The Autobahn Country Club of Joliet

THE BUSINESS TO BUSINESS FORUM FOR WILL COUNTY
The Autobahn
Country Club
Ta l k i n g D o l l a r s a n d S e n s e
March 2008 • Volume 3, Issue 3
The Real Reasons
Employees Leave
Music Makes Sense
in Business
Southland Chamber
Celebrates 25-Year
Anniversary
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT #565
KANKAKEE, IL
Life (and Work)
in the Fast Lane
in this issue
From the Desk of Lisa Dugan........................................................... 5
Illinois State Representative Lisa Dugan discusses new laws that may affect your business.
The Autobahn Country Club
of Joliet: Life (and Work) in
the Fast Lane
By Nancy J. Ruda............................. 6
Has your company picnic become old-hat?
Looking for a unique employee outing that will
resonate throughout your company? The Autobahn Country Club in Joliet offers a one-of-akind experience for your entire organization.
Southland Chamber Celebrates 25-Year Anniversary
By Annemarie Gutchewsky......................................................................... 9
The Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce celebrated 25 years of service during its annual
dinner in January.
Clearing the Way to Starting your Own Business
By Reneé Perry.......11
Reneé Perry discusses some of the ways to prepare the ground that your business will grow on.
104 West Main, P.O. Box 250, Peotone, IL 60468
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Publication Director
Ken Munjoy
Editor
Andrew Wheeler
Art Director
Kim Carpenter
Copy Editor and Direct
Connections Coordinator
Vickie St. Louis
Distribution Manager
Terry LaVoie
Distribution Coordinator
Becky Blackwell
Press Foreman
Dave Grams
Composing
Ross Bertrand and
Marcus Jackson
Advertising Coordinator
Janet Jones
Information Systems
Mike Steele and
Jennifer Hudson
Staff Photographer
Melissa Gaug
Advertising Consultant
Cary Turner
upcoming b2b ILLINOIS deadlines
April 1, 2008 Publication:
Ad space reservation / article submission deadline: 3/14/2008
Ad approval deadline: 3/24/2008
Helping Remote and Mobile Workers Stay Connected
By Jeffrey Borello....................................................................................11
To advertise, contact Cary Turner at
815.937.3331 or [email protected].
Communications consultant Jeff Borello offers tips on keeping mobile workers connected.
Who Wants To Pay Fewer Taxes?
By Scott Ziarko...............................12
Cost segregation may be the way for you to reduce the amount of taxes your business pays.
Do You Provide World-Class Service?
By Michael Guld. ....................13
Service expert Michael Guld provides the questions and answers for you to determine if your
business offers world-class service to consumers.
Raising Staff Retention
By Mark Wilson. ...........................................16
How to Reach Us
nSend announcements and editorial to: fax 815.935.0192; e-mail [email protected]
nEditorial, Andrew Wheeler: phone 815.791.3129; e-mail [email protected]
nAdvertising, Cary Turner: phone 815.937.3331; e-mail [email protected]
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Mark Wilson brings the latest in staff retention methodologies from concept to implementation.
The Real Reasons Employees Leave and How to Keep the Best
By Jim Welch. .......................................................................................16
on our cover
Melinda and Michael Keck display a few of the cars garaged on the grounds of the Autobahn Country Club.
Photo by Melissa Gaug.
this month’s contributors
Leadership consultant Jim Welch offers his take on recruiting and keeping the best employees.
‘Sleepworking’ Affects More Than Half of Small Businesses
By Jackie Guzman. ............................................................................22
A new study from Staples, Inc found that people are not only working more hours and taking work
home in the evening, but also dreaming about their job at night.
Music Makes Sense in Business
By Russ Riendeau.............................23
Utilizing good music in the workplace improves morale and productivity.
regular features
Around the County.................... 4
Tech Corner............................. 19
Ask SCORE................................ 5
Organize It!............................. 10
Innovative Management
Solutions................................. 20
How’s Business?...................... 18
Direct Connections.................. 24
A special thanks to our independent contributors:
Jeffrey L. Borello
Andromeda Technology
Solutions, Inc.
815.836.0030
www.WeNetwork.com
Michael Holtzman
SCORE Chapter 0674
815.427.9818
Lisa Dugan
Illinois State Representative
815.939.1983
Karen McGregor
Organize It! Professional
Organizing Services
815.936.1108
www.organizeitillinois.com
Bill Guertin
The 800-Pound Gorilla
815.932.5878
[email protected]
Reneé Perry
Small Business Consultant
and Coach
815.722.0041
Michael Guld
The Guld Resource Group
804.360.3122
[email protected]
Edward Piatt
N.E. Senior Account Manager
Illinois DCEO
312.636.0739
Annemarie Gutchewsky
Chicago Southland Chamber of
Commerce
708.957.6950 Ext. 118
[email protected]
Russ Riendeau
847.381.0977
www.hiringjam.com
Patrick Seaton
Innovative Management
Tools, LLC
715.340.9606
[email protected]
www.innovativemanagementtools.com
Jim Welch
913.851.0287
www.thegrowthleader.com
Mark Wilson
Dale Carnegie - Chicago
630.390.6024
[email protected]
Scott Ziarko
Cost Segregation Services, Inc.
[email protected]
708.253.8317
B2B is a free publication of the Small Newspaper Group. Information published in B2B is the responsibility of the author and may not reflect the opinions of the B2B staff. All editorial content and advertising published is the property of the Small Newspaper Group dba B2B.
Cover Story
Mike Keck, head of marketing and communications
for the Autobahn Country Club, on the track.
The Autobahn
Country Club of Joliet:
Life (and Work)
in the Fast Lane
By Nancy J. Ruda B2B correspondent • Photos by Melissa Gaug
Racing/aerial photos courtesy of Autobahn Country Club
W
hat do you get when you cross the Autobahn with “experiential marketing?” This question is not an attempt at business humor. In fact, the answer is anything but funny. That’s
because the answer is downright amazing.
Cross the Autobahn with experiential marketing and the result is one of the most awesome,
exciting and ultimate bonding journeys that you, your management team, staff and clients can
experience as a group. While your CEO and Bob in accounting may not have much in common
before they put the pedal to the metal, all of that will change after their rush in the fast lane.
The World’s Most Famous Superhighway
Germany’s Autobahn is considered to be the pinnacle
of fast driving. Literally and figuratively, it is mile after
mile of unimpeded high-speed traffic flowing through
the countryside and around metropolitan areas. There
are few, if any, speed limits on this system of superbly
designed, built and maintained roads.
Beyond Features and Benefits
Experiential marketing provides the opportunity for
select individuals—target consumers, product designers, advertising copywriters—to engage and to interact
with a product or brand. They see, feel, touch and live
with the item, bringing it into their worlds in relevant and
personal ways. In the end, who better to buy, improve,
or write about the product than those who have experienced it firsthand?
The Intersection
Combine the Autobahn and experiential marketing,
and the result is an event, a venue and a relationship like
no other: the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet…a crossroads of life and work at top speed.
Tucked into the agricultural hinterlands of Joliet (45
miles south of Chicago), the Autobahn Country Club is
a mix of business with pleasure. While it is a memberexclusive environment with three high-speed circuits designed by Alan Wilson (the equivalent of having Arnold
Palmer design your golf course), the club provides a
first-rate location for off-site meetings, planning sessions,
board retreats, corporate and social outings, seminars
and client entertainment.
“Traditionally, these types of business-oriented events
are composed of a meeting—work—and golf—fun.
We’re offering something new and dramatically more exciting that everyone can participate in—all of the amenities of a meeting center, plus a unique and memorable
way to strengthen and to energize the team,” explains
Mike Keck, marketing and communications director.
“After participants experience safe, fast driving on one
of our circuits—as a driver or as a passenger—they won’t
be able to stop talking about it, and they will never forget
it. They’ve all shared the ultimate driving experience…
real racing, real speed, real time.”
Currently, the Autobahn Country Club can host groups
ranging in size from 25 to 150 persons with a complete
schedule of tailored amenities—from meeting rooms, to
technology, to meals in the Paddock Clubhouse, to three
levels of on-the-track driving. (Rentals of the facility and/
or the track are available.)
n
Rush Hour: Get your business done in the morning,
and your group can spend the afternoon with helmets
on and strapped in for the thrill of their lives. The experienced drivers from the country club do the rest.
35 acres slated for
future commercial &
retail development.
“As passengers, you’ll feel what it’s like to accelerate
to high speeds and then brake hard for all of the twists
and turns of a Formula One Style Racing Circuit,” Keck
notes.
n
The Autobahn Experience: This is the real deal. After a classroom “chalk talk” where the basic dynamics
of high-speed driving are presented, each participant
gets behind the wheel of a BMW 335i and “learns the
line” by following professional instructors around the
North Circuit.
“This is the perfect way for people who have little or
no experience to feel the exhilaration of driving at high
speed and to practice car control,” says Keck. “Everyone is a better driver after the Autobahn Experience.”
n
Go-Kart Racing: After an informative classroom session on driving technique and racing rules, each group
member dons a helmet and racing suit and sets off on
the Karting Circuit. “There’s only one way to describe
Karting…extreme fun,” adds Keck.
Continued on next page
Autobahn Country Club
continued from page 7
How to Build a Country Club
Without Golf
Autobahn Country Club is a partnership between
four distinct individuals: Mark Basso, an insurance
salesman who had a vision; Keck, a former designer
of consumer packaging; Timothy O’Donnell, an attorney and accountant; and Steve Wagner, a sales
executive. With the exception of one, all are car enthusiasts who met at race and driving events.
As a teen, Basso loved everything about his parents’ country club in Elmhurst—except the golf.
“Mark would rather drive the golf cart than a golf
ball. He has always been truly passionate about
cars,” says Keck. “To him, it made perfect sense to
have a country club environment with a race track
instead of a golf course.”
If You Build It, They Will Come
The Paddock Clubhouse (above photos) features dining, meeting and
event spaces with catering available through the Autobahn Country
Club’s own executive chef.
Several completed “garage-mahals” stand trackside, just off the south
circuit. Available exclusively to country club members, all available
building lots have been sold.
Basso and his partners spent six years raising
money to launch the country club and studying potential sites. “Joliet was the perfect choice because it
completes the circle of racing in the heartland area,”
Keck explains referring to the Chicagoland NASCAR
Speedway and the Route 66 Raceway.
Likewise, it is centrally positioned to the major
suburbs and only 45 miles from downtown Chicago.
“A member can come here at 1 p.m., have quality
racing time, and be home for dinner before 7 p.m.
Time was one of the most important considerations
in our site selection because it is by far the most
precious commodity of our target audience (members),” says Keck.
The country club has 300 members, with initial
membership fees of $35,000. Members pay annual
dues to cover the seven-month racing season as well.
In addition, there are 50 “founding members” who
paid $100,000 each to finance the construction of
the country club. (They have lifetime memberships
with no dues.)
Sitting on 320 airy acres, the Autobahn Country
Club has two circuits that can run simultaneously: the
1.46-mile North Track, with nine turns, and the 2.1-mile
South Track, with 15 turns. (Club members always
have access to one of the tracks.) Combined, they are
the third longest course in America. The third track is
the 1/2-mile Karting Circuit, with seven turns.
“The circuits have a lot of twists, turns and curves,
with some elevation changes. The resulting configuration requires concentration and hand-eye coordination. It will definitely wear you out,” Keck said,
noting that drivers can race at well over 100 mph,
depending on their skills and types of car.
Keck stressed many times that safety is the number
one rule at the Autobahn Country Club. Every aspect
of the entire area is engineered for car control, and
the operation runs like a sanctioned racetrack with
course marshals, on-site emergency medical personnel, log-in procedures, and rules for noise control,
lapping and other driving conditions.
Even their web address hits this point home…
DriveFastBeSafe.com.
The club employs up to 140 full- and part-time individuals, including an executive chef.
A Fast Start
It took a little more than a year from the groundbreaking in March 2004 for auto enthusiasts to be
zipping around the racetrack in their own rides
(Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, Corvette, Audi, Lotus,
Mercedes…they’re pretty much everyday sights on
one or both of the circuits.) or in one of the club’s
twin turbo BMWs. A strategic partnership with BMW
nets the country club a fleet of their cars to use for
the driving program.
The perimeter of the circuits is dotted with what
Keck calls “garage-mahals” or deluxe palaces for owners to house and maintain their high-performance vehicles. “They are the ultimate estate for your toy. Not
only do they have cavernous work areas, they have
living rooms and everything you could possibly need
in a home away from home,” says Keck.
A Lightning Future
Next spring, construction is set to begin on the
125,000-square foot Autobahn Speed Pavilion that
will feature enhanced banquet and meeting accommodations, a members-only clubhouse, condos and
hotel suites, a pro shop/retail store, and the Autobahn Speed Pavilion Museum. This venue will be
open to the public and will showcase specialty cars,
exhibits and collectors’ race cars.
Roaring Off
The Autobahn Country Club presents a premier
and signature way to meet, work and socialize. The
experiences it offers are unlike any 18 holes of golf
and could very well be on course to replacing this
sport at corporate events. Only time will tell. Until
then…drive fast, be safe.
The Autobahn Country Club is located at 3795
S. Patterson Road in Joliet. For information, call
815.722.2223 or go to DriveFastBeSafe.com. l
The Autobahn Speed Pavilion complex, scheduled for completion in 2008, will consist of
five main areas: members’ club area, Autobahn condos, general public dining area and
bar, Autobahn Pro Shop and retail store, and the Autobahn Speed Pavilion Museum.