Cathy Sedacca seems to have a habit of starting businesses her clients wish they didn’t need — but then really coming in handy when they do. In addition to contributing a couple articles in recent years, Sedacca appeared in Upsize as part of an Upsize/Club Entrepreneur event in 2018, when she was co-founder and director of sales and marketing for Sage Business Credit, an asset-based lending and factoring company that served small businesses with lending needs between $100,000 and $4 million. The company differed from factoring companies in that in addition to its lending services, it would pro ..read more

Schu Marketing Associates Inc. has been entirely employee owned since 2020 when founder Steve Schumacher decided to retire. He’d previously sold 30 percent of his shares to his workers in 2016. But the independent manufacturer’s representative that sells for the plumbing and building materials industries began its transition to employee ownership more than a decade earlier. “The succession of Schu Marketing was important,” says Sarah Levens, current president and the founder’s daughter. “Originally, he was a sole proprietorship. He was the guy. So, over time, he had to transition a lot of his ..read more

“You have to be willing to suck at something new.” That’s what the founder of Mercury Mosaics, Mercedes Austin, thinks about growing her custom tile-making business to each new level. I’m loving her viewpoint as I embark as a beginner on so many pursuits. Austin is a ceramics artist who was making and selling individual tiles with beautiful designs. “I wanted to turn being an artist into a day job. I thought, how hard could it be to start my own tile company?” she recalls.  She launched Mercury Mosaics, named for the Roman god of craftsmanship, in 2002. Today Mercury Mosaics has 35 employ ..read more

In the world of entrepreneurship, investing solely in your own business has long been considered an act of dedication and belief in your vision. However, putting all your investment eggs in one basket can carry significant risk.  Let’s shed a light on the risks small- and medium-sized business owners may face in solely investing in their ventures, as well as the compelling advantages of diversifying assets. Diversification, which can both mitigate risks and open new opportunities for growth, offers valuable insights into strategic business management. The importance of strategic diversifi ..read more

LinkedIn is a unique social media network. As the preferred place for business networking online, LinkedIn has its own culture and guidelines for what content performs best. Videos or posts that make a splash on TikTok or YouTube shorts may fizzle on LinkedIn.  If you’re not seeing the engagement you expected on LinkedIn, it could be as simple as a content mismatch. Here are some simple guidelines to get the most from “the business network.” 1. Post regularly, but strategically Like most social media, LinkedIn’s algorithm rewards steady, consistent activity. According to research by HubSp ..read more

What’s your number? This is a personal, but critical question that all founders must answer when planning a business exit.  It’s not the number for selling your business. It’s the number you want for an enjoyable life after the business sale. There is a difference.  Founder exits involve emotional aspects that can impact financial decisions when seeking a buyer or successor. To balance the emotional and practical, here are three hypothetical scenarios for founder exits. There are certainly many scenarios unique to each founder, but try to imagine yourself in one of these common scena ..read more

Workplace investigations are often the result of employee complaints. Though not all reported concerns lead to a formal investigation, employers have a duty to take appropriate action once they know or should have known about alleged misconduct. When initiating an investigation, employers should keep in mind that the investigative process may impact the organization’s reputation more than the alleged misconduct itself. Allegations warranting investigation require a prompt and thorough process that ensures accuracy and objectivity. Developing a comprehensive investigation plan is essential to m ..read more

As open enrollment approaches, now is the time for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to finalize their health benefits offering for 2025 and begin planning for the next few years.  For many SMBs, this process can be daunting, particularly as they are forced to choose from health plans that cater more to the needs of large employers. Making matters worse, they continue to contend with escalating costs for coverage that may not be meeting their employees’ greatest needs.  Unwieldy costs are why 35 percent of small businesses don’t offer health benefits at all, according to a 2024 eHe ..read more

Since Matt Schwandt visited with Upsize in 2017 for a story on standing out in a crowded market, the local craft brewing industry has only gotten more so.  Bauhaus Brew Labs, he said at the time, stood out partially because it focused its product line on longer-to-develop lager beers rather than ales that had been popular with the craft crowd, and also because of a focus on flashy branding and social media messaging. Social and branding remain important. The product line still includes lagers, but it has evolved significantly, both due to the professional need to keep innovating and the p ..read more

As the name suggests, Owatonna-based Kamp Automation looks for customers with a process they’d like to automate. It could be a small, inconvenient, tiny part that people can’t assemble. It could be a high-volume product so needed that the customer can’t find enough labor to produce it in the necessary quantities. “We’ll work anywhere from medical device companies to the seed industry for corn and soybeans,” says Kent Patterson, co-founder, president and CEO. “We just jump all over wherever there is custom automation.” The company started in his garage. Patterson and his partners built a machin ..read more