405 Business Magazine

12/22/2022

The groundbreaking for Convergence, the mixed-use development that will house Innovation Hall, was Wednesday, December 14. While the formal groundbreaking occurred before the construction of the parking garage, this second groundbreaking ceremony was to celebrate the start of construction on the bulk of the development that will include an eight-story boutique hotel and 200,000 square feet of office space in the tower.

At the event, Robinson Park Investments CEO Mark Beffort said, “Today we begin creating a place to stand up an ecosystem that will reshape our community. A place fostering creativity, a place to bring innovation alive, a place for opportunity, a place allowing all Oklahomans to advance their ideas and dreams.”

You can read more with the link below!

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https://405business.com/convergence-innovation-hall-breaks-ground/

12/20/2022

City officials and Thunder executives recently broached the subject of needing a new arena for the Thunder to call home. With a recently signed three-year extension with Paycom, the city now has begun the initial steps to plan for a broader public discussion.

Since the conversation just began, a lack of specificity exists when answering most of these questions, but on two important issues, the Thunder has answers.

Get the full scoop using the link below.

https://405business.com/a-new-thunder-dome/

12/15/2022

Nominations are open! Click the link below to nominate now.

https://405business.com/405-business-notable/

#405

12/13/2022

Mike Hearne, host of the This is Oklahoma podcast, boasts more than 40,000 subscribers to his weekly podcast, and he tells us what other podcasts we should subscribe to and why we all need to get up and dance a little.




Read Mike Hearne's full Daily Media Diet using the link below!

Written by: 405 Staff

https://405business.com/my-daily-media-diet-mike-hearne/

12/08/2022

Economists estimate Oklahoma’s pre-pandemic entertainment industry brought in almost $950 million in economic impact yearly, supporting more than 8,500 jobs and millions in tax revenue.

More details with the link in our bio. 🔗

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12/05/2022

The Metro's Most Influential Awards

The Metro’s Most Influential Special Issue profiles the most influential leaders in central Oklahoma across a wide spectrum of industries. Unprecedented in scope, The Metro’s Most Influential issue represents months of research, interviews and conversations with extensive, high-level contacts in the regional business community. The Metro’s Most Influential issue goes far beyond corporate bios to reveal the personal side of the leaders who drive the central economy and make it such a vibrant place to work and live. The primary criteria for inclusion on the list is how well the leader is using their influence for the greater good.

The Metro’s Most Influential is not an awards program or a vote-based list. All decisions are made by the editors; the number of recommendations an individual receives is not a consideration factor.

We are now accepting nominations for this inaugural list of The Metro’s Most Influential. Click the link below to submit your nominations.

Nominate now with the link below!

https://405business.com/metro-most-influential/

#405

405 Business Magazine is accepting nominations for their award 'The Metro's Most Influential" Nominations open until Aug. 1!

12/05/2022

🏀 The Business of Basketball. In a lot of ways, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the city itself grew up together. Now, Oklahoma City is the 20th largest city in America and the sixth fastest-growing city in the country, already growing by 3 percent since the 2020 Census.

It’s impossible to separate the Thunder’s impact from OKC’s growth, OKC Mayor David Holt said. In fact, he said gaining an NBA team in this market immediately increased the city’s credibility on what this city could offer residents, tourists, companies and employees.

“Professional sports teams define a city’s culture,” he said. “And, to a lesser extent, professional sports are your ticket to the top tier. It means you are big enough and have the business and corporate presence and you have the general wherewithal to host one of the world’s greatest brands. Certain-sized cities can’t do that.

“Having an NBA team is an immediate shorthand for a lot of other things – it means we also have great restaurants and great other things that go hand in hand with the kind of city that has an NBA team.”

Read more on The Business of Basketball with the link below.

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Photo by: Courtesy of Oklahoma City Thunder

https://405business.com/the-business-of-basketball/

12/01/2022

DECEMBER/JANUARY ISSUE 🏀💙

Growing (Thunder) Up

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s first season in Oklahoma City was the year my son was born. He was born in June, and Oklahoma’s first professional sports team took the court at what was a hockey-turned-NBA arena that fall.

In all that time, I’ve watched Oklahoma City – and my son – grow up. The city is now the country’s 20th largest, and the Thunder have been to the NBA finals after playing some pretty raucous games in that makeshift arena.

Without a doubt, the Thunder plays a major role in injecting passion, economic diversity and vitality into the core of Oklahoma City. They are a unifying force for Oklahoma, creating both an economic push but also a sense of pride, ownership and swagger that only comes from professional sports.

Because of their size, scope and sway in this town, we wanted to present a comprehensive look at the Thunder’s impact on the metro and how the nuts and bolts of a business that size works.

For this story, we talked to just about anyone who could provide insight into what it means for a city to have an NBA team. Of course, we talked with a slew of Thunder executives but we also got the viewpoint from both current players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey and also legacy-players-turned-Thunder-staff like Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed. We also leaned on city officials, business owners, corporate partners and season ticket holders (One who has missed only six games in 15 years!) to paint a full picture of what the Thunder means to this city.

Plus, we walked through the discussion of if the city needs to build a new arena for our favorite team, and what it would look like if we did. We show you what life is like for those legacy players who have made the transition to off-the-court work and you’ll hear from those still on the court about what being in OKC means to them.

- , Editor-in-Chief

Flip through the issue digitally with the link below. 🔗

https://405business.com/issues/405-business/december-2022-january-2023/

11/30/2022

For our loyal online followers, here is a teaser of our December 2022/January 2023 Thunder issue! 👀✨

Please enjoy this incredible infographic made my .design. You’ll find this and much more in our feature, “The Business of Basketball.”

We cannot wait to finally share this issue with you all. Release day is tomorrow! 🤩💙

11/16/2022

Oklahoma City Repertory Theater artistic director Kelly Kerwin wants you to know that the professional theater company does not do “mom and dad’s theater.”

“One of my main goals as artistic director is to introduce the idea to Oklahoma City that we need to reimagine a play for what our city or space is. Design should speak to the place and not just try to do the same performance that was staged in the past.”

Outstanding Nonprofit Innovation: Oklahoma City Repertory Theater

Read the full story with the link below.

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Photo provided.

https://405business.com/outstanding-nonprofit-innovation-oklahoma-city-repertory-theater/

11/15/2022

Paycom gave $20,000 to Special Operations Warrior Foundation and more than $44,000 to the Courage Foundation. In addition, the company’s employees packed 750 deployment packs for active service men and women.

You can read the full story with the link below.

Written by: 405 Staff
Photo provided

https://405business.com/paycom-donates-64500-to-veteran-focused-organizations/

11/11/2022

What benefit does it bring to OKC to have businesses led with purpose?

Three Oklahoma City leaders who work with the nonprofit community weigh in on why it benefits the metro to have businesses and leaders strive for more than just profits.

Written by: 405 Staff
Photo provided

Link below to read the full article.

https://405business.com/what-benefit-does-it-bring-to-okc-to-have-businesses-led-with-purpose/

11/09/2022

Rose State College recently launched a new microcredential program for Small Unmanned Aerial System drone mapping.

The sUAS Mapping microcredential is the first-of-its-kind in Oklahoma. It provides in-depth instruction for new professionals and amateur drone pilots that want to learn the basics of aerial photography, videography and mapping.

“Rose State’s sUAS Mapping microcredential course provides a great introduction to drone mapping and gives students a hands-on learning experience,” said course instructor Ryan Stoddard in a news release. “We continue to offer programs in demand, giving our students a unique advantage when advancing in their current and future careers.”

Read the full story with the link below.

Written by: 405 staff
Photo provided

https://405business.com/rose-state-microcredential-drone-mapping-program/

11/07/2022

Director Caylee Dodson set out to foster community-engaged and community-led change, beginning with a commitment to learn and communicate where trust had been broken and what it would take to help the community thrive once again.

Restore OKC now runs three other ‘R’ divisions: Restore Farms, Restore Homes and Restore Jobs. All programs have to fall under one of the organization’s areas of emphasis: health, environment, reconciliation and equity. The most pressing needs right now, according to Dobson, are access to food and affordable housing.

Congratulations to our Outstanding Purpose-Led Nonprofit: .okc. Read Restore OKC's article with the link below.

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https://405business.com/outstanding-purpose-led-nonprofit-small-restore-okc/

11/02/2022

The Oklahoma City division of Ben E. Keith Co. — a food and beverage distribution company with operations in 15 states — rolled out a pilot program to help with worker retention in their OKC warehouse.

Read the full story using the link below!

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https://405business.com/okc-distribution-company-helps-its-workers-connect-with-the-people-they-serve/

11/01/2022

Christina Carter started a plant business after developing a passion for them after her mother passed away. Now, she has a growing – pun intended – plant business and community of plant lovers affectionately dubbed the Plant People, which also happens to be the name of the store.

Read the full story using the link below. 🔗

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https://405business.com/finding-her-own-fresh-air/

10/25/2022

Dan Straughan founded the Homeless Alliance in 2004 after a career in finance. At the time, he was the sole team member, but he quickly moved to gather a collection of like-minded volunteers who – in his words – thought there was a smarter way to do homeless services.

“That group eventually became my board,” Straughan said. “We borrowed offices in the back of what was then Union Bank in Capitol Hill, and then began to grow relationships with government agencies, NGOS and faith-based organizations in an organic way.”

That network of relationships now comprises more than 100 organizations that work in homeless services. Last year, the Homeless Alliance served nearly 9,001 clients, and last year, they’ve moved 858 clients into permanent housing. The diverse collection of resources means that the alliance can respond to problems proactively and reactively.

Read the full story using the link below.

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https://405business.com/outstanding-purpose-led-nonprofit-large-homeless-alliance/

10/25/2022

It's National Cyber Security Awareness Month!

Join 405 Business Magazine for an in-depth Q&A with cybersecurity industry leaders from Guernsey to answer all of your digital security questions.

Topics to be covered:
- What is cybersecurity all about?
- What layers of protection should I have in place?
- How do I know if my company was breached?
- And more!

You can sign up for this webinar using the link below.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GAJfafGtRbmUcm0m1zBxqQ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning+Rush+10%2F17%2F22&cmid=1444f618-6f2b-44ec-9a10-acb93cc18789

10/24/2022

Founder Shannon L. Rich’s organization, LeadHERBoard, is designed to make it easier to do business with woman-owned and women-led companies.

Michelle Dahl is a Dallas-based former executive and current performance and leadership coach who founded The Female Roundtable, an organization that provides education, resources and coaching to women business leaders and owners.

On November 3, she’s offering a Zoom conference around the topic of finances, and one of the speakers is Oklahoma City’s Shannon L. Rich, founder of LeadHERBoard.

Read more with the link below.

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Photo provided

https://405business.com/leadherboard-founder-to-work-with-the-female-roundtable/

10/19/2022

It's National Cyber Security Awareness Month! You can sign up for this webinar using the link below.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GAJfafGtRbmUcm0m1zBxqQ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning+Rush+10%2F17%2F22&cmid=1444f618-6f2b-44ec-9a10-acb93cc18789

10/19/2022

Downtown’s streetcar system will get an infusion of support starting in fall 2023, when RAPID transit’s fixed guideway system is rolled out to 23 stops along three branches throughout Oklahoma City. It’s all part of a four-component, long-term plan for a comprehensive public transit system for the metro.

For more on the future of Oklahoma’s Public Transit, check out the link below.

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https://405business.com/the-future-of-oklahomas-public-transit/

10/17/2022

B&H Construction owners Ronnie and Donnie Beller treat their 40-plus-year-old pipeline construction business more like a ministry – and helps many of its employees have a second chance at life — than a traditional business.

B&H Construction was awarded our Outstanding Purpose-Led Small Business. To read the full story, head to the link below!

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https://405business.com/outstanding-purpose-led-business-small-bh-construction/

10/12/2022

Matt Stansberry, founder, CEO and partner at Nominee, a brand consultancy, talks about how your business should have purpose – and how that purpose can impact your bottom line.

"Gone are the days when brands could stamp an empty promise on a campaign or fool customers with greenwashing. Consumers want to align themselves with brands that consistently and authentically prove that they are driven by purpose. The brands that prove they care for the well-being of other people and our planet end up with more loyal, consistent, engaged consumer bases."

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"A Q&A With Matt Stansberry: Doing Business on Purpose" can be read with the link below.

https://405business.com/a-qa-with-matt-stansberry-doing-business-on-purpose/

10/10/2022

Jill Castilla: Outstanding Purpose Led Leader

Jill Castilla first wanted to be a banker because of the George Bailey-like bank in her hometown in Okmulgee. Now, as president, CEO and vice chairman of Citizens Bank of Edmond, she credits a lot of the same philosophies to how she financially turned around the bank and funded redevelopments around town – all while making a national name for herself and the bank.

You can read her story 'What a Wonderful Life' using the link below.

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https://405business.com/outstanding-purpose-led-leader-jill-castilla/

10/06/2022

EightTwenty started as an electrical contractor in 2017. In 2021, the company pivoted to solar energy and everything took off: EightTwenty’s revenue grew five times over from 2020 to 2021, and the company expanded from 10 employees to 59, now supporting offices in Louisville, Kentucky, northwest Arkansas and Dallas. ⁠
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“As an energy state, we knew solar can be a big part of our future,” said Tony Cupucille, EightTwenty CEO and co-founder. “Our passion is to serve residential and commercial customers in Oklahoma and surrounding states to empower them to live solar.”⁠
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Photos provided. ⁠
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For more on our Energy Innovator of the year, EightTwenty, check out the link below.

https://405business.com/energy-innovator-eighttwenty/