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Monica Murray Explains Consignment Stores Are Great Values and Good Solutions

Monica Murray is a registered nurse, former airline employee, with Delta, world traveler and a inveterate shopper.  Monica tells a funny story of what lead her to open her own women’s fashion consignment store in Johns Creek.  Something about a closet that threatened to overwhelm her house…

The big surprise is how a lady with a passion for helping people and loving to find bargains and unusual things turned it into a business. It’s inspiring when you realize she started it as her first business venture and is now doing so well.  Jewelry, clothing and unique new crafts that Monica selects to help people with great talent and vision show off their crafts in a great, high traffic location and gain a following make her shop a stand out among other similar stores.

Monica does point out that consignment store owners are something of specialists, some handle furniture, others clothing for children, others women’s apparel and accessories etc.  Most know the others and can point you to a store where they know you can find something you are looking for that is not in their store.

You might not realize how helpful a good consignment store can be. It was interesting to find out how you can use it to take away some of the pain of losing a family member and having to dispose of their things.  Explaining that if you have a cause you support, by using a consignment store, you can transform things you don’t need or can’t use any longer into cash that you can donate to your favorite charity or cause rather than just give it to a non-profit like Goodwill.

A clever way to use consignment stores like hers is to host a “shopping event” with appropriate adult libations and get a group of your friends together to come in, perhaps put in an “entrance fee” for the charity and raise money for your cause or to support a school, etc.

You will find Monica to be sharp, widely traveled and very knowledgeable and happy to help. You can find her and her store in Johns Creek directly above the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce, on the web at www.monicasboutiquejohnscreek.com phone 770-623-0062 or email monicasbotiquejc@hotmail.com

SherpaDesk with Patrick Clements and Hipes & Bell Isle Attorneys on 6 Mistakes Businesses Make

Our guests today will be of particular interest to those who run businesses. Patrick Clements is the founder and CEO of bigWebApps, a respected provider of customer service portals for education and government agencies to manage customer service tickets. Also in the studio were the three partners of the largest law firm in N. Georgia, Hipes & Bell Isle, represented by the three principals, David Bell Isle, John Hipes and Karen Cashion.

Our first guest was Patrick Clements. His company recently took their years of experience providing customer service ticket software to non-profit and governmental organizations and created SherpaDesk, a brand new ticket management system for companies who are looking for a simple to use and quick to implement but powerful customer trouble ticket management system.

Patrick says that the new system draws on almost 13 years of experience with service ticket, employee and vendor management to give the business person running a service fleet, or repair crews a way to manage for customer satisfaction and efficiency.

Good customer service is more important than ever and having your teams meet their commitments with on time, one trip excellence is the difference between keeping customers and getting recommendations from customer defection.  As a fully unbundled application, you can start out and use this web based application for free. As you need more teams, tickets, etc., you can buy exactly what you need without being forced into costly packages or locked-in to terms before you can made downward adjustments.

If you have customer service or teams working on projects and you need to manage them for on time delivery, minimum cost and maximum customer satisfaction,you’ll want to try SherpaDesk. You can find it at www.sherpadesk.com and can reach Patrick Clements at patrick@bigwebapps.com or phone 404-849-7145.

The partners with Hipes & Bell Isle, Attorneys, in Alpharetta were our second guests today. David Bell Isle, John Hipes and repeat guest and firm partner, Karen Cashion, discussed business related law issues and covered the 6 things they see businesses get in trouble with that could be prevented with some prior legal counsel and agreements.

By way of introduction, David Bell Isle is the Mayor of Alpharetta and a 5th generation Atlantan. He received a BBA from the University of Georgia, an MBA from Ga. State and his JD from Georgia State College of Law.  His is an expert in closing complex real estate and other securitized transaction loans including SBA 7(a) and 504 funding.

John Hipes received his BA cum laude from Wake Forest University and his JD magna cum laude from Georgia State College of law. John has been a prominent attorney since starting out 25 years ago with Smith, Gambrell and Russell LLP then Morris Manning and & Martin before he and David formed Hipes & Bell Isle. His practice is in the area of commercial litigation, including insurance coverage, construction, real estate, employment, partnership and shareholder disputes, tort and injury law.

Karen Cashion received her BA cum laude from Emory University and her JD with high honors from Duke Law School.  She has practiced law for over 15 years representing companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 firms. Karen’s practice focuses on providing corporate and technology law services including company formation and start-up advice, litigation and risk management consulting.

Now the largest law firm in North Georgia, the partners shared their insights on where businesses continually run into problems simply because they did not avail themselves of proper legal counsel and put in place simple up-front agreements before a problem arose.

The top six problem areas they discussed were:

  1. Failing to form a corporation or other legal entity to provide protection from liability
  2. Lack of proper insurance coverage to cover claims and lawsuits and to pay for counsel
  3. Lack of internal controls, oversight, precisely written contracts, and other risk prevention measures that can prevent problems before they occur
  4. Failure to implement employment policies and to train employees on those policies
  5. Lack of document retention policies and the risk of spoliation
  6. Failing to protect confidential information and intellectual property through use of restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicit, confidentiality clauses)

You will not want to miss their advice and insights on how to best avoid problems in these and other areas. You certainly don’t want to make the mistake one company made on a simple $100,000 transaction that cost them $4 Million to settle! Find out what that mistake was by listening to this show, it’s a graphic lesson on the value of prevention.

Contact the exceptional attorneys to discuss your situation by visiting www.hblawfirm.com, or by calling 770-664-6699

Rochel Parker, Classical Feng Shui Consultant Brings a Degreed Engineer’s Perspective

Feng Shui is a much misunderstood and misused term which has perhaps hurt it’s being taken seriously in America.  Explaining there is a very big difference between Classical Feng Shui and “fokelore” Feng Shui.

Rochel explains that the “Classical” version  is based on mathematics while the other is about using talismans which act somewhat like post-it notes of what the viewer should be thinking or paying attention to then.  It’s the difference between “always on” vs. “momentary on” light switches, one is always there and on while you have to manually hole the other in the on position for it to work.

A practitioner who has been actively learning for 16 years and today is a sought after speaker on the subject. Rochel says she is not yet a Feng Shui master but is well on her way after 16 years practicing. The only way to become a master is to study with the Feng Shui masters who are found in Hong Kong, Malaysia and other countries surrounding China and through practicing their teachings over time.

Saying that it works by bringing a sense of being right and that you simply feel at home when the Feng Shui energy flows are aligned for you and your home. It’s a complicated process that would fill a four foot high book were it all written down in one place. It’s definitely not something you can get from a book or course, it’s a process of studying with masters of the art in the far east where the principles have been applied for 5,000 years in a place where you see examples of good and bad Feng Shui.

Working in business to bring prosperity, it’s used by many very well-known companies and personalities. Examples of how changing the bad energy flows to good has dramatically transformed the success of many very visible people in the news including “The Donald” Trump and Oprah Winfrey.

It’s a fascinating subject that there is a great deal of misunderstanding of and casual dismissal but when you listen to Rochel on today’s show, you’ll go away with a new appreciation of an ancient art and how it can improve your life and livelihood.

You can reach Rochel at www.fengshuitechnology.com 404-589-0308 and by email at: rochel@fengshuitechnology.com

Al Mishkoff, Jo Ann Tuttle, Jeff Sheehan and Brittni Ping Guests

Our show today covers topics from garage floor coatings to increase your home’s appeal and utility, construction consulting services for companies and governments to take the pain out of accounting and reporting, using sophisticated psychometric testing to help your college student make the right choices, to expert advice on how to use social media to promote your business so you don’t do more damage than good.

Al Mishkoff is president of Granite Garage Floors, a residential services company that upgrades garage floors with a durable, functional and decorative epoxy coating system that will give your garage a look worthy of Jay Leno’s garage. With businesses opened in four cities besides Atlanta and expansion plans afoot, other areas will soon be able to turn their dirty, stained old garages into showcases.

Using diamond grinders and a lot of preparation of the floor makes sure the foundation of the home comes up before Al’s durable coating ever comes up. Well almost anyway, he says that his floor is guaranteed to stay down and not peel like acid prepped surfaces with epoxy paint usually do.  With an infinite range of looks you can turn an old dusty garage into a stain proof and easy to clean one.

You can contact Al Mishkoff and find out more at www.granitegaragefloors.com email him at alan@granitegaragefloors.com or call 770-329-1751.

Jo Ann Tuttle started her consulting firm JAT Consulting Services, Inc., 19 years ago and it now helps governmental agencies such as Hartsfield Jackson Airport manage the financial complexities of its $6.2 billion capital improvement program working for International Aviation Consultants LLC. Taking the complex payments, compliance reporting and contracting details for cities and municipalities are another service her firm provides.

The city of Dunwoody is an example where her company handles all finance, budget and purchasing activities for the newly incorporated city. This model of outsourcing services to private parties to keep government overhead low and results responsive to the citizens is a popular trend here and other governments could well improve services and cut costs with JAT.

A person who gives back, Ms. Tuttle is a member of the Airport Minority Advisory Council, Consulting engineering of Georgia and the Women’s Transportation Seminar. She coaches and helps contractors working in places like Hartsfied-Jackson (there are over 700 contractors, many small) learn business skills and gain the knowledge that simply can’t be learned anywhere else through seminars and mentoring.

Saying she believes that giving back to help these companies not just gives you sense of personal satisfaction that’s hard to duplicate, it also builds a stronger Atlanta.

You can contact Ms. Tuttle at 770-975-7359 email her at joanntuttle@jatconsulting.net or on the web at www.jatconsulting.net.

Brittini Ping is President of Students & College, an information services company for parents and their children who are in the process of selecting a college and thinking of how to cut the costs of a higher education given today’s massive costs for college.

We’re all different and understanding those differences can help you and your college bound children pick the right major and school the first time and save frustration and money later on. That’s what Brittini and her team do for families grappling with college choices and costs.

A division of BestWork DATA, a psychometric testing firm used by companies to help understand how to best place employees in positions and the best strategies for helping their employees maximize their potential, Students & College uses the same powerful testing tools to help you and your son or daughter understand the areas where they will do their best and be happy in their major. By picking the right major up front, you avoid the high cost of having to swap majors later and spend an added year to get a degree, an obvious benefit to the cost conscious.

As important, you and your son or daughter will gain valuable insights as to the college that is likely to be the best fit be that a small liberal arts school or a school with tens of thousands of students. We’re all different and understanding those differences can help you and your college bound children pick the right major and school the first time and save frustration and money later on.

You can reach Brittni Ping at 770-274-0518 x 8300, via email at brittni.ping@celebratestrengths.com or on the web at www.studentsandcollege.com

Jeff Sheehan is President of Sheehan Marketing Strategies, a firm that helps companies use the right mix of social media to drive business and avoid the many pitfalls of “do it yourself” social media approaches can harbor.  Explaining it is not something that will work for every company nor will the same social media channels work with every situation, Jeff says that you really must understand the problems and characteristics of your marketing goals and match that to the right media for the job. That media might be social media or not and if it is, then it might be LinkedIn but not twitter.

Knowing takes a professional and Jeff brings his major ad agency background with him when discussing and advising companies on how best to use this “new media.”

An active speaker in the Atlanta community, Jeff is well known for his volunteer work with career ministries helping others to learn how to think about and use social media in their job search and to develop a personal brand.

You can put his years of experience marketing products to and for major companies like Cisco, Apple, HP, Dow Chemical, and IBM to work in your firm helping you makes sense of and get real business out of today’s new media.

Jeff Sheehan can be reached at 770-366-1047 by email at jeffsheehan2010@gmail.com or on the web at http://sheehanmarketingstrategies.com

Steve Cohen – Online Reputation Management, Lorene Schaefer – Handling Harassment and Pam Sligar – Realtor

Steve Cohen, “Head Renegade” leads Internet Marketing Renegades, an online reputation management firm. He and his team help companies proactively avoid bad reviews on social sites and review portals. Stressing that even one negative review can kill someone buying from you online or coming into your store, he explained that the power of Social Media today and your reputation can’t be an afterthought.

Most people are not aware of all the sites where reviews of your company can occur much less have the tools and strategies that are needed to head of a bad review and turn the reviewer into a raving fan.

That’s what Steve and his company does using custom software that heads of those bad reviews before they get posted. It’s unique and you’ll want to learn about that if you sell online, serve the public or own a store or restaurant.

Beyond reputation management, Steve offers local search engine optimization, Social Media marketing, and can help you deal with the exploding number of people using iPhones, iPads, tablets etc. so your content and web site show up well on any device.

You can reach Steve, the “Head Renegade” at 770-847-0510 imrsteve@gmail.com and on the web at www.internetmarketingrenegades.com

Lorene Schaefer, President of Workplace Investigations Group, is an attorney specializing in the investigation of sexual harassment and workplace bullying claims. Her staff of experienced attorney investigators handle these explosive situations and get to the bottom of the issue. Working with you and your own attorney, they complement your own counsel by taking on the highly specialized task of investigations that HR and investigators generally lack the expertise, skill and knowledge to handle properly.

Explaining that jury awards can be quite stratospheric if harassment claims are not handled properly, and that a company, by not responding can waive any defense, it is clear this area of workplace management requires education for you and managers but also someone who is already in place who can nip these toxic situation in the bud.

It’s an area large firms understand well but in general, smaller firms simply are not aware of what a harassment claim can even sound like, much less have any idea of the pitfalls of handing a claim improperly. For example, claims can sound like not a big deal, “Jack walked me out to my car after the company party and tried to kiss me.” Yep, that’s a real complaint and you better be ready to respond appropriately.

That is where Lorene and her team help. They can educate your managers of what constitutes harassment, what they must do and what legal consequences could be so they can be avoided. If worse comes to worse, you and your regular corporate legal team will have the experts who are impartial and can properly execute your obligations and help head off costly litigation.

You can contact Lorene at 800-830-1561 email: lorene@winwinhr.com and on the web www.internal-investigations.com Her blog is www.winwinhr.com.

Pam Sligar is a third generation Realtor and literally grew up with Atlanta real estate. Her 30 years in the market is reflected on her grasp of the market nuances, trends and inventory. Explaining that there is a real shortage of good properties in almost all price ranges, she can advise new people on what to do to get a good home in a market that is becoming increasingly tight.

For sellers, she can help be sure you get the very top price by marketing your home properly, pricing it right and making a difficult process where anything can hold up a sale, go smoothly.  After years of a home glut were prices were badly depressed it’s a different story today. Pam says most homes sell in 100 days and some sell at substantial premiums over the asking price.

You can reach Pam at the Keller Williams Mansell Road office at 678-521-5571 (cell) 678-287-4800 (office) email pamsligar@kw.com and on the web at www.pamsligar.com