LLCEO Tradeshow a rewarding end to a year of hard work

 

[May 04, 2022] 

The Lincoln Land CEO students hosted the annual LLCEO Tradeshow at the American Legion in Lincoln on Wednesday, April 27th. The evening began at 4 p.m. with a special event for LLCEO investors then was open to the public from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

This year, the CEO class consisted of Jordan Crowell, Grace Doolin, Peyton Johnson, Shivang Patel, Faith Sanders, Alex Schmidt and Elizabeth Stewart.

Each year the students work closely with a mentor. These mentors are local people involved in business in some fashion. The mentors spend one on one time with their assigned students and help the students navigate through the intricacies of building a small business. The mentors to the LLCEO Class of 2022 were Lesleigh Bennett, Sara Stuart Faith, Seth Goodman, Abby Miller, Angela Stoltzenburg and Janell Woolard.

On Wednesday evening guests were greeted by LLCEO Board members as they entered the trade show. The LLCEO annual report for the 2021-22 school year was provided. There was also a check-list for each visitor to take from vendor to vendor. At each student business booth, the list was marked to indicate the guest had visited the student. When all the vendor booths were checked off the guests could enter into a drawing for a gift basket.



Entering into the room the first table visited was that of the LLCEO organization. Information about the program was offered along with complementary bottled water and snack.

Then it was on to the student booths.

Peyton Johnson
Full Circle Catfish

The first table or booth set up was that of Peyton Johnson and his business 'Full Circle Catfish.' Johnson was enthusiastic about his business offering a special catfish hook not often found in this part of the country. He explained that the circle hook, as it is called, is a specifically designed product that is used quite a bit in Florida. Johnson said he became familiar with the hook when he was in Florida fishing, He liked it and realized that there were probably fishers in Illinois that would like it too.

Johnson said he works with a supplier out of Florida to provide the hook locally.

Johnson is wrapping up his junior year at Lincoln Community High School. In his high school career Johnson has enjoyed participating in football, and track and field. He is also a member of the National Honor Society.

Peyton intend to further his education after high school but is currently undecided on the college or his major.


Grace Doolin (left) and helper Gillian Harris.

Grace Doolin
Harvest Moon Design Company

Grace Doolin is a senior at Hartsburg-Emden High School. Currently, she is working for Culver’s in Lincoln and is active in her school. She participates in the Senior Beta Club, Chess Team, volleyball and scholastic bowl. She enjoys dance and attends classes at Audra’s Studio of Dance in Lincoln.

She has three big goals. She desires to someday be a stay at home mom running her home-based business, and she would like to be a flyer, obtaining her private pilot’s license.

At the tradeshow Doolin, with the help of her assistant Gillian Harris, was quite busy. She had a large display of items she has made through her LLCEO business 'Harvest Moon Design Company' and several guests were picking out favorites to take home with them that night.

Doolin said in addition to the signs that she had on hand for sale, she will do custom design work. The signs she makes are wood and durable. She said that customers can contact her for custom designs. She will do a mockup of the design and email it to them for their approval. If they are pleased, she will then make the sign for them.

Doolin is looking forward to continuing her education in the fall. She plans to attend Heartland Community College in Bloomington with a transfer later on to Illinois State University.



Elizabeth Stewart
Over the Rainbow Earrings

Over the Rainbow Earrings are handmade by Elizabeth Stewart. They are made of polymer clay that Stewart designs based on what she likes and what she believes her customers will like as well. On Wednesday evening, the earrings were flying off the rack as her ideas of what is going to attract buyers was paying off.

Stewart and her helper Allison Woolard were busy fielding questions and making sales throughout the evening.

Stewart is a junior at Lincoln Community High School and intends to continue her education majoring in business. She has not yet decided what college she will attend.

In high school she is active in cheerleading, dance, golf and soccer. She is a member of student government, and during the summer works at the Elks Golf Club Pro Shop. She also does babysitting.

She hopes to one day own her own business and be “fully independent.” She also hopes to travel abroad someday.



Faith Sanders
In Stitches with Love

Hartsburg-Emden High School junior Faith Sanders if a very busy lady. In addition to her education, she is involved in many school and community activities. She is involved in volleyball, cheer, chess club, scholastic bowl, band and choir. She has participated in Bible Quizzing and is also a long time member of 4-H.

Sanders has goals of continuing her education with a major in accounting. She will attend Heartland Community College and later transfer to a Christian university.

In addition to all that she does, Sanders enjoys crochet, and her business reflects the love she has for the craft. In her booth Sanders was offering many pre-made items for sale. In addition, she had gift boxes that were filled with all the materials needed to make some of the items she had on display. She said she has put together a box that includes materials and easy to follow instructions so that others can learn to love the craft just as she does.

Helping Sanders market her products was her friend Dani Phillips. Both ladies were staying busy talking about the business and cashing in on those who wanted to take home ready-made items.

Shivang Patel
Midwest Auto Pros

Shivang Patel’s LLCEO business was the first in the line of vendors that was a service oriented business rather than retail. Midwest Auto Pros is a vehicle detailing service. Patel said that since he was young he has had a love for automobiles. He likes the sporty ones best, but cares about them all and wants to see them well taken care of by their owners.

For Patel, the selling point of his business is that love for vehicles, the desire to be thorough in his work, and to see his customers happy when he’s finished.
 

He said that if one is going to be in a customer service business, then they should be people who take pride in their work, and do not slack off or shirk from the more tedious details. It is that kind of service that he offers his customers. He said he is very thorough and takes a great deal of pride in seeing his customers happy.

Patel is currently finishing up his junior year at Lincoln Community High School, he wishes to continue on to college where he will major in computer science. He then hopes to put his education to work in the automotive industry.

In high school, Patel has participated in basketball, and is a member of the National Honor Society.


Alex Schmidt (right) and helper Connor Brummell.

Alex Schmidt
A5 Lawncare

When he was 10 years old, Alex Schmidt began mowing lawns for his pocket money. It was a task that he liked doing and of course, he enjoyed the money. Since that time he has continued doing this type of work and has built up a respectable number of repeat customers.

Because of this, it seemed like a natural conclusion that Schmidt should utilize what he already has enjoyed since 2015 to build his LLCEO business. Thus, 'A5 Lawncare' was one of the vendor tables set up on Wednesday evening with Schmidt and his friend Connor Brummell speaking with would-be customers and promoting the business through visual aids on Schmidt's laptop computer.
 

Schmidt says that right now he has a client list of 38 lawns and he is building the business as he goes along. He said that when he reaches 50 or so customers, he plans to look for one employee to help him with his weekly schedule.

Schmidt is a junior at Lincoln Community High School and active in the school's tennis and soccer programs. After high school graduation he intends to continue his education by majoring in business.


Jordan Crowell (left) and helper Noah Doolin.

Jordan Crowell
Rustic Nail Wood Creations

Jordan Crowell has big ambitions for his future with his wood creations eventually becoming just one small part of his future. A junior at Lincoln Community High School, Crowell plans to attend Heartland Community College where he plans to earn an Associates degree in either Ag Business or Small Business Management.

If you frequent Mel-O-Cream in Lincoln you may recognize Crowell as he is currently employed there, and also does seasonal work in the spring and fall for a local farmer.

His long-term career goal is to become a cattle rancher. He hopes to raise cattle and get into the breeding business and says he will incorporate his wood crafts into his life on a smaller scale.

On Wednesday night though the wood products were the concept that Crowell used to create his small business Rustic Nail Wood Creations. He and his friend and helper Noah Doolin were discussing the products for sale and also shared that Crowell is available to make custom-ordered wood creations.

Crowell said that he is also looking to expand his line into resin products, which are also popular among buyers today.
 

Look for Crowell later this summer as he plans to take his business to the Lincoln Memorial Hospital Saturday Market days at the Logan County Fairground and is also looking into utilizing the Third Friday events in downtown Lincoln as a marketing opportunity.



After making the rounds at all the tables at the 2022 LLCEO tradeshow, no evening would be complete without a snack to munch on while visiting with the many visitors to the tradeshow. Heavily frosted cookies and bottle water were available for the taking.

This year was the first for LLCEO Facilitator Lisa Kuhlman. In her letter in the annual report she noted that the experience had been very good for her and she had learned a few things herself.

She wrote, "“My first year as a facilitator has opened by eyes to what a truly unique and enriching experience CEO offers. More than one of our guest speaks has commented, "I wish this program existed when I was in high school." Indeed it has been my privilege to receive this world-class entrepreneurial education right along with the students.”"

The annual tradeshow marks the unofficial end to the program year for the students.

Congratulations to the LLCEO Class of 2022 for a job well done.

[Nila Smith]