Note from Art: When I encounter remarkable small businesses and owners/entrepreneurs, I feel compelled to help them tell their stories. Enjoy the profile of these remarkable young professionals!
What do world-class running coaching, delicious caramel and cheddar popcorn and great marketing all have in common?
In the case of Eric Wallor and Amber and Edgar Murans, three young University of Illinois graduates and successful entrepreneurs, the combination spells hard work, financial reward, and the joy of carving out career paths they love.
For anyone lamenting the work ethic and commitment of the millennial generation, they have yet to meet Eric, Amber and Edgar. These three pursue their work with passion, vigor and with smiles on their faces on even the most challenging days.
A bit of background on this dynamic trio:
Eric is an elite distance runner and successful running coach via his Full Potential Running practice. When he is not training aspiring elite runners, he works as CEO of Signature Popcorn, a joint venture with his sister Amber and her husband, Edgar.
Amber and Edgar are the founders of Left Hand Marketing—a successful digital marketing/social media firm supporting software, hospitality firms as well as independent business coaches and speakers. They joined Eric in the Signature Popcorn pursuit, and are busy conquering the world of this delightful fun business, one satisfied customer and corporate group at a time.
When I asked them about their approach to their businesses, they shared some life lessons that reflect wisdom beyond their years.
Amber: “We left college and found ourselves all working outside of our degree areas and just not satisfied with our career paths. Add in the financial crash around 2008 and prospects did not seem much brighter. With some nudging from our close friends, we launched Left Hand Marketing, and found an immediate demand for our help with social media marketing.”
Edgar: “We quickly recognized that our clients needed help in more than just social media marketing and we worked hard to learn new skills and translate those skills into social business and social selling initiatives for our customers. From teaching them how to leverage video to building and delivering a training program on leveraging LinkedIn for sales professionals, we have been expanding our services to help our clients grow.”
Eric: “Running is my passion and the ability to coach people of all levels and abilities and watch them set and beat their goals is incredibly rewarding. I initially focused on face-to-face coaching, and from there expanded to coach runners virtually across the country, and now I am working with a broader range of runners—from elite runners striving for Olympic greatness, to those trying to qualifying for the Boston Marathon and to business professionals striving for fitness and psychic rewards. It is incredibly exciting work for me and I love helping people.”
But, What About Popcorn?
When I asked about the tie-in between the popcorn business and their respective coaching and marketing service pursuits, they collectively laughed.
Eric: “This was a door that opened through contacts in our Palatine, IL Chamber of Commerce and we stepped through it. It was purely opportunistic and it has grown into a business that we love. It makes people happy and frankly, the work from production to marketing and fulfillment is just fun. I truly believe God’s hand was at work with this opportunity.”
Amber: “I fell in love with the idea of offering products that make people happy and I jumped in to the research. From flavoring to packaging, labeling, and all of the marketing activities, I feel this is an extension of all of the work we have been helping our clients with in the past few years. And plus, who doesn’t like to wear these cool hairnets? (said with a 10,000 watt smile).
Edgar: “Running this business helps us with empathy and understanding for our marketing clients. We know that we must delight our customers, keep quality at the highest level and of course, market and sell to succeed. There is no better proving ground for our own marketing services than this fun business.”
Vision:
Their vision is to build a thriving popcorn business that becomes a big part of their community and beyond. They are big believers in giving back and looking to pursue charitable endeavors that will help people and make the work they do all the more fulfilling. For them, a key area of focus over the next year will be in developing the fundraising and corporate sales part of the business. They understand that they have a lot of work cut out for them, but excited to take on the journey.
Art’s Confession: “I Have a Popcorn Problem”
Sidenote: I have consumed a lot of popcorn in my time and consider myself a bit of a caramel and cheese popcorn snob. This is the best I’ve ever had. (Sorry Garrett you’re number two in Chicago now.) The carefully cultivated caramel flavoring has just that right blend of rich, dark sweetness (but not too sweet and definitely not greasy), and their trans-fat free cheese version delights the popcorn lover’s palate. Combine the two into what they call the Perfect Duo, and you have….well, you have a perfect duo guaranteed to throw my clean eating program completely off kilter for one delightful popcorn binge. My only lament is that their cheese popcorn has a habit of turning my keyboard an orangeish-yellow, although I suspect that is my fault and not theirs!
The Bottom Line for Now:
As a strategist, I admit to initially struggling just a bit at the tie-in between the different businesses. However, after talking with the group, I get it. Their formula for success blends a bit of opportunism with a whole lot of experimentation and wraps it in a passion for serving their customers. That is the real perfect trio for success in business!
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Art Petty serves senior executives and management teams as a performance coach and strategy facilitator. Art is a popular speaker and workshop presenter focusing on helping professionals and organizations learn to survive and thrive in an era of change. Additionally, Art’s books are widely used in leadership development programs. To learn more or discuss a challenge, contact Art.
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