For the last 22 years, tens of thousands of women (and men) have made their way from all over Arkansas to a small business in west Conway committed to personal service and helping people look and feel their best.FULL STORY, PAGE 6

NEW ENERGYEL CLiniCaL EsthEtiCsis ‘rEady for its CLosE up’

2 | FAULKNER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Rock-Pond Solutions provides busi-ness consulting, software applications and information services to the home infusion therapy industry. Home infu-sion therapy is one of three segments of home health care, the other two being durable medical equipment and home health nursing services. The home infu-sion therapy industry represents approxi-mately $9-11 billion dollars a year U.S. health care expenditures.

What is Rock-Pond solutions? Rock-Pond Solutions began as a

consulting company for home infusion providers but quickly grew into the leading data analytics company in the industry. Our flagship product, Rock-Pond Reports, is installed in customers in 25 states. These include customers like Johns Hop-kins Homecare Group in Baltimore, Md., Duke Home Infusion in North Carolina, Apria (the nation’s largest home infusion provider), Providence Home Infusion in

Seattle and Baptist Home Infusion in Little Rock. Our message to our customers is “Rock-Pond Solutions gives you the INFORMATION you need from the DATA you’ve got.”

hoW many emPloyees do you have?Rock-Pond has eight employees. Our

Chief Technology Officer works out of our Scottsdale, Ariz., office and the rest are located here in Conway. Five are full time and two are part time. Three of them have been with the company less than six months, and we expect to continue to add to our staff throughout 2011.

With recent growth and need for new employees, I’ve developed a great relationship with the Office of Career Services at Hendrix College. We are literally neighbors with the campus, so it’s a great chance to connect with smart, young people who are looking for an internship or others who are looking for a part-time job that might grow into some-thing permanent. Leigh Lassiter-Counts (450-1439, lassiter-counts@hendrix.edu) is actively seeking internship opportuni-

ties for students and welcomes Conway businesses to do just as Rock-Pond has. With the rapid changes in technology it’s an advantage to hire employees who were raised in a “digital world.”

Would you consideR youRself a seRvices oR PRoduct comPany?

I’d consider Rock-Pond a services company that is becoming a product company. In November, 2010, Rock-Pond released our first product, the Rock-Pond Information Center. It is a desktop appli-cation that connects to our data ware-house through another product, Rock-Pond Connect, and has a third product, the Customer Resource Center embed-ded within it. The Information Center is the cornerstone on which we will release additional products in 2011and beyond. For the first 10 years of our existence our position was to extend the other core software systems in the home infusion market with a reporting solution that we sell as a service.

See ROCK-POND, Page 3

Conway 2.0 – roCK-pond soLutions

The Conway Young Professionals (CYP) will gather to find out how they can play a role in Conway’s future during their next “Power Lunch” event Monday, February 21st at Agora Confer-ence Center.

CYP members and guests will listen to a presentation about the Conway2025 plan from Brad Lacy, President and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber.

The Conway Young Professionals, in associa-tion with the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, is designed to provide young business men and women leadership and networking opportunities dedicated to cultivating areas of profes-sional development and civic engagement.

Members make valu-able connections with peers from various indus-tries and have access to business leaders in Con-way and the surrounding area.

CYP will host four luncheons for members of CYP and the Chamber in 2011.

Business leaders in the community will be invited to present on timely and pressing issues relating to the development of young professionals and the workforce.

The event serves as a networking opportunity for members within CYP and between members of the Chamber.

The luncheon will last from 11:30-1:00pm and is open to the public. The lunch and program is $15 for current CYP members and $25 for non-members. RSVP by emailing Lindsay Grifford at Lindsay@ conwayarkansas.org.

Cyp to host ‘powEr LunCh’

FAULKNER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL | 3

By RoGeR leWis

It is a real estate buyer’s market with interest rates at a historic low, a high inventory of existing homes for sale and somewhat depressed prices. But, because of a number of factors, there is also a shortage of buyers.

I have only anecdotal data, but fewer Faulkner CMortgage require-ments have tightened, unemploy-ment has increased and the overall uncertainly of the economy has kept buyers at bay. Residential con-struction and real estate sales in Faulkner County are down approxi-mately 12% for 2010 compared to 2009. In light of current economic times this could be considered a moderate decline; but the forecast is a bit brighter. All construction - residential, commercial, and re-modeling and additions - was up a moderate 3%.

The National Association of Real-tors forecasts the sale of existing homes to rise 8 percent in 2011, and the sale of new housing 21 percent. This is based on an antici-pated drop in the national unem-ployment rate to 9.2%. Faulkner County’s 6.6% unemployment rate is well below the current national rate of 9.8% and will likely drop further. Consequently, the housing industry in Faulkner County should

improve significantly over the next two years.

Real estate sold through Faulkner County realtors for the first six months of 2010 was up 2.7% when compared to the same period for 2009. However, for the next five months, July through November, sales were down 24% to average down 10.8% for the year. The April 30 expiration of the federal tax credit incentives for pur-chasing homes contributed to the lower sales in the latter part of the year. The average price of homes sold increased 6% from $147,099 in 2009 to $155,940 in 2010.

The value of all real estate transactions in 2010, $273 million, was the lowest since 2001 and the all time high was in 2007 when they reached $529million. The value of real estate transactions is determined by the amount revenue stamps sold on real estate deed transfers and it has declined ap-proximately 50% from 2007.

Building permits for single family homes in Conway for 2010 were down 11.8% in value and the num-ber of units down 13.9% compared to 2009. Like real estate sales, most of the decline occurred in the later months of 2010. For the first three months in 2010 the value of building permits was up 54%, and for the nine months following, it de-creased by 32% for an overall aver-age of -11.8%. Multi-family permits were down 20.8% in value. This

recent trend is of concern for the residential construction industry’s immediate future.

While the average size of a single family dwelling remained approxi-mately the same, 2600 square feet under roof, the average construc-tion cost, not including the lot or improvements, was up 3% from $177,264 for 2009 to $182,340 for 2010.

The value of commercial con-struction permits for 2010 was down 40.3% from 2009. The value of 2009 commercial permits was impacted by the Hewlett Packard and Southwest Energy buildings valued at $29 million. However, there were still some large com-mercial projects in 2010: Cinemark Theater, Blue Cross Data Process-ing Center and the Holliday Inn Hotel totaling $18 million.

The value of upgrades, remodel-ing, additions and accessories, for both residential and commercial construction more than doubled in 2010 from $27 million in 2009 to $55 million in 2010. This segment of the construction industry has offset declines in other areas. The value of all construction, residential, commercial, industrial, and up-grades, had a moderate 3.1 percent growth from $146 million in 2009 to $151 million in 2010.

More information on Faulkner County real Estate Market can be found at Pulse of Conway website, pulseofconway.com.

rEaL EstatE saLEs, ConstruCtion down; rEmodELing, additions up

unemployment Ratenovember 2010

US ....................................9.8%Arkansas ...........................7.9%Faulkner County ............. 6.6%Conway .............................5.7%

labor forcenovember 2010

conwayEmployed .......................25,456Unemployed ....................1,536Total ...............................26,992

faulkner county*Employed .......................51,100Unemployed ....................3,650Total ...............................54,750*Includes Conway

sales tax collectionsconway*october

2010........................$1,759,1752009........................$1,526,866Percent Change 15.2%

total year to date (october)

2010 .....................$17,944,2232009 .................... $16,990,792Percent Change: 5.6%*Tax Rate 1.75%

faulkner county*october

2010...........................$647,8962009...........................$564,487Percent Change 14.8%

total year to date (oct.)2010........................$6,408,1952009 .......................$6,303,924Percent Change 1.7%*Tax Rate 0.5%

Restaurant sales*november

2010 .....................$11,086,0642009......................$10,280,579Percent Change 7.8%

sales year to date (nov.) 2010....................$127,490,2992009 ...................$119,530,577Percent Change 6.7%*Includes mixed drink sales

hotel sales (november)2010........................$1,255,7352009 ...................... $1,128,704Percent Change 11.3%

sales year to date (nov.)2010......................$16,558,3252009..................... $15,394,932Percent Change 7.6%

Building Permitssingle family Residents

total for the year2010.......................223 Permits2009 ..................... 259 Permits

2008 ..................... 192 PermitsPercent Change (2009-2010) -13.9%

average construction cost2010.......................... $182,3402009...........................$177,2642008...........................$192,844Percent Change 2009-2010 2.9%*Not including land or lot improvements

average square footage*2010 ................................2,6732009 ............................... 2,6092008.................................2,818Percent Change 2009-2010 2.5%*Total under Roof

lottery salesfaulkner county

December ...............$1,350,681Annual* .................$17,448,701Annual Per Capita ......$163.34

total stateDecember ............$39,762,737Annual* ...............$459,916,250Annual Per Capita .......$161.07* January1, – December 30, 2010

natural Gasservice tax distribution

decemberFaulkner County ..........$13,372Conway ........................$17,224All in County *

for 2010Faulkner County ........$171,543Conway ......................$221,255All in County *

number of Wells*Faulkner County .................241Total in Field ...................3,149*As of Jan. 6, 2011

estimated life timevalue of Production*

Total Field ........$7,014,746,330*As of October 10, 2010

Wellhead Price per mcf*november

2010 ................................$3.342009.................................$3.642008.................................$5.97

yearly average 2009................................$3.712008.................................$8.072007.................................$6.372006.................................$6.402005.................................$7.332004.................................$5.462003.................................$4.882002.................................$2.95*1000 cubic feet

information provided by pulseofconway.com

Conway Economy at a Glance

ROCK-POND, from Page 2

What Role does technoloGy Play in youR Business?

Technology is at the heart of our business. However, as technology becomes more and more pervasive, we are constantly reminded that it is people, not technol-ogy that are most important. I like to think that every call is a sales call and results are what customers truly care about. Whether it runs on an iPhone or someone just tweeted about it is not as relevant as the differ-ence between what a customer expected to get and what they got. Our goal is to be a technology leader in the home infusion industry and to exceed our custom-ers’ expectations.

WheRe Would you like to see Rock-Pond in five yeaRs?

We are considered the data experts in the home

infusion industry today, and my goal is for us to still be in this position five years from now.

Someone told me years ago when I was building my software company that the key to success in the software industry is to “be first, look good and keep getting better.”

That is my first goal. Beyond that, I believe we have developed some products and methodologies that will work well in other health care and non-health care business segments.

If we can continue our growth and leadership in this industry while expanding into other areas of health care and other industries we’ll have a great ride for at least five years. With all this said, I plan to be headquartered in Conway, Ark., five years from now, because Conway is a great place to be based and provides many advantages when you are competing against other companies who are based in larger cities where the cost of doing business is much higher.

FAULKNER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL | 5

TOP 5 RESIDENTIAL hOmE SALES IN

fAuLkNER cOuNTy DEcEmBER 2010

14 Hilton Drive$891,000, Built in 2010

6 bed, 6 bath, 2 1/2-bathHilton Subdivision

5,586 square feet ($151.40/sq. ft.)List agent-Velda Leuders,

Selling agent-Velda Leuders

440 Wellesley Drive$340,000, Built in 2000

5 bed, 3 bathWellington Subdivision

3,790 square feet ($89.71/sq. ft.)List agent-Whitney Long,

Selling agent-Denise Wilson

46 Lakeview Drive$325,000, Built in 1972

3 bed, 3 bathLakeview Acres

3,711 square feet ($87.58/sq. ft.)List agent-Timothy Powell,

Selling agent-Michael Stout

4860 Dover Lane$306,000, Built in 2004

4 bed, 3 1/2 bathNottingham Subdivision

3,009 square feet ($101.69/sq. ft.)List agent-Mike Argo,

Selling agent-Jan Clark

1050 Kirkland Drive$273,000, Built in 2006

4 bed, 3 bathChestnut Meadows

2,681 square feet ($101.83/sq. ft.)List agent-Beth Tyler,

Selling agent-Mary McKaskle

Days LakeGentry Lake Robins Lake

Laurel Park

Mountain Vie

Airport Park

Gatlin Park

Fifth Avenue Park

CollegeHendrix

Central ArkansasUniversity Of

Baptist CollegeCentral

Cantrell FieldDennis F

ClubValley GolfCentennial

Cadron ValleyCountry Club

ClubCountryConway

Oak Grove Cemetery

Tyle

r St

Skyline Dr

E Oak St

S Sa

lem

Rd

Caldwell St

S Harkrider St

Oak St

Don

aghe

y Av

eD

onag

hey

AveMeadowlake Rd

Ar-365 S

Highway 60 W

Sale

m R

d

Harkrider St

Prince St

Old Morrilton Hwy

Dave Ward Dr

60

365

266

25

365

286

60

60

286

286

65

64

65

65

65

64

64

65

65

40

40

40

40

Brumley

Gleason

4860 Dover Lane

1050 Kirkland Drive

14 Hilton Drive

440 Wellesley Drive

46 Lakeview Drive

Recent data released from the Census Bureau shows that a higher percentage of Faulkner County residents are earning a living locally.

The American Community Survey shows that the per-centage of residents travel-ing outside the county for work fell from 32.9% in 2000 to 32.1% in 2009. While the

decline is modest, Chamber President Brad Lacy said that it reinforces an important story about the local economy. “This community is bucking the trend when it comes to central Arkansas.

The report shows that we are creating jobs at a rate even greater than our popula-tion growth.” The survey does not reflect a number of job ad-ditions realized in 2010 such

as Hewlett-Packard’s 1,000-plus jobs and others.

Faulkner county residents are twice as likely to work locally as residents of other counties surrounding Pu-laski County. Lacy says that Conway is firmly established as the secondary labor market in central Arkansas. “Our lo-cal economy isn’t just doing a good job of providing jobs for our residents. It’s also an

employment destination of its own regionally.”

The survey also shows a countywide increase in educational attainment, per capita, household and fam-ily incomes. Family income in the county jumped almost 33% from a 2000 mark of just over $45k annually to right at $60,000 per year in 2009. Of-ficial population numbers will not be released for cities and

counties until later in the first quarter of 2011. The city of Conway’s official 2009 popula-tion estimate was 59,512, placing it seventh among all Arkansas cities. Faulkner County’s 2009 estimate was 109,386 ranking fifth among the 75 Arkansas counties. The city of Conway and Faulkner County will both add to those numbers with their 2010 de-cennial census results.

prELiminary CEnsus data shows positivE trEnds for County

For the last 22 years, tens of thousands of women (and men) have made their way from all over Arkansas to a small business in west Conway committed to personal service and helping people look and feel their best.

Susan Isom opened EL Clinical Es-thetics in 1989 “we started with a small loan and a handful of clients.” Isom said that the business went through a number of locations before settling down in the Saddletop Center on Sa-lem Road 12 years ago. Isom, who was the state’s first licensed esthetician, has done esthetician work since 1986.

Skin care procedures and services make up about 75% of EL’s business. EL offers a broad range of skin care services. Isom’s newest offering is the Dual Fraxel laser procedure. EL’s Dual Fraxel system is one of only two in the state. The Dual Fraxel is the authentic, non-invasive Fraxel laser treatment. Isom says that the new technology offers all the benefits her clients enjoy with traditional Fraxel treatment but

with faster treatment times, increased comfort and an additional treatment mode for pigmentation. The results are comparable to superficial CO2 resur-facing results but without the degree of downtime or wound care. Isom said, “By combining the two treatment modes, patients can get more effective resurfacing, treating both deep and superficial conditions”.

Vibradermabrasion, botox, cosmetic fillers and chemical peels make up the majority of EL’s skin treatment proce-dures. However, EL is well known for another service that Isom has been providing for years. EL offers custom blending for make-up. Isom says that custom blended make-up is priced competitively and offers her clients an opportunity to choose a base and color that perfectly matches their unique skin needs. There are also make-up artists available for special occasion make-overs.

EL also offers a number of other well-known make up lines. Two launched in the fall of 2010 have made the store a destination for cosmetics. Erno Laszlo is the newest product at EL. The store began carrying it in November of 2010.

Erno Laszlo was founded by a derma-tologist in 1926. It is a cosmetic skin care line. Isom describes it as “treat-ment make-up.” “It is a simple skin care ritual that works with your skin. It doesn’t have harsh ingredients.”

The second new line at EL is Smash-box Cosmetics. EL started carrying Smashbox in mid 2010. The line has benefitted from a host of celebrity en-dorsements and was made popular by the reality show “The Hills.” Smashbox offers a full suite of cosmetics. Isom says that the cosmetics are “studio ready” and are even gluten free for those who have allergic reactions to other cosmetics.

Isom says that she doesn’t change out lines frequently and it’s a deci-sion she takes seriously. She said that the priority is offering her customers products that she believes will best treat whatever concerns he or she may have. I only recommend what the client needs and sometimes when an in house treatment is recommended I may recommend additional products at a local drugstore to help reduce overall cost in addition to the treatment he or she may receive.

One long standing product that Isom believes in is Obagi skin care line. Obagi is the number one skin care product. It offers pharmaceutical and prescription strength skin care and promises to change skin at the cellular level. “Our Obagi products carry a high-er percentage of the active ingredients” says Isom. “Most skin care products are limited to 2% concentration.” Isom says that the Obagi line lets her offer a full spectrum of skin care products. “If someone wants to transform their skin, treatment has to be more aggressive. The process is not an overnight fix, but the results are gratifying and you stand a better chance of looking younger longer.”

New services, new products and even newly remodeled space have this 22 year old business brimming with new energy. Perhaps that’s why 2010 was the best year on record for EL. Isom credits her staff and her dedicated clients. “I spend 80% of my time doing procedures. I have amazing team that keeps the retail business going. This is a relationship business. Our success is built on trust, service and wanting the best for our clients.”

EL CLiniCaL EsthEtiCs is ‘rEady for its CLosE up’

6 | FAULKNER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

FAULKNER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL | 7

Wimpy’s Burger’s and Fries

Wimpy’s Burgers and Fries is a hamburger restaurant scheduled to open in Conway in March 2011. They serve an array of American

food ranging from our Signature Wimpy Burger to soft serve ice cream. Wimpy’s plans to offer flat screen HDTV’s, outdoor patio seating and FREE WIFI. For more information visit www.WimpysConway.com

n Where is that? 201 Skyline Drive. (Former Hardees at the

entrance of the Conway Towne Center)

n When will it be completed? Mid-March

what’s that gonna BE?

Dozens of Conway area business people will gather Tuesday, February 8th at Oak Street Bistro to discuss how to generate qualified leads and referrals for businesses of every type.

The “Business After Hours” event will last from 5:00pm til

6:30pm. The event is hosted by Conway Area Chamber of Commerce Leads Groups. Chamber Leads Groups meet twice a month and give mem-bers the opportunity to share testimonials about their busi-ness. In turn, they hear from other members and are able to give personal references for their group.

Chamber Director of

Membership Lindsay Grifford said that over 40 business people are currently active in the Chamber’s two Leads groups. “It’s the best oppor-tunity for people to grow any client based business. Leads Groups help our members sell their product or service in a personal way. The referrals they generate are relationship driven and very effective.”

Aside from providing social and professional networking benefits, this Business After Hours aims to increase aware-ness about Leads Groups and grow membership. “As our Leads Groups grow, they become more effective. We currently have two active groups.

“I would love to see us add another group” said Grifford.

Applications will be available at the event. Leads Group membership is limited to ac-tive Chamber members.

The February 8th event is open to all Chamber members or anyone interested in Cham-ber and Leads group member-ship. Leads Groups dues are $25 per quarter. Food, refresh-ments and a cash bar will be available.

fEB. 8 EvEnt promisEs to grow ‘rELationship drivEn’ profits

If you have lived in Conway for more than 10 years, you have seen some incredible change.

I’m not just talking about more cars, people and houses. I’m talking about Conway becoming some-thing different. Conway has made a conscious effort to better itself.

In 2000, our downtown was “tired.” It had not seen significant new investment in years. To many, it was not capable of being saved. Today, it is a thriving desti-nation for Conway residents and their neighbors. Per-haps no one area of town has seen more investment in the last 5 years than down-town. The progress still continues today.

The Conway Downtown Partnership, city govern-ment, local businesses and caring community mem-bers all played a role in downtown’s revitalization, but the Partnership did one thing that really got the ball rolling. They made a plan. In 2001, the Downtown Partnership developed a plan with Sakal and Hood Architects to revitalize our downtown. While down-town’s growth has taken on an independent life of its own, that plan was the cata-lyst for millions of dollars in investment that has literally saved downtown.

Around the same time

the Downtown Partnership was getting to work, another plan was underway. In 2000, the Conway Development Corporation hired Wadley Donavan Consultants to develop a strategic plan for Conway’s economic development. One of their primary recommendations was to purchase land dedi-cated to attracting office and technology jobs.

In 2001, they acted on that plan and purchased 180 acres of pasture land on the southern edge of town. The city, Conway Corp and others were active part-ners in developing this raw land. Today, The Meadows Technology Park is home to Hewlett Packard, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cat2 and Arkansas One Call. The plan delivered on its promise and then some.

Today it 2011 and we have a new plan. Con-way2025 was developed with input from over 1,400 Conway area residents. Go to www.Conway2025.com and look at the goals.

The recommendations are ambitious but within reach. The next 10 years offer Conway an equal if not greater opportunity to improve itself. It will again take commitment, action and partnership. But the people of Conway have one big advantage. We’ve done this before.

it’s a taLE of 3 pLansn EDITORIAL

8 | FAULKNER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL