TracyZaiss

DISRUPTING THE

STATUS QUO

FOR 25 YEARS

AVITUREPivoting from Big Contractsto Big Data

BEST OF B2B2014 Results

LINKEDINA Tour of TheirOmaha Headquarters

PRSRT STD

US POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO 5377

DENVER CO

0 874470 63856

10gt

SPRING 2014 bull MARAPRMAY

US

$3

25

OMAHA MAGAZINE bull 5921 S 118TH CIRCLE bull OMAHA NE 68137

Omaharsquos Business-To-Business Magazine

4 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

Creating the most unique and pleasurable cigar smoking experience in Omaha

Simple Pleasures

13110 Birch Drive Omaha NE 68164 4028846702

Safari Cigars and Lounge is the ideal location for brunches luncheons dinner parties corporate meetings special events photo shoots and more

We provide attentive service an extensive selectionof wine spirits and cordials and a choice of more than 100 of the finest cigars

To inquire about hosting a private event call today

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 5

publisherTODD LEMKE

omaha magazine editor DAVID WILLIAMS

b2b omaha editorCHRIS WOLFGANG

editorial internsMOLLY MAHANNAH bull JOSIE BUNGERT

contributing writersJAYLENE EILENSTINE BEVERLY KRACHER PHD BRITTANY MASCIO bull DANA MARKEL MANDY MOWERS bull RAIN SISSEL MEGHAN TOWNLEY

creative director JOHN GAWLEY

director of photography amp interactive mediaBILL SITZMANN

senior graphic designer KRISTEN HOFFMAN

production artist MARTI LATKA

account executivesGREG BRUNS bull GIL COHEN GWEN LEMKE bull VICKI VOET

assistant to the publisher SANDY BESCH MATSON

account assistantsDAWN DENNIS bull JESSICA LINHARTALICIA SMITH HOLLINS bull SYDNEY STANDER

operationsTYLER LEMKE

warehouse distribution managerMIKE BREWER

for advertising information402-884-2000

to subscribeSEND $1295 FOR A ONE-YEAR (FOUR ISSUES) TOB2B OMAHA bull PO BOX 461208OMAHA NE 68046-1208WWWB2BOMACOM

a publication ofOMAHA MAGAZINE

B2B Omaha Magazine is published four times annually by Oma-ha Magazine LTD PO Box 461208 Omaha NE 68046-1208 Telephone (402) 884-2000 fax (402) 884-2001 Subscription rates $1295 for 4 issues (one year) $1995 for 8 issues (two years) Multiple subscriptions at different rates are available No whole or part of the contents herein may be reproduced without prior written permission of B2B Omaha Magazine ex-cepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs Unsolicited manuscripts are accepted however no responsi-bility will be assumed for such solicitations

20

6 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

From left From left Kevin Welsh Senior Vice President Financial Advisor Dawn Bonacci Senior Registered Associate Patrick Friesen CFPreg Financial Advisor

For Lifersquos Most Important GoalsWith an experienced professional and the right resourcesreaching your most important goals can be less challenging and more rewarding We are ready to help you meet your goals by combining our insight into your needs with the resources of Morgan Stanley

The WelshFriesen Group at Morgan Stanley13625 California Street Suite 400 bull Omaha NE 68154tel 402-399-1541 bull wwwmorganstanleyfacomthewelshgroup

copy Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Member SIPC 2014

4026166109wwwaestheticconcretedesigncom

Check out our servicesbull Stained Concrete bull Custom Firepitsbull Concrete Overlays bull Tornado Sheltersbull Concrete Pavers bull Floor Coatingsbull Concrete Countertops

and Sinksbull Insulated Concrete

Form Homesbull Stamp Concrete

Restorationbull Landscape Design

ACD_B2B_AD_Feb2014_FCindd 1 12414 756 AM

Tracy Zaiss DISRUPTING THE STATUS QUO FOR 25 YEARS

20

FEATURE

SPECIAL SECTION

12 The Triumph of Agriculture ExpoThe 48th annual Triumph of Agriculture Expo takes place at CenturyLink Center Omaha March 12-13

25 Best of B2B Results

8 On the Rise Aviture

10 omAHA Cali Commons

16 Arts amp Entertainment Big Brain Productions

18 How I Roll Cindy Meister Diaz

52 In the Office LinkedIn

58 Give Strike Zone and MVP4Life

60 omAHA TeeBoxx

14 Omaha CVB Omaharsquos Growing Landscape

15 Office Furniture Get Moving at Work

23 Business Ethics Marketing Ethics

57 Social Media How Should Your Business Use Twitter Lists

62 The Know-It-All Forget the Alternatives

DEPARTMENTS COLUMNS

ldquoYoursquod better like owning a company And be with people you like And do

things that excite and energize yourdquo TRACY ZAISS CEO OF ZAISS amp CO

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 7

spring 2014 bull marchaprilmay bull volume 14 bull issue 1 table of contents

Aviture

PIVOTS FROM BIG CORPORATIONS TO BIG DATA

IN 2004 MARK GRIFFIS founded Aviture as a response to Lockheed Martinrsquos request that he subcontract for them on a long-term

project The former Air Force officer turned serial entrepreneur had been consulting for the defense technology corporation when they asked him to stay with the project ldquoI had two days to come up with a namerdquo Griffis recalls

Fast forward to 2013 Aviture had grown from a small startup into a stable software development company with enviable contract relationships with large corporations such as Lockheed And Griffis decided it was time for Aviture to walk away

Working for a Lockheed or a Northrup is great he says but it wasnrsquot helping Aviture move forward ldquoLetrsquos make a difference as Aviture without necessarily needing the support of a larger corporationrdquo

When a few contracts came up for renewal last summer ldquowe just decided we were donerdquo Griffis recalls ldquoWe had enough work of our own and we focused on getting this new spacerdquo Aviture moved into a contemporary office space near I-80 and 132nd St in the spring of 2013

Ryan Wade Aviturersquos Vice President of busi-ness development would put the companyrsquos turning point back even further ldquo2010 was

about realigning our customer baserdquo he says Being choosy about the contracts they accepted meant a smooth transition into product devel-opment while not leaving Aviturersquos consulting side behind entirely

So while Aviture is still handling some gov-ernment projects (like UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] mission planning software) the company is moving into the commercial sphere focus-ing on web development and data analytics ldquoEverybody can put a dot on a map nowrdquo Griffis says ldquoBut what are you going to do when you have 1500 dots on a map What are you going to do with that information Those are the types

As CEO of Aviture Mark Griffis is gradually shifting the companyrsquos focus from subcontracting with large cor-porations to creating its own data analysis products

8 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by chris wolfgang bull photos by bill sitzmannon the rise

of problems we want to solverdquoHis goal for Aviture is to provide data analysis

thatrsquos easily visualized and absorbed so that busi-nesses can get back to work quickly After all 1500 dots on a map create a blob of information thatrsquos difficult to wade through if not useless

For military operations Griffis points out missed opportunities from poor data analysis can put lives at stake ldquoIn the business world itrsquos not as direrdquo he says ldquobut if you miss an opportunity your business can definitely suffer Thatrsquos what we try to offer insight intordquo

According to Griffis the same technology that can solve the problems of military mission logistics can be put to work solving problems with 3D surgical imaging concussion analysis or back-of-the-house restaurant manage-ment ldquoUnderstand what a customer is trying to do and whyrdquo he says ldquoThen you can apply the technologyrdquo

ldquoWe look at things from a business perspec-tiverdquo Wade adds ldquowhich I think is unique in tech We have experience in developing and actually bringing products to marketrdquo

Creating products that clients can easily apply to their own businesses means that Aviture employees have to have a strong desire to learn ldquoItrsquos not just codingrdquo Griffis says ldquoItrsquos not saying go make this widget Itrsquos understanding why always asking whyrdquo

To find those people Griffis launched a second part to Aviturersquos 2013 pivot a technology busi-ness incubator attached to Aviture He calls it The Garage ldquoMy dream would be to create this pipeline where people come in with Aviture find their passion in The Garage and follow it outrdquo

The new incubator he says is a risk-mitigated way to get involved in Omaharsquos startup environment

About four fledgling business ideas are active in The Garage Some are still very early stage (ldquopart of this is educationrdquo Griffis explains ldquoAbout mentoring them Is the market there What are the distribution channels How are you going to raise moneyrdquo) and some are ready to move out (Huntforce a trail camera management company is going into its second round of funding)

All of the business concepts represented in The Garage exhibit Griffisrsquo desire to encourage Omahans to create on the next level of innova-tion ldquoI believe we donrsquot need more codersrdquo Griffis says ldquoWe need more technology lead-ers people who know how to apply technologyrdquo Promoting this philosophy Aviture hosted Hack Omaha last year a weekend hackathon where programmers attempted to create useful prod-ucts from city data B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 9

Aviture

PIVOTS FROM BIG CORPORATIONS TO BIG DATA

IN 2004 MARK GRIFFIS founded Aviture as a response to Lockheed Martinrsquos request that he subcontract for them on a long-term

project The former Air Force officer turned serial entrepreneur had been consulting for the defense technology corporation when they asked him to stay with the project ldquoI had two days to come up with a namerdquo Griffis recalls

Fast forward to 2013 Aviture had grown from a small startup into a stable software development company with enviable contract relationships with large corporations such as Lockheed And Griffis decided it was time for Aviture to walk away

Working for a Lockheed or a Northrup is great he says but it wasnrsquot helping Aviture move forward ldquoLetrsquos make a difference as Aviture without necessarily needing the support of a larger corporationrdquo

When a few contracts came up for renewal last summer ldquowe just decided we were donerdquo Griffis recalls ldquoWe had enough work of our own and we focused on getting this new spacerdquo Aviture moved into a contemporary office space near I-80 and 132nd St in the spring of 2013

Ryan Wade Aviturersquos Vice President of busi-ness development would put the companyrsquos turning point back even further ldquo2010 was

about realigning our customer baserdquo he says Being choosy about the contracts they accepted meant a smooth transition into product devel-opment while not leaving Aviturersquos consulting side behind entirely

So while Aviture is still handling some gov-ernment projects (like UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] mission planning software) the company is moving into the commercial sphere focus-ing on web development and data analytics ldquoEverybody can put a dot on a map nowrdquo Griffis says ldquoBut what are you going to do when you have 1500 dots on a map What are you going to do with that information Those are the types

As CEO of Aviture Mark Griffis is gradually shifting the companyrsquos focus from subcontracting with large cor-porations to creating its own data analysis products

8 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by chris wolfgang bull photos by bill sitzmannon the rise

of problems we want to solverdquoHis goal for Aviture is to provide data analysis

thatrsquos easily visualized and absorbed so that busi-nesses can get back to work quickly After all 1500 dots on a map create a blob of information thatrsquos difficult to wade through if not useless

For military operations Griffis points out missed opportunities from poor data analysis can put lives at stake ldquoIn the business world itrsquos not as direrdquo he says ldquobut if you miss an opportunity your business can definitely suffer Thatrsquos what we try to offer insight intordquo

According to Griffis the same technology that can solve the problems of military mission logistics can be put to work solving problems with 3D surgical imaging concussion analysis or back-of-the-house restaurant manage-ment ldquoUnderstand what a customer is trying to do and whyrdquo he says ldquoThen you can apply the technologyrdquo

ldquoWe look at things from a business perspec-tiverdquo Wade adds ldquowhich I think is unique in tech We have experience in developing and actually bringing products to marketrdquo

Creating products that clients can easily apply to their own businesses means that Aviture employees have to have a strong desire to learn ldquoItrsquos not just codingrdquo Griffis says ldquoItrsquos not saying go make this widget Itrsquos understanding why always asking whyrdquo

To find those people Griffis launched a second part to Aviturersquos 2013 pivot a technology busi-ness incubator attached to Aviture He calls it The Garage ldquoMy dream would be to create this pipeline where people come in with Aviture find their passion in The Garage and follow it outrdquo

The new incubator he says is a risk-mitigated way to get involved in Omaharsquos startup environment

About four fledgling business ideas are active in The Garage Some are still very early stage (ldquopart of this is educationrdquo Griffis explains ldquoAbout mentoring them Is the market there What are the distribution channels How are you going to raise moneyrdquo) and some are ready to move out (Huntforce a trail camera management company is going into its second round of funding)

All of the business concepts represented in The Garage exhibit Griffisrsquo desire to encourage Omahans to create on the next level of innova-tion ldquoI believe we donrsquot need more codersrdquo Griffis says ldquoWe need more technology lead-ers people who know how to apply technologyrdquo Promoting this philosophy Aviture hosted Hack Omaha last year a weekend hackathon where programmers attempted to create useful prod-ucts from city data B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 9

of problems we want to solverdquoHis goal for Aviture is to provide data analysis

thatrsquos easily visualized and absorbed so that busi-nesses can get back to work quickly After all 1500 dots on a map create a blob of information thatrsquos difficult to wade through if not useless

For military operations Griffis points out missed opportunities from poor data analysis can put lives at stake ldquoIn the business world itrsquos not as direrdquo he says ldquobut if you miss an opportunity your business can definitely suffer Thatrsquos what we try to offer insight intordquo

According to Griffis the same technology that can solve the problems of military mission logistics can be put to work solving problems with 3D surgical imaging concussion analysis or back-of-the-house restaurant manage-ment ldquoUnderstand what a customer is trying to do and whyrdquo he says ldquoThen you can apply the technologyrdquo

ldquoWe look at things from a business perspec-tiverdquo Wade adds ldquowhich I think is unique in tech We have experience in developing and actually bringing products to marketrdquo

Creating products that clients can easily apply to their own businesses means that Aviture employees have to have a strong desire to learn ldquoItrsquos not just codingrdquo Griffis says ldquoItrsquos not saying go make this widget Itrsquos understanding why always asking whyrdquo

To find those people Griffis launched a second part to Aviturersquos 2013 pivot a technology busi-ness incubator attached to Aviture He calls it The Garage ldquoMy dream would be to create this pipeline where people come in with Aviture find their passion in The Garage and follow it outrdquo

The new incubator he says is a risk-mitigated way to get involved in Omaharsquos startup environment

About four fledgling business ideas are active in The Garage Some are still very early stage (ldquopart of this is educationrdquo Griffis explains ldquoAbout mentoring them Is the market there What are the distribution channels How are you going to raise moneyrdquo) and some are ready to move out (Huntforce a trail camera management company is going into its second round of funding)

All of the business concepts represented in The Garage exhibit Griffisrsquo desire to encourage Omahans to create on the next level of innova-tion ldquoI believe we donrsquot need more codersrdquo Griffis says ldquoWe need more technology lead-ers people who know how to apply technologyrdquo Promoting this philosophy Aviture hosted Hack Omaha last year a weekend hackathon where programmers attempted to create useful prod-ucts from city data B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 9

Luke Armstrong and Molly Nicklin welcome remote workers and solo professionals to their co-working space at 40th and California streets

IT WAS NEVER IN the plan for Luke Armstrong and Molly Nicklin to own a co-working space But when they had a

chance to buy an old grocery store at 40th and California the midtown co-working space Cali Commons was born

Cali Commons

OMAHArsquoS NEXT CO-WORKING SPACE

10 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by molly mahannah bull photos by bill sitzmannomAHA

ldquoWe had a house near Bensonrdquo Armstrong says ldquoand we rented a space in Benson because we both do some performance paintingrdquo But the cost was prohibitive ldquoWe started looking around and we found this building and moved in upstairsrdquo

The pair floated around other ideas for what to do with the excess space Theyrsquod already decided to put an art gallery in the basement and allot-ted space for Lukersquos office and other project RenMind a web application company

ldquoWe always wanted to be around creative people and entrepreneursrdquo Armstrong says ldquoI like to make new businesses all the time It was kind of a natural progressionrdquo

The plans for Cali Commons include having new artwork every month as well as provid-ing a place for art shows and other events Armstrong and Nicklin also wanted to provide a space that wonrsquot break the bank thatrsquos close to a lot of young professionals As of January three people are renting out personal office space and a few others rent out ldquoseatsrdquo in the open area dubbed the co-working space But the duo is hoping for around 10 or so to gather in the co-working space

ldquoIrsquove always loved this building for years and when I saw there was an opportunity to get an office here I jumped at the chancerdquo says Ryan Behrens a social services contractor ldquoIt helps me focus a lot more than working from home so I think itrsquos well worth the price of the rentrdquo

Another aspiration for the co-working space is to host movie nights yoga classes or other fun things to help build relationships with everyone using the space

ldquoWe wanted a place that would bring in the kinds of people we wanted to be aroundrdquo Armstrong says He suggests that since they spend so much time in the office why not make it fun

The space is open from 7 am to 7 pm gen-erally but Armstrong and Nicklin donrsquot expect people to stick around the whole time In fact some renters work only in the mornings or only in the afternoons The space is available for rent-ers to pop in whenever is convenient The only stipulation is that the co-working space is not available when an art show or other event is utilizing the open area B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 11

Confident intelligent legal solutions for youand your business Good judgmentfor another 100 years

wwwBaylorEvnencomOmaha 4029344568 One Pacific Place Lincoln 4024751075 Wells Fargo Center

Protecting your business with employment law planning and defenseEarning your trustfor another 100 years

Omaha 4029344568 One Pacific Place Lincoln 4024751075 Wells Fargo Center wwwBaylorEvnencom

Legal solutions for complex real estatetransactions and disputesAdvancing your goalsfor another 100 years

Omaha 4029344568 One Pacific Place Lincoln 4024751075 Wells Fargo Center wwwBaylorEvnencom

Protecting your dreamsLegal solutions for trusts and estatesEarning your trustfor another 100 years

Omaha 4029344568 One Pacific Place Lincoln 4024751075 Wells Fargo Center wwwBaylorEvnencom

ldquoWe had a house near Bensonrdquo Armstrong says ldquoand we rented a space in Benson because we both do some performance paintingrdquo But the cost was prohibitive ldquoWe started looking around and we found this building and moved in upstairsrdquo

The pair floated around other ideas for what to do with the excess space Theyrsquod already decided to put an art gallery in the basement and allot-ted space for Lukersquos office and other project RenMind a web application company

ldquoWe always wanted to be around creative people and entrepreneursrdquo Armstrong says ldquoI like to make new businesses all the time It was kind of a natural progressionrdquo

The plans for Cali Commons include having new artwork every month as well as provid-ing a place for art shows and other events Armstrong and Nicklin also wanted to provide a space that wonrsquot break the bank thatrsquos close to a lot of young professionals As of January three people are renting out personal office space and a few others rent out ldquoseatsrdquo in the open area dubbed the co-working space But the duo is hoping for around 10 or so to gather in the co-working space

ldquoIrsquove always loved this building for years and when I saw there was an opportunity to get an office here I jumped at the chancerdquo says Ryan Behrens a social services contractor ldquoIt helps me focus a lot more than working from home so I think itrsquos well worth the price of the rentrdquo

Another aspiration for the co-working space is to host movie nights yoga classes or other fun things to help build relationships with everyone using the space

ldquoWe wanted a place that would bring in the kinds of people we wanted to be aroundrdquo Armstrong says He suggests that since they spend so much time in the office why not make it fun

The space is open from 7 am to 7 pm gen-erally but Armstrong and Nicklin donrsquot expect people to stick around the whole time In fact some renters work only in the mornings or only in the afternoons The space is available for rent-ers to pop in whenever is convenient The only stipulation is that the co-working space is not available when an art show or other event is utilizing the open area B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 11

Confident intelligent legal solutions for youand your business Good judgmentfor another 100 years

wwwBaylorEvnencomOmaha 4029344568 One Pacific Place Lincoln 4024751075 Wells Fargo Center

Protecting your business with employment law planning and defenseEarning your trustfor another 100 years

Omaha 4029344568 One Pacific Place Lincoln 4024751075 Wells Fargo Center wwwBaylorEvnencom

Legal solutions for complex real estatetransactions and disputesAdvancing your goalsfor another 100 years

Omaha 4029344568 One Pacific Place Lincoln 4024751075 Wells Fargo Center wwwBaylorEvnencom

Protecting your dreamsLegal solutions for trusts and estatesEarning your trustfor another 100 years

Omaha 4029344568 One Pacific Place Lincoln 4024751075 Wells Fargo Center wwwBaylorEvnencom

ITrsquoS A DIVERSIFIED SHOW something for everybody thatrsquos in farming and ranching of some formrdquo Bob Mancuso Jr show direc-

tor says of the Triumph of Agriculture Expedition The 48th annual show runs from March 12-13 at CenturyLink Center Omaha

With more than 900 exhibits and covering the 200000 square-foot arena the Triumph of Ag Expo is a hands-on experience Visitors can expect to see demonstrations from antique farm tractors and equipment as well as displays from Camp Creek Threshers Elkhorn Valley Antique Power Association Keg Creek Antique Machinery Club and more Vendors on every level of CenturyLink Center will be showcasing their products services or farming and ranch-ing equipment

ldquoThe Nebraska Wheat Board will also be pres-ent at the showrdquo Mancuso says ldquoTheyrsquore going to have a mobile wheat unit that will highlight wheat and theyrsquoll be giving away cinnamon

rolls so thatrsquos fun People can try those and sample themrdquo

The Expo which has vendors on a waiting list to participate is one of the largest in the Midwest Mancuso says organizers try to have really diver-sified options for both vendors and visitors

ldquoYou know Omahamdashwersquore right on the borderrdquo Mancuso says ldquoso we definitely draw eastern Nebraska western Iowa even some South Dakota Kansas and Missouri So itrsquos kind of a five-states-plus deal You know there are people even from outside those five states that will come to the showrdquo

And itrsquos not just the farmers and ranchers that participate in the show ldquoYoursquod be surprised at how many people in the Omaha area are in agribusinessrdquo Mancuso says ldquoLike Midwest Laboratories is a longtime exhibitor and they test soil samples but theyrsquore based right here in Omaha They test soil all across the nation Theyrsquore based right here so

The Triumph of Agriculture

EXPO

This yearrsquos Ag Expo will build on the exhibits and vendors of 2013

12 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by molly mahannah bull photos provided by bob mancusofeature

theyrsquove got over 100 employees that are all involved in agribusinessrdquo

Besides the exhibits and vendors the upper level of CenturyLink Center will host multiple seminars over the two-day span of the exposi-tion as well as an opening luncheon Visitors can expect to hear speeches given by the presidents of the Omaha Agribusiness Club the Chamber of Commerce Ag Council and the National Agri-Marketing Association The Agri Award given for contributions in agribusiness will also be presented during the luncheon

ldquoThe Agri Award winner this year is Bill Northy the Iowa Department of Agriculture headrdquo Mancuso says ldquoHe will be speaking at the opening luncheon on the Wednesday Wersquore excited to have himrdquo

The award presentation will kick off the biggest year in show history with over 1000 companies participating in the Expo One thousand is actually a conservative estimate a booth might house one gt

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 13

agriculture expo feature

Custom Framing for your Home amp Corporate Environment

Experts in Conservation Framing

WE FRAME LIFE4027789829

15418 W Center Rd Omaha NE 68144wwwrickaandersoncom | wwwdownyondercom

bull PROPERTY MANAGEMENTbull COMMERCIALbull RESIDENTIALbull INSTALLATIONSbull REPAIRbull CARPET CLEANINGbull WATER EXTRACTIONS

40239774806901 Irvington Road Omaha NE

OMAHA | LINCOLN | KANSAS CITY | DES MOINES

THANK YOU OMAHAFOR VOTING US BEST OF B2B IN 2013

OUTLOT A051 AC

LOT 2169 AC

LOT 7104 AC

LOT 6093 AC

LOT 5157 AC

LOT 1109 AC

LOT 4SOLD

LOT 3 403 AC

SPACEAVAILABLE HOWARD SHRIER | 4025484009 | hshrierlundcocom

AVAILABILITYbull 1794 - 6431 SF

LEASE RATEbull $1250 PSF NNN

AVAILABILITYbull 051 - 403 AC

SALE PRICEbull $222156 - $1755468

CHANDLER PLACE25th amp Chandler Rd Bellevue NEHigh visibility retail center located on the northeast corner of 25th amp Chandler Road Just west of Kennedy Freeway (Highway 75)

SORENSEN PLACE60th amp Sorensen Pkwy Omaha NEMixed use development offering multi-family housing restaurant commercial office space retail and storage facilities

(402) 880-7568

RESIDENTIAL - COMMERCIAL - AUTOMOTIVE

theyrsquove got over 100 employees that are all involved in agribusinessrdquo

Besides the exhibits and vendors the upper level of CenturyLink Center will host multiple seminars over the two-day span of the exposi-tion as well as an opening luncheon Visitors can expect to hear speeches given by the presidents of the Omaha Agribusiness Club the Chamber of Commerce Ag Council and the National Agri-Marketing Association The Agri Award given for contributions in agribusiness will also be presented during the luncheon

ldquoThe Agri Award winner this year is Bill Northy the Iowa Department of Agriculture headrdquo Mancuso says ldquoHe will be speaking at the opening luncheon on the Wednesday Wersquore excited to have himrdquo

The award presentation will kick off the biggest year in show history with over 1000 companies participating in the Expo One thousand is actually a conservative estimate a booth might house one gt

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 13

agriculture expo feature

Custom Framing for your Home amp Corporate Environment

Experts in Conservation Framing

WE FRAME LIFE4027789829

15418 W Center Rd Omaha NE 68144wwwrickaandersoncom | wwwdownyondercom

bull PROPERTY MANAGEMENTbull COMMERCIALbull RESIDENTIALbull INSTALLATIONSbull REPAIRbull CARPET CLEANINGbull WATER EXTRACTIONS

40239774806901 Irvington Road Omaha NE

OMAHA | LINCOLN | KANSAS CITY | DES MOINES

THANK YOU OMAHAFOR VOTING US BEST OF B2B IN 2013

OUTLOT A051 AC

LOT 2169 AC

LOT 7104 AC

LOT 6093 AC

LOT 5157 AC

LOT 1109 AC

LOT 4SOLD

LOT 3 403 AC

SPACEAVAILABLE HOWARD SHRIER | 4025484009 | hshrierlundcocom

AVAILABILITYbull 1794 - 6431 SF

LEASE RATEbull $1250 PSF NNN

AVAILABILITYbull 051 - 403 AC

SALE PRICEbull $222156 - $1755468

CHANDLER PLACE25th amp Chandler Rd Bellevue NEHigh visibility retail center located on the northeast corner of 25th amp Chandler Road Just west of Kennedy Freeway (Highway 75)

SORENSEN PLACE60th amp Sorensen Pkwy Omaha NEMixed use development offering multi-family housing restaurant commercial office space retail and storage facilities

(402) 880-7568

RESIDENTIAL - COMMERCIAL - AUTOMOTIVE

OMAHA IS UNDERGOING A bit of a hotel boom with a dozen new hotel properties under construction or in the pipeline including the new $27 million Hyatt Place which opened in Omaharsquos Old Market entertainment district Also in the works is a new 330-room conven-

tion hotel which will be built across from CenturyLink Center Omaha the cityrsquos 250000-square-foot convention center

Hilton Omaha completed a $35 million expansion and renovation project and now offers 600 rooms a 7000-square-foot ballroom and completely renovated meeting rooms

The Doubletree Hotel Downtown completed a $20 million renovation and formed a ldquogreen teamrdquo to develop innovative and environmentally friendly features The hotel now offers a bicycle checkout station in its lobby so visitors can save on fuel and pedal to nearby restaurants and shops

Omaharsquos riverfront is also changing with the addition of the Storz Trophy Room The historic Omaha brewery revived its brand opening a restaurant with plans to add a micro brewery at the same location The new entertainment venue sits right along Omaharsquos riverfront and within a block of the convention center creating another great place for visitors and convention delegates to enjoy

This all points to a city on the move which is good news One cautionary note Omaha has expe-rienced a 42 percent growth in the number of hotel rooms over the last 10 years Demand over that same period has grown 25 percent While demandmdashthe number of people visiting the citymdashis growing at a healthy pace the supply of new hotel rooms is growing even faster As we look to the future creating new ways to attract even more visitors to Omaha and filling these new hotel rooms will be an important factor in our cityrsquos success as a destination B2B

Questions or comments E-mail us at infovisitomahacomDana Markel Executive Director

Omaha Convention amp Visitors Bureau

Omaharsquos Growing Landscape

A BIKE RENTAL A RIVERFRONT RESTAURANT

AND HUNDREDS OF NEW HOTEL ROOMS

lt company or there may be six or seven booths for each company or a local distributor Two or three different companies could represent one booth Whatever the arrangement Mancuso says therersquos always a high return rate for vendors

ldquoThe Triumph of Ag Expo is always packed with lots of new improvements and helpful informationrdquo says Brien McCready Hersquos from John Deerersquos A amp M Green Power as well as the showrsquos councilman

Mancuso says they try to make it worthwhile for the farmers and ranchers out of respect for their busy schedules Holding the event in March is meant to help farmers and ranchers in the off-season

ldquoIn this areardquo Mancuso says ldquoitrsquos known to be one of the last shows before the farmers and ranchers get out into the fields and itrsquos great to come out and see whatrsquos new in the world of farming and ranching I mean theyrsquoll be in the fields from April on so itrsquos one last time to come out and see products services and equipmentrdquo

For those traveling from different states or even those who just want to spend a night Downtown local hotels are offering packages for both exhibitors and visitors

Mancuso states that hotel packages are avail-able for attendees from outside the Omaha area who may have a variety of goals for their time in town ldquoIf you want to stay overnight or come in to see the show and stay or come in one day and shop and see the different things in Omaha we have sponsor hotels the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott which is right Downtown the Sleep Inn and Suites kind of by CenturyLink Center and the third one is the Horseshoe Casino Double Tree hotel in Council Bluffsrdquo B2B

For the latest information on the Triumph of Ag Expo visit showofficeonlinecomagexpo

14 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

agriculture expostory by dana markel bull photo provided by omaha convention amp visitors bureau

omaha cvb feature

Get Moving

AT WORK

BY NOW EVERYONE HAS probably heard how sitting for extended periods of time is bad for your health The Surgeon General recommends a minimum of 10000 steps or five miles per day yet the average American walks less than half of this amount

which leads to chronic health problems brought on by inactivityIn the work environment sitting for long hours is the norm We spend many hours a day in

front of a computer typing surfing the web and Tweeting During a typical workday Americans spend as much as 95 percent of the day sitting

The treadmill desk and height-adjustable work surfaces are designed to change sedentary work environments Consisting of a desk with an integrated control console the treadmill desk still allows users to accomplish daily tasks like e-mails phone calls and typing while being a bit more active The console displays speed distance steps taken time spent and calories burned It also allows users to synchronize data with an online account where they can set goals and track their walking progress The treadmill desk has a quiet motor that is ideal for the corporate or home office

Adjustable-height workstations allow workers to raise and lower their work surface and monitor throughout the day permitting them to sit or stand while working From companies such as Google and Facebook and classrooms from elementary to university level height-adjustable tables are starting to become more popular

If you donrsquot have access to a treadmill desk or height-adjustable work surface you can still find creative ways to move more throughout the workday Here are a few ideas

bull Stand up while you talk on the phonebull Every time you finish a task take a stretching breakbull Remind yourself to get up and move Set a reminder

on your phone that goes off every hourbull Take the stairs not the elevatorbull Donrsquot roll your office chair Get up and walk insteadOur bodies are made to move so get moving Stop by the All Makes showroom at 25th and

Farnam to see whatrsquos new in the office and to demo the treadmill desk and height-adjustable work surfaces The All Makes team is trained to help you make furniture and business equip-ment purchases that fit your office atmosphere your work style and your budget B2B

Visit the All Makes showroom at 25th and Farnam streets in Omaha to see the latest office furniture and design trends on display The All Makes team is trained to help you make design and furniture purchases that fit your office atmosphere your work style and your budget

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 15

story by jaylene eilenstineall makes office equipment co

office furniture

Always Local Always Beautiful

JulyAugust 2013

Architect QampA JAred gerber AiA

Homes for HeroesHelping tHose wHo serve Afford A Home

Always Local Always Beautiful

A Publication of

At Home in Sterling RidgeThe Yannones High-Tech

Dream House

in Omaha SeptemberOctober 2013

Morton Meadows NeighbOrhOOd prOfileLandscape RedesignweStSide hOme makeS rOOm fOr hOSpitality

Always Local Always Beautiful

A Publication of

SophisticatedSimplicity Entertaining in a Historic Home

8600 Cass Street4023917733

wwwLewisArtGallerycom

bull Competitive Pricingbull 1 Week Service on Custom Framing

bull Over 900 Mouldings in Stock to Choose Frombull 43 Years of Serving the Omaha Community

bull Over 91 Years Combined Picture Framing Experience

Lewis Art

Gallery

Get Moving

AT WORK

BY NOW EVERYONE HAS probably heard how sitting for extended periods of time is bad for your health The Surgeon General recommends a minimum of 10000 steps or five miles per day yet the average American walks less than half of this amount

which leads to chronic health problems brought on by inactivityIn the work environment sitting for long hours is the norm We spend many hours a day in

front of a computer typing surfing the web and Tweeting During a typical workday Americans spend as much as 95 percent of the day sitting

The treadmill desk and height-adjustable work surfaces are designed to change sedentary work environments Consisting of a desk with an integrated control console the treadmill desk still allows users to accomplish daily tasks like e-mails phone calls and typing while being a bit more active The console displays speed distance steps taken time spent and calories burned It also allows users to synchronize data with an online account where they can set goals and track their walking progress The treadmill desk has a quiet motor that is ideal for the corporate or home office

Adjustable-height workstations allow workers to raise and lower their work surface and monitor throughout the day permitting them to sit or stand while working From companies such as Google and Facebook and classrooms from elementary to university level height-adjustable tables are starting to become more popular

If you donrsquot have access to a treadmill desk or height-adjustable work surface you can still find creative ways to move more throughout the workday Here are a few ideas

bull Stand up while you talk on the phonebull Every time you finish a task take a stretching breakbull Remind yourself to get up and move Set a reminder

on your phone that goes off every hourbull Take the stairs not the elevatorbull Donrsquot roll your office chair Get up and walk insteadOur bodies are made to move so get moving Stop by the All Makes showroom at 25th and

Farnam to see whatrsquos new in the office and to demo the treadmill desk and height-adjustable work surfaces The All Makes team is trained to help you make furniture and business equip-ment purchases that fit your office atmosphere your work style and your budget B2B

Visit the All Makes showroom at 25th and Farnam streets in Omaha to see the latest office furniture and design trends on display The All Makes team is trained to help you make design and furniture purchases that fit your office atmosphere your work style and your budget

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 15

story by jaylene eilenstineall makes office equipment co

office furniture

Always Local Always Beautiful

JulyAugust 2013

Architect QampA JAred gerber AiA

Homes for HeroesHelping tHose wHo serve Afford A Home

Always Local Always Beautiful

A Publication of

At Home in Sterling RidgeThe Yannones High-Tech

Dream House

in Omaha SeptemberOctober 2013

Morton Meadows NeighbOrhOOd prOfileLandscape RedesignweStSide hOme makeS rOOm fOr hOSpitality

Always Local Always Beautiful

A Publication of

SophisticatedSimplicity Entertaining in a Historic Home

8600 Cass Street4023917733

wwwLewisArtGallerycom

bull Competitive Pricingbull 1 Week Service on Custom Framing

bull Over 900 Mouldings in Stock to Choose Frombull 43 Years of Serving the Omaha Community

bull Over 91 Years Combined Picture Framing Experience

Lewis Art

Gallery

Big Brain Productions

SOLID BUSINESS

PRINCIPLES IN THE

TATTOO INDUSTRY

JOE ldquoSMITTYrdquo SMITH RUNS a seem-ingly typical tattoo parlor Downtown complete with 13 staff members

and regular clients But itrsquos what Big Brain Productions located in the Old Market also provides for employees (401(k) benefits paid vacations and a holiday trip to Costa Rica) that makes it stand out

ldquoI just try to do whatrsquos right for people who take their careers as seriously as the people I have working for me I try to live up to the standards that they set in their careers as a shop ownerrdquo Smitty says

As the company has grown over its last 14 years so have its employee benefits For

example Big Brain has been offering health insurance for eight years

Smitty says he had many ideas about what he wanted his tattoo business to be when he was ldquoyoung and hungryrdquo but struggles to find new ideas moving forward This drive has led to the parlorrsquos most recent changes

ldquoI donrsquot think you can stand still ever in busi-nessrdquo Smitty says ldquoI felt like I was at that point where I was kind of standing still so I said we need to shake it up a little bit and thatrsquos why wersquore doing that big remodel out thererdquo

Renovations include taking out a space-monopolizing desk and moving iPads that previously hung on a wall to a new area where

Joe ldquoSmittyrdquo Smith is always pushing his busi-ness model forward The latest change is a massive renovation to the waiting room in order to maximize client and artist interaction

16 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by josie bungert bull photo by bill sitzmannarts amp entertainment

they showcase each of the artistsrsquo portfoliosOne such artist David Brown has been pierc-

ing at Big Brain for five years He says he joined the parlor because it was a ldquogood fitrdquo Brown had worked in restaurant management and found the transition to be natural thanks to a shared business mindset with Smitty

ldquoWersquore both very customer oriented The customer experience goes above our personal needsrdquo Brown says ldquoItrsquos taking care of the client making sure that their experience here is the best one they can possibly haverdquo

Brown credits the large success of Big Brain to the little things that the company emphasizes

ldquoYou donrsquot get Best of Omahatrade 10 years in a row without doing all the little things rightrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos sanitation itrsquos stock itrsquos ordering itrsquos the staff we surround ourselves with Smitty has done an amazing job of finding nine like-minded tattoo artists who excel at nine different thingsrdquo

Despite a good business plan and staff Big Brain has suffered its share of hardships in years past In 2007 the company was selected for a tax audit after the IRS looked into how Big Brainrsquos accountant was amortizing a construc-tion project Thanks to incorrectly following an amortization schedule Big Brain received a large audit bill which triggered years of extra auditing and working closely with lawyers ldquoMy lawyers said I was doing it right their lawyers said I was doing it wrong and you know you end up some-where in the middlerdquo

But with that experience in the past ldquoI sleep well at night knowing I donrsquot have skeletons in my closetrdquo Smitty says ldquoTo have them in your business and deep in your business whatrsquos left Now itrsquos like come in any time I push two but-tons and make a phone call and they have all my financial records Nothing to hiderdquo

As a self-taught businessman Smitty learned a lot from this experience and has put that knowl-edge toward running Big Brain He handles payroll as well as tax deposits and over the last few years the company has grossed over $1 million per year Despite running the business as well as piercing at the parlor Smitty says he gets the most job satisfaction out of seeing his employees succeed

ldquoThere comes a point where yoursquore more happy when your subordinates do something well than you ever were when you wererdquo he says ldquoWhen my kids do something good it makes me feel way better than when I did it and itrsquos the same thing with your employees When you have somebody else accomplish what used to be your goal you really take pride in thatrdquo B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 17

801 CHOPHOUSE1403 FARNAM ST | DOWNTOWN OMAHA

4023411222 | 801RESTAURANTGROUPCOM

DINNER MON-SAT 5-10 | SUNDAY 5-9GIFT CARDS bull PRIVATE DINING bull HAPPY HOUR M-F 4-6

SUNDAY PRIX FIXE $33

they showcase each of the artistsrsquo portfoliosOne such artist David Brown has been pierc-

ing at Big Brain for five years He says he joined the parlor because it was a ldquogood fitrdquo Brown had worked in restaurant management and found the transition to be natural thanks to a shared business mindset with Smitty

ldquoWersquore both very customer oriented The customer experience goes above our personal needsrdquo Brown says ldquoItrsquos taking care of the client making sure that their experience here is the best one they can possibly haverdquo

Brown credits the large success of Big Brain to the little things that the company emphasizes

ldquoYou donrsquot get Best of Omahatrade 10 years in a row without doing all the little things rightrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos sanitation itrsquos stock itrsquos ordering itrsquos the staff we surround ourselves with Smitty has done an amazing job of finding nine like-minded tattoo artists who excel at nine different thingsrdquo

Despite a good business plan and staff Big Brain has suffered its share of hardships in years past In 2007 the company was selected for a tax audit after the IRS looked into how Big Brainrsquos accountant was amortizing a construc-tion project Thanks to incorrectly following an amortization schedule Big Brain received a large audit bill which triggered years of extra auditing and working closely with lawyers ldquoMy lawyers said I was doing it right their lawyers said I was doing it wrong and you know you end up some-where in the middlerdquo

But with that experience in the past ldquoI sleep well at night knowing I donrsquot have skeletons in my closetrdquo Smitty says ldquoTo have them in your business and deep in your business whatrsquos left Now itrsquos like come in any time I push two but-tons and make a phone call and they have all my financial records Nothing to hiderdquo

As a self-taught businessman Smitty learned a lot from this experience and has put that knowl-edge toward running Big Brain He handles payroll as well as tax deposits and over the last few years the company has grossed over $1 million per year Despite running the business as well as piercing at the parlor Smitty says he gets the most job satisfaction out of seeing his employees succeed

ldquoThere comes a point where yoursquore more happy when your subordinates do something well than you ever were when you wererdquo he says ldquoWhen my kids do something good it makes me feel way better than when I did it and itrsquos the same thing with your employees When you have somebody else accomplish what used to be your goal you really take pride in thatrdquo B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 17

801 CHOPHOUSE1403 FARNAM ST | DOWNTOWN OMAHA

4023411222 | 801RESTAURANTGROUPCOM

DINNER MON-SAT 5-10 | SUNDAY 5-9GIFT CARDS bull PRIVATE DINING bull HAPPY HOUR M-F 4-6

SUNDAY PRIX FIXE $33

Cindy Meister Diaz

AND HER AMERICAN AIRLINES COMMUTE

18 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by molly mahannah bull photo by bill sitzmannhow i roll

CINDY MEISTER DIAZ HAS one heck of a commute As the general manager of American Airlines in Omaha who

lives part-time in Dallas she frequently com-mutes from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Omaharsquos Eppley Airfield

Diaz originally from Scottsbluff Neb has been with American Airlines for 24 years She worked her way through the ranks until she ended up at DFW as the general manager doing everything from reception to managing the union guys on the ramps

ldquoI was working in Dallas for about a year and a half or so when the general manager in Omaha got a job in Orange Countyrdquo Diaz says ldquoIt was right as we were getting ready to merge with US Airways so they were looking for an interim to come up here as a commuterrdquo

It was Omaha itself and a push from her now-husband that led Diaz to apply for the promotion which was originally supposed to be a six-week stint After naming a few people she thought would be good for the opportunity Diaz threw her own name into the discussion and now commutes about every other week back to Dallas

ldquoMy favorite commute is on Friday afternoon when the last flight is going out to Dallas and I hop on it to spend the weekend with my family Then I come back Sunday nightrdquo Diaz says

The flight that is ldquoone hour and 23 minutes at an altitude of 33000 feetrdquo hasnrsquot quite become routine for Diaz yet

ldquoI still love it I still love the way it feels when you take off I love a little bit of a bumpy landingrdquo she says ldquoAnd Irsquom an obsessive crocheter when I fly I bring my own in-flight entertainmentrdquo

But shersquos not alone American Airlines has more than 25 employees that have crazy com-mutes She says her favorite thing is asking a fellow employee where shersquos headed and hear-ing ldquoOh Irsquom working Rome tonight Irsquoll see you Thursdayrdquo B2B

Not everyone commutes to work in a McDonnell Douglas Super 80 aircraft but itrsquos all in a dayrsquos work for American Airlines general manager Cindy Meister Diaz

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 19

HAVANA GARAGECIGAR LOUNGE

1008 Howard The Old Market Omaha TheHavanaGaragecom

CINDY MEISTER DIAZ HAS one heck of a commute As the general manager of American Airlines in Omaha who

lives part-time in Dallas she frequently com-mutes from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Omaharsquos Eppley Airfield

Diaz originally from Scottsbluff Neb has been with American Airlines for 24 years She worked her way through the ranks until she ended up at DFW as the general manager doing everything from reception to managing the union guys on the ramps

ldquoI was working in Dallas for about a year and a half or so when the general manager in Omaha got a job in Orange Countyrdquo Diaz says ldquoIt was right as we were getting ready to merge with US Airways so they were looking for an interim to come up here as a commuterrdquo

It was Omaha itself and a push from her now-husband that led Diaz to apply for the promotion which was originally supposed to be a six-week stint After naming a few people she thought would be good for the opportunity Diaz threw her own name into the discussion and now commutes about every other week back to Dallas

ldquoMy favorite commute is on Friday afternoon when the last flight is going out to Dallas and I hop on it to spend the weekend with my family Then I come back Sunday nightrdquo Diaz says

The flight that is ldquoone hour and 23 minutes at an altitude of 33000 feetrdquo hasnrsquot quite become routine for Diaz yet

ldquoI still love it I still love the way it feels when you take off I love a little bit of a bumpy landingrdquo she says ldquoAnd Irsquom an obsessive crocheter when I fly I bring my own in-flight entertainmentrdquo

But shersquos not alone American Airlines has more than 25 employees that have crazy com-mutes She says her favorite thing is asking a fellow employee where shersquos headed and hear-ing ldquoOh Irsquom working Rome tonight Irsquoll see you Thursdayrdquo B2B

Not everyone commutes to work in a McDonnell Douglas Super 80 aircraft but itrsquos all in a dayrsquos work for American Airlines general manager Cindy Meister Diaz

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 19

HAVANA GARAGECIGAR LOUNGE

1008 Howard The Old Market Omaha TheHavanaGaragecom

20 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by chris wolfgang bull photos by bill sitzmanncover feature

TRACY ZAISS HAS AN enormous coffee mug that reads Make Things Happen Itrsquos a phrase she keeps close

to heart even as she prepares to hand over the reins of her 25-year-old marketing company Zaiss amp Company

That desire to make things happen drove Zaiss to launch her own company in 1989 after learning about a British marketing concept called lsquoaccount planningrsquo ldquoIt hadnrsquot really made its way to the USrdquo Zaiss recalls ldquobut essentially itrsquos this con-cept where therersquos a customer advocate at the agency level So I thought that would be great Irsquod be a great planner Not knowing anything about it of courserdquo

LAUNCHING ZAISS amp COMPANY

T HE NEW ANGLE ON marketing strategy seemed to bring together her background in creative and marketing

research Shersquod started her career as a copy-writer for a small agency after graduating from Hastings College and then UNO then went to Bailey Lewis (now Lauerman) as a media direc-tor and finally served at Swanson Russell as vice president of thatrsquos right account planning

She was there for two years before she decided to try account planning on her own gt

ldquoThere are people who may be better

at starting a business than others Therersquos an

entrepreneurial drive Focus is part of that

And clarity around what yoursquore trying

to do and howrdquo TRACY ZAISS

Tracy ZaissDisrupting the Status Quo for 25 Years

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 21

lt ldquoAnd the more I thought about itrdquo Zaiss says ldquothe more I thought I have two major goals I wanted to have the opportunity to do really innovative effective marketing strategies And second I wanted to work with really smart cre-ative people who shared my goalrdquo

She turned to one such person to help her launch Zaiss amp Company ldquoMy attorney Bob Freemanrdquo Zaiss says ldquoThe fact that he was willing to take on this somewhat young woman who wanted to start her companymdashhe certainly didnrsquot need to do thatrdquo

Perhaps it was because the partner at Fraser Stryker saw values worth working with Zaiss Freeman points out doesnrsquot have a cookie cutter approach ldquoSometimes itrsquos easy to say this looks a lot like that other project I just didrdquo he says ldquoTracy I think is someone who wants to look at everything afresh She can turn it upside down look at it sideways look at it through other peo-plersquos eyeshellipmedia employees and customersrdquo

DISRUPTING THE STATUS QUO

Z AISS KNEW HER FLEDGLING company had to be focused on neither her clients nor her creative team but

rather on her clientsrsquo customers ldquoTypically in the agency world yoursquove got two at times adver-sarial forces account service and creativerdquo she explains ldquoNot always for bad reasons therersquos a tension between the two The account repre-sents the client and the creative people tend to represent the productrdquo With account planning she explains you put someone in the mix who represents the clientrsquos customer ldquoThe client may want their logo to be [bigger in an ad] but does their customer care about that The creative may want to do something different because itrsquos clever but does have it meaning for the clientrsquos customerrdquo

Evidently her client-customer focus worked Today Zaiss amp Company has 22 employees serves roughly 20 clients across industries such as education finance and family entertainment and grosses about $10 million a year

Michael Echols executive vice president at Bellevue University and a long-standing client of Zaiss amp Company credits Zaissrsquo success with her rigorous attention to a changing market ldquoMy experience with her is as a strategic partnerrdquo he says ldquoHigher education has changed dramati-cally over the last decade Itrsquos expensivehellippeople are asking if a college education is worth it She

and I work together to answer that question Shersquos very thorough shersquos analytical and shersquos very plugged into the researchrdquo

Zaiss has seen marketing tools come and go and shersquos watched as information processes have slowly shifted from being media driven to consumer driven And shersquos not about to be dis-tracted by any of that ldquoWe always have to ask why wersquore doing stuffrdquo she says ldquoItrsquos not to create pretty pictures Itrsquos to sell a productrdquo

Overall this dedication to foundational prin-ciples has afforded Zaiss amp Company with a steady increase in success over the years ldquobut there have been ups and downsrdquo she says The downs Zaiss confides are usually as a result of a decision to stop working with a client

ldquoI kind of have a reputation for just deciding if I donrsquot want to work for someone I donrsquot want to work for themrdquo Her goals are innovation and if a client no longer wants to be innovativemdashwell ldquoI love demanding clientsrdquo she says ldquoBut as a business owner we have to have a vision of what wersquore doing If wersquore not being allowed to do the best work that we can do then wersquore really not helping the clientrdquo

Zaissrsquo tough love extends from clients seeking her service to entrepreneurs seeking her advice

Enjoying your work is essential Zaiss says and

hints of that philosophy abound at Zaiss amp Co The

CEO asks employees to bring back the tackiest magnets

they can find on their business trips to adorn the

company fridge

22 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

tracy zaisscover feature

WHEN JIM MOVED HIS business in the fall of 2010 from Lincoln to Omaha he encountered a pricing

problem The cost of his services in Lincoln didnrsquot suit the Omaha market

At least that was one explanation for why Jim wasnrsquot getting the accounts he had planned How could Jim determine the market price for his ser-vices before he lost too many sales and crippled his business

A colleague of Jimrsquos recommended a strategy Have two or three friends who work in Omaha businesses call Jimrsquos competitors Ask them to submit proposals for their services Once the friends acquire the proposals they tell the competitors ldquothank yourdquo and inform them that they didnrsquot get the bid In this way the friends who didnrsquot want the services anyway are in the clear and can give the proposals to Jim to study for pricing information

ldquoEveryone does thisrdquo the colleague said ldquoItrsquos an easy way to determine market price for prod-ucts or servicesrdquo

Would a marketing professional recommend such a strategy While ldquoeasyrdquo and ldquoefficientrdquo are appropriate decision rules in business they are not synonymous with ethics

Many marketing professionals subscribe to the American Marketing Associationrsquos Code of Ethics The Code was created to help them remember that reputation and trust can be destroyed when they only focus on the easy way and forget to consider honesty and harm

Codes of ethics can help business people over-come obstacles to ethical decision making One of the obstacles is not identifying all relevant stakeholders and the impact of our actions on them (Werhane et al 2013)

In the previous case we often forget the competitors However think of the Golden Rule Putting ourselves in their shoes we real-ize that none of us likes wasting our time They

are harmed because they go through the work of preparing bids that have absolutely no chance of being acceptedhelliptime and expertise that they can use to really get business

In addition we might not recognize the impact on our friends We are asking them to use their businesses in dishonest ways None of us would like to have our businesses or reputations treated in this way

Bounded awareness is one reason we donrsquot identify all relevant stakeholders and the impact on them Bounded awareness is a pattern of thinking that prevents us from noticing relevant data (Gino Moore and Bazerman 2009) It can be a good psychological mechanism because it can help us survive But bounded awareness also has ethical implications when relevant or useful data is missed and poor choices are made based on incomplete information

Is there a remedy for the kind of bounded thinking that leads to bad marketing strategies

Yes and the remedy is practice We need to practice exercising our moral

imaginations When making a marketing deci-sion take the time to systematically identify all stakeholders and imagine the consequences for them when one alternative is played out then another and another Start the practice by list-ing options and stakeholders on paper until the mental process becomes second nature In this way we strengthen our moral muscle and do a better job balancing the easy and efficient actions with the honest and less harmful ones B2B

Beverly Kracher PhDDaugherty Chair in

Business Ethics amp SocietyExecutive Director

Business Ethics AllianceCollege of Business

Creighton University

Marketing Ethics

ldquoThere are people who may be better at starting a business than others Therersquos an entrepreneurial drive Focus is part of that And clarity around what yoursquore trying to do and howrdquo

A fundamental understanding of business math she insists is vital Have you projected your expenses Your revenue Can you read a balance sheet ldquoThere are basics regardless of how great your idea is And some people arenrsquot willing to take the riskrdquo she says ldquoAnd probably shouldnrsquotrdquo

LEAVING ONE COMPANY

STARTING TWO MORE

B UT FOR ZAISS AT least the risk may be addictive ldquoI read an article in Inc magazine that said itrsquos never

as much fun as it is the first year I think that might be truerdquo

In 2014 Zaiss is handing over management of Zaiss amp Company to her sister Wendy Wiseman whorsquos worked with her for 17 years Shersquoll trade in her 60-hour work weeks at Zaiss amp Company for who knows how many more man hours spread between two new companies

ldquoTheyrsquore both either going to break this year or notrdquo Zaiss says but shersquos being cagey on the details She will say that she has a different part-ner for each project and both of them have to do with of course marketing

She still plans to keep up with her develop-ment work on the board of the Urban League of Nebraska though thatrsquos the only board shersquos currently on Zaiss was a founding member of the Womenrsquos Fund of Greater Nebraska where she served as president of the board but stepped down when her husband Richardrsquos health started to give way to cancer He passed away last summer ldquoLots of changesrdquo Zaiss says quietly ldquoIt was a tough year last yearrdquo

She finds solace she says in simply going to her home in Hummel Park every night ldquoIrsquom sur-rounded by woods wildlife I like to be outdoorsrdquo

Perhaps in 10 years shersquoll retire but best not to count on that ldquoYoursquod better like owning a company And be with people you like And do things that excite and energize you I canrsquot really fathom what I would do that would be more interestingrdquo B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 23

story by beverly kracher phd business ethics

TRACY ZAISS HAS AN enormous coffee mug that reads Make Things Happen Itrsquos a phrase she keeps close

to heart even as she prepares to hand over the reins of her 25-year-old marketing company Zaiss amp Company

That desire to make things happen drove Zaiss to launch her own company in 1989 after learning about a British marketing concept called lsquoaccount planningrsquo ldquoIt hadnrsquot really made its way to the USrdquo Zaiss recalls ldquobut essentially itrsquos this con-cept where therersquos a customer advocate at the agency level So I thought that would be great Irsquod be a great planner Not knowing anything about it of courserdquo

LAUNCHING ZAISS amp COMPANY

T HE NEW ANGLE ON marketing strategy seemed to bring together her background in creative and marketing

research Shersquod started her career as a copy-writer for a small agency after graduating from Hastings College and then UNO then went to Bailey Lewis (now Lauerman) as a media direc-tor and finally served at Swanson Russell as vice president of thatrsquos right account planning

She was there for two years before she decided to try account planning on her own gt

ldquoThere are people who may be better

at starting a business than others Therersquos an

entrepreneurial drive Focus is part of that

And clarity around what yoursquore trying

to do and howrdquo TRACY ZAISS

Tracy ZaissDisrupting the Status Quo for 25 Years

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 21

lt ldquoAnd the more I thought about itrdquo Zaiss says ldquothe more I thought I have two major goals I wanted to have the opportunity to do really innovative effective marketing strategies And second I wanted to work with really smart cre-ative people who shared my goalrdquo

She turned to one such person to help her launch Zaiss amp Company ldquoMy attorney Bob Freemanrdquo Zaiss says ldquoThe fact that he was willing to take on this somewhat young woman who wanted to start her companymdashhe certainly didnrsquot need to do thatrdquo

Perhaps it was because the partner at Fraser Stryker saw values worth working with Zaiss Freeman points out doesnrsquot have a cookie cutter approach ldquoSometimes itrsquos easy to say this looks a lot like that other project I just didrdquo he says ldquoTracy I think is someone who wants to look at everything afresh She can turn it upside down look at it sideways look at it through other peo-plersquos eyeshellipmedia employees and customersrdquo

DISRUPTING THE STATUS QUO

Z AISS KNEW HER FLEDGLING company had to be focused on neither her clients nor her creative team but

rather on her clientsrsquo customers ldquoTypically in the agency world yoursquove got two at times adver-sarial forces account service and creativerdquo she explains ldquoNot always for bad reasons therersquos a tension between the two The account repre-sents the client and the creative people tend to represent the productrdquo With account planning she explains you put someone in the mix who represents the clientrsquos customer ldquoThe client may want their logo to be [bigger in an ad] but does their customer care about that The creative may want to do something different because itrsquos clever but does have it meaning for the clientrsquos customerrdquo

Evidently her client-customer focus worked Today Zaiss amp Company has 22 employees serves roughly 20 clients across industries such as education finance and family entertainment and grosses about $10 million a year

Michael Echols executive vice president at Bellevue University and a long-standing client of Zaiss amp Company credits Zaissrsquo success with her rigorous attention to a changing market ldquoMy experience with her is as a strategic partnerrdquo he says ldquoHigher education has changed dramati-cally over the last decade Itrsquos expensivehellippeople are asking if a college education is worth it She

and I work together to answer that question Shersquos very thorough shersquos analytical and shersquos very plugged into the researchrdquo

Zaiss has seen marketing tools come and go and shersquos watched as information processes have slowly shifted from being media driven to consumer driven And shersquos not about to be dis-tracted by any of that ldquoWe always have to ask why wersquore doing stuffrdquo she says ldquoItrsquos not to create pretty pictures Itrsquos to sell a productrdquo

Overall this dedication to foundational prin-ciples has afforded Zaiss amp Company with a steady increase in success over the years ldquobut there have been ups and downsrdquo she says The downs Zaiss confides are usually as a result of a decision to stop working with a client

ldquoI kind of have a reputation for just deciding if I donrsquot want to work for someone I donrsquot want to work for themrdquo Her goals are innovation and if a client no longer wants to be innovativemdashwell ldquoI love demanding clientsrdquo she says ldquoBut as a business owner we have to have a vision of what wersquore doing If wersquore not being allowed to do the best work that we can do then wersquore really not helping the clientrdquo

Zaissrsquo tough love extends from clients seeking her service to entrepreneurs seeking her advice

Enjoying your work is essential Zaiss says and

hints of that philosophy abound at Zaiss amp Co The

CEO asks employees to bring back the tackiest magnets

they can find on their business trips to adorn the

company fridge

22 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

tracy zaisscover feature

WHEN JIM MOVED HIS business in the fall of 2010 from Lincoln to Omaha he encountered a pricing

problem The cost of his services in Lincoln didnrsquot suit the Omaha market

At least that was one explanation for why Jim wasnrsquot getting the accounts he had planned How could Jim determine the market price for his ser-vices before he lost too many sales and crippled his business

A colleague of Jimrsquos recommended a strategy Have two or three friends who work in Omaha businesses call Jimrsquos competitors Ask them to submit proposals for their services Once the friends acquire the proposals they tell the competitors ldquothank yourdquo and inform them that they didnrsquot get the bid In this way the friends who didnrsquot want the services anyway are in the clear and can give the proposals to Jim to study for pricing information

ldquoEveryone does thisrdquo the colleague said ldquoItrsquos an easy way to determine market price for prod-ucts or servicesrdquo

Would a marketing professional recommend such a strategy While ldquoeasyrdquo and ldquoefficientrdquo are appropriate decision rules in business they are not synonymous with ethics

Many marketing professionals subscribe to the American Marketing Associationrsquos Code of Ethics The Code was created to help them remember that reputation and trust can be destroyed when they only focus on the easy way and forget to consider honesty and harm

Codes of ethics can help business people over-come obstacles to ethical decision making One of the obstacles is not identifying all relevant stakeholders and the impact of our actions on them (Werhane et al 2013)

In the previous case we often forget the competitors However think of the Golden Rule Putting ourselves in their shoes we real-ize that none of us likes wasting our time They

are harmed because they go through the work of preparing bids that have absolutely no chance of being acceptedhelliptime and expertise that they can use to really get business

In addition we might not recognize the impact on our friends We are asking them to use their businesses in dishonest ways None of us would like to have our businesses or reputations treated in this way

Bounded awareness is one reason we donrsquot identify all relevant stakeholders and the impact on them Bounded awareness is a pattern of thinking that prevents us from noticing relevant data (Gino Moore and Bazerman 2009) It can be a good psychological mechanism because it can help us survive But bounded awareness also has ethical implications when relevant or useful data is missed and poor choices are made based on incomplete information

Is there a remedy for the kind of bounded thinking that leads to bad marketing strategies

Yes and the remedy is practice We need to practice exercising our moral

imaginations When making a marketing deci-sion take the time to systematically identify all stakeholders and imagine the consequences for them when one alternative is played out then another and another Start the practice by list-ing options and stakeholders on paper until the mental process becomes second nature In this way we strengthen our moral muscle and do a better job balancing the easy and efficient actions with the honest and less harmful ones B2B

Beverly Kracher PhDDaugherty Chair in

Business Ethics amp SocietyExecutive Director

Business Ethics AllianceCollege of Business

Creighton University

Marketing Ethics

ldquoThere are people who may be better at starting a business than others Therersquos an entrepreneurial drive Focus is part of that And clarity around what yoursquore trying to do and howrdquo

A fundamental understanding of business math she insists is vital Have you projected your expenses Your revenue Can you read a balance sheet ldquoThere are basics regardless of how great your idea is And some people arenrsquot willing to take the riskrdquo she says ldquoAnd probably shouldnrsquotrdquo

LEAVING ONE COMPANY

STARTING TWO MORE

B UT FOR ZAISS AT least the risk may be addictive ldquoI read an article in Inc magazine that said itrsquos never

as much fun as it is the first year I think that might be truerdquo

In 2014 Zaiss is handing over management of Zaiss amp Company to her sister Wendy Wiseman whorsquos worked with her for 17 years Shersquoll trade in her 60-hour work weeks at Zaiss amp Company for who knows how many more man hours spread between two new companies

ldquoTheyrsquore both either going to break this year or notrdquo Zaiss says but shersquos being cagey on the details She will say that she has a different part-ner for each project and both of them have to do with of course marketing

She still plans to keep up with her develop-ment work on the board of the Urban League of Nebraska though thatrsquos the only board shersquos currently on Zaiss was a founding member of the Womenrsquos Fund of Greater Nebraska where she served as president of the board but stepped down when her husband Richardrsquos health started to give way to cancer He passed away last summer ldquoLots of changesrdquo Zaiss says quietly ldquoIt was a tough year last yearrdquo

She finds solace she says in simply going to her home in Hummel Park every night ldquoIrsquom sur-rounded by woods wildlife I like to be outdoorsrdquo

Perhaps in 10 years shersquoll retire but best not to count on that ldquoYoursquod better like owning a company And be with people you like And do things that excite and energize you I canrsquot really fathom what I would do that would be more interestingrdquo B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 23

story by beverly kracher phd business ethics

lt ldquoAnd the more I thought about itrdquo Zaiss says ldquothe more I thought I have two major goals I wanted to have the opportunity to do really innovative effective marketing strategies And second I wanted to work with really smart cre-ative people who shared my goalrdquo

She turned to one such person to help her launch Zaiss amp Company ldquoMy attorney Bob Freemanrdquo Zaiss says ldquoThe fact that he was willing to take on this somewhat young woman who wanted to start her companymdashhe certainly didnrsquot need to do thatrdquo

Perhaps it was because the partner at Fraser Stryker saw values worth working with Zaiss Freeman points out doesnrsquot have a cookie cutter approach ldquoSometimes itrsquos easy to say this looks a lot like that other project I just didrdquo he says ldquoTracy I think is someone who wants to look at everything afresh She can turn it upside down look at it sideways look at it through other peo-plersquos eyeshellipmedia employees and customersrdquo

DISRUPTING THE STATUS QUO

Z AISS KNEW HER FLEDGLING company had to be focused on neither her clients nor her creative team but

rather on her clientsrsquo customers ldquoTypically in the agency world yoursquove got two at times adver-sarial forces account service and creativerdquo she explains ldquoNot always for bad reasons therersquos a tension between the two The account repre-sents the client and the creative people tend to represent the productrdquo With account planning she explains you put someone in the mix who represents the clientrsquos customer ldquoThe client may want their logo to be [bigger in an ad] but does their customer care about that The creative may want to do something different because itrsquos clever but does have it meaning for the clientrsquos customerrdquo

Evidently her client-customer focus worked Today Zaiss amp Company has 22 employees serves roughly 20 clients across industries such as education finance and family entertainment and grosses about $10 million a year

Michael Echols executive vice president at Bellevue University and a long-standing client of Zaiss amp Company credits Zaissrsquo success with her rigorous attention to a changing market ldquoMy experience with her is as a strategic partnerrdquo he says ldquoHigher education has changed dramati-cally over the last decade Itrsquos expensivehellippeople are asking if a college education is worth it She

and I work together to answer that question Shersquos very thorough shersquos analytical and shersquos very plugged into the researchrdquo

Zaiss has seen marketing tools come and go and shersquos watched as information processes have slowly shifted from being media driven to consumer driven And shersquos not about to be dis-tracted by any of that ldquoWe always have to ask why wersquore doing stuffrdquo she says ldquoItrsquos not to create pretty pictures Itrsquos to sell a productrdquo

Overall this dedication to foundational prin-ciples has afforded Zaiss amp Company with a steady increase in success over the years ldquobut there have been ups and downsrdquo she says The downs Zaiss confides are usually as a result of a decision to stop working with a client

ldquoI kind of have a reputation for just deciding if I donrsquot want to work for someone I donrsquot want to work for themrdquo Her goals are innovation and if a client no longer wants to be innovativemdashwell ldquoI love demanding clientsrdquo she says ldquoBut as a business owner we have to have a vision of what wersquore doing If wersquore not being allowed to do the best work that we can do then wersquore really not helping the clientrdquo

Zaissrsquo tough love extends from clients seeking her service to entrepreneurs seeking her advice

Enjoying your work is essential Zaiss says and

hints of that philosophy abound at Zaiss amp Co The

CEO asks employees to bring back the tackiest magnets

they can find on their business trips to adorn the

company fridge

22 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

tracy zaisscover feature

WHEN JIM MOVED HIS business in the fall of 2010 from Lincoln to Omaha he encountered a pricing

problem The cost of his services in Lincoln didnrsquot suit the Omaha market

At least that was one explanation for why Jim wasnrsquot getting the accounts he had planned How could Jim determine the market price for his ser-vices before he lost too many sales and crippled his business

A colleague of Jimrsquos recommended a strategy Have two or three friends who work in Omaha businesses call Jimrsquos competitors Ask them to submit proposals for their services Once the friends acquire the proposals they tell the competitors ldquothank yourdquo and inform them that they didnrsquot get the bid In this way the friends who didnrsquot want the services anyway are in the clear and can give the proposals to Jim to study for pricing information

ldquoEveryone does thisrdquo the colleague said ldquoItrsquos an easy way to determine market price for prod-ucts or servicesrdquo

Would a marketing professional recommend such a strategy While ldquoeasyrdquo and ldquoefficientrdquo are appropriate decision rules in business they are not synonymous with ethics

Many marketing professionals subscribe to the American Marketing Associationrsquos Code of Ethics The Code was created to help them remember that reputation and trust can be destroyed when they only focus on the easy way and forget to consider honesty and harm

Codes of ethics can help business people over-come obstacles to ethical decision making One of the obstacles is not identifying all relevant stakeholders and the impact of our actions on them (Werhane et al 2013)

In the previous case we often forget the competitors However think of the Golden Rule Putting ourselves in their shoes we real-ize that none of us likes wasting our time They

are harmed because they go through the work of preparing bids that have absolutely no chance of being acceptedhelliptime and expertise that they can use to really get business

In addition we might not recognize the impact on our friends We are asking them to use their businesses in dishonest ways None of us would like to have our businesses or reputations treated in this way

Bounded awareness is one reason we donrsquot identify all relevant stakeholders and the impact on them Bounded awareness is a pattern of thinking that prevents us from noticing relevant data (Gino Moore and Bazerman 2009) It can be a good psychological mechanism because it can help us survive But bounded awareness also has ethical implications when relevant or useful data is missed and poor choices are made based on incomplete information

Is there a remedy for the kind of bounded thinking that leads to bad marketing strategies

Yes and the remedy is practice We need to practice exercising our moral

imaginations When making a marketing deci-sion take the time to systematically identify all stakeholders and imagine the consequences for them when one alternative is played out then another and another Start the practice by list-ing options and stakeholders on paper until the mental process becomes second nature In this way we strengthen our moral muscle and do a better job balancing the easy and efficient actions with the honest and less harmful ones B2B

Beverly Kracher PhDDaugherty Chair in

Business Ethics amp SocietyExecutive Director

Business Ethics AllianceCollege of Business

Creighton University

Marketing Ethics

ldquoThere are people who may be better at starting a business than others Therersquos an entrepreneurial drive Focus is part of that And clarity around what yoursquore trying to do and howrdquo

A fundamental understanding of business math she insists is vital Have you projected your expenses Your revenue Can you read a balance sheet ldquoThere are basics regardless of how great your idea is And some people arenrsquot willing to take the riskrdquo she says ldquoAnd probably shouldnrsquotrdquo

LEAVING ONE COMPANY

STARTING TWO MORE

B UT FOR ZAISS AT least the risk may be addictive ldquoI read an article in Inc magazine that said itrsquos never

as much fun as it is the first year I think that might be truerdquo

In 2014 Zaiss is handing over management of Zaiss amp Company to her sister Wendy Wiseman whorsquos worked with her for 17 years Shersquoll trade in her 60-hour work weeks at Zaiss amp Company for who knows how many more man hours spread between two new companies

ldquoTheyrsquore both either going to break this year or notrdquo Zaiss says but shersquos being cagey on the details She will say that she has a different part-ner for each project and both of them have to do with of course marketing

She still plans to keep up with her develop-ment work on the board of the Urban League of Nebraska though thatrsquos the only board shersquos currently on Zaiss was a founding member of the Womenrsquos Fund of Greater Nebraska where she served as president of the board but stepped down when her husband Richardrsquos health started to give way to cancer He passed away last summer ldquoLots of changesrdquo Zaiss says quietly ldquoIt was a tough year last yearrdquo

She finds solace she says in simply going to her home in Hummel Park every night ldquoIrsquom sur-rounded by woods wildlife I like to be outdoorsrdquo

Perhaps in 10 years shersquoll retire but best not to count on that ldquoYoursquod better like owning a company And be with people you like And do things that excite and energize you I canrsquot really fathom what I would do that would be more interestingrdquo B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 23

story by beverly kracher phd business ethics

WHEN JIM MOVED HIS business in the fall of 2010 from Lincoln to Omaha he encountered a pricing

problem The cost of his services in Lincoln didnrsquot suit the Omaha market

At least that was one explanation for why Jim wasnrsquot getting the accounts he had planned How could Jim determine the market price for his ser-vices before he lost too many sales and crippled his business

A colleague of Jimrsquos recommended a strategy Have two or three friends who work in Omaha businesses call Jimrsquos competitors Ask them to submit proposals for their services Once the friends acquire the proposals they tell the competitors ldquothank yourdquo and inform them that they didnrsquot get the bid In this way the friends who didnrsquot want the services anyway are in the clear and can give the proposals to Jim to study for pricing information

ldquoEveryone does thisrdquo the colleague said ldquoItrsquos an easy way to determine market price for prod-ucts or servicesrdquo

Would a marketing professional recommend such a strategy While ldquoeasyrdquo and ldquoefficientrdquo are appropriate decision rules in business they are not synonymous with ethics

Many marketing professionals subscribe to the American Marketing Associationrsquos Code of Ethics The Code was created to help them remember that reputation and trust can be destroyed when they only focus on the easy way and forget to consider honesty and harm

Codes of ethics can help business people over-come obstacles to ethical decision making One of the obstacles is not identifying all relevant stakeholders and the impact of our actions on them (Werhane et al 2013)

In the previous case we often forget the competitors However think of the Golden Rule Putting ourselves in their shoes we real-ize that none of us likes wasting our time They

are harmed because they go through the work of preparing bids that have absolutely no chance of being acceptedhelliptime and expertise that they can use to really get business

In addition we might not recognize the impact on our friends We are asking them to use their businesses in dishonest ways None of us would like to have our businesses or reputations treated in this way

Bounded awareness is one reason we donrsquot identify all relevant stakeholders and the impact on them Bounded awareness is a pattern of thinking that prevents us from noticing relevant data (Gino Moore and Bazerman 2009) It can be a good psychological mechanism because it can help us survive But bounded awareness also has ethical implications when relevant or useful data is missed and poor choices are made based on incomplete information

Is there a remedy for the kind of bounded thinking that leads to bad marketing strategies

Yes and the remedy is practice We need to practice exercising our moral

imaginations When making a marketing deci-sion take the time to systematically identify all stakeholders and imagine the consequences for them when one alternative is played out then another and another Start the practice by list-ing options and stakeholders on paper until the mental process becomes second nature In this way we strengthen our moral muscle and do a better job balancing the easy and efficient actions with the honest and less harmful ones B2B

Beverly Kracher PhDDaugherty Chair in

Business Ethics amp SocietyExecutive Director

Business Ethics AllianceCollege of Business

Creighton University

Marketing Ethics

ldquoThere are people who may be better at starting a business than others Therersquos an entrepreneurial drive Focus is part of that And clarity around what yoursquore trying to do and howrdquo

A fundamental understanding of business math she insists is vital Have you projected your expenses Your revenue Can you read a balance sheet ldquoThere are basics regardless of how great your idea is And some people arenrsquot willing to take the riskrdquo she says ldquoAnd probably shouldnrsquotrdquo

LEAVING ONE COMPANY

STARTING TWO MORE

B UT FOR ZAISS AT least the risk may be addictive ldquoI read an article in Inc magazine that said itrsquos never

as much fun as it is the first year I think that might be truerdquo

In 2014 Zaiss is handing over management of Zaiss amp Company to her sister Wendy Wiseman whorsquos worked with her for 17 years Shersquoll trade in her 60-hour work weeks at Zaiss amp Company for who knows how many more man hours spread between two new companies

ldquoTheyrsquore both either going to break this year or notrdquo Zaiss says but shersquos being cagey on the details She will say that she has a different part-ner for each project and both of them have to do with of course marketing

She still plans to keep up with her develop-ment work on the board of the Urban League of Nebraska though thatrsquos the only board shersquos currently on Zaiss was a founding member of the Womenrsquos Fund of Greater Nebraska where she served as president of the board but stepped down when her husband Richardrsquos health started to give way to cancer He passed away last summer ldquoLots of changesrdquo Zaiss says quietly ldquoIt was a tough year last yearrdquo

She finds solace she says in simply going to her home in Hummel Park every night ldquoIrsquom sur-rounded by woods wildlife I like to be outdoorsrdquo

Perhaps in 10 years shersquoll retire but best not to count on that ldquoYoursquod better like owning a company And be with people you like And do things that excite and energize you I canrsquot really fathom what I would do that would be more interestingrdquo B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 23

story by beverly kracher phd business ethics

2014 results issue best of b2b

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 25

I TrsquoS TIME TO REVEAL B2B Omaha magazinersquos highly anticipated Best of B2B trade Winners List for 2014 The Omaha-area businesses listed in the following pages have received the coveted vote of confidence from our readers as a result of

their superior business skills services and products Best of B2B trade results were tabulated from ballots sent in from the Winter 2014

issue of B2B Omaha Ballots had to be original not photocopies and more than half of the ballot had to be filled out to be acceptable

The Best of B2B trade list now in its eighth year is organized into categories If yoursquore looking for a specific product or service you can easily find the best If you see a business you patronize in this yearrsquos list be sure to congratulate them Theyrsquoll appreciate it

ldquoBest of B2B trade has really developed into what it was meant to berdquo says Todd Lemke publisher of B2B Omaha magazine ldquoBusiness owners get itmdashitrsquos a contest where businesses recognize businesses Itrsquos great that so many take the time to vote to give that recognitionrdquo B2B

The ResultsAre In

2014 resultsbest of b2b

26 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

BUILDING SERVICESCARPET amp RUG CLEANING

All Pro Carpet Cleaning

Westwood Services

DOOR COMPANYOmaha Door amp Window

Normrsquos Door Service

ELECTRICAL SERVICEMiller Electric

Oak Hills Electric

FENCE COMPANYSampW Fence

American Fence Company

GARBAGE COLLECTIONAbersquos Trash Services

abestrashcom 402-571-4926

Deffenbaugh Industries

2014 resultsbest of b2b

26 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

BUILDING SERVICESCARPET amp RUG CLEANING

All Pro Carpet Cleaning

Westwood Services

DOOR COMPANYOmaha Door amp Window

Normrsquos Door Service

ELECTRICAL SERVICEMiller Electric

Oak Hills Electric

FENCE COMPANYSampW Fence

American Fence Company

GARBAGE COLLECTIONAbersquos Trash Services

abestrashcom 402-571-4926

Deffenbaugh Industries

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 27

Public Relations Works

Customer-Based Planning and Communications

If itrsquos not for your business you may be missing a vital connection

At Zaiss amp Company our customer-based

communications plans include effective

business-moving PR strategies

that deliver marketplace results

For PR strategies that integrate with your

total plan and connect to real

bottom-line benefits partner with us

Yoursquoll be in good company

402-964-9293 11626 Nicholas Street zaisscocom

Best PR Agency 6 Years Running

OmahaThank you Thanks to you we were voted the best Credit Card Merchant Processing Company for 2014

We are proud to be part of this great city If you donrsquot already know us come find out what we are all about

wwwtsysmerchantsolutionscom4025747224

copy 2014 Total System Services Increg All rights reserved worldwide TSYSreg is a federally registered service mark of Total System Services Inc TSYS Merchant Solutions is a registered ISOMSP of both First National Bank of Omaha Omaha Nebraska and Synovus Bank Columbus Georgia

2014 resultsbest of b2b

28 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

THANK YOU OMAHA

402733232212310 K Plaza Ste 108

BEST FLORISTldquoTaylor Maderdquo for ALL

your floral needs since 1950rdquo

Locally Owned Since 1950

GENERAL CONTRACTORKiewit

Hawkins Construction Company

GLASSWINDOW INSTALLHusker Glass

City Glass Company

HEATINGAC SERVICESOS Heating amp Cooling

soshvaccom 402-391-2336

Thermal Services

JANITORIAL SERVICESparkling Klean

sparklingkleancom 402-399-9233

Jani-King

LANDSCAPELAWN CONTRACTORForest Green Lawn amp Landscaping

forestgreenlawncarecom 402-556-0595

Sun Valley Landscaping sunvalleyomahacom

402-932-5704

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 29

30 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

2014 results best of b2b

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 31

LOCKSMITHCarl Jarl Group

Big Red Locksmiths

MOVING COMPANYI-Go Van amp Storage

Flat Rate Movers

OFFICE FURNITUREAll Makes Office Equipment Co

allmakescom 402-341-2413

Sheppardrsquos Business Interiors

PAINTING CONTRACTORCertaPro Painters

Gerst Painting Inc gerstcontractingcom

402-289-1010

PEST CONTROLLien Termite amp Pest Control

lienpestcontrolcom 402-397-8884

Pest Solutions 365

2014 resultsbest of b2b

32 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

13665 California Street Omaha Nebraska4024454380

wwwmahoganyprimecom

Top 100 Restaurants in AmericaVoted Top 100 Restaurants in

America by Open Table

Prime Steak Fine Wine

Premium Service

Thanks for Voting UsB2B Omaha Magazinersquos

Best of B2B 8 Years in a row

Thanks for Voting UsOmaha MagazinersquosBest of Omaha 10 Years in a row

PICTURE FRAMINGMalibu Gallery

Lewis Art Gallery lewisartgallerycom

402-391-7733

PLUMBING COMPANYBacklund Plumbing

backlundplumbingcom 402-341-0450

Tritz Plumbing Inc

PROPERTY MANAGEMENTCushman amp Wakefield | The Lund

Company lundcocom

4025484045

Byron Reed Company

REAL ESTATE - COMMERCIALCBRE | MEGA

cbrecomomaha 402-334-8877

World Group

ROOFING COMPANYCiaccio Roofing

nebraskabestroofcom 402-293-8707

Scott Enterprises Inc scottentcom 402-571-2364

2014 results best of b2b

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 33

SECURITY EQUIPMENTSYSTEMSSEI

ADT

SIGN COMPANYBest Buy Signs

bestbuysignsnet 402-861-0384

Renze Display renzecom

800-627-9131

SNOW REMOVAL SERVICECarson Enterprises

True North Outdoor

TOWING COMPANYNeff Towing Service Inc

402-733-5500

Auto 1 Towing

WINDOW CLEANINGFish Window Cleaning

Squeegee Squad

2014 results issuebest of b2b

34 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

2014 results best of b2b

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 35

onesourcebackgroundcom tel 8006083645 fax 8009298117

2014 Winner

Omah

arsquos Business-to-Business Magazine

B2B OMAHArsquoS

2014 WinnerOm

aharsquos

Business-to-Business Magazine

B2B OMAHArsquoS

The Harry A Koch CoInsurance amp Financial ConsultantsMember of First Insurance Group LLC

wwwhakcocom bull 4028617000

Business Insurance | Employee Benefits | Bonding | SafetyLoss Control | Family Insurance

As you can see we believe in consistencyThank you for voting us the Best Insurance Agency for three years in a row

Dave Jesse

Jim Garbina

Scott ETrofholz

Karen Metzger

Ken Jarosz

~ The Koch Executive Team (26 years average service)

BUSINESS SERVICESADVERTISING SPECIALTIES

Bergman Incentives bergmanincentivescom

402-661-7900

Ideal Images ideal-imagescom

402-596-1002

BACKGROUND amp DRUG SCREENING SERVICE

One Source onesourcebackgroundcom

402-933-9999

APS Resources

BUSINESS BROKERThe Firm

Sunbelt of Nebraska

BUSINESS FORMS amp SYSTEMSPerformance Group Inc

Donis Corp

BUSINESS PHONE SYSTEMSinTouch Communications

HunTel Communications Inc

36 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

Thanks for Voting us Your 1 Locksmith

To see what else we are up to check us out at

wwwcarljarlgroupcom

2014 results best of b2b

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 37

SCOTTENTERPRISES

In Commercial Roofing One Namersquos On Top

Nebraskarsquos largest roofing company is also Nebraskarsquos best When quality is critical to your project be sure to specify Scott EnterprisesFor more than 35 years trusted on these and many other projects

bull TD Ameritrade Parkbull First National Bank Towerbull Midtown Crossingbull Village Pointe Shopping Centerbull UNO Weber Fine Arts Buildingbull Childrenrsquos Hospital

402-571-2364 | wwwScottEntcom9684 N 109th Street Omaha NE 68142

COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHERDavid Radler Studio Inc

davidradlercom

Malone amp Co

COMPUTER SERVICELutz Technology

Computer Solutions Inc

COPIER SERVICEBetter Business Equipment

BBEomahacom 402-393-6666

SolutionOne solutiononenowcom

1-800-742-0023

CORPORATE JET SERVICEJet Linx

JetLinxOmahacom 402-422-0393

NetJets

DELIVERY SERVICECapital Express

HotShot Deliveries Inc

2014 resultsbest of b2b

38 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

DELIVERY VEHICLE DEALERMercedes-Benz of Omaha

omahamercedescom 402-384-9999

Omaha Truck Center

INTERNET PROVIDERCox Communications

coxbusinesscom 402-934-3223

CenturyLink

MAILING LISTSCAS Inc

cas-onlinecom 866-461-4693

infoUSA

MAILING SERVICEDBS Burke

burkeservicescom 4024551200

Omaha Mail Inc 402-758-0671

OFFICE RECORDSSTORAGE amp DESTRUCTION

Access Information Management

Record Managment Solutions

OFFICE SUPPLIESPay-LESS Office Products

Office Depot

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 39

A Family Business Since 1975 402-397-8884

Thank you Omaha for voting us best

of Omaha for all you Pest control needs

A Family Business Since 1975 402-397-8884

Thank you Omaha for voting us best

of Omaha for all you Pest control needs

A Family Business Since 1975 402-397-8884

Thank you Omaha for voting us best

of Omaha for all you Pest control needs

Thank you Omaha for voting us lsquoBestof Omahatradersquo and lsquoBest of B2Btraderdquo for all you

Pest control needs

Find recent content at

MarkHasebroock

DUNDEE VENTURE

CAPITAL

BEVERLY KRACHER PHDTakes Omaha Ethics Worldwide

THE VESPARADOSLeaders of the Scootinrsquo Pack

PRSRT STD

US POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO 5377

DENVER CO

0 874470 63856

10gt

FALL 2013 bull SEPTOCTNOV

US

$3

25

OMAHA MAGAZINE bull 5921 S 118TH CIRCLE bull OMAHA NE 68137

Omaharsquos Business-To-Business Magazine

OMAHArsquoS BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MAGAZINE

40 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

Omaha ndash thanks again for voting us the

1 CPA firm in 2013

Tax Planning amp Consulting Financial Statement Assurance

Business Valuation amp Litigation Support Information Technology Services

Payroll Bookkeeping Forensic Accounting

Employee Benefit Plan Audits Estate Tax Planning

Wealth Advisory Services Cost Segregation Studies

R amp D Tax Credits

wwwfzacpacom 4024969100

2014 results best of b2b

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 41

PRINTEROmaha Print

omahaprintcom 402-734-4400

Barnhart Press

SALES TRAININGSandler Training

davearchsandlercom 402-616-1098

Dale Carnegie Training

UNIFORM SUPPLYAlamar Uniforms

Donrsquos Pioneer Uniforms

WATER - BOTTLEDIdeal Pure Water

Deep Rock

WEBSITE DEVELOPERRebel Interactive

Iridian Group

FINANCIAL SERVICES

2014 resultsbest of b2b

42 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

BANKFirst National Bank

firstnationalcombusiness 402-346-3626 or 800-642-0014

ACCESSbank

CREDIT CARD MERCHANT PROCESSINGTSYS Merchant Solutions

tsysmerchantsolutionscom 1-800-354-3988

American Payment Systems americanpaymentcom

402-502-9985

PAYROLL SERVICEPayroll Maxx

Ideal Payroll Service

FOOD SERVICESBANQUET FACILITYScoular Ballroom

Embassy Suites La Vista Hotel and Conference Center

CATERERBrandeis Catering

Hap Abraham Catering

COFFEE PROVIDERLaRue Coffee

Ideal Pure Water

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 43

2014 resultsbest of b2b

44 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

RESTAURANTBUSINESS BREAKFAST

WheatFields

The Egg amp I TheEggandIRestaurantscom

402-679-6302

RESTAURANTBUSINESS DINNER

Mahogany Prime Steakhouse mahoganyprimecom

402-445-4380

801 Chophouse 801chophousecom

402-341-1222

RESTAURANTBUSINESS LUNCH

Sullivanrsquos Steakhouse sullivanssteakhousecomomaha

402-342-0077

Charlestonrsquos

PROFESSIONAL SERVICESACCOUNTING OFFICE

Frankel Zacharia fzacpacom

402-496-9100

Bland amp Associates BlandCPAcom 402-397-8822

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 45

46 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

Citizens by Design

Thank you for your trust Omaha Voted 1 eight years in a row

ocopy

Tocopy

Tcopy

Tcopy

Tcopy

copy

copycopycopycopycopycopycopycopycopycopycopycopycopycopy

m Ke

m KeK

sslessssss

Phr Pto

got

ogot

ogot

ogo

aph

raph

rararyy

Jeff

Jeff

Jeff

Jeffff

copy Je

ffJe

ffcopy

Jeff

Jeff

copy Je

ffffJe

ffJe

ffffcopy

Jeff

Jff

copy Je

ffcopy

Jeff

copy Je

copy JeJ

copy

copycopy

copycopycopyer

y er

y er

y er

y er

y er

y er

y er

y er

y er

y yer

yer

yer

ye

acob

Jaco

bJa

cob

Jaco

bac

obJa

cob

JaaJaJaJaJJJJJo

s Pho

s Pho

s Pho

s Pho

s Ph

s Ph

togr

agr

aato

graraar

tog

tph

yyphpppppppp

Metropolitan Community College Culinary Arts Institute | West Dodge Expressway | Joslyn Sculpture Garden

A R C H I T E C T U R E | E N G I N E E R I N G | C O N S U LT I N G

wwwhdrinccom

2014 results best of b2b

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 47

for more

When your company needs a

merchant account we offerbull Guaranteed lower rates

bull Quick approvals

bull Low-cost terminals

bull Top-rated customer service

bull Gift and loyalty card programs (like the PinPoint Card program)

bull Family owned and locally operated for over 30 years

Go to AmericanPaymentcom for more information or call us at [402] 5029985

ADVERTISING AGENCYSleight Advertising

sleightadvertisingcom 402-334-3530

Bozell

ARCHITECTURAL FIRMLeo A Daly Co

Holland Basham Architects

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT COMPANYGallager GraceMayer

Garvey amp Associates

EMPLOYMENT AGENCYCampA Industries

ca-industriescom 402-891-0009

Hemphill Search Group hemphillsearchcom

402-334-4800

ENGINEERING FIRMHDR

hdrinccom 402-399-1474

DLR Group

2014 resultsbest of b2b

48 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

Abersquos Trash Service IncldquoSer ving Omaha For Over 50 Years rdquo

Residential bull Commercial bull Rec yclingS ales bull Ser vice bull Rentals

CO M M E R C I A Lbull B O T H F R O N T F OA D amp R E A R LOA D S T Y L E S

bull S I Z E S F R O M 2 - 8 C U B I C YA R D S

R E S I D E N T I A Lbull D E P E N DA B L E W E E K LY R E S I D E N T I A L T R A S H S E R V I C E

bull 90 G A L LO N T R A S H C A R T S AV A I L A B L Ebull R E C Y C L I N G A N D YA R D W A S T E S E R V I C E S AV A I L A B L E

CO M PAC T O R Sbull S TAT I O N A R Y amp S E L F - CO N TA I N E D CO M PAC T O R S

bull C A R D B OA R D C O M PAC T O R Sbull R E C Y C L I N G S E R V I C E

bull W E P E R F O R M A L L M A I N T E N A N C E O N O U R CO M PAC T O R S

402-571-49268123 Christensen Lane bull Omaha 68122 bull wwwabestrashcom

Locally Owned and Operated B2B

Omaha Magazinersquos

Om

aharsquos Business to Business M

agaz

ine

WIN

NER bull 2012 bull WIN

NER

CO N S T R U C T I O N amp D E M O L I T I O NbullCampD L A N D F I L L

bull CampD R E C Y C L I N Gbull G R E E N B U I L D S E R V I C E S

R O L L - O F F C O N TA I N E R Sbull 12 20 30 amp 40 YA R D S I Z E S

bull M E TA L O P E N T O P R O L L - O F F D U M P S T E R Sbull O N E - T I M E U S E O R O N A LO N G T E R M B A S I S

bull CO N S T R U C D T I O N P R O J E C T S S P R I N G C L E A N I N G N E I G H B O R H O O D C L E A N U P S

FINANCIAL PLANNING FIRMFeltz WealthPLAN

Callahan Financial Planning

INSURANCE AGENCYThe Harry A Koch Co

wwwhakcocom

Davis Companies

LAW FIRMBaird Holm

402-344-0500

Abrahams Kaslow amp Cassman akclawcom

402-392-1250

PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRMZaiss amp Co zaisscocom

402-964-9293

Lukas Partners

SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANTAlbers Communications Group

B2 Interactive

TRAVEL amp EVENT PLANNINGAUDIO-VISUAL SERVICE

CONCEPTS AV Integration conceptsavcom

402-298-5011

AVI Systems

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 49

50 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

bull2-YEARS for $1295 save 73 code lsquoomag2yearrsquo

bull1-YEAR for $995save 58 code lsquoomag1yearrsquo

trade

Mayor Jean

Stothert

Jim FlowersWeathers the Storm

Omaharsquos

Best Doctorsreg

Omaharsquos 2013

BIG GIVE

Leading in

a Manrsquos World

SEPTEMBEROCTOBER bull 2013

SAVE73

SUBSCRIBE

2014 results best of b2b

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 51

Thank You Omaha

wwwakclawcom 4023921250

Best of B2B Winner 4 years

in a row Business amp Commercial Law l Litigation

Estate Planning amp Probate l Employment Law Real Estate l Franchise Law

B2B best of omaha ad 2014_Layout 1 1302014 1016 AM Page 1

BUSINESS CONFERENCE VENUEScott Conference Center

scottcentercom 402-778-6313

Regency Lodge

EVENT PLANNING SERVICEplanitomaha inc planitomahacom

402-333-3062

Events Inc

FLORISTTaylorrsquos Flower Shop amp Greenhouse

taylorsflowers24hourscom 402-733-2322

Janousek Florist amp Greenhouses

GOLF COURSEOmaha Country Club

Happy Hollow Club

HOTELHilton Omaha

omahahiltoncom 402-998-3480

Magnolia Hotel

RENTAL SERVICE STOREUnited Rent-All

AAA Rents

TRAVEL AGENCYTravel amp Transport

travelandtrasportcom 4023994500

AAA

LinkedInrsquos New Office

IS LINKED IN TO EMPLOYEE NEEDS

52 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by rain sissel bull photos by bill sitzmannin the office

FOUNDED IN 2002 THE Omaha LinkedIn office is an eclectic mix of corporate consistency and quirky col-

loquialism After years of steady success at their 90th and Western location LinkedIn expanded last November into an almost-identical building across the parking lot in order to house its 170-plus employees

Walking into the brand new facility one thing is instantly obvious the abundance of natural light ldquoItrsquos one of those things you take for granted and donrsquot really realize how meaningful it isrdquo Kelli Pilgrim Director of Global Operations says about the new space

With a life-size cut-out of Kid Rock at one end of the office and a Star Wars-themed tech area complete with a Chewbacca light at the other the new LinkedIn office reflects its employees

ldquoEvery site puts their own little flare and per-sonality on things but pretty much the color scheme and the feel of the office is always the samerdquo Pilgrim says ldquoI have been to Chicago I have been to Dublin and I have been to corporate and they really have found the right mix to make it feel like LinkedInrdquo

Although corporate has achieved the perfect shade of LinkedIn blue for its new office employ-ees were given a lot of freedom in terms of the creative elements of the new Omaha space Per employee request individual rooms and meet-ing spaces in the new office are organized gt

ldquoI have been to Chicago I have been to Dublin and I have been to corporate and they really have found the right mix to make it feel like LinkedInrdquo KELLI PILGRIM DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL OPERATIONS

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 53

54 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

in the office

ltnot by numbers and letters but by Clue charac-tersmdashinstead of room 202 employees convene in Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlet

The candy bowl is always full and the cooler is stocked to the brim with juice drinks soda and bottled tea Employees have access to an expansive break roomdining space that offers fresh fruit a wide variety of lunch options an espresso machine and a Coca-Cola Freestyle soda machine Most lunches at the LinkedIn offices are free and catered but donrsquot let that fool youmdashLinkedIn prioritizes health and ergonomics

Mark Davis is the facilities manager at LinkedIn and was an essential part of the expansion proj-ect He says hersquos grateful for the emphasis on ergonomics and employee comfort so that he can focus on meaningful maintenance issues

ldquoIf somebody requests something there are no questions asked If thatrsquos what you think you

need wersquoll make it happenrdquo Davis says ldquoWe are really accommodating in terms of ergonomicsrdquo

All desks in the LinkedIn office are adjust-able via a small crank and equipped with a personal filing cabinet and rolling pod that can be used as a seat for quick meetings The new office also offers private spacious restrooms for women who are pregnant or nursing as well as employee showers a fitness center and free Zumba classes

ldquoWe have a really strong health and wellness program at LinkedIn in general We have a small gym here that the landlord provides and we have discounts to local gyms nearby That way if people just want to run over by Westroads and come back they have a place to freshen uprdquo Pilgrim says

LinkedIn also offers a Bring Your Parents to Work Day along with the traditional Bring Your Kids to Work Day so employees can better inte-grate their families into their work routine For employees who have children the snow day policy is especially helpfulmdashall work can be done remotely so therersquos no shuffling the kids off to the neighbors while trying to navigate a Nebraska winter B2B

ldquoIf somebody requests something there are no questions asked If thatrsquos what you think you need

wersquoll make it happenrdquo Davis says ldquoWe are really accommodating in terms of ergonomicsrdquo

MARK DAVIS FACILITIES MANAGER

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 55

FOUNDED IN 2002 THE Omaha LinkedIn office is an eclectic mix of corporate consistency and quirky col-

loquialism After years of steady success at their 90th and Western location LinkedIn expanded last November into an almost-identical building across the parking lot in order to house its 170-plus employees

Walking into the brand new facility one thing is instantly obvious the abundance of natural light ldquoItrsquos one of those things you take for granted and donrsquot really realize how meaningful it isrdquo Kelli Pilgrim Director of Global Operations says about the new space

With a life-size cut-out of Kid Rock at one end of the office and a Star Wars-themed tech area complete with a Chewbacca light at the other the new LinkedIn office reflects its employees

ldquoEvery site puts their own little flare and per-sonality on things but pretty much the color scheme and the feel of the office is always the samerdquo Pilgrim says ldquoI have been to Chicago I have been to Dublin and I have been to corporate and they really have found the right mix to make it feel like LinkedInrdquo

Although corporate has achieved the perfect shade of LinkedIn blue for its new office employ-ees were given a lot of freedom in terms of the creative elements of the new Omaha space Per employee request individual rooms and meet-ing spaces in the new office are organized gt

ldquoI have been to Chicago I have been to Dublin and I have been to corporate and they really have found the right mix to make it feel like LinkedInrdquo KELLI PILGRIM DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL OPERATIONS

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 53

54 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

in the office

ltnot by numbers and letters but by Clue charac-tersmdashinstead of room 202 employees convene in Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlet

The candy bowl is always full and the cooler is stocked to the brim with juice drinks soda and bottled tea Employees have access to an expansive break roomdining space that offers fresh fruit a wide variety of lunch options an espresso machine and a Coca-Cola Freestyle soda machine Most lunches at the LinkedIn offices are free and catered but donrsquot let that fool youmdashLinkedIn prioritizes health and ergonomics

Mark Davis is the facilities manager at LinkedIn and was an essential part of the expansion proj-ect He says hersquos grateful for the emphasis on ergonomics and employee comfort so that he can focus on meaningful maintenance issues

ldquoIf somebody requests something there are no questions asked If thatrsquos what you think you

need wersquoll make it happenrdquo Davis says ldquoWe are really accommodating in terms of ergonomicsrdquo

All desks in the LinkedIn office are adjust-able via a small crank and equipped with a personal filing cabinet and rolling pod that can be used as a seat for quick meetings The new office also offers private spacious restrooms for women who are pregnant or nursing as well as employee showers a fitness center and free Zumba classes

ldquoWe have a really strong health and wellness program at LinkedIn in general We have a small gym here that the landlord provides and we have discounts to local gyms nearby That way if people just want to run over by Westroads and come back they have a place to freshen uprdquo Pilgrim says

LinkedIn also offers a Bring Your Parents to Work Day along with the traditional Bring Your Kids to Work Day so employees can better inte-grate their families into their work routine For employees who have children the snow day policy is especially helpfulmdashall work can be done remotely so therersquos no shuffling the kids off to the neighbors while trying to navigate a Nebraska winter B2B

ldquoIf somebody requests something there are no questions asked If thatrsquos what you think you need

wersquoll make it happenrdquo Davis says ldquoWe are really accommodating in terms of ergonomicsrdquo

MARK DAVIS FACILITIES MANAGER

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 55

54 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

in the office

ltnot by numbers and letters but by Clue charac-tersmdashinstead of room 202 employees convene in Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlet

The candy bowl is always full and the cooler is stocked to the brim with juice drinks soda and bottled tea Employees have access to an expansive break roomdining space that offers fresh fruit a wide variety of lunch options an espresso machine and a Coca-Cola Freestyle soda machine Most lunches at the LinkedIn offices are free and catered but donrsquot let that fool youmdashLinkedIn prioritizes health and ergonomics

Mark Davis is the facilities manager at LinkedIn and was an essential part of the expansion proj-ect He says hersquos grateful for the emphasis on ergonomics and employee comfort so that he can focus on meaningful maintenance issues

ldquoIf somebody requests something there are no questions asked If thatrsquos what you think you

need wersquoll make it happenrdquo Davis says ldquoWe are really accommodating in terms of ergonomicsrdquo

All desks in the LinkedIn office are adjust-able via a small crank and equipped with a personal filing cabinet and rolling pod that can be used as a seat for quick meetings The new office also offers private spacious restrooms for women who are pregnant or nursing as well as employee showers a fitness center and free Zumba classes

ldquoWe have a really strong health and wellness program at LinkedIn in general We have a small gym here that the landlord provides and we have discounts to local gyms nearby That way if people just want to run over by Westroads and come back they have a place to freshen uprdquo Pilgrim says

LinkedIn also offers a Bring Your Parents to Work Day along with the traditional Bring Your Kids to Work Day so employees can better inte-grate their families into their work routine For employees who have children the snow day policy is especially helpfulmdashall work can be done remotely so therersquos no shuffling the kids off to the neighbors while trying to navigate a Nebraska winter B2B

ldquoIf somebody requests something there are no questions asked If thatrsquos what you think you need

wersquoll make it happenrdquo Davis says ldquoWe are really accommodating in terms of ergonomicsrdquo

MARK DAVIS FACILITIES MANAGER

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 55

ltnot by numbers and letters but by Clue charac-tersmdashinstead of room 202 employees convene in Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlet

The candy bowl is always full and the cooler is stocked to the brim with juice drinks soda and bottled tea Employees have access to an expansive break roomdining space that offers fresh fruit a wide variety of lunch options an espresso machine and a Coca-Cola Freestyle soda machine Most lunches at the LinkedIn offices are free and catered but donrsquot let that fool youmdashLinkedIn prioritizes health and ergonomics

Mark Davis is the facilities manager at LinkedIn and was an essential part of the expansion proj-ect He says hersquos grateful for the emphasis on ergonomics and employee comfort so that he can focus on meaningful maintenance issues

ldquoIf somebody requests something there are no questions asked If thatrsquos what you think you

need wersquoll make it happenrdquo Davis says ldquoWe are really accommodating in terms of ergonomicsrdquo

All desks in the LinkedIn office are adjust-able via a small crank and equipped with a personal filing cabinet and rolling pod that can be used as a seat for quick meetings The new office also offers private spacious restrooms for women who are pregnant or nursing as well as employee showers a fitness center and free Zumba classes

ldquoWe have a really strong health and wellness program at LinkedIn in general We have a small gym here that the landlord provides and we have discounts to local gyms nearby That way if people just want to run over by Westroads and come back they have a place to freshen uprdquo Pilgrim says

LinkedIn also offers a Bring Your Parents to Work Day along with the traditional Bring Your Kids to Work Day so employees can better inte-grate their families into their work routine For employees who have children the snow day policy is especially helpfulmdashall work can be done remotely so therersquos no shuffling the kids off to the neighbors while trying to navigate a Nebraska winter B2B

ldquoIf somebody requests something there are no questions asked If thatrsquos what you think you need

wersquoll make it happenrdquo Davis says ldquoWe are really accommodating in terms of ergonomicsrdquo

MARK DAVIS FACILITIES MANAGER

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 55

How Should Your Business

USE TWITTER LISTS

WHEN APPROACHING TWITTER AS a tool for business consider that you can use Twitter listsmdash

curated lists of users relevant to a specific topicmdashas a resource for closely following con-versations of key influencers

For companies like Phenomblue a full-service agency using strategy creative and technology to connect people and brands Twitter lists have become a way to both demonstrate an authorita-tive position as well as bring together credible voices in an industry

ldquoWe maintain Twitter lists as part of an ongo-ing effort to provide our followers with content that helps make sense of todayrsquos increasingly

fragmented marketing landscaperdquo says Kate Richling Vice President of Marketing at Phenomblue

Twitter lists keep conversations together pro-viding convenience and utility for followers The subjects of lists can vary from industry-related topics to event attendees to previous clientsmdashwhichever topic followers can identify with

When vetting which key influencers to include on a particular list be mindful to incorporate those who contribute meaningful content rel-evant to the listrsquos designated topic Select users with proficient expertise or those who contribute with valid sources When searching for profiles to add to a list reference related Twitter lists

that may already existldquoTry identifying a profile that would fit into

[a] desired listhellipview the lists that the profile subscribes to and which theyrsquore a member ofrdquo Richling says ldquoItrsquos quite possible the profile yoursquove chosen is already included in the perfect list for you to followrdquo

Users can both create lists and subscribe to othersrsquo lists so the pressure to aggregate profiles for a list lessens You could choose to simply follow a few existing lists that cater to your businessrsquo interests instead

For more on Twitter Lists read the Twitter Help Center post on Lists B2B

businessentertainment

familyfood amp drink

healthhome

lifestylestyle

the new

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 57

story by brittany mascio social media

Nebraska

Collaborative Divorce 4029913424

wwwcollaborativedivorcenecom

Divorce with DignityProviding families in conflict with a peaceful

dignified and respectful alternative to the traditional divorce process

Never cut what can be untiedmdashChinese Proverb

LEARNING LIFE SKILLS THROUGH baseballrdquo This is the tagline for MVP4Life a new nonprofit organization

aimed at keeping Omaharsquos youth in school and helping them succeed in life MVP4Life has joined forces with Strike Zone Omaha to form school programs camps and clinics coachesrsquo clinics and the Upper Deck League

Strike Zone and MVP4Life

TEAM UP AGAINST THE

DROP OUT RATE

Joe Siwa and Teri Cissel have combined the forces of Strike Zone Omaha and MVP4Life to encourage under-privileged kids with teamwork ldquo

58 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by meghan townley bull photo by bill sitzmanngive

The goal of MVP4Life is to instill a sense of work ethic and teach kids about the importance of contributing to the community Itrsquos not just about baseball Itrsquos about producing a rewarding program that encourages kids to work together

Joe Siwa and Teri Cissell partners at Strike Zone Omaha realized the need for after-school programs in the community It was Cissell who thought up the idea behind MVP4Life As the nonprofitrsquos director she has been working hard on the program for about a year and a half and says itrsquos almost ready to launch ldquoWe have it where we want it to be and now want to hit the ground runningrdquo Cissell says

Over eight weeks the school program will teach life skills to fifth through eighth grad-ers The goal is for students to graduate from MVP4Life with a set of essential life skills ldquoThis is a full-circle programrdquo Siwa says ldquoEverything is connected with helping these kids become more productive citizens in life We are giving them that foundation to live uponrdquo

ldquoWersquove put a lot of thought into this and have really built a strong programrdquo says Cissell Cissell and Siwa have created a complete curric-ulum based on the HOMERUNS life skills Handle diversity Overcome challenges Make good decisions Encouragement and leader-ship Responsibility and respect Understand and accept situations Nurture self-esteem and confidence and Stay focused on personal goals

ldquoResearch shows that if kids are kept in orga-nized school activities they do much better in school and in liferdquo Cissell says ldquoDouglas County Sheriffrsquos department did research that deter-mined if we could keep just 10 percent of male students from dropping out of high school we could save Nebraska taxpayers $65 million per yearrdquo

The nonprofit also includes the Upper Deck League a competitive league for college players in their offseason These players mentor youth on how to be successful college athletes as well as attend a leadership conference in exchange for playing in the Upper Deck League Siwa stresses the importance of giving back to the community and hopes that these 120 college baseball play-ers are passing on a strong work ethic to the kids

ldquoOur job is to get these kids involved and teach them how to listen to instruction take criticism and gain a work ethic We want to put a desire into these kidsgreat things happen when you work hardrdquo Siwa says

The program will begin in the Omaha Public Schools and filter out to the rest of the community B2B

A big round of applause to the 2014

Best of B2Btrade winners

Save The DateThursday May 22 2014

B2B Omaha magazine looks forward to hosting a private event in your honor at the Omaha Country Club the site of the record breaking 2013 US Senior Open

for all the 2014 Best of B2Btrade winners Formal invitation to follow

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 59

SCOTTENTERPRISES

In Commercial Roofing One Namersquos On Top

Nebraskarsquos largest roofing company is also Nebraskarsquos best When quality is critical to your project be sure to specify Scott EnterprisesFor more than 35 years trusted on these and many other projects

bull TD Ameritrade Parkbull First National Bank Towerbull Midtown Crossingbull Village Pointe Shopping Centerbull UNO Weber Fine Arts Buildingbull Childrenrsquos Hospital

402-571-2364 | wwwScottEntcom9684 N 109th Street Omaha NE 68142

The goal of MVP4Life is to instill a sense of work ethic and teach kids about the importance of contributing to the community Itrsquos not just about baseball Itrsquos about producing a rewarding program that encourages kids to work together

Joe Siwa and Teri Cissell partners at Strike Zone Omaha realized the need for after-school programs in the community It was Cissell who thought up the idea behind MVP4Life As the nonprofitrsquos director she has been working hard on the program for about a year and a half and says itrsquos almost ready to launch ldquoWe have it where we want it to be and now want to hit the ground runningrdquo Cissell says

Over eight weeks the school program will teach life skills to fifth through eighth grad-ers The goal is for students to graduate from MVP4Life with a set of essential life skills ldquoThis is a full-circle programrdquo Siwa says ldquoEverything is connected with helping these kids become more productive citizens in life We are giving them that foundation to live uponrdquo

ldquoWersquove put a lot of thought into this and have really built a strong programrdquo says Cissell Cissell and Siwa have created a complete curric-ulum based on the HOMERUNS life skills Handle diversity Overcome challenges Make good decisions Encouragement and leader-ship Responsibility and respect Understand and accept situations Nurture self-esteem and confidence and Stay focused on personal goals

ldquoResearch shows that if kids are kept in orga-nized school activities they do much better in school and in liferdquo Cissell says ldquoDouglas County Sheriffrsquos department did research that deter-mined if we could keep just 10 percent of male students from dropping out of high school we could save Nebraska taxpayers $65 million per yearrdquo

The nonprofit also includes the Upper Deck League a competitive league for college players in their offseason These players mentor youth on how to be successful college athletes as well as attend a leadership conference in exchange for playing in the Upper Deck League Siwa stresses the importance of giving back to the community and hopes that these 120 college baseball play-ers are passing on a strong work ethic to the kids

ldquoOur job is to get these kids involved and teach them how to listen to instruction take criticism and gain a work ethic We want to put a desire into these kidsgreat things happen when you work hardrdquo Siwa says

The program will begin in the Omaha Public Schools and filter out to the rest of the community B2B

A big round of applause to the 2014

Best of B2Btrade winners

Save The DateThursday May 22 2014

B2B Omaha magazine looks forward to hosting a private event in your honor at the Omaha Country Club the site of the record breaking 2013 US Senior Open

for all the 2014 Best of B2Btrade winners Formal invitation to follow

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 59

SCOTTENTERPRISES

In Commercial Roofing One Namersquos On Top

Nebraskarsquos largest roofing company is also Nebraskarsquos best When quality is critical to your project be sure to specify Scott EnterprisesFor more than 35 years trusted on these and many other projects

bull TD Ameritrade Parkbull First National Bank Towerbull Midtown Crossingbull Village Pointe Shopping Centerbull UNO Weber Fine Arts Buildingbull Childrenrsquos Hospital

402-571-2364 | wwwScottEntcom9684 N 109th Street Omaha NE 68142

Justin Cherry (left) and Aaron Martin are selling their disc vending machines to Frisbee golf courses around the nation

DISC GOLF FANS ARE all over the board

ldquoTheyrsquore not preppies hippies punksrdquo says Aaron Martin founder of TeeBoxx ldquoThatrsquos something that struck me You canrsquot narrow them down to a genre Age range too From a marketing standpoint itrsquos kind of a night-mare because theyrsquore hard to profilerdquo

But hersquos done well to figure out his market It helps that prior to co-founding TeeBoxx a disc golf vending machine company Martinrsquos been both a professional disc golfer and in the adver-tising and marketing industry

Martin went fulltime as a disc golfer in 2005 ldquoI spent a lot of years trying to figure out how to grow the sport and problem-solving And how I could do it full-time and pay the bills make a living that sort of thingrdquo In 2012 Martin met Justin Cherry who has a business consulting firm and a background in technology

ldquoI picked up the game right around four years agordquo Cherry says ldquoAnd then through playing at

Seymour Smith [Park] I ended up meeting this guy [Martin] because hersquos a legend I caught up with him for some rounds met him at leagues And then me Irsquom always trying to think of busi-ness ideas ldquo

Cherry and Martin started bouncing around some business ideas related to disc golf According to Martin the sport has been grow-ing 18 percent every year for the past 20 years in number of courses players and purse amounts

ldquoI think the biggest problem was the avail-ability of equipmentrdquo Martin explains ldquoUnlike Ultimate Frisbee where you can go out with one Frisbee and have a great time with disc golf generally you have multiple discs so therersquos more of a need for the equipment to be availablerdquo

Martin and Cherry registered TeeBoxx in January 2012 and then spent a good year in research and development

The vending machine needed to be secure able to stand outdoors able to fit discs through the vending slot and small enough that it could

TeeBoxx

BRINGS DISC

VENDING MACHINES

TO FRISBEE PARKS

60 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

story by mandy mowers bull photo by bill sitzmannomAHA

fit in any park It also needed to be easy to repair something that any vending machine technician could fix in any town

ldquoThen it was just hitting connections getting the sales process down the script downrdquo Martin says ldquoJustin Cherry heads that up on the sales process One of the best cold callers Hersquos really making it happenrdquo

Martin takes care of the marketing materials A third partner Ross Brandt is also a profes-sional disc golfer and a city planner They also put together an advisory committee and sought out seed money

ldquoWe put together our business plans and projections and we lightly solicited within the industry We ended up getting privately funded through an individual in Minnesota who solic-ited us actuallyrdquo Martin says ldquoOur goal with that was to get our website up and a machine on the groundrdquo

They now have two TeeBoxx machines up one at Seymour Smith Park at 72nd and Harrison streets and the other in Miami Fla Five other locations are in the closing stages

ldquoWersquove got to be at 15 parks before our busi-ness is sustainablerdquo says Martin ldquoWe feel pretty confident wersquoll hit that early this yearrdquo

They offer three program tiers from simple machine installation to course design and instal-lation to a lease and license agreement So far TeeBoxx has identified 160 courses with 150 or more disc golfers each day during peak season The profits are split half goes back to the park

This way Martin explains ldquoWe fundraise for the parkshellipand that also helps with getting a fan base and getting support behind it And thatrsquos been a really good approach so far It feels like a better companyrdquo

ldquoWe really believe in the company because we love the sportrdquo says Martin ldquoWersquore part of OEN Omaha Entrepreneur Network and I encourage everybody to build their business in such a way that therersquos something active in the community that fundraises for the communityrdquo

Martin and Cherry hope to have more invest-ments soon that will allow them to put together a bulk order saving approximately 70 percent for them and for lessees

Once TeeBoxx is sustainable the team plans to branch out into other park-dominant sports Skateboarding will be next Theyrsquore already get-ting requests for baseball and softball

ldquoIn the future I could see a machine for hiking trails or at a tennis court or a basketball courtrdquo says Martin ldquoI think wersquore going to hold the same theme for all of itmdashthe Boxx will be at the back of itrdquo B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 61

The choice of a lawyer is important and should not be based solely on advertisements

Bob Kmiecik316 268 7943bkmiecikstinsoncom

1299 Farnam StreetSuite 1500Omaha NE 68102

Successful companies are fueled by energy

innovation and talent Stinsonrsquos attorneys help

small-to-large businesses seize opportunities

and address challenges propelling ideas

into success stories Our perspective and

experience supports your vision and allows you

to channel your creativity into your business

objectives Stinsoncom

Your vision Our experience

Omaha

Kansas City

St Louis

Phoenix

Denver

Washington DC

Wichita

Overland Park

Jefferson City

Decatur

20537 B2B HalfPg - Kmiecik_Half pg 10713 933 AM Page 1

fit in any park It also needed to be easy to repair something that any vending machine technician could fix in any town

ldquoThen it was just hitting connections getting the sales process down the script downrdquo Martin says ldquoJustin Cherry heads that up on the sales process One of the best cold callers Hersquos really making it happenrdquo

Martin takes care of the marketing materials A third partner Ross Brandt is also a profes-sional disc golfer and a city planner They also put together an advisory committee and sought out seed money

ldquoWe put together our business plans and projections and we lightly solicited within the industry We ended up getting privately funded through an individual in Minnesota who solic-ited us actuallyrdquo Martin says ldquoOur goal with that was to get our website up and a machine on the groundrdquo

They now have two TeeBoxx machines up one at Seymour Smith Park at 72nd and Harrison streets and the other in Miami Fla Five other locations are in the closing stages

ldquoWersquove got to be at 15 parks before our busi-ness is sustainablerdquo says Martin ldquoWe feel pretty confident wersquoll hit that early this yearrdquo

They offer three program tiers from simple machine installation to course design and instal-lation to a lease and license agreement So far TeeBoxx has identified 160 courses with 150 or more disc golfers each day during peak season The profits are split half goes back to the park

This way Martin explains ldquoWe fundraise for the parkshellipand that also helps with getting a fan base and getting support behind it And thatrsquos been a really good approach so far It feels like a better companyrdquo

ldquoWe really believe in the company because we love the sportrdquo says Martin ldquoWersquore part of OEN Omaha Entrepreneur Network and I encourage everybody to build their business in such a way that therersquos something active in the community that fundraises for the communityrdquo

Martin and Cherry hope to have more invest-ments soon that will allow them to put together a bulk order saving approximately 70 percent for them and for lessees

Once TeeBoxx is sustainable the team plans to branch out into other park-dominant sports Skateboarding will be next Theyrsquore already get-ting requests for baseball and softball

ldquoIn the future I could see a machine for hiking trails or at a tennis court or a basketball courtrdquo says Martin ldquoI think wersquore going to hold the same theme for all of itmdashthe Boxx will be at the back of itrdquo B2B

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 61

The choice of a lawyer is important and should not be based solely on advertisements

Bob Kmiecik316 268 7943bkmiecikstinsoncom

1299 Farnam StreetSuite 1500Omaha NE 68102

Successful companies are fueled by energy

innovation and talent Stinsonrsquos attorneys help

small-to-large businesses seize opportunities

and address challenges propelling ideas

into success stories Our perspective and

experience supports your vision and allows you

to channel your creativity into your business

objectives Stinsoncom

Your vision Our experience

Omaha

Kansas City

St Louis

Phoenix

Denver

Washington DC

Wichita

Overland Park

Jefferson City

Decatur

20537 B2B HalfPg - Kmiecik_Half pg 10713 933 AM Page 1

ITrsquoS INTERESTING TO READ the wide variety of opinions about the future supply and pricing of energy for Americans Most

seem based on outdated information Some on utopian hopes and dreams A few based on reality

The challenge is to sift through the available facts and opinions as well as analyze improving technology to arrive at a conclusion A con-clusion that may help each of us make better purchase decisions Future prices may well force you to prioritize energy efficiency

Donrsquot be misled by those promoting peak oil wind power ethanol bio fuels and solar electric generation Peak oil was pushed by a couple of speculators and hopeful environmentalists jumped on the bandwagon Horizontal drilling knocked its wheels off

Wind power requires that fossil fuel power plants remain available to make up for seasonal and even daily fluctuations in wind speed

Ethanol mandates as I wrote in my last column are in reality another farm subsidy one that taxpayers can ill afford

Bio fuels have been explored since the 1920s without any sort of affordable result

Solar electric is a nice idea that has proven to be a boon to subsidized Chinese solar panel

makers Subsidies that in reality come from United State taxpayers Utopian dreams

In the 1950s the US was an energy exporter Then with the goal of using oil from other countries first and preserving domestic sup-plies our focus changed We became a huge energy importer

As wersquove learned the hard way keeping these foreign supplies flowing costs a fortune Not only in finances but now in American lives

Right now oil and gas production in northern and southern states allows the US to again become an energy exporter We currently export more refined product than is delivered from Middle East suppliers Europe is quickly shut-tering oil refineries because US refining is so efficient itrsquos less expensive to purchase products right here The same is true of diesel products including jet fuel China is even purchasing these products here returning some of our dollars because we can refine it for less than they can

Natural gas prices remain low domestically This just isnrsquot going to last We will see more and more power generation converted to natu-ral gas Worldwide the appetite for natural gas grows as it is an affordable and clean-burning fossil fuel This increased demand will result in a big increase in the number of ships capable of

transporting compressed natural gas worldwide We will probably see US gas sold abroad as well

So donrsquot count on this period of cheap natural gas lasting It wonrsquot

The US export of diesel products will con-tinue as demanded and profits from these sales will increase So the spread in retail pric-ing between gasoline and diesel will probably increase as well That diesel car you are eyeing needs to get at least 25 percent better mileage to make sense

Once the Keystone pipeline is built in some acceptable configuration we will see that oil refined in Houston then exported to the inter-national market Relatively cheap Canadian oil delivered by rail to Midwest refineries and its resulting discounted gas prices will come to an end Canadians want a world price for their tar sands oil They will eventually get it

My projection is that as the years progress we will see continued increases in energy costs in the US Irsquoll be looking for better gas mileage vehicles and better-insulated buildings B2B

Any views andor opinions expressed in ldquoThe Know-It-Allrdquo are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of B2B Omaha magazine or its parent company andor its affiliates

Forget the alternatives

ENERGY PRICES WILL

ONLY INCREASE

62 B2B Omaha Magazine bull Spring 2014 OmahaMagazinecom

the know-it-all

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 63

4023420077 | 222 S 15th Street | Omaha NE

BestOfOmahacom Spring 2014 bull B2B Omaha Magazine 63

4023420077 | 222 S 15th Street | Omaha NE

Tim Krueger CISMGeneral Manager Information TechnologyTravel and Transport

ldquoAs the 5th largest travel management company in the US redundancy and reliability are very important to us Anybody can provide internet service itrsquos the partnership that means a lot to us Cox Business has proven that they can provide the reliability and flexibility needed for us to be successfulrdquo

A Cox Business success story

402-934-3223 | coxbusinesscomVoted 1 Business Internet Provider