Businessman overcomes obstacles

Daniel Toops, 19, recently launched his own company with help from family, teachers and area residents. The budding businessman builds firestarter kits for campfires, home fireplaces, backyard fire pits and grills.

Daniel's products are sold at tri-state campgrounds and on the shelves of a dozen Theisen's stores from Indianola, Iowa, to Sparta, Wis. The Dubuque-based retail chain sold 75 percent of its initial order in the first five weeks.

There clearly is demand for the product, said Kochell Ricklefs, a business development specialist with Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services' Iowa Self-Employment Program. As well as providing steady employment for Daniel, JT Firestarters could also one day enable him to hire peers with disabilities on their own path to self-sufficiency, she said. (full article…)

BY AUDREY INGRAM, Dubuque Telegraph Herald, July 12, 2015. AUDREY.INGRAM@THMEDIA.COM

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