CCEC Schedule for January 21-25, 2013

Greetings!

The students continue to work on their marketing plans and discover where to look for target market information. This week they will focus on clearly identifying their mission, visions and values that are so important when starting a successful venture.

Save the Date - CCEC Trade Show

Tuesday, May 7th 5-7 pm Lifespan Center

Monday, January 21st - MLK Jr. Day - No Class!

Tuesday, January 22nd - Mission, Vision, Values, and Regional Market Research

With Kim Uphoff & Erica Stollard, Sarah Bush Lincoln Heath Ctr.

at Rural King

Wednesday, January 23rd - Developing Bus. Start-up Seed Money Policies & Logo Discussion, Workday

Rural King

Thursday, January 24th - Mars Petcare Tour

with Jim Palkovic

6565 County Rd.18, Mattoon

Friday, January 25th - EIU & CEO Student Panel

Business Solutions Center, 3011 Lumpkin Hall, EIU

Rural King Tour

With President - Alex Melvin, CFO - Don Davis, and VP of Logistics - Scot Kersten

The class appreciates all of the Rural King employees who have stopped by to share their knowledge with the class these past two weeks.

Students were amazed by the size of Rural King's distribution warehouse. Scot Kersten showed us the new $1.6 million dollar conveyor system that will more fully automate the sorting of inventory to their 60 stores located in seven states. He also discussed new ways that retailers are exploring to capture customer opinions instantaneously to make better purchasing decisions.

After giving us the history of the Mattoon based Rural King Supply, Don Davis explained that labor and freight are Rural King's largest expenses. The more automated and efficient they become, the higher profit margin that can be used to expand the business, create more jobs and increase their purchasing power.

Alex Melvin gave each student ten $1 dollar bills which represented the profit earned from the company. Those $10 dwindled as money was given back to him to pay taxes, healthcare expenses, and other regulatory fees. They were astounded by how little they got to keep.

Geospatial Market Research using Business Analyst

with Dr. Mike Rudibaugh, Lake Land College

The students visited with Dr. Mike Rudibaugh who showed how geographic informations systems are used to make better decisions for your business. Using a program called Business Analyst, savvy business owners can better understand their customer behavior, their competitor's locations and the areas that will be more receptive to place their own business. Thank you for the wonderful demonstration.

"Good to Great" by Jim Collins Book Club Review

with CCEC Student Dustin Ebie

Dustin Ebie led the book discussion on a classic business book, Good to Great by Jim Collins. The main topics he shared were:

- Level 5 Leader - not having an ego and making sure the business will thrive once they are gone

- Getting the right people on the bus - then figure out where to drive it

- Put your best people on the biggest opportunities not the biggest problems

- Hedgehog principle - know what you are good at

YMCA Tour

with Tony Sparks and Blake Fairchild

Tony Sparks discussed the history of the YMCA in Mattoon and the importance of marketing in any venture's success. He let us know that the three R's of marketing are relationships, relationships, relationships. His three goals for the YMCA were to have a successful capital campaign, construct the new building and clean up the operations. After touring the spacious, clean facility bustling with exercisers it looks as if the mission was accomplished.