TREVOR GENSLER | Good Time Photo Booth

Innovation isn’t limited to devising an entirely new operational construct for a mousetrap—just a better one. Trevor Gensler knows all about that. The photo booth as a concept dates to the late 19th century, but Gensler decided last year that he would use digital photo technology to have the world beat a path to his door. With $10,000 in savings, seed money watered by hard work and perseverance, Gensler and his wife, Angie, launched A Good Time Photo Booth in 2010. Starting with that single unit they fabricated themselves, Trevor carried the load on business development while Angie’s full-time job supported the household. But the seed took: A Good Time is expanding, and Gensler, 28, plans to have six photo booths in place by year-end and 2011 revenue of $80,000. He’ll launch expanded operations in Lincoln and Omaha this summer. Entrepreneurship, says Trevor, “involves taking a risk to offer outstanding service at an affordable price, while still earning a profit.” He cites the example of his mother, who earned income by launching a volleyball club in Blue Springs when Gensler was a boy. “I plan to use the lessons I’ve learned from my Mom and my experience as a business owner to grow our business throughout the Midwest,” he says.

JACK HANNAH | Frontier Wealth

He has the name for a career working with animals—try Googling him and you’ll get volumes on that Mutual of Omaha fellow. This Jack Hannah did indeed work in the animal kingdom when he founded R&J Cattle Co. with his brother while he was still in middle school. His reports these days have two legs, but Hannah never forgot the lessons he learned early on. “Our paycheck was directly tied to the amount of work we put in” raising those Holsteins, Hannah says. That framework became an enterprise model from college through to his present role—at 25, he’s director of operations for Frontier Wealth Management. Hannah says he was fortunate enough while still in college to land a position as the first analyst hired by Five Elms Capital, a Frontier affiliate. He benefited from the experience and the counsel of Cory Lagerstrom and Fred Coulson—both of whom went onto become Ingram’s 40 Under Forty honorees—and burnished their lessons with those he’d picked up at R&J. That led to his current position, he says, where “the work I’ve put in has quickly returned dividends back to me.” At Frontier, he’s overseeing operations for a team of nearly 20 who manage a combined $155 million in assets across roughly 250 accounts.

CHAD HICKMAN | Blixt Photography | 8183 Studio

Chad Hickman has his priorities all worked out. “I am a father, husband, photographer and budding businessman, says the 27-year-old co-owner of Blixt Photography, specializing in wedding portraits, and 8183 Studio, which deals in imagery for commercial clients. After earning a business degree from Washburn University in 2006, he and partner Ryan Hill set up shop in the River Market area of Downtown Kansas City with two goals in mind. “We wanted to create a product that stood out in the vast sea of photographers in the city and deliver it in a way that would keep people talking,” Hickman says. “My short career hasn’t produced any amazing accolades; the happy clients are all we have to show right now.” But in Hickman’s book—and in just about any other business owner’s—happy clients are the foundation upon which success is built. Back to those priorities: The work Hickman has done professionally is fulfilling, but it’s only a tool that helps him fine-tune the part of his life that matters most. His biggest accomplishment, he says, is that “I have been able to grow my business while still being the husband and father that I always dreamed I could be” for wife Megan and their two children.

CARA HOOVER | KCP&L

The knock against big business is that it’s too sclerotic, that it doesn’t foster entrepreneurial skills. Cara Hoover isn’t buying that. She’s manager of government relations for Kansas City Power & Light, a company with revenues in the billions and employees in the thousands. Despite that size, there is plenty of room for entrepreneurially minded employees to excel, Hoover says. “I am my business; my work is built of relationships, trust and effectiveness that only I can maintain.”Her own family line, she says, has been one of entrepreneurship in action, whether in farming, construction or small business ownership. Through each, she says, there is a common thread for success. “There is no substitute for hard work,” says the 26-year-old. “Whether it is at a large corporation or on the family farm, you still have the same option to make success out of opportunities.” Working at a small business inspired her to seek a master’s degree in entrepreneurship from UMKC. She moved on to KCP&L in 2008, where she monitors legislative and regulatory activities for Kansas City’s leading utility. Hoover, by the way, does not invoke those family farming references lightly: She and her brother are partners in SB Cattle Co. of Nevada, Mo., operating a 75-head herd.