angishields, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

Brad Park with HR Starters

June 2, 2020 by angishields

Atlanta Business Radio

Brad Park with HR Starters

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Brad Park, CEO, and Founder of HR Starters, grew up in Toronto Canada in the household of a failed business owner. It wasn’t until years later that he realized how much that affected him. There was a lot of animosity in the household and lost hope.

Brad went into the workforce and went from job to job until 1990 when he started selling promotions. He was attracted to the growth opportunity and the chance for self-development.

Over the next two decades, Brad focused on the development of leaders in the fields of recruiting, sales, and leadership.

Connect with Brad on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

How HR Starters helps people
How HR Starters has been affected by COVID-19
How they plan to come out of it

About Our Sponsor

OnPay’s payroll services and HR software give you more time to focus on what’s most important. Rated “Excellent” by PC Magazine, we make it easy to pay employees fast, we automate all payroll taxes, and we even keep all your HR and benefits organized and compliant.

Our award-winning customer service includes an accuracy guarantee, deep integrations with popular accounting software, and we’ll even enter all your employee information for you — whether you have five employees or 500. Take a closer look to see all the ways we can save you time and money in the back office.

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

BRX Pro Tip: Relationships Matter

June 2, 2020 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Relationships Matter

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BRX Pro Tip: Relationships Matter

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with BRX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, it’s probably true in virtually any business but particularly with respect to the Business RadioX platform, relationships matter. Say more about that.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:16] Yeah. People kind of intuitively know relationships are important and connections are important in business, but our platform allows for us to build a lot of relationships quickly and really leverage the connections that we’ve made throughout the entire network. So, I would say that when you’re running a Business RadioX studio or your hosting a Business RadioX show, then those relationships and connections are really the most important asset in the business. And you really have to be mindful on how you manage and nurture them, so that they can grow in a manner that helps your business grow as a whole.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:54] So, some of the things you can be doing to manage those relationships and nurturing those connections are have regular touches. You connect with them regularly, make sure that you’re putting an effort in place every week to touch the people that matter most. And some ways that you can interact with them is, one of your favorite things, is ask them for a favor. Ask them to help you do something, or ask how you can help them do something. And then, make sure that you’re spending some time each week connecting the different people in your ecosystem with each other because most people have a difficult time kind of cross-pollinating between diverse industries. And you’re in a unique place that you’re able to do that pretty easily and pretty effectively.

Stone Payton: [00:01:40] And because it really is the relationship that matters, that’s the focus before, during and after the interview. It’s not just about the content of the interview. And that’s why we encourage people to stay focused on the real prize here, and it is building and cultivating the relationship.

GWBC Radio: McKeeman Communications CEO Kim McKeeman

June 1, 2020 by angishields

GWBC Radio

GWBC Radio: McKeeman Communications CEO Kim McKeeman

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Kim McKeeman founded McKeeman Communications more than 25 years ago with a single passion: help businesses and non-profits solve problems and succeed. From creating a virtual agency model against the odds in the ’90s, and growing her team members to be true business partners, “there has to be a way” is just the way Kim thinks.

She’s incessantly curious and loves new challenges. Maybe that’s why she works with her leadership team daily to continue to evolve their agency. Yes, daily. “I’m one day smarter than I was yesterday” is her approach to work and life, and she encourages the same with colleagues. Oh, and she’s pretty darn good at PR and communications, including crisis management.

Family life is critically important to Kim, and probably why she’s always referred to “the McKeeman Boys” as her most valued client.

Connect with Kim on LinkedIn and follow McKeeman on Facebook.

Transcript

Intro: [00:00:05] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:19] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC’s Open for Business. And today is going to be a fun one. I have with me today Kim McKeeman, and she’s with McKeeman Communications. Welcome.

Kim McKeeman: [00:00:29] Thanks so much. Happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Well, Kim, before we get too far into things, tell us about McKeeman Communications. How are you serving folks?

Kim McKeeman: [00:00:37] Yeah. So, we actually are a public relations and integrated marketing communications agency. And so, when I first started out, and it was a guest bedroom of our starter house, we were really focused on just working with the news media for our clients, community outreach. And over the years, what we’re doing now, our marketing’s really evolved with social media, with messaging, with internal and external communications. So, we’ve kind of almost serve as like a business’s marketing quarterback, kind of calling the plays. but making sure that all of their marketing is kind of working hand in hand.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:13] Now, do you find over the years that marketing, advertising, PR, that communications really is the best word to describe all that? There’s a blurring of the lines of where one begins or one ends now.

Kim McKeeman: [00:01:25] Yeah, you are speaking my language. Yes, no doubt. And just having seen it evolve over the years, extremely blurred. I think communications, actually, is probably the best way to describe it because that involves not only what you’re doing in a paid capacity, and that’s really an area we don’t specialize in but, also, the earned, what you do by like us doing interviews like this. And some of the other ways that you really show up for your customers, so much of communications can be tied back to just so many different realms from social media, to internal communications, to external. So, it’s definitely been a wild ride as it evolves, but it’s been fascinating at the same time.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:15] Now, as part of your work, since you mentioned not kind of leaning into the paid part of the work, how do you manage the expectations of your clients when it comes to earned where there’s some things that are just not out of your control no matter how good the story is or how interesting the client is? How do you kind of help them understand that you just got to keep working at this and this is something that is a long-term kind of investment?

Kim McKeeman: [00:02:42] That’s a million-dollar question, right? So, it is. It’s basically really … what we find so much of what we do as educating our clients into what makes a story. And right now is a great example where like, “Oh, I’ve got this really great promotion going on,” and we’ve got to kind of say, “Hey, that’s not where folks’ heads are at.” And I think part of that, to your question, is we start out with a good relationship with our client. And that’s how we kind of vet our best-fit partners is to make sure folks are open to really the expertise that we bring, and open to being educated and learning about really what makes news. And then, by the same token, knowing that there’s breaking news, all bets are off. Those are, to your point, outside of our control.

Kim McKeeman: [00:03:42] So, I will say we’ve had some really good experiences over the years. And not only ensuring that they’re clear about that going in but really delighting them when we’re able to really hit on a story that folks really want to hear more about and getting our clients to really hone their messaging, so they’re good spokespeople.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:07] Now, how is McKeeman Communications counseling your clients regarding the pandemic in terms of … Some people are going underground and waiting this out. Some people are saying ,”We’ve still got to let people know we exist.” Other people are like, “Well, that’s not appropriate to really be salesy nowadays.” Some people are like, “Well, I’m going to just be educational.” But then, you get some people who are feeling overloaded with how much COVID-19 information can a human consume. How are you kind of threading the needle here?

Kim McKeeman: [00:04:39] Yeah. And it’s interesting because one of the things that we’ve always told our team, and we’ve got a great team, is we’re our own client. So, we are living through this as well, along with a lot of our clients. Interestingly enough, we specialize in food, restaurant, beverage, retail. So, kind of a little foreshadow on, yes, we’ve taken our hits too. We’ve been working on parallel paths and saying how they need to show up. And by the same token, we’re taking that same medicine, if you will, and saying, “This is how we need to show up.”

Kim McKeeman: [00:05:18] So, it has evolved where my initial counsel to them was now is not the time to sell. And I started thinking about that a little bit more like, “No, actually, people need some of what our clients have.” And I think the key thing that I think is a key takeaway that our customers have said is like they really appreciate it. We say, “You have a unique gift, skill, or ability, or talent, or asset. And in some cases, that’s food. How do we connect that food with the need at hand?” And I think that’s really the biggest thing. And that’s the thing that kind of gets us really excited is figuring out how to connect somebody’s God-given talent, gift or asset with where the need exists right now. And then, use your marketing and your storytelling to support that and to connect those dots.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:14] Now, how was the remote part? Had you already been working with your team in a remote capacity or was this a new transition for you?

Kim McKeeman: [00:06:22] Yes. So, that’s another interesting thing. I keep telling my team like, “We were built for this.” So, when we started our business, gosh this is our 25th anniversary year, but when we started our business 25 years ago, we started as a remote, part-time, work-from-home agency, which was well against the grain at the time, but I had just a wonderful talent pool that I was able to pull of other and primarily working moms or moms that that wanted to balance it. So, we operated remotely, although we would get together. We were all in the same state. We would get together, but we worked remotely with our clients for a good 12 years.

Kim McKeeman: [00:07:07] So, we had been doing this. And then, to this day, even though we have physical offices, we still have a cadence of working from home two days a week. And it’s kind of just based on what I like to do, and I figure it’s something that we can afford to other people. So, it hasn’t been that challenging for folks. It’s actually been kind of fascinating to watch our clients adapt to it and have them realize, “Gee, I don’t need to have Kim and her team in person for us to really connect, and understand, and get the work done.”

Lee Kantor: [00:07:44] Now, any lessons or tips you can give to the new manager and leader that’s dealing with a remote situation? What are some kind of must dos and some don’t dos?

Kim McKeeman: [00:07:56] Yeah, great question because we have a lot of clients that are in that boat right now. And it’s funny, we developed, even with us already being remote in a heartbeat, we developed a business continuity plan that involved really focusing on your people, your customers, and how you want to show up for your community. So, in terms of people and working remotely, I think everybody and their brother has, at least, one in account now. So, as much as we’ve leaned on in-person and conference calls, I think that’s one of the beautiful things that comes out of this is that turn on that camera and get face-to-face, and let’s kiss the conference call goodbye. Right now is a good time to really flex that muscle and be comfortable with showing up on camera.

Kim McKeeman: [00:08:54] And again, internally for your teams, they don’t care that you haven’t had a shower yet. They don’t care. They want to be reassured by seeing you in person. So, I think that’s definitely thing one. Definitely overcommunicate at this point. People need to be reassured. So, when you’re working from home, and you’re not able to be right next to your normal work mates, being able to open. We’ve been leaning heavily on Slack. That’s another communication channel that is a lot more informal, but it also kind of separates things. As much as you can, overcommunicate without inundating.

Kim McKeeman: [00:09:33] And then, lastly would be just encourage open, honest feedback and conversation. That’s something that we do ongoing anyway, but you’ve got to look for where … your folks may be coming across some pain points either working from home or just dealing with everything that’s going on. We do the same thing with our clients. So, we’re doing a very high touch point with them, and look for those pain points where we can, at least, relate, listen and possibly support.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:04] Now, how do you help your team and your clients avoiding some of this burnout that’s beginning to happen where like this new normal is just becoming the normal and that all the days are coming together, it’s hard. Someone said Monday is Memorial Day, what are you doing? And it’s like, every day is Memorial Day, it feels like. It’s hard to tell the weekend’s different.

Kim McKeeman: [00:10:26] Like Groundhog’s Day.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:26] Right. It’s hard to say the weekend’s different than the weekday. It’s like a big blur. How do you prevent that 24/7 kind of mentality to creep in for some folks?

Kim McKeeman: [00:10:37] And that’s such a great point. And I think, for anybody out there who’s a business owner, we all kind of have that type A personality, and we tend to hire some of those type A personalities where we’ve got to actually say, “Okay, folks, it’s time to turn it off, close the computer and step away.” And it’s interesting because when I first put together our continuity plan, and I have a wonderful VP that I’m able to bounce things off of, I was actually going to say, “Okay, we’re good, man. We’re going to mandate that people take time off and it’s just going to be extra time off.” And I went, “Well, I don’t know that I can really do that. I’m not sure that’s really legal.” But what we have done though is it’s funny, we all keep each other accountable. And if we see somebody who is sending emails into the evening or working too early, we will very nicely call them out on that.

Kim McKeeman: [00:11:29] I will tell you one thing that we did recently because I could tell, it was wearing on me, and I could tell it was wearing on our team, we had our normal Monday morning call with our company ops team, and I said, “I need a vacation.” I think everybody else said the same thing. I said, “Why don’t we do this? Why don’t we do a … Guess what? It’s going to be a gift of grace that we give to our entire team on Friday. We’re gonna call it Happy Friday. And we’re all taking it off.” And I think that just gave everybody kind of like this nice big breath, granted folks still to check their emails. But I think sometimes, you have to set that tone and say, “It’s okay. We all are feeling the burn and churn the world. And it’s okay. And we have to kind of like say, “It’s time to step away and take a break.”

Lee Kantor: [00:12:21] Right. And being the leader, and giving them permission, and then letting them know that you’re doing it, it kind of gives it that okay. Like it really is okay. It’s not like just people saying it’s okay.

Kim McKeeman: [00:12:33] Right. I’m not just talking about this. We’re actually doing it, people.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:37] Right. So, now, tell me about GWBC. How did you find out about them? And why was it important for you to get involved?

Kim McKeeman: [00:12:46] Yeah. So, this is great. Again, having been in business for a while, we did go for our certification, the women-owned business certification. And that was a fabulous process that we went through, having folks come actually to our location, and then just learning about all the benefits. And for any of the business owners out there that feel like they are really just having to learn so much about everything on the fly, it’s really important to use your resources. And that’s what we’ve really seen with – sorry – GWBC. It’s just the proactive information that’s been shared. And whether it’s just networking with some of the other businesses, whether it’s having to to navigate this PPP thing, I have learned more about tax law and finance than I have ever learned. And much of that is due to the information that you all have been providing. So, I just think it, again, have really been of a wealth of information and would encourage folks to seek that out. Even if you are members, and you’re not using the resources, definitely do that. You will cut a lot of time out of your daily schedule. And again, it’s always about maximizing your resources, and this is a really good one.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:19] Now, getting back to McKeeman Communications, what’s your recommendation for your clients now? Is there some people that are kind of just saying, “I just want to survive this” and there’s other people who are saying, “Hey, there’s opportunity here to grow”? Like, how are you kind of helping each of your clients kind of get the most out of the situation?

Kim McKeeman: [00:14:39] Yeah. And that’s great. And of course, I’m going to use that. I think there’s probably 15 dreaded words right now that we just keep hearing over and over and one of those is pivot. And I, at one time, said I don’t want to hear that word again. I said I should embrace it. It’s what we’re doing. And so, basically, it’s been interesting. And I guess I’m in business because I find so much of like what you do in times of uncertainty fascinating. And so, we’re encouraging that just like we are for ourselves. We’re leaning in and doing things a little bit differently, but we’re also being very mindful of if you are an industry that largely has been selling hamburgers and you’re a quick-service restaurant, it’s not time to get into full service. Like some pivots just don’t make sense. But really making sure that any of the changes that they’re doing are fulfilling those needs. It kind of goes back to taking the gifts that you have, the assets, your God-given talents, and making sure they fulfill a need.

Kim McKeeman: [00:15:47] So, we have a restaurant company or a restaurant independently-owned business that’s headquartered in Charlotte, and they’ve got 30 locations. And I love to this. They started doing grocery essentials because, let’s face it, who knows why, but toilet paper is like gold now, and some of the other things that you just can’t find. And they started doing a grocery essentials program. And it really was a godsend for a lot of folks in the greater Charlotte area.

Kim McKeeman: [00:16:19] McKeeman Communications has another client that has been doing water and mold remediation. Don’t be jealous people. I know, it’s a very interesting, different client for us, but water and mold remediation, but they are set up as an essential business because they’re used to treating biohazardous situations. So, now, they’re offering a deep cleaning, sanitizing opportunity that basically was to use the same solutions and chemicals, same EPA-approved processes that was used in treating places that had experienced SARS. So, we’ve seen some really fascinating ones, but I would say the one thing, again, just to kind of go back to that one message, which is make sure whatever they’re doing in marketing fulfills a critical human or essential need right now that people are really hungry for.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:20] And if it aligns with your superpower, all the better.

Kim McKeeman: [00:17:24] Exactly. Exactly. That’s a win all the way around.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:28] So, if somebody wanted to learn more about McKeeman Communications and get on your radar, is there a website?

Kim McKeeman: [00:17:35] Yes, indeed. We are mckemancommunications.com. And the other thing, obviously, you can find us on any of the social channels. @McKeemanComm on Instagram. And interestingly enough, we’re doing … this is obviously one of our changes that we’ve been doing. We started doing an Instagram live after lunch every week, which is brand spanking new for us, and we’ve had to really lean into it, but any of our social channels. You Google McKeeman Communications, we will pop up.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:12] Good stuff. Well, Kim, thank you so much for sharing your story. And that’s McKeeman, M-C-K-E-E-M-A-N Communications dot com.

Kim McKeeman: [00:18:22] Correct, yes. Yeah, thanks so much and appreciate the opportunity to kinda share our experiences, and definitely have loved hearing about the other ones as well that you guys have been sharing.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:33] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on GWBC Open for Business.

About Your Host

Roz Lewis is President & CEO – Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC®), a regional partner organization of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and a member of the WBENC Board of Directors.

Previous career roles at Delta Air Lines included Flight Attendant, In-Flight Supervisor and Program Manager, Corporate Supplier Diversity.

During her career she has received numerous awards and accolades. Most notable: Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2018 Diversity & Inclusion award; 2017 inducted into the WBE Hall of Fame by the American Institute of Diversity and Commerce and 2010 – Women Out Front Award from Georgia Tech University.

She has written and been featured in articles on GWBC® and supplier diversity for Forbes Magazine SE, Minority Business Enterprise, The Atlanta Tribune, WE- USA, Minorities and Women in Business magazines. Her quotes are published in The Girls Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business book by Susan Wilson Solovic and Guide Coaching by Ellen M. Dotts, Monique A. Honaman and Stacy L. Sollenberger. Recently, she appeared on Atlanta Business Chronicle’s BIZ on 11Alive, WXIA to talk about the importance of mentoring for women.

In 2010, Lewis was invited to the White House for Council on Women and Girls Entrepreneur Conference for the announcement of the Small Business Administration (SBA) new Women Owned Small Business Rule approved by Congress. In 2014, she was invited to the White House to participate in sessions on small business priorities and the Affordable Care Act.

Roz Lewis received her BS degree from Florida International University, Miami, FL and has the following training/certifications: Certified Purchasing Managers (CPM); Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity (CPSD), Institute for Supply Management (ISM)of Supplier Diversity and Procurement: Diversity Leadership Academy of Atlanta (DLAA), Negotiations, Supply Management Strategies and Analytical Purchasing.

Connect with Roz on LinkedIn.

About GWBC

The Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC®) is at the forefront of redefining women business enterprises (WBEs). An increasing focus on supplier diversity means major corporations are viewing our WBEs as innovative, flexible and competitive solutions. The number of women-owned businesses is rising to reflect an increasingly diverse consumer base of women making a majority of buying decision for herself, her family and her business.

GWBC^® has partnered with dozens of major companies who are committed to providing a sustainable foundation through our guiding principles to bring education, training and the standardization of national certification to women businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina

Mike Neumeier with Arketi Group

June 1, 2020 by angishields

Atlanta Business Radio

Mike Neumeier with Arketi Group

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Mike Neumeier, APR, is CEO of Arketi Group, a public relations and digital marketing agency serving a wide range of B2B technology clients that include well-known brands as well as up-and-coming tech challengers. Under Mike’s leadership, Atlanta-based Arketi, which he co-founded, helps these companies apply intelligent strategy, messaging, PR, and digital marketing to generate revenue and accelerate growth. The firm’s track record prompted the TechnologyAssociation of Georgia (TAG) to name Arketi Group its DigitalMarketing Agency of the Year. The agency has also been repeatedly recognized by Chief Marketer magazine as one of the nation’s “B2B Top Shops” and is a fixture on the “ChiefMarketer 200” list.

For the past 25 years, Mike has pushed the limits of B2B marketing – inciting clients and colleagues to challenge, innovate, and drive for measurable results. Named PRSA’s Technology PR Professional of the Year in 2013, Mike counsels clients on smart strategies that get their message across to markets and media influencers. He has an enviable track record of creating and executing communication plans that help clients build the bottom line. In 2019 he was inducted into the PRSA Georgia The Order of the Phoenix and the Georgia PRSAHall of Fame.

Mike serves on several boards, including FinTech Atlanta, TAG, TAG’s executive committee, and the Advisory Council of the College of Charleston Department of Communication. He is past chair of PRSA’sCounselors Academy, past president of the Georgia PRSA chapter, past chair of the University of Florida’s Public Relations Advisory Board, a founding member of the National Advisory Board for Kennesaw State University’s Department ofCommunication, a founding member of the Atlanta PR Interfaith PrayerBreakfast, and executive committee member of HealthMPowers’Board of Directors. A 2010 inductee of the National PRSSA Hall of Famer, Mike graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in public relations.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn and follow Arketi Group on Facebook and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

How communications professionals can get involved in developing recovery readiness strategies their organizations will need in the coming weeks.
The four critical areas that communications professionals need to be thinking about – and leading discussions about within their organization.
4 I’s: INSIGHTS, INTERNAL, IN MARKET, IMPACT (I’ve included an attachment on this too.)
How HR and communications leaders should work together to put in place a successful return-to-work framework.

About Our Sponsor

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Dayton Business Radio: Jeff Hannah with Exhibit Concepts

June 1, 2020 by angishields

Dayton Business Radio

Dayton Business Radio: Jeff Hannah with Exhibit Concepts

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Jeff Hannah is VP of International, Interiors, & Creative for Exhibit Concepts, Inc. He podcasts, consults, writes, and speaks about engagement strategies, cultures, and trade show differences between countries. For over 25 years he has led multicultural teams in the strategic development of complex projects in over 50 countries for many of the world’s top brands. Hannah hosts The Global Exhibitor Podcast, with its supporting website, www.GlobalExhibitor.com, an educational resource for international marketers.

As a serial entrepreneur & creative, Hannah founded companies in London, Abu Dhabi, and Atlanta – and specializes in international marketing and cross-cultural engagement strategies. He is a recognized expert in the global trade show industry, having worked with hundreds of brands such as Nike, Boeing, Cisco, Colgate-Palmolive, and Etihad Airways. Hannah has been honored with the coveted IDSA’s Silver IDEA Award, the Business Marketing Association’s Pro-Comm Award, and SEGD’s Exhibit Design Award.
Hannah enjoys sharing his insights through podcasting, speaking, teaching, and writing across various forums, such as ExhibitorLIVE, Exhibitor Magazine, Global Exhibitor Blog, Exhibit City News, The Global Exhibitor Podcast, Tradeshow and Exhibit ThoughtLeaders Journal, Biz LABS Podcast, and others.

He enjoys spending time with his wife of over twenty-nine years, and their three adult children. He also leads a cultural think tank, works in the local community, and serves in ministry in his local church. Hannah holds a B.S. in Industrial Design from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the USA.

Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn and follow Global Exhibitor on Facebook.

Anne Lackey with HireSmart Virtual Assistants

May 31, 2020 by angishields

Atlanta Business Radio

Anne Lackey with HireSmart Virtual Assistants

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Anne Lackey loves starting and running businesses. Mark Lackey has always been fascinated with making things work better and run smoother.

Together they have co-founded and run multiple businesses for 2 decades. They have generated over 15.7 million dollars in revenue for their service-based businesses in the past 4 years alone.

By coaching and consulting with hundreds of CEOs and Executives, they have found 3 common core business problems: Owner Overwhelm, Staff Turnover, and Poor Customer Service or Lack of Follow-Up/Through.

In 2014 Mark & Anne found an alternative to traditional hiring and have been helping other business owners grow and get control over their businesses while saving an average of 50-75% over traditional practices by sourcing quality employees from the Philippines. They have evaluated over 20,000 applicants and come up with the successful formula for any client needing help with: Customer Service, Sales Support, Marketing Support, Administration, and Accounting. If it can be done by a computer & a phone, they can source the right hire for their clients.

They believe in a high level of professionalism and are guided by an unwavering set of Core Values. Every virtual assistant they place agree to these maintain these core values as well as agree to these a Standard of Professionalism. It is fundamental to our business that everyone agrees to maintain a high level of ethics and professionalism.

Connect with Anne on LinkedIn, and follow HireSmart on Facebook and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

About HireSmart Virtual Assistants
How VA’s can help your business during the COVID-19 pandemic
How to streamline virtual work
What’s needed to thrive in the virtual workplace

About Our Sponsor

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Larren Odom with Chastain Wealth

May 30, 2020 by angishields

Atlanta Business Radio

Larren Odom with Chastain Wealth

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For small businesses, the pandemic is an opportunity to thrive and grow. The first thing is putting the Coronavirus event in context. This is not the first challenge business has faced and it won’t be the last. A third of businesses will fail during this crisis, a third will sort of muddle through, and a third will accept the new reality and embrace it as an opportunity to grow.

Personally, Chastain Wealth Management experienced disruption due to COVID that lead us to respond to the uncertainty in a way that was productive, while still providing financial services during a crucial time.

Chastain Wealth Management helps executives and business owners get off the escalator of success and start living the life they truly want. Our firm works with a small number of wealthy, successful families and individuals upon whom we can have a huge impact. We specialize in helping executives and business owners who find themselves on the ladder of success and want a plan to get off. We use a consultative process of two, no pressure meetings to help identify where you are today, where you want to go and any gaps that might exist.

Chastain Wealth was founded by Larren Odom, CFP^®, a former partner at a large Registered Investment Advisor Firm. Larren has over 15 years’ experience in financial planning and investment management and has helped hundreds of clients protect and grow their wealth. Larren is an expert in mitigating taxes, investment management, and asset protection. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and NerdWallet. He is a Certified Financial Planner and has an MBA in Financial Planning from Georgia State University and a B.A. from the University of Florida.

Larren is a member of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and has served on numerous boards of directors in the Atlanta area. He is a member of the 2019 class of Leadership Sandy Springs and volunteers his time to teach a financial literacy class at Riverwood High School. He lives in Chastain Park with his wife, Jennifer, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP law firm, their three children, and two adorable pure-bred mutts. Larren is fluent in French, enjoys Cross-Fit, and likes watching the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta Hawks. He is also a coach of his youngest daughter’s U8 TopHat soccer team.

Follow Chastain Wealth on LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Our Sponsor

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Franchise Bible Coach Radio: Jeff Salter with Caring Senior Service

May 30, 2020 by angishields

Denver Business Radio

Franchise Bible Coach Radio: Jeff Salter with Caring Senior Service

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Caring Senior Service Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Salter, worked in a variety of fields in a number of locations before discovering a gap in the care of seniors. It led him to develop the concept for Caring Senior Service.

“I had been working at a home health company in Odessa, Texas when I noticed how the patients really enjoyed the time they got to spend with the caregivers. I knew there were plenty of seniors in the community who just needed help with basic things like meal preparation, errands and bathing.”

So Jeff started his company in 1991. By 1994, he had moved to McAllen, Texas and formed Caring Senior Service, expanding it to Corpus Christi, the Coastal Bend, and San Antonio.

“We’re helping people maintain their quality of life in surroundings that are familiar and comfortable. If people have the ability to live on their own, just needing a little bit of help, why shouldn’t they?”

Caring Senior Service has expanded rapidly thanks to Jeff’s vision and the quality care provided by Caring employees and partners around the country. Jeff and Caring Senior Service are members of the National Private Duty Association as well as the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. Jeff and his wife Catriona have 2 sons, Adam and Ewan.

Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, and follow Caring Senior Service on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Show

The Franchise Bible Coach Radio Podcast with Rick and Rob features no-nonsense franchise industry best practices and proprietary strategies that franchisors and franchise owners can implement to improve their profitability and operational efficiencies.

Our show guests are franchise superstars and everyday heroes that share their tips for growth and strategies to survive and thrive during the current challenges.

About Your Hosts

Rick Grossman has been involved in the franchise industry since 1994. He franchised his first company and grew it to 49 locations in 19 states during the mid to late 1990s. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and primary trainer focusing on franchise owner relations and creating tools and technologies to increase franchisee success.

Rick developed and launched his second franchise organization in 2003. He led this company as the CEO and CMO growing to over 150 locations in less than three years. He developed the high tech/high touch franchise recruiting and sales system.

Both companies achieved ranking on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 List. During this period Rick served as a business and marketing consultant to small business and multimillion dollar enterprises. He also consulted with franchise owners and prospective franchisees, franchisors, and companies seeking to franchise.

Rick had the honor of working with his mentor, Erwin Keup as a contributing Author for the 7th edition of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise Bible published by Entrepreneur Press.

Mr. Grossmann has been chosen as the new Author of Franchise Bible and his 8th Edition was released worldwide in January of 2017. He currently serves as an executive coach and strategist for multiple franchise clients.

Follow Franchise Bible Coach on Facebook.

Rob Gandley has served as SeoSamba’s Vice President and Strategic Partner since 2015.

With 25 years of experience in entrepreneurship, digital marketing, sales, and technology, he continues to focus on leading the expansion of SeoSamba’s product and service capabilities and US market penetration. SeoSamba specializes in centralized marketing technology built for multi-location business models and continues to win industry awards and grow consistently year over year.

Concurrent with his work at SeoSamba, Gandley is a strategic growth consultant and CEO of FranchiseNow, a digital marketing and sales consulting firm. Gandley consults digital businesses, entrepreneurs, coaches and multi-location businesses across diverse industries. Prior to SeoSamba, he built an Internet Marketing business and platform responsible for generating over 100,000 qualified franchise development leads used by more than 400 US-based franchise brands for rapid business expansion.

Gandley also held various senior sales and management positions with IT and Internet pioneers like PSINet, AT&T, and SunGard Data Systems from (1993-2005) where he set sales records for sales and revenue growth at each company. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal Business School in 92’ with a BS degree in Finance and emphasis on Marketing.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn.

GWBC Radio: Stephanie Hodge with Essex Consulting

May 29, 2020 by angishields

GWBC Radio

GWBC Radio: Stephanie Hodge with Essex Consulting

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Stephanie Hodge is CEO and Principal Consultant for Essex Consulting, LLC; a certified women-owned enterprise consulting firm providing Human Resource and business consulting and professional development and coaching for small and mid-sized companies. She has over 20 years of global HR experience leading teams in North America, Canada, and South America.

Stephanie is known as a transformational leader with experience in performance management, talent development and succession planning, and strategic HR management. Under her leadership, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta was the proud recipient of the “2016’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” award.

As a business owner, Stephanie’s philosophy is to help businesses develop and execute strategies that achieve organizational success, through the development of their people. Stephanie enjoys aligning people strategies that support business goals, adding a personal touch, by utilizing her HR expertise to resolve business challenges.

Stephanie is a certified professional in human resources (PHR), holds a Master’s degree in Organization and Management; and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Business Administration. Stephanie is a faculty member for the Non-Profit University (GA Center for Non-Profits), and guest lecturer for Georgia State University. She is a member of NAAAHR Atlanta, SHRM Atlanta and National Chapters, National Black MBA, Atlanta Black Chambers, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.

Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn and follow Essex Consulting on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Transcript

Intro: [00:00:05] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWABC Open for Business. And this is going to be a good one. Today, I have with me Stephanie Hodge, and she’s with Essex Consulting. Welcome.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:00:28] Thank you. Hi. I’m glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Well, before we get into things too deeply, can you share a little bit about Essex Consulting? How are you serving folks?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:00:38] Sure. We are in HR consulting firm. So, what we do is really help businesses with any HR needs, whether it’s HR outsourcing, they may need help with benefits administration, or we can come in and help train and develop their managers and employees. So, it really depends on their need. And we provide HR support in whatever area.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:06] Now, how did you get into this line of work?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:01:09] Well, I’ve been doing human resources probably for about 25 years, progressively growing in different HR roles. And recently, so my company is about three and a half years old. So, I’ve been supporting other organizations, and learning a lot about the HR function and leading teams, and decided I wanted to do this for my own business, so I can do things the way I want to and support a number of different companies. So, that’s really fun for me, both nonprofit, for-profit, a lot of different industry experience. And so, that just makes it fun and challenging. And so, yeah, I’m a glutton for HR punishment and just really like to deliver HR services.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:02] Now, is there a sweet spot for you? Because I would imagine some companies may think they’re too small to have an HR person, and then some already have full-time HR people. So, what is kind of the sweet spot for you?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:02:16] Right. So, I find that the majority of our clients end up being small to mid-sized companies. So, those companies who have been growing and didn’t really see a need initially for an HR staff or HR team and realize after they start hiring more employees that they do need to get some control in order. It would be nice to have a handbook and some policies in order. So, we do a lot of foundation work for small to mid-sized companies to make sure that they are compliant and understand what it means to manage employees at different sizes, different number of employees.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:03:04] But we also support organizations that already have an HR team. So, a lot of times, with human resources, there’s so many things to do and functions that many professionals only have time to make sure that the train is moving, that things are moving forward, but they don’t have time to focus on initiatives that they may want to deliver. And so, we can come in and help those teams deliver initiatives around performance management, changing benefits, or administering their benefits. Any kind of project that they may want to roll out, we can come in and help make them look like rock stars. We help in the background. So, we kind of service both ends of the spectrum.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:58] Now, when you’re working with these smaller firms that may have not focused on HR or elevated it to the importance that it deserves. how do you kind of sell them on the benefits of having, at least, in your case, kind of this outsourced HR expert at their disposal?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:04:17] Right. So, the main benefit is not having a full-time FTE on your books, right? But I think that the true enhancement for those companies, if someone can come in, either myself or someone from my team who has HR expertise and can help them in a number of different areas. So, they get this 20-25 years of experience without having that person at the staff member. But We serve as a partner. We kind of play plays an extension of their team. And so, the real benefit for them is making sure that they have their books in order, they are being compliant, and feel like they have a resource that they can trust, they can lean on to help guide them through that process.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:14] So, sometimes it sounds like you come in maybe on a project basis to help them get some just stuff done for them that maybe mitigate some risk, maybe at some policies, procedures, things like that. And then, over time, they realize, “Hey, this is handy to have somebody kind of available to us, so we can kind of get ahead of things and maybe kind of really solidify some of the ways that we do business. And I think it could even creep into the company culture that shows how much you care about your people.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:05:48] Right. That’s exactly true. There’s a focus on really engaging employees and making sure that they’re taken care of. And a lot of times, when companies are growing, they care about their employees, but the focus is on how do we grow and how are we servicing our clients. And we come in and can help them to make sure that their environment is such where employees feel engaged, they feel connected. We help guide them through that process and support them in different initiatives to help their employees.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:24] It sounds like in marketing, my background is primarily a marketing, but in marketing, they have a saying that you’re always branding even if you’re not branding. Like even if you’re not trying-

Stephanie Hodge: [00:06:33] That’s absolutely right.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:33] … people are going to have an opinion about your brand. It sounds like the same thing is true with corporate culture that if you don’t kind of consciously develop a corporate culture, a corporate culture is being formed with or without your kind of permission, right? So, it would be good to have some-

Stephanie Hodge: [00:06:50] And you don’t want it, right.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:52] Right. So, it would be good to have an expert on hand that can have some best practices on how to kind of cultivate the right kind of work environment for the team and your people because a lot of people, at least, give lip service to say their people are their most important asset.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:07:08] Right. So, the rubber has to hit the road. And I find that helping employers even understand that, we facilitate engagement surveys to really understand, “Okay, how satisfied are your employees? And how engaged and connected are they?” Sometimes, there’s a disconnect between what’s really happening, and that’s that culture that’s developed on its own, and what management thinks is happening. And so, we help to bridge that gap and make sure everyone’s on the same page.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:46] And I’m sure you have some data to support that if your company is one of those best places to work, you’re going to have a lot of easier time attracting the right folks to be part of the team rather than just take whoever shows up.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:08:02] That’s exactly true. It helps you to be more competitive and attract new employees. And we’re also finding that we’re helping to retain employees in that same fashion. Employees have options now. They can move from one organization to another. And so, finding ways to really help keep them engaged, help them feel the benefit of staying with the organization is really essential. So, you’re right, we help to attract employees, and we help to retain them.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:41] Now, how have you been helping your clients deal with this COVID pandemic that we’re going through? I’m sure that’s been a difficult time for a lot of folks.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:08:50] This has been a difficult time to navigate. The first way we’ve been helping our clients is really to translate what’s happening around them, right? So, the CARES Act was one of the main policies that came out that affected employees and employers, and we helped to translate what that means, right? What does what does that mean for the company? Our policies, how are they affected? How do we execute where we need to? So, a lot of it is really kind of bridging the gap between what they’re seeing on the news, and the policies rolling out, and how that affects the day-to-day operations.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:09:37] And I think the other piece is really helping to keep a focus on employee safety and health, providing guidance around how do we help support our employees to work remotely and really support that versus making it more difficult, right, or seeing it as a challenge. We kind of look at it like this is a great opportunity to roll this out. It may have been something we’ve been talking about for a while. And then, now, most recently, we’ve been trying to plan on how to bring people back if they’re ready to come back. How do we keep them healthy and safe in the work environment? Does that mean we look at changing our seating arrangements? We’re bringing in more protective gear and cleaning supplies. I mean, there’s so many things to think about in this time, and having us as a resource and a partner kind of walking together through this process has been helpful.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:44] Now, how has your work with the GWBC helped your business?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:10:52] Oh, my God. So, being a member and working with GWBC has been helpful because … especially for me as a newer business, right? So, we’re a little over three years but, now, we’ve gained this broad network of other professionals, other women professionals, and it helps me to learn. So, I’m provided with opportunities for development but it also helps to strengthen our service as I’m meeting other professionals who do similar work or extensions of our work. We can think about partnering. So, it’s really been a great opportunity to be around other professionals like mine and helping stay motivated in the process of my own company’s growth.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:45] Yeah, it sure is nice to have a resource that allows you to have kind of real conversations with folks that are in the same boat, so you can get that advice not kind of sugar coated but just somebody else that’s going through something that might be similar that you’re going through, it’s good to get that kind of unfiltered conversation, especially during a difficult time like this.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:12:10] Exactly. And it helps to feel like you’re not the only one going through it and that it’s normal growing pains, if that’s what it is, or whatever is happening in the environment around us.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:24] Now, getting back to your business, what is kind of a baby step that a company could start to an engagement with you? What is usually the first thing that they do where you can do some work to kind of see if it’s a good fit?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:12:40] We do free consultations, and they’re really just conversations to learn. For us, it’s to learn about what’s happening in the work environment, what stage of growth is the business in, number of employees, and kind of talk through are there any pain points that the organization is feeling that the leaders are struggling with. And we help to identify if there are areas for us to provide support. Sometimes, those conversations lead to engagement. Sometimes, it’s just they want an opportunity to talk something through. And that’s fine as well because we’re helping to grow our network. So, we don’t mind having those conversations and maybe seeing opportunities in the future where there could be a potential to work together. So, we do that. People can reach us through our website and schedule a consultation. And we do a 15 to 30-minute meeting, depending on what the need is and kind of figure out it, is there a fit for us?

Lee Kantor: [00:13:54] Now, does Essex Consulting have any specialties? Do you work in certain areas?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:14:00] We actually are more of what’s called generalist. So, all of the different functions of HR, we typically can touch from comp and benefit, to employee relations, to training and development. So, we sort of touch all of those areas. And our primary function is serving as an HR outsource for our companies.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:27] Now, these companies, are they in any specific industries? Do you work mainly in for-profit, non-profit, or do you have a specialty like medical or finance?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:14:39] Actually, we work with non-profit and for-profit. And I have a small staff. So, there’s three of us, and three additional staff members. And we have experience in manufacturing, in healthcare, and technology, and financial services. So, those are kind of our main areas. One area I’m interested in getting involved in is health care, but we haven’t yet had a client in health care. But it is one area that I’m looking forward to us growing into.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:19] Now, if somebody wanted to learn more and have a more substantive conversation with Essex Consulting, is there a website?

Stephanie Hodge: [00:15:26] Absolutely. Our website is www.essexconsulting.net. On our website, you can click to schedule a free consultation, and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:43] Good stuff. Well, Stephanie, thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Stephanie Hodge: [00:15:48] Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:50] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all next time on GWBC Radio.