The marketing and brand promotion firm KidGlov “would not be open today” if not for the assistance provided by the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) and Zack Zimmerman, director of the NBDC office at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, says KidGlov President Lyn Wineman.
“I’ve had a long, successful career in marketing and I am very good at strategy,” Wineman says, “but even if I had a business degree, there are so many things Zack knows that I don’t. He kept me from making bad decisions, and he helped me to make better decisions.”
Wineman worked 22 years at a large public relations and advertising firm before being recruited to a smaller agency. A past president of the Lincoln Chapter of the American Marketing Association, she founded KidGlov in 2010. The name comes from the old adage that to handle something “with kid gloves” meant to treat it with special care. The Lincoln firm works with other businesses to advance their brands through targeted marketing strategies and campaigns, print and digital media, public relations and social marketing.
KidGlov has been a client of Zimmerman’s for several years. He has assisted the company with business procedures, product development, systems analysis, marketing strategy, market research and employee development. During that time, the company has grown to 10 employees, including Wineman.
Wineman says she was intrigued with the services NBDC offers after attending a workshop session on the grant writing process. “In the beginning, I was working 15 hours a day,” Wineman says. After she met Zimmerman, he introduced her to a book titled, “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It,” written by Michael E. Gerber. “It’s an awesome business book for entrepreneurs,” she says. “It helps you set some structure to your business.”
Three years into the business, Wineman says the company endured “a rough six months.”
“We hit a point where a ‘perfect storm’ of things happened,” she recalls. “A number of large projects ended all at once. We had been so consumed with these projects that we weren’t working on selling to fill our pipeline, and all at once it was empty.”
She said two factors helped to keep KidGlov in business. “The employees rallied and encouraged me greatly to keep going,” Wineman says, “and Zack met with my husband and me. He helped us devise a path for the company, and we ultimately made it through.”
Wineman’s clients have included Farmers & Merchants Bank, the Lancaster Event Center and SuperFair, MembersOwn Credit Union, Lincoln Community Foundation and SouthPointe Pavilions. As her company has grown, Zimmerman has continued to provide advice and information.
“I didn’t realize the access I had to so many helpful local resources until Zack came along,” Wineman says. “From taxes to accounting and finances, when I run into something I am unprepared for, I either pick up the phone and call Zack, or I schedule a meeting with him. He and NBDC are some of the best assets we have.”