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AS YOU WALK IN the front door of C3 Real Estate Solutions, you see three words on the glass in the lobby:
That’s not a terribly uncommon thing; a number of businesses like to prominently display key words to make an impression on their customers. Fresh! Best deal anywhere! Innovation!
But when I attended their Chamber Red Carpet event a few months ago, I got the distinct impression that the founders, Jesse Laner and John Simmons, actually run the company this way. That’s NOT common.
LEE 
PORTER is one of three founders of InnovatioNews, a news organization that targets entrepreneurship and innovation in Colorado USA.
It’s an all-electronic publication, not printed on paper. The focus is on high quality news and other digital content which is on the IN website, distributed via email, pushed through social media and placed strategically on other websites. InnovatioNews is jumping on the age of new media with full enthusiasm – which is a pretty great fit, given their subject.
This company is jumping on the age of new media with full enthusiasm – which is a pretty great fit, given their subject.
MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA 
is a community-minded financial services company in the US. Founded in 1883, they are structured as a 501(c)(8) “Fraternal Beneficiary Society,” a category I’d never heard of. This is a designation for organizations which are primarily intended to provide insurance-type benefits to their members.
Modern Woodmen has a rich legacy of service, including widows and orphans, those suffering from the Tuberculosis outbreak a century ago, education, and eye care.
I had a chance this week to talk with John Weidenfeller, the local Regional Director in Northern Colorado. He’s been with the organization for ten years now, opening up the Fort Collins office a few years ago. He’s a strong supporter of the values of this company, and has committed himself to leading a group which is aligned around those principles.
MATT SHOUP is the owner of 
M&E Painting, a fast-growing enterprise here in Northern Colorado. Many in Fort Collins are aware of Tim Farnsworth, Matt’s sign guy on the corner of Harmony & College.
But the story of Matt and M&E is much deeper.
Matt started this residential re-painting specialist company in 2005 with his last $100, after getting laid off from a job in mortgage banking. With a passion for customer service and to develop a company of character, he launched in and has been experiencing steady growth ever since. M&E is now a multi-million-dollar company.
I first spoke with Matt back in 2011, and it’s fascinating to see how he’s developing personally, and how this affects his business. It was great to catch up this week and learn more of his story.
DR. ART MISSIRLIAN, DDS, heads up a small dental practice here in Fort Collins. Full disclosure: he’s been my dentist since he launched the business in 1987.
I’ve appreciated his quality work and attention to customer service over the years. But that’s really just the kind of service one would expect. If I’d been disappointed, no doubt I would have gone to one of the many other professionals in town.
I realized a few years ago that he brings his Christianity forth as part of his personality. It’s not a huge part of his approach, but you’ll find in his bio on the website. You might find Christian music in the background in his waiting room, and the directory of local Christian businesses.
It’s not a huge part of his marketing approach, though. Read the rest of this entry »
WE HAVE ALL HEARD the traditional wisdom that keeping employees happy results in happy customers, which brings in more money, which makes you insanely rich.
But honestly, I don’t see too many companies which actually structure around this kind of philosophy. More often, building a great and loyal employee base is more like “do as much as we can afford.”
Courtesy Stenbakken Photography
I met Pete Gazlay a few years ago, when both he and I had just started our businesses. After working in the industry for a decade, he created Total Facility Care to service business janitorial needs in northern Colorado.
Yeah, I know – has this just got to be just the most boring industry ever? Let me tell you about why TFC is special.
TAMARA KLEINBERG heads up a fascinating company named the Shuuk – THE testing ground for the world’s coolest, newest ideas. 
Just so you aren’t confused, the Hebrew word shuuk describes a community marketplace, with all the vitality and energy that you’d expect.
Tamara is helping inventors and innovators by giving them a marketplace for their new products.
It’s kind of a proving ground, a test market, for all those new products which have no good way to get to a broad market. And that’s a valued assistance for someone who has a great idea, but struggles to develop a distribution channel and marketing strategy.
GALE SIMON heads up Global Wellness Solutions in Windsor, Colorado, and represents SoZo and a number of nutritional supplements. With a background in chemical research, he approaches product claims with a huge amount of skepticism.
It’s about the research.
Gale’s been promoting nutritional products for well over a decade, building up a very successful income with a previous supplement company.
SOMETIMES I just love this job.
I was speaking with Rich Bradfield recently, one of the founders of Nova Monda Cacao & Chocolate in Lafayette, Colorado. Of course I couldn’t fully appreciate what they do without trying some of their wonderful products, as dried cacao nibs, a couple of ganaches, a truffle, and then a chocolate bar.
The things I put myself through for my readers.
Nova Monda does indeed make some very special and exclusive products, but that’s just a tiny portion of the story of this company.
THE 
MOOT HOUSE is a Fort Collins landmark: serving the community since the 1970s, and a flagship of the Hot Corner Concepts group for 25 years. They’re known for their top-notch food and fantastic people. A superb date night out.
There’s more to the story, though.
We all know that restaurants are one of the toughest businesses to be in – hard-to-please customers and tight margins. Especially when you market yourself with high standards.
The Values-Based Business 