Home » Authors » Jo Ellen

Jo Ellen

Articles

The Corydon Group LLC: Reputations help lobbyists build business Shared passion for government led golf buddies to partnership

When Chris Gibson and Mike Leppert headed for the golf course in the late 1990s, it was strictly business. Walking from tee to tee, the men talked about lobbying, the law and regulatory agencies. After 18 months of playing 18 holes, they decided to form The Corydon Group, a government relations firm founded in 2000 in Indianapolis. The firm monitors bills and amendments proposed in the Indiana General Assembly, prepares reports on key legislation, attends meetings and hearings, and lobbies…

Read More

PROFILE: Stitches & Scones: Entrepreneur sews together her enterprises Yarn-store owner finds ways to keep doing what she loves

Stitches & Scones Entrepreneur sews together her enterprises Yarn-store owner finds ways to keep doing what she loves Mollianne Cameron took a page from the book of successful businesses with her current business, Stitches & Scones, and two planned ones: Crafty Capers and The Amish & Antique Quilt Store. Each retail venture marries business to Cameron’s passion for knitting, crocheting and hand stitchery. The lesson: Do what you love and the money will follow. Growing her own customers was another…

Read More

PROFILE HEAVENLY SWEETS INC.: Noblesville bakery still rising Heavenly Sweets to grow in move to ‘new’ location

PROFILE HEAVENLY SWEETS INC. Noblesville bakery still rising Heavenly Sweets to grow in move to ‘new’ location Tanya Marshall grew up in a kitchen, where she baked from scratch, tested recipes and shared a love of food with her family. A former 4-H participant, Marshall’s childhood was spent toiling over an Easy-Bake Oven, spinning cotton candy, freezing homemade ice cream and dispensing soft drinks with her other favorite toys. She’s still in the kitchen, this time as owner of Heavenly…

Read More

PROFILE: LB&A Sign Management: Signs matter Artist helps firms promote their brands

LB&A Sign Management Signs matter Artist helps firms promote their brands It takes more than a power drill to put up a company’s sign these days. In most cities and towns, there are ordinances and zoning regulations to comply with and permits to get before a sign is tacked on the side of a building. Business owners also want their signs to capture the firm’s essence-and look good, too. That’s where Lisa Bohn comes in. Bohn, 40, parlayed 15 years’…

Read More

PROFILE: Georgetown Chiropractic Clinic PC: Demand spurs chiropractor to grow clinic Massage, Pilates, yoga classes round out northwest-side practice

P RO F I L E Georgetown Chiropractic Clinic PC Demand spurs chiropractor to grow clinic Massage, Pilates, yoga classes round out northwest-side practice If life gives you a pain in the neck, chances are you’ve sought relief from a specialist at working out the kinks-like Georgetown Chiropractic Clinic PC. Chiropractic use has tripled in the last two decades, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. To accommodate some of that growth locally, Georgetown Chiropractic has doubled…

Read More

PROFILE: ISA Forensics: Digging up dirt Forensics firm recovers evidence from computers, analyzes audio Much like his counterparts on TV’s “CSI” or “Law & Order,” Darren Miller ferrets out forensic information in pursuit of justice.

ISA Forensics Digging up dirt Forensics firm recovers evidence from computers, analyzes audio Much like his counterparts on TV’s “CSI” or “Law & Order,” Darren Miller ferrets out forensic information in pursuit of justice. But unlike his fictional colleagues who work for prosecutors, Miller and his ISA Forensics team work mostly with defense attorneys, looking for exculpatory and incriminating evidence that will help or hurt their clients. Their crime scene: computers, tapes, disks and other data devices. Using the same…

Read More

Tough road to the top: 77 percent of university presidents are men. Will new hires at IU and Purdue change that?

After decades of Affirmative Action, women occupy fewer than one-fourth of U.S. university presidents’ offices-this despite females making up 58 percent of undergraduates, according to the U.S. Education Department. Women made decent strides between 1986, when 10 percent of college presidents’ offices were occupied by women, and 2001, when 21 percent had women. However, between 2001 and 2006, the number barely changed. In the most recent survey by the Washington, D.C.-based American Council on Education, a public-policy advocacy group, preliminary…

Read More

DOING GOOD: PATTY JONES: Different kind of donation

| Jo Ellen

DOING GOOD PATTY JONES Different kind of donation Patty Jones’ free time isn’t all that free. Last year, she took on more than 100 assignments as a member of Indianapolis Ambassadors. And that’s just for starters. She also volunteered for dozens of activities at Greenwood Christian Church, was treasurer of her neighborhood association and served on the board of Joy’s House, a provider of adult day services. “We all have talents and mine help organizations,” said Jones, 45, owner of…

Read More

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE MILESTONE ADVISORS: CFOs for hire: Company fills financial gaps Consultants provide expertise small businesses may be lacking

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE MILESTONE ADVISORS CFOs for hire: Company fills financial gaps Consultants provide expertise small businesses may be lacking Tom Gabbert and Glenn Dunlap started Milestone Advisors three years ago with a couple dozen clients already in tow, parlaying their previous experience and contacts into a new venture. They’ve been using it to help other businesses shore up their financial foundations ever since. Milestone Advisors provides financial management, strategic planning and related services to small to medium-size businesses with…

Read More

Green roofs slow to take root in Indianapolis area: Despite an array of environmental and other benefits, initial costs and lack of incentives put lid on their use

Green roofs color the skylines in Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto and other North American cities, but Hoosiers have to look high and low to find similar examples of the plant-filled building tops in Indianapolis. “Most green roofs [in other cities] are on the tops of existing buildings, where here they are [more likely to be found] above an underground parking garage that you might not even be aware is there,” said Mark Zelonis, director of the gardens and grounds at the…

Read More

Hammering away at his own business: After 18 years working for others, contractor strikes out on his own

Built to Last Construction Hammering away at his own business After 18 years working for others, contractor strikes out on his own Bradley Ford is a true, hands-on owner. “I really like working with my hands. I couldn’t stand working behind a desk,” said Ford, 40, who founded Built To Last Construction in 2000. Starting the business was the culmination of a career path he started in 1982 as a 16-year-old student at Perry Meridian High School and the building…

Read More

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE: JP PARKER CO.: Business blooming for specialty florist Flower farm, retail shop feed green thumb’s growth

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE JP PARKER CO. Business blooming for specialty florist Flower farm, retail shop feed green thumb’s growth More than 300,000 sunflowers are in various stages of growth on Needham, Ind., farmland, where a third generation carries on the family tradition with a modern twist. These tall summer annuals follow a spring where 1,000 blooming peony plants yielded at least 11,000 stems for a Chicago broker. Smaller plots of delphiniums, larkspur, zinnias, coneflowers, mints, herbs and other greenery also…

Read More

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE: A-1 VACUUM CLEANERS AND JANITORIAL SUPPLIES: Vacuum dealer on his own Franchise dissolution gave owner freedom and more responsibility

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE A-1 VACUUM CLEANERS AND JANITORIAL SUPPLIES Vacuum dealer on his own Franchise dissolution gave owner freedom and more responsibility For his entire adult life, Tony Stahl has been helping other people clean up their messes. From the time he graduated from John Marshall High School, Stahl has had A-1 Vacuum Cleaners as part of his work life, first as an employee and, most recently, as an owner. In fact, Stahl’s work with vacuums and customers was so…

Read More

PROFILE: Complexions Day Spa: Downtown day spa has glowing business Irvington native focuses on organic products, attracts clients from entertainment, sports scenes

Complexions Day Spa Downtown day spa has glowing business Irvington native focuses on organic products, attracts clients from entertainment, sports scenes Trinia Cox’s venture builds on a 10-year career in skin care and makeup artistry with stints in Chicago and Los Angeles. And the location of Complexions Day Spa on Massachusetts Avenue was a good fit with her background in the arts, including gigs as a singer with Dr. Bop and the Headliners and her own group, Trinia and the…

Read More

For the Dogs Inc.: Day care center goes to the dogs After years of wishful thinking, owners let themselves off the leash

After years of wishful thinking, owners let themselves off the leash Barking is music to the ears of Kristel Baker and Harvey Markley. On any given day, dozens of canines are howling away at For The Dogs, their 3-year-old doggy day care center. And they’re set for growth, with plans to open a second location sometime in the next year. Baker, 40, got the idea for 24-hour canine care after viewing a segment on TV’s “Good Morning, America” about a…

Read More

J&J Detailing and More Inc.: More to detailing firm than a buff and grime J&J prides itself on experienced staff, exemplary service

J&J prides itself on experienced staff, exemplary service Two Southport High School chums were talking one day about how much people were willing to pay for clean cars at the good detailing shops. “We both had some ideas about how it would work. We went home, made some notes and realized we could do this ourselves,” said John Boyce, 45, co-owner of J&J Detailing and More Inc., founded three years ago. The other J is Jeff Hord. The two had…

Read More

Dan Wendorff PC Eye Care: Optometrist has vision for growth Not content with status quo, doctor-turned-businessman sets his sights on expansion

Not content with status quo, doctor-turned-businessman sets his sights on expansion When Dan Wendorff was a kid, he thought he wanted to be a pharmacist like his father. But, “I was always interested in the eyes and excelled in physics and sciences,” so when a high school friend suggested optometry, it stuck, said Wendorff, owner of Dan Wendorff Eye Care. His practice leases space and provides eye care services at two area offices of LensCrafters, an Ohio-based franchise. Wendorff, a…

Read More

Bob Wilson & Associates Inc.: Consultant helps companies predict workers’ potential Personality test provides key information to guide businesses’ personnel decisions

Personality test provides key information to guide businesses’ personnel decisions It may not be fortunetelling, but the Predictive Index gives important clues about an individual’s success or failure in certain jobs. In Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, the trademarked personality test is licensed to Bob Wilson & Associates Inc., a Carmel consulting firm that works with more than 200 companies, helping with hiring, retaining, managing and motivating employees. The firm also works with corporations on strategy and other management services. Wilson,…

Read More

Selective Seconds: Consignment stores’ owner proud to be picky High-end items are the stock of choice at Selective Seconds

Vena Holden is picky about the seconds in her shops, specializing in better brand-name clothing, accessories, linens, gifts and shoes. She makes clear that hers is not a used clothing store. “We look for the higher-end items and are selective in what we take,” said Holden, 45, who founded the appropriately named Selective Seconds after years of shopping consignment shops for herself when she worked as a legal secretary and office manager for local law firm Plews Shadley Racher and…

Read More

Bomar Industries: Metal fabricator builds on expertise Bomar Industries’ owners started without a business plan, but succeeded anyway

Bomar Industries’ owners started without a business plan, but succeeded anyway Brothers Bob and Mark Buchanan have parlayed their passion for drag racing and metal bending into a $3 million enterprise with only growth on the horizon. The brothers started Bomar Industries like a lot of entrepreneurs-with no business plan and their own money and equipment. The Buchanans already had lathes, mills, welders and other supplies for their work on dragsters and other hobby projects. Bob, 50, was an engineer…

Read More