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A little creativity and an entrepreneur spirit is keeping Katy Kassian busy in North Dakota.
ENTREPRENEUR. Webster’s dictionary defines it as “One who organizes, manages and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.
For some it means freedom. For others it’s the culmination of dreams.
To me, being an entrepreneur means hours of labor. Of hard work. Being able to think outside the box, being visionary, having an innate belief in myself, knowing that the first step is the hardest, being willing to help others, and the understanding that ‘NO’ is just a word.
My husband and I are both ‘entrepreneurs’. When we moved back to ND five years ago, he brought his business Tom Kat on Site Inc back with him. He is a mobile Caterpillar engine repair specialist. It’s defiantly considered a niche! Getting our business set up in ND wasn’t anywhere near as time-consuming or complicated as what was expected. Both our accountant and local banker were well-informed on what we needed to transition from Colorado to ND. With some creative marketing, a good work ethic and a great atmosphere, his business really took off and we are very happy with it.
Because of our success with Tom Kat on Site, we were able to start TomkatZ Repair (automotive) in Washburn and sell it to my cousin and his family who we had talked into relocating from Sacramento.
We also currently own D’Eggos Diner in Underwood. We’ve been there almost a year now. We decided that since I was already commuting to Bismarck to work in hospitality, I might as well work for myself. It’s been a little more challenging. Business is actually very good. Finding help is the issue at hand. With a little creativity we are overcoming that. Also through the Diner, we have been able to help one of our girls launch Connie’s Cowboy Cookies and Bakery. It works out great … She needs somewhere to bake, I need baked goods.
It’s like paying it forward. North Dakota Style.
Tom and Katy Kassian
For us North Dakota has been a great place to do business. The resources are seemingly endless. There’s networking opportunities, (we became active in the Ambassador program before moving here) free business classes, terrific support from our local lender, a state website that‘s easy to navigate, ‘atta boys’ from the community and much more. We tell everybody to come here! I would definitely say doing business in ND is rewarding. Not just financially, but personally as well.
Written by Guest Blogger – Katy Kassian | We could tell you her story, but she’s already done it so well above! Katy and her husband Tom live in the Regan area.
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If Katy has aroused your inner entrepreneur, now’s the time to enter the InnovateND competition. Click the link and find out more!
Family first. That simple priority motivated John Nelson to return to North Dakota, Grand Forks and his former company, SimmonsFlint, as an account manager.
“The strong sense of family and community in the Grand Forks region is what residents value most and what brings Boomerangers back,” reveals the January 2010 Launch Grand Forks Findings and Recommendations report. Sixty-three percent of respondents agreed: family first is what they value most about living in the Grand Forks region.
John Nelson with his wife Jill and their daughter Miabella.
Nelson and his wife Jill couldn’t agree more. When Miabella was born eight months ago, the couple was filled with joy, excitement and slight panic, like any new parents, especially those living 1,000 miles from the people who shaped them: their parents, their friends, their community.
“You don’t realize what you took for granted until you’ve moved away. A sense of community, safe schools, family first,” explains Nelson. “We take it for granted in North Dakota, but it’s not like that everywhere.”
The Nelsons packed up their ski gear and hiking boots, their professional experience in Colorado and Miabella’s diapers and drove home to North Dakota and their future closer to family.
“Grand Forks is safe, friendly, familiar—yet full of opportunity,” explains Nelson. “It’s the perfect place for us to grow.”
When Nelson called Grand Forks home six years ago, he had different priorities. A band member and regular performer with Crimson Creek players, Nelson was heavily involved in Grand Forks’ music scene. As a high schooler, a college student and a young professional, he regularly shared his musical talents with the community, from Summer Performing Arts (SPA) performances to his college band “Drambuee” to his funk and soul band, Groove Union aka Fatlip.
Nelson’s musical interests even blended into his professional life, as he formed Matrix Recording Studio in the old hospital building in downtown Grand Forks. The studio is still in operation today as Blue Tower Studio in downtown Denver.
Amanda Bentow, president of the Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals (GGFYP) group, explains, “We know that a lot of young professionals move back to Grand Forks because of their family connections, and we’re excited that people like Nelson are seeing the opportunities in the area and coming back to their roots.”
And he isn’t the only Flint employee to return to North Dakota after experiencing life in a bigger city. Libby Hall joined the agency last year after spending five years in Minneapolis. Twenty-four-year-old Hall, recent bride and new media strategist, came back for family, old and new: her parents in northern North Dakota and her husband Jameson. “It’s nice to be closer to our families,” says Hall.
In reference to North Dakota, Nelson says, “I just can’t think of a better place for my young family to call home.”
Written by Guest Blogger – Angie Laxdal (@angie_lynnae) | Angie Laxdal was born and raised in Crystal, North Dakota. She graduated from North Dakota State University in 2009 and currently works as a public relations specialist at SimmonsFlint in Grand Forks. Angie and her husband Kelby love living, working and playing in the Red River Valley.
I love it when a young person in North Dakota gets it! As a whole, people in North Dakota talk a little too negative about our state and it’s time we stopped. This University of North Dakota student, Madi Whitman, captured it great in a recent post for the Dakota Student that was shared by the Youth Forward blog. I hope you enjoy the frank and fresh perspective.
Madi Whitman, a student at UND, offers her opinion on the upside of calling North Dakota home. This article was originally published on the Dakota Student website. Click here to read the full article http://www.dakotastudent.com/opinion/north-dakota-has-definite-merits-1.1577739
Throughout my last few years in Grand Forks, I have heard many complaints regarding our present location. I understand many of them, as Grand Forks is not exactly the most thrilling of places to live, but I tend to become a little irritated when the distaste is extended to the entire state.
I will admit that I do not enjoy dressing for the winter like I am preparing for the Iditarod, and I despise I-29 with the intensity of a January blizzard, but these are all minor blemishes on an otherwise flawless profile.
I will skip the lecture about low crime rates, our good economy, work ethic, and that crap about us being the friendliest (although I have found this to be at least somewhat true, but more on that later) and will instead focus on the core of the state, that which produces the attributes of our residence we proudly display.
Firstly: wheat. As current occupants of Grand Forks County, I am willing to venture a guess that you have all at least seen it at some point or another. But have you really seen it?
The ways in which the wind acts on the green sheaves and the waves of wheat rolling across a field are simply glorious. I had always thought the “amber waves of grain” line from “America the Beautiful” was a little lame, but seeing it in person is quite moving.
For those of you who are not from our lovely state or have not explored it extensively, it may come as a surprise that the region is not wholly flat.
“A place exists with a higher elevation than the Columbia overpass” you ask? Indeed, the far west of North Dakota is rather stunning with its rugged terrain and commanding buttes. But perhaps it is not so much the landscape that defines the state as it is the people who inhabit it.
I am slowly realizing that part of the “North Dakota nice” broadcasted to the population is partially a front. I once had a friend from out of state tell me that once the cold moved in, we were just as mean as everyone else, although I think the “we” in that statement is perhaps reserved for our behavior on the days in which the weather is too bitter for anyone. The term does have validity, though, especially in rural areas.
Once, several months ago, I parked in a farmstead outside of a very small town, waiting for a coworker. As I sat in our vehicle, a large tractor drove up, and a one-armed woman maneuvered out of it to speak to me. Over the roar of the motor, I shouted the reason for my presence. Although it was not explained particularly well and I am convinced she could not hear me, she smiled warmly and nodded before firing up a truck and heading into town to continue her business, trusting that I would remain as a benevolent presence. Perhaps “nice” is not the word I am trying to demonstrate, but “friendly.” However, even that does not seem to fit well.
Another example: on a separate occasion, I was at another farmstead, waiting in our vehicle while my coworker spoke with a rancher about his land. I went to give them some paperwork, and the rancher introduced himself to me and said: “now, I’m not a male chauvinist and I’m not sure if you’re one of them women’s libers, but I’m going to ask you this as a father and a grandfather: would you like to use the bathroom?”
I am not sure if such a question would be asked in other places, and I doubt it is specific to North Dakota, but it is so typical of our great state that I think it demonstrates my point.
I know NoDak has its cons, but I think the pros far outweigh them. There is something about this place that cannot be found once one crosses the border. Complain all you want about the cold and the flat portions of the land, but please, don’t hate the state
Pheasant hunting in North Dakota is considered some of the best nationwide.
It may seem like a mystery to some people, but soon thousands of North Dakotans will be getting up before the crack of dawn for hunting season. Why? Because they love it!
North Dakota is one of the few places that allow for ample hunting opportunities from waterfowl to bigger game. We gladly welcome back the many North Dakota Ambassdors who return each year for the hunt. This year, thanks to the American Heart Association, we’re also asking them to be save while hunting and remember to think of their heart as well.
Every year media reports include stories of hunter suffering heart attacks during this season. If you’re not prepared, haven’t had a physical and haven’t exercised much in the year since the last hunt, you may be putting yourself at risk for a heart attack.
A recent study compared the heart workload of an individual while hunting to that of the same individual while exercising on a treadmill on a different day. The results of the study showed that hunting puts the heart under more strain.
Hunters, who have not been to their doctor in the year since the last hunt, should take this opportunity to get a checkup before hunting season begins. Ask your doctor if you should have a stress test.
Smoking is a major risk factor for heart attack and heart disease, so one of the best things you can do for your heart is put out the cigarettes.
Other tips include avoiding a heavy breakfast before heading out into the woods and to avoid hunting alone. Bring a cell phone to reach emergency services if needed and tell friends or family your location and scheduled return. Also, make sensible plans for moving any game taken.
According to the American Heart Association, warning signs of a heart attack are an uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing, or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back again. Also, the pain may spread to the shoulders, neck and arms and is often accompanied by lightheadedness, sweating, nausea and shortness of breath.
Stroke is also a concern while hunting and its warning signs include a sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, and a sudden dizziness and loss of coordination.
The American Heart Association Start! program has a series of online tools that can encourage conditioning and get individuals walking to better heart health. For every hour of regular, vigorous exercise, like brisk walking, one can expect two hours will be added to their life expectancy.
The Start! program offers free online tools at www. heart.org/start
For more information on warning signs of a heart attack – go to: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/Heart-Attack_UCM_001092_SubHomePage.jsp
