Future CEO Stars Magazine - April 2008
by Jessica Silis

My name is Jessica Silis and I am the winner of the 2008 BOSS Business Plan Competition. I am originally from Germany and just received my Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Administration from Dickinson State University this past December.

It all started in January when Dr. Knude Swensen (my entrepreneurship instructor) told us we would have to write a business plan about a business plan about a product or service that doesn't exist yet. After brainstorming unsuccessfully for sometime, partner Lindsay Martin and I took a different approach and asked ourselves the following question: What industry has the most promising growth in the State of North Dakota? - The oil industry! Once that was established, we quickly came up with the idea of a mobile laundry service catering exclusively to oil rig locations, and "Rig O' Mat" was born. After talking to several friends on oil rigs, it became apparent that there indeed is a large void that needed to be filled when it came to the workers' rig clothes. Crew members have to drop off their clothes at local laundromats, since pick-up services do not exist.

In order to be able to better support our claim, we conducted extensive research on the oil industry in Western North Dakota, and slowly but surely realized that we had a bigger business idea in the making than we originally thought. There are substantial profits to be made in that industry, and therefore, potential investors wouldn't be hard to find.

When we found out that our business concept was among those selected for the BOSS Business Plan Competition, we were pretty excited. I knew that a well written business plan alone wouldn't be enough to win; I had to be outgoing (which isn't hard for me to do), passionate about the business, knowledgeable about the industry, and able to convince the judges that investing in Rig O' Mat would be be money well spent.

Looking back on the project, writing the business plan was a great chance for Lindsay and I to implement what we had learned in college. It also provided us with insight as to what is required to start your own business. The BOSS Business Plan Competition was a great experience. To tell you the truth, I was a little nervous about my presentation, but everyone else in the competition was going through the same thing. After it was all said and done, I was hoping to come in fourth or fifth; winning first place really took me by surprise.

No matter how crazy or even simple an idea may sound, don't throw it out right away thinking it would never work. Sometimes it's the easiest thing that turns out to be the best.

Note: The BOSS Business Plan Competition is held annually in conjunction with Marketplace for Entrepreneurs. The Organizing Sponsors for Marketplace for Entrepreneurs and the BOSS Business Plan Competition are U.S. Senator Kent Conrad and ND Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson.