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Northeast Kansas Enterpr ise Faci l i tat ion Ini t ia t ive Volume 8 , Issue 1

January 2012

Project Outcomes:

(June 2, 2003 to December 31, 2011)

Total Clients

Assisted: 724

Businesses Started:

56

Businesses

Expanded: 19

Jobs Created: 217

Businesses

Retained: 10

Jobs Retained: 68

Tune-Ups of Existing

Businesses: 64

For more information about Enterprise Facilitation, contact:

Facilitator Teresa McAnerney (785) 364-0583 teresamcanerney@yahoo.com

or tm@nekef.org

Board Chair David Key (785) 336-2184

dkey@ksu.edu

Northeast Kansas Enterprise Facilitation's Website www.nekef.org

Kristi Arnold has been making candy,

cookies and pies since she was a little

girl, all the while dreaming of starting her

own business. In 2010, Arnold called

Northeast Kansas Enterprise Facilitation

and met with Teresa McAnerney to begin

the steps towards making her dream come

true. The Wathena Farmers Market was

her launching point. She credits the

Farmer’s Market and the contacts she

made there as the key to her growing

customer base.

“Our mission is to make the finest dipped

chocolates, fudge, cookies, pies, and

cinnamon rolls so that families can gather

and enjoy each other, good times and of

course great food," said Arnold.

Valentine’s Day is coming up and Arnold

is prepared with Valentine’s Day themed

packaging.

“Presentation is important when

promoting food gifts, Kristi’s candy is

not only delicious but also looks

beautiful,” stated McAnerney.

Call in your custom order today and

you’re sure to have a sweet holiday.

Canyon Creek Candies & Bakery

Sweets for Your Sweetie this Valentine’s Day

Upcoming Events

ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT

Canyon Creek Candies & Bakery 1373 Randolph Road

Wathena, KS Kristi Arnold – 816-273-4175

February 2, 2012

Board Meeting Fisher Center in Hiawatha

5 p.m. Board Training

6 p.m. Dinner and Board Meeting

to directly follow

June 18-21, 2012

Northeast Kansas Entrepreneurship Academy

Highland Community College Campus

Highland, KS

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Northeast Kansas Enterpr ise Faci l i tat ion Ini t ia t ive Volume 8 , Issue 1

January 2012

ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT

W ith great

anticipation

M’Lovely and Yours

Truly drove 54 minutes

to fetch our SUV. With

anxiety and uncertainty

our beloved SUV had

been left, the previous

afternoon, for a ‘Total

Detail’, including a buff/

wax job, by Freedom

Auto Detail.

As we approached

19102 Highway K9 (one

mile east of Whiting on Highway 9) we observed this very

shiny, new looking vehicle – ours. Our anticipation and

anxiety turned into amazement. Talk about clean and shiny,

our car was more than clean and shiny!

We had not removed our stuff from inside the car before

delivering it to Freedom Auto Detail; every bit of stuff had

been removed. Every nook and cranny had been cleaned.

Every bit of the stuff had been replaced. Even the engine

looks like new and scratches and a dent no longer exist.

Amazing! However, the tire pressure gauge had been

placed in a lower pocket instead of the upper pocket.

Kerry and Caleb Wright are the onsite spark plugs for the

success of Freedom Auto Detail. Your automobile can be

detailed year around, in hot, cold, dry, or wet weather; an air

conditioner provides coolness in the heat of the summer and

a natural gas heater provides heat in the cold of winter. Side

note: when Rick and Kerry moved to their new abode in

2006, they knew natural gas was available. But what they

did not know was a ‘leak’ existed; a $2,000 bill caught their

attention and as new owners, they had to pay, even after

protesting. Apparently a heavy truck had damaged a pipe

that caused the leak.

Rick, Kerry’s husband works for Auto-4-U, Horton.

Automobiles need detailing; thus the idea for Freedom Auto

Detail business was germinated. For three years, an original

garage served as the first detailing building; however, its

small size and its poor heating and cooling resulted in less

than an efficient environment for detailing vehicles. Side

note: heating experiments in the original garage included

wood heat, space heaters, and running cars with exhaust

fumes being piped outside. Kerry overcame the smallness

by sizing a new building large enough to accommodate the

largest car and still have adequate working space all around

the car, even with all the car doors wide open. Detailing in

this new 2010 structure is much less of a hassle.

One memorable detail job occurred when a van arrived for

detailing. Six 30-gallon trash bags of trash and three 30-

gallon trash bags of salvageable items were removed from

inside the van. The van mats were matted to the floor and

were hard and slick, not soft like carpets should be. A

mechanic had seen this van during inspection and before its

delivery to Freedom Auto Detail. Later, he was looking for

a used vehicle. The mechanic bought a nice looking used

van and only later learned it was ‘that’ van which he had

previously inspected, but had undergone a Freedom Auto

Detail transformation, big time.

This entrepreneurial couple home schools their three

children, Josiah (15), Caleb (13), and Joy (11). Rick and

Kerry are teaching their children the entrepreneurial spirit.

Businesses, present and past, in addition to Freedom Auto

Detail include selling Colorado fruit, selling homegrown

produce at Farmer’s Markets, mowing lawns, and are

Amway distributors. Rick owns Freedom Firearms Training

Center where he does basic training and teaches Concealed

Carry classes. He also holds a Federal Firearms License.

Joy is about to embark upon her first business; raising hens

and selling eggs.

BG Buzzzzz

Freedom Auto Detail

By Betty/Gary Lortscher

January 26, 2012

Entrepreneurs

Caleb and Kerry

Wright in front

of Freedom

Auto Detail.