Wanting some variety in his work life, Lyle Kreps launched his research marketing business, Diversified Management Associates Ltd., 40 years ago, while working full time in the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s marketing department. He continued to broaden his company’s scope after he left the Department of Agriculture to work for a small agribusiness firm. He eventually left that company as well to focus on his own business. In 1972, he bought into the Stockman’s Inn restaurant at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, and he became its sole owner a couple of years later. He operates the restaurant as an enterprise under Diversified Management, adding to his “juggling act.”

In addition to operating the Stockman’s Inn during the Iowa State Fair, what type of work does your business, Diversified Management Associates, do?

We started out as a small market research business. Our research business is called The Research Institute. We do a few studies each year for many types of businesses. Then we have a real estate side. We have a joint venture with Vista Development to buy residential real estate and go in to develop it by putting in the streets ands sewer lines and selling the lots to builders. We also buy some rental properties.

We also manage businesses on an interim basis. We managed the Johnston Chamber of Commerce for about a year and a half. We helped managed Anglo International for about a year during a period of transition in ownership.

We do a little bit of classic motorsports. We have some investments in buying and selling classic automobile parts and cars.

How did you get involved with the Stockman’s Inn in 1972?

Three owners started the restaurant in 1969. One didn’t want to do it anymore, so I took over his interest. I had just left my job with the marketing division of the Iowa Department of Agriculture to start working for a small agribusiness firm. It seemed like the logical thing to do at that time to use my vacation to work at the fair.

What was the restaurant like back then?

It was just a really small place. We only had seating for about 60 to 70 people then, compared with seating for 350 now. Back then, the owners split $600 three ways at the end of the fair. We did that for two years, and I finally said, “Guys, either you buy me out or I’ll buy you out. It’s not a big enough deal for three people.” So they sold it to me, and my family and I have been operating it ever since. We’ve expanded so that we’re about four times larger than the original, and we’re much more efficient now.

How large of a time commitment is it to run the restaurant?

We come out here throughout the year to check on things, and then we start coming out here pretty consistently in early July. We’ll start working on a few things inside and my son Brian and I spend about a day each week working out here. A good 10 days prior to the fair, we’re out here much of the time. When the event starts, we stay out here the whole time, 24 hours a day. Once in a while you can get a little nap in the afternoon in our bunkroom, but not very often.

Are the hours the most challenging part of doing this?

No, it’s getting older that’s the challenging part. Every year it gets a little harder. We get to bed around 2:30 or 3 a.m. and then get up again at 7 a.m. It’s not just quick, easy money like a lot of people think it is. There is a lot that goes into it.

Does your family help cover some of the shifts at the restaurant?

My kids all started working here when they were 8 years old. My daughter, Jennifer, ran a Pepsi machine and carried ice and helped clean tables. She’s now a neonatal nurse in Cedar Rapids, but she takes two weeks vacation during the fair to help out. My two sons, Brian and Jason, help too. My wife, Sharon, takes care of the books.

What do you sell the most of?

Beer. Here’s how I describe our business. Every day up until 5, 6 or 7 p.m., we are a restaurant with beer. At some time between 5 and 7 p.m., we become a beer establishment with food, and we don’t do anything different. We’re also known for our barbecue pork sandwiches, and we also sell a lot of Philly steak sandwiches, pork chop sandwiches and for having a variety of side dishes.

What do you enjoy about being out at the fairgrounds?

I like interacting with the people. I guess I like having many balls in the air, and that’s sort of like what Diversified Management is. There’s a lot of activity, and it challenges all of your skills – everything from your mechanical ability to keep things repaired and running to your personnel skills to trying to hire 50 employees and dovetail their schedules together. This constant effort to make everything work is like juggling a lot of balls all at once and trying to make sure that none of them fall too hard.

Isn’t it a chore to keep track of all these different ventures?

Well, I think I’m like a little kid, that my attention span is only about 15 seconds long and then I have to switch to something else. I go from one thing to another. Each phone call that we receive will be on a different business division. I like the variety of things, I guess.