Published in the Independence Daily Reporter November 2019

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas

What It’s Like Working with Entrepreneurs

A few years ago, I saw something new coming onto the market. A sealed ecosystem of small plants and organisms. The cost was about $2,000. The idea was that if you get the right mix of animals, plants, and organisms, life is sustained inside the globe. The only outside ingredient necessary is indirect light to provide for photosynthesis in the plants. The Internet defines an ecosystem as “a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.” Generally, a popular definition today is “a complex network or interconnected system.”

I don’t see this particular type of ecosystem on the market today, however, I do see several varieties of aquatic ecosystems. Typically, they seem to consist of a sealed glass dome containing miniature shrimp, algae and micro-organisms. The waste that is produced by each organism is used by the others. It’s balanced so there’s no excess waste and the life cycle can go on without intervention.

Early efforts at aiding entrepreneurs and small business start-ups were somewhat “controlled.” I can remember meetings where there was talk about some committee determining what kinds of businesses this community or that community needed. I’ve come to realize that it’s small business owners with the Entrepreneurial Mindset and the marketplace that should determine what’s needed, not some economic development committee. We’ve learned again and again that markets need to be free. A controlled market whether the controller is a government, or a local committee doesn’t work. It’s the entrepreneur, always empathetically looking for problems and the related solutions that make for a strong economy.

We’re seeing the development and growth of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in our area. This is an ecosystem of entrepreneurs independently working with each other in a complex interconnected network. The ecosystem builds on itself. Other than a supportive environment, the ecosystem needs less and less help from outside forces. We do what we can to help entrepreneurs enter the ecosystem. Once in the ecosystem, they start to grow. They consult with each other and start doing business with each other. We try to be there to continue to help by seeing that they get what they need. Some stay in touch. Some disappear from our radar screens and grow on their own. Sometimes when we see them in social settings, we find out they’ve expanded and maybe even started something else on their own without our help.

On several occasions, we’ve worked with them on a daily basis as they’ve used our equipment to develop their products and promotional materials. At a certain point, their business grows enough they buy their own equipment. While these are certainly success stories, we have to get used to them not coming around as often. They have to spend their time satisfying customers and don’t visit the Lab as often as any of us would like.

We work hard to instill this Entrepreneurial Mindset, that is certain independence and self-sufficiency in searching for problems to solve, in everyone we work with at the Lab. This makes our entrepreneurs somewhat “cat” like, as in herding cats. They come around for a while on a regular basis and we get used to networking with them as we help them get what they need. Then, when that’s done, they disappear, sometimes for several months before coming back again for the next help we can provide. We miss them when they’re gone, but welcome them back when we see them. All in all, that’s the way an ecosystem should be, requiring limited help and attention. There’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing these independent and self-confident people thrive in the ecosystem while providing for the needs of the marketplace.

 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.

 

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter October 2019

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas

I tell a lot of stories. Many about the entrepreneurs we’ve worked with at the Lab. Joanne Smith is one of those great stories. In this excerpt from a speech she gave at a “Toastmasters” meeting, she mentions almost in passing the purchase of Southeast Kansas Living magazine. Taking on an established, high-quality and popular magazine is a huge project, but for Joanne, it completes a circle from a final college project for which she produced a dream project; a publication called “Heartland Destinations.”

“My to-do list is four pages long, plus another page of projects I haven’t bothered to write down. My checking account fluctuates from “yikes” to “whew” Checks do come in the mailbox…just sometimes with uncomfortably long gaps in between.

“It’s a roller coaster for sure, sometimes exhausting, often exhilarating but I love every single minute of my life as an entrepreneur. I’m not sure becoming an entrepreneur was ever on my radar, in fact, until that “opportunity” more or less slapped me in the face.

“It happened four years ago. Life as I knew it changed forever when my 22-year employment abruptly ended with the closing of Mercy Hospital. The career I loved and that had become so much a part of my very identity came to a screeching halt right at what felt like the edge of a cliff with nowhere else to go.

“Other jobs like mine were really non-existent in Independence. This is where I made my home and where I wanted to stay, but having no income was certainly not an option. Besides that, I was built to work. I needed to be productive.

“I desperately searched for my next COMPANY TO WORK FOR, preferably without a ridiculous commute and maybe even something I could do from home… I was a journalist by degree, a writer and editor… Could I proofread enough technical journals at a penny a word to make a living? How about voice work? Are there advertising producers or even animated filmmakers out there looking for a fresh 12-year-old voice? I tried to stay positive as every day I read dozens upon dozens of job descriptions that were not even remotely connected to my experience. I clearly remember thinking, though, I can do anything I just need someone to give me a chance.

“Thankfully, one day I took a break from wading through online job sites long enough to seek advice from someone else. I had never formally been introduced to Jim Correll, but I had heard of him and his Fab Lab and I understood he had a reputation as a “BUSINESS” coach. I thought maybe he could steer me in the direction of some good job leads and give me some pointers on how to be more successful in my search.

“I don’t remember the date of our meeting. I wish I did because it was a pivotal day. It was indeed the day my job search effectively ended. You see, Jim revealed to me that he was not in fact just a “business” coach, but rather a passionate champion of entrepreneurship. A champion of innovative thinkers and problem solvers and individuals who power through hardships to re-write their stories and take charge of their destinies. People who build their own businesses and work for themselves.

“He challenged me to consider whether I could be one of them. He told me that he believed I could.

“Jim invited me to take his entrepreneurial mindset class. He also offered to trade me a membership in his Fab Lab for marketing services. A pretty good deal. I could come out and learn how to make things.

“Then, ready or not in this freelance gig, Jim began sharing my name to other people and businesses who needed marketing work. Jim knows a lot of people. Eventually, my voicemail and email were filling up.

“When you’re a new entrepreneur and you’re hungry, You never say no. I didn’t even know how to do a lot of the things Jim promised people – cut an aluminum sign with the plasma machine, laser engrave a recognition plaque, print an 8-foot vinyl banner. No worries, he said. He and Tim Haynes at the lab would teach me.

“From there, word spread, and life as an entrepreneur exploded for me. Today, I remain closely connected to the Fab Lab but have created my own marketing company, which I very intentionally named FAB Creative Services. I have a couple of fellow “mompreneurs” who assist me with projects. In officially about three years’ time, we’ve worked with more than 80 different clients.

“My little company is growing steadily. This summer, I purchased Southeast Kansas Living magazine and my first issue is hitting mailboxes this week. It feels good to get back to my journalism roots.

“And I try to give back just a little, in part through a podcast that I’ve recently launched featuring other women entrepreneurs. I do it just for the sake of sharing their stories in hopes that they may be inspirational to other women who are searching for their next opportunity.

“It’s a lot, this entrepreneur life. I sometimes stay up way too late, take on way too much, spend way too little time with family and agonize when there is more ebb than flow to the cash flow.

“But I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.”

For more information see Joanne’s listings in the “Fab Lab Marketplace” at fablabicc.org.

 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.

 

Cutlines:

Southeast Kansas Living

Joanne Smith’s first issue of “Southeast Kansas Living” magazine came out this fall after she purchased the publication in June.

Heartland Publications

Joanne Smith’s senior project in Magazine Design class at KU was a prototype titled “Heartland Destinations” a Midwest travel publication. Now, twenty-something years later her prototype has come to life with “Southeast Kansas Living.”

 

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter October 2019

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas

The owners of a restaurant in a community far, far away, decide they need more customers. The business has been dwindling. They think it’s due to the economy or to increased competition. In reality, the food quality and service levels have declined, and many customers have not been satisfied with the value they receive at this restaurant. The owners decide they need better marketing to get more people in the door. The fallacy of this strategy is that increased marketing will expose more people to the less than stellar food and service and the business will not grow.

We all should be about satisfying customers, whether or not we work in or own for-profit businesses or are part of not-for-profit institutions and even government agencies. One way or another, someone is paying the bill for us to continue operations and we should be making sure our customers, constituents, or taxpayers are satisfied with the value they receive from our services. I’m going to use city governments as an example, but the principals apply to all units of government, local, state, and federal. They all should be treating constituent businesses and individuals as customers, not subjects to be governed. This is not about one particular community. I’ve observed this lack of customer service in the Kansas communities in which I’ve lived, large and small as well as a large city in Washington state.

We hire city managers that have had no training in customer service nor entrepreneurial thinking. Most I’ve known about have never owned a business of their own, struggling to make payroll each period while doing their best to satisfy their customers and keep them coming back. It’s not really the city manager’s fault. The training and culture of the city government are to, well, govern. Keep the citizens in line. Make sure the ordinances are followed and the bills are paid.

This lack of customer service training is not unique to government education and training. Most professional training and education in all the major fields such as medicine, law, accounting, and insurance are all about the technical aspects with little or no attention to customer satisfaction.

Cities and counties sponsor all kinds of efforts to bring new people and businesses to their communities. But, like the restaurant’s increased marketing campaign, if cities are not customer friendly the word will be out, and new people and businesses won’t come and the ones that are already there will not be satisfied customers.

Example. A business buys a larger building to expand and proceeds to re-establish an interior wall that was removed by the previous owner. The fire chief, who happens to be a customer, sees this project and the business owner soon receives a call from the city attorney demanding that the business owner file a building permit. It’s one thing to debate whether or not a building permit should be required in this case, but really, is it good customer service to pay the city attorney $250 per hour to call the owner and scare him into getting the building permit? I could fill this column, in multiple parts, with similar stories but I’ll let this one suffice for right now.

The number one objective in a city’s economic development and recruiting effort should be to change the culture within all of the city government to one of treating constituents like customers and not as subjects. It’s not that the cities don’t have a job to do in making sure ordinances are enforced. After all, the reason we agree to the ordinances in the first place is that we don’t want our neighbors to be allowed to have something like a full-blown chicken operation next door. Rather, it’s in the way the rules are enforced.

How do we change the culture in the city government? We can train everyone on how to think like an entrepreneur. The really successful entrepreneurs see their role as providing solutions to customer problems in the best and most innovative way possible, creating satisfied customers.

No doubt running a city is a balancing act using scarce tax-payer resources in the most efficient way possible to provide the city services necessary for a healthy and prosperous community. If the constituents felt like satisfied customers instead of subjects, their communities would grow and there would be much less grumbling about taxes paid for city services.

 

Jim Correll can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Fab Lab ICC or Independence Community College. Archive columns and podcasts at jimcorrell.com.

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter October 2019

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas 

Many know that I believe there should be a Fab Lab or maker space in every rural community in Kansas. My guest columnist today is Lea Ann Seiler, director of Hodgeman County Economic Development, north of Dodge City in western Kansas. She has made much progress in a year and one half to bring a maker space to her community and her traction started with area youth. 

I first attended the Fab Lab Community Bootcamp in the winter of 2018. (I think it may have even been the very first one.) I loved it. It was great! I was so excited that I stayed up late in my hotel room making plans, so when I got back home, I would be READY. In fact, by the time I drove back to Western Kansas (in an ice storm), I was thoroughly convinced that everyone in my community would be excited in the same way…ready to jump on board and “recreate” this amazing place in Hodgeman County. Imagine my surprise when people were not quite as receptive as I was. I am not exaggerating when I say I was beyond disbelief and sad at the same time. I mean, I have a great Board. Our community is filled with creative, intelligent people. We aren’t made of money, but we are creative and can usually find a way to do something if it is important to us. I sang the praises of the Fab Lab loud and clear. Every chance I got…I pointed out all of the things that we could “do for ourselves” if we had the same equipment. I talked to teenagers and pointed out entrepreneurial opportunities. But still, I wasn’t getting the same reaction I expected….the excitement was definitely missing. I was cautioned that “the Fab Lab is at a Community College…we don’t have a Community College”.  

So, I did what I usually do when I hit a brick wall …I looked for a way around it. (That whole “begging for forgiveness rather than waiting for permission thing”? It’s a good thing!) I started thinking about how we could get the kids in the community excited – knowing that when they were, it would surely spread to their parents and grandparents. By the time this “lightbulb” went off….it was already summer. I quickly searched for available dates and planned a camp. The camp would be for youth 2nd through 6th grade and would be held at our Business and Culinary Incubator. Network Kansas graciously agreed to help me out with part of the costs, and I designed flyers; got it out on FaceBook; and started planning. I thought it would be great to offer some of the great things I had learned about at the Fab Lab, so I ordered a few Arduino kits; and I am fascinated with 3D Printing, so I added 3D Printing to the camp rotation too. THEN, I remembered that I didn’t really have any experience beyond my 30-minute Arduino experience at the Fab Lab….and did not own a 3D printer. (Details like this tend to get in the way.)  I called my friends at the Kiowa County Media Center and talked them into helping me….Mike offered to bring his 3D Printers and teach 3D Printing, and Grant agreed to teach Podcasting. Simone and Anne, from Network Kansas, also agreed to help teach a rotation on “Thinking Entrepreneurially”. We were almost set. Fear set in. I still didn’t have anyone who could help with coding. Then, exactly 10 days before the camp…while I was still frantically contacting people from all over the state….a young lady who had just graduated from college called. She said that she had seen my FaceBook posts about the camp and wondered if I could use any help with coding. “She had some time that week and would love to help.” (I later found out that her wedding was that week as well!) I was beyond excited! Up until that point, I was pretty much convinced that this was going to be a spectacular failure and that it would be long remembered. (I have a few spectacular failures like that.) Camp week came, and I lost a couple of volunteers, due to work schedules and illness, but we did it on a skeleton crew and it was a HUGE success! Actually, the things that didn’t work out the way I had intended, didn’t even get noticed by anyone else. Finally! Kids were excited, parents were calling and writing notes – wanting to make sure that their kids would be on the mailing list for the next camp. Adults were asking questions about the equipment and how we might get it here full-time.  

Since then, I’ve written a few small grants and have been fundraising (WeKAN) for equipment. Jim and Joanne brought out the mobile Fab Lab for demonstrations (another Network Kansas grant). This summer we held two more camps and set up a “mini-camp” at the County Fair. Soon, our Laser Engraver will be added to the 3D Printers; Arduino and robotic kits; engineering challenges; embroidery machine; and vinyl cutters that have been collected so far for the Maker Space. It’s FINALLY coming together.  I’m pretty sure that there will be a few more challenges, such as maintaining the equipment (which I’m learning) and training/keeping volunteers so we can be open on a regular basis. However, I’ll always be thankful to Jim, Tim and Joanne for planting that BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) in my brain and to Network Kansas for the grant to get me there in the first place! My advice? Don’t get discouraged if your community isn’t quite ready, remember, they may not have visited the Fab Lab yet. Don’t feel like you have to wait until you’re ready….or it may never happen. Just jump in and get started….it will come together in a way that may be smaller but will still be impactful in your community. 

 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.