![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/entrepreneur-main-image.png\" "\\"entrepreneur-main-image\\"")
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Company: Money Management Associates<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Some people get a part-time job to pursue their passion. Garry Keel<\/strong> got a second career.<\/p>\n For 30 years, Keel has been working in higher education student services, a career he chose because he loves working with people.<\/p>\n But, at heart, Keel has always been a numbers guy, so in 1984 he founded Money Management Associates. His firm provides income tax preparation and financial planning servicesfor individuals and small businesses throughout the tri-state area.<\/p>\n It was this second career that Keel originally planned to pursue until he realized the solitary lifestyle it held in store.<\/p>\n \u201cBack then, being an accountant meant you\u2019d be on your own, in the corner crunching numbers,\u201d he said. He found a new calling in academia, but didn\u2019t lose his \u201clove of working with numbers, debits, credits, and such.\u201d<\/p>\n So in 1980 he took classes offered through a large tax firm, figuring that learning the tax code would help him maximize his own returns. The classes led to work with the company and, due to his background in education, Keel started teaching courses for the firm.<\/p>\n When family and friends started calling for tax advice, he decided to set out on his own.<\/p>\n Keel started Money Management Associates out of his garage with approximately 50 to 60 clients. Those 50 or 60 quickly turned into 100, which turned into 200, and these days Keel has more than 450 clients. He\u2019s since moved the company moved out of his home and into an office building in Ewing, New Jersey, and now employs three staff members and a student intern from TCNJ\u2019s accounting department.<\/p>\n Clients come to Keel for help with budget planning, mortgage decisions, social security tax issues, and advice on working with lump sum retirement account payouts, but tax work is his company\u2019s \u201cbread and butter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween January 1 and Tax Day I have two full-time jobs,\u201d Keel said, adding that it\u2019s \u201cgumption\u201d that gets him through the long hours he puts in during tax season. Even after the seasonal rush ends, there is still work to be done with clients who filed extensions, as well as quarterly reporting and corporate tax work. But it\u2019s nothing like the \u201crat race\u201d that takes place between the first of the year and April 15, Keel said, adding he\u2019s thankful his wife, Lenora Baker Keel \u201980<\/strong>, understands the time demands his two careers entail.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s interesting how you can start a career, leave, and then come back to it,\u201d Keel said. \u201cI really like working in higher education: I went to school to be an administrator, and I love what I do. But I also like the accounting side of things.\u201d The field is much different now than 30 years ago: he\u2019s not by himself in the corner crunching numbers, he explained. His second career affords him the opportunity to be part accountant and part educator, teaching clients about tax rules and budget planning.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just a good numbers guy who people trust to give them the right information and steer them in the right direction,\u201d said Keel.<\/p>\n \n Company: Be A Duck<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Be a Duck<\/a> grew out of advice company owner Janeen Yodakis <\/strong>gave to her 7-year-old daughter Elizabeth, who came home from school one day complaining she was being picked on by classmates.<\/p>\n \u201cI instinctively told her, \u2018Hon, you need to be a duck. Let it roll off your back,\u201d Yodakis recalled.<\/p>\n Her daughter heeded the advice, but Yodakis realized the solution wasn\u2019t always that simple.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many children being bullied, harassed, and intimidated these days, so I decided to do something about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Yodakis, a former teacher, spent months researching the issue and developing lessons to teach Kindergartners about it. \u201cBullying and harassment begin at that age, and I wanted the program to be proactive, not reactive,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n The result is a six-session, interactive workshop that teaches children what their rights are, why to embrace their uniqueness, how to stand up to peer pressure, the consequences of bullying, the importance of respecting others\u2019 personal space, and how to create a support system they can turn to when needed.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople think children are too young to understand these things, but they\u2019re not,\u201d said Yodakis. \u201cIf you present the material using the correct language and in the correct format\u2014which we do, using puppet shows, role playing, activities with Play-Doh\u2014children get the message, embrace it, and connect with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Yodakis presents her workshop \u201cwherever there are organizations advocating for children,\u201d she said. While Be A Duck is a for-profit company, Yodakis said she\u2019s committed first and foremost to getting her message out. She sells DVDs of her workshop in an effort to make the program affordable to large school districts, and recently donated DVDs to a church doing mission work in Belize.<\/p>\n \u201cI try to help communities that can\u2019t afford\u2014but desperately need\u2014this message,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Like many business owners, Yodakis said she faced plenty of challenges in getting her company off the ground. She said the most important step she took, and one she advises any aspiring entrepreneur to take, was finding a mentor who helped her create a business plan.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a great teacher who had a great concept, but I didn\u2019t know a thing about the business world when I started,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Yodakis, who is also a board member of The Ashley Lauren Foundation (a charity for children with cancer), added: \u201cYou know you have a good business when you\u2019re living your life\u2019s passion. Mine is helping children. Always has been, always will be.\u201d<\/p>\n Founder, Project Walk Spinal Cord Recovery<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n When his first foray into entrepreneurship dissolved (he co-owned a rehabilitation and training center), Ted Dardzinski<\/strong> was left with a 5,000 square-foot exercise facility, but no business. Then a former client asked him to help a friend who had been paralyzed in a car crash. Though he hadn\u2019t worked with a spinal cord injury (SCI) client before, Dardzinski decided to help.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did everything against the books, and eventually the guy walked out the door on his own,\u201d Dardzinski said.<\/p>\n Word spread quickly in the SCI community, \u201cpeople in wheelchairs started showing up at our door,\u201d and Dardzinski was soon hiring trainers to handle the demand. Project Walk Spinal Cord Recovery<\/a>, the business, was born.<\/p>\n Over the ensuing 13 years, Dardzinski has developed and refined a revolutionary activity-based recovery program for SCI sufferers. The Dardzinski Method is a five-phase program that can be tailored to each client\u2019s individual needs, and over the years 71 percent of the SCI sufferers he\u2019s helped have seen improvements from the program, Dardzinski said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean they all walk again, but it means that they improve [and shows that] spinal cord injuries can improve if they\u2019re treated properly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Project Walk started as a \u201cmom and pop shop,\u201d but has grown into a worldwide operation with an evolving business model, Dardzinski said. SCI patients still come to the company\u2019s Carlsbad, California, headquarters for treatment, but Project Walk also now certifies therapists and healthcare professionals in Dardzinski\u2019s method. In turn, those individuals are opening Project Walk centers around the globe.<\/p>\n \u201cThe business will eventually be more people coming here to learn the method than to seek treatment,\u201d Dardzinski said, adding that the company is moving into a much larger facility with lecture halls and classrooms this fall.<\/p>\n Although Dardzinski created Project Walk as a for-profit company, he changed it to a nonprofit institute several years ago. The transition allows Project Walk to receive donations and grants to further its SCI research, but required Dardzinski to relinquish the title of owner. These days he serves on the board of directors, helping with long-term planning and furthering the educational side of the company.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no such thing as exercise-based recovery for spinal cord injuries when I founded Project Walk,\u201d Dardzinski said. \u201cThe industry didn\u2019t exist. But today, The Dardzinski Method is becoming the standard treatment for spinal cord injuries throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Company: RMI Enterprises (creator of Dipe n\u2019 Go)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n As a mother of two who was always on the go, Rose Marie Iskowitz <\/strong>found herself changing a lot of diapers in the back of her SUV\u2014and noticed many other parents doing the same. When she discovered no product existed to make the process more sanitary and convenient, she created one herself. The Dipe n\u2019 Go<\/a> is an all-in-one portable changing station for SUVs and minivans. Made of machine washable fabric, it doubles as an organizer for spare diapers, wipes, and powder.<\/p>\n Taking her idea from that \u201ca-ha\u201d moment to having a product on store shelves was a three-year process that \u201cinvolved many potential pitfalls along the way,\u201d Iskowitz said. After conducting a patent search she hired a seamstress to create a prototype, then searched for a manufacturer. When she discovered producing Dipe n\u2019 Go in the U.S. would push unit costs too high, she opted to manufacture in China. That required hiring a liaison to work with the Chinese company to make sure consumer product safety regulations were met.<\/p>\n When she received her first batch of inventory, Iskowitz connected with Babies-R-Us representatives at a Las Vegas trade show. The company put Dipe n\u2019 Go in its stores in spring 2010, and other retailers soon followed suit. Since then, Iskowitz has licensed her product; she\u2019s no longer involved with the manufacturing end, but retains the rights to to the product and receives royalties on all sales.<\/p>\n Although her story has a happy ending, Iskowitz admits she made a few missteps along the way, any one of which could have altered the outcome. She also realized that she had made a number of valuable business contacts during the process, from manufacturers, to people who make prototypes, to public relations professionals, to retailers, to companies looking to license baby products. Without another product idea of her own at that moment, she saw a new business opportunity. She started Jersey Girl Promotion<\/a>s (under the umbrella of RMI Enterprises) to help \u201cmompreneurs\u201d and \u201cdadpreneurs\u201d launch their products and place them in retail outlets. Though her latest venture just started a few months ago, she already has several clients.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like this is going to be a nice niche for me,\u201d Iskowitz said.<\/p>\n Company: Ambient DJ Service<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Gregg Hollmann <\/strong>was an equity analyst in Manila when 1997\u2019s Asian financial crisis sent world markets reeling and landed him back in the U.S., unemployed. He caught on with a business valuation firm, but while the pay was great he found the work unfulfilling.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s some creativity involved with picking stocks. Business valuation is very quantitative; creativity is frowned upon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Looking for a new creative outlet, he rediscovered his passion for music. A lifelong music lover\u2014he had turned down a music scholarship to study finance\u2014Hollmann had amassed an extensive, eclectic music collection over the years. He started DJing parties on the side. \u201cPerforming for a room full of strangers every weekend was a great outlet for that other side of my personality.\u201d A few years later, he cashed in $15,000 in stocks, bought professional DJ equipment, and officially launched his business, Ambient DJ Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since the industry is largely referral-based, Hollmann said his initial strategy for attracting clients was pricing below market rate. He also made a conscious decision early on not to follow the \u201cold school way\u201d of building a DJ business (appearing at bridal shows), concentrating instead on Internet marketing. He paid a professional to overhaul his website, then drove traffic there by dedicating a percentage of profits to advertising on wedding portals. Weddings now make up about half of the company\u2019s sales dollars, with the rest coming from corporate and private parties, community events, and dances.<\/p>\n When he started earning more money DJing than from his first job, Hollmann quit the valuation firm and dedicated himself to the business. He now has six DJs working for him and is training two new employees.<\/p>\n His workweek is a little different. \u201cMy peak time is Friday through Sunday,\u201d he said. \u201cMondays are my so-called weekends. Tuesdays through Thursdays, I\u2019m prepping for upcoming events, selling new jobs, and training DJs.\u201d Despite the odd hours, he\u2019s enjoying it. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like work.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked what he\u2019d tell someone considering starting a business, Hollmann advised following your passion\u2014but proceeding cautiously.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t recommend anyone blindly jump into something on a whim,” Hollmann said. “I followed my passion, but did it part time at first to validate that I could make money. Thus far, it\u2019s working out well.\u201d<\/p>\n Company: Puppy Uprising Pet Sitters (P.U.P.S.) of West Philadelphia<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Sharon Wasko <\/strong>was two years out of college, in between jobs and planning her next career move when a friend offered to pay her to walk his dog. A lifelong animal lover, Wasko agreed, then at the suggestion of another friend started advertising her dog-walking services in her neighborhood. \u201cThings just blossomed from there,\u201d Wasko said, and before she knew it she was running her own business.<\/p>\n These days, P.U.P.S. <\/a>offers dog-walking, house sitting (for vacationing pet owners who can\u2019t, or won\u2019t, board their animals), and pet care services for just about any type of indoor pet. \u201cI\u2019d say 75 percent of my business is dogs, 24 percent cats, and the remaining one percent is your occasional rabbit, squirrel, or lizard,\u201d Wasko said. She runs the company out of her home, which keeps overhead costs low\u2014\u201cI just need a computer to keep in touch with clients and a place to store their keys,\u201d she said\u2014and along the way has taught herself database management and financial software to track clients and finances.<\/p>\n Despite the recession, the pet-sitting business is booming she said, and a few years ago she hired two independent contractors to meet the demand.<\/p>\n Like many business owners, Wasko said one of the biggest challenges of being an owner is the 24\/7 nature of the position. \u201cI work seven days a week, and I\u2019m constantly fielding calls and e-mails from clients,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a challenge to get used to that, and I think that\u2019s why many people who start their own business burn out.\u201d<\/p>\n Had she to do it all over again, Wasko admits a little more planning might have helped. \u201cI didn\u2019t really start the business on purpose; it was probably a couple of years before I realized I was actually running a business,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cIf I had actually sat down and game-planned better, I probably would have made more money from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n Cofounder, blip.tv<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Jared Klett<\/strong> and friends were working on a number of business ideas when they struck upon the concept for blip.tv<\/a>, a consumer destination site for scripted, original Web series. By partnering with sponsors, blip.tv can offer viewers free access to a wide variety of shows, while providing advertisers with targeted audiences for brand promotion. The company then shares ad revenue equally with the series\u2019 producers.<\/p>\n Like many new business owners, Klett said he played a number of roles in the company\u2019s early stages. He filed the papers of incorporation to create Blip Networks, Inc. A computer science graduate, he wrote most of the code and built blip.tv\u2019s networking infrastructure. He managed finances and operations, setting up the payroll system and reconciling accounts each month. It was all a little stressful and nerve-wracking at first, he admits. \u201cWe were seeing the \u2018guts\u2019 of running a business, which is hidden when you work for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n Klett said blip.tv was started with bootstrap funding. He opened the first corporate credit card under his own name. \u201cIf we had tanked my personal credit line would have taken a big hit,\u201d he quipped. It didn\u2019t. The company closed its first round of angel funding in 2006, which allowed Klett and the other founders to quit their day jobs and concentrate on blip.tv fulltime. In the ensuing years, the company has raised $18 million from investors.<\/p>\n The fundraising process can be \u201cpainful\u201d at first, Klett said. \u201cYou have to look carefully at investors\u2019 proposals and make some difficult decisions\u2026but each round gets a little easier.\u201d He credits his fellow cofounders with bringing in outside advisers who weren\u2019t necessarily thinking about investing in the company; in exchange for advice they received common stock. \u201cThat proved to be invaluable,\u201d Klett said.<\/p>\n Klett\u2019s next-generation television network now hosts more than 300 million video views per month, and the company has about 70 employees working in six cities across the U.S., he said. This has enabled him to offload many of his earlier responsibilities and concentrate on software development. \u201cThat\u2019s really what I enjoy doing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a company founder you\u2019re responsible for other people\u2019s livelihoods, and it can be stressful,\u201d said Klett. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten better at managing that stress, and as we\u2019ve grown the stress has obviously decreased. There\u2019s certainly nothing like being your own boss, but it\u2019s not for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Company: MidAtlantic Engineering Partners, LLC<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n What could motivate two senior-level associates at a well-established engineering firm to leave the stability of their positions and start their own company during one of the worst recessions and most-distressed construction markets in recent history?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Keel.png\" "\\"Keel\\"")
Janeen (Cranmer) Yodakis \u201991<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/yodakis.png\" "\\"yodakis\\"")
Ted Dardzinski \u201986<\/h3>\n
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Rose Marie (Niro) Iskowitz \u201993<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Iskowitz_IMG_0106.png\" "\\"Iskowitz_IMG_0106\\"")
Gregg Hollmann \u201993<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/hollmann.png\" "\\"hollmann\\"")
Sharon Wasko \u201900<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/wasko.png\" "\\"wasko\\"")
Jared Klett \u201999<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/photoJaredKlett02.png\" "\\"photoJaredKlett02\\"")
Matthew Robinson \u201902 and William Parkhill \u201903<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Parkhill.png\" "\\"Parkhill\\"")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Robinson.png\" "\\"Robinson\\"")