YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
As executive director and sole employee for the Springfield Contractors Association, Megan Short wears lots of hats leading 335 member companies and overseeing 14 committees and 25 annual events for the nonprofit group.
She also is a member of SCA’s scholarship committee, which selects college students pursuing a degree related to construction or design. In summer 2018, Short served on a workforce development task force for the statewide Talent for Tomorrow initiative, her proudest accomplishment. Short was selected this year to serve on the leadership council for The Network, the chamber’s group for young professionals.
What was your first job? My first job outside of the farm and babysitting was a hostess position at Mexican Villa South.
What about your job would shock people? I periodically get to put on a hard hat and tour jobsites with members of the association.
What is your best productivity hack? Make time to really focus on one specific task when you’re on a deadline.
What did you learn the hard way? Communication must be a two-way street. It’s easy to just assume something is complete, but you can’t always assume no news is good news.
How many times do you hit the snooze button? Some mornings, I’m up five minutes before my alarm even goes off, then others I max out the number of times I can hit snooze.
Cuban cuisine arrived on C-Street with the opening of La Habana Vieja; independent brokerage Gateway Real Estate opened its first office; and a veteran of the restaurant industry invested in her first food truck.
Barak Hill gives advice based on what he learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected his business. He says we should all have a backup plan ready to use.
Sandy Higgins, owner of the Crackerjack Shack, recommends the book "The E-Myth Mastery" by Michael E Gerber. She says it changed the course of how she runs her business.
Aaron York describes the work culture he tries to foster at Donco3 and why he attributes to it a part of Donco3's success. Rachel York is a co-owner of Donco3 and Aaron is the General Superintendent.
Hollie Elliott, executive director of the Dallas County Economic Development Group, explains how local schools factor into business decisions and affect a local community.
Rachel Barks, owner of Artistree Pottery, says an important lesson she learned was not to over-expand and to do her research before hand. She gives examples from her experience as a startup business owner.
Jim and Debbie Meinsen own TCI Graphics, and are now celebrating 50 years of business. Jim Meinsen takes some time to explain his philosophy on debt, and how to stay out of it.
Caleb Scott, owner and coach of Queen City Insane Asylum semi-professional football, says the early grind was hard, but it was worth it. The team is in their second season carrying a national ranking of number 2 in the NFA IDFL.
Barak Hill, local musician and entrepreneur, tells about his switch to livestreaming in 2020. He says it was a necessary move, but also not an easy one.
Jessica Burkland, a SCORE mentor and an instructor at the MSU Department of Management, gives us a rundown of the non-profit organization SCORE. SCORE stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives and offers free consultation and advice to business owners.
Hollie Elliott, the executive director of the Dallas County Economic Development Group, discusses some of the ways helping small town businesses is different than in larger cities. The Dallas County Economic Development Group is a 501(c)(3) non-profit aimed at helping local existing and new businesses in the county.
