Eyes & Ears: Is the sky the limit for 'jet-set' duo?

Starting up a business is not for the faint of heart; rather it takes unwavering determination on top of a solid plan. Some get it, some don’t.

One can tell usually within two years of giving it a go, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau’s May 2005 monthly review finds that a third of new small businesses fail after two years and more than half of startups fail after four years.

Although the statistical jury is still out for Springfield-based theworkshop 308, we’ve had a success story in the first year of business for the fledgling design studio, Springfield Business Journal’s first Evolution of an Enterprise participant. During 2007, Reporter Cory Smith followed the ups and downs of theworkshop 308, owned and operated by Drury University architecture graduates Michael Mardis and Jason Mitchell. (The full series is archived at sbj.net; search “theworkshop.”)

We launched the series mainly as an educational tool for current and would-be entrepreneurs, while also building connections in the business community and developing characters. Internally, we’ve loosely referred to Evolution of an Enterprise as SBJ’s reality series.

Series components include up-close reporting of business at hand – positive and negative, analyses by veteran business associates, first-person columns and client interviews.

Participating Evolution companies agree to full disclosure of business plans, financials and certain personal information. Complete transparency is essential in providing an authentic look at what it takes to run a new company.

Our hope was that readers could walk the shoes of entrepreneurs in real time, even taking notes at home. The paltry success rates of startups reported by the federal government point to ill-prepared owners. This is our attempt at combating the statistical small-business problem. After all, small business is the lifeblood of southwest Missouri’s economy, and we’d like to maintain it.

The first year of theworkshop 308 was an evolution on several fronts: The owners relocated their office, and they learned about the sanctity of the term architect (which SBJ’s Smith admittedly did, too). We watched them modify their business model based on client demand, mature as businessmen, trim their hair and shave their beards.

Gentlemen, thank you for allowing us to follow your every move.

As the first year was winding down, we were seeking a restaurant to follow in Year 2. Things looked to be shaping up that way, too, when three of the four finalists were involved in food services. But then, in the final weeks of deciding, in came this offbeat aircraft detailing company started by two outgoing, polished, young and aggressive guys. After lengthy consideration, we awarded Evolution of an Enterprise Year 2 to Voyager Industries LLC.

A day at the office for Voyager co-owners Josh Somers and Binh Uebinger consists of hanging around multimillion-dollar jets kept in tight security under expansive metal hangars.

They’re rubbing shoulders daily with corporate pilots who talk about two-hour flights to Mexico, four-day hunting excursions in Texas and landing on highways in the middle of nowhere.

The detailing guys say they’ll do everything from debugging windshields to moisturizing leather interiors.

These guys understand marketing, they know how to make and work connections, and they’re aggressively focused on this business model. We’ll see where it takes them. Their story, and Evolution Year 2, start on page 39.

So strap on your seatbelts, the Voyager Industries story is preparing for takeoff. We’ll all be watching from 30,000 feet.

Eric Olson, Springfield Business Journal editor, can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]