Business In Real Life

EP # 37  BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH RADIANCE HARRIS Are you leaving money on the table for your competitors? If you are a business owner or thinking about going into business, this topic is something you need to be aware of. We are talking about protecting your Intellectual Property. Our guest, Radiance Harris  is an award winning attorney and specializes in this niche area of law. So think about your business name, your logo, the content you create. What would happen to your business if someone decided to use it?   Companies are out there protecting their intellectual property every day. One big area that you’ll find companies that protect their photographs. Did you know that there are programs that search the internet to see if you are using someone else’s pictures without their permission? Companies protect their pictures by sending letters whenever they find someone that has used an image without permission. One company hired person to help with website graphics. Without checking on the sources of the pictures, they went up on the company website. Then they received a letter demanding over $15,000. For unauthorized use of the pictures. He was eventually able to negotiate the fee down to $3,000. But that was a costly mistake for a new employee to make. Many people don’t know this is an issue, but it is. Radiance Harris has been practicing IP law for nearly a decade. She is different than many attorneys because her pricing is based on packages. Decide what you need and you can see on her website what it will cost you. It’s a unique model for a law firm and we talk about why she set up her practice this way as well. QUESTIONS WE ASK RADIANCE What is intellectual property?Why does a company need to protect their IPWhat happens if a company just puts a ™ after their content?How likely is a business to be sued if they violate a trademark or copyright? RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU Are you interested in learning more about Select Business Team? Check out where we have teams. If we don’t have one in your area, we can help you start one in your area. Give us a call to discuss further at 301-996-2328 or schedule a meeting on our calendar Click here to access calendar  Sponsor information: Connect with our sponsor Brandon Frye at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ABOUT OUR GUEST - RADIANCE HARRIS Radiance Harris is the founder of Radiance IP Law. Her firm specializes in protecting intellectual property. Connect with Radiance: Radiance IP Law WebsiteFacebookTwitter - @radianceharrisInstagram - @radianceharris ABOUT THE HOST This episode of the Business of Insurance is produced and hosted by Debbie DeChambeau, CIC, AAI, CPIA. Debbie is an insurance agent with an extensive business and marketing background. Her focus is helping insurance professionals be more successful. She is the co-author of Renewable Referrals and hosts two other podcasts The Business of Insurance and Divorce Exposed. Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram.  

EPISODE 36 WITH RUSSELL LACEY OF ELECTRIC ADVISORS Thank you for joining us today for episode 36 of the the Business In Real Life podcast. Our guest is Russell Lacey of Electric Advisors.  This is an unusual conversation in that it’s more educational about his business than information about how to be successful in some capacity. For some of you, it might even come across as boring, but trust me when I say it’s information that many business owners might not be aware of. If you aren’t a business owner listening to this, but you work with business owners, then you will also want to hear this because you can share the knowledge with your clients and prospects and position yourself as a valuable resource. If you want to reach out to Russell, his contact information is in the show notes, or you can search for ElectricAdvisors.com and you’ll find him on the website. We have a lot of listeners from around the world so I’m not sure this information will apply outside of the US and for that I apologize.   This conversation was recorded in 2018 but isn’t being released until 2019. If you listened to the episode about rebranding, I discussed my struggle with the podcast name...and as a result, I didn’t release many episodes in 2018. Russell got slighted in that struggle I was having but that doesn’t mean the conversation isn’t important. I’ve known Russell for close to 20 years and watched him build this business from the beginning. As social media was taking off, I’d offer suggestions on how he could leverage it. Like many businesses, he went through a trial and error period, figuring out what was working and what wasn’t in the digital space. In this episode he talks about what he’s doing today for business development and I think you’ll be surprised at what is working! We start the conversation with him talking about his business. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: How an energy broker can help small to midsize businesses save on energy costs Old fashioned outreach tactics that work How to educate your customers when they don’t know they need you ABOUT OUR GUEST – RUSSELL LACEY Russell Lacey is the President of Electric Advisors. Learn more at electricadvisors.com Connect with him: LinkedIn Facebook. Twitter - @eapowerchoice ABOUT THE HOST This episode of Business In Real Life is produced and hosted by Debbie DeChambeau. She is the owner of Select Business Team, llc and has an extensive background in insurance, business and marketing. Her focus is helping insurance professionals be more successful. She is the co-author of Renewable Referrals and hosts two other podcasts The Business of Insurance  and Divorce Exposed. Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram or follow FB business page at Select Business Team.  

EPISODE 35 DO YOU HAVE A COACH? If you thought you were listening to the Select Business Team podcast, we changed the name of the podcast and we are now Business In real life. Listen to the last episode # 34 and we explained why we are rebranding. It’s a new year and if you are like most people you’ve done your planning, written down your goals and you’ll go back to work energized. If you are in sales, you’ll start prospecting, if you are in business, you’re excited with about the new opportunities in front of you. We all start with a clean slate with every intention of making a difference and achieving new results. What I see happen so often is the energy that we feel at the beginning of the year quickly gets rerouted. Problems arise, we fall back into our routine, objections get difficult to overcome and  at some point, our balloon pops! It’s like people who set the goal of going to the gym regularly. Usually within 2 months, that’s completely derailed. I’m not trying to be negative, just realistic. I want to see you succeed. I want to see you be just as energized in May as you are in January. So what is the solution? It’s simple. Everyone needs a coach. I know this might sound odd, but it’s true!  Did you play sports growing up and have a coach that inspired you, showed you ways to improve your strategy and hold you accountable. What happened if you didn’t show up for practice? If you make a bad play, what happens? The coach pulls you through and provides the guidance to make a difference the next time! Why is adult life any different? Being a business owner is hard. You are wearing many hats and juggling a lot of tasks. There is a lot to learn and with the rapid pace that technology is changing, there is even more to keep up with. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. To let things slip and not achieve the results you had intended. Sales is a constant motivation game. You have to show up every day ready to give it 150%. That’s hard for some people to do on their own. If you have a sales manager who acts as your coach, you are ahead of most people in sales. Most sales managers have their own book of business to pursue, they have to juggle multiple hats and as much as they want you to succeed, they hired you to make it happen. Most are reactive, not pro-active. If you want to be super successful, you need someone to be proactive and inspiring. Sales is a contact sport. How many people can you touch in a day. Rejection can be hard. Your coach can help you be the best that you can be! A few people can go it alone and do really well. But for the most part, the ones that are really successful have a coach. If you really want to succeed in 2019, find yourself a coach. Find someone that will hold you accountable, someone that will keep you focused and someone that will inspire you. Someone that will pull you up when you  are sinking and share new ideas to push you forward Coaches are everywhere today. The key is to find one that you feel comfortable with, who is different than you are but understands what you are going through. Try them out for a few weeks and if you aren’t feeling the love, find another! Your success could depend on it! If you don’t have the budget to hire a coach, consider joining a mastermind or starting your own. Look at it as a board of advisors, other professionals who are meeting to share ideas, hold each other accountable and create new opportunities together. At my company, Select Business Team, that’s what we do. We can work with you one on one, but that’s not our strength. I believe the real value for business owners and those responsible for business development comes from being part of a team of other professionals that you can learn from. The bigger value is learning something that can save you from a big financial mistake. For example, we recently had a conversation in one of our meetings about credit card compliance.

EPISODE 34 BRANDING AND REBRANDING  You see, after this episode, the Select Business Podcast is rebranding and will have a new name and a new iTunes Graphic. This podcast was started as a way to promote members and clients of my company, Select Business Team. At Select, or as it has been nicknamed, SBT, we host business roundtables. Meetings where different professionals come together and talk about different aspects of business development. Our members include employees and owners, professionals and those in sales. Most of our members are in service businesses such as lawyers, accountants and real estate, but we also have some other industries represented. The Original Intent When the podcast was started, it was truly designed as a way to interview members and help to promote them. After all, we’ve had almost 10,000 downloads so someone is listening! Initially a few of them jumped on board, but since many of them don’t listen to podcasts, it was hard to have them see the value of being a guest. It’s almost been like pulling teeth to get some members on as guests, so recording has been slow. Earlier in 2018 we sent out an email to our list of non members, looking for guests and had several people sign up for an interview. Apologizing About The Name As a podcaster, I am very active in the podcast community. I host a monthly meetup in Maryland and I speak to organizations about podcasting. When I am asked about the name of my own podcasts, I always apologize about the name of this one. Don’t get me wrong, I love the name of my company. Its reflective of what we do but I don’t love the name of it for a podcast. So after many months of struggling with this, the decision was made to change the name. Business In Real Life The new name, Business In Real Life, is reflective of the conversations we’ve been having at Select but allows me to still be happy when I say the name of my podcast. If you didn’t know, I actually have two other podcasts, of which I never apologize about their name. One is Divorce Exposed, the other The Business of Insurance. I didn’t come up with the name, Business In Real Life on my own and I want to give credit where it is due. A few years ago, I was going to start another business with the same name with another woman who I adore and together we came up with this name. Regrets Unfortunately, my life took a downward turn and I couldn't move forward with anything new and left her hanging. It is something I have regretted but emotionally I wasn’t in a good place and couldn’t do anything. I haven’t really talked about this period in my life publicly too much because I’m just now coming out of it. Maybe on another show i will. But Lori Gartenhaus and I collaborated on this idea and the graphics that we are using for the re brand. She’s an amazing individual and one of my regrets is not being able to move forward with her. For those of you listening in the DMV area, if you have heard of Gartenhaus Furs, that was her family company. She sold it a few years ago and now does a lot of business consulting. If you ever have the opportunity to work with her, your investment will be worthwhile! Next Steps  The new name, Business In Real Life, will be the same format as before, just a new name. As we move forward with making the change, we hope that you will continue to listen and share the show with your business colleagues. If you are a business owner and interested in being a guest, reach out to me at debbie@selectbizteam.com with a summary of what you’d like to talk about. I really want to mix things up and know that this is the right path forward. Other Podcasts Of course, if you want to check out my other podcasts, Divorce Exposed and The Business of Insurance, I won’t be upset! Thank you so much for listening and until next time, keep creating opportunities! About The Host  This episode of the Select Business Team podcast is produced and hosted by Debbie DeC...

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH ELLEN KANDELL Today we are talking about the important stuff in a business - conflict in the workplace, sexual harassment and mediation with Ellen Kandall who is a litigator turned mediator and trainer. Our conversation starts with how people in her position can help an organization but once we get to sexual harassment, the conversation gets really valuable. Maybe I’m a little biased because it’s my podcast, but honestly this is important stuff and not enough people are educated on what to do. Ellen is a former member of Select Business Team and joined when we first started back in the early 2000’s. Over time, her business has evolved, and being part of a weekly meeting didn’t fit her training schedule. During the conversation, we spent a few minutes talking about how she has transformed herself from being a practicing lawyer to helping with facilitation and conflict resolution and providing sexual harassment training.  In my opinion, this conversation is powerful and essential for every business owner to hear. QUESTIONS WE ASK ELLEN  Dealing with conflict in the office environment and using a mediator to create resolution How do families and companies benefit from using a neutral party for dealing with difficult situations What type of impact is there on HR departments that use a mediator for handling conflicts Describe what is involved in sexual harassment training  Explain a team effectiveness survey? How is a workplace climate report beneficial to organizations? MEDIATION AND OTHER THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM LISTENING  How Mediation, arbitration, Facilitation and Training can benefit an organization in the area of conflict resolution Creating systems and outsourcing projects to create a more functional business Typical business challenge of marketing  The difference between mediation and arbitration Different aspects of Sexual harassment and bullying training What companies need to consider if there is a hostile working environment How to engage employees in conflict resolution RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU  BOOKS Heroic Public Speaking - We briefly talked about this organization during the conversation. If you are looking to polish your skills as a speaker/trainer, this is a great program to attend. They have a conference each fall which is usually in Philadelphia. You might also want to check out his book, Steal The Show which provides great insights into speaking.  Check it out. You won't be disappointed. This is my affiliate link, which means I'll earn a few dollars if you buy from this link...but you own't pay more for the book if you buy it this way! Book Yourself Solid - Is another book by Michael Port. It was published in the early 2000's and it's a great read. This is my affiliate link, which means I'll earn a few dollars if you buy from this link...but you own't pay more for the book if you buy it this way! PRESENTATIONS We talked about doing presentations and I mentioned Joey Coleman and his workshop on presentations. His book, Never Lose A Customer Again: Turn Any Sale Into Lifelong Loyalty In 100 Days, gets rave reviews. Check it out.  Like with Book Yourself Solid, this is my affiliate link, which means I'll earn a few dollars if you buy from this link...but you own't pay more for the book if you buy it this way! SELECT BUSINESS TEAM Interested in learning more about Select Business Team? If so, check out where our teams are meeting.  Can't find one in your area?  Don't worry, we can help you start one. Give us a call to discuss further (Click here to schedule a time to chat) REVIEWS Did you like this conversation?  If so, leave us a review on iTunes!  Not everyone knows how to access ITunes, so we've created a handy chart to help you leave a review!  Click here   and follow these instructions. ABOUT OUR GUEST - ELLEN KANDELL  Ellen Kandell is the owner of Alternative Resolutions.

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH ANSYLLA RAMSEY  My guest, Ansylla Ramsey, is venturing into a new career - opening a speaking circle just for women. You'll learn what this is and how it will benefit women who participate. Starting a new venture can be difficult and we talk about some of the challenges Ansylla has in front of her and her plan to overcome them. I love the idea of the organization she is now a part of and if it goes as planned, it can help a lot of women. Analyse has been training hairstylists in different continents for the past 20 years and found this new position in an ad on Instagram. After investigating, she went through the training and now she is launching her new platform. There is always a risk and it takes a leap of faith to join a young company. The learning curve and frustrations can be huge so I think it will be fun to check in with her in a few months to see where she is with the new venture and the lessons learned.   QUESTIONS WE ASK ANSYLLA ABOUT WOMEN SPEAK What are Womens Speak Circles? How is your organization different from Toastmasters? What are you doing to find clients for a new business? WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM LISTENING Ideas for building self confidence Finding a new career after teaching hairstylists in 3 continents Getting involved in a speaking group that focuses on women RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU  Are you interested in learning more about Select Business Team? Check out where we have teams.  If we don’t have one in your area, we can help you start one in your area.  Click here to schedule a call so we can discuss further  Would you leave us a review on iTunes? If you aren’t sure how Click here and follow the instructions or you can go directly to our podcast on iTunes. ABOUT OUR GUEST - ANSYLLA RAMSEY  Connect with our guest on her website Women Speak  or on her social platforms: LinkedIn Facebook Instagram  

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH MARI MILLARD Today we are talking with Mari Millard who is the  owner of Two Maids and A Mop, a cleaning service franchise in Rockville, MD and Alexandria, Va. Mari purchased the franchise last year and she’s extremely passionate about her new venture. Our conversation explores the decision process of what type of business to purchase to taking it from a side hustle to a full time venture.  I’m excited to introduce you to her as she has shared some great ideas about her business. There is no doubt that if you are a business owner, you’ll be inspired. IN THIS CONVERSATION WE EXPLORE: Key differentiators in her cleaning service business Pay for performance employee model Valuable concepts for hiring Strategies for defining customer service Pricing for profitability and what gets in the way for some business owners RESOURCES  If you listened to this episode and took away some valuable information, would you do us a favor?  Please go to iTunes and leave a review and let us know what you liked.  Subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a rating or review Not sure how to leave a review?  Check out our instructions here ABOUT OUR GUEST – MARI MILLARD  Mari is the owner of Two Maids and A Mop, a cleaning service franchise located in Rockville MD with a second location in Alexandria, VA. Her website is  Two Maids and A Mop - Rockville    / Two Maids and A Mop - Alexandria, VA Connect with Mari on LinkedIn Follow on Facebook  

As many people make new years resolutions, it’s a good idea to share them and perhaps be inspired by what others are doing.  My thought by asking, how do you invest in yourself, was to find out what members are doing to grow. Aside from resolutions and goals, and required industry CE’s, it isn’t often a topic that is explored. I strongly believe that the more you educate yourself, the more knowledgeable you will be and the more value you will add. Lifelong Learner I've always been a learner. In the early days, it was through cassette tapes and Cd's. Today I listen to 2-3 podcasts a day. Most of what I listen to is business, sales and marketing related, but I also listen to a couple of motivational podcasts, because I believe life can get in the way sometimes. (listen to episode 16, The Business of Overwhelm, which is my own story of life getting in the way) A little extra motivation doesn’t hurt sometimes! Most of what I talk about today applies to business, but some of these could also be applied personally.  While I think exercise, weight and health goals are important, I’m a believer that  those need to become lifestyle changes, not just something to focus on in the new year. My thought with investing in yourself is how do you improve your knowledge, personally or professionally. Below is a summary of some of the responses from members of Select Business Team this week. Read a Book a Month The person who suggested this said he had a lot of books on his shelf that he’d never read, so he wanted to put them to good use.  He had already started one book titled ‘Present over Perfect’.  The title resonated with me because I hear so many people struggle with perfection.  It holds them back and frustrates them and often adds undue stress to their lives.  While I haven’t read the book, it’s one that might resonate with some of you listening. Reading a book a month is a great way to invest in yourself, expand your horizons both personally and professionally. Attend Conferences  A few members in different teams had this one on their list, so I’m sure conference planners will like to hear this! Last fall, I invested in attending a conference. It was my first industry conference in years. As a podcaster, I’m focused on helping insurance agents create a podcast as a sales tool and this was my ideal audience, not to mention that I was able to pick up another certification as an insurance agent. It was extremely beneficial as I made some new connections and actually received two referrals from it. If you are looking to invest in yourself, consider attending one or two conferences...one in your industry and one in your target markets industry. Join a Think Tank If you are a business owner, the more you surround yourself with other business owners and learn from their mistakes and successes, the faster your path to success will be.  Select Business Team provides this concept, but we don’t just have business owners on our Teams, we allow professionals and those in business development. This allows for a diversity of ideas creating greater impact in everyone’s business. Take Time To Breathe This might sound odd, but everyone is focused on business, there are so many things that need to be done and there usually isn’t enough time to get them done.  Taking time to slow down, take it all in and not let business control your life is important.  Part of taking time to breathe is stepping outside of the office for some quiet time to plan and think. Some members struggle with this worried that they are too important to be away for an hour.  The reality is if you don’t do the planning and the creative aspects of running the business, things will get stagnant and then you will be looking back and wondering what is happening.  Plan a lunch outside of your office, leave your phone on silent and take a paper and pen with you to write without distractions. You will be surprised at what you accomplish in such a short p...

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST Rick Becker is a realtor with Keller Williams. He recently went through a big life change, moving from New York City to New Jersey, closing his business and starting a new career. Rick founded and ran a successful advertising photography studio for over 30 years  in New York City. You might have seen his work in catalogs like Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and Waterford Crystal. With the changing world of photography he decided it was time to switch careers. Closing his business also meant finding a new home because he lived in his studio in downtown Soho. Over the years, Rick has bought and sold homes from Florida to New England, so real estate was a logical choice. He’s licensed in New Jersey and New York and in this conversation we talk about living in NJ vs. NYC and a few of the benefits of doing so. If you know someone looking to purchase a home in NJ or NYC and you need someone to help you through the process, connect with Rick.   In this episode, we talk about the transition and what he is doing to find success. BACKGROUND I wanted to share a little background, as I think it’s always good for you to know how I know the guests. Rick and I went to high school together but never really knew each other while we were in school. It was more we knew each others name, but not the person. We connected through a mutual friend a few years ago and we had a mutual desire to do triathlons. Those turned into 55+ mile bike events, half marathons and we just qualified for the NYC Marathon in 2018. I’ve spent a lot of time with he and his wife during the qualifying races and am forever grateful for their hospitality.   This recording started out by me showing him my new podcast equipment. It’s very relaxed, covers a lot of topics and isn’t as formal as most of my recordings. But I think you’ll find several good nuggets in the conversation. QUESTIONS WE ASK RICK What are you doing for marketing in your new business? How did you find the transition from NYC to NJ How did he get his radio voice? WHAT YOU’LL LEARN What it’s like starting a new career after 30 years in another business Benefits of living in NJ vs. NYC Why a lot of New Yorkers are moving out of the city and into NJ Transportation options for commuters RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU Are you interested in learning more about Select Business Team? Check out where we have teams.  If we don’t have one in your area, we can help you start one in your area.  Give us a call to discuss further If you like what you heard, would you leave us a review on iTunes?  If you aren’t sure how,  CLICK HERE and follow these instructions. ABOUT OUR GUEST – RICK BECKER   If you want to connect with Rick and learn more about real estate in New York and New Jersey: Visit his website Connect with Rick on Facebook Connect with The Trefel Group Join Rick on LinkedIn  

5 WAYS TO FILL YOUR PIPELINE Are you having trouble filling your pipeline?  These ideas are old fashion but are proven to work.  They do require having conversations, which in many cases also means picking up the phone.  Try one or all of these strategies and see if you begin to fill your pipeline.   Call Past Clients Do you have clients that haven’t purchased from you in awhile? Use this is an opportunity to reconnect, see how business is for them and see if there are any business opportunities for yourself. Sometimes people need you, they just don’t get around to calling you. When you reach out to them, you are actually doing them a favor by reaching out to them and checking in. Connect With Strategic Partners One of the best things you can do for your business is to surround yourself with other professionals that work with the same customer base as you but who sell a different product or service.  If you don’t have this network in place, it’s never too late to start to build it.  If you haven’t been nurturing your network, this is a great opportunity to reconnect. Try these ideas: Schedule lunch Meet for coffee Plan a happy hour Coordinate an invite to a sporting event Invite them to a networking event Basically, get in front of your strategic partners on a consistent basis, not just when your pipeline is empty! Call Your Competition This suggestion assumes that you are friendly with your competitors.  Assuming you are friendly, connecting with them with your pipeline is empty can be a perfect opportunity for business.  See how they are doing and where you compare with them.  From there you can decide: Are they busy? If not, that's a good indication that you need to ramp up your marketing If they are busy, will they outsource to you? LinkedIn Connections  Go through your LinkedIn connections and see who is connected with your clients. Then go to your clients and see who they can introduce you to . This can be very effective when done correctly. Ask Everyone  Your job as a salesperson is to always teach others how to find you business.  Obviously you want to do this in a way that isn’t offensive, but you’d be surprised how many people want to help you, they just don’t know how.  When you are able to provide them with simple strategies on how to find you business, you’ll see the benefits of your efforts.   Just remember that this takes time and you must be consistent.  Don’t think that by teaching someone once that they’ll remember 3 months later! RESOURCES If you want to learn more about building relationships with strategic partners, check out episode 7 of the podcast where we take a deeper dive. FEEDBACK Was this topic beneficial?  We’d love your feedback.  Please go to iTunes and leave a review.  If you aren’t sure how, click here for instructions.

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH SEREDA FOWLKES When was the last time you listened to a conversation about insurance? You know, the details of how things really work in the business.  Join us for an enlightening conversation with our guest, Sereda Fowlkes, as we dive into all things insurance. We talk about the path of being an employee to owning an insurance agency, the challenges of ownership and how the industry is changing.  In addition, we talk about issues that most consumers don’t really know and why they are so important. Contrary to the commercials that many people hear, buying insurance online and from an 800 number can be detrimental to the consumer. It can be done, but it’s not necessarily the best decision. We talk about why in this episode. In addition we talk about specialty insurance policies that are available.  These can be used as benefits for your employees or you might want to consider them for yourself. Don't worry, this isn’t a sales pitch, just an informational conversation that you’ll find valuable. Our conversations range from life insurance for your spouse to the CLUE report for your homeowners policy. This is a conversation that anyone with a car, family or valuable property should listen to. QUESTIONS WE ASK What are the real benefits of having an insurance agent instead of purchasing insurance from the internet How does a big brand insurance company help it’s agents sell their business? What can business owners look for as added benefits to assist employees? WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM LISTENING Different ways having an insurance agent can be beneficial to you personally and in your business Why you need to review your insurance policies Life insurance and why you should consider it for your family RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU Are you interested in learning more about Select Business Team? Check out where we have teams.  If we don’t have one in your area, we can help you start one in your area.  Click here to schedule a call and discuss further.   Ready to learn more about our new podcast, The Business of Insurance?  It’s conversations that are focused on why insurance is a great industry for a career with people who work there. ABOUT OUR GUEST – SEREDA FOWLKES  Sereda Fowlkes is the owner of Fowlkes Insurance Services, Inc and is a licensed agent with Allstate Insurance . Connect with her on: LinkedIn Facebook Twitter If Sereda inspired you to get a quote on your insurance, connect with her here

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH NINA RADETICH  This episode of the Select Business Team podcast is a conversation with Nina Radetich who is a newscaster turned marketing consultant and the owner of Radetich Marketing.  We are talking about my favorite tactic, podcasting for sales. The recording is actually the audio from a FB live interview she did with me on her show Small Biz Power where she interviews business owners in the studio on FB live. She was in her studio in Las Vegas, I was in the local recording studio of Podcast Village in MD.  For me, it was my first FB live which I also think is a great way for a business to reach a wider audience. Nina and I are partnering to help sales teams create a podcasting for sales program. We provide them with a proven strategy to open doors for new business. We’ll help them create a show that is sustainable, delivers an intended message and builds relationships. This is what we talk about this in the interview as well as some of the challenges businesses owners face. Sending emails, cold calling and direct mail doesn’t usually work on the first attempt. When you invite someone to be on your podcast and share their knowledge, you will get results. In addition to interviewing your ideal client, there are significant benefits once your podcast has been published. A podcast will help you build: A content marketing machine for your organization Relationships with the right individuals Authority in your industry Community around your brand PODCASTING FOR SALES SYSTEM Before starting a podcast, we recommend you build a strategy around your new media platform. When we work with clients, we start with a plan as we know this will set you up for success. Your podcast strategy should: Reflect your company brand Focus on conversations with guests who are your ideal clients Include graphics for your website and social media platforms Identify website content format Create an invitation sequence and a follow up system for your guests Determine your equipment and recording strategy Outline your post production process As you will see in this interview, we are both extremely excited about this concept. If you want to schedule a consultation with us to see how we might create a podcast for your organization, click on this link and schedule a time that works for you. You can also call us at 301 996-2328. Let's talk about how a podcast would benefit your sales team. ABOUT NINA RADETICH Learn More About Nina On Her Website Connect With Nina On Facebook Follow Nina on Twitter

Today we are talking with Charlie Birney of Podcast Village. Charlie isn’t a member of Select, but if you heard the last episode, which was our anniversary episode, I mentioned Charlie and how we connected. Through podcasting, we have built a great friendship and support each other’s businesses.I bring my business and marketing skills to the mix and he brings the technical pieces of recording and editing to the table. If I never had to research equipment or edit another episode, I’d be extremely happy, yet that’s at the core of his business, so we compliment each other from a business perspective. If you follow me on FB you’ll see several pictures of me recording in his studio. In episode 12 with Adam Solomon and episode 23 with Becky Briggs, we were recording in the studios of podcast Village. Recently I was in his studio doing a video recording of how to use a piece of podcast recording equipment. So in addition to recording podcasts, Podcast Village is also offering video production and they are knocking it out of the park.  Check out their video’s on youtube which I’ve linked to in the show notes. Check out their youtube channel here. In my conversation with Charlie, we talk about the business of having a podcast studio, how the idea evolved and then turning an opportunity into a business. This is music to my ears because I love talking about business and I’m all about podcasting these days.   If you are a salesperson, sales manager, business owner or someone responsible for business development in your organization, I’ve put together something unique for you that I’ll discuss at the end of this show, so be sure to stick around after our conversation ends. Charlie is going through the school of hard knocks. He took an idea, started a business and is learning how to run the business along the way. It’s not always easy, but if you love what you do and you surround yourself with knowledgeable people, you will make it work! I love Charlie’s enthusiasm and like me, he’s an idea person! Our conversation goes in many directions, but three important areas we discuss are The importance of setting up procedures from the beginning Not working for free And  paying attention to your time management This conversation isn’t just about running a business, but about podcasts and the value they bring. At one point we start talking about a conference that we both attended in early 2017 where I mention some statistics about podcasting. I’m attaching a few of the slides in the shownotes, so if you would like to see them go to selectbizteam.com/podcastvillage. Definitely good information particularly for someone that might be thinking about adding a podcast as a sales tool! Before we get started, I’d like to ask that you go to iTunes and leave us a review. It’s helps us to know if you like what you are hearing!  If you aren’t sure how to do this, look at the resources in the show notes at selectbizteam.com/podcastvillage. If you have an iPhone, you’ll find this quite simple. RESOURCES  PODCASTING FOR SALES Ready to get in front of new prospects? A podcast is a great sales tool. If you are a sales person or knows someone that is involved in sales, I’ve created an information packet that shows you how to use a podcast as a sales tool. Download here.  It’s free! STATISTICS In this episode we talk about a few statistics we learned about at a conference. The picture below was taken from the conference Podfest. You can also get additional information from a research report by Edison.           LEAVE US A REVIEW If you would like to be notified every time we release a new episode and have an iPhone, subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a rating or review. If you aren't sure how to leave a review,  check out our instructions here. ABOUT OUR GUEST – CHARLIE BIRNEY Charlie Birney is the owner of Podcast Village in Gaithersburg, MD.  His studio is located inside of Launch Work Pla...

BUSINESS AND MARKETING 1st ANNIVERSARY EPISODE  Thank you for joining us today for episode 25 of the Select Business Team podcast.  I’m so exicted about this episode because it marks the 1st year of creating this podcast.  Select Business Team brings business professionals together to discuss options for growing and expanding business with a focus on marketing, leadership and revenue and our podcast provides conversations with business owners on similar topics. Since today is our 1st anniversary, we are celebrating and this episode is packed full of information to help you, the business professional. The overall theme is lessons I’ve learned from this first year of production, but there are several valuable ideas that I share as I’m talking. The first few minutes you’ll hear me thank a few people that stepped up to the plate to really help this podcast get started, then the real nuggets begin.   In addition to thanking a few people, I also share with your my personal insights about this journey.  If you are looking for marketing ideas, keep listening, because you'll hear several.  Here’s a little bit of what you can expect: Challenges people have being interviewed on an podcast Time management issues of creating a podcast What’s in the analytics - can you guess what country gets more listens than my own state? The bigger vision for podcasts At the very end I'll mention a new program I'm launching called Next Level Referrals.  If you want to build a solid referral business, it's worth listening to the end and getting the details! Lets get this 1st anniversary episode started. It’s  hard to believe that it has been 12 months since we launched the podcast for Select Business Team. Today I want to share my appreciation for those that have made this journey possible and talk about a few lessons learned along the way. It has been such an interesting experience, but in reality, this might not have ever started if it wasn’t for two very special people. You see, I had been thinking about a podcast for a long time.  I tried to recruit my son to help me but he wasn’t interested.  Then one day I was talking to Ben Piper,  who is the owner of Commonwealth Consulting Group and an SBT member. Somehow we got on the subject of podcasts and he said he had one. Truly I was in awe and he could see my excitement. He volunteered to show me how to get started. Otherwise, I might still be talking about it and not taken action! Initially, I was intimidated, but after hours of research, it wasn’t as hard as I thought. The hardest part is making time, which I’ll talk about shortly. Shortly after showing me the equipment, Ben told me about a meetup group for podcasters and encouraged me to attend. That’s where I met Charlie Birney of Podcast Village who has been a true inspiration for me. He’s got a heart of gold and is always sharing his knowledge and offers his studio at a discount to members of meetup. I’ve done a lot of recordings at his studio and we share ideas regularly. You’ll hear him on an upcoming episode. Again, a big thanks to Ben and Charlie for helping me get started and bringing this podcast vision to life. THANK YOU One other person that I’d like to thank is Rick Becker. He’s someone I went to high school with and while we didn’t really know each other then, we reconnected through a mutual friend and he’s become my running partner. He’s got a great voice and after a lot of convincing, he agreed to do the intro for my podcast.  When we recorded the intro, I truly didn’t have any idea what I was doing. I didn’t know about voice levels and how to set the microphone on the recording software. We did several ‘takes’ and thanks to my amazing editor Evan, we have an intro that I love! So thanks Rick, and to his wife Susie for putting up with me and Evan for all of your hard work. When I first launched the podcast, the plan was to interview members of Select Business Team and use the podcast as a mem...

Today’s episode is a little different as I’m talking about podcasting on another podcast that I was recently interviewed on. I’m excited about this because podcasting is something I believe every company should be considering as a marketing tactic.  This particular conversation about podcasting is important for several reasons: Have you ever had an idea that you knew was spot on but  needed validation? I’ve gotten that validation about my sales podcasting idea and the word I hear over and over again is ‘brilliant’! Not just from marketing consultants but from business owners and sales professionals. Using a podcast as a sales tool will open doors and create more opportunities...then becomes a great marketing tactic as well.  In my conversation with Lorraine Ball of Roundpeg Marketing,  we talk about how to get started, the different tools to consider and some basic planning. I’m also happy to share this podcast because this is what exposure looks like today in the new digital world. For those of you that have attended some of my workshops, you’ve heard me talk about how marketing is changing rapidly. I can’t confidently say that podcasts aren’t a trend, but this is one trend I think has value for every business in multiple ways. Podcasts have moved past the infancy stage into the toddler stage,  but we haven’t met the teenage years yet. Imagine how much room for growth and opportunity there is! Unlike social media, you own your podcast. It’s your voice and people can hear you. You can host them on your website and you can drive traffic to your website to get people to listen to them and they position you as an authority in your industry. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people in business but if people don’t know about you it’s hard for you to work your magic! CLICK THIS PLAYER TO HEAR THE CONVERSATION ABOUT PODCASTING Have you ever heard of  ‘automobile university’? When I first started in sales, I listened to as many sales tapes as I could. Zig Zigler, Jim Rohn, Tom Peters. They were the leaders in their industry and if you compared what they did then to what we are doing today, the let their voice be heard. They spoke in public, they recorded for later listening. The difference between podcasts and the tapes/cd’s that I listened to is that podcasts are free and they are digital instead of a product that i inserted into my dashboard or other electronic device. Podcasts don’t melt like tapes or cd’s and they don’t scratch either! I can listen to them as many times as I want and I didn’t have to buy them. There is a wide variety to choose from outside inside and outside of the business marketplace. But more importantly, podcasts allow you to get your voice heard, to share your message and the cost is relatively inexpensive. Moving on to another thought….. One of the things that I choose to do to keep a positive attitude is avoid TV and other negative media. Instead, I choose to listen to music and podcasts that are inspirational, educational and that add value to my life. Not everyone shares my mindset, but I also believe that I’m not alone in my way of thinking! Isn’t there a saying that goes like this:  Negativity in; negativity out….positivity in; positivity out! If there isn’t a saying like this, then I’ll  take credit for creating it! If you want to learn about how a podcast can benefit your sales team….listen to this podcast. If you want to learn how to implement this type of podcast for your business, give me a call. This my friend is what I’m passionate about and I’m happy to help you get your message out  and connect with your prospects. NEW PROGRAM - NEXT LEVEL REFERRALS With that, I want to wrap up this episode and switch gears to talk about a new program I’ve created called, Next Level Referrals.  It’s ideal for sales and business development professionals and I think if you are an attorney, cpa/accountant, insurance or financial advisor, this program is ideal for you.

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH BECKY BRIGGS  Today we are talking with Becky Briggs of Our Gift Biz.  If you listened to episode 19, I talked a lot about gift giving.  As I was doing some research for that episode, I reached out to Becky, for her insight on gift giving, from the business side. With our travel schedules, it took us several weeks to coordinate our calendars for this recording. But it was definitely worth the wait as she shares some great nuggets, not just as a business owner but as someone that specializes in giving gifts. It’s not just the gift baskets that we often think of, her company creates gifts that are personalized to the recipient and make the giver look good! Our conversation covers a lot but three areas we spend a lot of time on are: How the initial concept of a business changes when you actually open the doors Finding time to stay up to date on industry, marketing and business trends Taking care of yourself as a business owner Your Gift for Listening At the end of this episode I mention a new program that I’m creating called Next Level Referrals.  It’s a referral training program for sales and business development.  I’m piloting the program in July so if you are listening to this episode, go to nextlevelreferrals.com for additional information. If you are listening to this episode after June, sign up to be notified when we start the next program or for our next webinar. This program is for sales and business development professionals.  I’ve been training people how to create referral opportunities for over 20 years but it’s always been through weekly meetings.  I know that a lot of people listening to this podcast have no desire to attend a weekly meeting and even if you did, we might not have a Team in your area yet.  So this is a way that I can share my knowledge with you and you don’t have to leave your desk to learn! In this 4 week class, I’ll teach you how to build your network of referral partners, how to contact them, build the relationship and stay in contact with them.  This is my  first training program, so I'm creating it as a a pilot program.  I'll be on every call, it's not a self study program, and I'll be answering questions and offering feedback. I’ll also be offering 2 follow up sessions for this pilot group to make sure everyone is still on track and their network is growing. Since this is a pilot program, I’m reducing the cost even though you’ll probably get more value from it since I’ll be actively involved.  I'm reducing the price for this program. In exchange, I'm asking for your honest feedback on how the program is working for you and what else you need to make your referral marketing program more successful. If this is something you think you can benefit from or if you know someone that can, check out nextlevelreferrals.com and learn more.  The pilot program will launch in July but if you are listening to this after June, don’t stress, we’ll have another program that you’ll find even more valuable. Thank you for being part of the Select Business Team journey and listening to our podcast. We are excited to bring entrepreneurs together to discuss options for growing and expanding their business, focusing on what happens in the back office. RESOURCES  Learn more about Next Level Referrals by clicking here Subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a rating or review  ABOUT OUR GUEST – BECKY BRIGGS  Becky Briggs is the owner of Our Gift Biz  .  Connect with her on LinkedIn . Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH DEBBIE DECHAMBEAU Do you want to stand out and get noticed?  If so, do what people have been doing for centuries.  Send a hand written note.  Yes, I know, with technology, sending note cards can seem obsolete, but think about it.  How many emails do you get every day vs. snail mail?  How many emails do you just delete, delete, delete just to clean up your inbox? Now, think about how many hand written notes you get in your regular snail mail box?  When you get them, what do you do?  If you are like most of people, when it’s hand written envelope, you pay attention.  You feel like it might be a special piece of mail.  And you probably open it and read it! Now, can you say that with every email you get?  My guess is probably not. If you are inclined to open a handwritten note, how do you think the person you send one to will feel when they receive one from you?  It’s a powerful tool that will help differentiate you from the crowd and if you aren’t already writing and sending them, it’s something you might want to consider starting. Click here for your Note Card Idea Sheet I know your time is valuable and you have a lot of podcasts to choose from so we hope you’ll find value in today’s episode where today we talk about handwritten personal note cards. This is a two part episode…yes, I know what you are thinking, is there really that much to say about handwritten personal notes.  Well, actually there is. Part 1, this episode, will hopefully is to inspire you and share all the different ways you can use a personal hand written note Part 2 includes Ideas on how how you can actually get your personal handwritten notes done from what type of paper to what to say. A special gift to help you get your personal notes completed. Basically paper to scripts. Provides FAQ’s for writing notes so make sure to listen to that one as well. If you are a listener and like what you are hearing on the podcast, could I ask you a favor? Could you go to iTunes and leave us a review. If you aren’t sure how, see the resources section below. Don't have an iTunes account?  Leaving a review on our FB page would be terrific! Select Business Team brings business owners of service professions together to discuss the back office issues of running a business. We interview our members who are business owners and they share their real life experiences of running a business.  (when talking to business owners: The ideas we share with you in this episode are valuable to any business owner. ) If you would like to join a Team or start one of your own, reach out to me at debbie@selectbizteam.com and let’s have a conversation. I’m a big fan of hand written notes, and I have been for as long as I’ve been in the business world.  When I first started selling, I made it a habit to send hand written notes.  I studied a lot about sales and went to a lot of Tom Peters programs.  He frequently talked about hand written notes. Thanking people makes them more likely to continue a relationship, which has the potential to lead to more opportunities for you. Except for the cost of paper and a stamp, showing gratitude is free.  Showing gratitude helps us treasure good experiences, deal with conflict and build better relationships. Over the years I’ve also been inspired by Brian Buffini  for sending note cards. If you aren’t familiar with Brian, he’s built a real estate coaching business.  While I’ve never been in real estate, I’ve attended several of his events over the years because he’s very motivational and his system is simple…and it works. He teaches his clients to send 5 note cards a day.  A lot of people find that task overwhelming, but think about it.  If you can send 25 a week, think about how many people you are touching, how many people will remember you. In my opinion, if you aren’t sending any personal handwritten notes today and think this is a good strategy for you,

The Value Of An Office BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH PAUL SMITH  Thank you for joining us today for the Select Business Team podcast where we are talking with Paul Smith of The Abrams Group, Re/Max Town Center Park Potomac.  At Select, we bring entrepreneurs and professionals together to discuss options for growing and expanding their business, focusing on what happens in the back office. We help business owners look at areas of the business that increase profits.  Paul and I have known each other for a long time.  We first met when he was in a networking group I ran back in the 90’s, when he owned a bagel shop.  He closed the shop and went into the insurance business selling life and health insurance products, and when we saw each other at networking events, we could always talk insurance!  When I started Select, we lost touch but reconnected about 5 years ago at a networking event. It’s actually funny because for a awhile, most of my FB pics with another man were with him…and no, we weren’t dating, just having a nice conversation and we always seemed to be talking when the photographer showed up! Recently, Paul has gone from working as an insurance agent to becoming a Realtor and today we’ll talk about that transition. My conversation with Paul includes the business of real estate with some in-depth discussion about why someone should use a realtor instead of trying to buy or sell properties on their own.  So even if you aren’t a business owner, you will find some great nuggets in this conversation.  Before I get into the meat of our conversation I wanted to mention something I do when I’m not recording podcasts or running our business teams. I offer training and primarily on email marketing.  If you are a business owner, sales professional or a realtor like our guest today, having a way to stay in touch with the people that you meet is essential. You ca stay connected on social media, but that can be hit or miss with all of the algorithms.  I’m a big fan of email marketing because for every dollar spent on email marketing there is a $42.00 ROI. I offer regular webinars so if you want to attend one of them and learn more about email marketing or other marketing strategies, go to selectbizteam.com/events-calendar for one of our upcoming webinars. Most of them are free and I’d love to have you join us. In today's episode we talk about: The value of an office and the support it provides How Starting as a Realtor is like starting a new business The analogy of a Realtor and a Director RESOURCES  If you like what you hear on the podcast, we'd love for you to leave a review on iTunes.  If you have an account, but aren't sure how to leave a review we've included instructions below.  We'd love your opinion! Subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a rating or review  Not sure how to leave a review?  Check out our instructions here http://www.selectbizteam.com/make-itunes-review/ Paul and I have known each other for awhile and would always reconnect at networking events.  These photo's are from three different events over the years - you can see how we've changed!  Thanks to Ann Maas Photography and The Umbrella Syndicate for the pics.   ABOUT OUR GUEST – PAUL SMITH   Paul Smith is a Realtor and is part of The Abrams Group at Re/Max Town Center Park Potomac.  His website is The Abrams Group.  Connect with him on LinkedIn and Facebook.

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST - MIKE AIN Welcome to another episode of the Select Business Team Podcast where this week we want you to live your life. This podcast is named after our company and we bring business professionals together to create a Team that support each other as we grow and discusses topics that are valuable to business development. A few examples include, hiring, insurance, marketing and exit planning. You’ll find insight on these and many more topics throughout each episode. In some of our episodes, we interview our members, in some of our episodes, I provide you with insights on a particular topic that I’m hoping you can apply to your business.  As the founder of the company, I’ve learned so much from sitting in these meetings and I’ve been doing this for over 20 years.  Todays episode is a special one to me.  It’s about one of our members and includes some very important lessons learned from him that I believe you will also benefit from. This episode of Select Business Podcast is dedicated to Mike Ain who was a longtime member of Select Business Team and a very special and dear friend. The episode shares some lessons that are relevant to everyone…and particularly every business person. We always think it can’t happen to us…that we are immune to everything that we hear about…until that one day…. I didn’t get the chance to interview Mike on the podcast, mostly because I started recording after he became ill. A regret on my part for sure. He was a personal injury attorney that specialized in medical malpractice cases, his wisdom is something that would benefit all of our listeners. The stories I’ve heard him tell about how he would prep for a case, how he put medical with technology to present cases for his clients were fascinating and I wish I had those recorded. I know his knowledge, passion and sincerity would have inspired you. So why is this story so important? The things that happened to Mike over the past 4 years are the exact things that could happen to you, yet you probably think like I do and like so many people do….this only happens to other people. I know that Mike didn’t think this would happen to him. He was a vegetarian, he ate healthy, he wasn’t over weight and he did extensive long distance bike riding, and played tennis all the time, all things that kept him active, healthy in hopes of having a long life. It was late one Thursday afternoon in the fall of 2013. Select Business Team was having a networking event in Bethesda where we invited members from all of the Teams along with any guests they wanted to bring. We host these types of events every 6 months or so, but we haven’t had one since. Probably because I’m a little concerned I’m jinxed.  Ok, that’s another story! As the host of these events, I usually purchase some appetizers and it’s a cash bar for everyone. I walk around, make sure everyone is talking to someone, facilitate introductions as much as I can, and truly try to be a good hostess since I know almost everyone and it’s my company! About half way through this event, I saw Mike and another member, Jon, sitting off to the side, so I walked over to see what was going on.  Mike was sitting on a bar stool, Jon was standing behind him, holding him up, which seemed a little odd to me.  As I walked closer, and looked at Mike, he didn’t look right.  Part of his lip was facing up, the other part was crooked in the opposite direction. Now, I’m not trained in medicine, but I have to say that one of the many Facebook posts that went around about what to look for if someone is having a stroke actually worked.  I immediately said to Mike, I think you are having a stroke, I’m going to call 911.  Of course, we were in a restaurant where there was no cell signal so I had the hostess call for me.  It felt like hours before they arrived, but EMT took him to the local hospital. Jon went with him and I let all the guests know, waited for everyone to leave,

Thank you for joining us today for the Select Business Team podcast as we talk about gift giving. I know your time is valuable and you have a lot of podcasts to choose from so we hope you’ll find a lot of value in today’s episode. Select Business Team brings business owners of service professions together to discuss the back office issues of running a business. We help business owners look at areas of the business that increase profits. My hope with every podcast is to get you thinking a little differently about how you operate your business. To not necessarily do what everyone else is doing but to find a way to stand out and be remembered. Be different, adapt to technology, create systems and make sure that you are making a profit. When it comes to marketing, this is just as important. Since my core focus in business is referrals, the topic I’m discussing today really resonates with me. When I sold insurance, this is something I did regularly. When I started Select Business Team, I did this a little bit but over the years, I’ve really gotten out of the habit. With this episode, I’m making a point to get back into it and make it a regular marketing tactic. I’m talking about gift giving Did you give gifts to your clients, to your strategic partners, to your prospects between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve?  If so, if you asked the person today what you gave them that they would remember? My guess is they’d pause, run a few ideas around and maybe they’d guess correctly.  The real question is, WAS YOUR GIFT MEMORABLE?’ Was is something that jumped out at them? Something that they’ll remember in 2 months, In 2 years? In today’s podcast, I want to talk about 4 areas of gift giving. The first is promotional products or swag vs. personalized and customized gifts, The second is why you are giving gifts, The third is when you give gifts We’ll finish up with some different strategies for getting business from gift giving. If you like what you hear, please go to iTunes and leave a review.  If you aren’t sure how, check out our website at selectbizteam.com/makeitunesreview .  Or, check out the  resources section the show notes for this episode. Also, if you find this topic valuable, please share the podcast with a friend or co-worker.  Someone who would benefit from the ideas. Let's get this show started. Separate from gifts, what types of swag or promotional items do you give away to clients, prospects and strategic partners? Are you giving pens, calendars, fruit or food baskets?  Logo’d apparel or items like measuring tapes, key chains or memo pads? A lot of companies do this and don’t really measure the results. They know they are suppose to do this. They hope it has an impact, but for the cost of the swag, was there a measurable return? As I look around my own office, I have a small clock that has a picture frame attached. I’ve had it for years and it has the logo on it from the company that gave it to me. To be honest with you, I know think the company is a credit card company, but I don’t really know for sure. I also have a pad of sticky notes with another company. It has the name and logo and what they do but no contact info. It would be nice to have their number so I could easily call them. I like having the sticky note pad, but I’m not sure the branding would ever have me call them! This is part of the thought process you want to go through when selecting and putting your logo on promotional products. Here’s a Thought What if you took the budget you have for promotional items and bought fewer gifts? But they are special and personalized to the recipient and are only delivered to a few people that would have the most impact.  And, you didn’t give them during the holiday season, but you gave them at a different time of year. Just because.  What if you only gave 10 gifts - 5 to the top 5 prospects on your list and 5 to your best strategic partners.

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH KAREN KRYMSKI Thank you for joining us today for episode 18 of the Select Business Team podcast. I know your time is valuable and you have a lot of podcasts to choose from so we hope you’ll find value in today’s episode. Select Business Team brings business owners of service professions together to discuss the back office issues of running a business.  Today’s guest isn’t a member of Select but is an advocate for small business owners. Karen Krymski currently works for SBDC and has quite an entrepreneurial background. Her current position allows her to help other businesses grow and expand. Karen and I met while working for eWomenNetwork. She was the executive managing director of the Tampa Bay Chapter and I was the executive managing director for Maryland. Both of us have refocused our efforts, but our experience with this organization definitely had a positive impact our lives. Our discussion takes us in three different areas with some unique perspectives Sales  - It's about the relationship and having a genuine interest in the person. Be authentic, develop your own style and have the mindset of Always Be Closing.  As you build the relationship you learn how to ask questions that lead you to where you want to go with sales. Government Contracting - Research getting on a GSA schedule; does the federal government buy what you sell? What agencies are best and how much do they purchase of what you sell? Once you determine that, how do you go about building relationships with contracting officers, programming managers and prime contractors.  Find out what the opportunities are and making sure you aren't trying to be all things to all people - i.e. not trying to sell to all branches in the government. Start out as a sub contractor to get your feet wet and avoid the overwhelm.  It is a good idea to start as a subcontractor to learn the ropes, and avoid getting a bad mark which can impact getting future contracts. Having a Business Partner - The good, the bad and the ugly. It is important to have everything in place to protect yourself if you are going to have a partner.  Research them, meet their family, have tea and cookies together! Just because they are a good friend doesn't mean they are a good business partner. Have a buy/sell agreement - get the document drafted together, take the document to your own attorney then take the feedback back to the original attorney together to create the final document.  Address health, death, divorce, who get's what, how the dollars will be divided, etc. Have the document in place so you aren't in business with your partners family if something should happen. It’s not the best quality recording we’ve had, but it’s extremely valuable content. I’d like to encourage you to turn off all the other distractions so you can absorb the incredible nuggets shared in this episode. RESOURCES WIPP - Women Impacting Public Policy is a good organization for connecting with government contractors Women In Defense Federal Government Small Business Event held in the spring at the Washington DC Convention Center Episode 9 Andrew Blate - discussion about having a partner Subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a rating or review  Not sure how to leave a review?  Check out our instructions here http://www.selectbizteam.com/make-itunes-review/ ABOUT OUR GUEST - KAREN KRYMSKI Karen Krymski currently works for SBDC in Tampa Florida.  She counsels small business owners, teaches classes and is passionate about helping companies succeed.  Connect with Karen on Linkedin.  

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH MARC EMDEN Thank you for joining us today for episode 17 of the Select Business Team podcast where we bring entrepreneurs together to discuss options for growing and expanding business, with a real focus on what happens in the back office.  Today we are talking with Marc Emden and we get into two of my favorite topics. One is about marketing and different ideas of what works and what doesn’t work. The other area is about legal issues, not necessarily about business, but case law and how it impacts us. I’ve mentioned on one or two episodes that I spent the first half of my career as an insurance agent. I am still licensed as an agent and a certified insurance counselor but I don’t sell policies any longer, I mostly consult. When I did sell, I sold the policies that business owners need to protect their businesses and workers. What I don’t mention too often is that my major in college was law enforcement. What I loved about it was reading and interpreting case law.  For many it might be boring, but the stories behind the cases and the laws that protect and develop from these cases is what has always fascinated me. Insurance is somewhat similar because it’s all about policies and understanding what they say and how to interpret them for each situation. In today’s podcast we talk about two cases that don’t necessarily impact your business, but as a consumer they are good to know. They are focused on technology, and as we talk about over and over on this podcast, you don’t know what you don’t know. I’m talking with Select Business Team member Mark Emden who is a personal injury and criminal attorney in Rockville, Maryland. We talk about his journey as law practice and some of the lessons learned along the way.  I really enjoyed our conversation and hope you do too! RESOURCES Check out episode 2 where we talk about attending networking events and getting the most out of your efforts. Subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a rating or review. Not sure how to leave a review?  Check out our instructions here http://www.selectbizteam.com/make-itunes-review/ ABOUT OUR GUEST – MARC EMDEN Marc Emden is an attorney and has his own practice in Rockville, MD.  He specializes in criminal and personal injury cases. You can learn more about him on his company website, emdenlaw.com or connect with him on linkedin.

Thank you so much for joining us today.  I’m going to share a personal story with you and the lessons learned from my recent journey. I share this because I have always believed in planning, in being proactive and having a back-up plan. But sometimes life gets in the way and the overwhelm from everything can create a sinking ship. I’m not looking for any sympathy from todays episode, just sharing to hopefully help you think a little differently about the realities of being a business owner. For those of you that have started a business, you know that being a business owner is hard work, particularly if you are a solo. For many, it means 18 hour days, financial stress, emotional highs and lows all for the ability to follow a dream, to be the boss and determine your own destiny.  It can also be very lonely. Your friends and family don’t always understand what you are doing and why you need to put in so many hours.  They don’t always understand the worries you have of closing the sale, how you’ll pay yourself or if the customer is unhappy with something how you are going to make it right and still make money. People go into business for different reasons and people want different things out of having a business. It's a personal choice and while I do a lot of consulting in this area I see so many people struggle to make it work. Today I’m going to share some personal experiences and the lessons learned to hopefully help you the business owner. It's Lonely At The Top I frequently say ‘ it’s lonely at the top’ and it’s something that I’ve heard many people say as well as I’ve experienced it myself.  When I started my first business, my husband at the time thought that meant I’d be home more, have more time for him and more time to do things around the house so he could do less. Unfortunately, he didn’t understand I needed to be out meeting people during the day and doing the work at night. He didn’t understand it took money to get things rolling, he thought I should should be contributing financially to the household sooner than I did.  When I need to work weekends now, my friends don’t understand why I can’t join them for a fun girls night out. One of my friends recently asked me why I travel so much, not understanding that it is all business! (ok, a few trips are to see family). What becomes a bigger challenge for businessowners is when life gets in the way. One of my clients recently had a fire in his studio, then his landlord sent a letter non renewing his lease, a few months later he lost his dad, then his wife was diagnosed with cancer and his biggest clients went out of business. All of this took place over the course of 12 months. He hadn’t planned for any of this. He’s definitely feeling overwhelmed because it is a lot to process at one time. Having one of these issues is enough to deal with but to be hit with one after another becomes too much. Then there is the caregiving issue. For men, this isn’t usually as relevant because often they have a woman in their life to handle these issues. Please note that I said usually and I might be stereotyping a little. But as a general rule, women are the caregivers. When a woman starts a business it is often done around the family. If the kids need afternoon carpool, mom stops working to make it happen. If the aging parents need care, it's usually the daughter that responds. The Sandwich Generation What happens when a lot of people need the business owner at one time? It's called the sandwich generation - a time when someone is raising children and caring for parents or seniors at the same time. Children alone can gobble up all of your time, but add parents to the mix and it doesn’t take much for everything to fall apart. While I'm not in the sandwich generation at this point, I've been there. Shortly after starting my business in 2001, I was raising 4 children (two of my own and two of my sisters) and my father would go into the hospital every month for a week a...

Business and Marketing Podcast with Debbie DeChambeau Welcome to episode 15 of the Select Business Team podcast. In most of our episodes, we interview our members about their business and their business experiences, but it's just your host talking about different ways to meet new strategic partners, when they won’t otherwise respond to your inquiries.  How can you help the people you have identified as your strategic partners get visibility and more clients before you really know them.  Basically, how can you add more value to the relationship? Do you reach out to people that you think might be good strategic partners and suggest you get together because you think there is synergy and want to explore ways that you can work together?  If you are reaching out to someone who is just starting out in business or in sales, this can be very flattering, but if they are busy, this can be very time consuming. When I refer to strategic partners, I’m talking about people in other professions who are going after the same customer base as you.  For example, strategic partners for a realtor might be divorce or estate planning attorneys, mortgage lenders and apartment leasing agents. For a banker, a strategic partner might be a business attorney, a CPA and a business coach.  If you are developing a list of strategic partners, you might want to listen to episode 7 of the Select Business Team podcast where we talk about creating a referral marketing plan for strategic partners. In this episode: We are assuming you already have that list of strategic partners developed, but if you don’t, keep listening because you will get some great ideas and maybe even get some inspiration for getting started! If reaching out to people you don’t know for the purpose of developing potential relationships is part of your marketing strategy, one of the questions you need to ask is how do you set yourself apart from everyone else and get their attention? How do you stand out and get them to say yes to meeting with you? What if you could provide an attractive offer as a way to get to know them.  Something that would make it difficult for them to say no to because it’s exposure for them, either by way of you promoting them or by an introduction you want to make. 5 Ideas Invite them to be a guest author for your company blog Ask them to be a guest on your podcast and interview or have a conversation with them. Follow them on social media and share some of the content they promote – when doing this, put your own comment in to personalize it some. Promote them in one of your email newsletters – Remember that not everyone will land on your blog or podcast so when you push your content out via email,  you have a greater chance for more people to see it. Offer to provide a product or service that you offer free of charge to them In this episode we provide several examples and elaborate on these 5 ideas, so take a few minutes to listen and grab something for taking notes. If you would like more information, give us a call or send us an email. RESOURCES Are you ready to try my email service provider for 60 days?  Click here to get started.  No credit card, just your name, email and website address. Select Business Team - A lot of business today is created from what you do for others….the more you help them, the more they will help you. At Select Business Team, it is the core foundation of what we do. While we might talk about how to most effectively run a business, we also talk a lot about how we can create opportunities for each other on the Team. A lot of being able to create opportunities for others comes from really understanding what they do in business, what types of clients they work with and what the outcome of their services means to their clients.  Send us an email if you would like to learn more about how we can help you build your business through referrals. ABOUT THE HOST - DEBBIE DECHAMBEAU

BUSINESS AND MARKETING PODCAST WITH SCOTT CORNBLATT Is entrepreneurship hereditary? In this episode of the Select Business Team podcast, we talk with Scott Cornblatt, owner of OLS Trading, Inc, who started his first business at 12. Scott's father was a business owner and did a lot to support his children’s entrepreneurial desires. Scott is a member of Select Business Team, and each week we interview one of our members and discuss their business journey, the good, the bad and sometimes the ugly! Select Business Team brings business owners of service professions together to discuss the back office issues of running a business. As you’ll hear in this episode, each team becomes the board of advisors for members, providing a sounding board for running and managing a business. Our conversation today is one of the longest we have had to date, but it is packed full of great tidbits that are beneficial for every business owner.  For example: What’s it like to go from having 2 business partners to running the show by yourself? From a hiring perspective, what does it means to hire the right horsepower Staying awake at night wondering why the customer chose to hire your company Scott considers members of SBT his board of advisors and their knowledge helps him to run a better company. It can be lonely being a business owner, so the sooner you surround yourself with others, the easier your role of running the business becomes. Ok, just to clarify, it’s never easy running a business, but having support lightens the load! Scott is a passionate business owner who is truly thinking out of the box with running his business. Scott shared some fantastic information so get out some paper and takes notes. You are going to really enjoy this conversation. RESOURCES Try to list a few resources talked about and end with both subscribe and how to. Subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a rating or review  Not sure how to leave a review? Check out our instructions here Interested in joining a Team? Check out our current Teams or to learn how to start your own or get on a waiting list, send an email to debbie@selectbizteam.com ABOUT OUR GUEST - SCOTT CORNBLATT Scott Cornblatt is the owner of OLS Trading, Inc. He's active on LinkedIn, so connect with him there.  

Business and Marketing Podcast with Gail Horne Thank you for joining us today for episode 13 of the Select Business Team podcast where today we are talking with Gail Horne.  She is the owner of Mindful Nutrition Services, llc and her company provides nutrition and guidance for those looking for a healthier lifestyle.   Select Business Team brings business owners of service professions together to discuss the back office issues of running a business. One of our member benefits is to interview our members and they share their real life experiences of running a business.  The ideas we share with you in this episode are valuable to any business owner or anyone thinking about starting a business. Gail joined SBT a few years ago, however, due to her husbands job, she was transferred out of the area.  Now settled and in a new profession as a health coach, she has reunited with Select and is starting our first Team in Pennsylvania. If you know any business owners in the mainline area of PA that would benefit from being surrounded by other business owners and discuss business growth, ask them to contact us. In this episode, we talk about something that challenges many start up companies.  The desire to have everything to be perfect before the doors open or the business launches.  Gail has experienced this and for her, it was over the perfect shade of pink! In this episode you'll hear about: Building a company around the brand, not just the owner of the company Starting a company from a life experience It doesn't need to be perfect, accept that it's good enough RESOURCES Did you like what you heard today?  If so, please Subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a rating or review  Not sure how to leave a review?  Check out our instructions here ABOUT OUR GUEST - GAIL HORNE Gail Horne is the owner of Mindful Nutrition Services, LLC.  Check out her website or connect with her on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Business and Marketing Podcast with Adam Solomon. Recording this episode with Adam Solomon is one of the most fun we’ve had, mostly because we are actually recording in a podcast studio. Usually we record in our guests office or they come to our headquarters.  We’ve had one recording where we recorded via skype. Today, we are in the studios of Podcast Village, using professional equipment with an engineer monitoring sound. It’s just a fun experience. Maybe one day Select Business Team will have it's own studio with our own in-house engineer, although our editor, Evan, does a great job once we finish the recordings! Adam Solomon is a talent acquisition recruiter and he’s been at the forefront of technology for a long time.  Adam is the owner of DC Tech Search and he helps employers find qualified candidates for technology development and engineering projects. You have to speak the lingo and understand the business in order to find the candidates and Adam has the background.  In some segments of the technology industry, there aren’t enough candidates to fill a lot of the positions. One of the area's we talk about is how he sells the sizzle to get candidates to consider moving to a new position! A few other areas we dive into include: Build your company and focus on the brand, not on promoting the founder. How to make a company recession proof The value of having your office outside of your home Adam has started 4 companies, learning lessons from each venture.  He shares some of the ups and downs of starting each business and what he’s done differently with the last business to make it a success. It’s good information for every business owner. When recording this episode, we noted we might be over 500 downloads when this episode goes live.  At the launch of episode 12 we are over 700 downloads. Thank you everyone for listening and sharing the word about this podcast.  RESOURCES  Virtual Communication Tools this  article provides some insight about g-chat and slack Podcast Village - many thanks to our friends at Podcast Village who have a podcasting studio where you can record and have your podcasts edited.  Great people, great environment and a great end product! Virtual offices we discussed in episode 4 ABOUT OUR GUEST – ADAM SOLOMON Adam Solomon is the owner of DC Tech Search. Learn more about his company dctechsearch.com or connect with him on Linkedin.

Business and Marketing Conversation With Lynndolyn Mitchell Today’s guest has experienced something that most business owners don’t have to deal with. She’s the spouse of someone in the military. Every two years or so, she's had to move her business and start over. People who have an online business or work virtually aren't directly impacted by a move. For those that have a retail or service business, moving every two years can have a significant impact. If you are in a profession that is tied to state regulations and state exams, such as an attorney, starting over is a lot more complicated. Lynndolyn Mitchell is a lawyer and is married to a JAG (now retired). In this episode we talk about: The difficulties of having a military spouse when you are an attorney The worries of being a solo attorney Finding a niche for your business that sets you apart Lynndolyn focuses on divorce and criminal issues, however, she has a vast knowledge of military law around divorce. I’ve interviewed her on my divorce exposed podcast where she shares a wealth of information on how being in the military impacts divorce. (Divorce-Exposed podcast coming soon) During our conversation, we discuss her plans to add to new focus areas to her practice.  She is working with parents who need help navigating the school system and helping veterans get the proper medical / disability ratings. Both of these practice areas are needed. RESOURCES How to Become a JAG  http://todaysmilitary.com/videos/becoming-a-jag-officer If you are the spouse of someone serving, there is a Military Spouse Business Association.  There is also an association for attorney's that are military spouses.  Check online for your industry if you would like additional support and ideas.  Divorce-exposed episode where she talks about different issues around divorce in the military (coming soon) ABOUT OUR GUEST - LYNNDOLYN MITCHELL Lynndolyn Mitchell is the owner of The Law Offices of Lynndolyn Mitchell, PC.  Her website is Lynnmitchell4law.com.  Connect with her on LinkedIn. If you know anyone who has served in the military and is looking for assistance, she is a great resource.

Business and Marketing Conversation with Art Stein Art Stein is a financial advisor and business owner. He's in an industry that is heavily regulated with compliance and has found a way to be independent and still be compliant. From having too small an office to outsourcing, Art discusses how he makes his business work, without having employees. We also dive into two other important areas: How he gets manages the client process and Two of his unique marketing strategies   The industry for investment advisors, also known as financial planners and financial advisors, has become very regulated over the past several years. This makes being a small business owner in this industry challenging. Art shares several ways he works with the new regulations and how he helps his clients. This episode has some great nuggets for financial advisors who are thinking about starting their own business.  Find out how to build your team and focus on your strengths, not trying to do everything. There is also wonderful information for someone looking for a financial advisor and the questions to should ask before hiring one. Listen along to this episode and get insights to growing and expanding your business.  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review on iTunes. You'll find instructions here.  Like what you hear?  Tell a friend or colleague!   RESOURCES Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) This is where you can check out details on your broker.  ABOUT OUR GUEST – ART STEIN Arthur Stein is the owner of Arthur Stein Financial, LLC His website is Arthursteinfinancial.com.  Connect with him on LinkedIn, or Facebook.

Business And Marketing Podcast With Andrew Blate What is it like starting a contracting company at 24 and almost going into bankruptcy? Our guest today is Andrew Blate who is the co-owner of Beautiful Home Services. He is an accountant turned painting/remodeling contractor, and in this episode, he shares some critical information for every business owner. Andrew is also very enthusiastic about his company, which he started in his early 20’s with his best friend. They've created a company that focuses on their priorities, their strengths and their results. From almost going into bankruptcy to a successful rebound, you will definitely find valuable information in this episode for growing and managing your business. It shouldn't be surprising that as an accountant, he's also a numbers guy. He knows how many estimates he's given in his career, knows his closing ratio and what's working and not working financially in the business. From my observations, I believe Andrew is an amazing sales person and he’s running a great business.  In some ways it is a game to him but he also has a solid plan for closing business. Maybe that comes from his prior career, but honestly, every business owner needs to know their numbers, no matter what business you are in. Best Ideas This conversation touches on several essential issues relevant to business owners which include: What does it mean to be a good sales person? From being a people person to knowing your numbers, sales doesn't come naturally to everyone.  Andrew shares some simple ideas that anyone can implement that can help with sales. Most importantly, pay attention to your closing ratio,  this year, last year and over your career of bringing in business to measure what is working, not working and look for areas that you can adjust to improve your percentages. How is the communication in your organization? From talking with your team to talking with your clients, is someone paying attention to this critical component of business?  Andrews clients hire him because of his ability to communicate AND his ability to ask for the business! Why having enough capital when starting is important, particularly if business slows down. If you have overhead but don't have any revenue, cut the overhead quickly!  Unless you pay attention to the numbers, it could be too late before you see the problem. Andrew has been a member of Select Business Team for almost 4 years and he’ll be the first to tell you that joining a group wasn’t at the top of his priority list.  Once he experienced our format, he wanted to start his own Team. He was instrumental in being a founding member of our Tysons Thursday Team. ABOUT OUR GUEST ANDREW BLATE Andrew is the co-owner of Beautiful Home Services, a painting and remodeling company that does business in Metropolitan Washington DC.  Learn more about the company on their website, or connect with them on  Twitter,  or Facebook.  You can also connect with Andrew on  LinkedIn.    

Business and Marketing Podcast with Dan Scully In this episode, we talk with Dan Scully of Vantage Point Communications.  He is the owner of the company and has also been instrumental in helping Select Business Team grow.  Over the years, Dan has started several new teams and provided great ideas for making changes that have improved our company. I'm honored at how much Dan has supported Select over the years and when he moved away, he was greatly missed.  Now that he has settled in his new home, he realizes how much he missed our concept, so he's in the process of starting a Team on the eastern shore in MD. If you listened to episode 7, we talked about strategic partners and Dan uses his network of strategic partners not only for building his business but for creating opportunities for others.  He's a connector and a creative! Three of my takeaways: Business owners often wear many hats which can inhibit growth so try to hire someone quickly to do some of the small tasks in your business Think about having a budget and a marketing plan so that you don’t miss opportunities Don’t let fear of failure keep you from starting a business. People learn from failure so if you surround yourself with the right Team, you’ll see greater success and less failure One of the most important components of today's discussion is having a business plan.  Some of the concepts Dan discussed are essential in building a solid business especially when he moved to a new state and how that could help him grow quickly. If you are a business owner without a plan, check out our webinars 'Build, Grow and Ignite' which we offer once a month. You can check our webinar schedule on the events calendar. RESOURCES Episode 3 - Nicole Orisme - NLH Contracting - if you need help with hiring, this is a great episode ABOUT OUR GUEST - DAN SCULLY Dan is the owner of Vantage Point Communications and he provides business and non profits with marketing materials from give-aways to wearable branded apparel.  Learn more about Dan on LinkedIn.  

Business and Marketing Podcast Welcome to episode 7 of the Select Business Team podcast.  We are mixing up the format today and instead of interviewing one of our members, we are going to talk about creating a referral marketing plan focused on generating referrals from strategic partners. You can create a referral marketing plan that is focused on your clients or just the general public, but I think focusing on strategic partners will expand your opportunities for generating business. At Select Business Team, part of what we focus on with our clients is creating business opportunities and this is usually done through other members on the team, which could be considered strategic partners.  We frequently discuss strategies to make this happen and as you’ll discover in some of our other podcasts, the more you help your strategic partners, which we refer to as your ‘Team,” the more they will help you.  If you just put your hand out and ask for something, you won’t reap the rewards of this type of program. First I want to lay the foundation and suggest you create a plan. I’ve always believed that when you have a plan, you have a guide….it's like having a road map. Having a plan is also a tool that allows you to measure your results. When it comes to creating business opportunities from referrals, having a plan is no different. Without the plan, it’s easy to digress, get lost or even not do anything at all. Some people think that a plan takes a lot of work. In some ways, it does, but the type of plan I am referring to isn’t one that needs to be pages long or researched to death; A simple excel spreadsheet can work. It can be as detailed or simplistic as you want. Ultimately, it needs to be one that works for you. One that you feel excited about and one that you will keep working. Remember, fail to plan….plan to fail! One thing to keep in mind as you are creating your referral marketing plan is that the plan doesn’t have to be etched in stone. You can modify as you go along. Keep track of your efforts and focus on what is working. Don't over complicate things. Before you get started, identify what you want to accomplish. Build the plan with the end goal in mind. Initially, I would recommend that you keep things realistic…maybe even stretch your goals a bit, but don’t go overboard right away because it is easy to get overwhelmed when you do and then, you might abandon the project altogether or nothing might happen. Your overall referral marketing plan should include identifying your strategic partners, then building out the plan by mapping out how will you approach them, how will you educate them on what you do, who you are looking for and how will you stay in touch with them. If you are in a service type of industry, one of the best areas to focus when creating your referral marketing plan is building a network of strategic partners. These are people that are in non-competing industries but who go after the same customer base as you. Here are two examples: Perhaps you are a business attorney. Your strategic partners might be accountants, financial advisors that implement 401k plans, business bankers, business insurance agents, consultants and web designers. Each of these professions deals with business owners which is the same profession that the business attorney would be working with.  What if you were an electrical contractor that focused on residential homes. Strategic partners for you might be plumbing, flooring, painting, carpentry, landscaping and drywall contractors.  They are non-competing professions but their customer base is the same as yours, homeowners. Make a list of strategic partners for your industry. Then think about how many people you know in each of those professions. Look at: Your LinkedIn connections, Your social media connections and The current clients you or your company already has Friends and family Past clients of your company

Today we are talking with Paula Mattson-Sarli who is an estate planning attorney.  She has her own practice and as an attorney does things a little bit differently.  She offers to go to her client’s home, instead of only meeting them in her office.  Paula is not only a member of Select Business Team, she is one of our meeting facilitators. As an estate planning attorney, she provides many services from estate planning to preparing living documents.  Estate planning is one of those that areas that many people don’t think applies to them….until it’s too late. From health care directives to living wills, everyone needs to make sure they have the proper paperwork in place in the event something happens to them. You don’t need a lot of wealth before you meet with an estate planning attorney, but it’s wise to have a conversation with one when everyone is young and healthy so that proper planning can be implemented. A personal experience inspired Paula to follow this path of law. Her passion shows through in her conversations and in the way she treats her clients. Listen along to this episode and you’ll not only get a few insights into starting a business, you’ll also get some valuable estate planning information. During this episode, we have a great discussion about business plans, particularly the financial and marketing components and then Paula shares a lot of insights on documents we should all consider. Three of my favorite nuggets Having living documents to cover any type of incapacity Understanding what long term care costs are for seniors what your options are if you need these benefits and don't have the resources Why you don’t want to download important estate planning documents from the internet Listen along to this episode and you’ll get insights into running your business and some extremely valuable estate planning information. ABOUT OUR GUEST –  PAULA MATTSON-SARLI Paula Mattson-Sarli, is an estate planning attorney and the owner of Personal Touch Law. Her website is  personaltouchlaw.com.  Connect with her on LinkedIn, Follow her on Facebook.

Business and Marketing Podcast With Neil Hyman This episode is a conversation with Neil Hyman who is an employment law attorney. As a solo practitioner, he deals with employee issues representing both employees and employers.  You’ll find his thoughts on staffing beneficial. Most law schools don’t teach their students how to manage a practice, so when Neil was ready to open his doors, he had to fast track his business owner training.  He shares some of the ups and downs of getting started and the obstacles he’s had to overcome with business and how he’s invested in marketing and the payoff he’s receiving. A good part of this discussion focuses on the good and the bad of hiring employees.  Ironically, as an employment law attorney, Neil does not have any employees. Does he know something we should all know? RESOURCES Beginning December 2016 there are new Federal employment regulations that all employers need to be aware of.  You’ll find resources below for doing your own research, but Neil provides a great oversight on the topic.  It’s a big question mark for many employers and how to handle the new regulations so don’t ignore these new regulations.  If you aren’t sure how to implement them into your business, consult with Neil. If you want to do a little research on your own, here are the resources we mentioned in this episode: Fair Labor Standards Act – Department of Labor Society for Human Resources ABOUT OUR GUEST – NEIL HYMAN   Neil runs his own law practice , Law Office of Neil S. Hyman, LLC.  His website is  neilhymanlaw.com.  Connect  with him on LinkedIn.  If you have questions about employment law, either as an employer or an employee, give Neil a call at 301-841-7105.  If he can’t help you, he will refer you to someone that can.  

Business and Marketing Podcast with Gideon Culman Today we are talking with Gideon Culman who is a Life Coach and works with individuals who are ready to make a change.  Gideon isn’t your typical coach…he has three liberal arts degrees and two masters degrees (yes, you read that correctly), a coaches certification from the International Coach Federation, his resume includes international experience, he speaks several languages and he describes himself as curious! Realizing that it can be lonely when starting a home based business is something that people don’t expect when they start a home based business.  The reality is that working from home can be great if you are trying to keep expenses low or if you are trying to balance work with the home life.  But not having contact with other businesses professionals regularly can impact your success as a business owner. In this episode we talk about different co-working spaces to get your company out of the house while keeping expenses reasonable and minimizing the loneliness of a home based business. You’ll also learn why surrounding yourself with a team of professionals from other industries can be extremely beneficial for your business. If you are thinking about becoming a coach or if you are curious about how a coach can help, you’ll find significant value in this episode. Today he shares his biggest surprise about getting started in business and we have an interesting discussion about different co-working spaces and how they can benefit business. RESOURCES If you are looking to get your office out of your house but aren't ready for a big committment, check out some of these co-working spaces: Launch Workplaces - mostly in the DC area WeWork - locations around the world Intelligent Office - locations throughout the US 1776 - more of an incubator, but might inspire you to find something like this in your area ABOUT OUR GUEST - GIDEON CULMAN Gideon has been a member of Select Business Team for 2 years and I’m constantly impressed with his wisdom. Connect with Gideon and see if what he offers is a good fit for you. Visit his website  - GideonCulman.com  Find him on LinkedIn Connect on Facebook

Business Development Podcast With Nicole Orisme It is hard to grow your company when it is one person wearing many hats.  There are many considerations when adding to the team, from employees to independent contractors, but as a business owner, do you know all the rules and regulations? In episode 3 we are talking with Nicole Orisme of NLH Contracting and they offer outsourced human resource consulting. Nicole talks about what employers need to think about when it comes to making the first hire….from employee handbooks to company benefits, this episode is packed full of great information for small business owners thinking about hiring employees and for people who are going into business and need their spouses support. When Nicole mentions that she met with Debbie at the Womens Business Center, she was referring to the owner of Select Business Team and the host of this podcast….Debbie taught a class called the ABC’s of Starting a Business, and she was a participant.  They had a conversation about what she was doing, met a few times to discuss Nicole's business and during one of the  meetings, Nicole said she wanted to focus on government contracts which could take about 6 months.  In that same conversation, Nicole mentioned she had her husbands support with the business, so Debbie asked her what type of revenue her husband was expecting from her….it was her ah ha moment…the light bulb went off because she realized she needed to generate some revenue long before she might get a government contract.  Then Debbie invited her to a Select Business Team (SBT) meeting. When Nicole visited the SBT meeting, she was introduced to several business owners and a few turned into clients. This jump started her business and since then her revenue has blossomed. During this episode, we talk about your role as an owner in your company and encourage you to evaluate the efficiencies or inefficiencies in your business and Nicole provides several ideas to help you determine your true value within your organization. ABOUT OUR GUEST: Nicole Orisme who is the owner of NLH Contracting.  Her website is the same as her company name: NLH Contracting.com.  Connect with her on Linkedin  of follow her on Facebook.  If you need advice from an experienced human resources consulting firm, you should contact Nicole.  She and her team can keep you out of a lot of hot water!  

Business and Networking Podcast with Debbie DeChambeau What is the best place for you to network? Part of it depends on what you want to get out of your networking and how much time, money and energy you want to commit.  Every organization has it't differences from giving back to the community to being random people getting together with the intention of making valuable business connections.  There is nothing wrong with being part of more than one organization, but if you are going to join, make sure you have to time to participate.  Otherwise, you are basically wasting your money.  Just having your name as a member doesn't really add value.  You need to participate, meet the other members and get involved in some capacity. During this episode you'll hear several options for you to consider as you build out a networking plan.  Remember, if you are going to attend networking events, make sure you schedule time afterwards for follow up....otherwise, you have wasted a good portion of your time meeting and talking to people!  Here are the networking organizations we discuss in this episode: Chamber of  Commerce Rotary Leadership Programs Mastermind Associations Meet-Up Creating Your Own What makes one better or different than another?  That depends on what you are looking for.  Think about your ideal client, your target market and your geographical location.  If you are a national company, you will probably want to join a national association and make a point to visit the different state chapters.  If you are local based retail organization, you'll want to be in an organization that is made up of local members. Let us know which networking organizations work best for you and your company....and why.  Leave a comment below.   RESOURCES Download your copy of Perfect Introduction In Reverse ABOUT THE HOST Debbie DeChambeau has been helping business owners and sales professionals build a referral network for over 20 years.  She is a speaker, co-author of Renewable Referrals and the founder of Select Business Team.  If you need help building your referral business, connect with Debbie. Connect on LinkedIn Connect on Instagram  

Business and Marketing Podcast With Debbie DeChambeau Networking is a marketing tactic that has been around forever, but during recent years, networking groups have become a formalized process that has generated millions of dollars in revenue for companies that participate. During this episode, Debbie shares her road to starting Select Business Team which originally started as a networking or referral group but has grown into a business development organization with networking as a benefit.  Some of the discussions you’ll hear in the introductory episode include: Is a Networking Group right for you? - since this type of business development can take a little bit of time it’s important to make sure your schedule can accommodate the commitment.  Ideas to help you decide are provided. How does a networking group differ from other networking opportunities? – The most effective networking groups are one person per profession, weekly or bi weekly structured meetings with professionals that are committed to helping others. Having a facilitator that keeps the meeting focused and not getting off track where the direction of the meeting can get lost makes a big difference in the value your’ll receive as a member. Why is a networking group important for building know, like and trust? - When you meet with people on a regular basis and hear their successes it makes it easy for them to introduce you to people who need your products or services.  How do you decide on a group? - You’ll hear several ideas for making a decision on the best group for you to join. From the initial way you were greeted when you walk in the door to the follow up from members. This episode is packed full of information on how to make the right decision when joining a networking group. Let us know your favorite ideas below or share them on iTunes. Also let us know your experience with networking groups  RESOURCES DISCUSSED: Duct Tape Marketing Podcast - As mentioned in this episode, Debbie is a member of Duct Tape Marketing which is network of marketing consultants implementing the Duct Tape Marketing System. This system helps business owners navigate the world of marketing which is rapidly evolving as technology and media platforms develop.  John Jantsch is the founder of Duct Tape Marketing and his podcast is a great resource for trending marketing information.  If you need marketing assistance, feel free to reach out to Debbie and her team can help you implement the Duct Tape Marketing System. Business Network International - while Select Business Team might be considered a competitor, BNI is an international organization with a great reputation. If you are listening to this podcast outside of the DC area and want to join a networking group, this would be one option to consider. If you want to start your own group, give Debbie a call and discuss as we are expanding as well and would love to help you start in other areas. ABOUT THE HOST Debbie DeChambeau has been helping business owners and sales professionals build a referral network for over 20 years.  In addition to having her own referral/networking organization, she regularly trains on how to build a business that is focused on growing as a result of referred business.  If you need help building your referral business, connect with Debbie. Connect on LinkedIn Connect on Instagram