2024 E-Day winners count on family,
problem solve to find business success

The winners of the 33rd annual Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards mean business.

“Each one of our recipients is thoughtful about how their business serves the community,” said Lorri Feldt, regional director of the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center.

“We heard a lot in the nomination applications about the importance of the contributions of their teams, and so, their businesses weren’t a solo act.”

Businesses honored at this year’s E-Day event varied in age from 3 to 99 years old, she said.

“Our team always enjoys learning more about the myriad of industries that our honorees span — from coffee roasting and cupcakes to erosion control and landscaping,” Feldt said. “Their paths to business ownership and how they overcome challenges are always inspiring and motivational.”

More than 200 entrepreneurs have earned E-Day awards during the tradition that began in 1991.

The awards are open to small businesses in Lake, Porter, La Porte, Starke, Jasper, Pulaski and Newton counties. They must have at least a three-year track record of growth in sales or employees and strong growth potential.

Ten judges, representing the Indiana University and Purdue University schools of business, attorneys, accountants and lenders who deal with small businesses chose the winners.

The honorees received their awards during a Nov. 13 luncheon at Avalon Manor Banquet Center in Merrillville.

Small Business Person: DJ Moore

DJ Moore once made new homes rise, now his Erosion & Construction Solutions is a down-to-earth business stopping water pollution.

His Merrillville-based firm practices sediment control to trap stormwater runoff on construction sites and prevent it from running offsite and into nearby waterways and lakes.

Moore said his firm does stormwater pollution prevention planning, installation, maintenance and removal. State and federal environmental laws mandate that construction firms erect perimeter erosion control.

“Ultimately, we alleviate a headache for our customers by specializing in something they don’t,” he said.

He started working in his family’s homebuilding business the summer of 2006 after his freshman year at Purdue University.

His day job was on a carpentry framing crew, and his night job was keeping its financial books.

His work continued through his college years at Purdue and later Indiana University Northwest.

Then, he began selling sediment filtration logs or socks.

“We stopped home building in 2017 and haven’t looked back,” he said.

Moore said his company’s nimble team of 30 employees has kept them afloat, while others have failed.

“We have done an amazing job at putting the right people in the right seats who are problem solvers, who can think on their feet, and can be flexible and pivot where they need to be,” he said.

“Most importantly, they execute. Almost anyone can come up with a ‘good-enough’ plan, but where failure can come is in the execution and follow through.”

But mistakes do happen, he said.

“We’re not immune to that, and we have our fair share of failures, but we don’t usually repeat mistakes,” Moore said.

“We can only do that because we have strong people who hold themselves and their teams accountable.”

Entrepreneurial Success: Shaun O’Brien and Shaun Ensign

Shaun O’Brien and Shaun Ensign operate Legacy Sign Group, 7933 W. U.S. Highway 6, Westville, which specializes in the design, fabrication and installation of custom, electric, business identification signage to Chicagoland, Northern Indiana and nationwide.

“I was born into the sign industry,” O’Brien said. “My father started his own sign company in 1983. I remember getting off the school bus and signs were being built in the driveway.

“My first job was cutting up old signs to be scrapped. Then, I went into the installation side of the business for around 10 years.”

He said these experiences were essential to his success.

“In 2000, I moved into the role of estimation and procurement,” he said. “This was fundamental in learning the numbers side of the business.”

Then, in 2003, he tried sales.

“This was key to building up a customer base that trusted me and were loyal,” O’Brien said. “I felt confident in the skills I had learned and the knowledge of signs that my dad had passed along to me.”

Ensign, on the other hand, was working for a petroleum company. He delivered fuel to O’Brien’s company fleet. In 2003, they asked Ensign to join the company where he worked in many different roles.

“Ensign and I used this time to establish how we wanted to run the company and make changes to create something even better,” O’Brien said.

They decided to make the leap to business ownership in July 2019. Their first office was a dining room table.

“We had nothing more than a couple of laptops and a list of contacts,” O’Brien said. “We were fortunate to have a great client base that trusted us to find a way to provide them with the signage they needed.”

And they did.

“I feel as though we have been on a speeding train ever since,” O’Brien said.

He credits that success with finding a dedicated staff.

“In the last five years, we have been able to gather a talented group of professionals who are the best in the business, build out a manufacturing facility, and an installation fleet,” he said.

Ensign said they couldn’t have succeeded without the “creativity, passion and excellence of our team members.”

“Our responsiveness and follow-through are what sets Legacy Sign Group apart from others,” he said.

They said anyone wishing to start their own company should expect misadventures. “It is going to be hard in the beginning,” Ensign said. “You will make a lot of mistakes along the way. Get over those mistakes quickly and celebrate the wins.”

He also said building a support system is vital.

“Build an advisory team around you of individuals that you can seek advice and lean on in times of need,” he said. “Join industry associations of other owners that help you feel normal after you hear that they are experiencing the same issues you might be facing. Always start a meeting with a positive note.”

And, he said, it is important to “take time for yourself.”

“Legacy Sign Group has grown exponentially year over the years,” Ensign added. “We now have 34 employees. We have done this by growing our customer base from a dozen clients at the start to now over 1,200-plus clients.”

Family-Owned Business: Edward Garza

A major meat packer once trusted a 9-year-old boy to blend the secret recipe for its hallmark brand.

Fifty-three years later, that child, Edward Garza, is owner of that business, the El Popular Inc. chorizo sausage company, one of the oldest and most successful in Indiana.

“I’m third generation,” Garza said. “I took the business over in 2002, built a USDA meat plant in Valparaiso and grew it to one that services almost the entire United States and Canada.”

But it’s his family roots that still power the company’s success. “Our recipes are the same as my grandfather created 100 years ago,” he said. “That’s the integrity of my family. My dad and uncles never compromised that. We built the business on it, and we stay with it.

“I was always taught as a kid you have to be good to people and have good products. Everything in business is built on trust.”

He said that commitment has proven fruitful.

“Other companies may have been very aggressive and used other tactics, and they aren’t around today,” Garza said.

El Popular is the manufacturer and wholesale distributor primarily of a Mexican-style sausage called chorizo. They sell to national and regional retailers.

“The business was started by my grandfather, Vicente F. Garza, who migrated from Mexico to the United States in 1925,” he said. “He had a storefront in (East Chicago’s) Indiana Harbor where he would make the sausage himself and then he would fill up his Model T with it and drive to corners in Chicago to sell it.”

Four of his sons followed in the business.

“After my grandfather passed, my uncles slowly sold their shares to my father, Richard Garza, who became sole owner in 1981,” he said.

The company’s line of products included molé sauce, queso, spices and seasoning mixes, Mexican hot chocolate mix, and chorizo in various blends of picante chili and red pepper and other seasonings.

Mixing them was the young Edward Garza’s first job with the company.

“Back then, we sold 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of sausage with a special blend of spices that went into the meat that includes what we call ‘green spices,’” he said. “The recipe includes about nine different spices that my father would write down on an index card. It’s the family secret, so only a member of the family could mix that product.”

Young Garza’s job on Saturdays was to mix that special blend.

“I learned all my fractions doing that,” he said. “That could be why I did well in math.”

El Popular still maintains its offices in East Chicago and sells more than 3 million pounds of chorizo. But Garza has automated the blending process, taking care to keep the secret recipe.

“We’ve split the green spice recipe in three and sent it all to three different companies to blend each of the three individually,” Garza said. “One company doesn’t know who the other one is.”

He said his daughter, who represents the fourth generation, does some media work for El Popular.

“I wish she could stay with me because she is as sharp as can be, but her calling is medicine,” he said.

And, so, Garza just might be the last generation to run El Popular.

“The family business is probably going to end with me — but it won’t be the end of El Popular,” he said. “I’ve had people interested in taking over the business.”

But not right away, he added.

“I enjoy what I do,” Garza said.

Woman-Owned Business: Drew Sarkisian

Drew Sarkisian is enjoying an encore career as owner of Valparaiso-based landscaping service Modern Edge.

“I was previously in public relations, and as I got older, I realized that wasn’t what I wanted,” she said. “I wanted something more aggressive and involvement in the business side of it.”

Although men dominate the landscaping industry, she is not deterred.

“That’s fun for me because I love being unexpected,” she said. “And I am with a name like Drew. A lot of people try to figure out whether it’s a woman’s business or not.”

One woman had a significant impact on her life.

“I was raised in a family who started businesses from the ground up,” she said. “I had a grandmother who owned several businesses she ran herself. People told my grandmother those would never work out. She made them work. I’m doing the same.”

But a man taught her about her current adventure. “I learned from my husband about the (landscaping) industry, who had been in it for a long time,” she said. “Once I started doing it, I loved it.”

She started Modern Edge 14 years ago with residential mowing and small commercial and residential work, with occasional big jobs like landscaping new buildings.

“But that wasn’t getting us where we wanted to go,” she said. “It’s a very intense industry, especially when we were a non-union company.”

But now, they are union only.

“Unions are so dominant in this industry because they need to make sure it’s done properly, efficiently, and safely.”

She said quality also is essential with the work her company does for the state highway department, which has certified her for stormwater prevention planning.

She also is certified in Indiana as a Women-Owned/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. She employs from 10 to 25 people during busy seasons.

She said her advice to others in business is to build a reputation for quality work.

“Someone, a long time in this industry, once told me the smaller you are the more successful you’ll be,” she said. “That is why I say, quality over quantity.”

Emerging Business: Jamie Panicali

Gratefully Painted in Hammond is a nostalgia party waiting to happen.

“We offer paints, (items to paint), brushes, slip and more,” Jamie Panicali said. “Walk-ins are welcome to come and paint during open hours. There is always a technique class or a painting party to sign up for.”

She said their private party room at 737 169th St. can be rented out, and she can bring a painting party to other organizations.

Panicali said she started young, painting ceramics as a hobby.

“During Covid, I started painting more as I was working from home,” she said.

When she ran out of room to keep her ceramics, she offered them for sale at local farmers markets. Then, she met a woman who had to sell her

“The timing was just right, and it was worth taking the risk,” she said.

Panicali managed several retail chain stores for more than 20 years before she started her business three years ago.

She morphed her business from solely a pop-up to a combination of brick and mortar, “with some pop-up markets sprinkled in.”

“I am always trying to think of new ways to get my business out there,” she said. “Whether it be parties, markets, painting parties at park departments and schools or just different events in-store. We try to make it fun.”

Panicali counts on a little nostalgia as a selling point.

“The big draw is the amount of vintage ceramic molds I can pour from,” she said. “You can paint a Christmas Tree poured from a mold that has been passed down since the 1960s or earlier.

“Many people walk in and point to many pieces they remember from childhood. It’s a labor of love to keep the art alive.”

Panicali also helps Haven House women’s shelter in Hammond and a rape crisis center by donating materials used in therapy for rape victims.

She has some advice for others just getting started.

“Going into business isn’t easy,” she said. “If you can hang in there through the ups and downs, it will be worth it in the end.”

Business Advocate: Wade Breitzke

Wade Breitzke is a previous winner of an E-Day Young Entrepreneur Award for founding Lower Lincoln, a launchpad for small business startups.

But he also started WeCreate, an advertising and marketing agency to accelerate the next wave of speculators to fame and fortune.

“Since 2008, our 30 employees have been helping people who have ideas make them successful ventures,” he said. “We commercialize opportunities for people who have a dream of being in business for themselves.”

He said 30 to 40 businesses have used their new startup space this year.

“A lot of inventors create a really cool product but don’t know how to go to market with it,” he said. “Imagine us as the short cut to the startup.”

But he also is interested in helping businesses be around for a long time.

“One thing we are really passionate about is helping legacy businesses in generational transition,” Breitzke said. “We try to figure out what does it look like to, not only carry on this legacy, but also what the second, third or fourth generation wants to become.”

He said his formula for success is commitment “to a bigger vision. Make an impact and spread the love.”

That is done, according to WeCreate’s website, through key insights, analytics and iconography to identify a target audience and create brand development using “hyper-targeted advertising.”

Breitzke also offers his time and resources to mentor high school students competing in Indiana’s Innovate WithIN, a year-long program teaching students entrepreneurship and innovation.

Minority-Owned Business: Michelle Wainwright

Wainwright opened her storefront bakery at 2008 W. 81st Ave. in Merrillville on Sept. 1, 2016, and hasn’t looked back.

She has grown her venture to include 14 employees, food trucks and a catering service, and her product line, which now includes Cupcakes in a Jar and Cutie Cookies.

She also has a nonprofit side, Cutie Cares, focused on addressing food insecurity by providing meals to underserved communities. The origin of her business wasn’t all frosting and sprinkles.

“I worked in corporate America for 16 years in the pharmaceutical industry as an account manager,” Wainwright said. “I always wanted to own a little shop of my own where there was reading, coffee and fellowship after I retired. It’s just that retirement came so much sooner than I anticipated.”

While still in her 30s, her job was eliminated in a corporate layoff.

“I had a lot of laid off colleagues who were struggling,” she said. “But for me, it wasn’t that bad a day. I didn’t necessarily have a plan B, but I had peace over me.”

She said she grew up in a self-employed family. “So, I could do it too,” she said.

Wainwright started her business, Cute as a Cupcake! Cupcakery & Bake Shop, with recipes from her grandmother.

She took classes in cake decorating and rented space at Nana Clare’s Kitchen, a commercial kitchen in Valparaiso, received permits from local health departments, and began selling her wares at farmers markets and seasonal fairs.

“At the time, cupcakes were trendy, fun and good for the health-conscious person who wanted to eat in moderation,” she said. “And they were super cute.”

She opened a kiosk at Southlake Mall and received such an encouraging reception, she took the next big step.

“I used the severance money from my corporate job as a down payment on an SBA loan to build out the facility to where we needed it,” she said.

“We have a presence online and have been able to partner with some local stores as well. It wasn’t easy, but everything fell into place.”

Young Entrepreneur: Benjamin Montgomery

Benjamin Montgomery’s idea for Yaggy Road Roasting Co. started in a hot-air popcorn machine.

Eight years ago, Montgomery and some friends began infusing their Valparaiso University dorm with the aroma of their coffee roasting experiments.

“At the time, I worked as a barista at a local coffee shop and began sharing our coffee with the owners,” he said. “When it was time to graduate, we worked out an arrangement to start selling them our coffee wholesale.”

That deal led to so much more.

“We rented a shared space, purchased a small commercial roaster, and began our wholesale business,” he said. “From there, we were able to connect with other local businesses and partner with cafés, restaurants and specialty grocers in the area.”

He employs eight people at a Valparaiso roastery, the Coffee Press, which is inside The Press, an independent, experiential bookstore, at 9 Lincolnway, Valparaiso. He also has a staff who sells wholesale to 18 accounts in Indiana and Illinois.

“Many coffee businesses start out with a coffee shop, then eventually grow into roasting and wholesale as the last stage,” he said. “We took the opposite approach, leaning into our passion for sourcing and roasting, we invested first in growing our roasting business.”

He credits their success to their conscientious business decisions.

“We quickly discovered a passion for sustainable sourcing and sharing our coffee with anyone and everyone,” he said.

Montgomery said Yaggy Road Roasting Co. has become a success because of “a growing desire for sustainably sourced products and the pursuit of better coffee.”

“In the past, coffee has been a cheap commodity built on unethical sourcing and offering very little variety,” he said.

But in 2017, they met a Costa Rican coffee farmer who inspired them to buy coffee sustainable farmers.

“This has allowed us to offer a much higher quality product and also tell a story of sustainability that makes our customers feel confident in what they are purchasing,” Montgomery said.

His advice to budding entrepreneurs is to write a business plan and stay with it.

“As a growing business, many opportunities have been put in front of us and many we accepted and declined,” Montgomery said. “It is extremely important to stick to the plan.”

Advocate for Youth Entrepreneurship: Patrick ‘Ken’ Barry

Ken Barry said his resolve to create opportunities for youth to learn entrepreneurship and start their own businesses motivated him to start the Uthiverse.

The training and development effort empowers teenagers to launch business ventures and employ their peers.

“I began the Uthiverse based on the voices and cries of underserved youth and their families,” he said. “One particular outcry was the limited opportunities for youth in the city to find jobs.”

Barry has been considering that trend for a long time.

“I have been in the field of youth development for 33 years and serving youth in Gary for 11 years,” he said.

He is a past director of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Northwest Indiana and executive director of City Life Center, a mission of Gary’s Bethel Church to provide children with after-school programming, summer programs, educational and social services.

As director of the Gary Youth Services Bureau, he arranged with local restaurants to deliver hot meals to children and their families when school meals were unavailable during the height of the pandemic.

His service earned him induction into the Society of Innovators at Purdue University Northwest.

He said the recurring questions that motivated his service are why aren’t there enough jobs for young people in Gary and who is hiring teens?

“What if we helped kids start their own businesses?” he asked. “Not only could they earn money, but they might also create jobs for their peers.”

Barry said he mentored the founder of family entertainment centers with mobile skate rinks and laser tag arena across Indiana, Florida and Ohio. One mentee started a successful vending machine business.

Last spring, his Uthiverse staged its inaugural StartUp Madness Business Pitch Tournament on the Purdue University Northwest Hammond campus.

Teams from Hammond Central, Lowell and Munster high schools got on stage to explain their ideas about exploring creativity and how to prepare for adult life.

“Some of our participants had never pitched in front of an audience before,” Barry said. “The next time they get to do something like this, they’ll be even better.”

Barry also shared his secret to success: “Listening to youth, an unwavering belief in their creativity and intelligence, and a relentless commitment to help young people maximize their life’s potential.”

He said the advice he gives to those contemplating business ventures is: “Just do it! Don’t be overly concerned about resources or the lack thereof. If you want to change the trajectory of a young person’s life, make yourself available and the rest will take care of itself.”

Lifetime Achievement: Larry Evans

Larry Evans, a partner in the Valparaiso/Merrillville law firm of Hoeppner, Wagner & Evans, has been litigating civil matters around Northwest Indiana for the last 62 years.

“I’ve been lucky to practice in Porter and Lake counties and other parts of the state, and I also enjoy working in federal court,” he said. “I still have a busy practice even after all this time.

“It’s very satisfying when you help someone through our complicated court system,” he said. “I’ve just been so fortunate because this is what I love to do, trials and litigation. I like it when clients are appreciative, and most are.”

Evans graduated from Gary’s Lew Wallace High School and received college and law degrees from Valparaiso University.

He started his career in 1962 as a deputy under the Porter County prosecuting deputy and soon transitioned from criminal to civil practice. He represented hundreds of clients over the years, in complex commercial litigation and employment law.

He taught for eight years at the Valparaiso University School of Law, which has since closed.

“That was very satisfying,” Evans said. “Particularly now some of my students are attorneys and judges. I’m so proud of all of them.”

Evans also has been honored as a member of the legal profession who distinguished himself throughout his career with outstanding contributions to the representation of clients in the defense of litigation matters. Evans promoted pro bono work, free legal representation, for persons unable to afford to hire an attorney, during his time as a president of the Indiana Bar Foundation.

Evans has been named one of the top 50 lawyers in Indiana by Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding lawyers.

Evans also served 30 years on the Lakeshore Public Media board of directors and hosted “Indiana Now,” a review of weekly news broadcast on Northwest Indiana’s PBS station.