Small business owner details the burden of state regulations.
In 1984, 31-year-old Ken Wilmes had a decision to make: go into
business for himself or go back to school and get a college degree. Thirty
years later, Wilmes, who decided to start his own business producing,
fabricating and designing metal products for industrial companies, talks about
his success, the burden of state regulations and the importance of customer
care.
Name: Ken Wilmes
Business: Industrial
Fabrication Services Inc.
Employees: 70
Location: Lake
Crystal, Minnesota
What challenges do you
face as an owner?
Dealing with government regulations. Every year, they keep
piling on more and more and more regulations, more things to do, more training,
more permits, more reports to do. It’s almost endless.
We have to have a “stormwater permit” because it rains on our
property. That involves having a map of your property, going out when it rains
and watching where all the water runs through. And you have to have a
stormwater pollution prevention program written up, you know. Let’s say someone
spilled a pail of oil or paint or something. You have to have a plan on how to
clean that up.
How do you all handle
that?
We’re not small enough where you don’t have to do that kind of
stuff, and we’re not big enough to hire a full-time safety guy or a full-time
environmental guy. So we have to hire a consultant to help us. It still takes a
lot of time, and it costs a lot of money.
Minnesota keeps piling on more and more state regulations and
laws. Not only does it make it harder for us to compete globally, it makes it
harder for us to compete with our neighboring states. And there have been a lot
of businesses that have moved across the border to South Dakota, Iowa and
Wisconsin. I would say our state is not all that business-friendly to the small
business.
What’s your favorite
part about being a small business owner?
You can take pride in ownership. You can take pride in working
with all the local employees and local companies. We’re producing a good
product and keeping our customer happy. It’s fun to do a good job. It’s fun to
meet all the deadlines and the challenges that customers put in front of you.
And your proudest
moment?
I don’t think there’s any particular moment, but it’s just been
fun to watch the company grow. We went from just a handful of employees to 70.
Now that I’m 61 years old, it’s fun to watch all the young guys come in and see
how ambitious they are and how hard they work.
What advice would you
offer to up-and-coming small business owners?
You have to work hard. Make sure you stay on top of things and
take care of your customers.
