2013-12-01 Eagan Business NewsJ O U R N A L O F T H E E A G A N B U S I N E S S C O M M U N I T Y
Fourth Quarter 2013 Vol. 12 No. 4
BusinessNewsEagan
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Cupcakes —
and a whole
lot more
i n s i d e t h i s i s s u e
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Briefly:
Eagan businesses
in the news
page 1
CaringBridge leverages
technology to
increase connectivity,
compassion
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3.7 percent
That’s the seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate for Eagan in
October. Impressively, that’s the
lowest unemployment rate for
the City since April 2008.
As a comparison, Dakota
County’s seasonally adjusted
rate for October was 4 percent;
Minnesota’s was 4.8.
CaringBridge leverages technology
to increase connectivity, compassion
Long before
Twitter, LinkedIn,
Facebook, and
even Google, a
fledgling social
network was
getting its start
in Eagan.
In 1997, Sona
Mehring,a soft-
ware engineer at
Unisys (also in
Eagan), created a
website to help
two friends communicate with worried
family and loved ones when the cou-
ple’s daughter was born prematurely.
Back then, when someone was dealing
with a life-threatening condition, it meant
passing on the news mostly by phone. But
sharing emotionally fraught messages with
multiple family members and friends could be
draining. And keeping them abreast of often-
changing reports was challenging to say the
least. A website that offered the latest news,
while inviting family and friends to share their
words of comfort and encouragement, was
a godsend.
Word of mouth spread the news of this first
CaringBridge site, and by the following year,
Mehring, with the help of volunteers, had
created 50 sites for other families facing
serious health issues of their own. Since
then, growth has been exponential: Today,
CaringBridge daily serves more than 500,000
people around the world — and visits to the
site topped 46 million this year. The nonprofit
charges nothing for its services, operating
wholly on donations. And its credentials are
stellar: For six straight years, it has earned
a four-star rating from Charity Navigator —
only three percent of nonprofits have earned
this distinction.
Throughout the organization’s success,
Mehring has maintained her vision of a caring
social network, free of ads — all the while
striving to amplify services with advancing
technology.
“The Twin Cities is kind of a hidden, thriving
tech community,” says Mehring, who touts the
City of Eagan’s “great connectivity” as an
important reason CaringBridge maintains
its headquarters here despite moving offices
three times since 2003. The entity is
continued on page 2
CaringBridge founder and CEO Sona Mehring has
been recognized regionally and nationally for her
leadership in technology and business. Among her
awards is a Certificate of Special Congressional
Recognition for outstanding and invaluable service
to the community. page 2
Like to boost
your social media
reach? Plan an event
2 Eagan Business NEWS
J O U R N A L O F T H E E A G A N B U S I N E S S C O M M U N I T Y
CaringBridge continued from page 1
Fourth Quarter 2013
celebrating its fifth anniversary at its current location on
Yankee Doodle Road — just four miles from Mehring’s home,
also in Eagan.
Little else has remained static: CaringBridge not only
pioneered social marketing but has been an active participant
throughout the evolution of connectivity. To ensure continued
growth, the nonprofit uses search engine optimization,
Facebook advertising, Google Ad Grants, and mobile ads.
“We’re keeping up with expectations,” Mehring says, “adding
ways people can make powerful connections on any platform.”
Soon, mobile visitors to CaringBridge will have access to
another new feature: a menu of Hallmark-branded text and
graphic options to make it easier to post on CaringBridge
guestbooks. “We’re helping people — who maybe wouldn’t
otherwise connect,” says Mehring.
Another change is greater personalization. “People expect it,”
she explains, offering two examples: Guests can now upload
both photos and videos. “We’re adding new features every week.”
Her IT team works constantly to keep servers up and running.
“Sometimes it literally is a matter of life and death,” Mehring
says, noting that people send and receive messages at the
end stage of life. “We hear from our users: [CaringBridge]
helped them heal. [CaringBridge] saved their lives.”
While Twitter and Facebook are “me-based,” she says,
CaringBridge fills a unique niche: “We provide a trusted,
protected environment that brings people together at a time
of need.” While that time is usually a health journey, that’s not
always the case: CaringBridge has been used by missionaries
on far-flung trips to keep well-wishers informed. And it’s been
tapped by international adoptive parents traveling abroad.
Regardless of why a user logs onto CaringBridge, privacy
is a great concern — both to users and staff members.
The nonprofit doesn’t sell data collected online or allow any
advertising on its user-created sites.
It does, however, spread the word
about CaringBridge, hoping to
increase its funding. One recent
example of self-promotion is a new
book, Hope Conquers All,by
Mehring. She gathered 20 compelling
CaringBridge stories from across
the country. Many of these personal
testimonies had been shared among
CaringBridge employees in one of
the monthly internal “profit sharing”
reports.
“That’s what we work for,” Mehring says simply, adding that the
CaringBridge mission is one her employees are glad to pursue:
“To amplify love, hope and compassion in the world, making
each health journey easier.” ■
Like to boost your social media reach? Plan an event
Thimmesch should know: Since 2008, Skyline has posted
more than 5,000 tweets, its YouTube videos have over
75,000 views, and its blog has received over 1 million page
views. Often those messages have created buzz around an
event, whether it’s a monthly webinar, a trade show or even
a live press conference, as Skyline did in August to launch
WindScape, a new product line.
“There’s a symbiotic relationship between social media and
events,” he says, explaining that interest in an event can
build if social media content is clever, thoughtful, and
interesting. Engaged customers often show up online —
and in person.
For any business event — for example, a grand opening, an
awards dinner, a business conference, or a trade show —
Thimmesch suggests writing a blog about the event ahead
Building and maintaining a social media presence is
practically a business requirement these days. What
business isn’t on Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn?
Besides, isn’t social media free?
Not really, says Mike Thimmesch,director of customer
engagement for Skyline Exhibits, based in Eagan. “Social
media is new, it’s exciting, and it’s hard.” He notes that
social media demands understanding your audience,
creating compelling content, putting measurements in
place, tweaking your messages, and much more. All of that
involves making a financial investment — in know-how and,
often, personnel.
While there are lots of strategies to adopt, Thimmesch says,
making your social media useful, entertaining, and insightful
is key. In short, that means providing meaningful content.
“the more I thought it would be a really good fit.”
Vanderaa and his cupcakes may be best known from his TV
appearances, but much of his bakeries’ success, he says, is
due to the quality of offerings.
“Compare us to a coffeehouse and we
win hands down,” he says. Only 100
percent organic, fair-trade and locally
roasted coffee is served, and, of
course, customers can count on imag-
inatively named, scratch-baked goods.
“We’re fun and playful, but we take
food seriously — flavor first,” he says.
Cupcakes include Cup O’ Mud, the Elvis, and Razz-Ma-Tazz.
While Red Velvet is the No. 1 bestseller, Vanderaa says,
“everyone has their favorites.”
Kevin Vanderaa,famed cupcake creator and
winner of the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars,is
busy baking up a new location in Eagan for his
popular bakery and café, Cupcake.
While the largest of his three current locations —
in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington — is
2,000 square feet, the new location in the former
Pardon My French restaurant on Cliff Road is
a whopping 7,000 square feet. That affords
Vanderaa the opportunity to introduce a new
nighttime concept.
In the evening, Cupcake will transform into the
Mason Jar, offering the “same café style of food
as our other locations but more of it,” he says. The menu
will include hot dishes, potpies, wood-fired pizzas, and more.
In addition, because of the generously sized space, the
Eagan location will also serve as the commissary kitchen for
all four bakeries.
“We share a lot of similarities with Pardon My French,” says
Vanderaa of the former Eagan café and bakery, which closed
earlier this year. Actually, it was at the suggestion of one of
his customers on Facebook that he even began considering
opening a bakery in Eagan. “The more I found out,” he says,
Fourth Quarter 2013J O U R N A L O F T H E E A G A N B U S I N E S S C O M M U N I T Y
Cupcakes —
and a whole lot more
Eagan Business NEWS 3g EBN is printed on paper which contains a minimum of 10% post consumer fiber.
“We’re fun and playful, but we take food
seriously — flavor first.”
— Kevin Vanderaa, Cupcake
Kevin Vanderaa is working diligently to open his
fourth location of Cupcake by Friday, Dec. 6.
The popular bakery is opening in the former
Pardon My French space at Thomas Lake
Center (1565 Cliff Road).
of time, tweeting about the blog, and then inviting readers
to tweet about the blog. He recommends posting reasons
to attend the happening, fun activities, the event location,
giveaways, and promotions — both before and after the
event. Most posts can be written far ahead of time and
automatically scheduled. When the event is actually
happening, more spontaneous tweets can be posted.
Providing an experience around which your social media
can revolve gives your customers a reason to stay engaged.
Moreover, despite the myriad avenues of media these days,
business events are preserving their strength due to the
face-to-face meetings with decision makers they provide.
“You can get lost in social media,” Thimmesch says. That’s
why events are often key. “Social media and events make
great partners.” ■
To gear up for all this change, “we’ve been working on staffing
— both in the front and kitchen. Companywide, we’ll grow to
about double. Going from 45 to around 100 employees is
terrifying,” he says, laughing.
Cupcake plans to open in December. Vanderaa adds that free
Wi-Fi and extra-large tables will help make the new location a
good choice for business meetings. To learn more, visit the
company’s website, www.cup-cake.com. ■
Eagan
4 Eagan Business NEWS
Business News
3830 Pilot Knob Road ●Eagan, MN 55122
Editor Karin B. Miller, Working Words, Inc.
Designer Brent Kastler, Illumine Associates, Inc.
Send comments and story ideas to EBN@cityofeagan.com.
Briefly:Eagan businesses in the news
Moody, Amal and
Zeze Arafa (from
left) displayed their
Small Business of
the Year Award.
It was presented
to them at the
2013 Business
Excellence Awards
breakfast, hosted
by the Dakota
County Regional
Chamber of
Commerce on Thursday, Nov. 21. The family opened Ze’s Diner,
a 1950s-themed Eagan eatery — their second restaurant — in
March 2012.
• BUSINESS:A new women’s clothing boutique, Bella Ruj (1340
Duckwood Drive), was featured recently in an Eagan Patch article;
it is owned by sisters Michelle and Kathy MacDonald.… A Fred
Astaire Dance Studio opened in November at 1975 Seneca Road
in Eagan; Chad and Joanna Lessard own the new studio.…
Morrissey Hospitality has proposed purchasing City land in order
to develop a 123-room hotel in the Cedar Grove Redevelopment Area
near the upscale outlet mall already under construction.… ProAct,
which provides services to people with disabilities, selected three
Employer of the Year Award winners in Eagan. They include Applied
Power Products,the Potbelly Sandwich Shop,and the Subway
restaurant at Thomson Reuters.… To streamline its products and
expenses, Thomson Reuters announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs,
a reduction of 5 percent of its national workforce. The cuts will
mostly occur in its financial and risk division.
• GOVERNMENT:To engage a greater number of citizens in the
City’s budget process, Mayor Mike Maguire, city administrator
Dave Osberg, and the City’s finance staff answered residents’
questions about the proposed 2014 budget on community TV
and streamed live during a virtual budget session — a first-ever
event in the state.… Eagan entrepreneurs are invited to access
Open to Business for services and loan packages. Interested?
Visit City Hall the third Tuesday of any month, 1 to 3 p.m.;
visit www.cityofeagan.com/OTB; or contact Laurie Crow at
crow@mccdmn.org or 952-484-3107. ■
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page 1 CaringBridge leverages technology to
increase connectivity, compassion
page 2 Like to boost your social media
reach? Plan an event
C page 4 Briefly: Eagan businesses in the news
m page 3 Cupcakes — and a whole lot more
i n s i d e t h i s i s s u e