“CEO has provided me with personal connections and relationships which will provide me with an advantage in the future when I start any business idea that I may have.”

05/14/2017

The tradeshow was very enjoyable to me. I think we had a great turnout. It was really cool to see our booths being put up. I would have liked to have had a time lapse of the process. I thought the tradeshow was a lot of fun overall. It was very enjoyable to see our businesses grow throughout the year and even change completely from idea to idea.

Pella was very interesting. The main thing that stuck out to me was how clean the place was. I could really feel the family atmosphere throughout the building. I think that is something that comes with being privately and family owned. I really enjoyed the video that they showed us and I wrote some of the quotes down. My favorite quote was from Pete Kuyper when he said, “If you aren’t thinking ahead, you are already behind.”

05/07/2017

I am ready for our Trade Show on May 2nd. I feel like I have prepared everything that I need and I am ready to display my business. I had an awesome, sort of step back and realize moment, that I have my own business when I got my business cards. It never really hit me until then, but I am very happy with the results.

Outlaw Tees was extremely interesting. I had no idea that he draws every design that he puts on t-shirts. I thought that everything was done on the computer through graphic design now. Some of the artwork in his office was amazing. Something that he said that interested me was how his business produced enough state championship shirts for everyone by the time the game was over to the time that the team got back to the school. That is unreal to me. I liked how he had his office separate from the front. I understand that a lot of people might want to see the owner of the business but at some point, you must let some others have some responsibility and focus on your strengths.

I had drove past Methode my entire life and always wondered what went on in there. I didn’t have a clue what the inside would even look like. I found the entire place to be very interesting. I started to think to myself that engineering would be an intriguing profession for me as well. It would be cool if I could own my own engineering company that way I would have the best of both worlds.  By far the coolest thing to me was Dabir Surfaces. I think that that invention is incredible.  The fact that stood out to me was that if a factory is shut down for a minute it loses thousands of dollars and if it is shut down for an hour it loses millions. I really enjoyed finding out what went on behind those doors. 

04/30/2017

Case was an interesting business visit in many ways.  The process that I really did enjoy was the assembly line “J” shaped process as she called it. I think it was cool that you could look on one side and see the beginning of a dozer and then look to the other side and see the completed piece of equipment. The size of the place wowed me. It is very interesting to think that there was so much going on under that building. I liked walking from place to place and seeing each person doing different jobs on the same project. 

Lilly’s was extremely interesting. Charlie Bair was very knowledgeable and provided us with a lot of interesting and useful information for social entrepreneurship. Something that he said that really stood out to me was that the city square businesses are starting to leave. I can think back to when I was younger and I remember all of the businesses up on the square. Now almost every business that was originally there has left. I like the idea of him trying to build up the square again. I think that it is amazing that he donates his profit to food for thoughts and to academic scholarships. Mr. Bair is a great man.

04/16/2017

Our two guest speakers this week were awesome. I really enjoyed Honey’s presentation about Supply Chain Management. Afterwards I was thinking how crazy it was that even for a simple product the pieces to make it come from all parts of the world.  

Beth Boley was an interesting speaker. I didn’t know how much went into insurance. I actually found myself asking more questions than I probably had at any other business visit. I liked how she figured out that she wanted to be on the other end of the spectrum. The biggest thing I liked about the business visit was how she applied her business to each one of ours. It was a nice interactive visit. 

04/09/2017

The most interesting speaker that we have had all year, in my opinion, was Mr. Mulch. I absolutely loved everything that he had to say. He was a true business man and a true entrepreneur! I loved each of his 10 things that each entrepreneur should have. I really liked how he started his company from nothing. 

Peters Greenhouse was very interesting. The one thing that really stood out to me was the precise process that it took to raise and keep each plant. I was amazed by how many plants were there and how big the building was. I couldn’t get over how great of an idea it was to connect all the greenhouses together at the back. When she kept saying that their business is customer driven I really saw what she met. I started to think into the factors that played into people buying their products and there is a lot of variables.

First Bankers Trust was interesting in the fact that I now have some knowledge after going through banker day. It was very cool to be able to sit there and understand what they were talking about regarding a business plan. The biggest thing I took away is to make your financials conservative numbers that are very achievable.

Mr. Printy was probably the funniest person that we have visited this year. The visit was extremely interesting and entertaining. The thing that I learned the most from our visit was not to expand too quickly. I really understand what he meant by that. Sometimes businesses have a ton of success early on and feel the need to expand. When these businesses expand, they thin themselves out to the point where they don’t have the strength to successfully withstand any operation.

04/02/2017

There were a few things that really stuck out to me while listening to Craig speak. The idea that I liked the best was that you must love the process just as much as you love the result. The more that I thought about that idea that night, the more I really saw how true that was. I believe that this is true with absolutely anything that you do.  I understand that the process might not be enjoyable and fun but you must embrace the grind and rise to the challenge.

I really enjoyed Maddie Gronewold as a guest speaker. I think that what she said about customers just wanting to know you as a person rather than as a business owner is extremely relevant. 

Banker day was very successful for me.  All in all, I felt that I got a lot of great suggestions and positive feedback.

03/26/2017

The biggest thing I learned from Kim Ourth on Monday was how important community involvement is. I can definitely see that being involved within the community is the most important aspect to running a successful business. Once you have all of your connections and relationships made, selling to your customers will be the easy part.

Something else that really stood out to me Monday was how neat it is that a small town such as Nauvoo can attract so many people. As I drove in to Nauvoo that morning I told Jacob how cool of a town Nauvoo actually is. I like how it resembles an old fashioned town and I kind of picture it to be how every town used to be in the past.

Keith Yex was extremely interesting. I have talked to him a lot before. I would really like to get into broadcasting as a hobby. I want to own a big business someday and once I get it going I would enjoy doing something like that. I know that it requires a lot of time and effort but I think broadcasting sports specifically would be a blast. If I had one dream job it would be to work for CBS or ABC and broadcast sporting events. I learned a lot from Keith. I had no idea that he had been with WCAZ for so long. Something that really stood out to me was that WCAZ broadcasted the first ever football game. I had no idea that they did that. Something that I think is special about a local radio station compared to bigger one is that the “hometown” support makes it feel so much more personal. 

03/19/2017

The biggest thing I learned this week in CEO is time management. This was one of the most hectic weeks of the year by far. I have been busy every night studying, writing a business plan, figuring out the tradeshow booth, creating a power point, doing homework, etc.  Knowing that I can get through a difficult week just proves how much more this class has taught me from professionalism to time management.

03/12/2017

The best thing about this week was Harrison Monuments. I thought it was very interesting how their grandfather started the business in 1963. There were a few things that really stuck out to me. The first being that they do more business in Warsaw than they do out of their Quincy location. This is awesome because it shows that you don’t have to be in an extremely huge area to run a successful business. You can run any business that you want to if you have the support system and background to do so. I believe any business can work if the owner works hard enough and wants it bad enough. Their big thing is customer service. Customer relationships are a huge key in their business as it is in every industry. Sometimes, local support in a small town is better than just simply being known in a bigger town, by the name of your business.

03/05/2017

This week was the best week in CEO up to this point. The coolest thing for me, was to watch how we transformed from not knowing what our class business was going to be, to all of us buying into the process and giving it everything we had. This wasn’t the case for just the class business idea in general; this was the case for selling tickets, our CEO panel speeches, and just our everyday commitment to the event.

I have said this over and over, but this class has really changed the way I look at things. To see close to 150 people come support a program like they did Wednesday was just more proof (not that it is needed) that this is one of the best, if not the best, program in our area.

Being class president for Hancock County Ignite was one of the most fun and inspirational learning experiences I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of. Some days were stressful; trying to get the class to sell tickets, trying to figure out what the agenda was for the next day, or simply figuring out what our idea was going to be. Overall, I learned more from this task than I would have had I not been president. I feel that the opportunity that I was given really prepared me for my personal business. I saw some things to look out for and I really saw some things that I need to incorporate in my business.

02/26/2017

I found Udder Hill Dairy to be extremely interesting.  I was most impressed by the robots.  I knew going in that it would be extremely interesting, but what shocked me the most was that the robot knew exactly where each teat was based on lasers.  I couldn't believe that it knew exactly where to put each one based on laser sensors.  I think that is extremely efficient.  That is a great example of making money while you are sleeping.  That is probably one of the smartest investments that I have ever seen.  

02/12/2017

My favorite business visit this week was when we went to Homestead Lumber Company. Mr. Schwartz had a lot of insightful information that he shared with us. It really interested me how he climbed up the business ladder, from being an employee to being the owner of the business in which he started working for. I learned two major things from Mr. Schwartz. The first thing I learned is that you have to treat all of your employees like family, because essentially they are the ones that keep your business running. Business is much easier to run when you have good employees. The other thing I learned from John was that you have to keep all of your inventory up to date. 

This class has provided me with more opportunities than I could have ever imagined.  

02/12/2017

Royal in Quincy, Illinois was one of the most amazing businesses I have ever seen. I was extremely impressed with everything I experienced during that visit. I had no idea what to expect. I had never been to a printing company before and I had no idea how they operated. I was the most impressed with all of the equipment that they used. I pictured a smaller building but I was in awe when I walked through. I loved how Mr. Asbury was so honest about how he ran his business and what it takes to be successful. I think it was really neat how he bought a business and then continuously bought out his competition.

Ryley Smith really stuck out to me as a speaker. I thought he was very inspiring to get to the right side of the chart that he showed us.  I am going to write down all of my goals and look at them every day. I do believe goal setting is a crucial part of success as Mr. Perles talked about. Ryley was one of the most interesting speakers we have had in my opinion.

Chris Williams really helped me in terms of thinking about how I want to ship out items that I sell.  He was very knowledgeable on the whole process.  It was very interesting on how he started his own business.  

I have learned a lot in being in this leadership role. I have enjoyed every part of it. I have really enjoyed the feeling of actually looking forward to giving speeches and really enjoy talking
in front of people. 

02/05/2017

I found Memorial Hospital to be very interesting.  One major thing that stuck out to me as we walked through the building was how each area was placed and positioned.  Florine briefly mentioned that each area or station was in a specific location for a reason and as I walked around that day it all made sense to me.  I realized why surgery was where it was and why the ER was where it was.  It amazed me that each unit in the hospital worked together to achieve one goal.   01/22/2017

I was very impressed by the business visit we took to Warsaw to Mr. Zumwalt.  I will be completely honest I had no idea about anything agricultural, therefore, I didn't think that I would like the visit.  It only took a few minutes for me to realize that I was mistaken.  I found myself sitting there probably just as much if not more interested than anybody.  I really liked how he had different people there so we got 3 different answers/options to our questions.  I really liked watching his drone footage he had taken.  The most interesting thing that I learned was how technology has greatly impacted the agricultural industry just as much as any other area.  One thing that stuck out to me was sales are the easy part after you have built up your relationships.   01/15/2017

My main goal for 2017 in regards to CEO specifically is to run a successful class and personal business.  I have already learned so much from taking this class and I am extremely excited to see what this year has in store.  I know it will take a lot of hard work and dedication to make both of these run smoothly.   01/08/2017

Mr. Thompson was a very interesting and funny man.  I learned from him a lot of things, but the main thing I took away was to never give up on an idea that could potentially be your future career.

The activity we did with Shawn Gutting was very fun and interesting.  Going into the day, I had an idea what a credit score was, but I didn't know exactly how you got that score or what affected it.  I learned how important a credit score is.  I went home and shared with my parents all of the information that I learned.  That was a very beneficial and informative experience.  

Rachel Lewis was a very helpful speaker.  I could really connect with everything she was saying.  I truly believe that markeing is the most important process of everything.  You can have an average product and a great marketing strategy and be 10x more successful than if you have a great product and a poor marketing strategy.  The main thing I learned is marketing doesn't have to feel like work, it can be story telling.  

I am very pleased with how everything is going for our class business and I am learning a ton throughout this entire process.  I am way more motivated now than I was in the beginning of the class anbd I hvae been telling everybody that I think this should be a required class.  The things I have learned in this class are things I would have never learned in a standard school setting.  I recommend this class 110%.  

12/18/2016

I really didn't know what went into writing a business plan at the beginning of the week.  I now have a very good idea and I could definitely write one for my personal business.  I am glad that I'm learning this now and I know that it will benefit me when we start do do our personal businesses.   12/11/2016

"Monday we had a meeting that we needed to have.  I am glad we changed ideas and everyone is dedicated and willing to work hard.  That day taught me that it is ok to scratch or revise plans that you previously had.  That is part of the business world and sometimes you might have to start over.  I am very excited about where this class is going now.  I think this was a very successful week even after we completely changed our plan.  I am dedicated to make this class business work and run smoothly as I believe everyone else is."

12/04/2016

Tuesday, we went to Rock Creek Steel Supply.  This place was awesome.  I had some prior knowledge of steel, but not to this extent.  How they started was so interesting.  I love their attitudes.  You could tell they loved what they were doing.  I learned you have to do your research!!!!  In order to be successful in anything, you must research, research, and research some more.  My favorite quote of the day was, "People are quicker to complain than they are to praise."

Wednesday - this was one of the most fun days this year!  The team building activity was a blast and all the mentors loved it.  I loved the business aspect to it, it added for a nice twist.  The time that was most beneficial to me was when we were able to talk with our mentors.  

11/20/2016

I believe we "WOW'ed" the folks at Galesburg.  They seemed very interested in the program.  I got an email from a lady that was at the event (she asked me to email her as we were leaving) and she said that we impressed them and she hopes they get CEO in their community.   11/06/2016

"The point that really stuck out to me (from Alan Moore) was it is better to have a mediocre idea with a great marketing plan than the other way around." 10/23/2016

This class has taught me more valuable skills already than I thought I would ever learn.  Leadership, communication, and hard work are great skills that I have bettered during this class.  

Craig (Wear) said, "If you wait until you have all the answers to act, then you will never get anything done."  His speech gave me so much motivation and drive to perfect a business plan. 

10/16/2016

The key takeaway from David's discussion of Disneyworld was that they have to be the most detailed, in-depth business in the world.  Everything they do is for a specific reason.  10/09/2016

I learned that when building a group project, teamwork is key. There will be many ideas put forth and the good ideas have to be separated from the bad ones. Everyone has to contribute and bring the materials they said they would bring. Responsiblity and hard work are two important keys. I learned that there are a lot of costs to cover before you actually see profit.

09/10/2016

I learned a ton from our etiquette training at Carl Sandburg.  Some interesting things I learned were you eat to the left and drink to the right.  I now know you have to wait to eat until everyone is served if you have 8 or fewer.  You should send thank you notes within 24 hours.  You have an elevator pitch that lasts 30-60 seconds and that is your first impression.  If you dress professional, you will act professional.   09/02/2016