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Alpharetta Business Radio

Month: March 2013

Julie Grace of Grace Design on Marketing Strategy and Tactics; Reid Trego of Huntington Learning Center on Improving a Childs Academic Skills

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Julie Grace, owner of Grace Design, a marketing strategies and implementation firm, comes from a career working with non-profit firms, helping them define and promote themselves. Working with some of the household name non-profits, she’s helped craft a sound strategy for them then translated that into specific marketing tactics that accomplish specific goals.

A talented designer and excellent copywriter in her own right, she is also grounded in the business side and emphasizes the need for continuous measurement of results and tuning and tweaking to maximize the ROI on every marketing dollar invested.

For several years now, she’s worked with for both profit and non-profit firms in Atlanta helping them understand and articulate a marketing and brand strategy then managing the execution, delivering the copywriting, collateral and promotional materials, direct mail, email, websites, trade shows and social media services required to execute marketing projects.

When you need a well thought out strategy that builds your image, brand, achieves defined results and catches and holds onto your customers, you’ll definitely want to talk with Julie and her team.

You can reach Julie and Grace Design at: 770-922-1200 email: Julie@gracedesign.net; on the web: www.gracedesign.net

Reid Trego, owner of Huntington Learning Center in Woodstock, has owned the center since 2004. Always interested in influencing and working with young people, he has put his major in psychology and economics to work in a business focused on helping students struggling with academic skills.

Parents most often notice there is a problem when homework time leads to frustration or when grades begin to fall. Reid says these go back most often to problems with basic skills and motivation. Basic skills get missed for many reasons and even with many programs in school to help remediate these issues, not all students are helped.

That’s where Reid and Huntington Learning Centers come in. They work one on one with each student, identify the specific gaps that are the underlying cause of the symptoms the parents see then creating  a carefully designed program that helps get each child back on track.

The difference is individual one on one attention says Reid. Not all children learn the same way, at the same speed or “get it” the way something is presented. Using certified educators, they invest the time to first assess the problem and its causes then provide the ongoing one-on-one specialized help needed to close gaps and ameliorate problems.

For children with leaning disabilities, having the one-on-one help is very critical, many children just need a high level of attention to be their best and that’s what Reid and his center can deliver.

And, coping with the alphabet soup of tests that are so important to a child’s future may mean giving a youngster practice and insights into strategies for taking these tests and answering questions. Even practice applying the right skills may be lacking without training. All the way from basic tests to ACT and SAT, Huntington has a program that will improve results.

Huntington Learning Center is a trusted solution to help ensure your child succeeds; the husband and wife understand the root causes that causing the problems; and then have a clear view of the gaps that make school problematic. From that understanding, the see that Reid’s course of action will help bring their child up to speed.

You can reach Reid and Huntington Learning Center at 678-445-4746 or email: reidtrego@hlcwoodstock.com; on the web: www.huntingtonhelps.com

Diane Prindle – Hiring employees with disabilities; Howard Flint – Marketing effectively in a web-centric world

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Diane Prindle of Briggs & Associates helps employers hire those with disabilities; Howard Flint, President of Ghost Partner helps companies market effectively using the new media and a changed web centric world. Briggs & Associates Diane Prindle helps those with mental disabilities find employment which gives an immense sense of satisfaction to those hired while helping companies discover a new pool of dedicated, grateful and highly effective employees to do many tasks in their companies.  Taxpayers win too as those hired no longer require support from State and Local programs freeing up funds badly needed in other areas. Dispelling the myth that hiring people with mild mental disabilities is fraught with problems, she cites study after study showing they make excellent highly-skilled employees in the right position. Working with the employer, Briggs & Associates analyze the job skills needed in various positions and identify those suited to their pool of individuals. After careful matching, the results surprise the employer because they find their new employee is loyal, on time, dedicated and turn out better results than the people they hired previously. There are many other positive outcomes from stepping forward to see how your company can make a difference for challenged individuals and in the process, improve many aspects of their own company. Contact Diane at 404-290-6860 email: diane@briggsassociates.org Web: www.briggsassociates.org to learn more. Their services are free for the employer and the individuals they help so there is no reason not to reach out and discover a new talent pool. Ghost Partner Howard Flint sold his last company, BUZZ Publishing in 200 but saw that content on the web would soon become vital to being noticed. With a proven network of professional writers, he formed Ghost Partner to help firms navigate the uncharted waters of internet marketing. Working with some very high profile clients like Intuit/Quickbooks and many smaller ones, Howard and his team have rounded out a complete solution for internet marketing using unique, quality content, social media, SEO and website content optimization. His team have the edge over many others offering similar services having done newsletters for years and with a network of proven writers to tackle projects. The result is copy and marketing optimized to get the results you have set for your online marketing and return the highest ROI on your investment. If you struggle with finding or executing an internet/social media marketing strategy that works, you’ll want to be sure and reach out to Howard. Call him at 404-537-2166 X 4 or email: howard@ghostpartner.com Web: www.ghostpartner.com

Women Entrepreneurs and Their Businesses: Simply Saying Hi, Thanks and Hello; and Professional Real Estate Sales and Investment Advice

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Our first guest was Larissa Nichols, a Russian immigrant 13 years ago leveraged her education as an English teacher in Russia and as a translator to move here. She has found a niche building her business teaching sales people, Realtors, attorneys, small businesses – virtually anyone how to make a positive impression and stay in contact with their customers by sending a thank you, birthday or gift card.

An independent dealer for SendOutCards, Larissa introduces people to the power of using the internet to make sending a real in-the-mail gift, birthday, Christmas, get well or thank you card as easy as sending an email.  Instead of buying expensive custom cards that never get sent because they take forever to address, stamp and mail, her service lets you send your cards out one at a time, a thousand at a time or create a series of cards that automatically go out.

She says using these to reach out to new customers makes positive impression and increases the likelihood of your getting a referral and repeat business. Now there is no excuse for your sales force not to send new customers and prospects a professionally designed card rivaling ones costing several dollars or even use your own designed one. . . and send it for a fraction of the cost of what it would cost locally. Get in touch. You’ll get a card at a minimum! Concta Larissa at 678-332-6607 www.turnkeycardshop.com or email: larissa.nichols@larissanichols.com.

Lorraine Beato is a Realtor with Palmer House Properties and brings 20 years experience in real estate and appraising to the field of real estate. Starting in real estate in Westchester County, NY and moving here she’s worked in high value properties with discerning families as well as in more modest prices homes all across the real estate spectrum. Fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, she has a unique ability to work with clients and bridge the gap beteween cultures, language and business methods.

Beyond being a great resource for listing and pricing a home so it sells at the top price in any market, she goes the extra mile to make a deal come together. She knows what repairs need to be made and what those will cost, having a lot of experience in rehab work. That’s great for sellers or, if you’ve hired Lorraine to act as a buyer’s agent, you’ll not have any nasty surprises in the inspection process that delay or kill a sale.

If you are interested in investing in real estate – it can pay off handsomely if you get the right place, in the right market and the stage of the market is favorable. Knowing how to determine all those factors separates Lorraine from many others in the field. Investing on her own account and helping other investors acquire and rehab profitable properties means she has the current knowledge to help you make a wise investment.

Conscientious, going the extra two miles for her clients and doing a superb job following up with every party to a transaction means smooth sales and purchases, no surprises and an altogether terrific experience. Keep your eye on Lorraine, she’s a powerhouse and you’ll be hearing more from her.  You can reach Lorraine at Beato@comcast.net www.lorrainebeato.com and by phone 404-429-7354,

Helping Businesses Thrive and Changing Lives by Changing Beliefs

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Louis Agudo is president of “It’s a Great Day for Business, Inc.,” a business coaching and networking company; and Jeff Waller is president of “Excent Corporation,” and educational software company helping at-risk kids discover a world of possibilities and changing their lives forever – Changing lives and changing beliefs to help people and businesses thrive was the theme of today’s show. A New Yorker by birth, Louis spent 20 very successful years in the construction business in a competitive world. A few short years ago, he moved down to Atlanta and sought a different path for his future. Coming to the realization that by helping others get everything they want, you can get all you want and discovering that he could help many business owners market themselves better, run their firms with less waste and friction, he found a calling and a second career. Bringing 20 years of lessons learned from a competitive world to what he does, he and his partner, Randall Phillips, help owners find a better way to function and achieve what is important to them. The is a limit to what any one of us can do on our own, we have limited ability to see things differently than we’ve always seen them. Helping you discover what holds you back from making huge improvement in you business and personal life is sometimes as simple as being a mirror and a skilled questioner that reveals what you already know but could not bring to the surface and take action upon it. You may want to attend one of his networking meetings and get to know him and find out how you can use networking effectively to grow your business. If you don’t network the right way, the event is just a high-priced bad food waste of time. You can learn about his events and also get in contact via his website at www.itsagreatdayforbusiness.com or call 404-375-7461. Jeff Waller, president of Excent Corporation and co-founder of Magic Wand Foundation focuses on helping at-risk children discover a different future by changing their beliefs and adopting new approach to life. After years of study and research he and his partners have developed a proven program that in real world situations are making 250 percent improvements in graduation rates through engaging at risk middle schoolers with software, games and energizing their creativity and natural abilities. Showing what is under their control, the program turns around lives and changes futures. It’s an amazing program that school systems are rapidly taking on because it’s cost effective and more importantly, it works. Magic Wand foundation is a non-profit program that is designed to take the software and program world wide. Already in use in Mexico, Columbia and other nations, benefactors and interested non-profits are helping spread the benefits of these empowering programs to the youth of this world. The mind that is saved may be the mind that develops the next breakthrough in science, finds new solutions to old scourges and problems, or leads a major company and it’s people. We highly recommend you lean more about Jeff and his company and foundation, its a remarkable story. You can do so by visiting http://excent.com or call 404-444-9782.

Feed Your Team, Keep Their Data & Secrets Secure; Building Pesonal Wealth & Security With a Franchise

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Stephanie Howard – McAlister’s Deli Catering Manager, Bill Abroms – ABCUS Inc. on foolproof Data Security and Steve Miller – The Entrepreneur’s Source on Being a Franchise Owner

Stephanie has been managing big and small events from small catered corporate functions to the PGA TPC size events into the hundreds. Having come up in the restaurant business, she brings solid customer sensitivity to McAlister’s Deli Catering and ensuring every expectation will be met within your budget.

Private functions such as weddings, Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, tailgate parties, community events… it doesn’t matter. The amazing wide selection from pages of dishes that are available virtually guarantee fantastic food within whatever your budget.

With multiple stores in Atlanta and other states, you’ll find great food and service nearby.

When quality, service and attention to detail counts, reach out to Stephanie Howard at 601-622-4761 or showard@mcalistersdeli.com or on the web at: www.mcalistersdeli.com

Bill Abroms company is ABCUS Inc. He is an expert in securing even the most sensitive data from loss or hacking using sophisticated hardware and software solutions. We’ve all seen the embarrassed company and governmental officials stuttering and stammering in front of microphones and being grilled on how it was their company or agency accidentally left 2 million detailed financial records and credit card data laying around on a laptop that was left on a bus., etc.

If they had contact Bill and his company, there would have been no story. The data would have been encrypted to top security standards and the moment the computer was used by an unauthorized person, much like the eponymous destructing tapes in Mission Impossible, the already encrypted content of the computer would be destroyed.

From thumb drives to data centers, from very small companies, attorney offices, medical professional’s clinics and offices, Bill and ABCUS have easily affordable solutions. Given the huge cost of data loss today, no one can afford to not lock down their sensitive information. So call the people Homeland Security and other government agencies have called to secure sensitive data, contact Bill and ABCUS.

You can contact Bill at 770-448-5667 or email babroms@abcusinc.com or on the Web at:  www.abcusinc.com

Steve Miller with The Entrepreneur’s Source represents selected quality franchise opportunities. His business and calling is helping people in transition in the Corporate world explore an alternative career path  by being their own boss in a franchise. Steve also works with executives who are presently employed but who realize that creating a separate source of income outside their company is critical today.

With employees being almost temporary contractors without even the myth of retiring after a long career in a company remaining, many sensible people are exploring what the franchise business model could do to improve their long term security and income.

Taking a consultative approach is Bill’s approach to working with people he sees. He’s fully aware of what running a business is all about having built and sold a large one of his own and that puts him in the position of being able to walk you through the advantages of a franchise and explain it from an owners perspective.

But he’ll be the first do your homework, don’t rush into the first thing or even the thing you fall in love with He’ll insist you talk to successful franchisees in the franchise you are considering and more importantly, stress how vital it is for you to also talk with the ones who left the system. In short, he’s a pro.

Get in touch with Steve, you’ll find he is no nonsense, corporate in his approach, consultative plus you’ll get the wisdom of one who has years of franchise and business expertise to draw upon.

You can reach Steve at 404-787-5897 or email smiller@EsourceCoach.com or on the Web at: www.theesource.com/SMiller

Peggy Titus-Hall CPCC, PCC with People Growth LLC Helps People In Career Transition Launch New Careers

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Peggy Titus-Hall CPCC, PCC with People Growth LLC Helps People In Career Transition Launch New Careers

Peg works with her clients to help them find the perfect career that meets their definition of success including personal, professional, and financial satisfaction as well as a healthy balance between their personal and professional lives.

As a personal career and life coach, Peg:

  • Is trained and certified to listen, to observe, and to customize the approach to individual client needs
  • Seeks to elicit solutions and strategies from the client
  • Believes that you, the client, are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole

On your own, you are alone and limited only to what you know, Peg gives you the benefit of her career in large corporations and her own company helping executives, family business members and individuals with their careers.

For those who are making a career transition for and those who want to climb the corporate ladder faster than their peers, Peg will equip you with the techniques, the insights, the skills, the confidence and the very best tools, processes, strategies and techniques so you get the very best results faster than the “rest of the pack”.

Peg can help you to:

  • Identify your ideal career path
  • Develop your networking connections
  • Determine a communications strategy to ask for what you want and need from your network
  • Build an effective, powerful resume
  • Cultivate a plan to build an ongoing career path

She is also an expert in interpersonal communication and presenting like a pro. You can learn how to give presentations that are alive, fun, communicate your message and make it stick … so people take action, not naps.

She knows what she’s doing in front of an audience and is a sought after speaker. Her previous speaking engagements include:

  • McDonald’s Corporation
  • Georgia Institute of Technology – Women’s Leadership Conference
  • American Society for Training & Development
  • Credit Professionals International
  • Networking Entrepreneurial Women’s Conference
  • Ernst & Young LLP
  • Georgia Association for Women Lawyers
  • Georgia Coach Association

When you listen in, you’ll pick up several suggested website Peg recommends to help you with your career and career transitions in our broadcast so don’t miss that.

Peg is well connected in the community and serves as the President of the Board of Directors of the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra and is an alumni of Leadership Johns Creek.

You can put someone on your team who will help you get a better position faster and take away skills that will make you far more effective and confident in your future roles, business and personal.

Give Peg a call at 678-427-6456 email: coachpeg@peoplegrowhllc.com, and visit her on the web at www.peoplegrowthllc.com.

Scott Beckwith, VP and Director of Sales & Marketing for Southern Capital Mortgage Group (GA & FL)

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Scott Beckwith, VP and Director of Sales & Marketing for  Southern Capital Mortgage Group (GA & FL) was our guest today. An expert in residential lending up and down the east coast, Scott brings many years of experience linking mortgagees with specialty lenders, private lenders and traditional mortgage firms. An owner of his own 11 state mortgage company, Scott helped many hundreds of new homeowners find the perfect mortgage.

The experience of going through good times and tough times before gives Scott an advantage, he has developed many direct sources of funding besides the mortgage companies, a distinct advantage when serving jumbo loans with special situations and homeowners with unique needs.

With private sourcing and multiple conventional sources, Scott does the legwork for you to find the very best mortgage product for your situation. As a direct writer, you won’t be working with a faceless committee in Timbuktu who sees you as “application #1,434,330,911 C”.  For those with special situations, Scott and  his company are the go to guys.

First time homeowner? Figure a mortgage is impossible? Scott has been very successful matching new homeowners up with mortgage products and putting them in a home. In fact, Scott admits that helping people get the financing for their home is a huge reward and why he has loved every minute of the 17 years he’s been in the business.

Freddie or Fannie mortgage holder? Have you checked what HARP can do for your payments? Go online at www.scmgonline.com and use their HARP calculator to see how HARP can benefit you.

Refinance? You should also talk to Scott and his team first. Maybe your best solution financially is to not refinance, they’ll work the numbers to show you what is the right course for you… even if it means forgoing a loan they could have made.

But then, that’s Scott’s attitude and one of the things that sets Southern Capital Mortgage Group apart – putting their client first and doing what’s very best for them.

You can contact Scott at 678-905-9605 email: sbeckwith@scmgonline and on the web at www.scmgonline.com.

Using Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Outsourcing Administrative Staffing

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Today’s show investigates how to best staff, hire, motivate, retain and lead high performance teams in growing companies and cost-effective solutions for today’s distributed workforce that provide the high level of administrative support as enjoyed in the best corporate offices (maybe even better).

Randall Lucius, Ph.D. with the Turknett Leadership Group was in the studio today along with the Gurl Friday Services team of Theresa Widmann and Victoria Hunter. Both are experts in helping expanding businesses deal with growth and a more demanding work environment. Randy’s company does that by applying the tools of Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology to optimize the interactions and management of people while the other brings the host of support services growing companies need to run a business smoothly, efficiently while minimizing their costs.

Dr. Lucius is Vice President of Turknett Leadership Group, and Director of the Human Performance Division. He has over 15 years of progressive consulting experience that spans such diverse areas as executive assessment and coaching, job analysis, competency modeling, employee selection, litigation support, performance management, 360 degree feedback, frame-of-reference training, organizational re-structuring, employee opinion surveys, personality assessment, and leadership development. He has worked for numerous organizations of all sizes and types from small to the Fortune 500, government agencies, and non-profit.

He is a graduate of The University of Georgia with a doctorate degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Prior experiences include Employee Relations specialist with United Parcel Service, research director for the Center for Leadership and Career Studies at Emory University, Research Director for Fitability, and Project Manager for Applied Psychological Techniques.

Dr. Lucius is the co-author of the Fitability 5, a personality-based assessment administered to over a quarter-million individuals across the U.S. Dr. Lucius’ co-founded Organizational Diagnostics Online, a company acquired by Fitability in 2001.

Dr. Lucius is a licensed psychologist, has served as an adjunct faculty member at Oglethorpe University, and once served as the President for the Atlanta Society of Applied Psychology.

You’ll want to find out how professionals can dramatically transform individual, team and company effectiveness, innovation, nimbleness and creativity and transform small, medium and large firms into fearsome competitors.

Explaining that many small family firms and even companies with 4 or 5 individuals can afford their services and set themselves up to avoid conflicts while maximizing individual contribution…

I/O psychology is heavily business based and focused and is assuredly not the stereotypical “on the couch, chin-stroking” type of psychologist asking about your childhood. The Turknett Leadership Group works to improve the business effectiveness of senior executives, manager and employees using the principles of psychology. This approach helps people understand themselves and their coworkers better, assemble the right teams of the right people and form cohesive, goal oriented teams that excel, compete and win. A necessity in today’s ever more competitive international business community.

You can reach Dr.Randy Lucius at 770-270-1723 rlucius@turknett.com and online at www.turknett.com.

The  “Gurl Friday Services” team delivers the suite of services today’s distributed business can’t get along without. Teleworkers, remote sales agents operating from small offices and home offices, startups and many growing businesses need administrative support for accounting and bookkeeping, managing email, setting appointments, making travel and event arrangements, dealing with expense reports, taming accounts receivable and accounts payable, correspondence, etc., but they can’t afford to nor they need all those people full time, sitting around and costing money.

They need a service that delivers an on demand, al la carte menu of business services at reasonable prices. That’s what Gurl Friday Services does for their customers.

Both Theresa and Victoria have broad experience and backgrounds with large and small companies and they and their team of people bring put business expertise and experience in the hands the small companies while saving them money over other alternatives.

If you are being buried in the details, tax time means reaching for the grocery bag of receipts, you have a big marketing program and need to send out a thousand invitations, plan a conference or the pile of to-do’s is robbing you of handling your real business and has you working in, not on, your business, then you’ll want to call your own Gurl Friday.

Contact Theresa Widmann at 770-315-8613 theresa@gurlfridayservices.com and Victoria Hunter at 678-643-3132 victoria@gurlfridayservices.com and on the web at www.gurlfridayservices.com