Cape Girardeau native shares secret of his success in book

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column has been corrected to say that GameStop is not moving, but opening a new location.

At age 31, Cape Girardeau native Carson Heady has transformed a successful sales career into a book to help others find their own success.

"Birth of a Salesman," published in August, is available in both print and audio versions at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. It should be available on iTunes soon as well.

Heady's book is a fictional story of salesman Vincent Scott, who is writing his own how-to-sell book. Scott, like Heady, came to prominence in the sales arena as a young man and sets out to write a self-help sales advice manual to guide others to the level of success he achieved.

Heady's website, www.carsonvheady.com, features a series of YouTube videos and a blog with more sales how-to advice.

The son of Chuck and Janet Heady of Cape Girardeau, he now lives in St. Louis with his daughter Madison, 3.

Look for more from Heady in the next issue of Business Today, coming Oct. 18.

* Dream theme: Old Town Cape has chosen "Christmas Dreams" as the theme for the 19th annual Parade of Lights scheduled for Nov. 28. The parade begins at dusk from Capaha Park and will proceed east on Broadway, then south on Main Street, ending at Main Independence streets. All floats must be lighted and have some sort of Christmas music playing. The parade is limited to the first 100 entries, with a submission deadline of Oct. 29. Entry costs are $40 for a business and $20 for a not-for-profit. All proceeds from the parade are used for Christmas activities and decorations for the downtown area. For more entry information, visit www.oldtowncape.org/events or call 573-334-8085.

* Best of Cape Girardeau: Davault Insurance of Cape Girardeau has been selected for the 2010 Best of Cape Girardeau Award in the funeral insurance category by the U.S. Commerce Association. The association's Best of Local Businesses award program recognizes companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. Winners are determined based on information gathered internally by the agency and by data provided by third parties.

n Investment seminar: Ameriprise Financial will host an investment seminar from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. Dan Frank, senior vice president of Blackrock Investment Management, the world's largest investment firm managing $3.3 trillion and assessing risk of more than $12 trillion. Seating is limited to 30 people. To reserve a space, call 243-8131.

* Closed for renovations: El Torrero, 1740 Broadway, has been closed for several weeks for remodeling and maintenance. It will remain closed another month, according to Alejandro Jimenez, one of the restaurant's owners.

* Restaurant openings: Asian Express will open next week at 1001 Broadway in the former Blimpie building. Owner Bi Xing Liu also operates Chan's on Kingshighway.

Penn Station East Coast Subs will open Nov. 8 at 127 Siemers Drive, Suite 102, in Cape Girardeau, according to a business license filed with the city. The sandwich shop will be operated by Pennso Inc. of Paducah, Ky. The Penn Station franchise has restaurants in 11 states.

Rico's restaurant, which will serve soups, salads and sandwiches, will open at 205 S. Kingshighway, Suite A, Friday, according to a business license filed with the city. The restaurant is owned by Terry Starnes and will be managed by Shawna Watson, both of Cape Girardeau.

* GameStop opens new location: GameStop, which sells new and used video games and player systems, is opening a new location at 127 Siemers Drive, Suite 101. GameStop will open at its new location, Oct. 23, according to a business license filed with the city. The West Park Mall GameStop will remain open.

* New business on Broadway: Campus Tees will open at 817 Broadway on Nov. 1, according to a business license filed with the city. The T-shirt sales and screen printing company is owned by Todd Rapp and Andrew Steger of Jackson.

* Art store opens: Riverfront Art Supply, owned by Linda Cartier of Jackson, has opened at 5 N. Main St., according to a business license filed with the city. The store features art materials as well as artwork.

* Cell phone drive: Exit Realty is holding a collection drive for Cell Phones for Soldiers at its offices, 230 N. Sprigg St. Cell Phones for Soldiers hopes to collect 1 million cell phones this year to help keep troops connected with their families.

Southeast Missourian business reporter Melissa Miller may be contacted at 388-3646 or mmillersemissourian.com.