I Am An Entrepreneur: 2014

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Making New MexiCANT Into New MexiCAN!

As we have conveyed in past blogs, anything we put our minds to gives us the ability to achieve what we once believed was impossible. From going to our dream college to starting our own business, every decision effects our ability to be successful.

Gary Oppedahl is the Albuquerque Economic Developer and day to day he comes across people who aspire to be something greater. Mr. Oppedahl is very passionate about entrepreneurship and when we found out we were able to interview him it was our chance to see what actually is going on in this city. This was a big interview for us and we weren't going to waste a single minute of it.

When we sat down with Mr. Oppedahl the first thing we asked him was, "Who can be an entrepreneur?" To our surprise without even talking to him about our project he said that one word that both of us were hoping for: "ANYONE." Knowing this man has been going through the ideas of entrepreneurship for years it was a great feeling to know that both of us had the same idea. As we continued on with the interview our main goal was to find out what goes through his mind when it comes to business. He said,

"Something I am very passionate about is the acronym known as P.O.W. This means to find a problem to create an opportunity to make the world a better place. See, it is not about the money at all but, sometimes the money just comes with it. The main thing I try to stress is entrepreneurs should want to help people first and foremost. Solving a problem to help someone else is all we should strive for and that is one of my main goals is to try and make New MexiCANT into New MexiCAN!"

We both stayed focused because Mr. Oppedahl was trying to convey a message that both of us felt we nailed in our project that anyone can be an entrepreneur if they really try and work hard to achieve their dream.

He continued to talk about his journey and his plans for the future and something he stressed is, "citizens of this city need to take a little more risk because we are still currently afraid to fail. What we must remember is when we have our biggest failures that is when we lead into some of our biggest successes." We told Mr. Oppedahl about our project and what we were trying to do and when he told us to continue interviewing as many businesses as possible we both knew we were on the right path.

Lastly, one of our biggest questions was what Mr. Oppedahl hopes for the future of Albuquerque and what he really wants to focus on. He continued to say that, "I love this city because anything we do is mostly from the bottom up. We strive for endless possibilities and make momentous gains from the little things. I hope to passionately focus on entrepreneurship and the benefits because our city is one of the best in the nation. There are other things like finance and marketing but, when it comes to entrepreneurship that is where I get excited because I know that anyone can do these unimaginable things and that is a great feeling!"

http://www.cabq.gov/economicdevelopment

http://web.abq.org/Government/City-of-Albuquerque-31

http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyoppedahl

Sunday, March 9, 2014

What's Your Slice?

If you have never heard of Dion's Pizza then you don't know that this restaurant has gone from zero to hero in a matter of years. Jon Patten and Bill Scott no longer see Dion's as a local spot but, want to see total pizza domination by the year 3000. Growing up Jon always felt like he had an entrepreneurial spirit in him. In 3rd grade he would sell toys that he got at wholesale price and proceed to sell them to his classmates for profit. He met Bill Scott in a science lab in high school and the journey continued from that point on.

About to graduate from college Jon asked his dad for his last semester in college tuition. He did not graduate but, continued on this journey to what is now known as Dion's. His mother had a restaurant called Olga's and Jon realized that the Greek stuff wasn't sticking so he thought it would be better to stay with pizza. Continuing on with life, Jon moved out to Detroit and came to a sudden realization. "There was a hole in this food industry between to expensive and just plain cheap." He thought it would be a good idea to have a better quality restaurant without the high costs. Ironically Bill Scott and Jon met up in Detroit without even knowing and I guess you could say it all took off from there.

Dionesus, or now Dion's Pizza has become a food kingdom when it comes to eating out and it all started with an idea. "Dion's is a place where you will see all your family and friends," John said.

If anything Jon stressed that in order to have success you have to keep the people and keep the passion. He wishes that there was more entrepreneurship in this country but, he excited because he feels like the youth will continue on with entrepreneurship. Many continue to be inspired by this restaurant and when the year 3000 hits you will definitely remember this blog post.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Not Just A Restaurant, A Community

Jean Bernstein and her husband Mark, always knew they were destined to design and build a strong business. Growing up, Jean always went by two things, "Keep life interesting and make people happy because there is nothing greater." Entrepreneurship was a huge part in Jean's life and that is where the idea for Flying Star took over.

Flying Star, now with 9 locations state-wide( not counting Satellite Coffee) has been one of the biggest
changes in this up and down food market. "The food industry is a safe industry and a popular one at that. Food is a must and doing our part to make the experience a timeless one is a great feeling," Jean said. She also stressed that times are changing and many retail businesses must be struggling because of this online transformation many of us are going through. Food, however, can be anything we make of it. From homework hot spots to just sitting down with your family; Flying Star has gone beyond that expectation and delivers the satisfaction of, "being at a home away from home."

Flying Star likes to let the customers decide if they would like to eat or not because putting pressure on someone who may not want a full on meal can be a game changer. That is where the counter service came to place and Jean could not of been happier with the way that turned out.

There are four key characteristics Jean believes entrepreneurs should have:
1. STUDY BUSINESS.
2. Find a need that isn't serviced.
3. Share your idea with the surrounding community and see if the product is worth the time.
4. Look at the big picture because you could be missing something if you aren't focused.

"Entrepreneurs have a hard wired brain that help them engage an audience. My husband and I loved working on things and finding new solutions to problems," Jean said. Also, when asked if they were done trying to improve on Flying Star, Jean gave a quick comment back saying that "we have many more ideas that will take effect this year."

We can't thank Jean enough for letting us interview her. Her driving spirit and great sense of humor are what we believe have been the force behind this great restaurant. Going beyond what is necessary and having that entrepreneurial spirit is what makes this restaurant not just a food spot but, a community.

P.S. The new pastrami melt is to DIE FOR!

BUSINESS OFFICE:2701 Broadway Ne Suite A Phone: 505-255-1128 \| Fax: 505-254-7655 HOURS: Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm info@flyingstarcafe.com		FLYING STAR CATERING:Phone: 505-214-0000 \| Fax: 505-998-6359 HOURS: Monday-Friday 7:00am-5:00pm Online Ordering: flyingstarcafe.com/catering-ordering
For ALL Flying Star Cafe locations and hours of operation click HERE.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Maybe A Cupcake Will Help?

A Smallcakes Cupcakery recently opened up in Albuquerque in October of 2013. Ed and Andrea Henderson were normal individuals who both had steady jobs. Ed working for State Farm and Andrea for Progressive. Living in Houston for four years, State Farm had them transfer over here to Albuquerque to continue with insurance. Then, like any other life, things got crazy and Ed lost his job because his particular task was no longer needed so he was let go.

Then the dream became a reality.

Ed told us that Andrea always loved to bake and, "if it was someone's birthday she would bake a cake for them." Andrea would continue insurance to keep things rolling while Ed finally realized their true potential. Thinking of ideas, like an entrepreneur, he saw that Albuquerque really was lacking when it came to baking and CUPCAKES.

Jeff Martin is a professional baker and specializes in his franchise Smallcakes. He has appeared on Cupcake Wars and to this day is still trying to win. His franchise is in 13 states with 58 locations and continues to grow. Ed and Andrea really didn't have the desire to start from scratch because of finances so they teamed up with Jeff and opened up Smallcakes right here in ABQ. With a lot of hard work they finished in October and had a grand opening which, "was a big surprise because Jeff thought people wouldn't dine in," Ed said.

Today, Smallcakes has been featured on The View, MTV, and was voted as a top rated bakery by USA Today.

Ed and Andrea have been living the dream and want entrepreneurs to know one thing:

"Never give up on your dreams and be passionate about your business. Devote energy and time and nothing can go wrong."

Smallcakes is one of many we hope to interview and if you just finished reading this story we hope we have already inspired you to get passionate about what you love to do.