Winners of the annual “E-Day” Awards have compelling stories to tell.
by Jerry Davich
Honored. Humbled. Surprised. These words gushed from each of the 2013 recipients of the 22nd annual Entrepreneurial Excellence “E-Day” Awards. Hosted by the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC), the ceremony honored 10 acclaimed entrepreneurs, each with a compelling story. “Nothing–and I mean nothing–is more powerful than having customers telling your story,” says Scott Albanese, founder of the Albanese Confectionary in Hobart, the keynote speaker whose candy-coated story is now worth more than $130 million.
“We feel it's important to celebrate small business success and showcase the region's business owners,” says Lorri Feldt, ISBDC's regional director. “Most just work incredibly hard and rarely get publicity for the great things they provide. I know the exposure from E-Day helps our winners find more customers and grow even faster. That's the best win of all.”
Albanese, who started his business with just $10,000, offered a simple but insightful message to the award recipients: Tell your story with passion. “When you tell your story with passion, that story is also your strategy and your mission statement,” he told the crowd. “We talk in stories, we think in stories, and telling your story to others is critical in business.” Each award recipient told a story in video form, appropriately created by last year's E-Day award recipient Wade Breitzke of We Create Media. Here are their stories.
Roxanne Perkins and Jacqueline Woods
Delicious Deep Freeze, Chesterton
Minority-Owned Business
“Being an entrepreneur means I can write my own story,” Perkins says. “We work together well, sort of like a dream team,” Woods adds. “When you're part of a team, you can work on the same dream.” The two sisters-turned-company-partners had always wanted to be in business together, and they started by researching different franchises. In 2005, they agreed on Dippin' Dots Ice Cream, the popular frozen treat. “The Dippin' Dots family and their personality matched our personality,” Woods says. “We have the freedom to be creative even though it's a franchise.”
“We like to have fun and we love dealing with young people,” Perkins says. Jim Magera of 1st Source Bank nominated Delicious Deep Freeze, noting: “In a few short years, Roxanne and Jacqueline have made Dippin' Dots a go-to vendor at local festivals and county fairs. They expanded to the broader market through kiosks, vending machines and joined the food-truck trend as a leading franchise in the national market.”
The exposure that the sisters received from the E-Day award has already created additional business opportunities, the Milwaukee natives say. “But most important, the opportunity to mentor other aspiring business owners has been the best highlight,” Perkins says.
“Selling Dippin Dots, we never have a bad day because people don't return our product,” says Woods, whose smile never seems to melt away.
Brad Hindsley
Spire Catering and Event Planning, LaPorte
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Brad Hindsley started his catering business the same way he begins each of his creative entrees–from scratch. “It's all about ownership, and I take ownership in everything I do,” Hindsley says. “To me, that's what it means to be an entrepreneur.” He embodies the food industry's “farm to table” philosophy by growing up on a farm–with its morning chores and daily responsibilities–and he brings that work ethic to the proverbial table at Spire.
“It's about finding a passion in life, and doing something you truly love to do every single day,” says Hindsley, who studied under world-class chefs in Florence, Italy. “I just love every aspect of food.” Michele Thompson of LaPorte Savings Bank nominated Hindsley, saying, “Brad's entrepreneurial spirit and conviction will continue to drive his success.” Whether it's for weddings, birthday parties or corporate events, Hindsley's ingredients for customer service come as naturally as his food preparation. No canned efforts. No processed spontaneity. No freeze-dried ideas. No artificial pretenses. “Time and again, our clients tell us that the service we provide is exactly the service that we say we will provide,” he says proudly. “My vision was always to produce events like no other.”
Andrea Pearman
Diversified Marketing Strategies, Crown Point
Women in Business Champion
Andrea Pearman sports two titles but only one of them aptly describes her leadership at her business. Not only is she the CEO, but also the company's Creative Commander. It's the difference between a lightning bug and lightning, respectively. Pearman has been capturing lightning in a bottle since Day One at the cutting-edge marketing, advertising and specialty agency. Pearman's creations include the Midwest Smoke out cigar show, the Beyond Safety Conference & Expo, Building Indiana business magazine and the Influential Women of Northwest Indiana event, to name a few.
“Our Influential Women awards has seen more than 500 women of the region nominated, and 66 awarded the honor,” she says. “We have raised over $30,000 for charities from this event alone, and more than $250,000 overall.”
“For one day, people stop and take notice of their amazing work and tireless dedication to their fields,” she adds. Pearman downplays her role in the region as the largest event planner in Northern Indiana. Instead, she insists that she is blessed with the opportunity to give back to her community and to all the other unsung female professionals here. “This award is truly for all women in Northwest Indiana,” she says modestly.
Robert J. Flude III
Martin Binder Jeweler, Valparaiso
Family-Owned Business of the Year
Robert Flude grew up behind the counter of Martin Binder Jeweler, operated by family members since the 1930s. “We spent so much time there that, as children, my siblings and cousins did our homework in the small store's back room, cleaned fingerprints from the showcases and swept the front sidewalk,” says Flude, who eventually proved to his grandparents that he could show jewelry to customers.
“They were very hard workers and passionate for this business,” says Flude, 48, of Valparaiso. Rene Martin from Citizens Financial Bank nominated Flude, noting that Martin Binder is integral to the Valparaiso community. “As a third-generation business owner, Bob's formula for success is to carry on the family tradition of providing the highest-quality merchandise with honesty, integrity and extraordinary customer service,” she says. Not only was Flude surprised to be honored, he was shocked to even be nominated. But it's apparent that his store has been a cornerstone gem in a city of proverbial jewels, now including Flude's new relocated store on U.S. 30. Will his family-run tradition carry on with the new expansion, even though his children are young? “I'd be honored if they chose this path,” he says.
Desila Rosetti
Organizational Development Solutions, Westville
Woman-Owned Business
Desila Rosetti isn't afraid to go out on a limb and take a risk in the business world. “That's where the best fruit is,” she says. As president of Organizational Development Solutions Inc., she has certainly plucked her share of plum achievements through the years. “We provide training and project-management services to organizations in need of personal and organizational improvement,” says Rosetti, who also is an assistant professor at Calumet College of St Joseph. With their success comes her success, thanks in part to the many mentors who taught Rosetti how to surround herself with smart, skilled and talented employees.
“If there's one thing I learned while in business school, it was to hire people who are smarter than you. They don't make you look bad, they make you look better,” she says with a knowing smile. Although her staff handles global work, they always know their roots in this corner of the universe.
“There is no place like home,” she says. Rosetti has a simple but crucial mission statement: “You have to love what you do because it's who you are.”
Kelly Jackson and Jennifer Cowger
North Star Services, Dyer
Emerging Business of the Year
Kelly Jackson and Jennifer Cowger have known each other for a quarter century, from friendship to graduate school to business partners. Both became licensed as social workers and addictions counselors, and after providing therapy to adolescents and families, wanted to branch out to broaden their outreach. They opened North Star Services to make sure no one was falling through the cracks.
“North Star Services has helped me successfully reunite children with their families by helping parents learn to provide safe, stable and loving home environments,” says Lindsay Bannerman with the Indiana Department of Child Services. North Star works with families throughout Lake County, along with many local and state programs, including Bannerman's agency, Circle Around Families and the Fatherhood Initiative.
“It is exciting that our hard work, and the hard work of our employees, has been acknowledged,” Cowger says. Jackson and Cowger's organization provides individual and family therapy, parenting education and supervised visitation, boasting a high success rate of reunifying families. North Star also offers a wide range of home-based casework services, tutoring, mentoring, and training in independent living skills, among other services.
Inside their office, inspirational posters remind them–and their clients–about the power of “I.” “I believe in myself,” “I am the best” and “I believe in my dreams,” the signs state. “We were told by many of our competitors that we were never going to make it, but,” Jackson says with a dramatic pause, “here we are.”
Leon Dombrowski
Accucraft Imaging, Hammond
Entrepreneurial Success of the Year
The only thing that is constant is change. Leon Dombrowski not only understands this timeless concept but capitalizes on it in the ever-evolving workplace. “Everything is changing, nothing stands still,” he says. “I love when things are changing, and I try to stay one step ahead of the game. That's the attitude we have here.”
“Here” is Accucraft Imaging in Hammond, which offers digital, offset and large-format printing, including posters, trade-show displays and indoor and outdoor banners. “Here” also includes Snapquik Interchangeable Signage, a patented product found at more than 9,000 businesses worldwide.
Snapquik is a non-rusting aluminum frame used for outdoor advertising that Mother Nature has yet to destroy. Dombrowski got the idea after hearing a bank's marketing director wish for a durable advertisement for drive-through lanes.
“Leon's entrepreneurial spirit is displayed through the innovative products of Accucraft,” says Dan Duncan of Peoples Bank. An innovative environment constantly changes, and Dombrowski has embraced that idea, rather than being fearful of it. “Failure is never an option,” he says flatly.
Peter Nau
Hammond Machine Works, Hammond
Small Business Person of the Year
Peter Nau learned about the manufacturing business from the ground up, literally, by first sweeping the floors at Hammond Machine Works. He's been there 40 years, taking raw materials and processing them into a finished product, similar to what he's done with his company since taking over in 1992. The now 42,000-square-foot facility has served the railroad, steel mill and energy production industries since 1908.
Nau's father, D.N. “Mike” Nau, purchased Hammond Machine and Forge Works in 1960, changed its name and moved it to its present location. He believed the business wasn't simply a “part-making company,” but a company built on customer relationships.
His son has never forgotten it. Still, he was “pretty much tongue-tied” when he found out about his E-Day award nomination, from John Freyek of Citizens Financial Bank. “Peter makes life better for the people of Northwest Indiana,” Freyek says. After accepting his award, Nau thanked Freyek and Leonard Kras, a mentor who worked there for 63 years, missing only a handful of workdays. However, he saved his most important thank you for the woman who transformed him from a raw man into a finished professional. “Thanks to my wife, Debbie, for keeping me focused,” he says.
Gerald Bishop
Gerald M. Bishop & Associates, Merrillville
Small Business Advocate
Approachable, reasonable and compassionate. These are the words Gerald Bishop uses to describe himself. “It's good to be right, but it's right to be good,” he says, reflecting his selfless self-description. Many years ago, while working in a steel mill, his time crawled by because he didn't enjoy the work. Not so at his Merrillville law practice, where the decades have flown by. For 35 years, Bishop has mostly represented small businesses and startups, with his primary goal to help them be successful from a legal standpoint.
“I want to help them along and see their dream,” he says, whether it's mom-and-pop companies or multimillion-dollar corporations. His approach is the same: To make his clients comfortable with the legal process. “Gerry speaks in English, not legalese,” says Tom Rowland of Treehouse Financial. “He is the smartest guy in the room who never makes anyone feel dumb.”
Pete Peuquet
Chester Inc., Valparaiso
Lifetime Achievement Award
Pete Peuquet was profoundly surprised and genuinely humbled and honored when presented with the Lifetime Achievement award. The lifelong Valparaiso resident has been working at Chester Inc. since the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. He started working on large grain-handling systems during the summer months of college. In 1974, he was hired full-time to develop the design for the animal confinement and commercial building market.
“I always enjoyed business and finance from my college days, and I felt privileged that Orville Redenbacher and Charlie Bowman allowed me to carry on the Chester name,” he says, noting that his three sons are also now at Chester. “It certainly was an honor to be included among the list of distinguished gentlemen who have received this award over the past 20 years,” Peuquet says. “This alumni have contributed greatly to the success of small business throughout Northwest Indiana.”
This annual event continues through the support of several sponsors, including NIPSCO, Centier Bank, WeCreate Media, Fifth Third Bank, The Idea Factory, The Times Media, BMO Harris Bank, Wintrust Commercial Banking, Chester Inc., Indiana University School of Business and Economics, Regional Development Company, Horizon Bank, Clifton Larson Allen, Peoples Bank, Hoeppner Wagner & Evans, 1st Source Bank, Citizens Financial Bank, First Financial Bank and Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly.
