Small Business Stories - Ron Ameln Video

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Small Business Stories - Ron Ameln

Ivy: Welcome to SBTV.com’s coverage of small business week here in St. Louis, we’re at the gala event and we have a national award Small Business Administration Award winner with us, Ron Ameln. Ron, you won the Small Business Journalist of the year Award, and tell us about your world with Small Business Monthly. Ron: Well I’ve worked with Small Business Monthly since 1992. I came there a couple of years out of college and Judy Meder who owned the publication at the time hired me as one of her first employees and I’ve moved up the ranks from writer to editor to vice president and I bought the company about a year and a half ago. Ivy: Tell us about Small Business Monthly, the company itself on what your circulation is. Ron: Our circulation’s 25,000, when we go out to small midsize business owners, most of them have between 5 and 25 employees, and what we do is we help guide them and move them in certain direction. The problem in many small business owners have is they wear a lot of different hats and they need a lot of different advice and helpful ideas to get their company moving forward, and that’s pretty much what we do, we help the businesses that don’t have a HR director on staff. We give them HR ideas that might help the company. We help the folks that don’t have a PR director in staff, give them some PR ideas. We help them find the right places to go for bank loans and just give them a lot of advice. We don’t cover any news, what we try to do is, is give them advice that would really help them run their businesses. Ivy: I’ve noticed on the cover that you also feature specific, for example, during featured small business women for one month. Ron: Sure. Ivy: You know, and it’s definitely one of those go to resources small business owners which I know is your aim. Ron: Sure, sure. We try, when we focus on people like women or successful profiles, we always try to get them to share their experiences and so. You know, we really wanted to have that experience shared and it’s really important for business owners to… Ivy: How do you keep your, the polls on the small business community that you serve? Ron: We talk to people all the time. We have a big network of folks. We have a couple of trade shows a year, the same old business expo, and we convened thousands of business owners in the St. Louis area, so we’re constantly sending out information and then asking for advice on certain topics. So, that’s how we keep the polls, we just talk to a lot of business owners. Ivy: As an award winning journalist, how do you feel about this award that you’ve received from the SBA? Ron: It’s quite an honor. I know that, it makes all the, the years of hard work worth while. And you know, every year, and it’s not just me, I’m just one piece of the puzzle at this small business monthly and, you know, the employees of this Small Business Monthly for years have, we’ve been evangelist for business in St. Louis, and so the award really is about all of those individuals and I’m just the guy lucky enough to stand up and get the award. But everyone at the paper has really dedicated themselves, they actually, you know, coming in everyday and helping business owners succeed. Ivy: Now this will gonna come as a surprise to you, tell us about the nomination process, maybe who nominated you? Ron: The nominator for me was Judy Meder, who used to own the publication, and she happens to be, you know, my biggest mentor, and she nominated me for the award. Ivy: Good, good. Are you nervous last night? Ron: No, not really, you know, lot of, lot of friends in the audience and in the crowd, so… Ivy: One last question, what’s it like to go to the national award ceremony in Washington DC to receive that kind of an award? Ron: It’s very humbling experience. I think the most, the coolest thing about it is you get in a room with, you know, 50 to 70 entrepreneurs, very successful entrepreneurs from around the country. And the energy is just, it’s a crazy energy, it’s a contagious energy, and a lot of the folks that were there at the end of the week said that they were so excited to get back into their businesses because as I said the energy that created in that room was pretty fantastic. Ivy: Well I said this is my last, that was my last question, but since you brought it up, so has it perpetuated you to take Small Business Monthly in another direction or you rejuvenated for your small business? Ron: Oh, sure, sure. You know, I’ve taken a lot of the ideas, and in fact, I’ve even, there’s a couple of companies in Maine, and one in California that we’ve already been emailing ideas and so, I think the peer to peer networking that I gain from that experience is gonna be fantastic. Because, now we all kind of feel like were on this unique club together and we’re gonna help each other as we go along. And so, when I have questions or advice, or I need help doing something, I know I can turn to this folks and then vice versa. Ivy: Yeah, like a club or a community now. Ron: Yeah. Ivy: It’s been created. Ron: Definitely. Ivy: Ron Ameln of the Small Business Monthly, congratulations on your award, keep it right here as we continue our coverage of Small Business week interesting, we’re SBTV.com, where small business is our only business.

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Ivy: Welcome to SBTV.com’s coverage of small business week here in St. Louis, we’re at the gala event and we have a national award Small Business Administration Award winner with us, Ron Ameln. Ron, you won the Small Business Journalist of the year Award, and tell us about your world with Small Business Monthly.

Ron: Well I’ve worked with Small Business Monthly since 1992. I came there a couple of years out of college and Judy Meder who owned the publication at the time hired me as one of her first employees and I’ve moved up the ranks from writer to editor to vice president and I bought the company about a year and a half ago.

Ivy: Tell us about Small Business Monthly, the company itself on what your circulation is.

Ron: Our circulation’s 25,000, when we go out to small midsize business owners, most of them have between 5 and 25 employees, and what we do is we help guide them and move them in certain direction. The problem in many small business owners have is they wear a lot of different hats and they need a lot of different advice and helpful ideas to get their company moving forward, and that’s pretty much what we do, we help the businesses that don’t have a HR director on staff. We give them HR ideas that might help the company. We help the folks that don’t have a PR director in staff, give them some PR ideas. We help them find the right places to go for bank loans and just give them a lot of advice. We don’t cover any news, what we try to do is, is give them advice that would really help them run their businesses.

Ivy: I’ve noticed on the cover that you also feature specific, for example, during featured small business women for one month.

Ron: Sure.

Ivy: You know, and it’s definitely one of those go to resources small business owners which I know is your aim.

Ron: Sure, sure. We try, when we focus on people like women or successful profiles, we always try to get them to share their experiences and so. You know, we really wanted to have that experience shared and it’s really important for business owners to…

Ivy: How do you keep your, the polls on the small business community that you serve?

Ron: We talk to people all the time. We have a big network of folks. We have a couple of trade shows a year, the same old business expo, and we convened thousands of business owners in the St. Louis area, so we’re constantly sending out information and then asking for advice on certain topics. So, that’s how we keep the polls, we just talk to a lot of business owners.

Ivy: As an award winning journalist, how do you feel about this award that you’ve received from the SBA?

Ron: It’s quite an honor. I know that, it makes all the, the years of hard work worth while. And you know, every year, and it’s not just me, I’m just one piece of the puzzle at this small business monthly and, you know, the employees of this Small Business Monthly for years have, we’ve been evangelist for business in St. Louis, and so the award really is about all of those individuals and I’m just the guy lucky enough to stand up and get the award. But everyone at the paper has really dedicated themselves, they actually, you know, coming in everyday and helping business owners succeed.

Ivy: Now this will gonna come as a surprise to you, tell us about the nomination process, maybe who nominated you?

Ron: The nominator for me was Judy Meder, who used to own the publication, and she happens to be, you know, my biggest mentor, and she nominated me for the award.

Ivy: Good, good. Are you nervous last night?

Ron: No, not really, you know, lot of, lot of friends in the audience and in the crowd, so…

Ivy: One last question, what’s it like to go to the national award ceremony in Washington DC to receive that kind of an award?

Ron: It’s very humbling experience. I think the most, the coolest thing about it is you get in a room with, you know, 50 to 70 entrepreneurs, very successful entrepreneurs from around the country. And the energy is just, it’s a crazy energy, it’s a contagious energy, and a lot of the folks that were there at the end of the week said that they were so excited to get back into their businesses because as I said the energy that created in that room was pretty fantastic.

Ivy: Well I said this is my last, that was my last question, but since you brought it up, so has it perpetuated you to take Small Business Monthly in another direction or you rejuvenated for your small business?

Ron: Oh, sure, sure. You know, I’ve taken a lot of the ideas, and in fact, I’ve even, there’s a couple of companies in Maine, and one in California that we’ve already been emailing ideas and so, I think the peer to peer networking that I gain from that experience is gonna be fantastic. Because, now we all kind of feel like were on this unique club together and we’re gonna help each other as we go along. And so, when I have questions or advice, or I need help doing something, I know I can turn to this folks and then vice versa.

Ivy: Yeah, like a club or a community now.

Ron: Yeah.

Ivy: It’s been created.

Ron: Definitely.

Ivy: Ron Ameln of the Small Business Monthly, congratulations on your award, keep it right here as we continue our coverage of Small Business week interesting, we’re SBTV.com, where small business is our only business.

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