"Without that article, Phil and I would have never connected," Maki says. "Phil and I share some common vision on business. He has tremendous background. We are leveraging his expertise and experience to grow our business."

Mercier is about to complete his first month at Models Plus, which provides models, prototypes, custom displays, packaging and engineering for dental and orthopaedic implant manufacturers, as well as patient education tools for health care providers.

"My skills and experience have been put to good use helping (Maki) expand his business in the orthopaedic industry," Mercier explains. "(Maki) started in the dental business over 20 years ago and began applying his capabilities to companies in Warsaw over the past three years. I will be helping him with the company’s rapid expansion into orthopaedics."

What a BizVoice success story! If you’d like to join our over 12,000 readers, just visit the web site.

While we’ve stated that a nuclear plant in Michigan (the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant just north of Bridgman, Michigan or 25 miles north of the Hoosier border) supplies Northwest Indiana with a small portion of nuclear power, we didn’t tell the whole story. The Indiana Michigan Power facility actually sends 80% of its 2,200 megawatts to Indiana.

That 80% of the 2,200 MW (about a third of the company’s total generation in Indiana) "assists with our coal, hydro and wind facilities in providing power to our roughly 500,000 customers in Northeast Indiana, East Central Indiana and the South Bend/Mishawaka areas in addition to selling to wholesale customers throughout the state."

Thus, the nuclear facts are now in order. And, who knows, nuclear may one day become a bigger part of the energy mix in Indiana and beyond.

Chamber: How long has Historic Indianapolis been up? Why did you launch it?
 
Tiffany: Historic Indianapolis started as a periodic blog in July 2009. I started it as a way to share all of the offbeat finds I discovered as I was doing research on my home. If someone had told me 10 years ago I’d be doing this, I would have laughed. Now, I have trouble imagining doing anything else. The goal is to get people to see that no matter where you are, there are fascinating discoveries to be made that will make you feel a deeper connection to said place. The echoes in history can seem almost magical, but you have to be open to listening and capable of connecting the dots. 
  
What is it about history that appeals to you? Why do you think it doesn’t resonate with some people in younger age brackets? How have you tried to make your site appealing to those people? 
 
I love how history is just one giant game of "Six Degrees of Separation." Everyone is looking for their connection to the story and it’s just a bit more laborious, layered or labor intensive to discover the connections from many decades past — but the connections are there somewhere, awaiting discovery. I think that’s why it doesn’t necessarily resonate immediately with the younger set. If the timeframe/ person being examined is farther removed than someone they have personally known — like a grandparent — they don’t have a first-hand connection, and therefore, it’s too taxing to use imagination to flesh out. There are so many other things vying for their attention, that this one is easy to flush. I try to make the past relevant by presenting the information in a quick, accessible way, for the most part. There are always visuals; the stories aren’t too long, typically; the site can be irreverent — just look at WTH Wednesdays. People have tortured old buildings and done things that even most untrained eyes can discern — this makes for an interesting hook, akin to hiding a kid’s medicine in something they love.  
 
What is your goal with the site? Are you looking to expand it further?
 
The most immediate goal is finding sponsors to help underwrite the cost of running the site. This is a very time intensive endeavor, and there are thousands of visitors each month. Yes, I have a lengthy list of other features I plan to add once more resources are secured. There are tons of ways to get people inspired about community, history, heritage, family and I look forward to making a growing contribution in all those arenas. 
 
You now have over 4,000 Facebook fans? How are you promoting the site to generate that much interest?
 
Recently, I did a small promotion and museum ticket giveaway, but for the most part, I just ask the existing audience if they know anyone else who loves history and heritage or who has pride in Indianapolis and ask them to suggest it to friends. Plus the Facebook page is very active. New photos, questions or posts are added at least once, but oftentimes more frequently, each day.
 
Operating a site like this must expose you to a great deal of information – perhaps some that has been buried, so to speak, for a long time. In your research, what are some of the most surprising facts you’ve uncovered about the city or state?
 
Well, it’s no longer surprising — but at first, I was in absolute shock at what an opulent place this was and what stunning big city, old architecture we had — and that most of it is gone. Indianapolis has earned a nickname relating to wrecking balls. Thankfully, when I get out of the city, there are lots of lovely town squares that remain mostly intact. That’s always refreshing. 
 
Are there people in any other major cities in the U.S. with sites like yours that you’ve seen? Any others in Indiana?
 
I’ve not found anything exactly like HistoricIndianapolis.com; I’ve seen preservation sites, vintage real estate sites, sites for a specific museum, neighborhood, etc., but not one that pushes out seven days a week of content and is not comprised solely of long dissertations, as you would expect from the world of academia, for example. The unabridged version of the story should be out there — and there are plenty of academic journals or publications to accommodate that, but the medium of a website (also accessible by smartphone) almost dictates a quicker breakdown of material, if that makes sense.
  
What have been your greatest challenges in creating the site and keeping it going? 
 
The biggest challenge has been finding the time to pursue sponsorships. Though a number of people have suggested making this into a not-for-profit, I’m not yet convinced that is the way to go. It makes sense from the perspective of going after a big grant versus smaller amounts of money from sponsors and underwriters, but I’m still experimenting. Other than my three weekly contributors and other occasional ones, I do all the content, research, photos, scanning, etc. This is all incredibly time consuming, so adding to that: meeting people and pursuing potential sponsors, following up, and the like… it quickly becomes exhausting. I work at least 12 hours a day, at least 6 days a week. And I love it, but time management is a constant struggle.
  
The site is supported by sponsors. Who are some current sponsors, and what benefits do sponsors of your site receive?
 
The sponsors of static placement have one of a limited number of spaces that appear on all pages of the web site with an embedded link to their home web site or wherever they’d like. The sponsor’s visibility is high because of the very limited space for those. The other opportunity is underwriting the cost of research/ time/ photos for an article or series. For example, a vintage clothing store called Minx, (which is located in an historic building) is going to sponsor Ladies Lounge for a series of weeks. The shop logo and link will be embedded at the top within the body of the article for this weekly feature that regularly explores vintage fashion or other topics more of interest to our female audience. This is a great way for the business to also have something to Tweet out, link to on Facebook, or to list as something they are part of that will be relevant to their audience.
 
For more information, or to inquire about sponsoring, contact Tiffany at feedback@historicindianapolis.com and follow HI on Twitter (@historicindiana).

Fear – it’s a powerful motivator.

It can drive people to all kinds of chilling conclusions, especially when the topic is the environment and the role it plays in the well-being of Hoosiers.

Typically, we hear about the terrible things happening all around us – call it the
“sky is falling” mentality – rather than the many improvements that have been made
over the past 30 years.

Sure, Indiana (like all other locales) faces environmental challenges, both in the near future and long term. However, many of them are out of direct control, including:

• The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continually tightening standards
• The unscientific nature of a scientific topic as even experts don’t always know the safe levels for a particular pollutant, many of which are naturally occurring and unable to be destroyed completely
• A variety of unintended consequences from policy and regulatory decisions, including higher utility bills for the public and the financial toll on industry from increased requirements

While those challenges exist, take comfort in knowing just how far the state has come.

“The environment is incredibly much cleaner than it used to be. A lot of our pollutants are down 80%, so we’ve made great progress. Our challenge is convincing people that it’s true,” indicates Thomas Easterly, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

“The environment is cleaner than any other time in our lifetimes, and it continues to get cleaner.”

For more, read the full article.

Dave Colt and I started working together in 2005. We had been friends for about a decade, and saw eye to eye on beers and brewing styles. We started a discussion surrounding, “What would you do if you could open your own brewery?” I was working at a restaurant/brewery; it was a corporation and I left because of some corporate culture clashes after four years. It wasn’t the same company I’d been involved in. I was feeling like I worked for a small company that happened to be a corporation that was family run, and it turned into a different thing. It’s frustrating when someone 2,800 miles away tells you how to do your job when they come visit one day out of the year.

Dave and I talked about what we liked, loved and hated about different jobs. I was raised by an entrepreneur, so that’s in my blood. Then in 2007, we started working to put something together – actually a brewpub. It initially started with Dave, myself and a chef and restaurant manager. We were looking at a location, cost per square foot, lunch/dinner traffic – we kept hitting walls in trying to find real estate. We were planning a pub because that’s all we’d ever known. We actually met every Sunday for a year to come up with plans and after a year of not getting anywhere, I expressed my frustration. We then realized we didn’t really care about food, so we started looking at just doing beer…

I decided that to get it from the idea stage to actual fruition something extreme had to happen, because I was working 50 to 60 hours a week at a brewery and was exhausted at the end of the day. So I quit my job on a leap of faith in July 2008 and it was my goal to get Sun King off the ground, come hell or high water. I then cashed in my 401(k) as a primary investment into Sun King.

After spending two months with his girlfriend and her family in their native Alaska to clear his head, Robinson came back to Indiana and locked himself in a house for six weeks to pound out a business plan.

The key for us was determining our shortcomings. That’s a philosophy laid out in Napoleon Hill’s book, "Think and Grow Rich"; there’s a principle called the Mastermind Theory, saying if you truly want to accomplish something, you have to find people who will complement your skill set and understand your own shortcomings.

Robinson also convinced his father, Omar, to come out of retirement to help, as well as other friends with legal and financial expertise. Now, Sun King has taken American craft brewing by storm with a record-setting performance at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival and saw 850% growth in 2010, followed by over 120% growth in 2011. What’s more, Indy beer drinkers now pack the brewery’s tasting room on many afternoons, filling growlers and quenching their thirsts with samples of the latest fare.

Devoted Sun King customer Michael Pittman, a 33-year-old mechanical engineer at Rolls Royce, relays why he quenches his cravings with the local brew.

"I remember Clay telling me when it was his last week (as a brewer at his previous job) and he was opening another gig," he says. "I continued to watch the Sun King web site for an opening date."

Pittman now patronizes Sun King for a couple of reasons.

"It’s a mix between taste and supporting local (business)," he asserts. "Luckily in this case, good tasting beer and shopping local go hand-in-hand. I always try and support local businesses whenever I can … shopping local just makes sense."

He says he can be found filling up growlers at least twice a month and has recruited his peers to join him.

"Who can beat $5 growlers?," Pittman asks. "I have talked some co-workers into going with me the past couple times. They have since bought growlers, so it will probably turn into more of a social event."

Be sure to check out the current edition of BizVoice, and you can join over 15,000 readers and subscribe to the print version for free here.

But you get it here, with the primary purpose to get you to the full story about Brian Bosma and David Long — and the accomplishments they helped produce in this year’s Indiana General Assembly session.

There are reasons that 49 states (Nebraska being the exception) and many countries operate with bicameral governing bodies. Bicameral simply refers to two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate at the state and congressional levels.

While not delving too far into a history lesson, the Founding Fathers of our country established the House to represent the will of the people. This is exemplified by their smaller districts and two-year election cycle. The Senate, on the other hand, is viewed as much more deliberative, with its members representing larger geographic areas and serving six-year terms.

The two-chamber model provides a checks and balances to the governing system. But the House and Senate – and particularly their leadership – must work together. To do so is progress; to fail in that effort often results in gridlock.

The 2011 Indiana General Assembly session is largely regarded as a tremendous success. Leading the way were the two people at the top – House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long.

Check out the full story here and go online to view all the award winner videos.

In fact, I think of Ready Indiana every time I see anything about the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement.

I know it doesn’t seem these two have a common link, but hear me out. I’ve been reading through various news articles and posts on Facebook and talking to what supporters I can find to try and figure out what exactly the OWS group is upset about (still haven’t found one actual common theme – to me it just seems that everyone who is angry about anything has backed this movement).

One of the gripes I’ve seen most often, however, has been about the fact that college students are graduating with major amounts of debt to enter a job market without well-paying jobs. Another facet of the movement is upset about the fact that the older generation doesn’t have the skills for the new jobs that are being created, or the money to go out and get the necessary education.

These two points are where Ready Indiana (and any other workforce development or education initiative across the nation) comes in – opportunities do exist for the experienced workers and those who are right out of school. Below are just a few examples.

On the Ready Indiana web site, www.readyindiana.org, there’s a long list of middle-skills jobs that Indiana can’t do without (computer support specialists, nurses, fire fighters, police officers, lab technicians, heavy truck drivers, and many more). The list includes the number of job openings in each field and the median earnings for 2009 – the lowest median earning on that list is $33,407; the highest is $67,280.

These middle-skill jobs require more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree. Employers, community colleges, private career schools and apprenticeship programs offer the necessary training and skills for these careers. High schools are also beginning to offer more technical courses so that students don’t have to graduate and venture into the job market with huge debt.

To combat the workforce skills gap, Ready Indiana recently announced a partnership with the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC), which will allow employers to train their current and even prospective employees in-house through a nationally-recognized training program for manufacturing and logistics. On-the-job training grants are available, and the completed certification is also good for six credits to Ivy Tech Community College.

There are jobs available – in fact, a common complaint by employers is that they cannot find qualified workers to fill their many open positions. This BizVoice® story that appeared in the July-August edition features Westfield Steel and is a good example of Hoosier employers practically begging for qualified applicants.

These are just a few small hints into what is available to Hoosiers who are willing to do the research and find existing job opportunities. Personal responsibility is an important key to finding employment, whether you’re fresh out of school or making a comeback into the workforce.

Protesting might get your anger or frustrations out, but it doesn’t give you an income, access to health insurance or a sense of security. Utilizing resources like Ready Indiana and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, however, can lead to those important measures.
 

BizVoice magazine goes off to the printer this week after a great job from the Chamber team in telling our award winner stories.

In other words, we’re getting close to "play ball" time for the Chamber’s 22nd Annual Awards Dinner. And speaking of (foot)ball, four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Terry Bradshaw will be sure to inform and entertain as the event’s keynote speaker.

There’s still time to get your tickets (more than 1,500 did so last year). It’s November 17 at the JW Marriott. We hope to see you there.

While Rocky didn’t win that battle in the ring (off subject: too bad they didn’t stop that Rocky series after the first two entries), Kokomo emerged from its four leading businesses being in bankruptcy at the same time and unemployment that soared above 19%.

During several recent visits to Kokomo to document its story for our BizVoice magazine and the video at the November 17 awards event (no Rocky, but Terry Bradshaw will be the featured speaker), it’s clear that sheer determination of community leaders was one of the primary reasons for the turnaround. People like their hometown, and they didn’t want it to become a victim of an economic downfall that was largely out of their control.

Congratulations, Kokomo. We look forward to sharing the story of how it all happened in the weeks ahead.

• He doesn’t follow his own advice to "find something you do well, you like, and do that forever." Maurer’s career has taken him from cable television and racquetball facilities to banking, newspaper publishing and more.
• He refutes any description of aggressiveness, but embraces the label of competitive. "That’s essentially the game we play, the game of entrepreneurism. We keep score with money. … I  do like to play the game — and win."
• Barriers to entry is a business principle that is learned through experience.

For a complete understanding of the importance, or lack thereof, of barriers and the full story with Maurer, check out our current BizVoice magazine.