RCEF Mankato - Regional Center for Entrepreneurial Facilitation» RCEF

Do you need a business plan?

Jon — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:38:06 +0000

Connect with Social Media and E-Newsletter

Jon — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:52:39 +0000

RCEF is continuing to meet with clients from all aspects of business and preparation needs. The business’s include new startup companies and companies looking to expand. A strong emphasis is placed on not missing single steps in the planning process. It is essential when developing a business plan, marketing plan, or developing your cash flow that you evaluate all the little details. It is easier to make the mistakes on paper then to make them in a real life situation. RCEF makes certain that their clients evaluate every part of the business process and suggest ideas that you may not have thought of. If you as an entrepreneur have questions or need help with your business plan, marketing plan, or research call RCEF today and Bryan and Jon will make certain that you receive the information you are searching for.

RCEF is reaching out in various ways and applying what they tell their clients for social media as well as electronic newsletters because everyone is so busy and want information fast. Please go to our Facebook page, Linked In, or subscribe to our E-Newsletter to find out more opportunities RCEF can provide. In this month’s newsletter Frozen Yogurt Creations is highlighted as well as Board Member Dan Robinson. We look forward to connecting with you in our next newsletter.

Entrepreneurial center gives Bethany students real-world business experience

Jon — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:30:07 +0000

January 13, 2012
Entrepreneurial center gives Bethany students real-world business experience

By Amanda Dyslin Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — On the second floor of a cute little white house on Marsh Street, some serious business is going down.

Bethany Lutheran College students involved in the creation of a new student organization, Bethany Network Ventures, have an office there.

With a professional conference table, an easel for presentations, a white board to jot down ideas — everything needed for hours-long meetings to hash out business plans. And soon, they’ll be ready to hit the ground running, connecting Mankato’s business community to Bethany students in departments campuswide.

The office is in the Regional Center for Entrepreneurial Facilitation, formerly the Riverbend Center for Entrepreneurial Facilitation, which recently moved to the Bethany-owned house on Marsh Street that used to house college visitors.

Shane Bowyer, a professor of business, is on the board of directors for the center, which is county and state funded and aims to help small businesses get off the ground. Frozen Yogurt Creations is just one example of a Mankato company the center helped to create a business plan.

The idea came about last year to move the center and its two full-time employees, Jon Herzog and Executive Director Bryan Stading, to the Bethany campus to involve students in various aspects of operations. The details are still being ironed out, but student involvement will probably be through internships, including one being done by Kelsey Hoyord, a communications student, who will be holding an overnight entrepreneurial camp for kids next summer.

Already last fall, however, a marketing class worked on a project that outlined a vision for the future of the center. A graphic design class created a new logo. An events planning class held an open house, handling everything from the invitations to the food. And a business communications class is handling the center’s newsletter.

“Being able to tie in classes like that worked out great,” Bowyer said.

The center also houses Bethany Network Ventures, which will become paid business opportunities for students. If a company in the Mankato area needs a new logo designed, for example, Bethany Network Ventures would act as a liaison to connect the company with graphic design students who would be paid for their work.

“Our goal in all of this is for our students to not have to work retail so they can put there talents to use on campus,” Bowyer said.

A grant has provided start-up money for the organization, and future funding will come in part through students bidding out jobs. Junior Staci Paul, a business major involved in starting Network Ventures, said the experience for students to put what they’ve learned in the classroom to real-world jobs is invaluable.

“If anything, it’ll just give us more insight into what we want to do (in our careers),” said Denaye Austad, a business major. “We’re all really excited about it.”

Sophomore Zak Fick, a business finance major, said he hopes the organization will grow to be able to facilitate a number of projects at once.

“Entrepreneurialism is basically the start of something new,” Fick said. “We have the opportunity to be involved in the growth stage and start this thing.”

Click here to view the full article

RCEF OPEN HOUSE

Jon — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:41:22 +0000

RCEF is having an open house on Thursday, November 17th from 4-6pm at our new office location (934 Marsh Street) on the Bethany Campus. We will have a ribbon cutting at 4pm, beverages and food will follow. Join us at this exciting event to see our new office and network with entrepreneurs, business professionals, politicians, and Bethany students and faculty. Call Jon at 507-344-7895 with any questions.

How is your company’s financial performance?

Jon — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:53:34 +0000

Business owners wear many hats; most are taxed with sales, marketing, finance, operations, and other demands of their business. Some owners are exceptional sales people and horrific bookkeepers, others are the opposite. Owners often neglect one of the most important aspects of operating a successful company, proper financial management. Proper financial management begins with the ability to produce accurate and timely financial reports. It is also paramount that you are able to analyze, interpret, and make future decisions based off the numbers.

People naturally fear what they don’t know or are not familiar with. Unfortunately, many businesses fail each year due to negligence of financial management. We always encourage our clients to take control of their business and its future by looking at and understanding what is happening to their company financially. The clients who take action–succeed!

As a business owner, you need to build a solid team of professionals who are interested in your success. Part of that team will consist of business advisors, CPA, and a banker-someone who can help you understand the financial components of your business. These individuals will help you interpret your company’s story by identifying successes and areas for improvement. They also may help you build a plan to improve the performance of your business. You, the business owner, will play a key role in the planning process and will ultimately put the plan into
action and monitor the results.

If you are not currently looking at your P&L and balance sheet routinely, begin to do so or you could find yourself on the slippery slope to closing the doors. Take action–begin the journey today! Call Jon at 507-344-7895 to have a free and confidential financial performance report conducted on your business. We will generate a detailed report of your company’s financial performance benchmarked against industry competitors. Then, we will then sit down with you in a one-on-one setting to interpret the results. Lastly, we will help you build a roadmap to
improve performance and get you in touch with the proper resources to bring it to fruition.

by Jon Herzog

RCEF Settles into a New Office

Jon — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:19:40 +0000

Exciting news everyone! RCEF has moved their office to the Bethany Campus. Our new address is 934 Marsh Street, Mankato, MN 56001. Bryan Stading can be reached at 507-344-7897 and myself (Jon Herzog) can be reached at 507-344-7895. Keep an eye on our blog page for more exciting news in the near future.

RCEF 2010 Annual Report

Jon — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:14:28 +0000

In 2008 and 2009 many small businesses were suffocated by rules,
regulations, lack of credit from institutions, and overall uncertainty in the
US economy, resulting in minimal capital investment and expansion of operations,
parity in hiring new employees, downsizing, and much more. 2010 was no exception,
however RCEF remained focused on assisting entrepreneurs navigate their way
through challenges and build on their successes, please view our 2010 Annual
Report to see the details.

Blog Posts

Jon — Tue, 17 May 2011 16:30:55 +0000

Make It Minnesota - The All New Minnesota Marketplace.

Minnesotan’s looking for a place to buy and sell goods locally can now turn to Make It Minnesota (www.makeitminnesota.com). Make It Minnesota is an online market place designed to make it easy and affordable for you to shop and sell online. The store features a wide array of categories and products to choose from – all crafted right here in Minnesota. Find just what you are looking for and support a hard working Minnesotan at the same time.

If you are a person who specializes in a Minnesota made or grown product Make It Minnesota provides a great, affordable opportunity for you to market your goods online without the overhead costs of maintaining a website. Registering your business with Make It Minnesota and listing your products (up to 100 products at one time) is completely free. We just take a small percentage of the sales (see their website for more information).

In addition to being a place to buy or sell, Make It Minnesota also offers some great perks such as product video reviews & photography as well as blog articles to help promote the products on the site. Some vendors have even found increased SEO to their own website and products by being listed in Make It Minnesota’s online store.

Make It Minnesota was started in the small town of Nicollet, Minnesota by Benjamin & Leah Matzke of Matzke Media House LLC (www.matzkemedia.com). The idea for the site stemmed from the early beginnings of their design company when Leah, a stay at home mother of two started looking for ways to utilize her web design skills and help bring in some extra income for the family. Leah started out by designing websites in trade for locally made and grown items such as soaps, veggies, yarns, meat, and even goats and rabbits.

As her web design business grew Leah began to realize that it would be valuable if there was a place online where small farms and businesses could get found online – without the headache and costs of going through a large design or marketing firm With encouragement from her husband as well as friends and family, Make It Minnesota was pieced together and launched December 1st, 2010.

For more information about how you can get listed on Make It Minnesota feel free to contact Benjamin & Leah Matzke at makeitminnesota@gmail.com or visit us online at www.makeitminnesota.com