Business Solutions for Spring 2017

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S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 5
BUSINESS solutions
He notes, “Sales are going great. There’s always room for improvement, but I’m
optimistic about the future. I’m grateful for all I learned from the CEO program,
especially how to be professional. I know how to dress, speak, act, and shake hands
like a businessman. These are common sense things that aren’t commonly known.
Everybody says they don’t judge by appearances, but people know in the first five
seconds whether or not they will like you. That’s why looking and acting like a busi-
nessman is important.”
Hannah Pritchett
Make Your Mark Designs by Hannah Pritchett
Hannah Pritchett plans to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to study
nursing or education administration. Her business, Make Your Mark Designs by
Hannah Pritchett, creates custom stickers using a Cricut® machine in vinyl, win-
dow, and iron-on formats.
“I’ve done well thanks to friends and family as well as sales from Facebook. It’s dif-
ficult to market these stickers on sites like Etsy due to all the competitors already
there. So I have to learn how to market, price well, come up with new ideas, and
always be on my toes,” Pritchett explains.
She continues, “The most valuable thing I learned from the CEO Program is how
to step out of my comfort zone. I was always scared to shake hands, talk to older
people, and ask for advice. This class taught me how to be comfortable doing
these things. I would never have thought to go to my math teacher for business
advice, but she gave me great ideas. By asking for help, it creates bonds with peo-
ple you would never have anticipated.”
Pritchett most enjoys the customer contact of her business. She says, “I love
learning how to deal with customers because it teaches me to be reliable and
trustworthy. Learning this now will help me as I get older and start my dream job.”
Who’s Minding
Your Business?
Scott Eckhardt
Plant Superintendent
Scott Eckhardt started working for
Madison Communications in 1998 and
now serves as Plant Superintendent. In
this role, he manages the HFC (Hybrid
Fiber Coax), Twisted Pair POTS and
DSL (Plain Old Telephone Service and
Digital Subscriber Line), FTTH (Fiber
To The Home), and DIA (Dedicated
Internet Access) circuits. He notes,
“This includes checking the many
monitoring systems used by Madison
Communications to identify possible
problems that could affect service to
our customers. Once a potential issue
is detected, we get it resolved.”
Eckhardt is currently certified by the
Society of Cable Telecommunications
Engineers as a BPI (Broadband Prem-
ise Installer), BPT (Broadband Premise
Technician), and BPE (Broadband
Premise Expert). He is continuing his
education in the networking field to
become a Cisco Certified Network
Associate.
What does he enjoy most about his
job? Eckhardt replies, “I enjoy help-
ing co-workers understand what a
specific piece of equipment does and
how it works and helping Customer
Care Specialists learn how to resolve
troubles experienced by customers.”
When not at work, Eckhardt and his
wife Sherry, daughter Aubree, and son
Gregory enjoy family vacations and off-
roading. “Anything we can do together
outside is wonderful,” he adds.
Madison Communications is proud to sponsor the Macoupin
County CEO Program. If your business is interested in becoming
involved, visit
Gary Lumley (far right), Founder/Owner of That Crazy Fish Store & More, welcomes students for a business visit.