PEORIA MAGAZINE September 2022

T W E N T Y S O M E T H I N G

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN IDEAS, ACTION Local business owners have plenty of advice for young entrepreneurs

BY CECE HILL PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

A s a little girl, I dreamed of being a fashion designer. I couldn’t imagine anything more g l amorous t han designing my own clothes and owning my own label. I loved the idea of being my own boss, even though I was much too young to understand what having a boss meant. But as I got into high school and college, those dreams changed. While owning a small business is no longer in the cards for me – and hasn’t been since I stopped emulating Project Runway and starting reciting A Midsummer Night’s Dream — I’m still endlessly curious about how you go from the seedling of an idea to a for profit business. Is it ever too early or too late to begin? Six local small business owners shared with me the secrets to their success. Their journeys were not always seamless, but they were able to find their way by following these tenets. KNOW THE CRAFT Mike Mohr of Mohr and Kerr Engi neering and Land Surveying has been in business for 15 years. In his 20s, he was involved in land surveying at a techni cian level and set his sights on becoming licensed, then opening his own business. But this was no simple feat.

“The biggest challenge was getting enough experience to be able to take the first test,” he explained. That challenge lasted eight years. Passing the first segment of the licensing exam was the preliminary hurdle, but even

itself, but it also gave him the tools – work ethic, personal connections, etc. — to grow into his success. Practice may not always make perfect, but it will certainly teach you a thing or two along the way.

Shatiya Alexander, Blown Away Ballons

KNOW THE INDUSTRY When Cathy Kemp opened her Morton restaurant, Kemp 208, seven years ago, it was her first foray as an owner following years of getting to know the industry. She got her start at Peoria’s Weaver Ridge Clubhouse and restaurant, then continued her career at Pekin Country Club. “If that’s your goal, to own a restaurant, then you need to get in a restaurant and work,” she said. “You really need

after doing so he was required to work four more years under a licensed land surveyor to take the second part of the exam. Then there was the difficulty of the exam itself. Still, Mohr wishes now that he had started the whole process sooner. “As I look back 15 years later, I wish I would have done it 30 years ago,” he said. Being great at any craft always ties back to the amount of practice put in. Mohr’s experience taught him the craft

60 SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE