Owner/President: Judy Roetheli
Company: Key Companies & Associates, LLC
Address: 1331 Swift
 Kansas City, MO 64116
Phone: 816-471-1333
Email: 
Web Site:  thespatuscano.com; aceofheartsbbq.com; simplemanproducts.com
Type of Business: Serial Entrepreneur
Year Founded: 1996

Key Companies & Associates, LLC, serves as the "mother" company to our family of companies, which included the very successful S&M NuTec, maker of Greenies pet treats. My husband, Joe, and I founded Key Companies in 1996.

Growing up in a family of five children, it was understood we were to attend college. My mother had only an 8th grade education and my father received his GED. My parents hoped for more for their children. I earned a bachelor's degree in education and completed additional courses toward a master's degree.

I taught elementary, middle and high school history and social studies. I also spent four years working with autistic kindergarteners.  Joe worked for the federal government for more than 18 years, and spent four years working with universities.

Together, we decided what we wanted in business and in employees, and worked toward making it all happen. There were times it looked like it would not happen for us; however, persistence, patience and much prayer helped us make it through.

The first subsidiary company Joe and I created was S&M NuTec in 1998, named in honor of our two sons, Steffan and Michael. It was S&M NuTec that gave me my first business experience-"real" on the job training. We marketed and produced Greenies, "the original green smart dog treat." Joe and I worked smart and built a company that created a new category in the pet food industry.

S&M NuTec sold 750 million Greenies in more than 60 countries during our 10-year tenure. It became the eighth largest pet food treat company in the world. We employed about 100 people with another 400-500 people employed by our local out-sourced manufacturing, packaging, shipping and warehousing companies. In May 2006, we sold S&M NuTec to Mars Inc.

Since the sale of S&M NuTec, we have created other companies: THE SPA Tuscano (2006), a health and wellness spa located in Briarcliff Village; Ace of Hearts BBQ Specialties (2007)which markets The Good-One Smoker/Grill and other BBQ products, and Simple Man Products (2006), a manufacturer of easy-to-use tools for the building trade.

Financing
To build S&M NuTec, we had to find a creative way to get financing. We only had a few investors, the typical sources for entrepreneurs,-family, friends and fools-who invested less than $500,000. We needed working capital and banks saw us as a huge risk, so we used credit cards to finance all we could. I had a spreadsheet where I listed the credit cards we used and what was owed. As introductory offers for low or zero percent interest rates arrived in the mail, I would transfer the allowed amount to the new card and pay minimums on the old cards.

Joe negotiated equipment leases so we could manufacture our Greenies. I would love to say that I was able to obtain financing as a woman-owned business, however, small business loans did not materialize for us despite numerous attempts. In fact, we went more than three years without an income in order to launch S&M NuTec. Finally, after achieving sales of more than $1 million dollars in just one month, we secured bank financing.

When we sold S&M NuTec to Mars in May of 2006, we were able to "share the wealth" with those people who invested and contributed to the successof our young company.

Community Wealth
My parents "walked the talk." They worked hard to teach us a great work ethic and always gave back to the community and the church. We learned that no matter our income, we should always give to the church. My parent's example of sacrificial giving made a deep impression on me.

Throughout our 34 years of marriage, Joe and I have always given at some level to our church and charities. We believe in sharing profits with those who help our companies grow. It feels great to help strengthen the financial well-being of those who give their all to help us succeed.

We formed the Roetheli Lil' Red Foundation in 2004 to support our philanthropic passions. Through the foundation, we are financing a project to build 100 homes, a school, store and community center in Jamaica through Food for the Poor. We have helped finance a statewide pet therapy program for the elderly, and we have chosen to enhance entrepreneurship through funding a program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Bloch School of Business and at the UMKC campus. We structured our gift to bring very pragmatic, successful local entrepreneurial stories to complement the "book" learning. We hope this will encourage more young people to think and act upon their dreams and make life better for themselves and others.

Challenge
As a business owner, my biggest challenge has been to live in the present and manage the future. Building a company was somewhat like having a new baby; you don't know everything, however, you grow and learn as the company grows and you turn a good thing into a great thing. My lack of a college business education was a barrier that I overcame as I worked and learned daily on the job. I gained confidence as I worked with the best employees, took training and listened.

Accomplishment
My most significant accomplishment as a business owner was building the S&M NuTec team that in less than 10 years conceived, produced, and marketed the No. 1 selling treat for dogs in the United States and created the eighth largest pet food treat company in the world[VPWC2]. It was amazing that we, here in the Midwest, could work to build a company that could mean so much in an industry that only 11 years ago, we knew so little about.

So even today, I still learn, earn and yearn to return. Learning, creating wealth and giving is not an event. Each is a continuously long journey. It is great that you can join the journey at almost any time, as we did.