By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
The Mahomet Area Chamber of Commerce Overall Business of the Year is — in reality — also Person of the Year.
The winner, Guth & Associates, is part of an organization which has little help.
“I am affiliated with Fairlawn Real Estate as they are my managing broker, but we have an autonomous relationship and I’m independent of that firm,” Jill Guth said. “Guth & Associates has one employee — me.”
She is not totally on her own, however.
“My family is involved in helping with signage and other needs,” Guth said. “My husband (Mike) and both sons pitch in when I need help with something.”
Selecting the business name was a way to pay homage to the others who assist.
“A friend of mine suggested Guth & Associates as the name of the business,” she said. “To me, it represents all of the people who have helped me throughout my career and have given me an opportunity and a hand up.”
Guth & Associates received its award at Monday night’s annual Mahomet Area Chamber of Commerce banquet, at Mahomet-Seymour High School.
The other finalists in the Overall Business of the Year category were Mahomet Car Connection and Raptor Power Systems.
Without the benefit of a large staff, Guth said there are some hurdles she needs to clear along with pitfalls to avoid.
“The biggest challenge is time management,” she said. “I originally had an office in my house and found that I was working all the time.
“I’ve established an off-site office to create some constraints and to carve out time for myself.
However, my business relies solely on my reputation, work ethic and ability to get projects done.”
That leads to one bottom line, Guth said.
“If I don’t work, I don’t get paid,” she said. “There is no product we are selling. The biggest rewards come from working with an entrepreneur who has a dream of establishing a business.
“These projects tend to take the most time, but I get the most enjoyment out of seeing a business open in their dream space.”
She is one of the owners of the former Sangamon Elementary School. One of the businesses which opened at that Main St. location is indicative of her vision.
“Winderson’s Creations at Sangamon on Main is a prime example,” Guth said.
For Guth, the school building purchase was more than an investment.
“My own children attended that school and the work the new owners and myself have done to transform it into a co-working environment is very rewarding,” Guth said. “My proud achievement is the work we have done at Sangamon on Main.”
A native of the tiny Western Illinois community of Atkinson, near the Quad Cities, (there were 27 students in her high school graduating class), Guth has been in the economic development and real estate profession for the majority of her 31-year career.
“My career has evolved over the last 30 years from working in regional planning as an economic development planner to working for a chamber of commerce in Indiana and developing small business programs for members,” Guth said. “When we moved to this area, I led the Campustown 2000 effort and then become the CEO of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation.
“Each step has provided me with a wealth of information and experience in working with business owners and understanding the real estate business.”
She continued to evolve and expand her horizons.
“Becoming an independent commercial real estate broker was the natural next step,” Guth said. “While my office is in Champaign, I do office quite regularly at Sangamon on Main and represent clients and properties throughout Central Illinois.”
The Guths moved to Mahomet in 1997, but recently relocated to White Heath.
More than a decade ago, she received her real estate license, and worked exclusively for JSM Development, in Champaign.
“In 2015, I left JSM to go out on my own in the real estate world and formed Guth & Associates,” Guth said. “Guth & Associates is a boutique commercial real estate company that focuses only on commercial properties, specifically office, retail and commercial lots.
“We represent both sides of the deal to include property owners looking to lease or sell property or business owners seeking to buy or lease a property.”
Ironically, the real estate world wasn’t what Guth envisioned as a career when she started college in Rock Island, at Augustana University.
“I actually thought I would go into the education field, but quickly changed once I discovered the Geography/Urban Planning department at Augustana,” Guth said.
Though she is appreciative of the honor bestowed upon her business by the Mahomet Chamber, Guth won’t rest on her laurels.
“I’ve worked very hard over the past three years to establish my company and we have had great success,” she said. “But it comes with very long hours and very little time off.
“When you are the only person in the company, it is a 24/7 job.”
The Chamber’s selection process was the same in each of the five categories where businesses were recognized on Monday.
Chamber members were encouraged to submit online nominations in the various divisions.
“A three-person panel reviewed and picked the three finalists, and debated the winner,” said Chamber executive director Walter Pierce.
Only members of the Mahomet Chamber of Commerce are eligible to receive the Chamber awards.
Finalists in categories other than Overall Business of the Year, and winners were:
Start-up Business of the Year
Winner — Lucky Moon Pies
Other finalists — Winderson’s Creations and Yo Yo’s Frozen Yogurt.
Small Business of the Year
Winner — Bulldog Automotive
Other finalists — Sweet Lemonade and Yo Yo’s Frozen Yogurt.
Food Service of the Year
Winner — Yo Yo’s Frozen Yogurt
Other finalists — Jenkins Catering and J.T. Walker’s.
Heath and Wellness
Winner — Walk Chiropractic
Other finalists — All About Animals and Gibson Health of Mahomet.
Two individuals were also honored by the Chamber.
Ann Paul, who has been affiliated with Helping Hands for decades, was presented an award as Community Servant of the Year.
Lyn Ferdinand, President of Mahomet Insurance Centre, Inc., was selected as Volunteer of the Year.
Both Paul and Ferdinand received standing ovations when they were introduced.
In addition to the awards ceremony, a dessert auction of 22 baked items generated $3,955 that will be directed to the Chamber’s scholarship program for high school seniors.
The top revenue-producer, a Death by Chocolate cake, which was the creation of Cakes by Lori, generated $360.
