We have been helping businesses and nonprofits minimize risk and maximize potential since 2007. We started the company because there was an unmet need in the market for a business advisor who would truly get into the trenches with small and medium sized business owners. We have a fundamental belief that you can be good in business and be a good person at the same time.
About Us
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Jennifer Smith Broeckling
Chief Executive Officer
Raised in Springfield, Missouri, Jennifer holds a bachelor's degree in Finance from Missouri State University. She also holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Southeast Missouri State University and two graduate degrees in banking through Vanderbilt and Louisiana State.
Jennifer began her work in banking during her first year of college. She spent fifteen continuous years in the financial services industry, half of them on the corporate side of the business. In 2003, Jennifer relocated from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau. Four years later, she left her banking career as Chief Financial Officer and Marketing Director for a locally owned bank to start the consulting firm.
Jennifer started the company in 2007, fulfilling a lifelong dream of owning her own business. The firm provides business consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses across all industries. She also owns a business brokerage franchise: Murphy Business of Cape Girardeau. She is a Board Certified Intermediary (BCI) and also a Certified Merger & Acquisition Intermediary (CMAI) allowing her to facilitate transactions up to $50 million.
Giving back to the community has always been a priority for Jennifer. She is former president for the Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau Area, former chair of Chamber Young Professionals, former board member for the St. Louis Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, former board member of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, former board member of Farm Credit Southeast Missouri and an active member in several other service groups. She has been awarded with Business Today's 40 Under 40 and the Support Services Award from the Southeast Missouri Chapter of the American Red Cross. She was also a nominee for Zonta's Women of Achievement Award in 2009. Midwest Strategies (then Hendrickson Business Advisors) was also recognized as the Cape Chamber's Small Business of the Year in 2012.
Jennifer and her husband, John, have three older children and one crazy little dog. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, camping, SCUBA diving, and reading.
Click here to email Jennifer.
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Melanie Smollen
Consultant
Melanie Smollen grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and knows firsthand the amount of time and hard work required to successfully run and grow a business. She has spent over 15 years working with both businesses and faith-based organizations as a trained coach and consultant and has an extensive background in market research to advise clients on consumer behavior and strategies for growth.
Outside of work, Melanie decompresses by cooking and spending time with family and friends. She is a “blackbelt extrovert” that likes to feed people. She loves backpacking and has trekked over 200 miles on the Colorado trail. She grew up in a northern Michigan town called Traverse City and relocated to Cape Girardeau, MO, in 2007. Melanie is married to Paul, who serves on staff at their church, and together they have four kids, two dogs, and a cat.
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Kate Roth
Project Manager
Kate was born and raised in the Cape Girardeau area. She started working for the firm in 2011 as a student at Southeast Missouri State University. She graduated in 2013 with a degree in Human Resources Management and decided to turn her college job into her full-time career.
Kate serves on the Foundation Board for the Missouri Chapter of Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL). In her free time you can find her searching for deals at auctions with her husband, baking, and running around after their two small children.
Click here to email Kate.
