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Business leaders tell students success begins early
(by Sue Hoffman - March 24, 2011)
Business leaders tell students success begins early
By SUE HOFFMAN
When she's conducting a job interview, the most important quality she looks for is passion, guest panelist Mary Wheeler told about 50 business students at Kenston High School recently. To be successful, she said, "You have to have passion. Our passion is our product," she said, which is landscaping.
Mrs. Wheeler, director of human resources of Wheeler Landscaping, a family business in Auburn, was one of four business owners from Bainbridge who participated in the student-led panel discussion.
The "brand" they establish is also vital, said panelist Maureen Brichmann, the service and creative coordinator at Dochmann Printing in Willoughby. "You start developing your brand right now," which includes "your manners, work ethic, what you're putting on Facebook," she said. "You carry your brand throughout life," she said. "That's going to determine how successful you are."
Dennis Lehman, of NCA Planners in Cleveland, said success also requires confidence. "You have to have a tremendous amount of confidence," he said. "You have to be able to bounce back and go on," he said, and learn from mistakes.
"You need to develop a skill set," said George Pogan, of Rehab Onsite in Bainbridge. The skill set should reflect "who you are and how you want to serve people." Succeeding in business means looking "at people's needs," he said, and answering the question, "How am I going to serve people better?"
Panelists presented their views on the keys to success in response to questions asked by high school senior Ryan Reese, who moderated the program. Business teacher Rob Tripi introduced Ryan as "an outstanding student" who will pursue business studies at Brigham Young University next fall.
"I've taken most of the business classes here," Ryan said during the program's refreshment break. His course work has included international business, business principles and law and business management, he said.
"We are unique," Mr. Tripi said. "Kenston High School is leading the way with business classes, from accounting to international business and personal finance. It's nice for the kids to take business classes here and be a step ahead when they get to college."
Mr. Tripi said the panel discussion was presented by the Kenston Business Advisory Council. The council, which meets four times a year, includes business and community leaders, school district administrators and local government officials who get together to share ideas and information.
"This was the first student program presented by the council in a few years," Mr. Tripi said. "It's a great way for the kids to be inspired and gain insight from local business people. We're so fortunate to have a local business community that is so strong."
He credited Paul O'Connor, of the council and Kenston Citizens Advisory Committee, for coordinating the program.
The panel discussion appealed to the audience. "I really liked their conversation about what they want in a future employee," senior Nicki Henry said.
Nate Lorentz, a senior who plans to major in accounting at college, was one of several students who gathered with the speakers during the break to continue the discussion. He said panelists told him that the prestige of a college "is not as important as how you act as a person."
After the break, panelists answered questions from the audience. One student asked how they started their careers.
Mrs. Brichmann said she was inspired by her father, who owned his own business. When she was 13, she started her own tennis camp. "Start now," she told students.
Mr. Pogan said he comes from a family of coal miners in Southeastern Ohio. He quipped that he was too tall to work in a coal mine, so he thought he had better go to college. He went "from one step to the next" to become chief executive officer of a health-care consulting business, he said.
A former school board member, Mrs. Wheeler said her husband, John, was helped by a neighbor in Lake Lucerne to start a landscaping and snowplowing business when he was 15. "He had a passion for what he did. We met and shared that passion and grew the company together," she said.
Mr. Lehman, who has served on Kenston Citizens Advisory Committee, said he was influenced by hardworking parents to work his way up to the responsibility of running a financial planning company and managing millions of dollars for clients. "If you run a small business, you wear a lot of different hats," he said.
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