Monday, May 9, 2011

08/11/09 - LTD Welcomes Special Guest Art Coley of Alphagraphics

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski and Lauren Milligan
Show Notes: Leo and Lauren welcome Guest Host Art Coley of Alphagraphics. Lauren gives away one of her "Insider Secrets."


Guests:


Art Coley, CFE, Vice President, Global Development of AlphaGraphics, Inc. Art leads AlphaGraphic's franchise development strategies and implementation, working with company team members as well as outside resources to grow the AlphaGraphics franchise network.




Leo Wisniewski




  • Leo tells us all about his experience at Discovery Days with Alphagraphics. <read more>


  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)


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John Navin


Lauren Milligan

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

01/04/11 - Let's Party with Leo, Lauren, & Jackie for the LTD Grand Finale!!

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz
Program Playback(just click on Program Playback to hear this archived program!)

Guests:

Lynn Torre of Financial Transitions LTD

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo talks about "Lessons Learned with Livin' The Dream"
  • At the end of the day, it's going to be memories and the experiences that we carry with us. The material things come and go and they are not going to last and when you are down the road, you are going to look back and remember those experiences. Experience every moment and get what you can from them.
  • When you have experiences, make sure to understand that a lot of these are truly life lessons and not just business lessons. Throughout the years Leo has spoken with a lot of folks, mostly about business related topics but the things Leo has tried to find are the underlying principles of success. Understand that those principles of success are not only going to help you in your business, in your career, but are also going to help you in life.
  • Enjoy your success. Understand that you are here once in this life and it's important to understand what are the goals for your life. A lot of folks are focused on the day to day and on the near term. Those things are vitally important but when you can find the time to step back and try to define what is success in your life, money is part of it but there is so much more.
  • Understand that being busy is not necessarily being successful. Most people confuse activity for progress. Over the years, the number of folks that the 1st response to the question, "How are you doing?" is "Really busy, just super busy". What Leo has found out that they are certainly busy, working hard, but not all the time they are enjoying themselves and have no time for their family, their kids, their spouse, etc. They sacrifice so much and they find out that they are just busy.
  • Niche yourself. Find a specific niche and don't make the mistake of trying to do everything for everybody. Have a clear target niche and audience that you are providing services to and have clear set of services you do. It makes it easier to partner with people where you know what you do. The more you niche, the more it allows you to become the absolute expert in a particular area.
  • Have clear goals and make sure they are written and S.M.A.R.T. goals. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time driven. Make sure to take the time to measure your progress against your goals.
  • Model success. Find people that are successful in doing a particular business and find out what makes them successful and copy those things. See if you can make them a mentor.
  • Understand that success take time. If you are going to get into any area, be it a new career, job or business, be realistic about your goals and understand that success takes time and it's important to be consistent and keep things simple.
  • Understand what is success and most of the time it's not just money.
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren winds up her final LTD segment by offering job search advice and tips for older workers. Are you a 99er? Learn Lauren's strategies geared toward those who have exhausted 99 weeks of unemployment benefits.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Monday, January 3, 2011

12/28/10 - Business Trends & Marketing Tips for Finance Folks

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo and Sybil Ege talks about "Business Trends"
  • Sybil is the owner of Reach Out Marketing that specializes in outsource prospecting for clients and help clients think of different ways how they want to have their message out.
  • Some people say that the Internet and social media will eventually be the only way we communicate. an example is there has been a massive drop in newspaper readership but how effective is advertising over the Internet? There are some ways that this is very good and in some ways not so good. Eventually there is be a "Do not market to me list", just like the "Do not call list" where you can send you URL and people cannot take marketing information from you.
  • From Leo's perspective, it would all be a settling out of the privacy issue. When marketing or advertising is done, there has always been information available in different means about different population. There will be a sorting out, a pendulum and a huge shift towards electronic communication , advertising and media.
  • One thing that is most interesting is there is a division between the young users of technology and the older users. The big rift that is seen with the use of technology is the loss of privacy. The younger kids don't necessarily realize the danger where in they will do things that seem like fun at the time and eventually this things will be their downfall 5 years into the future.
  • As any kind of marketing that you do, it is always how you reach your audience and how you understand the demographics of that audience so devices like the phone is not dead. It's just harder to use because there are so few people who answer it the 1st time because of the gatekeepers or the voice mails. It may be a bit challenging but you can never rule it out. Maybe in the future, people will be using things like Skype.
  • In this day and age where there are so much electronic stuff, a good old fashioned snail mail is more effective than what it used to be. Five years ago, everybody wants to receive an email, newsletters, etc. and now we hate it and most of the time we just consider it as spam. It looses its impact over time. Marketing where you are trying to push something is totally different from marketing where you are sending a heart-felt message and you really care about someone and people will never get tired of this, no matter what the form.
  • You can get in touch with Sybil by accessing her website http://www.reachoutmarketing.net/ or call her 630-365-2959
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan

Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

12/21/10 - 3 Tips: Business Planning Tips, Marketing Tips for Finance, Sales Planning Tips

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Michael Cooper of Sales Kitchen

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo and Sybil Ege talk about "Beyond Your Business Plan"
  • Sybil Ege is the owner of Reach Out Marketing - an outsource marketing company working with other businesses who are too small to have their own marketing organization or just don't feel like doing it themselves.
  • The key point of last week's discussion - when you are creating a business plan, it's always critical to create some sort of business plan but the specifics depend on the kind of business that you are going to do. The level of detail really depend on the kind of nature of your particular business. If you are in business, you should have created a path/direction for the next 12 months that you could follow.
  • After you have the business plan, what are you going to do now? You need to use your business plan because it is a forecast of where you're going, what kind of marketing are you going to do, what kind of revenue do you expect to bring in, and what kind of expenses do you have. I would be a good idea if periodically you could compare how you are doing according to plan comparing the actual results with the projected results.
  • You always want to tack marketing as well as finances.
  • From a finances point of view, you track your income, revenues, and expenses to see if they are close. Within 5-10% would be good but if you are off by 25% or 50% in any particular category, you need to look very carefully what you are doing wrong and need to make a correction.
  • The same thing is applicable to marketing. You need to put in your plan the various marketing tools or techniques you wanted to implement and budget for it. You should have predicted the kind of results you would get from those activities and if you are not getting the customer, the question is , "Are you doing those activities?" or "Are they not effective?"
  • One of the challenges for small business owners is the feel isolated. It is recommended that you talks to an outside counsel in terms of business. Somebody who has a lot of experience in your industry but not a competitor or who is an experienced entrepreneur.
  • You can reach Sybil at http://www.reachoutmarketing.net/ and proceed to the "contact us" page or call (630) 365-2959.
  • Leo's Bio Page
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan

Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Sunday, December 19, 2010

12/14/10 - Sybil Returns, Be Happy, and Making a Difference

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo "Welcomes back Sybil Ege!"
  • Sybil is the founder and owner of Reach Out Marketing. Last week week Leo and Sybil were talking about her marketing activities and how she helps other businesses. She also uses SendOutCards as one of her marketing tools. This week, Sybil will discuss other services that her company offers.
  • There are two other services that Reach Out Marketing offers.
  1. Business Counselling
  2. Business Plan Preparation
  • A lot of people are not clear on "What does a business councilor do?", "Is that the same as a business coach?".
  • Think of your business councilor as an adviser. They help you see your business from a view that sometimes you are too myopic to see yourself. Sometime you get caught up in the details from day-to-day that you don't take the time to step back and see what's happening.
  • The business coach is similar but it's coaching as where people get hung up. They have an obstacle in their way that they can't get past it. They have a negative attitude and they're afraid they can't make anything happened and the business coach is going to give them motivation to get past the obstacle, to realize that it's just a small pebble and not a mountain. So both of these are offered by Reach Out Marketing
  • Benefits of encountering best practices of different clients. Everybody thinks their business is unique but really there are functional areas of every single business. Most small business owners have problems in two specific areas- 1.) Marketing 2.) Finances. Sybil helps people get focused and the best way to do this is to draft a business plan. Most people fear doing the business plan more than they fear getting into the actual business for the 1st time.
  • A business plan is a very simple instrument meant to give you direction, to give you what path to follow and to give you focus
  • A business plan should include:
  1. Your goals and mission of the business
  2. A good understanding of the industry that your business is in and how does your business fit in that industry
  3. Organizational issues of the company
  4. The marketing plan and approach you will take in the coming years
  5. The financial plan where you project your revenues and expenses
  • Every business has the same functional areas but their industry, niche, product is different and she makes they think through all aspects of the business because if they don't have enough experience in some of the areas, it's either a hit or miss. The range of time to get a good plan together would be about 3-6 weeks.
  • You can get in touch with Sybil Ege by logging into http://www.reachoutmarketing.net/ and go to the "contact us" page. You can also call (630) 365-2959
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren offers interview tips for today's job candidates. Because the current job market has created chaos for jobseekers, they must be ready to address many issues during a job interview. Other candidates have added value to their credentials...have you? Listen to Lauren's "No Wimps Allowed" advice on today's show!
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Saturday, December 11, 2010

12/07/10 - Sales Tips, Job Search Tips, Efficiency Tips, & Welcome Back Sybil

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Michael Cooper

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo "Welcome's back Sybil Ege!"
  • Sybil is the co-founder of Livin' The Dream a few years ago. Both Leo and Sybil started to do a brokerage radio show for about 2 years on live radio.
  • She now has a new business called Reach Out Marketing where she does outsource marketing for other businesses. The company's primary focus is to do prospecting for other businesses. This includes not only appointment setting but also follow up afterwards, sales.
  • With Sybil's experience, she believes that you can't just use one channel to talk to prospects. You can't just use email, snail mail or phone calls. She also uses SendOutCards not as a distributor but to use it as a tool to help her clients.
  • All she needs from her clients to send her list of people they want to mail things to and she designs for them a card/post card for example a Christmas card, announcements for launching new businesses or a new product line, trade show announcements, created a collateral material.
  • She often works for smaller companies which don't have their own marketing or sales department so they're willing to outsource it because they don't want to become experts of that. After working with the same companies after a few years, you feel like you are part of the company and become their "go-to" person.
  • One of the best cards Sybil has created was a collateral material for a company who was looking for franchise candidates. They had a very good website and brochure but what they lacked was something in a smaller scale. So she created a card for then based from all the high definition pictures they provided. After sending it out, as a result people remembered her because of the very memorable card.
  • You can get in touch with Sybil through her website http://www.reachoutmarketing.net/ and go to the contact us page, call her at 630-365-2959.
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Are you a professional who is unsure of the best job search strategies or a career changer who needs help reframing your skills? If you answered yes, Lauren's segment is just for you! Join Lauren and Linda Wolfe from JVS as they discuss how mature jobseekers can tune up their toolbox and again find success in their careers.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

11/23/10 - Personal Branding, Personal Improvement, Career Improvement, Payroll Tax Tips

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Mike Peters of Profit Focused Principles

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo talks about "Personal Improvement: Time Versus Goal Management" with Mary Erlain of Leadership Management International.
  • Mary has a medical background but for her, it has always been about helping people so she took the skills that she learned in medicine and is just applying it in a different way.
  • LMI looks at people in 2 ways. First, is the total person and takes a look at the areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in people's lives. They focus on goals, not only the business world but develop mentally and personally. They look at people not just from various aspects aspects:
  1. Physical and health
  2. Family and home
  3. Spiritual and ethical
  4. Mental and educational
  5. Financial and career
  6. Social and cultural
  • Second would be the total leader concept, in order for us to be great leaders, we need to be:
  1. Productive and effective in what we do
  2. Have good personal leadership skills
  3. Motivation
  4. Forward thinking
  • Personal productivity is the foundational principle to learn to live our lives for managing goals. LMI helps develop people to be more effective and that's doing the right things in the right priority. Its learning what are the high pay-off activities and those are the activities that drive income in our lives.
  • Income in business is measured by revenue, or dollars, or number of clients. Income in our personal lives are intangible and often times priceless. How much time are we spending in the areas that drive income in our lives is the foundational principle of really setting smart goals.
  • The space repetition, the measurement of results, the focus on how much time we spend on high pay off activities - that is where results become extremely tangible. Using 4-10 minutes of your time each day to plan, you can gain 4-10 minutes back.
  • You can get in touch with Mary by accessing her website PeakMarketingSales.com or http://www.lmi-riverside.com/. Her phone number is (630) 768-1422.
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Have you ever wondered what your boss really thinks of you? Are you unwittingly stopping yourself from getting ahead in your career? Lauren's guest, Robert Goldfarb, author of "What's Stopping Me from Getting Ahead?", identifies reasons why some employees get ahead, while others are left behind or let go. Learn the small missteps that can cost even a highly talented employee their job and learn to change your work habits, style and attitude for long term success in your career.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Sunday, November 21, 2010

11/16/10 - Home Care, Home Values, Election Winner, & Innovation

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Joyce Zelazik of Coldwell Banker - Honig Bell

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo talks to Jim Flickinger of BrightStar about "Home Care".
  • Jim has been involved for 25 years with a regional engineering firm but after the economic crisis back 2008, they cut the company in half, after which he resigned from his post. After looking into starting a business of his own, he came up with the idea of starting BrightStar business locally. BrightStar is multi tiered in the services it provides. The basic core services it provides are senior care or seniors in their family members in their home. They have medical nurses oversight on all the cases. As a result, they can have medical staffing and medical personnel placement in virtually any medical facility that would need our personnel. They also have the Kid Care service line. All of this related to BrightStar serving the client well.
  • Jim works with her wife, Judy,who is their director of nursing and business is going very well. The volume of people they serve locally is more than they expected. They have around 100 clients they are serving in their homes in various capacities. They also provide live-in care givers for families that need somebody living in the premises or the short time services, 1 or 2 hours a day for families that just need help.
  • Most of their clients come from referrals from medical establishments. Once patients are discharged, they would refer to another medical establishment that would continue treatment. They are very dependent on referrals but they also do direct advertising and other various marketing and advertising devices.
  • If someone has a parent, a grandparent that needs just a little bit of help at the beginning but over time, they might need a little bit more this would be a perfect client for BrightStar. They can start out with whatever they need and if the needs adjust, BrightStar will adjust with them. With their help, the bulk of their clients are able to stay in their homes and the family has a peace of mind knowing the person is remaining safely in their home with BrightStar's help.
  • They also offer a 24/7 hot line for consultation about their services and to cater to the needs of their clients. Their business terms are simple. They don't ask for any deposit, no service contracts. They basically go by the hour, by the day depending on the care giving needs of a particular situation
  • If you are interested about BrightStar, you can get in touch by logging on the website http://www.brightstarcare.com/ to look up any individual franchises in their area.
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Has a prospective employer checked your credit history? Has your credit history adversely affected your chances for employment? Today, Lauren discusses the newly passed Employee Credit Privacy Act, which will protect job seekers from unnecessary credit checks in Illinois. Lauren’s special guest, Monica, tells her own story of how her credit history has been an obstacle in her job search. A credit privacy act is also being debated on a national level; stay tuned for updates regarding this important topic.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Saturday, November 13, 2010

11/09/10 - Hire a Vet, Start a Business, & Crank Up Your Marketing

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo interviews Skip Marshall and talks about "SendOutCards As a Part-Time Business"
  • Skip Marshall has been in the transportation and logistics industry for more than 20 years. About 6 years ago, he had the opportunity to leave corporate America and start his own business that revolved around financial planning and business coaching for small business owners which worked out very well. After the recession last 2008, his business was greatly affected and he was loosing clients faster than he can get them. He made a decision late 2008 to close the business and return to corporate America.
  • During the time on his own, he met an individual who introduced him to SendOutCards and this would be the perfect way to keep in touch with his clients, business associates, as well as family and friends. He decided to sign up as a distributor and used it as a marketing strategy to keep in touch with his clients.
  • Skip's initial purpose for signing up as a distributor rather than just being a user was so that he could send cards for free. If he could make enough money in the SendOutCard business to pay for the cards he sent out, he was going to be happy. He became known as "the card guy" because he sends out around a couple of hundred cards in a month.
  • SendOutCards is a multi-level company that is something everybody does, is cheaper, better, faster, than going to a store and buying a card. This would be the best thing for somebody who is looking for a "plan B". You can do this very passively, or you can make it into a full time business. People even sign up for your business because they like the card you sent and they saw your signature at the back of the card.
  • You can get in touch with Skip Marshall by visiting his website www.SendOutCards.com/skipmarshall or email him at skipmarshall@comcast.net
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren's segment is all about our Veterans! In honor of Veterans' Day, we're talking about how military personnel can transition to a civilian job market. Lauren's guest is J. T. Kirk, author of "Confessions of a Hiring Manager", who offers insider secrets on exit strategies, professional branding and resume development for U. S. armed forces returning to the workforce.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Sunday, November 7, 2010

11/02/10 - Improve Performance, Extra Income, Take Control, & Success Tips

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Michael Cooper of Sales Kitchen

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo talks about "SendOutCards Income Lifeline"
  • SendOutCards is like a "Swiss army knife" that you can use on any occasion to send out cards. Its is a great convenience because you send out real cards and not e-cards right through your internet browser. Another aspect of the SendOutCard business is that it is a referral only business. This means you can only use SendOutCards if you get introduced to it and brought up to speed on how to use it through a qualified distributor.
  • You can also use SendOutCards as a way to earn some extra income. All you have to do is help others start with SendOutCards. Show them how to use the system and provide on- going support and training
  • Sales person usually have a hard time with SendOutCards since they take on a sales approach rather than a teaching approach. Leo notices that the most successful people that improve their SendOutCards business are the people who are used to helping others.
  • SendOutCards is a great option to earn income in two ways. If you help someone get started, you get a weekly check in the mail. In addition to that, you earn a percentage with each card, gift, or a gift-card that is sent out by your extended team
  • Leo became interested in SendOutCard because it is an open market, and its still a hidden secret. Only a few people know of it but that is going to change soon. There is no competition. The other companies have been stagnant for years but SendOutCards has been rapidly growing due to local support and the cost is way cheaper.
  • So if you are interested you can go to Leo's website www.SendOutCards.com/65112 or call (630) 240-7835
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • How does today’s guest, Martin Atkins, drummer for PiL, Killing Joke, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and more, fit into Lauren’s career advancement segment? Listen in to hear how Martin’s advice for musicians today seamlessly works for business in general. Martin and Lauren discuss creating opportunities, as well as lessons learned in his book, Tour:Smart: And Break the Band.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

10/26/10 - Thank You, Career Counseling, & Referral Machine

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo interviews Lillian D. Bjorseth about "Saying Thank You Can Boost Your Bottom Line"
  • Lillian is the president of Duoforce Enterprises, Inc. She recently wrote an article in her newsletter, “Communicate and Network Your Way to Success,” about the importance of saying "thank you" for your business.
  • Lillian previously was employed in public relations with AT&T where she did communications skills coaching for top executives. Now she helps you build a new kind of wealth - social capital - by improving your networking and communication skills.
  • With a huge network and much relationship-building experience, she has noticed over the years that people often fail to say "thank you" after she connects them and/or gives them sales leads and that the practice is growing.
  • She’s received a lot of feedback to the article. Some think it is the impersonal nature of online networking that makes people feel less compelled to say “thank you.” It appears that the inanimate nature of the computer may be causing us to show less respect and even common courtesy for another human being.
  • Some say that this trend is a generational thing; however, Lillian finds it across all generations. Someone questioned if parents are not teaching their children to say “thank you” and that this carries over to the business world. While many of the ideas are speculative, others are noticing the same diminishing trend.
  • Lillian has also seen cases where people show appreciation. One person stands out because after Lillian helped her get a job at a major bank, she sent a note and flowers. It’s not necessary to spend money … just take the time to say “thank you.”
  • People will quickly forget what you said but will always remember how you made them feel. With the immediacy of texting and email, it’s hard to imagine that the number of “thank you’s” has not increased. In the “olden” days, you’d have to pick up the phone and call. Today, you can say thanks in 30 seconds or less anytime of the day or night.
  • You can get in touch with Lillian by sending her an email at lillianspeaks@duoforce.com, go to her website at http://www.duoforce.com/ where you can find links to her blog and events
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren's guest is an affiliate of the show, Donna Sandberg of Career Path. Are you employed, but unhappy at work? (Do the words, 'bored' or 'miserable' come to mind?) Then this show is for you. Donna and Lauren discuss a few things that you can do TODAY that will help get your head back in the game, be more proactive in your career direction and make a noticeable change, without having to change jobs.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Friday, October 22, 2010

10/19/10 - Tax Savings, Gratitude, Job Search Strategies, & Niche Marketing

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo interviews Michelle Linton on "Tax Savings for Your Business"
  • Michelle is the owner of MLA Accounting. She has practiced public accounting for over 25 years and decided to venture on her own around 7 years ago. She is an enrolled agent, compared to a CPA, she has had 11 hours of tax testing conducted by the IRS, compared to a 3 hour tax testing of a CPA so specialize more in just tax. She also has a masters in accounting an is part of the board for the National Association of Tax Professionals Illinois chapter.
  • Up until this year, anybody who has decide to become a tax preparer could but created a lot of problems in the industry because they were not keeping up with the education they had to. So the IRS has enacted some new legislation that everyone needs to register and within a couple of years everyone will have to pass a test.
  • If you are a business owner and do not have much knowledge about taxes, ask who ever is helping you about classes do they take to keep up with their continuing education since tax law is constantly changing. If they are a CPA or an enrolled agent, you can check online their license and see if they are in good standing.
  • Tax saving tips - 1.)Be organized. Do not let your business take so much of your time that you don't stay organized because if all your expenses are not captured, you are not going to get all the deductions that you are entitled to. 2.) Do a tax check up with your accountant before the end of the year. You cannot do anything after 12/31 3.) Do not always think you are an expert, ask someone, or do research on the Internet, or consult a professional. Talk to someone who knows and who keeps up with it. 4.) Maximize your retirement contribution which is one of your best tax savings. Consult with you investment advisor because the market is not where it should be.
  • Michelle is also heavily involved in getting more and more clients into Cloud computing. This system allows you to do all of your accounting, book keeping or any of your business functions over the Internet. This allows you to log in on any computer and check on your clients as opposed to being physically present with the PC where your business softwares are installed. It also helps reduce your software and hardware needs because you do not need to constantly upgrade to keep up.
  • Michelle uses SendOutCards both for her professional and personal life. She became so busy that she doesn't have time t0 literally go to the store and pick out a card to get in touch with her clients. With SendOutCards, all she needs to do now is log on to the Internet and it only takes her 2 minutes to send out birthday cards, holiday cards, etc. It is a great way to advertise your business and a very inexpensive way of advertising instead of buying mailing pieces.
  • You can get in touch with Michelle Linton by calling (630) 729-3138 or email her at ml@mla-accounting.com or go to the website http://www.mla-accounting.com/.
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren took the day off to finish a rush resume. The good news? The job seeker got the interview!

Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Monday, October 18, 2010

10/12/10 - Health Care Technology, SOC Convention, Shape Up, & Success Tips

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Bob Green

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo gives a "SendOutCards Convention Recap"
  • Leo summarizes the highlights on the recent SendOutCards convention he was able to attend.
  • SendOutCards, after 4-5 years of existing, is projected to send 16 million cards this year
  • The annual production a number of years ago was only a few hundred thousand cards.
  • Today they can make about 1.3 cards per second and are gearing towards 700,000 cards in one day
  • SendOutCards is up about 35% over last year's volume and still growing because they are not just a greeting card company. They have a 2 fold mission - helping people act on their promptings when they want to reach out to others in kindness and they are creating a vehicle for financial freedom.
  • Over time things are going to shift towards more personal, old fashioned and memorable greeting cards even if there are a variety of things out there.
  • Kathy Ireland gave their key note address during the convention. She is a SendOutCards distributor who built from scratch, a company that is now a worth 1.4 billion dollars. All of this started with a pair of socks which was their first product
  • At the convention, they were able to raise $20,000 for Make a Wish
  • Achieving EMR Meaningful Use and Using Technology Meaningfully in the Medical Practice
  • o HITECH Act & EMR Strategy for the practice
  • o Operating in this high-tech environment
  • For more details click on Leo's Events on http://www.mydreambiz.net/ or send an email to LTD@mydreambiz.net
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren's guest is nationally recognized fitness expert, Petra Kolber! If you're like Lauren, you spend waaaay too much time sitting at the computer. Petra joins the show today to give a few tips to stay stretched and active, even while at work! It's been scientifically proven that TOO MUCH SITTING CAN KILL YOU. Lauren is now committed to be more active, using Petra's tips. How about you?
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Sunday, October 10, 2010

10/05/10 - Health Care Technology, Office Organization, ResuMailBag, Marketing

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo talks about "Furnishing Your Office Affordably" with Jeni Ozark of Sassy Spaces
  • Jeni is the owner of Sassy Spaces a professional organizing and interior redesign firm which started back 1995. She started working for small business owners who didn't have clue about how to set up their home offices. She helped them create their offices with what space was available in their home. Word spread and her clients grew from home owners to overwhelmed moms who needed help with their household clutter.
  • Sassy Spaces does both home organizing, home office or business organizing and wide range of things. They are also very flexible in terms of prices where in you do not have to commit in doing everything upfront and doing it at once. They can break it up into pieces when they are ready and it's affordable for them.
  • If you have an office where you bring your clients to, you want to come across as having a professional appearance and you will want to appear as organized for a positive impression for a potential client
  • Part of the value Sassy Spaces brings is that they are aware of what kind of furniture is available so one they put together a plan for your office, they know where to go to get the right piece at the right price.
  • When choosing a professional organized, they should meet face to face to assess what needs to be done and how long it will take to get the work done. You should be able to work with the person. Avoid people attitude on your clutter that feels shaming for you. You need to have a good personality fit, somebody that you think can make it fun.
  • Jeni has a client who uses SendOutCards who uses it to follow up on new customers and keep in touch with current customers. He saves so much money in using SendOutCards because it's so quick and easy for him to do.
  • You can google Jeni Ozark to find information on her. She has a blog, iTwitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. You can also go to her website http://www.sassyspacesinc.com/ or email her at jeni@sassyspacesinc.com or call her at (708) 301-7474.
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren answered questions from show listeners. Q&A topics include: How to know which keywords should be in your resume (hint - LinkedIn!); When to use an executive summary (hint - always!); When should a job seeker have 2 or more resumes (hint - rarely ever!); Functional vs. Chronological resume format (hint - always chronological. Find out why!)
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jackie Camacho-Ruiz

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Friday, October 1, 2010

09/28/10 - Power Teams, Gratitude, Pink Floyd, and Public Relations

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Joyce Zelazik of Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo talks about Furnishing Your Office Affordably with Paul Stevenson of Stevenson Office Solutions
  • Stevenson Office Solutions started last 2005. Paul and his partner wanted to create a place where people could come one-stop-shop for everything regarding office furniture.
  • They do design space planning for office furniture, buy and sell used inventories and also do move management
  • Stevenson Office Solutions assesses a company by sitting down and talking to them - where they are at now, what are they looking to do, redesign their offices, moving one office to the next, to be more efficient financially and the workspace
  • Stevenson Office Solutions also has move management capabilities. A lot of companies are moving and also move a lot of heavy furniture, filing systems. With their tagging systems, people generally don't have to touch a thing.
  • Paul Stevenson is also a user of SendOutCards for both business and personal matters
  • SendOutCards is like owning a blackberry, the more you get into it, the more creative you become.
  • You can get in touch with Paul via his website http://www.stevensonofficesolutions.com/ or call (630) 229-8205
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren discusses an alternative approach in empowering your job search and offers ideas on how to create a job for yourself while seeking permanent employment. Lauren also shares "Career Lessons Learned from Roger Waters" of Pink Floyd, during his current tour, The Wall.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Sunday, September 26, 2010

09/21/10 - Networking Tips, Gratitude, Hiring the Disabled, and Marketing Tools

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Michael Cooper of Sales Kitchen

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo talks about "Use Appreciation to Stand Out From Your Competition"
  • Leo interviews Irene Sowinski who was introduced to SendOutCards by Lauren Milligan
  • SendOutCards caught her attention because you could do stuff like you get to pick the cards, edit it, and it is automatically mailed out for you.
  • SendOutCards is also useful for business because you can send out hundreds of cards in a matter of minutes. There is an account for everyone whether you are a doctor, a contractor, a painter, etc.
  • Given the current economy, you really have to stay in touch with your contacts, build rapport and SendOutCards helps you do that.
  • You can also use it within a company to acknowledge your employees. When your boss sends you a card greet you for special occasions or just to tell you that you did a good job, it make you feel good. A happy employee is a productive employee.
  • You also have an option to sign up for a free account where you can send a card anywhere in the world
  • You can get in touch with Irene by dialling 630-302-2505 or email her at isowinski@sbcglobal.net
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren's guest today is Nick Gutwein, President of Braun Ability. Nick discusses his company's passion for improving the quality of life for individuals with physical disabilities by offering mobile solutions. Nick and Lauren also discuss the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its relevance to today's workplace and workforce.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Saturday, September 18, 2010

09/14/10 - Cash Flow, Gratitude, Job-Search and Revenue

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

Guests:

Michael Peters of Profit Focused Principles

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo talks about "Thoughts You Want Remembered"
  • There are different thoughts that require a different ways of expressing them.
  • If you want it remembered, you might want to make sure that you express it in the right way especially when it is important
  • A quick email or a text message maybe cool but it's something special, personal, or private, or heart- felt, you may want to use a different mechanism
  • In these cases, Leo uses SendOutCards. He uses it when he wants to share thoughts that usually come up.
  • Not everybody has the time to go to the store, pick the perfect card and add the message.
  • Sometime you don't get another chance to express those feelings. You only get it once.
  • This was actually the reason why SendOutCards was founded
  • When you have a prompting to share your heart-felt thoughts and feelings to others, I challenge you not to let those chances slip away whatever mechanism you choose.
  • If it's a thought or a feeling you want remembered, use something that will keep that memory lasting. It's unlikely for your friend will print out a text message that you sent but would more likely think of you every time they see the meaningful card you sent out.
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren discusses "Job Search Mistakes" and offers helpful tips for a successful job search, including how to research a company prior to applying for a position. Listen in to hear Lauren's advice on how to be more confident when answering the salary question during a job interview. Lauren ends her segment with a new "Career Killer of the Week" story!
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jackie Camacho-Ruiz

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Sunday, September 12, 2010

09/07/10 - Lynn Lionhood - Lionheart - The Power of Networking

Hosts: Leo Wisniewski, Lauren Milligan and Jeff Bishop

Guests:

Lynn Lionhood of Lionheart Assurance Solutions, LP

Leo Wisniewski

  • Leo interviews Lynn Lionhood of Lionheart Assurance Solutions
  • Lynn was previously a stay at home mom with 4 kids and married to a police officer
  • After his husbands accident at 39, she was left as the sole supporter for a family of 6
  • She joined a position at a security agency but was not happy with the situation that she decided that she needed to find a way to work for herself
  • After joining a few businesses, she was introduced to Lionheart, fell in love with it and decided this is where she wants to stay
  • Lionheart provides legal counsel for business and provides voluntary employee benefits for their employees. They also develop meetings to make face to face introductions for business growth.
  • Lynn has also started building an agency to look for good and strong people, transitioning and training them for Lionheart assurance
  • Lynn offers opportunities for people to work for themselves. They help everyone from janitors to CEOs of companies. it doesn't matter what background you've got, leaders are found everywhere.
  • They hold networking luncheons as an avenue of building relationships and good business. It really is about strong relationships. You must learn to do things for other people before you ask for their business which will build trust in them
  • What makes their luncheon events unique aside from the food, is that people would come in, pay for for the cost of their lunch, and Lynn would make sure that they get 30 mins to talk about their passion and what their business is all about in front of the crowd.
  • They also have a small business board room so that small business owners could come to the table and share the current challenges that they have and get input from other business owners
  • Lynn is also an active user of SendOutCards since she always likes to thank her clients. Instead of going to the store, find the perfect card which will take a lot of time, she can finish all of this with SendOutCards in a matter of minutes
  • She made it a part of her regular monthly training that all agents hear a presentation on how to use SendOutCards, a return to the old fashioned values that used to exist
  • Leo's Segment Playback(just click on Leo's Segment Playback to hear Leo's archived program!)
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Lauren Milligan
  • Lauren discusses that lacking a college degree may not be a dealbreaker in a job search, but using "Dear Sir or Madam" on a cover letter may be! Also, Lauren has been chosen to write a blog for Triblocal, the online suburban news site sponsored by the Chicago Tribune. Check it out at http://triblocal.com/warrenville/section/business. Lauren also introduces a new segment called "Career Killer of the Week" where she'll discuss real life examples of people who sabatoge their own careers.
  • Lauren's Segment Playback(just click on Lauren's Segment Playback to hear Lauren's archived program!)
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Jeff Bishop

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