Hamilton County Business Magazine December 2010/January 2011

Focus: Banking and Finance

December 2010/January 2011

Jane Ann Embry • Zach Embry • Brett Morrow

Small Town ValuesRevivingCicero Market

Westfield’s Free Bridge

A New Twist on “Buy Local”

DIY SEO

Plus...

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3Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 2010 • January 2011

Please send news items and photos to [email protected] Submission does not guarantee publication

Subscription $20/yearTo subscribe or advertise, contact Mike Corbett

at [email protected] 2010/2011 Hamilton County Media Group. All rights reserved.

Creative DirectorMelanie Malone ~ [email protected]

CorrespondentsShari Held ~ [email protected]

Deb Buehler ~ [email protected] Tyree ~ [email protected]

Rosalyn Demaree ~ [email protected] Yoder ~ [email protected]

William Fouts ~ [email protected] Credits ~ Mark A. Lee, Great Exposures,

City of Westfield, City of Noblesville

w w w. h a m i l to n co u n t y b u s i n e s s . co mPublished six times per year by the Hamilton County Media Group

PO Box 502, Noblesville, IN 46061 • 317-774-7747Editor/Publisher

Mike Corbett ~ [email protected]

ContributorsDavid Heighway ~ [email protected]

Emmett Dulaney DBA ~ [email protected] Slaughter ~ [email protected]

J. Michelle Sybesma ~ [email protected] Young ~ [email protected]

Dan Ridenour, CBA ~ [email protected] Feagans ~ [email protected]

Casey Kenley ~ [email protected]

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Entrepreneur

Michelle’s Got It Covered

Technology

Finance

Self-development

Management

The Pitch-In

Chamber Pages

Dining Out

Book Mark

Hamilton CountyHistoryBusiness Resource Directory

Cover photo by Mark Lee, Great Exposures Feat

ures 23

20Westfield’s Bargain Bridge

24 The 3/50 Project

Cicero Grocery Reopens

’10/’11

Cicero12Hamilton County Bankers Weigh In

Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 2010 • January 2011 5

CONTACTJudi Johnson,

Assistant EconomicDevelopment Director

City of Noblesville317-776-6345

[email protected]/DEMOGRAPHICS

SEARCH ENGINE:

noblesvilleprospector.com

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830 Logan Street • Noblesville • 773-08008 Convenient Hamilton County Locations

cbindianaonline.com


Editor and Publisher

One of the highlights of living in Hamilton County is our variety of communities. And, the best part about this job is the opportunity to interact with all six Hamilton County Chambers of Commerce. As a member of all six, I appreciate the unique appeal of each one.

The most striking differences are between the larger cities and towns in the south and the smaller ones in the north. Those of you who belong only to the big four may not realize that in Sheridan and Hamilton North, monthly luncheons are still small enough that everyone gets the chance to stand up and introduce themselves. That’s a degree of intimacy that you lose as you grow larger.

Sheridan’s recent annual meeting was so intimate that EVERYONE GOT A DOOR PRIZE! It’s not that there were few attendees, it’s that there were so darn many prizes. (Mine was a Floodstop flood control unit donated by Robinson Plumbing in Texas…a story for another time). The number of prizes is a reflection of the generosity of the community in spite of its size. Combined with the down home humor of perennial Board Chair Parvin Gillim (I think Parvin’s permanent…I don’t recall another board chair in Sheridan), Sheridan chamber events are the embodiment of small town charm. If you haven’t been, I encourage you attend as a guest someday. You will leave smiling.

Small town charm is also on display in Cicero where our cover story in this edition tells the tale of a business reborn after a tough time. Cicero has its own grocery store again after a local businessman came to the rescue. It’s a great story for the holidays.

The 3/50 projectI’ve always wondered about the effectiveness of “buy local” campaigns. I applaud their intention and they seem like smart marketing for local businesses, yet they never seem to catch fire and I don’t know why. I suspect it has something to do with people’s self-interest intersecting with capitalism’s inexorable pressure to provide the best selection at the lowest prices. I don’t see Wal-Mart getting any smaller.

So I was eager to hear Cinda Baxter when she was in town a few weeks back. Cinda is a business consultant who started the 3/50 project with a blog post encouraging people to spend $50/month at “3 independently owned businesses you’d miss most if they were gone.” Before long she found herself on the road preaching the “buy local” gospel (though she positions the project as different from traditional “buy local” campaigns). Maybe she’s hit on something. You will find excerpts from our interview in this edition and the entire interview on our new website.

Yes, it’s a brand new website. This one has space for ads, some slick flash graphics and it’s much easier to manage. Once we start getting some traffic I will be encouraging you to “buy local” on our website. For now I invite you visit and let me know what you think. It has the same content as the print magazine BUT THERE’S MORE. That’s right, it’s interactive, so log on and let’s get some good conversation going. I look forward to hearing from you.

Happy New Year!

Letter from the Editor/December 2010 • January 2011

Mike CorbettEditor and Publisher


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Press Release 101

Emmett Dulaney

Entrepreneur

Small businesses often lack the funds to launch expensive promotional campaigns. That does not, however, diminish the importance of promotion, and to do so they have to master many of the same tools as companies much larger. One of the most basic promotional tools is the press release. Many entrepreneurs and small business-people underutilize them out of a false belief that they are complicated to produce when nothing could be further from the truth. The illustration is an example of an annotated press release with callouts added in red. We will walk through each of these sections and provide a guide that you can use to create your own with confidence.

First, it is important to understand the purpose for the press release. It is intended to generate interest among news outlets. There are three possible reactions to your release when you send it out: 1. Some outlets will ignore it completely. 2. Some outlets will print it word-for-word if they have space to fill and nothing to put there (which is why you should always make an electronic copy available). 3. Some outlets will find it intriguing enough to want to know more about it and contact you. Every press release should be written with the third reaction in mind and if what you are trying to say doesn’t warrant that type of attention, then shy away from writing the release.

Following the logo (a must-have in order to be taken seriously), you have the elements in section A. The first line identifies when this information is available for release; most of the time this is immediately, but it can be at a future date if you are launching a new product and trying to time your publicity. The contact information follows; it should go without saying that this is the person

who can always be reached on the phone, who knows the most about the press release, can answer questions confidently, and isn’t afraid to follow up if they don’t think they’re getting the coverage they deserve.

Section B shows the title. This should be in 11 point font and both bold and under-lined. It should also read as if it is timely and newsworthy – if you can’t hook the reader who is holding a stack of these in their hand, then it is a waste. Often, the difference between interesting and boring in a title can come down to a matter of wording. For example, you would never have a headline “sk8rdie.com Gives to Same Charity Again” but would instead use “sk8rdie.com Reaches Fifth Year in Historic Giving Campaign”. Following the title is the lead paragraph which identifies the headquarters of the company and then sums up the announce-

ment that will be elaborated on in the rest of the release.

Section C is an example of a body para-graph. These should be indented with a blank line between, written in third-person, and the writing should be serious and bor-der on formal – write news, not ad copy. No exclamation marks, no open-ended ques-tions, and no exaggeration that immediately causes the release to be labeled as fiction (leave out words like “greatest”, “best”, and so on). Use quotes where you can and always get them from the most senior person (in terms of rank) possible. The quotes need to make the person sound knowledgeable and interesting. Before writing your first release, I highly recommend you look at as many examples as you can and a quick search online should render enough to keep you busy for a while.

Don’t Overlook this Basic Promotional Tool for your Business


Section D is a boilerplate for the company that can be used at the bottom of every press release. Be sure that it includes additional contact information and gives some history about the company. This is followed by three #’s centered under the last line (Section E); these signify that the reader has reached the end of the release and there isn’t another page that they’ve misplaced somewhere.

That is all there is to it. Keep the release short - one page will typically work, and two should be the maximum. Any more than two pages, and you’re starting on a white paper or an article instead of a press release. While great promotional tools themselves, white papers and articles don’t get the trac-tion with news outlets that press releases do and you’ll want to hone your ability to write these before moving on.

Emmett Dulaney teaches entrepreneurship and business at Anderson University.

Don’t Overlook this Basic Promotional Tool for your Business

Joseph E. Mitchell, CFP®, MBASenior Financial AdvisorBusiness Financial Advisor9200 Keystone Crossing, Suite 200Indianapolis, IN [email protected]

Brokerage, investment and financial advisory services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. Some products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions or to all clients. Ameriprise Financial cannot guarantee future financial results.© 2010 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Also keep in mind that if you are deal-ing with highly analytical personalities, they may simply need more time to fully process the information before they share their opinions. If you expect an instant reaction you may be tempted to over sell. Time and patience can be of great value.

MGIC:I recently hired new staff and contract employees due to increased business. As I set New Years goals for them, can you recommend ways to encourage the kind of customer service that my clients desire? I want to exercise the needed management without smothering the team. ~ Tom Wagenhauser President Indy IT Professionals

Tom:The key word is balance. You are balancing both the amount of management needed AND two types of employees. Upfront expectations of a mixed team are so very important. After addressing your non-dis-closure/confidentiality agreements, start with the conversation that the difference in the structure of their employment does not change your expectations. They func-tion under the same ethics & client service expectations as the rest of the team.

Group integration is also critical. Before setting written personal goals, allow the team to identify their collective client

MGIC:I work in marketing and I sometimes pitch my ideas to clients. Typically these are ideas for business-to-business mar-keting campaigns--things like brochures, websites, PowerPoint presentations. Too often, though, I feel like I just put my ideas out on the table and say, “Here they are, what do you think?” without really selling the idea. So my question is: how can I sell my own ideas better? ~ Brett Halbleib Copywriter 5MetaCom

Brett:When you have placed so much effort into a project, it is tempting to just display your deliverables and expect to see fireworks. Your industry, like many, is designed around reactions. After all, the reason that you and your firm were hired is that your clients did not fully know how to brand their own work. What you are really selling is not simply the finished material, but rather the idea that you know their clientele’s needs more intimately than they do.

Ultimately, your clients do not purchase their own product. Your knowledge of their customers’ motivation for buying is as important as your design work. So, take a step back. Help draw a mental picture for your client not only of WHAT you are providing, but WHY the deliverable is the right fit for their clients. Superior sales is about being in touch with what the client is truly interested in hiring you to accom-plish. It is often so much more than just the quality of your deliverable.

service expectations. Name what is accept-able and what is not in terms of clients’ expectations. You personally will gain insight into where the bar is set among your team. Each person has a different personal perspective so they should es-tablish the group norms. The team should develop most of the list, but you should participate also.

Once you have a solid master list, print these for all to have. Consider this list when you establish the year’s goals. Once you set goals, set a firm date each quarter to do progress reviews. This will send the signal early in your teams’ formation that goals are always a priority.

MGIC:I would like to be able to use my calendar to predict decision making within my customer base, to anticipate key business decisions and increase my productivity. How can I determine business trends and better gauge the peaks and valleys in busi-ness cycles throughout the calendar year? Is there an easy way to gain and use this information? ~ Michael Ball Professional Service Representative Community Tissue Services

Michael:When working on annual projections, it is very easy to predict when and where to ex-pect business simply by identifying prior year trends. All too often, that information is used as the main tool to estimate sales. This year, consider extrapolating sales pre-dictors by researching the reason behind the fluctuations. Knowing your clients’ calendars can be insightful. Keep a light log of what activities they share. When do they have annual sales meetings, fiscal

Also, Setting Team Goals and Predicting Your Customers’ Buy CyclesSure Your Work is Great…But Can You Sell It?

J. Michelle Sybesma

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Also, Setting Team Goals and Predicting Your Customers’ Buy Cycles

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year-ends, and vacations? (Hint-You can also look at their website press releases and calendars for insight into what requires their focus.) These activities can factor into their purchasing decisions. They can be tracked easily in an Excel spreadsheet or in a secondary Outlook calendar.

If you are in a distribution role, take your analysis a step further. What is happening with your client’s call points? Put yourself in their decision-making shoes. What fac-

tors in their lives may cause them to buy at certain times in lieu of others? Becom-ing better in touch with their needs will help you to design a business plan that helps your clients that much more. Good luck in 2011!

J. Michelle Sybesma is a business consultant with Professional Skills Consulting, specializing in maximizing business success. Send your questions of any business type to [email protected]


It seemed a happy-ending story until an illness two years ago threatened to cut it short.

Bo contracted bacterial meningitis. He was in a coma for a week and hospitalized for a month, said Jane Ann, whose focus turned solely to his care.

They closed the Swayzee market last year and sold the Alexandria one in August, closing the Cicero grocery at the same time.

Embry said closing the Cicero store was difficult. Their son Zach and his fiancé “had worked so hard to take care of this store.”

ane Ann and Bo Embry have to believe that what goes around comes around.

Four years ago, the couple visited the former Sunny Fair Foods in Cicero, hoping to buy some used equipment for the small grocery stores they owned in Alexandria and Swayzee. Instead, they inked a deal with building owner Kay Hartley to open Embry’s Market.

The store at 175 W. Jackson St. quickly became a beloved fixture for the town, and people from throughout Hamilton County made it their stop for fresh meat.

Cicero businessmanrescues closed market

Cover Story

By Rosalyn Demaree • Photos by Mark Lee

Preserving the Local Grocery Store

Brett Morrow


Brett Morrow, a neighboring business owner and town resident didn’t want to see the doors locked for good.

He bought the grocery, telling Bo, “I will do this if you, your wife and son will run the business.”

Bo has regained strength, health and vigor, and a reinvigorated Cicero Market has opened, employing all the Embrys.

Feeding mind and body Dave Galt shops there about twice a week -- but not just for what’s stocked on the shelves. Cicero Market’s unique value, he says, is its camaraderie.

“There’s nothing like going in there and seeing the same people,” said the Re/Max Realtor and president of Hamilton North Chamber of Commerce. “A grocery is kind

of a cornerstone that a town like ours needs. Los-ing (it) would have been painful to our commu-nity.”

Having a grocery has long been a priority for Cicero. When the town’s compre-hensive plan was being developed in the late 1990s, residents and business owners repeatedly ranked the need for one high in small group brainstorming sessions.

Among groceries, meat is the No. 1 draw for Cicero Market, as it was for Embry’s Market.

Morrow said that 50-55 percent of sales are from the meat counter. At the grand opening on the first weekend of October,

Cicero Market sold 280 pounds of chicken and 85 logs of filet, each one equal to seven or eight steaks. “I’m a big boy. I go there for a good slab of meat,” laughs Galt, who is impressed by the store’s new bright and open ambiance.

Morrow and the Embrys respect the store’s appeal for Cicero’s established, Old Town residents and know it differs from what residents with trendier lifestyles want. In a salute to both, there’s a Cicero Market Face-book page, tweets about weekly specials and two rocking chairs on the sidewalk outside the store.

“It does my soul good to see someone out there rocking,” Morrow grinned, adding that “You get the gossip” at a small-town grocery.

A community mind-set is what works for small, independent stores, according to Frank DiPasquale, executive vice president

Brett Morrow

Robert Hancock and Zach Embry

Robert Hancock waits on customer Wendy Bennett

In salute to both Old Town residents and those with trend-ier lifestyles, the mar-ket has a Facebook page, tweets about specials….and a pair of rocking chairs on the sidewalk.


HC’s Independent Grocery Stores Running a small grocery store is all about finding your niche. Owners know they can’t compete with the major chains on price, so they promote conve-nience and selection.

Cicero Market and Railer’s IGA in Sheridan – all IGAs are independent grocers, according to the National Grocers Association -- take the convenience strategy, targeting sales to residents within a 20-minute drive. Other Hamilton County grocers take the selection strategy, offering ethnic foods or butcher-cut meat. Al-Basha -- Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods. 11321 Village Square, Fishers. Bhaarat Groceries – Indian foods. 1780 E. 116th St., Carmel.Bombay Bazaar – Indian and Pakistani foods. 7247 Fishers Landing Drive, Fishers. Cicero Market – General groceries. 175 W. Jackson St., Cicero.El Amigo – Mexican foods. 717 E. Main St., Westfield.El Mercadito -- Mexican foods. 3104 SR 32 East, Westfield.El Rancho Alegre – Mexican foods. 723 10th St., Noblesville.Joe’s Butcher Shop & Fish Market – Fresh meat and fish. 111 W. Main St., Carmel.Martin Jay’s Butcher Shop - Fresh meat and catering17647 Little Chicago Road, Noblesville. Railer’s IGA Foodliner – General groceries. 207 S. Main St., Sheridan.Sources: Chambers of Commerce

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of the National Grocers Association. NGA has about 1,500 members and considers a store small if it has less than $2 million in annual sales.

“To be successful, all of our members align themselves with their community,”he said. “They share community values, finding their point of differentiation from the big stores.”

Like all businesses, the recession has made the grocery trade more difficult.

Consumers have changed spending habits and are buy-ing less, said DiPasquale, ex-plaining why economic woes haven’t hit grocers as hard as other retailers. “People have to eat.”

Embry, store manager and 10-year veteran of the grocery business, credits the recession for inspiring more meal planning, based on food sales. The market’s

Twitter and Facebook accounts let shoppers do that kind of planning.

House rule: customer service She and Morrow use “customer service” liberally as they talk about Cicero Market, emphasizing that’s what guides decisions about the store.

Shoppers see generic foods sharing space with specialty items, such as brie and hum-mus by American cheese in the dairy case; baked goods from Cicero’s new Kendra’s Kakery next to packaged bread and buns; artichokes, avocados and star fruit edging carrots, cucumbers and potatoes in pro-duce; alligator and salmon near fish sticks in frozen foods; and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee on the shelf by Maxwell House.

Busy parents shopping for classroom treats find stars posted by items that are on Hamilton Heights Schools’ approved foods list. Morrow plans to buy a rotisserie this year so cooked chickens can be sold, and create a Meal of the Week, giving new ideas for a complete meal. Made-to-order sandwiches are available in the deli, and Zach, who once wanted to be a chef, makes ready-to-cook entrees such as spinach and feta stuffed filet.

Shoppers with young children have asked for curbside service, and others have requested delivery. The 2,100-square-foot store can’t accommodate curbside right now, and Morrow is considering free delivery “within golf cart range,” as those vehicles are allowed on town streets.

He understands the market can’t compete with the prices that big groceries or super

centers offer. “We’re going to win this battle by customer service,” said Morrow, also an advocate of buying local.

When someone wants a cleaning product Cicero Market doesn’t carry, the store directs them two blocks east to Sullivan’s Hardware; if needed produce isn’t avail-able, clerks suggest going to Wilson’s Farm Market, a short drive away.

There’s good reason to keep shopping lo-cal, says Morrow, citing figures from Civic Economics, an economic development consultancy based in Chicago and Austin,


Indianapolis based photographer Mark A. Lee has been capturing the best in people and events for over 20 years.

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Texas. According to its 2004 study, $63 of every $100 spent at a homegrown busi-ness stays in the community. When $100 is spent at a national store, just $46 stays in the community.

Embry isn’t sure who spent the first dollar at Cicero Market when it opened Sept. 25, but she remembers the first customer.

An older man “was on a mission,” she explains. His wife needed two boxes of baking soda.

The day he stopped at the store “We weren’t open. We were stocking shelves (for the reopening), so I just gave it to him,” she laughed.

Now that’s customer service. v


Susan Young

Technology

Search Engine Optimization: Your Website Traffic Starts HereTips for getting your website on the first page of search results

You have probably taken the time to build your business’s website with a goal of con-verting your visitors into prospects. Your content engages your visitors, establishes your company as the expert, and leads visi-tors along a decision path toward the goal of becoming your customer. But getting them to your website is half the battle. That is where search engine optimization comes

into play. Search engine optimization is building your website’s structure, content, links, code as well as external links back to your site, using relevant keywords and strategies, to allow prospects to find your website through a search engine.

Why SEO? Most people looking for a product or service these days turn to the Internet and search on Google, Yahoo or some other search engine directory. Thus, the goal for your business should be to appear in the published search results for your product or service, in your targeted regions. The bad news is that there is no quick pro-cess for instant SEO results; you should be wary of any company that suggests otherwise. SEO involves a conscious ef-fort of research, analysis and tweaking of the foundation of your existing website, and other methods to generate increased

search traffic over time. Here are a few tips to get started on the road to a well-opti-mized website:

Website Analytics Start by looking at your existing website traffic. If you already have a good analytics program set up, such as Google Analytics, you are a step ahead. If your analytics pro-

gram does not include at least the last 12 months’ worth of data, or you are not able to view search engine keyword phrases, you might want to check out Google Analytics. Looking at your traffic report, answer these questions:• From what region are most of your site visitors coming?

• Which external websites are referring visitors to your site? • Which search engines are generating the most traffic?• What are the top keywords and phrases visitors use to find your website? • Are these keywords reflective of your product/service offering and sales goals?

Brainstorm a List of Keyword Terms / PhrasesUsing your site analysis results, as well as your instinct, brainstorm a list of every possible combination of keyword phrases

that an individual might type into Google to search for your company, product or service. This includes using locations in the search (if that is important to your business), using plural, singular or other variations of a word and more. For ex-ample, I would like my company to rank for the term ‘Indianapolis marketing firm’ but I also would include ‘Indianapolis marketing consultant,’ ‘Indianapolis PR firm,’ ‘Indianapolis SEO,’ and so forth. The goal here is to build a master keyword list with which to build your website’s SEO strategy.

Seek the Most Popular Search PhrasesNow that you have armed yourself with some keyword phrases, you need to find out which phrases your potential custom-ers actually use in an Internet search. Otherwise, you are wasting your time opti-mizing your site for an irrelevant keyword phrase. Google has a good tool, through its AdWords program, which allows you to type in a list of keywords or keyword phrases, and it will tell you the average monthly website traffic on Google. It will also give you suggested keyword phrases based on your current website content. From this research, you will need to build a spreadsheet of all prospective keywords, prioritize based on your needs, and create a master keyword list from which you can begin to optimize your website.

Determine Your Current RankingThe next step should be to determine where you currently rank for various search phrases of interest. There are sev-

You may be pleasantly surprised to find that most of your competitors are not properly optimizing their websites, which means you have an opportunity.


Finance

Dan Ridenour, CBA

making it difficult to obtain the best rates for loans, lines of credit and even insur-ance premiums.

Now don’t get me wrong; paying your bills on time is important to a credit score. Pay history makes up 35% of the score, the highest of the five factors used in credit scoring. The maximum credit score is 850. How a person pays their bills will deter-mine only “297.5 credit score points” while 65% or “552.5 credit score points” come from factors other than pay history. The non-pay history factors total nearly twice as many points as an excellent pay record provides. Doesn’t seem right does it?

What many consumers and businesses owners don’t realize is that some credit decisions will hammer their credit score. There are a number of them but let’s look at just one: opening a store card to save 10% on a purchase.

This offer is powerful from a market-ing perspective. The word “save” is used prominently, the amount of the savings is easily calculated and the process is simple, often accomplished in less than 60 seconds at the cash register. We know that Ameri-cans like instant, no waiting transactions.

There are several credit scoring reasons not to open a store card but I will address just one: Credit Activity.

Nearly everyone understands that credit scores are important but they mistakenly believe that paying bills on time is all they have to do to achieve a high score. Not true! If that’s all someone had to do to re-ceive a great credit score, then how would you explain this story?

A few years ago I reviewed the credit file of a local doctor, who had a perfect pay history for the previous three and ½ years with just one late payment. Yet, the doctor’s credit score was only 673, below average! In our current environment a 740 score is necessary to obtain the best rates. A person with a perfect pay history for 41 months on all of their credit accounts and the result for them was a BELOW average credit score.

Pay history is not important enough (to the credit scoring system) to grant this doctor an excellent or even an above aver-age credit score. The doctor was perplexed

and little embarrassed by her score but I wasn’t perplexed at all. I see perfect credit histories and below average credit scores paired together all the time. The reason involves a few very simple rules. Most consumers and business owners don’t know these rules even exist and certainly don’t have enough understanding of the scoring system to influence their own credit scores. As a result, they accidently lower their own credit scores every day,

Activity determines 10% of the credit score (85 scoring points). The first negative impact to the score will be the result of the credit inquiry by the new credit card company. The point drop from just one inquiry is small but if other factors come into play (which they do in this scenario) the reduction can be multiplied to protect the credit bureau’s client (the lender) from future risk.

Let’s say you are buying a $1000 appliance. You want to save 10% so you apply for the credit card. The store pulls your credit and in this example you have a 700 credit score and are approved on the spot. You sign the forms and the $1000 purchase is placed on your brand new account. Congratulations!

Having made this purchase with the special financing, you not only have the inquiry on your credit, but you have also opened a new account, which is a second negative factor to the Activity portion of the scoring model, which views a new account as a change in behavior. When added to the inquiry, the credit score will drop enough to be noticeable.

Activity is just one factor. You will also see negatives applied to your score because of “length of credit history” (15% of the scor-ing model), “balance ratios” (30%), and “types of accounts” (10%). Opening a new store card when you will soon apply for a line of credit or other financing could spell an increased rate at best….or a turn down at worst. I would avoid it.

Dan Ridenour is a personal credit coach and founder of the CBF Institute, a credit educa-tion company. More at www.CBFCoach.com

Maximizing Your Credit ScoreYour pay history is just part of the story

Most business owners don’t know these rules even exist…(and) accidently lower their own credit scores every day.


Self-development

Carla Feagans

Leveraging Your Strengths in a Linked In Worldwell, but you find yourself procrastinating that activity, and feeling drained, bored, or exhausted.

Those who excel do what they do best. They don’t try to be that ever-elusive well-rounded individual, jack-of-all-trades but master of none. In today’s Linked In world, we have more technology and communica-tion than ever to leverage our Strengths. We don’t want to be a well-rounded individual who isn’t truly great at anything. Instead, we want a well-rounded team. We need to find and grow our own strengths - what makes you remarkable? Then minimize our

weaknesses by finding the tools, resources and other people who have complementary strengths in the areas where we are weak. You can do this in your business with your current team, whether that is internal or external. Or you can deliberately build a team around each member’s Strength. Even as a solo business owner, you can link in to

Do you want to do more with less? Do you want to love what you do? Do you want to achieve your best and increase productivity, performance, and results? If you answered yes to any of these questions, don’t waste another minute neglecting your strengths. With the world at our fingertips, and vast resources available through the Internet, like Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, just to name a few, it is easier than ever to work to your strengths while leveraging others’ to shore up your weaknesses.

First, let me define a “strength”. Since it is a common word, it is often miscon-strued in the context that the best-selling Strengthsfinder 2.0 assessment by the Gallup Organization and others in the Strengths movement intend it. A Strength is not just something you are “good at”. In fact, you can be quite good at a skill or activity and find it is actually an area of weakness. A better definition is this: A Strength is something that makes you feel strong. It is built and developed from your natural talent - and that is something that you either have, or you don’t. You are born with it. When you are engaged in a Strength activity, you are in the zone. It feels effort-less. Time passes but you don’t even notice. You are excited and energized by having completed it.

On the other hand, a weakness is some-thing that makes you feel weak (bet you didn’t see that one coming). It sucks the life out of you. You may be able to do it

literally thousands of people at any given time, and start building your own team or advisory board to leverage your strengths.Here are the four steps you need to know:1. Know your own strengths - and be confident in them2. Grow your strengths - spend development time on them3. Know others’ strengths - and which are the most complementary to yours

4. Build your own well rounded team Be remarkable. Start today.

Carla Feagans is the premier local strengths expert and CEO of Ignite HR. Learn more at www.igniteHR.com.

A Strength is not just something you are “good at”. In fact, you can be quite good at a skill or activity and find it is actually an area of weakness.

Dark, Milk or White Chocolate Bark,Peanut Clusters, Pecan Logs, Turtles

Next Edition:

Advertising Deadline: December 23For advertising info: 774-7747

[email protected]

City and Town Progress/Transportation


Focus: Banking/Finance

By Shari Held

he recession ended a year ago and the economy is headed in the right direc-tion—although not at a fast pace. But talk to anyone who has tried to get a personal or small business loan recently and they’ll likely tell you getting credit is as elusive as it was a year ago. Rightly or wrongly, banks are taking much of the blame for that.

According to the Federal Deposit Insur-ance Corporation, lending decreased 7.4 percent nationwide last year, the biggest drop since 1942. While this suggests banks are sitting on their money, bankers say it isn’t by choice.

“The only way banks or financial institu-tions can make money in this environment is by making loans,” says Charles Crow, Chairman and CEO of Community Bank in Noblesville. “The yield on Treasury bills or other top-grade investment securities is

so low that it would barely cover the inter-est we are paying on deposits. So banks have to make every loan they can.”

Not only that, but community banks often feel it is their role to benefit the local economy whenever possible.

“A bank needs the community—commer-cial, governmental, consumer, not-for-profits—for success, and the community needs banks to be successful,” says Mike Stewart, Chief Banking Officer for First Merchants Bank. “The collective efforts might ‘boost’ the economy, it might sus-tain it or it might assist in moderating its decline over various economic periods.”

The impact of regulations on loan approvals That’s not to say that everything is primed and ready for rebound.

“The local lending climate mirrors the na-tional lending outlook fairly closely,” says Gary Irvin, president and CEO of FORUM Credit Union in Fishers. “Consumers have seen a decline in income, loss in value of their homes and perhaps even ‘hiccups’ in their payment history. For small business

owners the last couple of years were per-haps the most difficult time in their his-tory. At the same time, regulators are de-manding stricter underwriting standards and increased loan reserves for financial institutions, and there are increased costs to comply with the new regulations. The

Deciphering the Local Lending Climate Do Banks Deserve the Blame for Lower Loan Volume?

T

Contrary to what people may think, the criteria for getting a bank loan hasn’t really changed recently…


Deciphering the Local Lending Climate

combination of all these factors make the ‘perfect storm,’ so to speak, as it relates to the availability of credit to both consumers and small business owners.”

With regard to the current regulatory environment, Stewart says regulators are focused on assuring the safety and sound-ness of depositors’ funds. “In short, that is accomplished by reviewing the poli-cies, procedures and loan portfolios,” he says. “In reviewing the loan portfolio they assure that loans are graded or risk rated properly. Historical repayment ability/ca-pacity based upon the financial results is a key aspect. As a borrower’s financial result deteriorates, the loan grades must reflect that risk.”

If the capacity of the borrower to repay the debt is the first thing banks look at, Crow says collateral is the second thing—and the value of collateral has decreased across the board. “It’s not only decreasing in the housing industry—it’s the value of some vehicles, the value of equipment or the value of a commercial building.”

Contrary to what people may think, the criteria for getting a bank loan hasn’t really changed recently. It was relaxed when banks had to compete with financial institutions such as Ford Credit or GMAC (entities that don’t have to pay FDIC insur-ance or follow the regulations banks are held to) and has not been reinstated.

“The toughest thing for banks like ours is that a lot of those competitors weren’t regulated like we are,” Crow says. “If you have to compete with somebody who’s not regulated, you either lose the business or you lower your standards and keep the business. That’s what drove us to step away from our credit standards.”

Crow says community banks are also getting a “bad rap” because many people think all the money distributed by the

Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) went to banks. In reality, much of it was disbursed to non-banks such as financial services company GMAC ($16 billion), government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae ($85 billion) and insur-ance company AIG ($48 billion).

Has demand for loans dried up?Lending is down, not only because applications are not being approved, but because requests for loans have dropped.

FORUM’S Irvin says several factors have driven demand down compared to previ-ous years. For one, small business owners are holding off on expansion and banking their money. Likewise, consumers aren’t

buying new homes or trading cars as often as in the past. In fact, most of the loan applications FORUM has received recently have been related to the refinancing of mortgage or auto loan rates, so members can lower monthly payments or pay off their loans faster. “The expected ‘pent-up’ demand for loans that many economists predicted has not materialized due almost entirely to the lack of consumer confidence in the economy,” Irvin says.

While the demand for loans has decreased, it is not falling as rapidly in Hamilton County as it is in other markets, accord-ing to Crow. “The small business owner is not coming to us for increases in his line of credit or to add on to his building,” he says. “He’s coming to us for loans to maintain the assets he has such as replac-ing a piece of worn-out equipment. Small businesses are not in a real expansive mood right now, although we are seeing that beginning to turn around.”

First Merchant’s Stewart agrees, and sees moderate growth and a stable local econ-omy moving forward in the near future.

“We have seen an increase in applications for startup businesses and franchises on the commercial side as well as requests for lines of credit for existing customers,” he says. “The approval rates have remained fairly average in that it still takes ‘skin in the game’ for a startup loan and good cash flow and credit history for a line.”

Irvin says FORUM’s approval rates are trending only about 10-percent lower than historical approval rates. “The primary factor in the lower approval rate has been the lack of equity in the home,” he says. “Members are credit-worthy but don’t have the equity they need for the loan to meet the collateral requirements for approval. We are predicting tepid loan demand and lower loan yields for the next nine to 15 months. ”

Getting back on trackIrvin says the formula for getting back to normal is simple—grow jobs, lower the unemployment and underemployment rate and grow the economy. “There is an old adage, a rising tide raises all boats,” he says. “Same for our business, a growing economy makes all businesses, especially the lending business, much better.”

While the return to normalcy won’t neces-sarily be an easy one, Hamilton County certainly has an edge on other areas of the state and country. As one of the most affluent communities in Indiana, Hamil-ton County didn’t feel the full force of the recession, and is expected to pull out of the recession’s aftermath faster than most. “Hamilton County residents live in a little different world,” Crow says. “All the banks want to come here because of the deposit base.” Hamilton County has close to $4 billion in deposits and as many banks as Marion County. v

The formula for getting back to normal is simple—grow jobs, lower unemploy-ment and grow the economy. –Gary Irvin, FORUM CU CEO


Management

Robby Slaughter

industry. We all know that we should avoid wasting time. We all attempt to save time. Yet beyond these simple admonitions, the resemblance crumbles. We lack a complex infrastructure of experts and strategies for managing hours and minutes like we do dollars and cents. Shouldn’t we be attack-ing this problem with equal precision?

Part of the reason that we struggle to manage time is because time is an esoteric resource. Unlike money, time cannot be stored up for later use. There are no banks that can loan time, regardless of the inter-est rate we are willing to pay. Although time may be wasted, no one can offer a refund. Worst of all, we don’t get to decide when we are going to spend our time. Each second is automatically dispensed whether we are ready or not.

Nevertheless, there are lessons from the world of financial management that we should apply to the study of time. For

example, accountants organize funds into a chart of accounts, which allow transac-tions to be grouped together. A record of cash in a “revenue” account indicates income; a note in an “expense” account specifies some cost. We can achieve the same effect with our calendars by cordon-ing off parts of our day for particular tasks, such as scheduling an hour each day to

Businesses of every size and shape devote an incredible amount of their energy to managing financial resources. We work with accountants and controllers, tax ex-perts and budget committees, loan officers and bookkeepers. We continuously moni-tor cash flow, stock prices and interest rates. Money is the lifeblood of business.

This obsession is not unreasonable. Businesses need capital. The exchange of money for goods and services, and the distribution of funds to owners, employees and vendors is the rhythm of corporate success. It makes sense to save, borrow and spend appropriately.

However, hard cash is not the most pre-cious commodity of any organization. As management guru Peter Drucker once quipped, “Time is the scarcest resource—if it is not managed, nothing else can be managed.” We should watch our ledgers and receipts, but pay even more attention

to calendars and clocks. Nothing can more profoundly accelerate or stall progress than the way we choose to use each moment.

Although financial management is an en-tire field teeming with professionals, cer-tifications and academic programs, time management is barely more than a cottage

process email or blocking out production time for client work.

Likewise, fiscal experts are always seek-ing ways to cut costs without impacting quality. When we become more efficient—through better systems, faster computers, or increased concentration—we get more done in less time. The savings translate immediately into more growth and opportunity.

Finally, accountants leverage the natural ebb and flow of cash in an organization to make smart choices. They may hold off on purchases until more checks have arrived, or arrange to make installment payments on major expenses. The analogous concept in time management involves taking breaks, setting boundaries and taking time off work. Just as a CFO can maximize financial efficiency by paying attention to the business organism, you can maximize personal time efficiency by staying con-scious of your own health and need for a balanced life.

Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister note that “There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back.” Every instant at work is invaluable, yet passes immediately. Account for your own time by planning ahead. Choose zdiligence and discipline. Consciously manage your time.

Robby Slaughter is a principal with Slaughter Development, an Indianapolis-based business process and workflow consulting company. More information is at www.slaughterdevelopment.com

It’s a Little Harder to Track Than RevenueAccounting for Time

We lack the infrastructure to manage hours and minutes like we do dollars and cents. Shouldn’t we be attacking this problem with equal precision?


estfield Mayor Andy Cook doesn’t go home for lunch very often, and he can’t remember why he headed home for lunch on that particular day in early 2008. But, he does remember rounding the corner onto Bridgewater Club Blvd. and encoun-tering a most unusual sight. The golf cart bridge that crossed the main artery into the development was laying on its side in the middle of the road. It seems the driver of a dump truck pulling a flatbed trailer with an excavator on it didn’t realize the machine’s arm was up too high to clear the bridge and slammed into it, toppling the bridge from its moorings.

No one was hurt but both the excavator and the bridge were damaged. The bridge was wedged between the truck and ma-chine. It had to be extracted with a crane and placed on the side of the road. After the legalities were sorted out, Bridgewater decided to replace the bridge with a new one. Realizing Westfield would be need-ing bridges in the future, the city offered to store it while engineers determined just how extensive the damage was.

Turns out it was salvageable. Bridgewater already had its new bridge, so Westfield got the old one for free. As the city was planning the first phase of the Midland Trace trail earlier this year, the bridge was looking like a real nice fit over Cool Creek. It was placed by crane last month. So for the cost of moving it, the citizens of West-field are enjoying this beautiful bridge on the new Midland Trace Trail. Shows how a little ingenu-ity, cooperation and creativity can save both a bridge with a lot of useful life left in it, and more than $75,000 of city money. v

By Mike Corbett

The Best Things in Life are FREE

Here’s how Westfield turned misfortune into fortune and kept a lot of metal out of the landfill

The bridge was wedged between the truck and the machine

Installing over Cool Creek


Interview

HCBM: During your presentation I kept asking myself, “Why is she doing this? What’s in this for her?” Is this truly an altruistic effort on your part?

Baxter: This was absolutely accidental…my expectation was that maybe a dozen of my friends who do own retail stores would say, oh cool idea, and want to do some-thing with it, but it was never anything more than just me writing a blog post. The big irony is that that blog post went viral, and within a matter of ten days I managed to create an 80 hour-a-week job that had no paycheck attached to it. So, this was anything but intentional.

HCBM: It seems like you are asking people to act against their own immedi-ate self-interest of shopping for the lowest price in favor of the higher purpose of keeping locally owned stores in busi-ness. Do you think people will make the connection?

Baxter: I actually don’t think its self-inter-est that’s involved here…For the first time as consumers in the US, we are starting to really see the big picture in a way that makes us realize that our decisions today

are going to impact the rest of our lives and our quality of life…You can’t just take for granted that the places that you really like are going to be around forever, because we’re finally, for the first time in decades, we’re seeing a lot our favorite places drop like flies. That’s been part of the wake up call, is, “Oh, wow, if I don’t go back to that neat little restaurant for din-ner for three years, they’re not going to be there later on.”

And, the whole argument about lower price is kind of smoke and mirrors argument. Because while big boxes are certainly good at undercutting price on fast-turning staples, like toothpaste, paper towels, toilet paper, things like that, the reality is that that’s very methodically thought through and very intentional pricing on very, very specific items because they know once they get a consumer in the door on those high-turn staple products, the odds are that that consumer will keep shopping and keep going down their list,

A New Twist on “Buy Local”

By Mike Corbett

Cinda Baxter is on a mission to save Main Street America. About a year and a half ago, she had had it up to here with one particular week’s worth of negative economic news and started blogging about her frustration. That blog entry led to the simple concept that if everyone identified just three lo-cally-owned, independent businesses that would be missed if they closed, and spent $50/month at each one, we could “save our local economy.”

A Minneapolis-based retail consultant and profes-sional speaker, Cinda found that her suggestion touched a nerve. The blog post “went viral,” the national and international press picked it up and she’s been on the road for much of the past 18 months spreading the word. The Hamilton North and Sheridan chambers partnered with The Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau to bring her to Carmel recently. We conducted this edited phone interview shortly after that presenta-tion. The entire interview is transcribed on our website: www.hamiltoncountybusiness.com. Click on “stories”, then “interviews.”

Cinda Baxter

You can’t just take for granted that the places that you really like are going to be around forever…

The 3/50 project

getting into the other products that are priced at manufacturers suggested retail or higher than MSRP.

HCBM: Where do you see this ending up? Baxter: I’ve had to have a real mindset shift…This year I sat down and realized I needed to make a choice. Either I was going to need to back-burner the project and go back to consulting because when this was all of about six weeks old I had to stop taking consulting clients because there simply wasn’t enough time in the day, or I needed to really respect the proj-ect as a start up company and give it the full attention that requires and actually sit down and put together a plan. Think about funding, think about how to grow this and think about long-term goals. So that’s how I look at the project now, is as a start up company. Because so many communities that want to bring me in can’t afford my speaking fees, I’ve taken a gargantuan cut in speak-ing fees. So I basically doubled my work-load, absolutely wiped out my revenue stream and am starting a business from scratch again. v


Amy von Eiff has opened A Cut Above Catering just outside of the Carmel Arts and Design District at 21 5th St. N.E. Amy has an extensive culinary back-ground, specializing in

international as well as Southern Cuisine.

Effective early 2011, Carmel’s Clarian North Medical Center will be named Indiana Uni-versity Health North Hospital. The name change is part of a larger effort to establish a new identity that aligns Clarian Health with the IU Health brand.

The City of Noblesville has received a $23,867 Preserve America grant from the Department of Interior. The grant will be used to develop a pilot program to promote heritage tourism in Noblesville’s historic downtown, and involve high school students serving as docents for six heritage tourism non-profit organizations.

Jim Craig and Larry Humes have opened Larames, featuring custom silk floral designs and upscale home décor, located just one block south of the square in downtown Noblesville (942 Maple Street, just west of City Hall).

Nearly 1300 job hunters attended the county-wide job fair held in early November at the Hamilton County 4-H grounds. More than 50 businesses participated.

Long time Hamilton County photographer/artist Bobbie J. Sutton announced her newest line of products, Moon Talk Designs, created with the light of the moon and some creative photographic techniques. The unique line of clothing, jewelry and stationary is initially available at Day’s Healthy Living in Cicero and online at www.moontalkdesigns.com

Carmel’s Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts announced its inaugural season of 20 concerts within five series, which launch in January and continue through June 2011. The five series consist of four music genres: Classical, Songbook, Jazz and Country, and one dance series.

Clarke Engineering Services is expanding its Fishers headquarters, creating up to 29 new jobs in the next two years and adding 31,000 square feet to its facility. Clarke is a 14 year old engineering firm that serves the life sci-ences and consumer good industries.

Prevail, Inc. received a $46,000 grant from Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, the single largest grant Women’s Fund has made in Hamilton County, to provide education on safe relationships to students and ongoing support for teens who have been sexually assaulted.

Sydney Loomis and Chad Garrard have joined The Farmers Bank, Loomis at the new Noblesville loca-tion and Garrard in Fishers.

Propelis Consulting, LLC, specializing in sales training, opened an office in Fishers.

President Mark Thacker is a former VP of Sales for Kaplan Financial and has been training salespeople for 25 years.

Alice O’Brian, who has been running Alice’s Catering in Carmel for 11 years, is opening Alice’s Restaurant in Arcadia on New Year’s Eve. She’s locating in the old Wishers’ Gro-cery Store at 100 W. Main St., a 100 year old building among a number under renovation in Arcadia’s downtown.

A new kind of spirit for the old Cokes-bury Christian Bookstore site at 116th and Lantern Road in Fishers. Crown Liquors is remodeling for a new store. A Tire Barn and KFC are going up at SR 37 and 141st St.

Collision Cure Body Werks is opening a shop in Westfield adjacent to the Kroger shopping center at Carey Road and SR32.

Platinum Living LLC, an interior design showroom, is opening on Logan St. in Noblesville.

The Pitch-InNotes from all over the county…

Amy von Eiff

Chad Garrard

Sydney Loomis

Noblesville has opened some new roads to traffic on the east side, including a round-about at Marilyn Road and 141st St., Union Chapel Road north of 161st St. and the Town and Country Blvd. extension. The county and the city cut the ribbon for the new Olio Road bridge over I-69.

Firehouse Subs is opening in the Stony Creek Marketplace in Noblesville. The chain subshop is owned by a family of firefighters in Jacksonville, Florida.

Scrip Companies, an Illinois-based medical distribution company, has acquired Carmel’s Advantage Medical Equipment and Supply, Inc. Advantage owner Jeff Worrell will con-tinue as President under the new ownership.

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new faces of the chamber

Laurie SelandSeland Chiropractic Living Well Center

Sherry HeckThe District at Saxony

Steven ScalesH & R Block

Photos taken by Focal Point Studios

Bryan ErdmannPinheads

Michelle PowellDaisies & Denim, Inc.

Karen SchutteThe Hagerman Group

schedule of eventsMorning Motivator Monthly Luncheon Navigating the ChamberDecember 1 December 8 January 12 - Special Time 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.Indiana Tech - Fishers FORUM Conference Center Fishers Train Station Navigating the Chamber Business After Hours Monthly Luncheon December 1 - Special Time December 15 January 19 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.Fishers Train Station PNC Bank - 116th Street FOURM Conference Center

Legislative Breakfast Legislative Breakfast Business After Hours December 6 January 10 January 26 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.Mansion at Oakhill Mansion at Oakhill Cambria Suites - I-69, Exit 10

For event details, please visit www.FishersChamber.com or call the chamber 317.578.0700.

Nancy FitzgeraldIndiana Records Managers, Inc.

Mike ByersCornerstone Painting and Drywall, LLC

Jeff CarmichaelTasteful Times


FIS

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www.fisherscham

ber.com

new faces of the chamber

Laurie SelandSeland Chiropractic Living Well Center

Sherry HeckThe District at Saxony

Steven ScalesH & R Block

Photos taken by Focal Point Studios

Bryan ErdmannPinheads

Michelle PowellDaisies & Denim, Inc.

Karen SchutteThe Hagerman Group

schedule of eventsMorning Motivator Monthly Luncheon Navigating the ChamberDecember 1 December 8 January 12 - Special Time 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.Indiana Tech - Fishers FORUM Conference Center Fishers Train Station Navigating the Chamber Business After Hours Monthly Luncheon December 1 - Special Time December 15 January 19 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.Fishers Train Station PNC Bank - 116th Street FOURM Conference Center

Legislative Breakfast Legislative Breakfast Business After Hours December 6 January 10 January 26 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.Mansion at Oakhill Mansion at Oakhill Cambria Suites - I-69, Exit 10

For event details, please visit www.FishersChamber.com or call the chamber 317.578.0700.

Nancy FitzgeraldIndiana Records Managers, Inc.

Mike ByersCornerstone Painting and Drywall, LLC

Jeff CarmichaelTasteful Times


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Upcoming Events!JANUARY 2011DECEMBER 2010

HamiltonNorth Chamber

70 N. Byron StreetCicero, IN 46034

317-984-4079 Tuesday, January 11, HNCC Luncheon, 11:30 amRed Bridge Park Community Building, Speaker: Dr. Brian McCarley, “Wellness for the New Year”, RSVP by Wednesday, January 5

Tuesday, December 7HNCC Holiday Luncheon, 11:30 amRed Bridge Park Community Building RSVP by Wednesday, December 1, Holiday Meal and Entertain-ment, Food and Toy Drive

SEpTEMBER LuNCHEON

Judy Erner, Hamilton County Convention & Visitors Bureau chats with Ron Adamson, Arcadia Arts Initiative before presenting the Business Spotlight at the September Luncheon

Pam Ruster, Supportive Systems spoke of personal/work life balance at the September luncheon

Tony Cook, Superintendent of Hamilton Heights Schools, accepts school supplies from Corey Sylvester and Angie Lawson of Edward Jones/Cicero office. Many Chamber and community members donated to the school supply drive coordinated by the Edward Jones office.

Arcadia Arts Gallery Grand Opening Cicero residents Connie and Art Hall view the art on display at the Arcadia Arts Gallery at the Grand Opening

Dustin Stines, Arcadia Arts Academy serves refreshments to Bob Foster, Hedgehog Music Showcase; both Dustin and Bob are members of the Arcadia Arts Initiative

Jake Doll, Sandol & Associates views the art works of area resident Jerry Dreesen


ARCADIA ARTS GALLERY GRAND OpENING

OCTOBER LuNCHEON

Gabrielle Sauce, SaucePan Creative, presented the Business Spotlight at the October Luncheon

Gary Hentschel, President KeyBank Central Indiana spoke on the economic conditions in Central Indiana at the October luncheon

NEW MEMBERS

Leslie Earl, Pet Paws Pet Services, Inc. joined the Chamber in October

Bobbie Sutton, Moon Talk Designs also joined the Chamber in October

Other new members: Sears (Noblesville), Vegetarian Village Catering (Cicero), Cicero Market (Cicero), Toucan Annie’s Mexican Restaurant (Cicero) and Alice’s Restaurant (Arcadia)

Molly Herner and Mario DiRosa representing both the DiRosa Build-ing, 2010 Recipient of the Streetscape Award and Emily & Matteo DiRosa of Matteo’s Ristorante Italiano – fi-nalist for Business-Person of the Year.

UpCoMing EVEnTS!N

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January 10 - Legislative Breakfast 8:00 a.m. Hamilton County Legislative Task Force The Mansion at Oak Hill ~ 5801 E. 116th StreetJanuary 13 – NetWORKS!8:00 a.m.. Mudsock’s Grill ~ 14741 Hazel Dell Crossing, Suite 1000January 22 – Membership Luncheon11:30 a.m. Hamilton County Commissioner Steve Dillinger’s State of the County Address The Mansion at Oak Hill ~ 5801 E. 116th Street

December 1 – Membership Luncheon11:30 a.m. Holiday Entertainment by the NHS Singers Purgatory Golf Club ~ 12160 E. 216th Street

December 2 – Holiday Business After Hours 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Mr. G’s Liquor ~ 2209 E. Conner Street

December 6 - Legislative BreakfastFall Forum – 8:00 a.m. Hamilton County Legislative Task Force The Mansion at Oak Hill ~ 5801 E. 116th Street

RIBBON CUTTINGSMayor John Ditslear cut the ribbon and welcomed Candy Bouquet to Noblesville in October. The shop is located at 13901 Town Center Boulevard in Hamilton Town Center. Chamber Ambassadors joined the Mayor and shop owner Mi-chelle Ballenger in the ceremony. They

include Sandy Sears, Best Buy; Amy Sizemore, First Merchants Bank; Lindsay Sweet, First Merchants Bank; and Judi Johnson, City of Noblesville.


Power Teamwear celebrated their grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony officiated by Mayor John Ditslear on Sep-tember 30. Lindsey and Rob Lawson, her father, Brent Lord, all standing next to the mayor, are joined by Chamber Ambassador Sandy Sears and Chairman of the Chamber

Board, Cindy White, with Marshall White, Noblesville Fire Department, at the other end of the ribbon! The shop is located at 17901 River Road Suite G.

ENTERPRISE AWARD WINNERS 2010

Senator Luke Kenley, Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman and her husband Steve Skillman, Sally Kenley, Dave Cox, Monica and Darren Peck, Courtney and Ben Cole, Jackie Cox helped make the Noblesville Chamber’s Diamond Anniversary Gala a special evening.

Kelly Schaub, Theresa MillerBox. Pack. Ship, finalist for Small Business or Start-Up of the Year

Monica Peck, Hare Chevrolet, 2010 Recipient of Business-Person of the Year

Lori Schwartz, Dan Gaither, Melissa Begley, Brian Reeves, Donna Parker – Keep Noblesville Beautiful – finalist for Streetscape

Jay Merrell,Industrial Dielectricx, Inc. – finalist for Business of the Year

Dr. George and Nola Stookey, Therametrics Technologies – finalist for Best New Construction/Renova-tion and finalist for Small Business or Start-Up of the Year

Culvers: Jafar Abdul Hafiz, Kurt Hacker, Lisa Blair, Eric Martinez, Mike Jones, Jr. Deb Thompson,2010 Recipient of Business of the Year.

O’Dell Lakes, Smith’s Jewelers, finalist for Business-Person of the Year

Betsy Ekelof, Sara Slavens, Brenda Myers, Alberta Egle, Eldon Egle – Noblesville Visitors Center – finalist for Streetscape

Heather Richards, Edna Domingo, Don Graves, Harbour Manor Health & Living & The Lodge Assisted Living – finalist for Business of the Year

Tanya Marshall, Heavenly Sweets, 2010 Recipient of Best New Construc-tion/Renovation

Phil Heer and Rachel Smoker, Prairie Lakes Health Campus, finalist for Best New Construc-tion/Renovation

Chick-fil-A was recipient of the Small Business or Start-Up of the Year award

Noblesville Chamber601 Conner Street

Noblesville, IN 46060317-773-0086

GALA HELD ON NOVEMBER 6

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Upcoming Chamber LuncheonsDecember 2, 2010 Sheridan Chamber Annual Holiday Luncheon 11:30-12:30 Sheridan Community Center. Guest speaker will be Dr. Derek Arrowood, superintendent of Sheridan schools. Reservations can be made by calling the chamber office at 317-758-1311 or by email at [email protected]

January 27, 2011 Sheridan Chamber Monthly Luncheon 11:30-12:30 Sheridan Community Center. Speaker to be announced

Be sure to visit the Sheridan Chamber Website, www.sheridanchamber.org for information on all upcoming events!

2011 Monthly Luncheon DatesFeb. 24, 2011March 24, 2011April 28, 2011May 26, 2011June 23, 2011July 28, 2011Aug 25, 2011Oct. 27, 2011

Sheridan Chamber407 S. Main Street

p.O. Box 202Sheridan, IN 46069

317-758-1311

2011 InformationWant to advertise your business during a Sheridan Chamber Lunch? Elect to sponsor a luncheon and start the meeting advertising your business. Call the Sheridan Chamber office for details at 317-758-1311


A big thank you to everyone who came to our open house on Sept. 26th. It was a great success.

Halloween on Main Street

2011 Monthly Luncheon Dates

WESTFIELD YOuNG pROFESSIONALS SpOTLIGHT

WESTFIELD

WESTFIELDwww.westfield-cham

ber.org

MARK YOUR CALENDARSWestfield Chamber

130 penn Streetp.O. Box 534

Westfield, IN 46074317-804-3030

DECEMBER 2010Westfield & Carmel Chamber Joint Networking BreakfastThursday, December 2nd ~ 7:30 - 9:00 a.m.Charleston’s ~ 14636 North Meridian ~ WestfieldReservations required by November 26th $10 for Chamber Members • $20 for non members RSVP to 804-3030 ~ [email protected] sure to bring plenty of business cards and other promotional materials!

Fall Legislative ForumMonday, December 6th ~ 7:30 - 9:00 a.m.The Mansion at Oak Hill ~ 5801 E 116th Street ~ CarmelFeatured Speaker: Larry DeBoerOver breakfast Larry DeBoer, professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, will address funding issues facing Hamilton County. Larry is an expert on state and local public policy, hiscomputer models for ana-lyzing tax structures and revenue have been widely used by the Indiana General Assembly, particularly during reassessment and property-tax restructuring conducted by the state. He works with the Indiana Legislative Services Agency on tax and finance issues, including the annual state revenue forecasts.Chamber Members $15 • Non-members $20 RSVP by December 2nd to 317-804-3030 or [email protected] and presented by the Hamilton County Business Issues Committee ~ sponsored by Krieg DeVault

Holiday LuncheonThursday, December 16th ~ 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. The Bridgewater Club ~ 3535 East 161st St $15 for members with reservations • $20 – all others RSVP by Friday, December 10th 317-804-3030 or [email protected]

Best wishes for happy, healthy holiday season!

All Chamber event dates, timers and locations are subject to change. Please call 317-804-3030 or visit www.westfield-chamber.org for details.

Visit our nEw wEbsitE at www.westfield-chamber.org

County wide Networking Breakfast at East Street Studios

JANUARY 2011 Legislative BreakfastMonday, January 10th ~ 7:30 - 9:00 a.m.The Mansion at Oak Hill ~ 5801 E 116th Street ~ CarmelFeatured Speaker: Kevin Brinegar, Indiana Chamber President Chamber Members $15; Non-members $20 RSVP by January 6th to 317-804-3030 or [email protected]. Other dates in this series are at this time are Monday, February 14th and Monday, March 14th.Organized and presented by the Hamilton County Business Issues Committee ~ Sponsored by Krieg DeVaultWith support from Duke Energy, Independent Concrete Pip, Church, Church, Hittle & Antrim Economic Development MeetingMonday, January 10th ~ 11:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m.Old Country Buffet ~ Village Park Plaza – Westfield Individuals pay for lunch at the door and join the committee in the Westfield Business Center room.To receive your meal discount, be sure to member that you are a member of the Westfield Chamber.RSVP to 317-804-3030 or [email protected]

Westfield Chamber 2011Membership LuncheonJanuary 20th ~ 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Join us at this luncheon as we kick-off our 30th anniversary by welcoming special guest speaker Mike Redmond, well known local columnist and storyteller sponsored by the Current in Westfield. After our speaker your board members and committee chairs will present their coming plans and projects for 2011. The Bridgewater Club ~ 3535 East 161st Street Members with reservations: $15; all others: $20 Reservations due by January 14th: 317-804-3030 or [email protected]

Happy New Year!

Recently, the Westfield Young Professionals hosted a countywide event at Ameriana Bank.

Keltie Domina presented etiquette tips for the young professional. The event included not-for-profit

showcases and a wine tasting.

NETWORKING LuNCHEON 2010

Connie Chesney of Huntington Bank receives recognition as the sponsor of the Lantern Awards.


32

their passion for food and, most important-ly, they still enjoy their time together.

Vito was raised in Mola Di Bari on the coast of Southern Italy surrounded by farmland, fishing boats and unassuming restaurants serving delicious Italian cuisine. Known for its glowing whitewashed build-ings, Mola Di Bari has a rich food history. Interestingly enough, the city government operated several public ovens where resi-dents would gather to bake bread and share recipes. Italia Mia (“My Italy” in English) is Vito’s attempt to bring the flavors of his hometown to residents of Hamilton County and beyond.

The key to Vito’s Southern Italian style cooking is simplicity and freshness. Sauces are mildly seasoned and allow their primary ingredient to shine. The Alfredo, Marinara and Vodka each contain relatively few in-gredients, but are bursting with flavor. The marinara sauce has a sharp tomato flavor that rivals any I have tried, but a visual inspection reveals few specs of oregano and seasonings. The meat sauce is carefully

crafted each day and contains short ribs, pork and cuts of filet mignon, making it quite unique and a must try. There is a pasta dish highlighting each of the sauces, but the Fettuccine Di Mare, with Clams, Mussels and Shrimp sautéed in garlic butter and topped with Marinara, is outstanding.

Vito started in the food industry by making pizza and he has certainly mastered the art. In addition to the fresh dough and home-made sauce, Vito finds many other ways to set Italia Mia apart in a crowded market. For instance, the onions are sautéed before

he city of Westfield welcomed Italia Mia to its growing list of fine independently owned restaurants one year ago this month. Westfield residents Vito and Lori Ruggieri understood both the risks and rewards of

starting a new restau-rant. They believed that a fam-ily-friendly Italian restaurant serving fresh food made from the finest ingredients at a reason-

able price would succeed in a tough climate. So far Italia Mia has found success by holding firmly to these beliefs but it has not been easy. Fresh food means endless hours of slicing vegetables, stirring pots of home-made sauce and making dough, among the many other tasks required. Despite the long hours, this hard working couple has not lost

being added to the pizza and the flavor of caramelized onions on pizza is deli-cious and surprisingly rare. The sausage is brought in from Chicago and is the same sausage found at many of the legendary spots in the windy city. That is where the

similarities to Chicago-style pizza end; Italia Mia’s pizza is proudly New York style. The hand tossed crust has the signature soft middle and crispy outside when it leaves the oven. Vito refuses to top the pizzas with anything but 100% whole milk mozzarella and the rest of the ingredients carry his commitment to freshness and quality.

Located on State Route 32 about a mile east of downtown, Italia Mia offers unique flavors in a warm atmosphere. This coupled with the friendly staff and ownership help define it as a true neighborhood restaurant.

Italia Mia3150 State Road 32 E., Westfield896-1052

Native Italian brings his memories of Italy to WestfieldItalia MiaStory and photos by Scott Tyree

Dining Out

December 2010 • January 2011/Hamilton County Business Magazine

Mola Di Bari has a rich food history…the city government operated several public ovens where residents would gather to bake bread and share recipes.

Lori and Vito Ruggieri

64 WAYS TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR LIFE

Book Mark

your excuses, your tendency to blame and your whining at the door. If you don’t like where you are, move yourself.

“You only have control over three things in your life,” Canfield writes, “the thoughts you think, the images you visualize and the ac-tions you take (your behavior). How you use these three things determines everything you experience.”

Clarifying your purpose here on earth and what you want out of your life are the next two principles. Get ready to do some soul searching. While Canfield mentions goals like business success and a luxurious retirement, he also mentions the freedom to enjoy your family, and the book certainly can be applied to anyone with dreams of changing their lives for the better.

Following 24 principles covering the fundamentals of success, Canfield launches into self-transformation. Recognize suc-cesses from your past, finish what you have started, develop better habits and change your own “self talk.”

“Research indicates that the average person … talks to himself or herself about 50,000 times a day. And most of that self-talk is about yourself,” Canfield writes. “According to psychological researchers, it is 80 percent negative.” All this negativity affects how

you act and feel. Canfield writes that you must change your inner critic into your inner coach.

Looking inward can only take you so far, so Canfield also spends nine principles looking at the importance of building a “success team” and eight on creating “successful relationships.”

“Success and money” is the fifth section, so those who are more focused on wealth than spiritual fulfillment do get some spe-cial treatment in “The Success Principles.” Developing a keen sense of awareness about your spending, embracing positive thoughts about wealth and what I would describe as becoming comfortable with greed are covered.

Just as the book began with a call to take responsibility for your own life, it ends with a call to take action. Canfield has armed you with all of the advice you need to succeed. Now go get ‘em. v

If I followed every one of Jack Canfield’s so-called “success principles,” there is no doubt in my mind that I would reach more goals than I would without them. Canfield’s “The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” is his collection of 64 guiding tenets, published in 2005 with coauthoring credit to Janet Switzer. For business owners and leaders, they are powerful reminders of how things should be done and new lessons to keep you moving forward.

Canfield is the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and that flavor comes through in a steady stream of an-ecdotes illustrating the application of each principle. He is also a seasoned professional speaker, seminar leader and corporate trainer with a penchant for inspiring his au-dience, from seminar attendees to readers.

The advice starts with an ultimatum. Prin-ciple No. 1 is “Take 100 percent responsibil-ity for your life.” If you can’t hack this one, there is no need to continue reading. Leave

THE SUCCESS PRINCIPLES: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

by Jack Canfield with Janet Switzer

Review by Casey Kenley


Casey Kenley works her creative muscle at Silver Square and for Indianapolis Monthly. She can be contacted at [email protected].

No. 1 is “Take 100 percent responsibility for your life.” If you can’t hack this one, there is no need to continue….


Frontier Times in FishersHamilton County History

David HeighwayHow a raw boom town became a sedate suburb

n the first half of the nineteenth century, the southern part of Hamilton County was lightly settled. Population centers were small crossroads communities like Allison-ville, Bethlehem, and Cynthiana. The main transportation corridor was Allisonville Road, which was the route for the regular stagecoach. It was inhabited by some rough characters. A favorite pastime, for example, was gander pulling, a test of horsemanship skill which involved trying to decapitate a live goose while riding past it.

Everything changed in 1851 with the arrival of the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad. At first, towns along the railroad grew up at places where the steam engine had to stop for water and wood. That’s probably why New Britain was established where the railroad crossed Big Branch Creek. However, technology developed during the Civil War improved the distances that an engine could travel and other town sites became possible.

After the Civil War, Hamilton County launched a great effort to improve its roads. One was built along the town-ship survey line two miles north of the county border. While most of the roads were gravel, the soil at this site was low and swampy, and it became necessary to build a plank road, which was a road covered with split logs.

While rough, was better than a corduroy road which was made of round logs, and far preferable to sinking into the muck. This became one of the better east-west roads in the southern part of county, and today is 116th St.

Salatheil Fisher was a blacksmith and wagon maker who had moved from Ohio to Hamilton County in 1852. He eventually purchased the land adjacent to the railroad track on the north side of the plank road. Fisher’s purchase paid off because of

two significant transportation developments. In 1869, the county commissioners voted to build a bridge across White River along the same township line as the plank road. This was a covered bridge known as the Eller and Heady Bridge. Then, in 1871, the railroad line was

completed to Michigan City. These two developments con-nected farmers on the east and west sides of the White River to Chicago and eased shipping.

Salatheil Fisher seized the opportunity and established the town of Fisher’s Switch in 1872. He died a year later and it was left to his son Henry to develop the town. As might be expected, it became a natural focal point for activity. However, because of the new and unsettled nature of the community, much of this activity was rough and brawling. It tended to center around the “saloon on poles”, a tavern that had been established south and

west of the railroad crossing. The soil at this spot was too swampy for regular construction, so the building had been constructed on pilings and was surrounded by a sea of mud. Anyone who slipped and stepped off the planks used for walkways got his boots covered in mud, which is how Fishers got the nickname of “Mudsock.”

You may recall my previous column that mentioned the tavern in connection with the story of the Fisher’s grave robbers. Some time around 1880, the town was embroiled in an ongoing brawl called “The Battle of Mudsock” and the epicenter of this fight was the tavern. A man named Wade Hampton “Hamp” West had just moved to town and was in the tavern drinking when he got into a disagreement a man named Adam Lynn. West chased Lynn out of the bar, where Lynn fell into the mud and became mired. West caught up to him and split his skull with a fourteen-inch brass beer faucet. This was considered a justifiable homicide and West was released. Hamp West would go on to become one of the more famous grave robbers in central Indiana at the turn of the nineteenth century.

When the Monon Railroad was built through the western part of the county in 1882, it offered a more direct route to Chicago and, as a result, the town of Fishers began to settle down. The town was largely bypassed by the natural gas boom and remained dependent on shipping farm goods for its economic livelihood. Not all of the excitement was gone, however. In 1914, a man named Vora Trittipo, who worked a day job as a telegrapher at

The Nickel Plate Railroad pulling into the Fishers station

The original Eller and Heady Bridge over the White River at what is now 116th St.

Sam Trittipo’s Store. Sam was Vora’s father.

Photos from The Mudsock Scrapbook and I Dream of Mudsock, both by Larry A. Reynolds, published by Hoosier Cider Press

I

Dave SniderOwner - Master Barber

Classic Barber Shop2462 East 116th Street, Carmel, IN 46032

Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.Saturday 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

Shop: (317) 843-2500 • Cell: [email protected] • www.barberclassic.com

CARMEL’S SUPER BARBERSCHANGE by Real Estate Realm, LLC

Gary BartunekGeneral Contractor, member

(317) [email protected] us on Facebook!

Home Improvement SpecialistsCustom Remodeling & RenovationHome Maintenance & RepairInvestor Rehab ServicesLicensed, Bonded & Insured

www.RealEstateRealm.net

When you do business with local vendors you are strengthening Hamilton County's economy and building a vibrant business community.

Support Local Businesses


BUSINESS RESOURCE DIRECTORY

Commercial Lease Space

River Edge Professional Centerand River Edge Market PlaceNoblesville, INCall John Landy at [email protected]

65,000 square feet of flexible floor plans. Design and build to your specifications. Time Share space available. Retail space also available from 1,600 square feet up.

Easy access and abundant parking! High speed internet. 3 minutes fromRiverview Hospital.

Signs and BannersLogan Street Signs & Banners1720 South 10th Street,Noblesville, IN317-773-7200 Open M-F 7-5www.loganstreetsigns.comwww.noblesvilletrophies.comwww.noblesville.com

Digitally printed signs and banners of any size, vehicle wraps and graphics, T-shirt printing, laser engraving. Great customer service, fast turn-around. Family Owned and Operated. Serving Noblesville and Hamilton County since 1992.Also home of Noblesville Trophies773-7391 Open M-F 9-6 Sat. 10-2

Financial Forms and Systems, Inc.www.financialformsandsystems.com317-726-7385

FFS is a locally owned supplier of business checks, envelopes, commercial print, stamps, office supplies and anything else you need to keep your business running. We offer free delivery in Hamilton County and can usually have what you need the next business day. Contact Scott Tyree at 317-726-7385 for a fast quote.

Printing

Rotary International

The Noblesville Midday Rotary Club is one of 32,000 local Rotary clubs throughout the world and six in Hamilton County. Open to all persons regardless of race, color, creed or political preference, Rotary brings together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Each club meets week-ly. For more information on the Noblesville Midday Rotary Club. Call Gloria Davis 317-877-0051

Service Club

David Heighway is the Hamilton County historian.

the train station, also had a pool hall in the back of the hardware store just east of the train depot. Evidently, someone had a problem with either the pool hall or Mr. Trittipo, because, early one Saturday morning in March of that year, somebody broke a window and pitched in

some dynamite. No one was in the building, so there were no injuries, but the explosion wrecked the furnishings and shattered every window in the place. It was not discovered who did it or why.

For a time, Fishers put aside its lively past. In a 1907 newspaper article, the author stated quite firmly that “’Mud Sock’ is not an appropriate name”. For several decades, like Carmel, it was one of the smaller towns in the county. After Highways 69 and 465 were built in the 1960s, the southern tier of townships began to change. First Carmel, then Fishers began growing by leaps and bounds. Today it is a large thriving suburb and has cheer-fully accepted the nickname of “Mudsock” again.

…because of the new and unsettled nature of the community, much of its activity was rough and brawling.

what, exactly, doesworld-class care mean?Here are tHree wortHwHile definitions.

W RiverviewwasoneofjustfivehospitalsnationwidetoreceivethecovetedVHALeadership Awardin2009forqualityofcare.

W TheCenterofExcellenceDesignationispresentedtojust15percentofallbreastcenters nationwide.Riverviewwashonoredin2009.

W Riverview’sRadiology,EmergencyCareandOrthopedicsteamswereallrecognizedfor exemplarylevelsofpatientsatisfactionin2009byPRC,aleadinghealthcareconsultant.

.

For the past two years, we’ve been telling you that we provide world-class care to our community. In 2009, the experts clearly agreed. And while we’re proud to be recognized for our efforts, we believe that providing world-class care to the residents of Hamilton County is its own reward. Discover more at riverview.org. Welcome home to Riverview Hospital.

Noblesville

Documents

Hamilton County Business Magazine December 2010/January 2011