It's Acadiana: Out to Lunch

The conventional wisdom about starting a new business is, target a specific market. Dustin Melancon and his wife Jennifer decided to throw that idea out the window. Instead they set out to manufacture a product that can be enjoyed by Sophisticates and Punks. What product could satisfy that wide of a target market Cupcakes. Sophi P Cakes a self described "cup cakery" has been in business in Lafayette since 2010. Sophi without an "e" at the end is short for sophisticated, and the "P" is for punk. Andrew Klenert is taking on the holy grail of adolescence. Imagine if you could cure acne. And while you re at it how about Eczema, Psoriasis, rosacea, dermatitis, cold sores, bug bites, poison ivy, even pet rashes That s what Andrew s product Thyme Out is on the road to doing. Andrew s all natural product is made here in Lafayette and shipped to 18 states and 150 stores around the country, including Walgreens. Photos on this page are taken at Charley G s by Gwendolyn Aucoin. For more information about Acadiana entrepreneurs Innov8 Acadiana and The Opportunity Machine.

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In the United States people congregate for entertainment in buildings, like multiplex movie theaters, or dedicated chunks of real estate like Broadway in New York, and Disney World in Florida. Here in Acadiana, we have a parallel universe of popular entertainment. None of it involves massive permanent construction. It requires only an open field or a blocked off street. Here we congregate for festivals. There are two major long running festivals that are known among fans of music and French culture way beyond the confines of Acadiana. The oldest is Festival Acadiens. Starting in the 1970 s as a combination of smaller Cajun and Creole cultural celebrations, Festivals Acadiens has grown in size, stature, and economic impact under the guidance of Barry Ancelet. Barry is the father of the festival and one of the principal figures in the conservation of Cajun culture. The other big Francophone festival in town is Festival International. Held in downtown Lafayette every April since 1986, the festival features French speaking musicians from around the world and attracts audiences big enough to take over most of the city. Scott Feehan is President of the Board of Festival International and its interim Executive Director. Renee Matamoros doesn t produce one festival a year, she produces 12. For two seasons of 6 weeks each, in Spring and Fall, Renee stages Rhythms on The River in the Town Square at River Ranch in Lafayette. In Acdaiana big fun is big business. Photos on this page are taken at Charley G s by Gwendolyn Aucoin. For more information about Acadiana entrepreneurs Innov8 Acadiana and The Opportunity Machine.

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The saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" assumes a democracy of things. Meaning every object, from a speck of sand to a skyscraper, has the potential for beauty, if we decide it s beautiful. Even if you believe that to be true, you have to admit that some objects are just more obviously beautiful than others. On this edition of Out to Lunch, Independent and ABiz publisher Cherry Fisher May sits in for Peter Ricchiuti and talks with two Acadian craftsmen who make objects of undeniable beauty. And function. To describe what Alex Caldwell creates as "handbags" or "purses" is a bit like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch. Technically it is. And technically Alex does make handbags and purses. But they re not like anything you ll see at Macy s. They re handmade works of bejeweled art that look like Faberge eggs. Actually Alex also makes Faberge style eggs, and other jewelry. His list of many impressive customers around the world include the Sultan of Brunei, Harrods, Neiman Marcus, and his works has even the star of a blockbuster Hollywoood heist movie. Every piece is hand crafted right here in Acadiana under the name Vivian Alexander. If you re a listener to Out to Lunch you may have heard in the end credits that the show s theme song is performed by Andre Michot. Andre is a member of the Grammy nominated band, Lost Bayou Ramblers. The band s nearly constant touring, their appearance at rock festivals, and the respect they ve gotten from the established rock and pop community make them one of this generation s foremost ambassadors of Cajun culture. The accordions Andre plays on stage are instruments he builds himself, part of a line of Michot Cajun accordions he builds and sells. Andre and Alex find they have a lot in common in their detailed craftsmanship and the painstakingly long time it takes to make a genuine work of art, that is also carried, swung, pushed, pulled, and dropped. Photos taken over lunch at Cafe Vermilionville by Gwen Aucoin. For more information about Acadiana entrepreneurs Innov8 Acadiana and The Opportunity Machine.

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Jourdan Thibodeaux says there s no truth to the saying that the two things you don t want to see being made are suasages and legislation. Well, he s sure about susages anyway. Justin is part of family business Comeaux s, one of the sausage and boudin grand masters of Acadiana. Kyle Waters likes the meditative ritual of making sausages. Kyle s the chef at Social on Johnston Street, a Lafayette dining favorite and one of the homes of Out to Lunch Robbie Bush eats regulalrly at Social but he could eat anywhere in the world. Robbie s a travel agent and shares one of the secrets of getting a low price airfare. Peter Ricchiuti has never had more fun than hosting this spontaneous, fly by the seat his pants show with a random collection of guests. Photos by Gwen Aucoin.

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The Independent and Abiz publisher Cherry Fisher May sits in for Peter Ricchiuti on this edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana. Cherry kicks off by noting the old adage in property development is "Land is valuable because they re not making any more of it," whereas in reality, in the United States there s around 80,000 square miles per person. But, for whatever reason, most of us don t want our own 80,000 square miles. We want to live near other people. And close to a Walgreens. Which makes certain pieces of land desirable, and others not. Which brings us to the three golden rules of property, "Location, location, and location." In Acadiana, family owned company Billeaud Comapnies have been honing their land and property development skills for over 100 years. Today, Billeaud is one of South Louisiana s largest office space and retail property management firms. Jennifer Whitmore has been with Billeaud for 26 years, most recently as Vice President of Real Estate Operations. It s hard to drive around Lafayette and other parts of Acadiana without seeing the name Stirling Properties. That s because Stirling has 12 million square feet of managed property stretching from Jackson Mississippi to Bossier City and another 60 million square feet for sale or lease. Stirling s Senior Retail Leasing and Development Expert is Ryan Pecot. Although Acadiana is steeped in tradition even in property development times are changing. Part of that change is being brought about by UL Professor of Architecture, and ground breaking architect, Corey Saft. Corey is the designer of the Lebois House, an eco friendly home that generates its own electricity and uses almost zero power from the grid. From right here in Acdaiana, Corey is designing the future. Photos taken over lunch at Cafe Vermilionville by Gwen Aucoin. For more information about Acadiana entrepreneurs Innov8 Acadiana and The Opportunity Machine.

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We go online for just about everything today. News, weather, music, banking, clothes, shoes, books pretty much everything you re looking for, you just have to Google it and it will pop up. For example, try Googling "Golf balls." You probably won t be surprised that no matter where you are in the world the first thing that shows up at the top of page 1 is GolfBalls.com. What might surprise you is that Golfballs.com one of the world s leading online golf retailers is right here in Lafayette. The co founder, President, and CEO of GolfBalls.com is Tom Cox. Tom joins Peter Ricchiuti on this edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana to talk about how you get to be number one If you re thinking you d like to start up your own Acadiana based online business, or make your current business more successful online, you might want to talk to Lafayette s John Munsell. John is co founder and CEO of Bizzuka, who give smaller companies the same kind of tools and online firepower that normally only larger companies can afford. If you want any proof that the strategy works, for 3 consecutive years Inc Magazine named Bizzuka one of America s fastest growing companies. John Munsell, welcome to Out to Lunch. Peter s Entrepreneur du Jour today is Ryan Conway, founder of new online business here in Lafayette called CollegeAD.com. A.D. stands for Athletic Director. CollegeAD.com has 20,000 email subscribers, including the vast majority of Division One Athletic Directors, and in just a couple of years has gone from an idea and one employee, to a staff of 7 and is the go to online resource for insider news among the staff of college sports. Photos taken at Charley G s by Gwendolyn Aucoin. For more information about Acadiana entrepreneurs Innov8 Acadiana and The Opportunity Machine.

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If you grew up around Lafayette and Lake Charles and you re a certain age, you might know Don Begneaud. If you ve got kids and you leave out the part where he dropped out of college Don Beagneaud s story is inspirational. Don started out as a welder, riding a bicycle to classes while a guy he d hired to work for him did his welding jobs. That didn t last too long Don tired of ridnig a bike and letting the other guy have all the fun. Today, the metal shop Don founded while he was meant to be in school is Begneaud Manufacturing, a 65,000 square foot factory that serves a variety of industries, including agriculture, aviation, aerospace, automotive, communications, hospitality, marine, medical technology, and more. The term "Gone fishin " is part of our everyday vocabulary, across the country. Those two simple words say a lot more than literally announcing you ve gone out to catch food for dinner. "Gone fishin " is a polite way of flipping the bird to the everyday world of work and responsibility. For some people, like Zach Dubois "Gone fishin " isn t a day off work, it is work. Zach is the founder of Cajun Lures, manufacturer of handmade fishing lures. Peter, Don and Zach are also joined by today s Entrepreneur du Jour, Wayne Nix, inventor of The Nix Tool, a specialty all in one tool for nurses. Wayne, a nurse with a business degress, combined his skills and came up with the idea for his new business while working as an RN. This lunch meeting might be the breakthrough Wayne was looking for Zach thinks there might be a major fishing application for the Nix Tool. Photos taken at Charley G s by Gwendolyn Aucoin. For more information about Acadiana entrepreneurs Innov8 Acadiana and The Opportunity Machine.

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When we talk about emergency services we think of the three types of first responders, police, fire, and medical, as equals. Although they are indeed equal in their vital function of saving lives, they re not equal financially. When a police car or a fire engine shows up, the vehicles and the people in them are funded principally by taxes. Most ambulances and EMS workers are not. They re independently owned and operated companies. The biggest ambulance and EMS service here in Acadiana is Acadian Ambulance. In 1971 Richard Zuschlag was one of the founders of Acadian Ambulance. Today Richard is the CEO and chairman of the company, and Acadian is one of the country s biggest rural EMS services with over 4,000 employees, 400 ambulances, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Local aviation company PHI Inc started out as Petroleum Helicopters. That was back in 1949. The company had to add the letter "I" for international when they started growing. Over the past 66 years PHI have been active in over 40 countries around the world, including the first civilian aviation company flying in Antarctica. The President and Chief Operating Officer of PHI, Inc. is Lance Bospflug. Locally, PHI is an integral part of the oil and gas industry, flying to and from oil rigs in the Gulf but oil workers are only some of the more than 1.3 million passengers PHI carries every year. On this edition of Out to Lunch, Peter Ricchiuti s Entrepreneur du Jour is Arun Lakhotia. Arun is on sabattical from his teaching positiom at UL where he is known for many interesting student projects but none perhaps as exciting as the unmanned military vehicle, CajunBot. Photos on this page are taken at Charley G s restaurant by Gwendolyn Aucoin. For more information about Acadiana entrepreneurs Innov8 Acadiana and The Opportunity Machine.

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In business, when we talk about "exports" we re referring to a complex set of conditions that need to be fulfilled to get products out of the United States and into other countries. One of the first problems an exporter faces is finding a market where his or her products are going to be desirable. Or even understood. Although Acadiana is a part of the United States, it s about as close to a foreign country as you re going to get. Local manufacturers who take products that everyone here at home loves can run into some interesting reactions when they put their local best sellers on a truck and send em a few miles north and east. A great example of an eyebrow raising product outside of Acadiana is The Cajun Injector. It s the creation of New Iberia s Bruce Foods. Bruce Foods enjoys nationwide success with many products including America s number one selling Bruce s yams. Worldwide, their products are available in over 100 countries. At 1,200 employees, Bruce Foods is one of America s largest privately owned food manufacturers. President and CEO of Bruce Foods, Si Brown, joins Peter on this edition of Out to Lunch. If you re looking for a product name that s going to stand out on a supermarket shelf, how about "Slap Ya Mama" That s the name of the newest addition to the local food export movement. From Ville Platte Louisiana the smoked meats capital of the world Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasonings are the brainchild of a couple of generations of the Walker Family. But it s the current generation, brothers Jack and Joe, who have turned the family seasonings into a successful business. Jack Walker is the Vice President of Marketing, and Joe Walker is the Vice President of Distribution at Slap Ya Mama. Slap Ya Mama and Bruce Foods are taking Acadiana to the world, showing the way away from Cajun heat to Cajun taste. Photos at Charley G s restaurant by Gwendolyn Aucoin.

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If you re in business and you re lucky or talented enough to be doing well, it s not long before you start comparing your business with others that are doing better. And start wondering how you could do as well as they are. Or better. We do the same sort of thing, consciously or unconsciously, in our personal lives. It seems to be human nature to compare ourselves to others. And to want to do as well or look as good as our friends and colleagues. Peter s three guests on this edition of Out to Lunch are all experts at making you do better, feel better, and look better in various and very different ways. Christina Harper is co founder and the Managing Partner of Lafayette based company, Excelerant. Excelerant is a professional leadership development firm that specializes in coaching, training, and development of top level company executives. The company has been around since 2003 and is the recipient of a number of impressive national and local awards. Joel Dawson is also a business and leadership coach, with a specialty that makes him uniquely unsuited for a conversation on radio. Joel maintains that only 7 of what we hear when we talk is words. The other 93 is non verbal communication. Joel leads workshops based on this principle called Mastery of the 93 . He is a professional speaker, founder of the Dawson Financial Group, and author of the autobiographical book, The Puddle. Doing well in business and succeeding personally is all worthless if you re not healthy. That s where Peter s Entrepreneur du Jour comes in. Brian Broussard is the owner of Fit Life, a company focused on corporate wellness. The principle being if you keep employees fit and happy, you re going to lower a company s healthcare costs. Fit Life will take on a whole company or just you personally to keep you physically fit, looking good, and eating right. Photos on this page at Charley G s by Gwendolyn Aucoin For more information about Acadiana entrepreneurs Innov8 Acadiana and The Opportunity Machine.

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