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What inspired you to start your business?
I started my businesses out of the need to find the challenges that I was not getting as an employee. The freedom and need to assume managed risk was something that was attractive to me. I had a master's degree in business at the time I established my first business in consulting and started a night law school program.

Later I partnered with another person and we started my first equipment leasing business. We chose this business because I understood the financial and legal side of leasing and my partner understood the banking and relationship side. Our first customers were reservations that needed equipment finance we sold much of the paper to another reservation as investment paper. From this type of leasing we expanded into doing equipment leasing for Minnesota based corporations like ATK, Medtronic, Pillsbury and Honeywell. Next we started leasing with GM until we became their largest provider of equipment leasing for material handling. We supplied all of the forklifts for GM North America. After, practicing law for several years I formed LakeView Leasing with my son Gavin and wife Linda based on the Leech Lake Reservation. This lease financing business assists large and small business. As it turns out with today's technology it doesn't matter where we are located from a logistics standpoint. This enables us to remain in our community rather than in the city.

Did you receive any funding or technical assistance to start your business?
We received assistance from MEDA, MMSDC and other technical assistance providers. We find that we have the greatest success going to trade shows where we can meet with businesses.

What types of services or products does your business offer?
We provide equipment lease financing for most forms of business assets in all states. We also provide factoring for business. We work with government units of all types for lease structures. We provide vendor programs as the lease financing arm for businesses.

Do you have a recent success story or business milestone you would like to share?
We have helped a small business get the equipment they needed after they were turned down by banks and everywhere they attempted to go. We get the chance to help some businesses that for one reason or another are not able to obtain the financing they need. In June 2011 we were notified by the Cherokee TERO committee that our company has been selected as a third party equipment lessor as a certified Indian Preference vendor for the Nation. The Cherokee Nation program is one of the largest national Indian Preference programs in the Country and we are pleased to be a member of Cherokee Nation's vendor program.

What advice would you give other American Indian entrepreneurs interested in starting a business?
Business is not for everyone but if you like managed risk and freedom this is what you should try.