BusinessJune 4, 2018
Business Notebook: Codefi member Nishant Bhardwaj gives business tips
Nishant Bhardwaj begins his story with a big move, 10 years ago, from India to Cape Girardeau, to work on his MBA at Southeast Missouri State University. He graduated and, five years ago, was working at a pretzel joint for $6.50 an hour. How he went from that to a successful digital marketing business is not a linear path, Bhardwaj said, but it's one he thinks many people could learn from...
Nishant Bhardwaj begins his story with a big move, 10 years ago, from India to Cape Girardeau, to work on his MBA at Southeast Missouri State University.
He graduated and, five years ago, was working at a pretzel joint for $6.50 an hour.
How he went from that to a successful digital marketing business is not a linear path, Bhardwaj said, but it's one he thinks many people could learn from.
"I add value for people," Bhardwaj said at a recent Codefi Meet the Member session in the Codefi offices at 338 Broadway in Cape Girardeau.
He's not kidding. In the early days, he would sell phone access to prison inmates at a lower rate than they'd be charged by the prison, and build websites for clients who wanted a site just outside of their own ability to create.
"It's not like I figured things out," he said. "I stumbled on things."
Bhardwaj said he doesn't come up with the original products, but rather purchases inventory of all sorts and finds the market for it, then sells to that market.
"No two days are the same," he said, although there are priorities he sets each day: He'll address the most pressing issues, and spend his day finding solutions and forging ahead with the various projects he has up and running at any given time.
He credits much of his success to the right steps he made, as a result of good mentors' advice.
Bhardwaj said he considers himself mostly self-taught in his own field, by which he meant, he found good mentors who were very generous with their time, and who gave him valuable advice.
"There's a lot of bad advice out there" on how to find mentors, he added.
"You have to add value for people, and don't expect anything. People see through that," Bhardwaj said. "Be really interested in learning."
Beyond that, he said he sees a lot of companies go wrong with marketing and branding.
Bhardwaj said he comes from the world of direct response, and if companies try to be everything to everyone, he said, they'll fail -- unless they're Walmart.
"You want to be a problem solver for a specific market," he said. "You can grow from that."
Family is another big resource for him, he said. Emotionally, they've supported him, but even more than that, his parents modeled a strong work ethic.
From the time he woke up to the time he fell asleep, he said, he saw his father working. His mother ran the household and sold some of her prized personal possessions so he could go to a good school.
He thinks about that with his own young son, who lives in Cape Girardeau, which is why he's here.
Codefi makes it possible for him to have access to a pool of talented workers, he added after the session, and access to digital infrastructure to run his company.
"I think most of us live in a world so difficult to disconnect," Bhardwaj said, referring to phones, computers, billboards and their incessant demands for attention. It's important to step away, though, he said, "so you can start fresh after."
Cape Chamber unveils new website
The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce recently announced its new website, capeishome.com. Designed as a hub of information, the website will serve as a tool for human resources professionals and individuals looking to relocate to the Cape Girardeau Area, according to a news release.
The site hosts a variety of information, including way of life, opportunities, things to do, options for education and housing.
"We are excited about our new website launch and the robust information it provides for those looking to call Cape home," John Mehner, president and CEO of the chamber, said in the release. "We believe that this new site will allow visitors to better understand all that our community has to offer, while also serving as a tremendous tool for HR professionals recruiting new talent to our area as well."
Miracle-Ear now remodeled
After 13 years without a remodel, Miracle-Ear Center in Cape Girardeau recently underwent a complete renovation, according to a news release.
Joyce Hill-Cooley, owner and franchisee of Miracle-Ear Centers of Southeast Missouri, said in the release the office at 1465 N. Kingshighway has been in the same location for nearly 30 years. The new remodel includes a comfortable waiting area, learning lab for continuing patient education, and the same service and patient-centered technology.
Miracle-Ear offers free hearing screenings, service for hearing devices and educational outreach.
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Ribbon cuttings
Walmart will hold a ribbon cutting to celebrate the grand opening of its online grocery program at 9 a.m. Tuesday at 3439 William St. in Cape Girardeau.
A ribbon cutting celebrating the new pedestrian bridge over Hubble Creek in Jackson City Park will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Visitors may park at the swimming pool. A second ribbon cutting will follow at 10:15 a.m. at the new playground equipment at the Jackson City Park Bandshell.
Jackson Medical Weight Loss will hold a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Thursday at 502 W. Main St., Suite B, in Jackson.
Storyteller Productions will hold a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. Friday at 1021 Kingsway Drive in Cape Girardeau.
People on the Move
After 31 years of service with Farm Credit Southeast Missouri, Mary Winkler, customer service representative at the Jackson branch, retired May 31, according to a recent news release.
Winkler began her Farm Credit career at the Jackson Branch office in 1987 and has been a key member of the team, significantly contributing to its success over the years, the release stated.
She resides in Jackson with her husband, Jerry.
President and CEO Bob Smith announced Cindy Bertrand will step into Winkler's position.
Bertrand has a B.S. in business administration with an emphasis in finance from Southeast Missouri State University and brings 20 years of work experience from area banks. Bertrand resides in Cape Girardeau with her husband, Tom, and they have two grown children.
Smith said in the release, "We appreciate Mary's many years of service to the association and wish her well in retirement. While we will miss Mary, Cindy is very well-qualified and we are quite excited to have her on board."
Headquartered in Sikeston, Missouri, Farm Credit Southeast Missouri is a $650 million agricultural lending cooperative serving Bollinger, Butler, Carter, Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Ripley, Scott, Stoddard and Wayne counties.
Former Cape Girardeau resident Dr. Mark Stacy, dean of East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine and senior associate vice chancellor for medical affairs for the Division of Health Sciences, will assume the role of interim vice chancellor for the university's Division of Health Sciences on Aug. 1, according to a recent announcement.
He will fill the position being vacated by Phyllis Horns, who will step down after nearly a decade in the position.
In this interim role, Stacy will oversee a division that comprises the Brody School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Allied Health Sciences, the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute, the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute and Laupus Health Sciences Library.
He will continue to serve as dean of the medical school and senior associate vice chancellor for medical affairs.
Stacy joined ECU as Brody's sixth dean Sept. 1, 2017, after a national search. Before coming to ECU, he served as vice dean for clinical research at Duke University School of Medicine, where he created and directed the Duke Office of Clinical Research. He was also a professor of neurology and chief of the Movement Disorders Division at Duke, focusing his clinical and research efforts on motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease.
Before his time at Duke, Stacy was director of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix. He earned his medical degree at the University of Missouri, then completed an internship in internal medicine at St. Mary's Hospital in St. Louis, a residency in neurology at Hahnemann (now Drexel) University in Philadelphia and a fellowship in Parkinson's disease and movement disorders at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
Ken Volkerding of Jackson, a financial adviser with Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, was named District Advisor of the Month for May, and was also Life Leader in the Missouri East Region for the month of May.
Volkerding has been with Modern Woodmen since November 2004.
Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial is a fraternal life insurance society headquartered in Rock Island, Illinois. Modern Woodmen provides life insurance, annuity and security products to almost 770,000 members nationwide.
Saint Francis Healthcare System recently announced the addition of vascular surgeon Dr. Scott Gard, FACS, as a new Saint Francis Medical partner.
Gard earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at Truman Medical Center and St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, and his vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Tennessee in Memphis.
Saint Francis Healthcare System recently announced Dr. H. William Stites III, FACC, as a medical partner and cardiologist specializing in electrophysiology at Cape Cardiology Group.
Stites earned his medical degree at the University of Missouri--Columbia, later completing his internship, internal medicine residency and interventional cardiology fellowship at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. He completed his clinical fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.
He comes to Cape Cardiology Group from private practice at Midwest Heart & Vascular Specialists in Kansas City.
mniederkorn@semissourian.com
(573) 388-3630
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