Hometown Hustle: Celebrating Our Local Entrepreneurs

November is National Entrepreneurship Month

Author: Makenzie Morris
Entrepreneurship
Published: Saturday, 01 Nov 2025

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In my business, Ott Leadership, I partner with nonprofit and mission-driven leaders to help them gain organizational clarity that drives strategic impact. I saw that leaders with a mission can get overwhelmed and stuck in the weeds when running an organization. As a result, they are always fighting fires, their leadership teams aren’t leading, and they are achieving less than their full potential. We change that by building clarity in leadership, strategy, and culture. In the end, we want to help these leaders and organizations make a transformational impact in our communities.

At the core, entrepreneurs solve problems for people. They embrace the risk of starting their own business for the sake of making a difference in the community. Whenever I’ve taught JA in the classrooms, that’s always been a central talking point: serving the community. Once you have the foundation for building a stronger community and serving people, becoming an entrepreneur is a natural progression.

-Steve Ott
Owner, Ott Leadership

"Junior Achievement helps to prepare future entrepreneurs by giving students hands-on experience in starting and running their own businesses. Through resources such as business mentors, JA BizTown, and the classroom curriculum, students are given the real-life experience and understanding of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Most importantly, I think students realize from JA that they too can be an entrepreneur and that the sky is the limit!"

-Sheila Volrath
Owner, Cody Road Coffee & GSV River Rentals

"Entrepreneurship teaches young people how to think creatively, take calculated risks, and solve real-world problems. JA lessons give them that foundation early — showing that leadership and success often start with curiosity and initiative.”

I started Goldermann Lawn & Landscape in high school and later expanded into Deluxe Outdoor Services, specializing in design-build hardscapes and concrete installations across the Quad Cities. What began as a summer side job has grown into a full-scale operation with an incredible team — proof that small ideas, with hard work and persistence, can truly grow into something big.

-Andrew Goldermann
Owner, Goldermann Lawn & Landscape & Deluxe Outdoor Services