Mike Hovda has degrees in aviation, theology and counseling, has tested jet engines, taught at a flight school and a college, and spent twenty years in the ministry. He moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Sully, Iowa and launched the “InsideOut Leadership” program in 1999 through his company, Hovda & Associates.

Hovda provides customized training, consulting and presentations to companies around the world, including Time Warner, FedEx, Oracle, Verizon, Cisco Systems and Sony. He has traveled to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico to do presentations, and his audiences have included high school and college students, corporate management teams and senior citizens.

Mike contacted the Mid Iowa SBDC in Urbandale for strategic growth planning. With the SBDC’s help, he has developed and is refining a business and marketing strategy. This strategy is based on the advice of SBDC consultants and also on the market research provided by the SBDC. Hovda was featured in the Des Moines Business Record on November 27, 2005 as a feature article, which was part of the SBDC’s marketing strategy.

Hovda says, “Because InsideOut Leadership has grown entirely on a word-of-mouth basis, our client base was primarily clustered along the eastern seaboard where we first developed our training programs. Since we had no history of marketing the company, we turned to the Mid Iowa SBDC. It was our hope that they would provide the marketing insights necessary to provide a successful launch. SBDC did not provide what we had hoped—they provided much more! Not only did they furnish us with experientially-rich insight, but they stimulated our growth and results-driven strategies. Less than six months later, the company is enjoying the privilege of serving several of Iowa’s finest companies, institutions and associations.” You can visit the company’s web site at www.insideoutleadership.com for more information.

The Mid Iowa SBDC believes this entrepreneur practices what he preaches, listens, learns, shares and follows through. He exemplifies a successful entrepreneur.