Small Business SuperHeroes

Hinkle Hardscapes builds pools, outdoor living spaces, and patios for homeowners in Kansas City and the surrounding areas. They’ve experienced amazing growth over the last decade and owner Zach Hinkle spent a few minutes sharing their story with us. We talked about how Hinkle Hardscapes has navigated a complete change of strategy, how they’ve adjusted their marketing, and how they’re serving families in the metro area. Hinkle first began his journey as an entrepreneur during the housing crisis. The company he was working for was struggling and he knew he needed to make a change. He decided to start a lawn mowing and landscaping business, calling it KC Lawn and Landscaping. As a new business, they operated out of the garage at Hinkle’s home. A lot has changed since then. They no longer offer Kansas City lawn mowing or landscaping services and they’ve rebranded to reflect this change. They’re now Hinkle Hardscapes, a name that better reflects the services they provide. They create complete outdoor living environments including kitchens, fireplaces & fire pits, custom patios and swimming pools.

A Local Law Firm That Stands Out from the Crowd How Bautista LeRoy Started & Grew an Award-Winning Personal Injury Law Firm in Kansas City Bautista LeRoy, established in 2011, is a boutique law firm in Kansas City that handles personal injury cases such as vehicle and car accident injuries, as well as specific types of cases involving train accident injuries or deaths, and nursing home negligence cases. The firm also works with cases that involve the injury or death of someone who was incarcerated at the time of the incident or who was interacting with a law enforcement officer at the time of the incident. José M. Bautista and Andrew LeRoy began their journey as entrepreneurs in 2011 when they made the decision to step away from working with larger firms and start their own, smaller Kansas City personal injury firm. “It started with one little room with a couple of Apple computers and iPhones,” says Bautista. “We were able to grow the firm to what it is today, which is four lawyers, supporting staff members and a growing practice where we are litigating cases in various states, often highly complex civil litigation. Bautista Leroy was able to buy their own office building here in Midtown KC, which has been nice milestone for our firm and a great way to invest back into Kansas City.” Jose and Andrew also co wrote an Amazon best selling book called How to Hire Lawyers.

In this Interview, you will Learn How Insurance Pros Prepares Individuals and Small Business Owners to Make the Best Insurance Decisions for Their Needs. Chris Goodwin is the owner of Insurance Pros, an insurance broker specializing in helping individuals with Medigap Insurance and small businesses with Group Health Insurance in Kansas City find the right insurance options to meet their needs. Insurance Pros was founded in 1999. A lot has changed for Goodwin, the insurance industry, and small business owners over the last two decades. We had the opportunity to chat with Goodwin about his business, how the Internet has affected how he does business, and what he loves about Kansas City.

Kansas City’s Heating and Cooling Experts Discuss Growing & Giving Back As one of the best Kansas City HVAC companies, Cates Heating and Cooling, serving the HVAC needs of Kansas City area home and business owners has always been a family affair. In 1974, Jim Kiekel began Cates Heating and Cooling with a partner. In 1975, Jim bought full ownership of the company. Since then, the company has been offering both residential and commercial HVAC services here in Kansas City and has made a name for their business by offering quality services paired with excellent customer service. Recently, Jim’s son Jeff Kiekel shared a little about the company, his role in their growth, and how they’re using marketing to reach more customers in the metro area.

Co-owners of K-Guard Heartland, Travis Burch and Carter Clond, serve a territory that spans from St. Louis to Manhattan, KS, and everything in between – with their primary market being Kansas City. Travis and Carter were bitten by the entrepreneurial bug after working with a competitor in the same industry. K-Guard, one of the best Kansas City gutter cover companies, solves problems for homeowners by eliminating the dangers of climbing a ladder for gutter maintenance, and solving drainage issues caused by gutters that don’t evacuate water properly. K-Guard’s leaf-free gutters are complete systems, as opposed to a hoods, filters or screens offered by many competitors. Blogger Local talked to Carter and discussed his path to entrepreneurship, what he has learned from owning a business, and what advice he’d like to offer to other small business owners.

High Prairie Landscape Group sets themselves apart from other Kansas City landscapers by doing things differently. They’ve created their own hardscape construction process, known as the Legacy Method, using elements from both European and American construction processes. “The result is something that lasts for decades as opposed to just a few years,” says Robyn Schmitz, who spent a few minutes chatting with Blogger Local about growing their business and using digital marketing to spread the word about what they do. High Prairie Landscape Group creates European style gardens and outdoor living spaces in Kansas City and the surrounding areas. They place a high emphasis on craftsmanship and attention to detail, which allows them to create outdoor spaces that last for years to come.

For the last 20 years, Karin Ross and her husband have been working in interior design and construction, and Kansas City remodeling services. Their small business, Karin Ross Designs, was born out of desire to work together and first began as a new construction company. Because of the timing of their beginnings, Ross and her husband soon found themselves facing the challenges many working in construction faced — the decline of the new construction industry because of the recession. During this time, they knew they would have the shift their business model if they’d like to continue working as entrepreneurs and working together. That’s when they began offering remodeling and interior design services, specializing in bathroom remodeling and Kansas City kitchen remodeling and the surrounding areas. Check out this episode for some great remodeling tips.