand geographic reach, and grow their business.

Talking Politics with Mark O'Connell

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Mark O'Connell with Steven Walters

Mark O'Connell was broadcasting over the airwaves with his guest Steven Walters this weekend. There is a lot to talk about in Wisconsin politics and they covered it all. Walters is an influential political journalist in Wisconsin who has talked to some of the most important people in the recent history of the state. He is also teaching two courses on journalism at UW-Madison this semester.

Thanks to both Walters' and Mark's experience, expect a lively and thoughtful conversation. They bring insight into the area of political journalism and Walters' new endeavor, WisconsinEye. This is a broadcast news, cable channel that exclusively covers the political life of Wisconsin. In addition to their broadcast channel, WisconsinEye.org serves as a resource for residents interested in all things political.

Super Bowl Advertising

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Super Bowl Advertising

It's almost time for the Super Bowl and that means football, parties, and ADVERTISING! It's the most watched event of the year; over forty percent of American households will be tuned into the game - most of whom are watching only for the advertising. This unique phenomenon has companies scrambling to pick up air time during the game and the price tag is steep. This year, 30 second ad spots are selling for anywhere between $2.5 million and $3 million.

So, why this fascination with Super Bowl advertising? Do these ads really make the impact we're told they do? Can only large companies afford to get in on this phenomenon?

Diane talks with David Hanneken and Casey Flanagan, both of Laughlin Constable, to help dissect this fun and exciting topic.

Mark O'Connell

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Mark O'Connell, Political Expert

This week, Mark O'Connell is on the show bringing his political know-how to the listeners. As always, he is entertaining, informative, and professional. This week he talks about the Policy Research Institute with his guest George Lightbourn.

New Year, Take Two

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Preparing for the New Year

Back by popular demand! This week Diane again addressed the topic of the New Year and how to make 2010 a great one for your business.