Attendees at 1 Million Cups heard from an established graphics business and a new dentist during Wednesday morning’s event at State Fair Community College.
Myrna Ragar has several decades of experience in the art and advertising industries, and decided to open Art & Graphic Innovations with co-owner Madge Gressley about 12 years ago, which employs several people to help provide marketing and graphics services.
The company started 34 years ago as Ragar Banners, then she and Gressley started in the advertising area, using their previous experience at other local companies.
“You have to be open-minded and flexible because what you see now is more than what we ever saw when we started and it’s going to be twice as much when you get older and hopefully have your own business,” Ragar advised.
The business, located at 148 S. Limit Ave., offers a wide variety of services and products, including table runners, banners, banners, printed materials such as business cards, brochures, rack cards, print ads and custom-designed logos, and promotional products like key-chains and coffee mugs. The products are contracted for printing at a variety of places across the country, although Ragar noted that they try to print locally in Missouri as often as possible.
“We still finish a lot of banners right there at the business,” Ragar said. “All our table covers we have them printed and we finish them there at the office.”
Art & Graphic Innovations’ work can be seen around Sedalia at the Trail’s End landmark, Kehde’s Barbeque, the Missouri State Fair and the Sedalia Area Farmer’s Market, among other local businesses. One of the business’ most recent projects is the historical mural wall at Pittsburgh Corning.
Ragar was asked how Art & Graphic Innovations is able to stay current with ever-changing trends in the marketing and advertising industry.
“We really work at it and try to keep up,” she replied. “We’re not as proficient in the Facebook area. We do have someone that handles that, but we are going to probably have to get on the ball on some of those.”
In contrast to Ragar’s long-standing business, Jon Ehlers, a Cole Camp native, spoke about Tiger Family Dental, which he opened in October 2016. It offers general dental procedures, dental implants, root canals and sleep apnea treatment.
Ehlers said he has invested a lot in technology at Tiger Family Dental, located at 808 Winchester Dr., to provide specialized services for Sedalia patients. One such item is Cone Beam Computed Technology, which he said converts images to 3-D perspective to assist him in dental implant planning and root canal treatment.
The office also utilizes a digital impression system to take impressions of patients’ teeth. The scan can then be emailed to the lab, cutting down on time spent in transit in the mail.
Many people aren’t a fan of visiting the dentist, so Ehlers has included several things to make a visit more comfortable, such as massage chairs and a coffee bar, plus rewards for youth patients who have a good check-up.
Ehlers talked about several challenges that came with opening his first business, something he noted isn’t taught in dentistry school.
“I’ve never done this before, so when you’re talking about several moving pieces with construction and then all this equipment that has to come in on time, that was definitely something that was stressful for me,” he said. “We were scheduling patients months in advance and I knew I had to have the doors open Oct. 24 for patients.”
He also had the challenge of building a patient base and getting insurance credentials.
Ehlers said he’s been successful by getting patients from two local retired dentists and establishing a marketing campaign, which includes “hitting Facebook heavy” with both educational and promotional posts.
In the future, Ehlers said he hopes to help educate the rural area about the importance of dental health and what his office offers.
“We’re not a high-pressure office. I know we have a lot of technology, that doesn’t mean I’m telling every patient they need an implant or they need all these things,” he explained. “I did the technology to offer the best service for patients, if you need it. But if you don’t need it and just need a check-up, then we’re going to do the best we can to clean your teeth and make you comfortable.”
In honor of 1 Million Cups Sedalia’s first anniversary, the April 5 event will feature a Breakfast Birthday Bash with past presenters giving updates on their companies since their appearance at 1 Million Cups.
1 Million Cups, which is open to the public, is hosted at 9 a.m. the first Wednesday of each month in the Thompson Conference Center at State Fair Community College. For more information, visit www.1millioncups.com/sedalia.
