Jerry Grundman

Jerry is president and publisher of Spiritus Media, producers of the Rochester based magazine, Connecting Rochester. Its mission is to help businesses connect, collaborate and grow in Rochester, New York. It is distributed to Rochester area chamber of commerce members, and is currently on its third monthly issue. I write a column for the magazine, and have enjoyed getting to know Jerry and seeing him build his magazine. He is a great family man and WNY personality. Look forward to more publications by Spiritus Media. Check out connectingrochester.com and keep an eye out for the magazine around Rochester! ~Ben DeGeorge

This last issue went very well. We got a lot of great feedback, emails, comments, and people calling me. We also really turned around on sales. We doubled our advertising sales from the first to second issue. The first issue, people read it, set it aside and did not realize what it was exactly, that they were going to receive it every week. The second issue more people realized that this was a normal, monthly thing. This third issue will be huge.

Tell me about your back story.

I grew up in Webster, NY. I went to grade school at Holy Trinity School, a catholic school. I went to Bishop Kearney High School for two years. Now we have our kids going to school there. After high school I worked for five years in the restaurant business as manager and bartender. It gives you that direct one on one experience with customers, with immediate feedback. This honed my customer service skills. I met my wife when I was pretty young. We were both 21 and she was just finishing college. Shortly after that we had our first kid. My oldest is now 24. In fact, tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary.

How old are your children?

My son is 24. I have a daughter who is 20 and a daughter who is 16. Our youngest is a boy and is 13.

How did you get to the point of producing Connecting Rochester.

For the last ten years I was with Messenger Post Media. I started as a reporter for a year and then there was an opening in the sales department, so I went there. I did a pretty good job and became a sales manager. Then, I spent the last couple of years there as the Director of Advertising.

We had a lot of success with working on special publications, supplements to the paper. We had success with that because we started meeting with and reaching out to a lot of organizations all over the greater Rochester area and talking about their needs and what types of things they wanted to see. From that, we began to produce a lot of niche products that met the needs of the organizations we were working with. A publication would often be geared towards an event, as an example, the festivals during the summer. It was not so much coming up with a section that people would want to read or advertise in, but finding an organization and collaborating with them on a project. That is the parallel to what we are doing now with Connecting Rochester.

Connecting Rochester is an offshoot of that, working with organizations like the Chambers of Commerce or small businesses to try to find something that might take care of their needs. There are a lot of great Chamber leaders who we have been able to help by providing our publication for their businesses. It is an added value piece for being a member of the chamber.

Where did the idea come from?

I really wanted it to be something that would engage the readers. The content is smoking and people are excited to read it. For this reason, organizations want to advertise in it. We wanted to create something geared towards small to medium sized businesses. All of the content is geared towards them. We have gotten a lot of good feedback. People have said that we are filling a need.

How does it feel to be an entrepreneur? What are the best and worst parts of that?

You are entering the lifestyle of an entrepreneur. You are pretty much off relying upon your own efforts and abilities to succeed. I believe that the best way to do this is to connect and collaborate with as many people as possible to help your idea grow. That is what I always enjoyed about my job in the years before. Now, as an entrepreneur, I am able to do that and do it in the way that I think is right. There is a lot more risk involved, sure, and that is probably the most fearful part, however it is just another challenge you are going to have to deal with. Being a small business owner for the first time, I have a whole new respect for business owners.

It is amazing once you become an entrepreneur how people now begin to reach out to you, to help you succeed. There is a real community of entrepreneurs out there who want to help each other. And honestly, that is the most welcome surprise.

Even though the economy is not in the greatest shape, there are opportunities. When things change, opportunities are created.

What is your vision with the magazine?

I hope that on its own it becomes a great guide for small to medium business owners. This is really the first publication in what we hope will be many publications with my company, Spiritus Media Group. We intend to continue to seek out more organizations in the greater Rochester area and find out what more we can do to collaborate and produce publications that are tailored toward niche audiences.

This magazine is read by influential people, people who are out talking to other people all of the time.

One of the other things that we do besides the publications is that we are a reseller for a website designer company, SiteBrandBuilder. It is an incredible piece of technology, giving you the ability to build your own website, maintain and change it without having to know any kind of code. They really have a great spirit in that they are trying to give people the opportunity to do things with their websites on their own.

What do you do in your free time? I know you are exceptionally busy. Maybe you count free time as a meal every once in a while...

Most of that is taken up with being part of my kid’s lives. They are involved in lots of things and we have always been involved in what they are involved in. I am serving as the President of the Parents’ Association at Bishop Kearney. It is a great institution that I am very proud of.

I also love golfing. I am not a good golfer, but I love being out on the course. That to me is something to be able to do more of at some point. I also love reading great books.

Favorite books?

I have recently been reading a lot of Dr. Wayne Dyer. He is absolutely fascinating. I just started reading The Shack by William T. Young. I just sat down and started it.

What is your secret to success in mobilizing people to work for you? You have assembled quite a team in a very short period of time to help you produce, edit, publish, and contribute and write columns for the magazine. How do you make that happen?

It is not a secret. You are only as good as your people. I have found lots of incredible people. That is the cool thing about being an entrepreneur... you only work with people you want to work with. You don’t have to work with people you don’t want to. I get to share time at work with good people I enjoy being around.

I have realized that if you treat people well, only good things will come from that. You get in return what you give to others.

There are now a lot of people who want to contribute! It’s amazing. We show people what we want to do and ask them to contribute whatever they think they can contribute. The columnists have been doing a great job. They are writing about something that has to do with their experience, making them able to connect better with readers.

You read the papers every day and hear bad news all of the time, and you hear the reasons why you can’t do all sorts of things. We want people to finish reading this magazine and feel inspired to push through, knowing that they can succeed in whatever the economy is. We want to keep focused on that. We will be covering stories of people who have had some real challenges; however, we are trying to keep it positive.

There was a magazine around for a while called Business Strategies which was similar to what we are doing. We have heard a lot of positive feedback from their former readers.

What have been the most memorable moments of this process so far?

I guess it would have been the first time that we went to the printers and ended with the actual hard copy in our hands. That was kind of exciting. However, the second one might have been even more exciting.

How many hours every week are you working?

It’s probably better not to count. Because then I would have to figure out my hourly wage...

I am working from home, we don’t have a set office. People say you need to keep your work separate from home, and it is very hard to work from home because everything blends together. But, that can be fun also.
How is the family handling the whole process?
They are handling it just great. My oldest is getting involved and doing a little bit with the website and is starting to get out doing sales for us also.

What is your advice to Western NY? Everyone is feeling heat from the recession. How should they handle it?

It is not as bad as you think it is. It’s just not. If you really think it is bad, it will be. We need a lot more people out there trumpeting all of the good things that are going on. You need to associate with positive people who know that you can succeed. Find people like that to hang around with. The economy is what it is, and there are some things you can’t do now, but focus on the things you can do. Find people who have hope, regardless of how things are turning out right now.

What about words of advice to people who are deciding to become entrepreneurs? You decided to make a huge career change in starting your publishing company, a choice not many would be willing to make.

In looking back there are a lot of things I would have done better, started out being better capitalized. However, sometimes you just have to trust your own instincts, and make a move right now. You can’t wait until everything is perfect to do something. Like we were talking about earlier, with the changes in the economy people have to ask themselves; Is this truly what I want to do.

Ask yourself, what do I want to spend eight to twelve hours of my day doing. If you can find it and start doing whatever it is, you will be happy.

Everybody says, get a safe job. I don’t know if there are safe jobs anymore.

And here is good advice for someone who is thinking about leaving their job. Before they leave, they should go through the process of actually starting their own company. It is pretty easy to incorporate and get a bank account set up. Just going through that process you learn so much, and when the opportunity opens up to start your own business, you will be ahead of the game in order to jump on it quicker.

People are probably contacting you all of the time now with different ideas and different opportunities related to your magazine. How do you sift through it all?
That has been another benefit to all of this. Lots of people have contacted me who are very interested in the magazine. I have gained more friends in the community since I started this in the beginning of the year than in the ten years at Messenger Post Media. Also, it is tough to pick and choose who the subjects for the magazine are. We can only fit in four subjects a month, so we will never run out of material.

Where is the distribution right now?

We are distributing to Monroe County Chambers of Commerce and we are expanding all over the greater Rochester area.

Anything else?

I’d like to ask for feedback on the magazine. If people could just send a quick email on what their thoughts are, the good, the bad and the ugly. We are only going to succeed by improving. We are not doing this in isolation! We get feedback from a lot of people and always appreciate it!

Jerry’s email address is jerry@connectingrochester.com

Check out connectingrochester.com and keep an eye out for the magazine.

Tom Turner

Tom has an incredibly inspiring story of tenacious toughness. Please read! -Ben

What is your story?

I was born with Spina Bifida. It’s a birth defect where the spinal column fails to develop properly. It is where there is an incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebra overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open.

I am paralyzed from the waist down. I use a wheel chair and leg braces to get around. I have had 19 operations, and having dodged that bullet I have been able to live a full life. I graduated from Victor High School in 1990 and Finger Lakes Community College. I work for my family business now, Turner Automotive based in Victor, New York.

After Graduating with an Associate’s Degree of Arts and Science in Humanities with a concentration in Broadcast Communications, I initially wanted to go into the radio business. I am good friends with the local radio personality, Brother Wheeze. However, that did not work out because it is a very competitive environment, and I neither had the time nor inclination to pursue it. My father asked me to join the family business, and the rest is history... here I am!

How do you define success?

Success to me is being respected by and respecting people. Knowing that at the end of the day I gave my best, whether it is in the work environment or dealing with my family or my friends. I can go to bed at night satisfied knowing that I have the respect and love of my friends and family.

What was going through your mind once you got to your 19th surgery?

“How do I get through this?” I worried about my family. Once you get to that point, you do whatever it takes, whatever is needed to get through. You go into survival mode. The last surgery I had was in 1998.

If you could give any words of advice to all of Western NY, what would it be?

Be tenacious. No matter what you want to do, go after it and be tenacious. Seize every opportunity that you can, realize that within reason, there is nothing you can’t do. I have realized the importance of tenacity after overcoming so many obstacles. You need to get out there every morning and realize what you need to do to get the job done.

What is the toughest part of having Spina Bifida?

The toughest part is time. Time management on a daily basis is a huge issue that I have to deal with every day. I have big mobility issues. Plus, going to the bathroom and things of that nature is challenging. At the end of the day, it all works out as long as you plan ahead and make time for things.

I wear leg braces and have to stand for forty minutes at a time because I am prone to skin breakdown. I am dealing with a skin issue right now, so I have to stand at 2pm every day, and walk around in my braces.

What kind of support structure do you have?

My Family. As you well know, family is my rock of Gibraltar. My mom, Donna, father, Bill, and sister, Laura. We are an army.

What do you do in your free time?

Go to the races. I am a gear head. Every Saturday we pile in the van and go off to Canandaigua Speedway. We support number 99, Charlie Donk, from Macedon. We go to Watkins Glen every year. We also watch the Nextel Cup or NAHH drag racing on TV on the weekends. It has been a huge part of my life since I was 3 years old. We also work on race cars together. All of our friends are involved in motor sports somehow. It is a common ground for my father and I, and we do our male bonding over cars. Some people go to country clubs like Oak Hill. We go to the races. That is our country club.

What is your favorite part of Western NY

The medical care. From my perspective, being an individual with a disability, there are great doctors at the University of Rochester and a really great support system. There is the Greater Rochester Spina Bifida Association. There are certain things that can be better in Rochester medical care, but by and large, Rochester has a great support system for the disabled.

There are a lot of special people at the U of R. They have saved my life a couple of times, getting me out of some pretty tricky situations. They have been wonderful to me and my family. I have made it 38 years!

What inspires you?

The movie Murderball. Everyone should watch it just once. That for me is my bible. It is the most inspirational movie I have ever seen. Two years ago, I got to meet one of the stars from it, Mark Zupan. He was one of the players on team USA. Talk about an inspirational story.

Mark used to be able bodied and played soccer for college. His team won a championship and were out celebrating one night. They got drunk, he crawled into the back of his buddy’s pickup truck and passed out. His buddy got in the truck and drove off not knowing Mark was in the back. The truck skidded off the road and flipped into a river, throwing Mark out of the truck. Mark broke his neck. The guy that was driving the truck took off, not knowing that this happened. Mark hung to a branch for 14 hours until help arrived.

You want to talk about inspiration, see those folks in Murderball.

A favorite book of mine is called "Love is the Killer App.” It is a motivational book that teaches you how to apply love into the business world with your co-workers and your clients.

Who are inspirational figures in the community for you?

Joanne Armstrong is one. She also has Spina Bifida. She does a lot with wheelchair athletics. She embodies what a leader is. She is a no nonsense kind of person. I have known her all of my life and have come to admire her a great deal. For the most part, she is a very strong figure with a great pretense. She is a great friend.

How many people in the United States have Spina Bifida?

The Spina Bifida Association of America estimates that there are over 70,000 cases. Some contend that it occurs due to a lack of folic acid in the mother. There has been a big campaign to increase folic acid in mothers, to try to stop spinal bifida.

Tell me about your work in the business.

I do all of our E-Commerce and eBay stuff. I buy and sell parts on the internet, and work on the website, (http://www.turnerautomotive.com). I do a lot of fill-in work...whatever is needed. I really enjoy Customer Relations.

What is the most enjoyable part of the job?

The people. I have met a lot of friends. Every day you seem to meet someone new from a different background. You deal with people all over the world. I am working with my family and friends. We have three guys in the shop and one salesman and they are some of my best friends. That is a blessing to me. Every day is recess!

How do you like working in the family business?

I love it. It is like American choppers but we do it ten times worse. My dad, Bill, founded the company. My sister Laura is in there as well. She does the books. It is great to work with them.

You need to have a lot of patience when working in a family business. Patience, Patience, Patience. Just agree a lot. Say: “Yes sir, no sir.” If you are in the right, you need to express your opinion, but sometimes, you need to take the path of least resistance and just agree.

What advice would you give to people with Spina Bifida?

Tenacity is the key. Get up every morning. Try to live the best productive life you possibly can within the confines of your disability. You have to be realistic, brutally realistic about your situation. Once you are realistic, you can deal with it. Right now I am dealing with a skin issue and had to spend part of the day in bed, just because that’s required. I brought all of my work home and worked from my laptop.

You have to be adaptable. Adaptability will take you very far. You don’t know what is going to happen from one minute to the next, with your job or with your health. You have to adapt, just plain and simple.

If you could do anything, what would you do?

I have always wanted to ride in a Winston cup car. Beyond that, I want to stay in the family business, and work on my father’s legacy. I am exceedingly proud of the work he has done, and I would like to continue on with the family tradition.

Any other thoughts you think our readers would benefit from?

People with disabilities are often very productive members of society. You watch the news at night and see the baby panda with a panda cub and then you have the disability story right afterwards. We are a much bigger story than that! We are not looking for a hug. Mark Zupan’s statement is; “I am not looking for a hug, I am looking for a medal.” I like hugs, don’t get me wrong, but I am looking to achieve.

Tom can be contacted by email at: vettman@rochester.rr.com

Focus

By: Ben DeGeorge

Why have I not been doing dishes or laundry for an almost unhealthy period of time?

Because, I am focused on doing the important things that I need to do, inevitably letting the non-important things slide a tiny bit.

Don't worry ladies, I will clean soon!

**You sometimes have to let the little things go by the wayside in order to enable the really big, really good things to happen.**

I have been focusing on getting my new life in Rochester together (yes, I am back to Rochester!) and all of the other responsibilities that I am now charged with as an "adult" just out of college. I feel really motivated now that I just realized my life is in my own hands, and my "future" is a bit closer than I used to think. Frankly, it's time to rock and roll.

So, how do you focus on what is most important in crazy times while still finding time for yourself to recuperate?

Do not respond to emails that are not important to you. Do not check social networking websites (unless that is your stress relief). Do not feel like you have to respond to every message you receive from someone. You can always do it later.

Slam through your most important work with incredible quality, care and accuracy. Take on your to do list with a vengeance.

Stop watching the evening news and instead get stuff done.
Your time is your most important asset. Guard it closely and use it well.

Make sure to maintain your social life. This is vital in slowing the invevitable gray hairs that can come from a demanding lifestyle.

And, keep non-essential work items short, but still create work that is genuine and that you can be proud of. Like this article for example ... ;-)

Once you are able to free up your life from the daily monotonous and pointless tasks, you can start to do the things that you really love, the things that really make a difference in your life and in the lives of others.