Entrepreneurs + Innovators
ray's indoor mountain bike heads west
Since opening in 2004, Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park has been nothing short of a wild ride. The 100,000-plus square-foot park attracts thousands of thrill-seekers from all across the Midwest, making it a bona fide Cleveland success story. Last week, owner Ray Petro accomplished what he had been planning to do for years: open a second location out of state.
Last week, Petro opened a 110,000-square-foot Milwaukee location in a former Menards Home Improvement Center, a move he pulled off by partnering with Trek.
In a recent Cycling News article, the writer says the new facility "builds upon the success of the original location in Cleveland, Ohio." The indoor park gives riders a place to ride, train, and develop skills -- especially during the long winter months.
The article states that the grand opening of the Milwaukee location had been postponed until New Year's weekend from its original November date because of city permit issues.
Read the trail story here.
Last week, Petro opened a 110,000-square-foot Milwaukee location in a former Menards Home Improvement Center, a move he pulled off by partnering with Trek.
In a recent Cycling News article, the writer says the new facility "builds upon the success of the original location in Cleveland, Ohio." The indoor park gives riders a place to ride, train, and develop skills -- especially during the long winter months.
The article states that the grand opening of the Milwaukee location had been postponed until New Year's weekend from its original November date because of city permit issues.
Read the trail story here.
The recession grinds on, but the new store Native Cleveland has found a surprisingly lucrative niche: Local.
"Business is great," says manager Megan Coffman. "Everybody wants holiday gifts that are locally made."
Pushing local products is Native Cleveland's business model and mission. Located on Collinwood's Waterloo Road, in the former home of Shoparooni, Native Cleveland carries mostly products made in Ohio, and most are from the Cleveland region. Coffman says the idea for the store came from her time at CLE Clothing and seeing how well that company's Cleveland-themed gear sold at festivals and other events.
Native Cleveland is a featured vendor for CLE Clothing products, and Coffman says they're selling well there, too. Another big seller is exclusive Cleveland-themed prints from Grey Cardigan. Current inventory also includes buttons and signs from Northcoast Zeitgeist and Cleveland, Akron and Kent baby onesies.
Native Cleveland's holiday hours are noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Source: Megan Coffman
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
"Business is great," says manager Megan Coffman. "Everybody wants holiday gifts that are locally made."
Pushing local products is Native Cleveland's business model and mission. Located on Collinwood's Waterloo Road, in the former home of Shoparooni, Native Cleveland carries mostly products made in Ohio, and most are from the Cleveland region. Coffman says the idea for the store came from her time at CLE Clothing and seeing how well that company's Cleveland-themed gear sold at festivals and other events.
Native Cleveland is a featured vendor for CLE Clothing products, and Coffman says they're selling well there, too. Another big seller is exclusive Cleveland-themed prints from Grey Cardigan. Current inventory also includes buttons and signs from Northcoast Zeitgeist and Cleveland, Akron and Kent baby onesies.
Native Cleveland's holiday hours are noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Source: Megan Coffman
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Technically, Ohio Knitting Mills' first retail store in Cleveland is temporary. "But the reception has been tremendous," says owner Steve Tatar, "and it's encouraging for staying the long term."
Tatar's Ohio Knitting Mills sells sweaters and other apparel manufactured long ago -- between 1947 and 1974 -- by a large Cleveland-based company of the same name. "Beginning after World War II, the Mill plucked samples of each style they produced and put them into storage," the website explains. "We've opened this time capsule, and offer to you our collection of perfectly preserved American fashion and industrial craftsmanship."
In addition to selling online, Tatar ran a retail shop in Brooklyn, N.Y., for a couple years before returning to Cleveland in 2008. The new "pop-up shop", at 6505 Detroit Rd. in the Gordon Square Arts District (the former home of Room Service), has been well received, even by those who know nothing of the company's intriguing story.
"At first people were coming in and were like, 'This is cool -- what am I looking at? Who are you, what are you doing here?'" Tatar explains. So the store has become something of a gallery or museum, reviving interest in Cleveland's extensive but unheralded history as a garment-manufacturing center.
The store is also helping Tatar meet more Clevelanders who are creating things, like clothing and furniture, and slowly creating national buzz in their respective industries. Ohio in general, and Cleveland in particular, are reclaiming their reputations for high-quality manufacturing. As Tatar put its, "We still have the souls of makers."
Source: Steve Tatar
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Tatar's Ohio Knitting Mills sells sweaters and other apparel manufactured long ago -- between 1947 and 1974 -- by a large Cleveland-based company of the same name. "Beginning after World War II, the Mill plucked samples of each style they produced and put them into storage," the website explains. "We've opened this time capsule, and offer to you our collection of perfectly preserved American fashion and industrial craftsmanship."
In addition to selling online, Tatar ran a retail shop in Brooklyn, N.Y., for a couple years before returning to Cleveland in 2008. The new "pop-up shop", at 6505 Detroit Rd. in the Gordon Square Arts District (the former home of Room Service), has been well received, even by those who know nothing of the company's intriguing story.
"At first people were coming in and were like, 'This is cool -- what am I looking at? Who are you, what are you doing here?'" Tatar explains. So the store has become something of a gallery or museum, reviving interest in Cleveland's extensive but unheralded history as a garment-manufacturing center.
The store is also helping Tatar meet more Clevelanders who are creating things, like clothing and furniture, and slowly creating national buzz in their respective industries. Ohio in general, and Cleveland in particular, are reclaiming their reputations for high-quality manufacturing. As Tatar put its, "We still have the souls of makers."
Source: Steve Tatar
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Digiknow and Downtown Cleveland Alliance have partnered up in a new mobile marketing plan that uses QR codes to provide information to on-the-go residents. The QR codes will connect residents and customers to online profiles of downtown stakeholders such as bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, hotels, and commercial and residential properties.
CLE equity firm riverside continues to make deals, grow staff
The Riverside Company is experiencing its strongest fourth quarter in the company's 22-year history. That, in addition to snagging Mergers & Acquisitions Journal's recent designation as "Private Equity Firm of the Year."
"It has been a remarkably busy time," admits Graham Hearns, director of marketing and communications for the Cleveland-based private equity firm. "We've had four or five acquisitions and a couple of business exits so far, and we could have as many as six or seven more transactions in the next two weeks."
Hearns attributes this growth to lenders once again offering money to businesses and to more realistic buyer and seller expectations.
For Riverside, this meant moving forward with company acquisitions that it has been researching in the midst of an economic downturn. "During the whole global financial crisis we never came to a standstill," Hearns says. "We are generalists, so we like to window shop."
Riverside has found success in maintaining its general portfolio while also beefing up two key areas of company acquisitions: healthcare and education and training. The company's latest investment is G&H Wire Company, a Franklin, Indiana-based manufacturer and supplier of orthodontic products. G&H becomes Riverside's 49th healthcare transaction. Overall, Riverside has made more than 200 acquisitions of companies with $200 million or less in enterprise value.
Riverside has 19 offices around the world, but Cleveland continues to be its largest with about 50 employees. "There's been a continuous growth of the Cleveland team," Hearns says, adding that Riverside hired about six new people in 2010 and expects to add about the same amount in the next year or so.
SOURCE: The Riverside Company
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
"It has been a remarkably busy time," admits Graham Hearns, director of marketing and communications for the Cleveland-based private equity firm. "We've had four or five acquisitions and a couple of business exits so far, and we could have as many as six or seven more transactions in the next two weeks."
Hearns attributes this growth to lenders once again offering money to businesses and to more realistic buyer and seller expectations.
For Riverside, this meant moving forward with company acquisitions that it has been researching in the midst of an economic downturn. "During the whole global financial crisis we never came to a standstill," Hearns says. "We are generalists, so we like to window shop."
Riverside has found success in maintaining its general portfolio while also beefing up two key areas of company acquisitions: healthcare and education and training. The company's latest investment is G&H Wire Company, a Franklin, Indiana-based manufacturer and supplier of orthodontic products. G&H becomes Riverside's 49th healthcare transaction. Overall, Riverside has made more than 200 acquisitions of companies with $200 million or less in enterprise value.
Riverside has 19 offices around the world, but Cleveland continues to be its largest with about 50 employees. "There's been a continuous growth of the Cleveland team," Hearns says, adding that Riverside hired about six new people in 2010 and expects to add about the same amount in the next year or so.
SOURCE: The Riverside Company
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
heights' new development director sees opportunity everywhere
Howard Thompson's appraisals of Cleveland Heights bring to mind the phrase "target-rich environment." The city's new development director, on the job about three weeks, enthusiastically rattles off the opportunities he sees for the inner-ring suburb in 2011.
There's the old Coventry School, parts of which will be used next year by Ensemble Theatre. In the rest, Thompson imagines an entrepreneurial development center. There's the on-again, off-again Top of the Hill plan, which would bring some combination of new housing, commercial and office space to the 3.5-acre city-owned site, most of it parking lot, at Cedar Road and Euclid Heights Boulevard (behind Nighttown). There's the former Oakwood Country Club, which many would like to see preserved as green space but is also a rare large tract (144 acres) in an otherwise densely packed city.
Heights' commercial and residential density -- and close proximity to each other -- are desirable traits, says Thompson, who worked most recently in Beachwood. "But it's also a bit of a challenge at the same time," he adds, "because you have to create development opportunities."
There are many small-scale opportunities in Heights' many architecturally intriguing but technologically lacking buildings. "Some properties just need to be updated or renovated," he says. And as businesses in nearby University Circle grow, Heights could become an attractive place to expand.
Thompson's career began in Cleveland Heights. He interned in city hall while earning a master's degree in public administration at Cleveland State in the early '90s.
Source: Howard Thompson
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
There's the old Coventry School, parts of which will be used next year by Ensemble Theatre. In the rest, Thompson imagines an entrepreneurial development center. There's the on-again, off-again Top of the Hill plan, which would bring some combination of new housing, commercial and office space to the 3.5-acre city-owned site, most of it parking lot, at Cedar Road and Euclid Heights Boulevard (behind Nighttown). There's the former Oakwood Country Club, which many would like to see preserved as green space but is also a rare large tract (144 acres) in an otherwise densely packed city.
Heights' commercial and residential density -- and close proximity to each other -- are desirable traits, says Thompson, who worked most recently in Beachwood. "But it's also a bit of a challenge at the same time," he adds, "because you have to create development opportunities."
There are many small-scale opportunities in Heights' many architecturally intriguing but technologically lacking buildings. "Some properties just need to be updated or renovated," he says. And as businesses in nearby University Circle grow, Heights could become an attractive place to expand.
Thompson's career began in Cleveland Heights. He interned in city hall while earning a master's degree in public administration at Cleveland State in the early '90s.
Source: Howard Thompson
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Personal frustration led Jeremy Handel to come up with his company's latest product: a gaming app for Apple's iOS platform.
"I subscribe to several gaming magazines, and I was finding that I would read game previews months in advance of the release," says the founder of Handelabra. At other times, games would come and go without Handel realizing it. He began tacking post-it notes on his computer as reminders of when games would be released, but when that became too cumbersome, Mandel realized a game-reminder app would be much more efficient.
GAME.minder, which is the result of a partnership with Case Western's student think tank Qube Lab, currently tracks more than 1,000 games. Thanks to the free, fully interactive app for iPhone/iOS, users can search and filter their favorite games by platform, title, popularity or release date. Setting a "RE.minder" tells GAME.minder to notify the user before a new game hits the shelves.
Handelabra has two other apps already on the market: StyleAssist, a photo-sharing app focused on hair styles; and Better Clock, a universal alarm clock app for iPhone and iPad. The three-person Handelabra team is currently focused on the iOS platform, according to Handel, who adds that the company's long-term goal "would be to bring successful products to other smartphone platforms like Android. We do not currently plan to extend our products to the desktop, preferring to focus on mobile exclusively."
SOURCE: Jeremy Handel
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
"I subscribe to several gaming magazines, and I was finding that I would read game previews months in advance of the release," says the founder of Handelabra. At other times, games would come and go without Handel realizing it. He began tacking post-it notes on his computer as reminders of when games would be released, but when that became too cumbersome, Mandel realized a game-reminder app would be much more efficient.
GAME.minder, which is the result of a partnership with Case Western's student think tank Qube Lab, currently tracks more than 1,000 games. Thanks to the free, fully interactive app for iPhone/iOS, users can search and filter their favorite games by platform, title, popularity or release date. Setting a "RE.minder" tells GAME.minder to notify the user before a new game hits the shelves.
Handelabra has two other apps already on the market: StyleAssist, a photo-sharing app focused on hair styles; and Better Clock, a universal alarm clock app for iPhone and iPad. The three-person Handelabra team is currently focused on the iOS platform, according to Handel, who adds that the company's long-term goal "would be to bring successful products to other smartphone platforms like Android. We do not currently plan to extend our products to the desktop, preferring to focus on mobile exclusively."
SOURCE: Jeremy Handel
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Amy and Montri Visatsud met in a Thai restaurant, so it's only fitting that they'd open their own. Banana Blossom debuted in November at 2800 Clinton in Ohio City.
The couple considered Brunswick, but the choice wasn't difficult. "I'm a Cleveland native," says Amy, "and I'm really excited to see all the new businesses coming into the neighborhood, and this seemed like a good opportunity to get in there."
The move quickly paid off. Amy says she's pleasantly surprised by the local support, especially considering that the site -- the former home of Jazz 28 and Halite -- is a couple blocks off the main West 25th Street drag. "We have a lot of regulars already," she reports. "We had one girl who was there four times in the first week we were open."
Montri worked in an aunt's restaurant in Seattle, but is a first-time owner. Partner Sengchan Misaiphon is the chef. Both are from Bangkok, and they strive for authenticity in their extensive menu, which includes 58 entrees.
Source: Amy Visatsud
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
The couple considered Brunswick, but the choice wasn't difficult. "I'm a Cleveland native," says Amy, "and I'm really excited to see all the new businesses coming into the neighborhood, and this seemed like a good opportunity to get in there."
The move quickly paid off. Amy says she's pleasantly surprised by the local support, especially considering that the site -- the former home of Jazz 28 and Halite -- is a couple blocks off the main West 25th Street drag. "We have a lot of regulars already," she reports. "We had one girl who was there four times in the first week we were open."
Montri worked in an aunt's restaurant in Seattle, but is a first-time owner. Partner Sengchan Misaiphon is the chef. Both are from Bangkok, and they strive for authenticity in their extensive menu, which includes 58 entrees.
Source: Amy Visatsud
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Hyland Software has
"strong management, a clear strategy, happy customers and a
vertical-market focus." That, according to the IT research and advisory
company Gartner, is part of the reason Hyland Software is on its list of
leaders in the enterprise content management (ECM) industry. Gartner's
Magic Quadrant 2010 puts Hyland Software in good company, as it shares
the title "leader" with the likes of Microsoft, Oracle and IBM. The
annual Magic Quadrant is used by the IT industry to evaluate ECM vendor
options.
The review from Gartner also pointed to Hyland's sales growth and success selling a version of the company's OnBase software that runs over the Internet. OnBase features document, business process and records management services.
A.J. Hyland, president and CEO of the Westlake-based company, says that Hyland's success relies on staying true to its own mission. "Since the beginning, Hyland strategically decided not to pursue two of Gartner's requirements to be a leader: team collaboration and WCM (web content management)," Hyland wrote on his company blog. "Instead, it stayed focused on this: integrated document imaging, management and workflow capabilities that meet the needs of targeted vertical industries."
This appears to have been a successful strategy. The company has had a banner year adding to its market share through acquisitions. New to the Hyland Software family in 2010 are eWebHealth, which specializes in Software as a Service (Saas); Hershey Systems, which focuses on the higher education market; and Computer Systems Company, a business and clinical healthcare software entity.
SOURCE: Hyland Software
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
The review from Gartner also pointed to Hyland's sales growth and success selling a version of the company's OnBase software that runs over the Internet. OnBase features document, business process and records management services.
A.J. Hyland, president and CEO of the Westlake-based company, says that Hyland's success relies on staying true to its own mission. "Since the beginning, Hyland strategically decided not to pursue two of Gartner's requirements to be a leader: team collaboration and WCM (web content management)," Hyland wrote on his company blog. "Instead, it stayed focused on this: integrated document imaging, management and workflow capabilities that meet the needs of targeted vertical industries."
This appears to have been a successful strategy. The company has had a banner year adding to its market share through acquisitions. New to the Hyland Software family in 2010 are eWebHealth, which specializes in Software as a Service (Saas); Hershey Systems, which focuses on the higher education market; and Computer Systems Company, a business and clinical healthcare software entity.
SOURCE: Hyland Software
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Creative signs are making a comeback in Cleveland. Dramatic signage not only perks up a neighborhood visually, it makes them more competitive by helping indie retailers stand out from national chains. For proof, look at East Fourth Street.
what torino can teach cleveland
Torino has been called the Detroit of Italy. And like that -- and our -- city, it succeeded or failed on the backs of a few large manufacturers. In the 1980s, the shutdown of some of those big companies cost the Torino region more than 100,000 jobs. That city wouldn't turn things around economically for nearly 20 years.
But turn things around it did, says this Time article, which states that Torino has "become a model of how a city can transform itself after an industrial collapse." Civic and business leaders there fashioned an aggressive urban plan that included expansion into international markets, investments in innovation, and the buildup of new sectors like food and tourism. Today, Torino's per capita GDP is more than 10% higher than the national average.
Lessons learned there can -- and in some cases already are, says Time -- being implemented here in Cleveland.
"Once a powerhouse of heavy industry -- steel, rubber, automobiles -- Cleveland has struggled for decades to find its footing. Recently, however, the city and the surrounding area have established agencies like those in Torino to help young companies get off the ground, assist midsize businesses with finding new markets, and guide the city's old manufacturing base into faster-growing sectors such as medical supplies, flexible electronics, clean energy and next-generation polymers."
And efforts are already paying off: "Cleveland and its region are now home to 19 venture-capital firms -- up from two in 2000 -- and are focused on working to help existing firms find their places in the new economy."
Read the entire article here.
But turn things around it did, says this Time article, which states that Torino has "become a model of how a city can transform itself after an industrial collapse." Civic and business leaders there fashioned an aggressive urban plan that included expansion into international markets, investments in innovation, and the buildup of new sectors like food and tourism. Today, Torino's per capita GDP is more than 10% higher than the national average.
Lessons learned there can -- and in some cases already are, says Time -- being implemented here in Cleveland.
"Once a powerhouse of heavy industry -- steel, rubber, automobiles -- Cleveland has struggled for decades to find its footing. Recently, however, the city and the surrounding area have established agencies like those in Torino to help young companies get off the ground, assist midsize businesses with finding new markets, and guide the city's old manufacturing base into faster-growing sectors such as medical supplies, flexible electronics, clean energy and next-generation polymers."
And efforts are already paying off: "Cleveland and its region are now home to 19 venture-capital firms -- up from two in 2000 -- and are focused on working to help existing firms find their places in the new economy."
Read the entire article here.
In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, Huntington Bank
led other lenders in Northeast Ohio in number of small business loans,
total dollars lent and amount of minority lending. This report from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Cleveland District Office signals the second year in a row that Huntington was the regional leader in loan support to small business owners.
In the past year, Huntington gave out 365 loans and $59 million, including $8 million in minority lending, in the Cleveland region.
These numbers indicate the bank's commitment to growing the local economy through financial lending to entrepreneurs and small business owners, according to Dan Walsh, regional president for Huntington in the Greater Cleveland Region. "Through Huntington's continued partnership with the SBA, we've helped businesses in Cleveland and across our markets retain and grow jobs, expand their services or buy new equipment and become stronger and better positioned for the future," he says.
"When we put dollars in the hands of local small business owners, new businesses can start or be rescued, jobs are created and our economy is jump started," Walsh adds.
Huntington is the fifth-largest SBA lender in the country in number of loans, according to bank sources.
SOURCE: Huntington Bank
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
In the past year, Huntington gave out 365 loans and $59 million, including $8 million in minority lending, in the Cleveland region.
These numbers indicate the bank's commitment to growing the local economy through financial lending to entrepreneurs and small business owners, according to Dan Walsh, regional president for Huntington in the Greater Cleveland Region. "Through Huntington's continued partnership with the SBA, we've helped businesses in Cleveland and across our markets retain and grow jobs, expand their services or buy new equipment and become stronger and better positioned for the future," he says.
"When we put dollars in the hands of local small business owners, new businesses can start or be rescued, jobs are created and our economy is jump started," Walsh adds.
Huntington is the fifth-largest SBA lender in the country in number of loans, according to bank sources.
SOURCE: Huntington Bank
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Prfessor.com officially launched this year, beckoning anybody who knows something about a subject to create an online course for the benefit of others. According to Jim Kukral, one of three owners of the Rocky River-based e-learning curriculum designer, "hundreds of thousands of visitors and students have experienced Prfessor." Topics currently on the site range from marketing to green living.
Now Prfessor is promoting the use of its online resource for businesses that want to educate staff without the expense and time-consuming nature of classroom-style training. Prfessor offers corporations, small businesses and nonprofits a variety of advanced interactive tools designed to encourage self-paced learning.
This style of training benefits both employer and employee, according to Kukral. " "Prfessor.com helps you control your costs as you improve the quality of your staff and they, in turn, improve profits by doing their jobs better selling more products, providing better customer service and leading their teams effectively," he says. "Prfessor allows anyone, without tech skills, to go out and teach what they know."
Businesses and organizations can take advantage of Prfessor by signing up online to create unlimited courses, develop quizzes to gauge students' understanding of topics and make use of A/V, PowerPoint and graphics to stimulate the learning process.
Kukral foresees strong growth in Prfessor's future, thanks to ever-expanding use of the Internet for educational purposes. "The market for education online is growing by leaps and bounds," Kukral says. Prfessor is designed to encourage users to "empty your head onto the Web," he adds.
SOURCE: Jim Kukral, Prfessor.com
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Now Prfessor is promoting the use of its online resource for businesses that want to educate staff without the expense and time-consuming nature of classroom-style training. Prfessor offers corporations, small businesses and nonprofits a variety of advanced interactive tools designed to encourage self-paced learning.
This style of training benefits both employer and employee, according to Kukral. " "Prfessor.com helps you control your costs as you improve the quality of your staff and they, in turn, improve profits by doing their jobs better selling more products, providing better customer service and leading their teams effectively," he says. "Prfessor allows anyone, without tech skills, to go out and teach what they know."
Businesses and organizations can take advantage of Prfessor by signing up online to create unlimited courses, develop quizzes to gauge students' understanding of topics and make use of A/V, PowerPoint and graphics to stimulate the learning process.
Kukral foresees strong growth in Prfessor's future, thanks to ever-expanding use of the Internet for educational purposes. "The market for education online is growing by leaps and bounds," Kukral says. Prfessor is designed to encourage users to "empty your head onto the Web," he adds.
SOURCE: Jim Kukral, Prfessor.com
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
chef's garden a 'showpiece of agricultural ingenuity'
In this podcast of The Story, broadcast on American Public Media, host Dick Gordon chats with Lee Jones of the Chef's Garden. Taped during a live discussion in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the conversation delves into the genesis of what may be the nation's finest gourmet garden.
Located in Huron, near the shores of Lake Erie, the Chef's Garden grows produce year-round outdoors, in cold frames, and under glass. That produce is picked fresh and shipped to chefs and restaurants worldwide, even as far as Japan.
The always passionate Farmer Jones discusses how his family transformed a failed conventional farm into what Gordon calls a "showpiece of agricultural ingenuity."
Download or listen to the podcast here.
Located in Huron, near the shores of Lake Erie, the Chef's Garden grows produce year-round outdoors, in cold frames, and under glass. That produce is picked fresh and shipped to chefs and restaurants worldwide, even as far as Japan.
The always passionate Farmer Jones discusses how his family transformed a failed conventional farm into what Gordon calls a "showpiece of agricultural ingenuity."
Download or listen to the podcast here.
nPower peg pegged as one of wired's 'perfect gifts'
Tremont Electric's nPower PEG, a kinetic energy harvesting battery charger, was tapped as one of Wired magazine's "100 Perfect Gifts Whether You've Been Naughty or Nice!" Actually, the nifty device nailed the #5 spot.
Comparing the device to a self-winding watch, the entry says "this 9-inch cylinder captures watts via movement. A short walk charges the battery with enough juice to power up a dead cell phone for an emergency call -- like, say, to the pizzeria. Enjoy that slice; you earned it!"
Scroll through the entire list -- both naughty and nice -- here.
With their city's centennial coming up in less than 13 months, Shaker
Heights officials will spend a lot of time in the new year preparing to
celebrate history. But many are already looking much farther into the
future, implementing the Economic Development Strategy adopted by Shaker City Council last month.
Crafted over several months with a consulting firm in Maryland, the plan outlines steps Shaker can take now and in the foreseeable future to ensure a stable and growing tax base. The fundamental step: "Instead of concentrating solely on the maintenance and improvement of Shaker Heights as a premier residential community, it must also aggressively encourage commercial development."
And not just retail development, which, the report notes, is important but less lucrative than offices. The plan names industries to target: health care and social services; design services; information systems; government and regulatory agencies; and small law firms.
The problem, the report notes, is that "Shaker Heights, similar to most first suburbs, has many commercial properties that are functionally obsolete. [The city] will need to create a climate of commercial property investment that will upgrade or replace existing facilities as well as catalyze the development of new office buildings suitable for modern tenants looking for space in a supply-rich leasing environment."
Tania Menesse, Shaker's director of economic development, is looking at several ways to achieve this citywide renovation, including tax abatements, matching funds for building improvements, and partnerships with the community development departments of local banks.
"Everything," she says, "is focused on making the [office space] supply more attractive." Two areas of Chagrin Boulevard – near Lee Road, and near Warrensville Center Road – are especially promising, due to the commercials spaces available for lease or purchase there. She foresees many new and relocating small businesses moving into these areas, once buildings constructed for larger tenants have gotten new looks and floor plans.
"As a community, we've always done a good job focusing on our neighborhoods and parks and schools," Menesse says. "But we haven't done as good a job with our commercial districts."
The timing couldn't be better, what with the Shaker Launch House business incubator opening in a former car dealership in February. Says Menesse, "We want to be the east side place for people looking to start a company."
Source: Tania Menesse
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Crafted over several months with a consulting firm in Maryland, the plan outlines steps Shaker can take now and in the foreseeable future to ensure a stable and growing tax base. The fundamental step: "Instead of concentrating solely on the maintenance and improvement of Shaker Heights as a premier residential community, it must also aggressively encourage commercial development."
And not just retail development, which, the report notes, is important but less lucrative than offices. The plan names industries to target: health care and social services; design services; information systems; government and regulatory agencies; and small law firms.
The problem, the report notes, is that "Shaker Heights, similar to most first suburbs, has many commercial properties that are functionally obsolete. [The city] will need to create a climate of commercial property investment that will upgrade or replace existing facilities as well as catalyze the development of new office buildings suitable for modern tenants looking for space in a supply-rich leasing environment."
Tania Menesse, Shaker's director of economic development, is looking at several ways to achieve this citywide renovation, including tax abatements, matching funds for building improvements, and partnerships with the community development departments of local banks.
"Everything," she says, "is focused on making the [office space] supply more attractive." Two areas of Chagrin Boulevard – near Lee Road, and near Warrensville Center Road – are especially promising, due to the commercials spaces available for lease or purchase there. She foresees many new and relocating small businesses moving into these areas, once buildings constructed for larger tenants have gotten new looks and floor plans.
"As a community, we've always done a good job focusing on our neighborhoods and parks and schools," Menesse says. "But we haven't done as good a job with our commercial districts."
The timing couldn't be better, what with the Shaker Launch House business incubator opening in a former car dealership in February. Says Menesse, "We want to be the east side place for people looking to start a company."
Source: Tania Menesse
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
The St. Clair Superior neighborhood welcomed two new businesses recently, a café and a coffee shop, both in former factories, and both indicative of the forces that have been driving development in the area in recent years.
The 30th Street Café opened in Asia Plaza at East 30th and Payne, serving selections from Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines. Owned by the Hom family, prominent local entrepreneurs, Asia Plaza is a two-story retail center that was once a manufacturing plant.
Across Superior, in a warren of brick buildings once devoted to elevator manufacturing, the aptly named Pulley's Coffeehouse is serving beverages and food from Artefino Café to the growing number of people working there. Now known as Tyler Village, the 1.2-million-square-foot, 25-building, 10-acre complex is one of the largest downtown redevelopment projects in the city's history, according to developer Graystone Properties. It currently houses a charter school, Digiknow, APG Office Furnishings, Analiza Medical Lab, Solutions at Work and an office of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, whose clients staff Pulley's.
"Tyler is definitely the biggest development [in the neighborhood], and it's driving a lot of the investment," says Jamar Doyle, project manager for the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation. But he adds that there's a history of entrepreneurship in the local Asian-American community, and points to the almost 40 Asian restaurants now serving the area.
St. Clair Superior Development also plans streetscape improvements next year, with grant money from the Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency.
Source: St. Clair Superior Development Corporation
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
The 30th Street Café opened in Asia Plaza at East 30th and Payne, serving selections from Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines. Owned by the Hom family, prominent local entrepreneurs, Asia Plaza is a two-story retail center that was once a manufacturing plant.
Across Superior, in a warren of brick buildings once devoted to elevator manufacturing, the aptly named Pulley's Coffeehouse is serving beverages and food from Artefino Café to the growing number of people working there. Now known as Tyler Village, the 1.2-million-square-foot, 25-building, 10-acre complex is one of the largest downtown redevelopment projects in the city's history, according to developer Graystone Properties. It currently houses a charter school, Digiknow, APG Office Furnishings, Analiza Medical Lab, Solutions at Work and an office of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, whose clients staff Pulley's.
"Tyler is definitely the biggest development [in the neighborhood], and it's driving a lot of the investment," says Jamar Doyle, project manager for the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation. But he adds that there's a history of entrepreneurship in the local Asian-American community, and points to the almost 40 Asian restaurants now serving the area.
St. Clair Superior Development also plans streetscape improvements next year, with grant money from the Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency.
Source: St. Clair Superior Development Corporation
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Along with her fiancé, José Andrade, Leticia Ortiz recently launched La Bamba Tortilleria in Ohio City. The minority-owned start-up has filled a gap in the Mexican foods market for fresh, local tortillas while at the same time growing jobs.
Whether it's an empty nook in their attic or a corner table at the local Starbuck's, home-based businesspeople are constantly searching for the ideal spot to do research, make phone calls or meet with clients. Come June of 2011, East Side entrepreneurs will be able to take advantage of specially designed space at the Shaker Heights Public Library's main branch on Lee Road.
The Community Entrepreneurial Office -- CEO for short -- will be a pilot program featuring workspace and services for home-based business owners. The Shaker Heights Public Library announced this fall that it had received a $37,645 grant from the state to set up the facilities.
An existing computer area on the library's second floor is being redesigned to make way for 10 workstations and a conference area, which will be available free of charge. Entrepreneurs will also have access to business software. Faxing, photocopying and related services will be fee-based.
"We see that people come here to do certain business and then they have to go elsewhere to finish," notes Margaret Simon, who will head up the library's CEO program. "So we said we'll be the finisher." Home-based entrepreneurs can think of the CEO as a one-stop resource for their businesses, Simon adds.
She says she would like to build a staff around the CEO program as it grows. "My hope is that it will become a self-sustaining business that will generate jobs."
The Shaker Heights Library is in proximity to Shaker Launch House, a business incubator also opening in 2011. Simon is set to meet with developers of Launch House to discuss ways each can help local entrepreneurs. "I think we have parallel services and we can make them intersect," she says.
SOURCE: Margaret Simon
WRITER: Diane DiPIero
The Community Entrepreneurial Office -- CEO for short -- will be a pilot program featuring workspace and services for home-based business owners. The Shaker Heights Public Library announced this fall that it had received a $37,645 grant from the state to set up the facilities.
An existing computer area on the library's second floor is being redesigned to make way for 10 workstations and a conference area, which will be available free of charge. Entrepreneurs will also have access to business software. Faxing, photocopying and related services will be fee-based.
"We see that people come here to do certain business and then they have to go elsewhere to finish," notes Margaret Simon, who will head up the library's CEO program. "So we said we'll be the finisher." Home-based entrepreneurs can think of the CEO as a one-stop resource for their businesses, Simon adds.
She says she would like to build a staff around the CEO program as it grows. "My hope is that it will become a self-sustaining business that will generate jobs."
The Shaker Heights Library is in proximity to Shaker Launch House, a business incubator also opening in 2011. Simon is set to meet with developers of Launch House to discuss ways each can help local entrepreneurs. "I think we have parallel services and we can make them intersect," she says.
SOURCE: Margaret Simon
WRITER: Diane DiPIero
Health Information Technology (HIT) is a rapidly emerging field that will likely grow much faster than the average jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Midwest Community College HIT Consortium is designed to ready a trained workforce for jobs in the HIT sector.
The consortium is comprised of 17 large community colleges in 10 Midwest states, and is being led by Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). Last month, the consortium launched a new website to educate potential students and employers about the training offered through these community colleges. The website lists workforce roles within HIT and the training opportunities available at each community college and through virtual learning.
Executive director of the consortium, Norma Morganti, says that the website is another tool to help the consortium reach its goal of training 2,700 people annually for HIT jobs. "Studies indicate that as many as 50,000 additional HIT professionals may be needed over the next five years," she notes. The consortium was created to support national electronic health records implementation, Morganti adds.
Tri-C received the ARRA/HITECH Grant through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to be the lead college for the consortium. As a result, Tri-C created several short-term, non-credit training programs to fill HIT jobs such as implementation support specialists, clinician/practitioner consultants and technical/software support staff.
Applicants for the short-term programs at Tri-C should have IT or IS experience in a business or health care environment or related work with medical billing, health information management or medical records.
SOURCE: Norma Morganti
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
The consortium is comprised of 17 large community colleges in 10 Midwest states, and is being led by Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). Last month, the consortium launched a new website to educate potential students and employers about the training offered through these community colleges. The website lists workforce roles within HIT and the training opportunities available at each community college and through virtual learning.
Executive director of the consortium, Norma Morganti, says that the website is another tool to help the consortium reach its goal of training 2,700 people annually for HIT jobs. "Studies indicate that as many as 50,000 additional HIT professionals may be needed over the next five years," she notes. The consortium was created to support national electronic health records implementation, Morganti adds.
Tri-C received the ARRA/HITECH Grant through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to be the lead college for the consortium. As a result, Tri-C created several short-term, non-credit training programs to fill HIT jobs such as implementation support specialists, clinician/practitioner consultants and technical/software support staff.
Applicants for the short-term programs at Tri-C should have IT or IS experience in a business or health care environment or related work with medical billing, health information management or medical records.
SOURCE: Norma Morganti
WRITER: Diane DiPiero