Of all the professional athletes in Wisconsin, there are few that can beat the soccer players that make up the Milwaukee Wave in reaching out to youth. They’re known for high-fiving young fans at games and for kicking a Wave soccer ball into the stands with each goal.

So there’s a nice irony in the fact that it was a 13-year-old boy that ultimately connected Jim Lindenberg with the Milwaukee Wave.

“Like a lot of people in southeastern Wisconsin, our whole family had been hearing that the Milwaukee Wave was in the process of falling apart,” says Lindenberg. “In fact, the offices actually shut down for a week because no one was stepping up.”

Enter Jack, Lindenberg’s son.

“He was so sad that the Wave could possibly go away after all they’d done with the community and with youth soccer in our area,” says Lindenberg. “Jack was the one who initially suggested the possibility of buying the team.”

Timing is everything

Though Lindenberg is an avid sports fan – he played college football at UW-Whitewater and is an active youth sports sponsor and coach – his background is in business and entrepreneurship.

“Owning my own business had always been a dream of mine,” says Lindenberg. “But like anyone, I was nervous to go out on my own.”

Being overlooked for an executive-level promotion at an existing job was enough of an incentive to make that final leap.

“I’d actually written three business plans while working on my MBA: Owning and managing a restaurant, opening a fitness club and running a wire and cable company, which was the industry I’d then been working in,” he says.

Though he’s now involved in World Class Health and Fitness in Hartland, he initially pursued the wire and cable company idea.

“But I didn’t have any money,” he says. “I’m from a poor family – I grew up in a two-bedroom apartment – and I had to find two rich guys to loan me the money.”

What the Lindenberg family did have was a strong work ethic, and Lindenberg notes a definite influence from growing up in a “hard-working” family.

“I ended up buying my investors out after six months,” he says. “No, that wasn’t part of the business plan.”

Lindenberg was able to grow his company into an industry leader within five years, racking up an impressive number of awards, from multiple Future 50 Awards for southeastern Wisconsin businesses to accolades from the U.S. Small Business Administration and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year program.

Lindenberg is modest about the accolades from that time.

“People always ask what the secret was,” he says. “It wasn’t a secret at all – there was a good business plan, I set goals and every employee knew what those goals were. They were involved in reaching them.”

He says the business had good sales growth and was financially strong, though World Class Wire and Cable adjusted its goals every two to three years.

“When you can get people to buy into a plan, it creates a whole different work philosophy,” he says. “When you buy into it, it becomes your business, too.”

The staff even informally modeled their approach after a higher-profile role model who worked on the fringe of the same industry.

“We were like Larry the Cable Guy,” chuckles Lindenberg. “You know, the whole ‘git ‘r done’ philosophy.”

After a successful run, Lindenberg sold World Class Wire and Cable to Anixter Inc. in 2008. He now operates JML Holdings, a commercial and residential property broker and Lindy Enterprises, a consulting firm.

Ready for a challenge

Lindenberg added the Milwaukee Wave to his business portfolio in August 2009, purchasing the team from the Krause family.

“It is a sports franchise, but it’s still a business, even if it’s in a little different arena,” he says. “Business is business: Revenue needs to exceed overhead. People forget that sometimes.”

In just a few short months, he’s been able to assess the strengths and weakness of this new venture.

One of his first objectives is to raise the team’s profile, both in the metro Milwaukee area and throughout the state of Wisconsin.

The team does have an existing core fan base – the moderate success of the “Save the Wave” campaign, in which fans were encouraged to commit to a purchase of season tickets for the upcoming season is a clear example of that – but overall, the team could really benefit from a higher profile within the state. It’s certainly worthy of one.

The Milwaukee Wave debuted in 1984 as one of the six charter members of the American Indoor Soccer Association, making it the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in North America with four league championships in its history. The team’s longtime coach, Keith Tozer, is considered one of the most successful and respected coaches in indoor soccer history.

“The Wave has gone .500 for more than 17 years,” notes Lindenberg.

Though there is a soccer season, and this year the Wave plays as part of the Major Indoor Soccer League, many of the Wave’s players are in the community throughout the entire year.

“Sixteen of our 20 players live here year round,” he adds. “They’re coaching teams and doing camps and involved in the community when they’re not playing.”

But their passion for the sport is most obvious during the game itself.

“Soccer is a high-scoring, fast paced game,” he says. “It’s entertaining for everyone and easy to follow. As a product, the Wave – soccer in general – is gaining in popularity every year. It’s a trend that is going up.”

Lindenberg has gotten up to speed very quickly.

“The Wave has a good product, it’s a good citizen and it has a good coach,” he says. “Having a good product is half the battle.”

Make the play

Lindenberg does see some areas that need improvement, starting with basic corporate support of the team.
“Our corporate sponsorship is very weak,” he says. “It’s a tough year for everyone, but we are still asking for help.”

From direct sponsorship and partnering to simply arranging corporate nights out and making group ticket purchases, Lindenberg is hoping that more people are willing to give the Milwaukee Wave a try.

“We’ve chosen a new motto: It’s your team,” he says. “That kind of reflects where we’re going. I really want Wisconsin to see the Wave as its team.”

In the Wave’s front office, the team is also trying new ways to reach out to its fan base, from Facebook to You Tube.

“We started putting videos on You Tube and on our web site, and all of a sudden, our average visit went up to five minutes,” says Matt Schroeder, Wave vice president of communications. “If someone’s watching for that long, there’s a good chance they’ll come and buy a ticket.”

The Milwaukee Wave is now found on Facebook, a key move that exposes the team to a younger market that’s accustomed to faster and more immediate access to information.

New Wave President and CEO Peter Wilt thinks the team can still retain its broad demographic appeal, though a little deeper mining can be done for certain demographics.

“We’re working on increasing the atmosphere and the experience,” he says, noting that the team has established campus representatives to reach the collegiate market in the Milwaukee area. “We want people to sing and chant. Think $10 general admission tickets and the feel of the Badger Hockey student section. That’s the audience we’re working on now.”

“But we’re very conscientious of that as well,” stresses Schroeder. “I’m a parent of a five-year-old and I want to feel comfortable bringing him to a Wave game.”

As for Lindenberg, as he listens to the banter in the office, there’s a sense that his new team understands his goals and objectives for the future of the Wave, just like the employees did during his leadership at World Class Wire and Cable. There is a sense of excitement in the front office, where more than just fresh paint and ideas are energizing the team.

But this isn’t the first time Lindenberg has been in this particular game, so he’s content with realistic goals and realistic objectives as he builds a new business.

“What am I hoping for? I’d really like this business to break even,” he says when thinking of the future. “If we could make a little money, we’d be able to put it back into the team, and really, back into Milwaukee and Wisconsin.”

By Laurie Arendt

Laurie Arendt is editor of CRW. She can be reached at crweditor@crwmag.com