City of Kansas City Answers Small Business Questions During Public bizperc Office Hours

What kind of marketing data and research can I obtain from Kansas City?  What kind of technologies will aid me and my small business this year?  Am I following all of the city requirements to run an efficient business in Kansas City?

Entrepreneurs, we know you have all of these questions.  And now, you can get answers during bizperc's FREE office hours!


On Wednedsay, January 16, bizperc will be hosting public office hours for small business owners and entrepreneurs in conjunction with KC BizCare and the city of Kansas City, Missouri.

Kansas City entrepreneurs, small business owners and members of the bizperc coworking space are invited to register for free office hours and ask questions about small business requirements in KC, Kansas City resources and how to obtain data about the city of Kansas City.

Office hours will be run by John Pajor of KC BizCare, who will answer questions that entrepreneurs and small business owners may have about city requirements as well as small business resources in the community.

Millie Crossland, technology project liaison for Kansas City, Missouri will inform entrepreneurs and small business owners on how to research and find local data, city statistics and censuses about KC small business.  In addition, Millie will provide information about the many innovative ways the the city of Kansas City uses breaking technology.

The free two-on-one bizperc office hours will take place on Wednesday, January 16 from 12:00-3:00pm.  In order to sign up for your 30 minute time slot, please email Sarah Snyder at sarah.snyder@thinkbigpartners.com.  Office hours will take place at bizperc (1800 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO) on the 4th floor.

Follow bizperc! @bizperc

Agenda, BE: Are You Ready to Be More in Kansas City?

WRITTEN BY MARIAH RITTEL AND COLLEEN ROWLEY.


“Life was meant to do more and be more.”  This is the mindset behind what created Agenda, BE, a new nonprofit organization in Kansas City. 

Devised by Adam Benton after a life-threatening experience in Namibia, Africa, Agenda, BE serves to encourage communities to be more nonprofit-minded.  Here in the Kansas City area, Agenda, BE spotlights nonprofit organizations and help them to gain exposure. 

In addition to this, AgendaBE currently has two main projects, 52 Acts of Good and the BE More Fund of KC.  52 Acts of Good is a call-to-action-based mission that according, to Agenda, BE, “brings a little random kindness, a bit of sporadic joy, a little unexpected amazement and wonder to the lives of the people that need it the most.”  The movement asks the people of Kansas City to nominate those in need and those who are consistently caring for our community. 

The BE More Fund focuses around hand-carved bracelets from a tribe in Namibia.  These bracelets are stamped with “BE” and serve as a reminder to “be more” every time they are worn. These bracelets are currently sold at Standard Style in Leawood and the Country Club Plaza, in addition to Baldwin Denim in Leawood. 100% of the proceeds return to the BE More Fund. 

You can help Agenda, BE in the Kansas City area by purchasing these bracelets and raising awareness through photos and social media—it’s style with an impact.  Follow the BE More hashtag, #BEMOREKC and tweet a photo with your bracelet and tag #MORETHANABRACELET.

  

New bizperc Tenant LightEdge Solutions Raises $16M for Des Moines and KC Expansion

LightEdge Solutions, a hosted service provider focused on the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, may have moved into the bizperc coworking space a few short weeks ago, but it seems as if the company was always meant to call Kansas City its second home. 

"We are an entrepreneurial company," said TJ Bangs, Regional Vice President of LightEdge.  "We are growing and cutting-edge.  That is the same feeling that we got when we toured bizperc."

I met with TJ and one of his LightEdge colleagues for coffee one summer morning.  The meeting was based around LightEdge's agenda to expand to Kansas City (in addition to its current Des Moines location) and find the right connections in the KC area in order to make an impact in the industry.  The short 30-minute coffee meeting quickly turned into a tour of bizperc, a collaborative discussion with Think Big Partners' co-founder Herb Sih, and the signing of some tenant papers: LightEdge Solutions was joining bizperc.

And in perfect timing.  Just a few months before LightEdge opened its Kansas City office within the walls of bizperc, the company announced that it had secured $16M of private equity from The Anshutz Investment Company and debt financing from US Bank to double the capacity of its data center operations and launch in Kansas City.  Read more from the LightEdge press release. 

"LightEdge's ability to provide best in class collocation and cage space in addition to our fullly managed cloud services business makes us unique in Iowa and the Midwest," said Jeff Springborn, president and COO of LightEdge in the July 27th release.  "This expansion will enable the businesses of Iowa and other Midwestern states to continue to transform their daily IT delivery models to reduce costs and ensure high-availability IT operations."

bizperc and the Kansas City IT industries in general are growing exponentially.  LightEdge's $16M capital raise is just one testament to that. 

"When you look at what we do, we are 1 of 10 in the nation that provides cloud service.  Kansas City is underserved in that area.  This is a technology need in Kansas City." 

Thanks for joining the bizperc (and Kansas City) community, LightEdge!  Happy to have you on board for further coworking, networking and collaborating. 

Written by Allison Way
@AllisonThinkBig

The Top 10 Kansas City Coffee Shops

David Letterman once said, “If it weren’t for the coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality whatsoever.”

This notion, terrifyingly enough, may actually be true for a lot of people. The fact of the matter is, coffee is what makes the world go round these days. Coffee has become such a phenomenon because of companies such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Seattle’s Best, that today, a lot of people cannot function without this hot, caffeinated beverage. This is especially true for startups and serious entrepreneurs. Most cannot imagine going a day without at least one cup of the brew.

Because of coffee’s popular demand, many small, eclectic coffee shops have also been thriving, especially in the downtown Kansas City area. There are literally hundreds of Kansas City coffee shops to choose from. There’s Mildred’s Coffeehouse in the Crossroads District, Parisi Coffee not too far away, the ever-popular YJ’s Snack Shop, and the unique coffee shop You Say Tomato. But which coffee shop truly has the best coffee? The strongest? The richest? The most vanilla-mocha-frappacino-sweetest? If one source has the answer, it’s KCPerky.com.

KCPerky is a website dedicated completely to the Kansas City coffee scene. The website includes a coffee map, the Top 10 Coffee Shops in Kansas City, coffee news, and information about coffee shops that are closing and opening in the local area. The main setup of KCPerky.com is through blog posts and opinions, posted by Scott Perky himself. Perky started out reviewing restaurants in the Kansas City area and soon found a much deeper passion for reviewing local Kansas City coffee shops. In 2006, Perky started KCPerky.com and has been exploring coffee around KC ever since. With his outstanding creativity, Perky “ventis” about the coffee shop scene, and also does improv comedy and creates other websites such as RiverCityStudio. With all of this going on, it’s no wonder Perky likes his coffee!

So what are the Top 10 Coffee Shops in Kansas City? Although opinions may vary greatly, KCPerky has created their own unique list. KCPerky has ranked the following coffee shops based on the coffee, the atmosphere, the service and a little je sais pas.



Mildred's Coffee House is #8 on the Top 10 Coffee Shops
in Kansas City.  It is located in the Crossroads District.

 1. YJ’s Snack Shop

2. Espresso dell’Anatra
 

3. You Say Tomato

4. Eddie Delahunt’s Café

5. Oak Street Coffee Shop

6. Muddy’s Coffeehouse

7. City Market Coffeehouse

8. Mildred’s Coffeehouse

9. Broadway Café

10. SoHo Bakery and Café

As a group of entrepreneurs, Think Big Partners understands that coffee can foster startup ideas, boost creativity, and of course, wake up those entrepreneurs who did not get enough sleep the night before. Kansas City entrepreneurs are invited to visit any of the above coffee shops to experience a soothing and inspirational atmosphere, start their Big Thinking, and of course, sip on cup of their favorite caffeinated drink, coffee.

Written by Allison Way.  Allison Way is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners and bizperc, two of Kansas City's newest entrepreneurial resources.  To read more of Allison's articles, visit her Entrepreneurship Examiner page.