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Dayton Entrepreneurs

Donerik Black and the Dayton Weekly News

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Photo Credit: Jason Eckley

The following was submitted by Juliette Rocheleau of the updayton Entrepreneurship Team, and is their first of several future feature articles about Dayton-area entrepreneurs.

Co-owner of the Dayton Weekly News, Donerik Black knows that being an entrepreneur is no easy task. The Dayton Weekly News celebrated its seventeenth year in circulation this November, with Black juggling the duties of project manager salesman, designer and more. While the different tasks of entrepreneurship can be demanding, Black admitted in most other professions he would, “be bored to death.”

A native of the Dayton Region, Black chose to stay in the area after he finished college.  Post-graduation Black realized, “Unless I won the lottery, I was going to work for somebody. What better person to work for than my dad?” Black and his business partner father, Don Black, first owned and operated a public relations and consulting business. Additionally, both knew the Dayton area well, having been born and raised in and around the city.

In the early nineties, the perception of Dayton was extremely negative. Despite its reputation, Black knew there was a better story to tell. “We felt that there was a need for Dayton’s urban community to have a voice,” said Black.  He and his father set out to create a newspaper. Originally they used a publisher in the Columbus area. Due to simple geographical complications, the paper was labeled as “a Columbus paper with a Dayton masthead.” Consequently, the two businessmen severed ties with the Columbus branch. From there the Dayton Weekly News was born.

“…even if we have to give them away, we still want people to see the paper.”

The early days were tough. However, thanks to their public relations and consulting business, the Blacks had already created many good relationships with social organizations and churches in the area. Using, “guerilla marketing,” as Black puts it, the business, “hired young kids to go door to door and [gave] away a lot of complimentary copies of the paper.” The Blacks followed up each give-away with another paper, turning recipients into potential readers.

After years of successful business, the Blacks are still trying new and inventive ways to raise awareness of the Dayton Weekly News. Black explained, “We’ll have subscription drives. We’ve even had young kids who have used it as fundraising projects—even if we have to give them away, we still want people to see the paper.”

Black serves on the board of the United Health Solutions, an organization focused on enriching the lives of those who are less fortunate in the Dayton community. The cause is important to Black, explaining, “They’re a great organization. And, we try to get as involved with them as possible.” Black also encourages the Dayton Weekly News to get involved with the American Heart Association. For Black, the organization hits close to home. A heart patient himself, he advocates the importance of health.

Each year in April, which is Minority Health Month, the Dayton Weekly News covers important medical details. “Minority Health Month is something that we’ve really tried to put our hands around. We let our readership know what’s going on within the community so they can get tested for ailments that really plague African Americans, like diabetes and high blood pressure, that are preventable and controllable.” Black added, “We really like to get involved with those organizations that are putting out information that help our readers make healthier choices.”

As an entrepreneur, Black admitted it would be easier to calculate how many hours a week he doesn’t work. “When I’m sleeping, I’m typically not working,” he said, “From the entrepreneurial standpoint, you’re always working.” Long hours aren’t the only necessity for starting and owning your own business. According to Black, “Everybody’s a salesman. Everybody sells something to someone everyday. Period. Pointblank.” Black believes the need to sell drives all jobs. “If you don’t like selling,” he said, “you’re going to have a hard time doing anything.” Passion for what you do should fuel your desire to sell. Black knows, “You need to love what you do.”

“For lack of a better term, I enjoy the ‘smallness’ of Dayton”

He also emphasized both the need to “be a people person” and “be ready to close when you get the opportunity.”  Black explained, the “kiss of death” for small business owners is when an opportunity is lost and the potential client moves on to the next company. “A lot of times as a small business person, you many only get one shot to make a good impression.” He continued, “When you get an opportunity, you have to seize it by any means necessary.”

As a resident and business owner in the Dayton area, Black most appreciates the city’s size. “For lack of a better term, I enjoy the ‘smallness’ of Dayton, “ describing Dayton as an accessible city and a “ninety-minute market.” Black likes that Dayton’s not far from larger cities such as Chicago and Atlanta, both a few hours away via car or plane. As for the city itself, Black said, “From a business perspective it’s a good place to work, because if you have innovative ideas, you can really cut your teeth in a town like Dayton.” The key to Dayton, or to any big city, is to be aggressive.

Black admits that Dayton has the tendency to slip into complacency. However, he does not consider it to be negative. “If everyone’s going to sleep,” said Black, “I’m just going to tiptoe right through it—chomp it all up.” Dayton is a “reactionary city,” with events happening in and around Dayton. “Policy is passed, things are done, and we have to take control of it,” he said. Black added, “As a whole, the smallness could be Dayton’s best attribute and its worst.” And yet, there are many opportunities. “Dayton would be a wonderful place to come and test the waters,” said Black, “I hope more people look at it as a hub for technology.”

The Dayton Weekly News is looking to expand digitally and offer a version of the paper online. Currently the website is geared toward advertising.  “Baby steps” is Black’s answer to expanding. The team is working to both offer the paper online and maintain subscription numbers. Black isn’t too concerned about adding a digital version of the paper. With a loyal readership, Black trusts the Dayton citizens.  “We’re going to get that support,” he explained. “The larger number of supporters will subscribe because they want to see this paper survive.” Black thinks in the end, “People will always want that hard copy.”

The Dayton Weekly News is working hard to bring the people of Dayton an efficient, cost-effective, timely newspaper. “That’s always my mission,” Black proudly declared. “Every week I enjoy opening it up, looking through it, and selling that paper.”

Full CirKle Media: The Business Of Internet Radio

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As a 15-year veteran of broadcasting and media production, Darryl Williams is uniquely qualified to provide small business owners, colleges and corporations with the tools and expertise needed to reach new markets through the ever-growing landscape of Internet radio.

Darryl Williams, founder of Full CirKle Media Group, an online media convergence company, seeks to help local companies expand their reach through Internet technologies.

Williams’ Full CirKle Media Group provides web hosting solutions and audio and video streaming services to a slew of clients throughout the country, but he’s most passionate about helping local business leaders reach new markets through the “true media convergence” potential that online media provides.

“After starting my own station, WDKK, about a year and a half ago, I began to offer my services to other individuals who wanted to do the same thing.”

Williams’ currently host 11 radio streams, including Wright State University’s 106.9 FM, which began streaming its student-run radio station through Full CirKle this fall. The Philadelphia native believes that businesses are beginning to see the value of a strong online presence.

“You can have the print component online, the live component…but then you also have an ‘on-demand’ component available through podcasting. Users can register and contribute to the site. If you want to have music, you can add that. Internet radio is a great option for churches to reach their sick members or people who are traveling. This technology is poised to make a tremendous impact on the way we communicate. The possibilities are endless.”

Williams offers packages for both ‘for-profit’ and non-profit entities, as well as for individuals who may want to have their own personal web portals for entertainment, inspirational or informational messaging through the 24-hour streams the company provides.

“What I really want to do is to help local companies maximize Internet technology. I would like to help put Dayton back on the map as innovators.”

D.A. Williams
Full Cirkle Media Group
www.wdkkradio.com
(937) 412-1177 – Bus
(937) 545-3280 – Mobile

WDKK is an independently owned Internet radio station that is dedicated to preserving the legacy of broadcast media and music.  The format of the show is soul, funk and rhythm and blues – with an emphasis on the voices that mainstream radio has forgotten, but whose innovative sounds has inspired generations of subsequent vocalists and musicians today.


Lifetime’s Remarkable Women Series honors Isus Founder

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To shine a spotlight on an extraordinary woman, and to inspire and empower
others to make a difference
in their communities and world

Here is the write up featured on Lifetime’s Remarkable Women:

Ann Higdon created Improved Solutions for Urban Systems (ISUS) in 1992 to develop approaches to keep high-school-age youth in school and to reclaim school dropouts. In Dayton, over 60 percent of the urban youth dropped out of high school, and according to an Annie E. Casey Foundation study, an additional 6 to 8 percent drop out in middle school and are, therefore, never counted as high school dropouts. The effects in the city were deteriorating neighborhoods and escalating crime. Montgomery County, where Dayton is the main city, used two-thirds of its budget for criminal justice and indigent-family-related expenditures. Author James Conant, in his book “Slums and Suburbs: A Commentary on Schools in Metropolitan Areas” called these kinds of issues “social dynamite.”

In the early nineties, Ann Higdon talked to anyone who would listen about what she believed could be done, but few people believed that these young people would respond to an idea that required more of them than anyone dared believe they could do before. Few believed that it was an appropriate use of funds to support an idea fostered by a person who had no nonprofit, teaching or housing-development experience. But, as Ann listened to the stories of the young people who left school without completing, their stories resonated. She had been a poor student, had a difficult childhood and was first homeless when she was four. She was afraid of being bullied and got in trouble for fighting back. Ann was able to make a better life for herself because one person had confidence in her, and with that encouragement, she began to work her family out of poverty.

In 1992 she borrowed $100,000 from National City Bank in Dayton to start the first ISUS organization, working with National City to replace food stamps with an electronic benefits system in Ohio. During the early years, Dayton Rotary, a nearby hospital and other benefactors also supported the project. In 1995 they received the first public money through a federal grant, and in 1999 Ohio passed enabling laws for charter schools. That year, ISUS created the first of three charter high schools for returning dropouts; until recently, Dayton had more students in charter schools per capita than any other city.

The ISUS organizations uniquely accomplish their mission by recruiting disengaged youth back into an educational experience that is competency-based and career-oriented, and that engages students as volunteers who practice their newly acquired skills in the context of community service.

Upon entry, ISUS youth are on average 17 years old and function in math and reading at the seventh grade level. Roughly 85 percent are low-income, seven in 10 are known to juvenile court and three in 10 are youth with learning disabilities, which is about twice the percentage in the system. At ISUS, students attend a longer day and year — totaling about 300 additional hours per year. Students alternate between academics, technical coursework and hands-on practice of skills. Technical instructors are hired from business and industry and assisted to obtain teaching certifications at Wright State University.

Since 2001, ISUS has graduated more than 700 returning dropouts with high school diplomas, industry credentials or some college coursework. Recently, ISUS was written into House Bill 562 as a Demonstration Project to collect data and inform the legislature on issues and accountability measures for dropout-recovery schools.

Other measures of success are the competencies students exhibit — for example, the redevelopment of the Fairgrounds neighborhood, where students gutted and rebuilt 12 homes and an eight-unit apartment building. The project was reported by the Dayton Daily News as “The Miracle on Frank Street.” Now there are homes built by developers, and bustling businesses. ISUS students are credited with sparking the resurgence of the neighborhood.

Ann Higdon personifies the entrepreneurial spirit by crafting the pursuits of her organizations to contribute impact and return on investment. She demonstrates commitment and takes risks in the pursuit of better solutions to social problems, and targets a population that researchers agree is the hardest to serve — youth offenders.

Ann and her organization, ISUS, are recipients of numerous honors, including the Purpose Prize, the Dayton Business Journal’s Regional Leadership Award, the Dayton Daily News’ Top Ten Women Award, the YMCA’s Woman of Influence Award, the HUD’s Secretary Award for Excellence, the Points of Light Award and the Dayton Business Journal’s Not for Profit Organization of the Year Award.

Smart Car Raffle Drawing to be held Mon, Sept 13th

On Monday, Sept 13th, ISUS will be hosting a VIP reception in Wright-Dunbar Historic District, where they will be giving tours of their Replica Homes Green Building Project.  As part of the festivities ISUS and the Dayton Rotary are hosting a Smart Car Raffle to raise money to continue to fund future building projects.  Rafle tickets run $100 and are available through Dayton Rotary members, or call the Rotary office to charge by phone at 228-3331.  Three winning tickets will be pulled with the 1st getting a handcrafted dragonfly bench, the 2nd will receive a $250 Home Depot gift card and the 3rd ticket pulled will win the brand new, fully loaded Smart Car!

South Park Tavern – An Entrepreneur Success Story

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Previously, I wrote an article about starting a business with little capital and smart business plan.  Here is a great case study:

Bill Daniels has been in the pizza business for a number of years.  He has a degree from Wright State University and the business savvy and technical knowledge of the food (pizza) industry.  This is a great combination for an entrepreneur.

After starting the successful Pizza Factory years earlier, Bill acquired a building a few blocks away on Wayne Avenue in the South Park neighborhood and began to lease the space on the top floor to tenants.  Then slowly he built the success of South Park Tavern.  At first, he found Shane, who is a sharp bar manager who had experience in the industry.  He gambled on Shane and Shane gambled on him.  He opened only on weekends and served no food.  The neighbors were thrilled to have a place and so they supported the tavern.  Service was terrible and there was no food.  But each weekend, the place got better.  Bill invested everything earned from those early days back into the business.  He began to offer pizza by transporting it from the Pizza Factory store down the street.  He extended the hours each time business picked up.  The neighbors relentlessly promoted the tavern.  If there was a special event, Shane would open the tavern.

Next, the great marketing promotion and understanding of the customer took off.  Shane opened through the week.   They had open mic nights to bring in bands.  They had half price pizza nights on Monday.  Bill built a patio outside and remodeled the tavern, installing 12 micro brew taps in the process.  Instead of offering the same beers and pizza that most other chains offer, the South Park Tavern offered exotic seasonal beers with unique and flavorful pizzas.

The South Park tavern offers only beer and wine.  By not offering hard liquor the establishment identifies itself as family friendly tavern.  Many would be tempted to increase revenue by offering hard liquor, but Bill and Shane understood the importance of their market positioning.

So, Bill used a formula that involved several trends in the industry.

  • Popularity of micro brew beers
  • Different pizzas
  • A hang out for the people of the neighborhood
  • Bands and music
  • No hard liquor

As a result, the South Park Tavern has become a popular and successful  business.  It did not start with a million dollars of capital.  The business stretched the capital and grew in small increments.  The business tried to differentiate itself and it created loyal customers.  Bill and Shane are not done.  They plan to carefully expand the business further.

There are some lessons for entrepreneurs in the growth of the South Park Tavern…

Best Source of Startup Capital – Customers!

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The single biggest problem for startup businesses is the lack of startup capital.  It is very challenging to start a business with few resources.  Many experts state that under-capitalization of a business is one of the large reasons for failure.

I started my business with $500.  How did I do that?  First, I prepared for the event.  I planned to draw no income for the first year, so I reduced my lifestyle, increased my savings and built a buffer to handle that early dry period.  Next, I focused on getting to cash positive as quickly as possible.  That meant lining up customers early.  Pre-selling is a technique that entrepreneurs don’t do often enough.  I kept every expenditure low.  I wanted to prove that the product was going to be successful, before ramping up investment.  How did I know if the product was a success?  The customers and marketplace told me.

Was it easy at first?  No.  It was brutal.  When the business began to grow, I took out bank loans and used my home as collateral.  The business was almost 10 years old, before I was able to able to remove the home pledge from the business loans.  I never spoke to a venture capitalist.  It took a lot of sacrifice to my lifestyle, but it paid off more than I could ever imagine.  My main engine for growth was customers.

The best part about customers is that their only interest is buying your products or services.  Customers don’t receive equity or interest on their purchase.  So, in terms of capital, selling products and services is the BEST way to raise capital.  Banks want lots of collateral; such as your home.  Venture Capitalists want very large returns, equity and control.  Customers don’t want your home or control of your business.  They simply want you to deliver what you promised to them at the agreed price.  Make a profit on the agreed price and use that profit to invest and grow your business.

A mentor told me one reason that my business was successful was because I did not spend time chasing capital.  I have seen businesses spend all of their time trying to woo investors.  The investors become the customer, instead of the customer being the customer.  The business owner thinks that capital investment solves all problems.  It does not.   Profitable sales solves problems better than anything else.

One final thought.  Keep your expenses under control.  You don’t need the fancy office or car when you start up.  You don’t need excess staff or over-engineered products.  Managing expenses is a challenge.  In start up phase, capital is so precious.  Protect it.

Entrepreneurs Start with a Customer

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I am often asked about resources to start a business.  Too often the startup entrepreneur is asking the wrong questions and looking at the wrong issues.  Before starting a business, a prospective entrepreneur must answer the marketing questions.

The most important issue around starting a business is the customer.  Let me say this again: THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE AROUND STARTING A BUSINESS IS THE CUSTOMER! Who is the customer?  What need (product or service) are you satisfying that they are willing to pay you?  Why is no one willing filling that need now?  Or are they?  How much are they willing to pay?  What makes your product or service superior to the alternatives?

Many entrepreneurs focus on financing, building, location, etc when starting a business.  Instead, they should answer the questions honestly before looking at anything else.  The #1 need of entrepreneurs at all levels is customers.  Without customers, you have no business.

When I started Gasper Corporation, I benefited from the business classes I took at Wright State.  The most important were marketing and accounting.  I used the concepts of target marketing to make the business viable and effective.  So here is how I answered the marketing questions.

David Gasper - Back in the day...

Who was the customer? The 500-1,000 Automatic Teller Machine (ATMs) departments in banks worldwide.

What need did they have? The ATM industry was in its infancy and availability (uptime) was not considered thoroughly when ATM networks were designed.  The cost of downtime hurt their profits and bank image.

Why was no one filling that need? The startup industry offered the opening.  Competitors offered offline manual products while we had a chance to offer online monitoring and management.

How much were they willing to pay? We developed a pricing model based upon the size of the network.  Larger networks paid more as their problems were larger.  Our pricing model also reflected a payback based upon two values that our product offered.  1.  Our product reduced labor costs, so that savings was part of the price.  2.  Our product increased revenues from higher availability.  We factored that into our price.

What made your product superior? I started my career as an ATM programmer.  I understand the sensors and status signals better than others who designed management systems with no ATM experience.  I also understood the specialized switches (such as Base24) that processed ATM transactions.  Finally, conventional wisdom at that time did not believe that personal computers could process online transaction.  From my programming efforts in 8080 assembler and low level code of personal computers, I saw that was not true.  PCs were the wave of the future with more power in smaller boxes for less cost.   This specialized knowledge allowed Gasper Corporation to create unique position.

So we picked a small limited market with little competition that we could dominate. We stayed very focused on that small target market of 500-1,000 customers.  We could have created monitoring products for many other markets.  In doing so, we would have been wiped out by large competitors such as IBM, Hewlett Packard and Computer Associates.  Instead, we chose to target one specific market and be the BEST in that market.

The rest is history.  So, before you go looking for start up funding, answer the questions above honestly.  If the answers are not satisfactory, then FIX them with the right honest answers.

Where Are All of the Entrepreneurs?

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I keep asking myself this question.  If we want to make Dayton spectacular, entrepreneurs are the key.  But where are they?  I can’t find as many as I would like.  What is holding people back?

I am approached by numerous “wannabe” entrepreneurs.  I am dismayed however that the vast majority will remain “wannabes” instead of making the leap to success.  Why aren’t there more entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurs must have a stomach, insight and passion.  Starting a business is risky.  You have to be willing to work long hours for low pay and take a risk to start your business.  This unwillingness to struggle and risk disqualifies many hopefuls.  A startup business person must have insight into a market or customers that is realistic. (Watch for my next article about marketing) .  Find a niche market and become the king of that niche.  Finally, the startup must have a take no prisoners attitude in its approach.  No problem can get in the way.

In Dayton, Ohio we have great resources for business.  We have The Entrepreneur’s Center. Small Business Development Centers (SBDC’s) in Dayton , Fairborn, Piqua and Springfield, SCORE®, Aileron, universities, access to financing and more.  Yet, the population of startup companies is very small.  I am baffled.

Funny thing, when I started my business, almost none of those support systems existed.  I felt there were more entrepreneurs then vs. now.

I would not trade my journey for anything.  The road during the first five years was hard, even brutal.  In the end, I am living the American dream reaping the rewards of creating a business that increased jobs as well as security for my family for the rest of my life.

If you really want to start a business, I suggest that following:

  • Ask yourself about risk and what you are willing to do.  I find that the risk question is what holds most people back.  They are unwilling to meet the dream because their fear holds them back.  If you want the benefits without the risk, then you don’t have what it takes.  Sorry!
  • Examine your business skills.  If they are weak, your chances of success just went down.  Build your business skills.  Attend classes, read and get a business mentor.  Start a small micro business just to get the test market experience.
  • Get customers.  The philosophy of business is simple.  Get customers who are willing to pay for your products and or services.  Build it at a cost lower than your selling price.  It starts with the customer.  See my next article about marketing
  • Be realistic about your competitive advantage.  Guarantee that your offering is superior.  If you fool yourself, the marketplace will punish you
  • Be the King (or Queen) of a niche.  Don’t try to take on the big boys.  I have seen business plans that want to compete with Google.  Unless you have a millions of dollars to start, the business will fail.  Even the largest of businesses started with a niche.  Walmart built store in rural market at first instead of going head to head with the established players such as Sears.  Southwest flew out of an airport in Dallas that no one else wanted or could use.  Your competition is smart.  if you attack a large market, the will counter punch.  They are more likely to leave you alone if the market is small and you have a special expertise.
  • Solve the startup capital issue.  Too many entrepreneurs spend all of their time raising money.  Their customers become the venture capitalists or bankers instead of the true customers.  I started my business with $500 and never received a penny of venture capital, yet turned the business into a multi million dollar business.  I can’t tell you how many times I see entrepreneurs roll their eyes when I tell them not to use venture capital.  I will write more about this in future articles.