May 17, 2024 | 8:00am – Noon
University of MN Southern Research & Outreach Center
35838 120th St
Waseca, MN 56093
Launch or Enhance Your Business
No business succeeds alone. Connect with businesses, community leaders, and experts in community-based entrepreneurship from the University of MN and Extension for a workshop centered around food & ag business growth and creation in Waseca.
Should I attend?
This event isn’t for just entrepreneurs or farmers! It’s for the leaders and owners of new and established businesses connected to agribusiness to better understand the variables that contribute to the success of your business in Waseca. You will leave with stronger connections to your local leaders and fellow businesses and an understanding of how to grow your business here.
Register today!
Space is limited.
Agenda
7:30 – Check In
8:00 – Breakfast and Welcome
Holly Callaghan, GreenSeam
8:30 – The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Framework
Neil Linscheid, University of Minnesota Extension
9:00 – Planning Your Business: The 6 Problems All Businesses Must Solve
Dr. Jeff Stamp, University of Minnesota College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences
Entrepreneurs create value by solving problems for customers. Before they can serve customers in a market, all entrepreneurs must first solve 6 classic business problems to build a company that can compete in a marketplace.
10:00 – Networking Break
10:15 – The Entrepreneur Experience: The Start, Gaining Traction, The Scale
Panel of Local Businesses Moderated by Dr. Jeff Stamp
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- Matt Little, Midwest Extraction Services
Midwest Extraction Services operates in 46,000 square feet located in Waseca, MN, processing hemp into CBD and THC products for resale and direct-to-customer sales. MES’s product lines can be found in their Waseca and Rochester stores. They produce high-quality and rigorously tested products for recreation and personal care uses.
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- Richard Berry, Berry Pallets
Richard Berry started Berry Pallets in 1989 while working with Cargill. He found a demand for a cost effective alternative to buying new pallets by recycling used ones. Berry Pallets has grown into a regional pallet manufacturer, serving south central and south west Minnesota, know for their quality reliability, long term customer relationships and industry reputation.
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- Tim Wenzel, Winegar Inc.
Winegar was incorporated in 1979, and has grown from a shop with ten employees to over eighty, utilizing 120,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse facilities. It provides machining services to OEM manufacturers and other quality-conscious commercial interests throughout the continental United States as well as internationally.
11:15 – Q&A/Working Session
Meet Your Experts
Neil Linscheid
Neil Linscheid is an Extension Educator at the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality. His work is focused on supporting local leaders as they navigate economic changes taking place in their community. His mission is to teach, coach, and connect local leaders as they try to make informed decisions about their community‘s economic future. He received his master’s of public policy with a concentration in rural economic development and bachelor’s of political science degrees from the University of Minnesota. In addition to his professional work, Neil is active in economic development in his community where he has served as a member of his local city council, Economic Development Authority and community foundation.
Dr. Jeff Stamp "Stamp"
Dr. Jeffrey Stamp has over 25 years of world-wide experience in bringing out the creative best in business professionals and university students. He was the inventor, creator, and section manager of “Baked Lays”, for PepsiCo’s snack division Frito-Lay, which achieved $230 million in first year sales. Dr. Stamp also resided as the endowed chair of entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of North Dakota, which was ranked thirteenth in the 2008 review of the top twenty-five undergraduate programs in entrepreneurship by Entrepreneur magazine and the Princeton Review of the 900 universities and college programs in the U.S. His research is focused on the creative and cognitive processes that entrepreneurs use in idea creation, technology innovation, and opportunity recognition.
