Wow! Our first Mentor Coffee exceeded our expectations!

We met at Broomtown Cafe in Arcola this morning, hoping to have at least a few of our mentors join us for coffee and at least part of our class, to advise us on our business plans and upcoming pitches for funding.

We had such a great panel of mentors, that some of us even stayed after class ended to keep discussing ideas.

Our mentors provided us with a lot of good advice, from how to start building a library of Instagram posts for publicity, to how to price and get our products sold in stores. They drew on their own contacts to help us find sources for supplies, and even marketing materials. They also helped narrow, and sometimes broaden, our focus, giving us some new ideas to consider as we build our businesses.

Mentoring is a core value of the CEO program. Without out mentors, we would miss out on valuable knowledge based on experience, and advice that can help us advance our businesses and achieve more.

Thank you to the mentors that took time out of their day to listen to our ideas and share some ideas of their own this morning. We truly enjoy having a full panel of mentors, to give us multiple ideas and viewpoints as we build our businesses!

Thank you to:
- Beth Wiley, 200 Acres/The Great Pumpkin Patch
- James Aikman, Aikman Wildlife Adventure
- Kevin Conlin, Mid-State Tank
- Hannah Myers, City of Arcola
- Dan Krieder, Broomtown Cafe and Kuhns Equipment

If you are interested in helping mentor our CEO students, please email facilitator@illiniprairieceo.com.

Our next mentor coffee is Friday, 3/1, at Roselens' in Arthur.

Mid-State Tank
Aikman Wildlife Adventure
City of Arcola
Broomtown Cafe
The Great Pumpkin Patch