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I am late in writing this only because I had such a great day with my Daughters on Father’s day.  I wanted to write something about Father’s Day on the day itself, but truthfully we were all busy. So I doubt many would have read this piece. Now that the day is over please take a minute and read what I have to say here.

What Dad’s say when the their children aren’t around is different than when

children are in the presence of their fathers. When my Dad worked in a manufacturing plant, every once in  a while I would get to visit him at his place of work. And every-time I did I would be introduced to his co-workers, or his boss and every time they would look at me and say something like, “So you’re the guy John is always talking about”, or re-tell some tale about me that was either half true or not. My Dad had a penchant for story-telling and fortunately I was  often part of the story. The story was often only half-true, but because I was held up in some glorious light, I  rarely disagreed.

Today, we can all tell tales and true stories about our children  on social media channels. Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook has allowed us to let others become much more familiar with our children and their activities, triumphs and God forbid, failings. We can brag about their baseball games, put up video of that great basketball shot, pictures of their regal prom outfits, and their cute smiles and hammed up poses. Everyone gets to see who they are and what they’ve done.

In my case not too many escape a full-blown description of the great

accomplishments my children, their artwork or their prom dresses. Everyone who asks get’s an earful about how well they are doing. Just this evening a Facebook friend, who I met professionally (before we were FB friends) asked me about my daughters, probably because she can follow me and their accomplishments on-line. Would she otherwise know much about them? Probably not. Not because she doesn’t care, but because we rarely see each other and would likely stick to business topics in the little time we had.

So let me say this about my Father’s Day. I had a great time. It was so nice to just sit and talk and eat cheese, and listen to music and have a genuine good time. My daughters have grown up to be such beautiful and smart people. They care about the world around them, they have opinions about politics, art, food, wine and the things that make life joyous and interesting. They ask for my opinion on things, and they get it, even when they don’t ask. They may be defensive from time to time about my opinion, as I was with my Father, but I know as Dad, I must express my opinion and perhaps somewhere down the line, the may say to themselves, “Hmmm, I think Dad was right”. Or, in the very rare case I am wrong, point that out too.

How we Dad’s talk about our kids hasn’t really changed that much. We are proud and happy about them. Where and how it happens has merely changed.

For Father’s day, they gave me three really great gifts. First they drove two hours to see me. That was gift number one. Usually when I see them, it is in the presence of my extended family, their mother, their friends, or their boyfriends. I relish and adore having them all to myself. Second, they gave me a really cute picture album filled with pictures of them and my family, mostly from recent years, but with empty spots to fill with more pics. And finally, they let me buy and prepare dinner for them. Yes, I know we all think kids should cook for their Dad’s on Father’s day, but my girls know better. The know the best gift they could give me was letting me do what I love to do, which is to cook them a meal they will love.

Happy Father’s Day Lauren and Sarah. Your charm, honesty, love and happiness makes me a Happy Dad!

Congratulations to our recent round of Circles of 7 graduates. The program, created by the Economic Development Council and designed to help small business owners have a mentoring experience. The C7 program has helped over 75 businesses learn how to make their business stronger and how to manage growth better. I am happy for these businesses and hope they continue to progress. Here are those business owners and a link to their companies:

Erik Barnlund – Mavidea Technology Group, LLC

Martha Burk – Main Gallery 404, Inc.

Jim Carroll – Churchill’s Formalwear

Hombre Darby – News & Views for the Young at Heart

Chuck Fisher – Fisher Driving School

Peg Hayden – Blooming Grove Academy

Cathy Heissler – Learning for Tomorrow, Inc.

Amy Hyunh – Le Bow Wow Club, Inc.

Chad Jones – CJ Photo

Brad Kalavitinos – Le Scent Studio

Maria Kemp – Decadence Bakery & Pastries

Paul Komar – American Business Solutions

Rosemary Komar – American Diversity Business Solutions

David McCloud – The Organic Cleaning Machine, Inc.

Chad Ritchie – Ritchie Law Officehttp://

Consider using these businesses for your needs. They are all hard-working entrepreneurs dedicated to making their business prosper.   Shop for your needs with local folks. They need you.

If you are interested in the program, visit our website for more information. Our program will be bigger and better than ever before in the next round.

My daughter is a young, enthusiastic and thoughtful entrepreneur. If she wasn’t busy running a business (actually two) she would probably be a writer of some sort, because as you can see below she expresses herself well. This was written with her community, Rockford IL in mind, but one could apply her thoughts to any community. It first appeared on her business Facebook fan-page. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

“Everyday I hear people say, “Rockford Sucks” or “I can’t wait to get out of this place.” For me, Rockford is a place where my businesses reside, It is the place I call home. It is a place where I know people, and people know me. Rockford is where I will get married this fall, and Rockford is where I will be for awhile. I can see the pitfalls of Rockford, however, and I understand why the negative on-lookers say the things they say. But regardless, I love this place, and I never run out of things to do or people to meet.

It took me until a couple years ago to figure out exactly why I love it so much. I should start by saying, my whole life I have been involved in local businesses. My first business at my ripe age of 9 years old, was a can business. I collected cans around the neighborhood and my neighbors all participated because I was just “too darn cute.” Not necessarily a local business, but it got me started.

When I was in middle school, my mom and dad opened a Bakery. Not just any bakery, A Dog’s Life Bakery. My mom made gourmet dog biscuits, dog cakes, dog muffins, as well as other doggie and kitty varieties of snacks. I helped out as much as I could, day after day, no payment involved, and persevered with my parents as the business struggled, and gained confidence as the business gained confidence. The business closed for various reasons, but it will always be a great part of my memory, and I know both of my parents will never regret A Dogs Life Bakery, or forget the fun we had with it.

I remember growing up supporting local businesses. My dad seems to hate chain restaurants, so that might be one reason I still don’t like to go to chain restaurants as much as some others I know. I remember my dad and I stopping by Mary’s Market at Edgebrook every weekend. I am not sure what my dad was buying, but I definitely remember the cookie I would get every time! (Double Chocolate Macadamia Nut) I still frequent Mary’s Market on a weekly basis for their 1/2 price Wine and Tapas Tuesday!

Along with working at a corporate restaurant and wasting 4 years of my life there, I also worked at a locally owned business at the mall, and remember talking to the owner a lot about the inner workings. I don’t know if he wanted to tell me about it, but I sure was interested in learning about it.

Then, when I was 19, I met Skyler. Brand new owner of the clothing store that opened up in the storefront underneath my apartment, Culture Shock. I met Skyler a couple months after he had opened the store, and then another couple months later I had my hands in Culture Shock big time. I haven’t stopped since. Now it has been 4 years since the store started, and we thank our lucky stars that we have made it so far.

The conclusion I am trying to wrap up from this, is that I think I never hated Rockford because I was always involved in the MEAT of Rockford. The businesses we have shopped at my whole life, the places I have gone in Rockford, the food I have always eaten, has for the most part been local. Of course I am not saying I never go to Olive Garden, or that I have never shopped at Target. We all have. I am saying that in my life experiences, the service is always better at a local business, the people are always friendlier at a local business, and the people who are at the local business WANT TO BE THERE! Everything is better locally, and those people who own the local businesses, have them in Rockford for a reason, FOR YOU!

When you are constantly surrounded by people who are running their business locally for you, you are NOT exposed to the workers stuck in dead end franchised jobs who hate their jobs and blame employees and customers for not getting their bonuses. You are not in contact with people who can’t wait to go home, or can’t wait for you to leave so they can “close up.” You are rarely exposed to environments and fellow customers that are hostile. Instead you are, in fact, greeted by those people who want to see you, who can’t wait for you to come back, and who want to make your experience the BEST it can possibly be. You ARE exposed to other customers who are experiencing the same great concept that you are. It’s a wonderful thing!

Now a days, I will go to MANY extents to shop/eat local before stepping foot in a corporate place. I try to encourage others to do the same as much as possible. My friends are all awesome, and are always willing to try out the newest local restaurants when we go out. It’s a feel good thing that happens when you shop local, and participate locally, or even work at a locally owned business. It makes you feel more aware of where you live, and it makes you more likely to tell someone about the experience you had at said place.

Anyone who knows Skyler and I, know that if a customer comes into Culture Shock looking for something that we don’t have, we try to point them in the direction of a local business who DOES have what they are looking for. Why?! Because we are sooo passionate about keeping things local, regardless of if we have a certain item in stock or not!

Now, everything I have just said, has been purely opinion, and based on my experiences.
The solid FACTUAL truth is that cities that support their local businesses more have a far better economy. There are many statistics out there that can give you facts and figures. My favorite being the 3/50 project (http://www.the350project.net/home.html) and Local First (www.localfirst.com)

But just to give you the basic rundown from these sites, for every $100 spent in an independently owned store, close to $70 of it returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and expenditures. If you spend $100 of it in a national chain, only around $40 stays in the community. When you shop online, NOTHING stays in our economy.

It’s a big difference when you think of the thousands and thousands of dollars spent in our city every day.

Have you really read all of this?!? I am happy if you have! Please feel free to add onto this note in comment form if you’d like, I would love to know what you have to say.

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As a side note:

Recently, Skyler and I joined forces with some wonderful like-minded people and businesses, Choices Natural Market (on Riverside Blvd), The Rock River Times, and Artale Wine (On Spring Creek Rd) to create a movement and a “coalition of local independent businesses, organizations and citizens in and around Winnebago County, Illinois acting in alliance to keep our communities prosperous and sustainable.” It is a group called WINNEBAGO BUY LOCAL and if you haven’t heard about it yet, you will soon.

Basically, it is going to be the networking, and allied group you want to be in if you are a local business, and it will be the group you want to turn to if you want to find anything local from local dish towels, to local cucumbers, to local travel agencies, to local clothing, and EVERYTHING in between.

Our Vision
To establish a strong network of local independent businesses who have come together to strengthen their position in the market place.

Our Mission
To support and cultivate local independent businesses focused on transforming our local economy toward green jobs, sustainable industries and practices, and buying local first.

Our Goals
Foster a sense of community and give a voice to the local independent businesses, educate the citizens of our community about the importance of buying local, change their buying habits toward buying local first, and shift the balance of power in our community so that locally owned independent businesses can survive and thrive.

Are you as excited about this as we are? You will want to be part of this.

We know you are out there, you people who care about this place that they live in, just like we care about it. You see it’s potential just like we do, and you want others to see what you see in Rockford. Start supporting local businesses, you will feel so good about it.

If you want to know more about Winnebago Buy Local, visit our fan page at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rockford-IL/Winnebago-Buy-Local/115883611787754

If you want to be a MEMBER of Winnebago Buy Local, then leave us your email address, or email us and we will send you information on how to become a member. This is still in it’s early stages but it will be something that you will want to be a part of.

Feel free to contact me, Lauren Vanags, or Karen King of Choices Natural Market, or any of the other founders of this mega-project.

Rockford is changing right now. We can feel it, you can see it. Be a part of that change. Shop local, you wont regret it!

The wonks in the USA keep talking about innovation as the way out of our current economic crises. The word “innovation sitting alone by itself has very little meaning. What is this “innovation”. Tell us what is innovative. I recently saw a see-through toaster in a catalog. Is that innovative?

I like late July and August, because that is when here in the Midwest one can get the greatest tomatoes and I love good locally grown tomatoes. I make a tomato sandwich with cheap soft wheat bread, a lot of mayo and slices of tomato liberally laced with salt and pepper. There is nothing better. But how does one get a good tomato? A good tomato comes from a grower who has spent some time making sure that the tomato plant gets plenty of water, is nurtured, and taken care of from the time it goes into the ground in May to the time the shiny red fruit is ready to be picked. It grows and develops in a good environment.

Is your company or community a good environment to grow a shiny new company or product line? Have you created the right environment to spur innovation? Have you come to terms with the rotten things in your business and started to deconstruct it in order to spur innovation and new ideas?

Le me end this entry with a video that perhaps will cause you to think about new things, constructing new ideas and thinking in new ways. This video is nothing but fun. It is a video by the music group, “OK Go”. They had the viral music video a couple years back where they choreographed an entire music video on moving treadmills. It was extremely popular, and I remember thinking how does one top that video. If you are a fan of of cable TV shows like Myth-busters, or some of the shows that describe the construction of huge machines, or are a fan of Rube Goldberg machines you will definitely love this TED video:

Go and innovate!

So what should I do? My organization is running full steam ahead. We have made good progress over the past six years going from a do-nothing organization to one that is managing over $750,000 in annual revenue and expenditures. We have done great things and many people are beginning to understand how important our organization has become for the community. We have completed most of our goals and will begin our next five year fundraising program late this year.

So what do I do for an encore? I know economic development professionals who have been in their communities for years and years. I am thinking of one who has been in her position for over twenty years. I think that is a long time for someone to be in the same position in the same community for that long of time (when it comes to economic development). Either she is making the community hum like a well-oiled machine or she has reinvented herself time and time again. I don’t want to come across critical about a peer, but my guess (since I know the community fairly well) is that she has reinvented herself  a couple times; or at least reinvented the program in her community a couple times, because the town wouldn’t be considered on anyone’s list of high growth, business busting communities.

To my economic development peers: Have you met all your goals? Do you deserve to keep your job? Or are you looking for the next one because your local “mojo” has run its course? Are you coming up with new ways to grow your economy? Sending mailers to real estate people is not economic development. Going to trade shows is not economic development. Being busy is not economic development. Going to conferences is not economic development. How many times have you asked yourself, “Am I making a difference in my community”? Is the organization you are leading making a difference? Or are you waiting for a new set of Board members to come in so you can con them into thinking you are bright and on the cutting edge, when you are just recycling old methods and hoping for a recession to hit so you can blame the economy for the lack of jobs and capital investment in your community.

I struggle with this constantly. I worry that we are not doing enough for economic development in my community. I shake with fear every time someone, whether an investor or elected official asks why we haven’t recruited the IBM project that will produce 800 jobs (but requires $45,000 in incentives) for the community (they forget there is a cost for everything).

I am worried I am not doing enough. How about you folks in the profession? Are you worried about your performance. If you are what are you doing about it? Let me hear from you. Next week, I will write about some of the answers I got and tell you what I am doing.

There are several things I like about TED, the video repository of some of the best ideas the world has to offer. First, there are great ideas communicated in this space that you just can’t find anywhere else. Second, They are short and to the point, if you count 17 to 19 minutes short. Finally you will always end up knowing more about a topic than you did before you started.

Below I have posted a great video about public discourse. I am maddened by the way we discuss, or more appropriately shout about the important issues of our time. Michael Sandel, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard, and has written a number of widely read books which include Democracy’s Discontent, Public Philosophy: Essays on Morality in Politics, The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering, and, most recently, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?

Sandel goes from a discussion of flutes to golf carts to same sex marriage without missing a beat. Our public and civic debate has spiraled downward and by watching this video you will learn how to couch your arguments into the Aristotelian ideal of giving justice to that which worthy of honor and recognition.