BLOG: Vote YES for Mimes in Minn. Business

Last Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, Mike Veeck, owner of the St. Paul Saints was the keynote speaker to small business owners at the event, "Hitting a Home Run In Dakota County" presented by the Dakota County Cities and Chambers, Dakota Cty Community Development Agency, US Bank and Innovative Office Solutions.

Veeck was an entertaining and engaging speaker who talked a lot about his family and his work. The main thrust of his talk was stories about the ups and downs of his career in baseball.

For example the Mime-O-Vision instant replay idea ... where he scored literally thousands in revenue of hot dogs from the stands onto the field for a "bad" idea and gave Veeck's front page coverage in the Twin Cities paper.

It is a good reminder to small business owners, entrepeneurs and the like, that sometimes, the worst ideas can catapult into better returns. We can't be scared to take risks in business or life. We have to embrace the irreverent and have fun, whatever we do.

One of the first things he said was "No idea is too silly." I like that!

Veecks outlined several steps to forming a successful business, business environment. His number one step is to "hire passionate people" and make it fun. People come back to people first, service second.

So make your service, product, business stand out in a fun way, be fun to be around and your company will see positive results. He promoted being a part of the community. By serving in your community, people are able to get to know you.

Thanks goes out to all the local chambers and businesses (US Bank and Innovative) for putting together this event last week. Snappy was happy to attend and even happier to hear and meet Mr. Veeck's following his presentation. I highly recommend his book, "Fun is Good, How to Create Joy and Passion in your Workplace and Career."

I also recommend seeking out your local chamber of commerce and utilizing the Minnesota Workforce Center resources to grow your business.

>SNAP<