Rural Business Innovators Podcast

Mitchell chats with Matt Curtis, the owner of Wayne's Ski, Cycle & Fitness in Mason City, about taking over a business from a previous owner, getting help from the SBDC, and taking care of both employees and family.

Mitchell Kearns sits down with Cat Dow, the owner of Instatat and Henna with Cat, an 18-year-old entrepreneur and the youngest on the RBI Podcast, who specializes in semi-permanent body art and works for the SBDC as a counselor.

Mitchell Kearns talks with Billie Asmus, the inventor of the Repaint Tray, a reusable paint tray. She talks about the struggle of getting a patent filed, starting a business from scratch with a brand-new product, and participating in high-stakes pitch competitions.

Mitchell Kearns sits down with Holly Neuberger from Lake Animal Clinic, where she works as a veterinarian. Holly talks about the experience of leaving corporate veterinary work to pursue a more fulfilling lifestyle starting her own vet clinic with help from NIACC.   https://lakeanimalcliniccl.com/

Dean Sonquist meets with Mitchell Kearns, and they speak about Dean's business, Plas-Tech Tooling. They talk about the experience of managing a business with his spouse and making tough calls for the sake of both the business and his family.   https://www.plastechtooling.com/

Mitchell speaks with Taylor Borkowski, who runs The Cottage in Denison, Iowa, with her mom. They talk about the struggles of taking over a business during COVID, and learning more about business management through the process of managing The Cottage.   https://www.thecottagedenison.com/

Mitchell Kearns and Molly Angstman talk about beers and books in relation to Molly's business, Three Bells Books, in Mason City.   https://threebellsbooks.com/

Mitchell Kearns chats with twins Jennifer and Jessica Zupp about their law firm, the process of opening the firm, and how the SBDC helped them get started.

Mitchell Kearns meets with father-son duo David and Chandler Horak to talk about their part in the railroad industry, American Railcar Repair.   https://americanrailcarrepair.com/

Mitchell Kearns sits down with Lorrie Popik and Rae Guillermo -- the Dessert Mixologists, who have created a business out of their college friendship combining quick and easy desserts with alcoholic beverages.  https://www.dessertmixologist.com/

Mitchell Kearns talks with Paul Richardson, CEO of Tumbleweed, which specializes in providing families with virtual materials to ease the process of mourning their deceased loved ones.

Ray Hansen and Mitchell Kearns meet with Adam Schweers to talk about creating and selling his business, Computer Concepts of Iowa.

Mitchell Kearns chats with Denae Rosdail and Chelsea Bissen from I Saw the Sign LLC about their business which prints signs and apparel in Carroll, Iowa.  https://isawthesignllc.com/

Mitchell Kearns talks with Tripp Hudson, the CEO of The Way Automation in Adel, Iowa about his business in the automation and technology industry. https://www.thewayautomation.com/

Mitchell Kearns speaks with the current owners of Billy's Ice Cream Store in Adel, Iowa, Eric and Anna Trout. https://www.billysadel.com/

Mitchell Kearns chats with Calvin Smith from Perry, Iowa, about Millennial Roots Farms, which focuses on hydroponic produce farming. To sign up for no-cost business counseling services, please go to our website and request counseling: Home - Iowa SBDC

Ray Hansen sits down with Julie Johnson from Bode, Iowa to talk about the Savvy Feeder, a slow hay feeder for horses. https://savvyhorseproducts.com/ To sign up for no-cost business counseling services, please go to our website and request counseling: Home - Iowa SBDC

Meet Ray Hansen and Mitchell Kearns, the hosts of the RBI Podcast, as they speak with SBDC Iowa marketing student worker Grace Estenson about the purpose of the RBI Podcast and how it was conceived. In this special introductory episode, Mitchell and Ray shed light on the process for selecting podcast interviewees as well as what the future of the RBI Podcast holds. To sign up for no-cost business...