The entrepreneurial Spirit is here - another wonderful reason to love St Cloud MN
With the 4th of July just 2 days away, and after posting about Clemens Gardens yesterday, I got to thinking about all of the entrepreneurs we have and have had in St Cloud and how proud I am to be a part of such a successful community of business minded people.
Minnesotans are a hearty group. Always pushing forward, I do not know if it has to do with the short growing season, or the sometimes deeply cold weeks in winter, but we, generally speaking, have a stick-to-itiveness that never says die. Of course, it could also have to do with the fact that St Cloud area high schools are ranked among the best with their SAT scores in the top 20% of the nation. Then after graduation the central Minnesota area also has a fantastic selection when it comes to picking a local secondary school (more about this on another post). Farming and the drive that goes along with working the land also comes into play with our spirit too. It is because of all of this that I think St Cloud has so many entrepreneurs.
Central Minnesota has so many people who are or will become self employeed that we even have a center constructed to help with the success of these business minded people, The Minnesota Center for Business Development located in the Anderson Entrepreneurial Center. The Minnesota Center for Business Development in conjunction with SCORE holds classes for those who wish to start, improve or expand their small business. There is plenty more information on Positively Minnesota about developing and growing your business here in Minnesota.
St Cloud has several HUGE success stories in growing from a one man shop to employing several hundreds even thousands of people.
- Anderson Trucking Service: Started in 1955, As of 2005 Anderson Trucking service and its subsidiaries total over 3300 trailers and 1300 tractors and deliver over 100,000 loads per year, now delivering wind turbines and blades looking towards the future
- Bankers Systems Inc: Bought in 1999 by Wolters Kluwer who now employs 19,300 people worldwide
- Coborn's Inc.: Started in 1921 as a single produce market, employs 2062 people, ranks number 21 in Corporate Reports top 100 list of privately held companies
- Cold Spring Granite: Started in 1899 as Rockville Granite, was awarded LEED Gold Certification in 2008, now employs 790 people
- Creative Memories: Started in 1987, scrap booking supplies, after a phone call between two friends now the company has thousands of consultants worldwide
- Gold'n Plump Poultry Inc.: started in 1926 as St. Cloud Hatcheries, partners with over 300 family farmers in MN and Wisconsin, plus employees 852 people at it's 4 locations and is a Minnesota Keystone Company
- Spee-Dee Delivery: Started in 1978 as a single person on call delivery service, now employs over 1400 people
- Nahan Printing:Started in 1962, privately owned family operated, employs 554, with the slogan Listen Impress Deliver
Not all businesses are going to grow to the levels of the wonderful companies listed above, some businesses are small shop oriented. Everyday in St Cloud I see and work with people who are small business owners, from my fellow REALTORS® in the office to the home inspectors, the local home builders and their independent contractors, even the ladies at Hemsing's deli who, when the former owner retired, decided to buy it and become their own boss.
Entrepreneurs and small businesses are the backbone of our great nation and that spirit is alive here in St Cloud MN. God bless our freedoms, those who fought for them and those who choose to use those freedoms to create and grow a successful business.
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