The Uncommon Common Man

Two ol’ Dartmouth College buddies and I visited the Airport Diner in Manchester, NH not too long ago; Kathy was our terrific waitress (she was brand new too.) We enjoyed some first-rate old-fashioned diner grub and snagged a coupla cool paper hats (the kind the cooks wear). When I got home and modeled the hat for my fam, I noticed the web site for The Common Man family of restaurants.

What a great story. Alex Ray, founder way back in 1971, is a real entrepreneur. He has built a great business and pays it forward in the communities where he operates. I did not get a chance to meet him, but I hope I do someday. He embodies many of the traits of successful entrepreneurs we have observed in our Entrepreneurial Leadership class at Drake University.

My pals and I were on our way to northern New Hampshire to memorialize a great friend who died 10 years ago. We installed a small marker in his memory atop Diamond Peak in the Second College Grant, Wentworth Location, NH. Drilling a 4” hole in solid granite can be done in the wild. We got off to a great start for a great adventure in memory of a great guy, Richard C. Sunshine.

Alex, Kathy, and all your Common Man colleagues, I hope you will stop by if you ever find yourself in Des Moines.

The Drake Relays--Brian Brown, the LOVE doctor.

Dr. Brian Brown, Director of the Drake Relays and 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist in the high jump, spoke to the Des Moines Rotary Club recently. He is one cool cat who just radiates positive energy. His focus, and man, he is really focused, was the 100th Drake Relays.
The Relays are another treasure buried here in the Heartland. This year, though, thanks in large part to the tireless efforts of Brown and his boss, the also cool and focused Sandy Hatfield Clubb, Drake's A.D., the Relays will have a chance to shine like the medals awarded to the athletes. Dr. Brown has attracted a world-class field, and for the first time, the Relays will be broadcast on ESPN2.

I'd like to bottle the energy these two generate and share it with every entrepreneur I know. Wow, innovationa nd new businesses would be busting out all over. Dr. Brown (who by the way is married to Natash Kaiser Brown, Drake's coach for both the men's and women's track teams--more postive energy-- and another Olympic silver medalist and world champion in the 4X100 relay) offered some comments applicable not only to athletic success, but also to success as an entrepreneurial leader.

Organizing an annual event such as the Relays is a big job, more than one person could accomplish alone. It would be easy to develop a big head to go along with the job, but Brian Brown has avoided that. As he explained, he learned to love the people more than the position. Success is not about him at the top, but about the collaboration of many up and down the pyramid. He painted a great image of an effective leader as a river that flows by many people, NOT just a reservoir at the end of the stream.

He offered this advice in closing. He believes in LOVE:

L as in LOYALTY
O as in OBJECTIVITY--tell me the truth

V as in VULNERABILITY--take risks

E as in EMPATHY

Too cute for you. Maybe, but when he explained that he wants the people he works with to feel the roar of the crowd he felt when he won his silver medal, it made me want to work with him. I'd like to experience that feeling. The Doctor is in, and he is operatin'.

Turning a boar's ear into silky prosciutto

Okay, that title is a bit of a stretch. I do not know that Herb Eckhouse and La Quercia actually turn pigs' ears into anything good for us to eat, but I do know they make delicious prosciutto and coppa from humanely-raised, antibiotic-free hogs. I don't know how they do it; I think magic is involved, but, boy, is it good. That's Herb and his wife and partner (partner and wife?) , Kathy, in the photo to the right.

Despite being up to his elbows in cured meats, Herb recently visited our Entrepreneurial Leadership class at Drake University and shared his thoughts on starting an entrepreneurial business later in life. Herb also wondered about the concept of teaching entrepreneurship; he suggested it is not a classroom subject, but a mindset that requires action. Notwithstanding his initial reluctance (also driven by genuine modesty) he shared his story and a number of great lessons. First, his lessons:

• It is NEVER too late.
• Timing is everything.
• There is NO substitute for obsessive implementation.

Herb had been dreaming about prosciutto for a long time, after having lived in Italy for several years while working with a Pioneer Hi-Bred. When DuPont acquired Pioneer in 2000, Herb cashed in his employment chips and started working on his dream. He found a commitment to economic development in the Des Moines metro and a demand for value-added food products. Despite job offers, he spent five months studying the feasibility of his dream. Other people thought it was a cool idea; there was a growing interest in artisanal food; there was nothing like it in Iowa, or anywhere else in the U.S. for that matter, and it was an easy way to add value to a readily accessible commodity: pork. He realized he could take a highly perishable commodity and turn it into something delicious and non-perishable. He also figured that he could do that with a cut of meat the market undervalued. Seeing no "red lights" and a feasible business he founded La Quercia.

He didn't want any partners or investors, other than Kathy, because he didn't want to argue about how to fulfill his dream; he didn't want to answer to anybody about how much to invest in making the best product. Oh, and he didn't get paid for seven years. Instead he invested his own money and put his entire net worth on the line. Already motivated by his dream, he could not let the business fail.

He spent ten days with a leading Italian producer who produced a first class product in a clean facility with no dangerous waste by-products. After successfully importing prosciutto for a couple years, Herb and Kathy started making prosciutto in their home. Of course, their Italian contacts said it couldn't be done: the Appian Air was crucial, the whey the hogs ate was different; the local water was no good, and of course the hogs weren't Italian. Despite all those "hurdles", people liked the product; they REALLY liked it. Enough so that by 2003, the Eckhouses decided to buy some land and build a curing facility. They continued curing meats in their basement and further developed their relationship with Niman Ranch, an organization of family farmers who raise livestock traditionally, humanely, and sustainably. The building opened in 2005, the same year La Quercia was introduced to the Whole Foods Market juggernaut.

As Herb moved up the corporate food chain at Whole Foods, everybody loved La Quercia's products. In fact everybody really did love La Quercia's prosciutto: Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and The New York Times all raved about it; even Jeffrey Steingarten, the "grumpy old man" of food critics, said it was the best prosciutto he had ever tasted. But (there has to be a but, this is a story about hogs, right?) Whole Foods didn't seem to really get it. They had an exclusive for the only U.S. made prosciutto from humanely-raised hogs and they weren't telling anybody. Having bet big on Whole Food's commitment, La Quercia found itself between the hog and hard place. With more than his toes hanging over the brink, Herb gritted his teeth, tapped out his credit line and hung on until he finally was able to get Whole Foods to wake up and smell the curing smoke. In nine months La Quercia sold out its inventory. They were finally really in business.

As for the lessons Herb shared:

• It's never too late. Herb was 50 when he started La Quercia. He had spent 20 years in corporate America before starting his entrepreneurial adventure and fulfilling a dream.
• Timing is everything. People had tried to make prosciutto in the U.S. in the '80s and failed; others tried a down-market approach, and failed. A new food era arrived in the 2000s. Also, the time was right for Herb personally. He had gained start-up experience working at Pioneer, and, importantly, he could afford to put his lifestyle at risk.
• There is no substitute for excellent performance, or as he puts it, "obsessive implementation." When he entered into the relationship with Whole Foods, he did not have a back-up plan. He had to make it work, so, he did.

I've know Herb for some time, and I had read about his business. I did not know the whole story though. I am truly impressed. He and Kathy exemplify the entrepreneurial imperative that sets us apart from the rest of the world. It is never too late to make a great product. La Quercia's products are absolutely delicious; try them. And if you ever bump into Herb, after thanking him for making such delicious treats, tell him he has a great head of hair.

Thanks for sharing your story, Herb.

Artistic Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Artist

Sixteen years ago a struggling artist and budding business woman, Sarah Grant, started Sticks, Inc. Sticks handcrafts truly distinctive furniture, accessories, and objets d'art (showin' off ma francais) at a unique studio in Des Moines, IA. Sarah was a recent visitor to our Entrepreneurial Leadership class at Drake University, and she stole the show. A vivacious former [girls] soccer mom, Sarah shared her adventurous journey from fine arts student to successful entrepreneur and independent business woman and tossed in more than a little practical real-life advice. She understands the importance of a good story, and in her excellent tale she personifies the challenges and opportunities all entrepreneurs face.

When the economy goes down, the bright and innovative rise up.
Sarah left Des Moines to ski and study art; after graduating college, and plenty of skiing and art, she earned a masters in Italo printmaking (WTH?) and an MFA in painting. She was an ARTIST. Like almost all young artists, she started out as a waitress; she moved on to ticket sales, and then adjunct teaching (I can confirm that that's a calling, not a career). She then taught, for 10 years, at a college of design. The most she ever made was $8,900 a year, and, as she was a credit hour short of fulltime , she got no benefits, but she was an ARTIST.

I don't do tchotchkes.
Pursuing her dream of sustaining herself as a painter and drawer, she told herself, "I don't do tchotchkes" (extra credit if you know what they are). Meredith Publishing, publisher of Ladies' Home Journal, approached her about building a non-country nativity set. "I don't do tchotchkes" she replied. "Well, we'll pay you $500." "I'll do tchotchkes." Neither a sculptor nor a woodcarver, Sarah was a drawer, but Meredith didn't know that. So she found an old box and used a woodburning tool to draw her design, and sold the design to Meredith. Her Mom asked her if she could make another one. From that unexpected start grew Sticks; she learned later to keep and protect her designs.

I don't do art fairs.
She had vowed to never do art fairs; but as I learned when I moved to Des Moines, one must never say never, and hit the art fair she did. Living like a carnie, Sticks consumed all her time and effort, but she was making it work. Finally tiring of life on the road, a friend at the Des Moines Art Center referred her to a big wholesale crafts trade show. Ignoring her attorney's advice to name her business "Sarah Grant Inc." on the notion that other artists wouldn't want to work for Sarah Grant, so she stuck with Sticks. She did take his advice to demand deposits and minimum orders though. Of course she was the only one out of 4,500 exhibitors to do so, and until the final 1/2 day it appeared that she may have overreached. In that last 1/2 day, however, she booked $7,500 of orders, and the new Sticks Inc. was off and running. Today, Sticks's top ten accounts come from that first batch of orders.

100% Made in the U.S.A.
Sticks has been profitable every year since then. And every product is 100% made in the U.S.A.; something more than one person told Sarah she couldn't do. Well, she learned by doing, and today, one of Sticks's key strengths is in process. Focusing on developing efficient processes, fostering creativity and preserving high quality Sarah successfully made the leap from passion to profit, while preserving her artistic roots. She also takes care of her employees, 140 strong today . Because she started out with no benefits, she is committed to putting as much money as she can into employee benefits, and strives to make Sticks a great place to work. Sticks is truly an American success story.

Challenges and Opportunities
Sarah closed with some remarks on the challenges the current economic climate presents to her and to other small businesses. She may have less money to reinvest; profits will be harder to achieve, but she emphasized that this is a fertile environment for someone seeking to start a business. Inters tingly, she also noted that while the wholesale business has declined, Sticks's gallery business has remained strong. (I suggest that the unique nature and high quality, couple with the local nature of her crafts sets her wares apart.) Many people are scared, so those who can muster the resources to start something can make a real mark. She urged the students to consider this as a real opportunity.

"The great thing about business," she said, "it always changes."

A couple days after her presentation I received an announcement that Sticks was opening a gallery shop in Kansas City for the holidays. Times may be tough, but so is Sarah, and like so many successful entrepreneurs she will make things happen, and probably break a few of her own rules in doing so.

Iowa Economic Development has a chance

Many thanks to Doug Lewis, head of Entrepreneurial Development for the Iowa Dep't of Economic Development. Doug is one of the rare few who can truly say "Hi, I'm from the government, and I ma here to help you." A very down-to-earth good guy, he took a different tack than our other visitors by starting out with some recommended readings: The World is Flat, by NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman, important for the world view he sets out, but lacking any prescription for what we should do; A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink who provides some guidance on what to do, namely focus more on creativity and empathy as basic analysis is best done by technology; and The Only Sustainable Edge, by John Hagel and John Seeley Brown who explore developments at the edge of business and the edges of the world. He tossed in a reference tho the best-selling Influencer The Power to Change Anything, by David Maxfield, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler.

Doug then went on to provide his advice on how to prepare for entrepreneurial leadership:

1. Work and get training in order to really know how to execute a plan or strategy.
2. Find a mentor. This is a recurring theme among our presenters.
3. Be willing to fail; most successful entrepreneurs do not succeed until their third attempt. Another recurring theme.
   
4. Start now. This is one of the major themes of our class. Entrepreneurial leaders make things happen.

He emphasized that entrepreneurial success requires tenacity and devotion. He also suggested that there are opportunities in and around clusters of economic development, analogizing to Hollywood, where it takes more than actors and directors to make it all work.

Iowa has identified three major areas of opportunity:

1. Biosciences
2. Advanced manufacturing
3. Information Technology

And while I have suggested to Doug that three may be too big and broad for little ol' Iowa, I am confident that Iowans will find innovative solutions within those broad categories. And when they do, Doug will be there to help them capitalize on them.
Thanks, Doug.