Entrepreneurial fair showcases area business plans, both new and old
By Dan Nienaber
Free Press Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
MANKATO — They wouldn't be offended if you called them dreamers -- the hundred or so entrepreneurs who filled Minnesota State University's Otto Arena Tuesday afternoon.
You can bet they've all run across that saying about necessity being the mother of invention. Many of them have stories to prove that old line.
Here's an example:
About a year ago, Wayne Timm, 52, found out he would be losing the job he had been working at for about 20 years. He had worked in a machine shop in Le Sueur repairing corn-canning equipment for Green Giant, then Seneca when Green Giant left in 1994.
Not long before the bad news came, Timm had advised his son, Jeff, to take a heating and refrigeration course at South Central Technical College.
"After I left my job, I was walking around mumbling to myself," Wayne Timm said. "Then Jeff said, 'Why don't you come to school with me?'
"I decided I didn't want to work in factories anymore, so I took advantage of the state's dislocated workers program and went to SCTC."
But the father and son quickly found out that the new skills they were learning would not be enough to buffer them from the ways of the marketplace. They were both working as repairmen for Sears when Wayne was laid off again and Jeff's hours were cut back to three days per week.
Jeff said it irked him that the company had little regard for him after he spent weeks driving 400 miles per day to deal with ornery customers.
"The straw that broke the camel's back came about three months ago while I was working for Sears," he said. "I was sent out to install a snow blower on a woman's tractor. I was there for about 55 minutes and she was charged $240 by Sears. I got $11 of that.
"I said to my dad, 'The heck with this. Let's do it ourselves.'"
The Timms said they plan to charge customers $20 for an estimate and $40 plus part costs for minor repairs. The price could be higher for complicated repairs.
Wayne Timm bought out the repair side of an appliance store in Le Sueur. Along with the contract work from that business, they've found plenty of other jobs to keep them busy while they're still attending SCTC.
The work will really start when they both finish school this month.
Because of family obligations, the Timms weren't able to attend any of the workshops and presentations that were available to people who registered for the morning portion of the fair. But they did rent a booth in Otto Arena to let people know about their new business.
Their booth was surrounded by the booths of dozens of entrepreneurs, some established, some new. They were selling a variety of things, including food products, Internet services and recreation activities. In one spot, a woman selling smoking equipment and products made of hemp was next to another woman who provides counseling to people with drug problems.
The fair also gave MSU business students a chance to show off their ideas. Students in one of Brenda Flannery's business classes were in the center of the action, showing off business plans that were judged by area business leaders.
Their ideas included health spas, construction businesses and a hockey store.
The event was organized by Flannery and Milt Toratti of the Riverbend Center for Enterprise Facilitation with a lot of help from a university-funded intern. They plan to make the fair an annual event.
