Three past business plan competition winners tell their stories

BCE Blog: Advice from entrepreneurs

Posted by Fred Steiner on December 9, 2019 - 1:19pm

BCE holds the next Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition in January-February 2020, with $7,500 in prizes to be awarded. Additional details are at the bottom of this story.

By Paula Scott, BCE Executive Director
Why enter the 2020 Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition? Who better to ask than a trio of past winners?

Dan Klear of Superior Energy Solutions, Marlena Ballinger of the Dough Hook Meat Market and Beth Bish of Bluffton Pediatrics explained how the program benefited their businesses at our November Brown Bag Discussion at Bluffton Town Hall. They also discussed how their lives have changed since becoming business owners.

Dan Klear
Klear, a former GM engineer, felt the “stars had aligned” when he wrote his first check as Superior Energy Solutions to the BCE in 2009. He was surprised to discover that he was also the BCE’s first client!

The power of writing things down was an important takeaway for Klear, who designs and installs solar energy systems for homes, farms, and commercial applications. He recalled pulling out goals made years before and discovering that his Ottawa-based business had reached them all.

Marlena Ballinger
Ballinger, a contestant in the “improving 45817” category, is a second generation business owner. She left a career in publishing and graphic design to run The Dough Hook Meat Market. Her mother had started the business at the Bluffton Farmers Market and opened the shop on Main Street.

Marlena’s prize money was $1,000 but she credits the BCE competition with helping her find the financing for a $15,000 hamburger press that allowed her to stop making sirloin patties by hand and greatly multiply sales of the product.

Beth Bish
Pediatric nurse Beth Bish created the first pediatric medical practice in Bluffton when she started Bluffton Pediatrics five years ago during the BCE competition. She estimates that it took some 24 hours of work outside the class to create her plan.

A medical provider with decades of nursing and pediatric experience, Bish made the big transition from employee to employer when she created her own practice, now located across from Bluffton Elementary School. Her family also took the leap with her: she stressed that it is essential to have the full support of your spouse to succeed.

The entrepreneurs agreed that they now look at the world and themselves a little differently. Klear was surprised to find himself a salesperson. Bish says she's learned that “‘money’ isn’t a dirty word.” Ballinger found that “you don’t know what you don’t know.” That is, you’ll make many discoveries in the business planning process.

Thank you to Dan, Marlena, and Beth for “helping us grow a great community!” and for sharing your experiences with us.