In the CBJ: Stillwater Coffee marks Deb Witte's next chapter
Stillwater Coffee will offer visitors to Morgan & Morio Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery a place to relax while patients are treated when construction is completed at 1275 N. Center Point Road, Hiawatha, later this year.
Opening and selling three Corridor coffee houses, along with several other businesses, has given Deb Witte a unique perspective on the task ahead of her as she brews up Hiawatha's next coffee purveyor.
"Most important is to keep it simple, to focus on the coffee first and then try to keep in mind that you can't please everyone," said Ms. Witte, who expects to open Stillwater Coffee Co. this summer at 1275 N. Center Point Road in Hiawatha.
Coffee houses have become places where people can expect to find anything from kombucha to craft beer. It's next to impossible to do it all and do it right.
"Serve quality, not quantity," said the founder of Brewed Awakenings in Cedar Rapids and Wit's End in Marion.
Even a successful deviation from the coffee formula can create problems, she said. At Java Joe's, an early venture in Cedar Rapids, her decision to offer homemade soups and salads for lunch brought a daily lunch crowd that added greatly to her workload, without adding a lot to the bottom line.
Stillwater will be different from her earlier ventures in two ways.
Read the full members-only story in this week's print or digital editions of the CBJ.
Cedar Ridge launches new vodka to support Iowa trails
Cedar Ridge has launched Bagger Vodka, a new Iowa-made vodka that will donate $1 from the sale of every one-liter bottle to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation in support of new trail development and maintenance.
Bagger is the second vodka from Cedar Ridge, which first released Clearheart Vodka in 2005, and the first philanthropic partnership for the Swisher-based winery and distillery.
"As our business has grown, we've begun to think more seriously about what important cause we could support and foster," Jeff Quint, owner and founder of Cedar Ridge, said in a statement. "Meanwhile, we were watching out-of-state vodkas dominate the Iowa market - nearly all of this vodka being made from corn. So, we put these two things together and created an all Iowa-made vodka that gives back to Iowa. We hope Iowans will get behind it."
Bagger Vodka is now available for order through the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division (ABD), and will be available in stores as early as today.
Iowa small businesses were profit engines last year
Revenues and employment were up last year at the nation's small businesses, but profits were flat, according to surveys by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks.
Iowa's small businesses were the most profitable among small businesses in the five-state area served by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Des Moines Business Record reported. The Chicago Fed district is made up of northern Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, Michigan's lower peninsula and all of Iowa.
In Iowa, 66 percent of small businesses reported operating at a profit, with 19 percent operating at a loss. The state was a bit of an outlier in terms of taking advantage of community banks. Of Iowa businesses seeking small-business loans, 81 percent sought bank financing. The national norm is 44 percent.
Small businesses were defined as those with between one and 499 full- or part-time employees.
The full report is available at the Small Business Credit Survey: 2019 Report on Employer Firms. More research and analysis on small businesses is available at FedSmallBusiness.org.
"Our study shows that small business owners are generally aware that they need to be online to be successful, but lack the expertise to make the most of their online presence," Managing Partner Scott Langdon said in a release.
In other findings:
Small business owners in the Northeast (70 percent) and on the West Coast (69 percent) were more likely to say that an online presence was "extremely important" to their business. Those numbers were significantly higher than in the South (58 percent) and Midwest (50 percent).
The most common primary goal for small business owners was "General Brand Awareness/Provide Information" at 38 percent. Other common goals were "E-commerce/Product Sales" (23 percent) and to "Generate Phone Calls/Lead Submissions" (20 percent).
44 percent of the small business owners surveyed currently allocate only $1-$499 of their marketing budget on digital marketing activities. An additional 6.7 percent spend nothing at all on digital marketing practices - a low number for a marketing medium that they feel is vital to their overall success.
Column: Writing for short attention spans in a Twitter world
In this week's consulting spotlight,
Jen Neumann of de Novo Marketing explains why it's best to be poignant, pithy and to the point in an era of shorter attention spans.
Have you ever shown up for an event or meeting, or even a family dinner, and there's some important nugget you didn't know about?
And then you get this: "Do you get our emails/read our blog/follow us on Twitter?"
"Well, yeah," you respond, "I do, but I don't get a chance to read everything."
As marketers or information sharers, it's frustrating because we struggle to put information out in every format that we possibly can, to catch the attention of our audiences and share what we think is vital information. But we often find out that our missives have gone unread.
Why? "Too long; didn't read."
Sometimes this feels almost offensive. We pour all our energies into our communications in the hopes that by putting as much info as possible out there, it's sure to get through one way or another. But the truth is we're giving way too much information most of the time. And trying to hit every communication outlet just short of nailing a Papal Bull to their front door is adding to the problem.
So, what's the key to getting vital information out in front of your audience?
Understand where most of your market gets their information. Tweets? Facebook posts? Emails? Snail mail? Understanding your audience and where they get their info is key to your strategy being effective. Use your open rates, engagement statistics and other data points to help you determine the most effective methods.
Don't assume they are waiting for your missive. Let's be clear. No one (besides maybe your mom) goes to your blog or website without a compelling reason (a search for relevant info) and time to do so (and a link). They don't read your emails if they are too long or aren't readable on a mobile device. They probably aren't opening your U.S. mail, or spending quality time reading it either.
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INCOTERMS Refresher, by International Traders of Iowa, 5-6:30 p.m., Need Pizza, 207 Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Network and get a refresher on shipping terms with ITI. Presentation by Teri Garrett, of Expeditors. Cost: Members $10, non-members $12, students $5. To register, visit
iowatraders.org.
Protecting Your Intellectual Property, by SCORE of East Central Iowa, 6-7:30 p.m., Cedar Rapids Main Library, 450 Fifth Ave. SE. Learn the different types of intellectual property, how to protect your IP and what to do if it has been infringed. Free. For more information, visit
eastcentraliowa.score.org.
BizMix, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and Marion Chamber of Commerce, 5-7 p.m., Dupaco Community Credit Union, 5970 Carlson Way, Marion. Get to know the business community while enjoying hors d'oeuvres and cocktails during this networking event. Free. For more information, visit
web.marioncc.org.
April 19
Resources for Conducting International Business and Trade, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, noon-1 p.m., Economic Alliance, 501 First St. SE. Kathy Bell, deputy director of finance and administration for Eastern Iowa Airport, will share information on the airport's Foreign Trade Zone. Peggy Kerr, team leader at the IEDA's International Trade Office, will present on available resources. Free. To register, visit
bit.ly/2HnFh7g.
April 22
Coralville Roundtable, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon-1 p.m., Iowa River Power, 501 First Ave., Coralville. Network during this social lunch and keep up-to-date with chamber and community events. Free. For more information, visit
iowacityarea.com.
Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
A federal judge Thursday ordered that a Cedar Rapids man charged with two federal drug crimes be released from jail ahead of his June 10 trial.
Judge Mark Roberts found that Mathew Wharton does not pose a threat to the community or a flight risk, namely, because evidence presented did not suggest that Mr. Wharton has a history of violent behavior. During the hearing, a member of law enforcement testified that at a traffic stop in Cedar Rapids on January 19, officers found Mr. Wharton with two bags of methamphetamine, totaling to 23.7 grams. The officer testified that amount of meth is generally indicative of a person who is dealing the substance. However, Mr. Wharton's attorney argued that the amount was about a "week's supply" for Wharton, intended for personal use. When interviewed ahead of the trial, Mr. Wharton said he uses about an "8 ball" of meth daily - approximately 3.5 grams a day. Mr. Wharton said he has been a meth user since age 15. During a raid April 11 at Mr. Wharton's home on the Southwest side of Cedar Rapids, officers located two guns in the garage. Authorities believe one was a gun that was stolen from Croell Redi-Mix in Cedar Rapids February 25. In his interview following his arrest, Wharton claimed he didn't know how the guns got there and that someone may have put them there. He did not suggest a name of a person who may have put them there. Wharton has no charges related to the February 25 burglary.
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast
It will cloudy, cool, and windy today behind yesterday's cold front. Temperatures will be in the 50s and it will feel colder with strong winds around 15-30 mph. Clouds will break up tonight and temperatures will drop into the 30s.
The sun will return Friday and temperatures will bounce back into the 50s and 60s. There will be plenty of sun Saturday and it will be even warmer with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. There will be a cold front that starts to move through the area Sunday that will bring a mix of sun and clouds for Sunday. Easter will be pleasant and warm with temperatures in the 60s and 70s.
