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Chad Davis with Regus, Tracy Solheim, Author, and Emilie Christie with Mama Bakes Safe Cakes

Emilie Christie opened her company which specializes in making cakes, cupcakes, pizza and doughnuts for people with severe food allergies. For those with these allergies, even smelling the offending ingredient can send an allergic person to the hospital in anaphylactic shock, a life threatening condition.

The main allergies are to Wheat/Gluten, Eggs, Dairy, Tree Nuts, Peanuts, Soy, Fish and Shellfish. As one might imagine, she found that there was little available that a child or adult could eat in the prime food groups like pizza and doughnuts much less cupcakes and cakes as they use these ingredients extensively. Deserts and tasty stuff the non allergic take for granted were simply not available and what was available didn’t taste too good.

With her own severely allergic child and being a take charge sort of person, she set about to create tasty items for her own family. Experimenting with ingredients and finding sources for alternatives to the common ingredients used in so many products was quite a challenge. She succeeded and makes creations that taste as good or better than the regular versions, opening up having birthday parties, deserts, pizza and doughnuts to people who never even tasted these delights.

Asked if it is something she can box up and sell like a cake mix, she says that it’s a lot of work since it is a multi-step process that most would not want to undertake. Definitely not for people like your host who find putting a bowl of soup in a microwave challenging…

But the good news is with a kitchen right here in Alpharetta, you can order these delicacies for your family and pick them up, now work involved. You can reach Emily at 770-664-5638 email mama@mamabakessafecakes.com or on the web at www.mamabakessafecakes.com

Chad Davis is the Area Sales Manager for Regus, the leader in flexible workplace solutions. We know them as a top end executive office suites provider who delivers a professional turn key office environment to their clients anywhere, worldwide. With 31 offices and 800,000 plus square feet of space under management right here in Atlanta and over 1,500 offices worldwide, they have a footprint that dwarfs other similar operations.

Every property has the same layout, amenities, staffing and features as any other office. As a client, you can walk into any office anywhere in the world and in minutes have an office setup that you’ll feel right at home with. You just show up and show off. No extra charge except for the things you’d ordinarily pay back home makes this a great benefit.

For small entrepreneurs staring out, they deliver the IT, Phone and administrative support you need but at a tiny fraction of the expense to say nothing of removing the hassle of dealing with the issues involved. For large firms, it’s a flexible and fast way to house a temporary location to accommodate special projects or as an alternative to leasing more space if your workforce fluctuates with contracts etc.

Find out about the many ways you can save money and hassle or launch your new venture economically, give Chad a call at 678-643-2229 email chad.davis@regus.com or on the web www.regus.com

Tracy Solheim has been writing books since the 4th grade. Today, she’s a contract author with Penguin Books and has several books in publication with two more right around the corner.  She writes romantic women’s fiction today. A journalism major in college, she wrote for newspapers as well as the Congressional Record. She says her journalism training has helped give her a distinctive “voice” that comes through in her novels. If you want to become a published author, she gave indispensable advice on how to start and what to do to make your passion your position. You can reach her at www.tracysolheim.com , find her on Facebook @Tracy Solheim Books and reach her at 770-354-0201.

Franchise Attorney Michael Rosental explains franchising for business owners and buyers

Who hasn’t thought about owing or starting a franchise? Most business owners dream of seeing their brand spread worldwide with thousands of franchisees sending in royalty checks every month. Many individuals, probably 95%, have dreamed of being their own boss and looked at franchises at some point in their career.

Michael is a widely respected franchise attorney in Atlanta who has extensive experience having been an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia as well as Special Project Coordinator for the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs, and a Special Assistant Attorney General.

He’s been specializing in franchise law for over 20 years and is well respected and known in the Atlanta franchise practice area.  He counts franchisors as clients from all over North America and has seen and had to deal with a lot of legal issues surrounding starting, running or buying a franchise.

You’ll want to listen in to find out why most businesses who try to expand by “licensing” their concept to someone else trip the trifecta of specific tests that will make you subject to the FTC and state franchise laws.  Michael says that the test for determining if you are a franchise is a three legged stool so you need to understand what those are for certain. It’s not a trivial issue, the going fine for each offer you make (remember the 10,000 emails you sent out?) is in the $10,000 plus each range… so it’s not something you want to learn about when you get a “dear felon” letter in the mail from the FTC…

A good franchise attorney can help you structure your concept to avoid the tripwires and consult with you to give you to plusses and minuses of being a franchise vs. a license arrangement. There are definite advantages to being considered a franchise vs. licensing so don’t automatically think it’s not a good solution. With a lot of sketchy advice about this subject alone, it’s worth talking with a pro when you are thinking “I’ll franchise my business.”

As a franchise buyer, you need to have a specialist in franchise law on your team who can advise you and help protect your interests and your family attorney is seldom expert in this legal specialty. Attorneys like Michael will help you understand the FTC required Franchise Disclosure Document all franchises must give prospective franchisees.  They will also give you sound pointers on what the key questions you must answer before buying the franchise are and how to get the real answers to those questions.

You can contact Michael at the Wagner, Johnson & Rosenthal, P.C. offices by calling 404-365-0005 or by email msr@wjrlaw.com and on the web at www.wjrlaw.com

Pogontomy and Mobile Device Security Tickle Your Beard and Secure Your Network

Pogontomy and Mobile Device Security headline today’s show with Gary Gwynn and Rolf Versluis

Is pogontomy curable? How is it contagious… well, as you’ll learn, it can be a great thing. Our first guest was Gary Gwinn of Shoe Box Shave Shop, an online retailer of pogontomy supplies.  OK, so, what is this thing you can’t pronounce? It comes from the Greek “pogon” for beard and it’s all about all things shaving.  Gary is an expert on the movement back to “wet shaving” and says it has many benefits, not the least of which is a comfortable shave that’s close and eliminates razor “bumps” on your skin.

It turns out that many men and women too are rediscovering that the old safety razors and soap in a mug give a far better shave and do more for your skin and psyche than the commercial multi-blade razors do. He says it’s also cheaper… but to learn more about this below the radar movement, you’ll need to tune into today’s show. When you do you’ll find out why some razors go for almost $200 and shaving brushes pushing the same range. In fairness, there are far less expensive solutions but, hey, everyone wants to see a Rolls-Royce even if they go away with a Geo….

You can learn all about pogontomy and order everything you need online at www.shoeboxshaveship.com or email Gary at shoeboxshaveshop@yahoo.com or call Gary at 786-200-2774 for his personal advice in selecting the perfect razor, boar or badger brush, soaps and even gifts for the ladies, who by the way, are turning in droves to the wet shaving movement!

Rolf Versluis with ADCAP Network Systems and his team deliver the technical integration services companies need to use consumer phones, tablets and pads and protect their data and corporate systems. Explaining that the company was named for a sophisticated new torpedo gives you a clue that Rolf might have a Naval background. He did, 22 years as an officer on a nuclear sub where he came to appreciate the value of having smoothly functioning interoperating technologies that work together flawlessly.

Listen in to the program to find out how you can end the hassle and expense of making sophisticated mobile devices play well with other technologies like Wi-Fi, networks, Bluetooth, phone systems and routers…  Rolf’s team of almost 60 are experts in making almost any technology play well together while locking down valuable or sensitive data from the legions of cyber thieves patrolling the electronic world today.

You can contact Rolf Versluis at rversluis@adcapnet.com 678-456-6755 or on the web at www.adcapnet.com

Jim Lynch with Lynchpin Associates, LLC ; Carson Cowan with The Carson Cowan State Farm Agency; and Tim Koenning with Transamerica Financial Advisors

Guests today were Jim Lynch with Lynchpin Associates, LLC ; Carson Cowan with The Carson Cowan State Farm Agency; and Tim Koenning with Transamerica Financial Advisors.

Jim Lynch with Lynchpin Associates applies his many years experience of working with The Coca-Cola Company and UPS where he tackled introducing or repositioning these iconic brands into some 63 countries to large and small firms.

It doesn’t take long to recognize Jim is an expert in strategic planning, performance and program management, marketing and change management and  dealing with different cultures and ways of doing business.

Jim brings his amazing depth of experience and skill to leaders of companies large and small, helping them clarify their vision and turn those into actionable plans for taking their firms into new markets or countries or improve their operations and processes.

An Executive MBS from Emory’s Goizuetta Business School while with Coca-Coal, he improved his skills and refreshed his knowledge as he move over to UPS. We’d say it paid off handsomely. You will also find Jim payoff off handsomely when you retain him to help your company with strategic and tactical issues.

You can reach Jim at 678-916-3938 email: lynchpin@bellsouth.net on the web www.lynchpinassociaes.com

Carson Cowan recently opened The Carson Cowan State Farm Agency in Alpharetta. An eight year veteran with State Farm, Carson and his team are delivering primarily thought of as an auto and homeowner insurance company, in fact they have a huge array of very cost effective policies for businesses he legendary personal service State Farm is know for to families and businesses in Atlanta.  Tim says that while State Farm is and non-profits. Errors and Omission, Directors and Officer Liability, Health, general liability, workman’s comp… the list is long and impressive.

You’ll be surprised to learn they have excellent financial planning products and services too.

If you are a business who is seeking an almost total one stop high service insurance carrier, give Carson a call. Likewise, if you are an individual, be proactive and talk with Carson about how State Farm can save you money on insurance, make sure you have adequate insurance to meet the risks that life brings our -way and discuss your wealth-building options as well.

You can reach Carson at 770-864-5840 email carson@carsoncowan.com on the web www.carsoncowan.com

Tim Koenning represents Transamerica Financial Advisors specializingin helping individuals and families make the most of their retirement. With a broad array of products and services , Tim helps young families plan for a secure future in an uncertain world and helps those baby boomers  who are retiring maximize their returns and help the rest of the “Silver Tsunami” make their nest eggs work harder for them now.  Many families are faced with investing large sums accumulated by their parents which have been passed to them. Tim can offer advice and options that take the confusion out of handling complex investment decisions as well.

You can reach Tim at 770-418-0300  X 118 email tim.koenning@tfaconnect.com on the web www.tfaconnect.com

Magnolia Golf Group Makes Your Golf Tournament Unforgettable

Rich Lockhart, Sales Manager with The Magnolia Golf Group was our guest today. What timing with the Masters finishing yesterday with a fantastic playoff between Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera. Seeing two class competitors shoot almost side by side balls time and again was unforgettable. Aussie Adam Scott finally won the Masters for Australia, beating Angel Cabrera with a birdie on the second hole of that playoff.

As you listen to this program, you’ll discover Magnolia Golf Group makes fundraising golf events for charities and corporate tournaments as unforgettable for their participants and sponsors as the Masters.

Being in business for over 13 years, Magnolia Golf now runs some of the biggest golf fundraising tournaments for some of the biggest non-profits in the country.  How well it works is easy to tell because their clients engage them year after year. Why? Because the profit from the events grows year after year and helps fund their organization.

When it comes to making any golf tournament, even a small one a huge success, Rich and his team deliver.  Handling everything related to the event, they take the work off the company or non-profit’s staff so all they need to do is show up and show off.

Expanding beyond golf, Magnolia Golf makes marathons, road races and contests special with their professional electronic scoreboards. Beyond local events, they do work anywhere in the nation so if you have a company or charity that needs to run multiple venues, Magnolia is the easy solution.

You can reach Rich Lockhart, Sales Manager, at 678-852-4499 email: rich@magnoliagolfgroup.com and on the web at www.magnoliagolfgroup.com

How businesses can avoid expensive litigation by being proactive

Karen Cashion, law partner at Hipes & Bell Isle, LLC in Alpharetta, GA, was our guest today. With over 15 years of experience representing companies from start-ups to Fortune 500 giants, she shares her insights with business owners on avoiding litigation by being proactive and, if embroiled in litigation, how to minimize your expense.

In this show, you’ll discover situations where many businesses and executives needlessly get embroiled in expensive litigation that, in hindsight, would have cost almost nothing to have preempted had they recognized the minefield they faced.

A graduate of Duke Law and a former Assistant General Counsel for EarthLink, Inc., she is an expert in technology related law and very ably represents her clients who are in technology and other industries. Her partners add exceptional expertise and experience so their clients can be assured of having expert representation in almost any area of law and their many years of practice in the Atlanta area have allowed them to single out specialists and refer clients to specialists in various areas of law as required.

Common sense is not always a guide when it comes to law and downloadable contracts from the Internet may well turn out to be worthless. It takes an expert in business law to properly advise you and keep you out of trouble. You wouldn’t do your own appendix surgery so why try to be your own attorney?

You’ll want to contact Karen, she is an expert who regularly speaks to very large groups on corporate law. She will help you get out in front of legal quagmires and head off problems before they even start.

Karen can be reached at: 770-664-6699 or email kchashion@hbilawfirm.com n the web at www.hbilawfirm.com

Take the “OOPS” out of hiring with today’s newsest psychometric assessments

Our guest today was Chuck Russell, President and founder of BestWork DATA. He discusses how, by using new data technologies, you can take the “OOPS” out of hiring. Author of “Right Person – Right Job, Guess or Know,” Chuck pioneered a new understanding of the practical power of solid DATA to transform the human resources of a business.

Using the newest insights and science of human behavior and working with the most distinguished psychometric scientists in North America and Europe, Chuck has developed a new and more powerful tool to bring increased clarity to the hiring process through more revealing and actionable assessments of the traits of individuals and how those apply to job performance.

From the developer of over 500 unique assessment reports and three assessment system, learn what the new state of the art is in employee assessments and how the popular assessments like Myers-Briggs and D.I.S.C. differ from the newest tools.

In the process, you’ll lean how using today’s modern psychometrics, you can not only put the right person in the right job but even do a far better job of matching job requirements to the best person among a group of seemingly equally qualified and talented people.

With over 70% of all firms using these or similar tools today, if you are not a user, you need to discover what you are missing and if you are not using Chuck’s system, learn what you are missing. You’ll be glad you did.

Giving back to the community is a big thing with Chuck and he makes his system free for use by any Veterans organization to help our heroes understand their strengths while assisting hiring companies to pick people who will best fit their requirements. If you work with any veterans’ group, get in touch for full details, Chuck will be a great partner.

You’ll find more ways to use the system Chuck developed by visiting www.jobthoughts.com – a site for those seeking new opportunities, and www.studenttsincollege.com – a site for students to find out their dominant traits to help them pick careers that will seem like play and where they will excel.

You can reach Chuck Russell at chuck@bestworkdata.com on the web at www.bestworkdata.com or call 770-715-8326.