Listen Now!

Business Talk 24-7

Check below to find this program's broadcast schedule





Chic Perspectives

business strategy

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Jennifer Shields Founder & President, Posh Tot Events and Susan Rae and Gale Middleton of roam Atlanta on the Chic Perspectives Show, co-hosted by Laura Scholz of Scholz Communications and CRAVE Atlanta

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Susan Rae, Gale Middleton, Elizabeth Gordon, Jennifer Shields, Laura Scholz

Susan Rae, Gale Middleton, Elizabeth Gordon, Jennifer Shields, Laura Scholz

Yet another fabulous line up on the Chic Perspectives Show this week.  Laura Scholz of Scholz Communications http://www.facebook.com/scholzcommunications and CRAVE Atlanta was my guest cohost this week on the Chic Perspectives Show.  So we got to chat about all that’s up with CRAVE and the great events going on around Atlanta.  For more on all that go to  http://thecravecompany.com/atlanta/

Our first guest was Jennifer Shields Founder & President, Posh Tot Events

After a 12 year corporate career in marketing Jennifer Shields left corporate America, (and all the perks) behind, to follow her dream of becoming an entrepreneur. She turned her passion for planning events into Posh Tot Events, a full service event planning company that specializes in children’s birthday parties and baby showers

Jennifer talked about why someone would hire an event planner for a kids birthday party.

  • Posh Tot Events provides a niche service for busy moms that want to throw a great party for their children but are short on time, creativity or both!
  • Posh Tot Events takes ALL of the stress out planning a party making it fun and relaxing for the moms
  • We are offering a summer Princess Camp this year for girls that is targeted towards 4-6 year olds with an emphasis on manners and etiquette. Registration info available at poshtotevents.com
  • We have several themes for boys as well as girls and many of our clients come back year after year and always get something fresh and new.

Be sure to check them out @ www.poshtotevents.com

And become a friend of Posh Tot Events @ Facebook.com/poshtotevents

Keep up with the latest @ twitter/jenshieldsATL

Next up were the wonderful women of roam Atlanta, a one-of-a-kind business cafe and meeting space that is open to the pulic located at 5815 Windward Parkway Suite 302, Alpharetta, United States, 30005

www.roamatlanta.com

Susan Rae, roam writer and Marketing Director and Gale Middleton, the Director of Membership @ roam Atlanta joined me in the studio.

Suan and Gale talked about how members and patrons enjoy free wifi in the cafe and can order breakfast, lunch, coffee, wine & beer.  They also have access to 8 small, medium, and large conference rooms for private meetings, seminars, and networking events.

Susan promotes roam sponsored & member events as well as launching roam’s marketing programs.  Gale provides support to members to help them grow their businesses.

I can speak from experience and say that roam offers “insanely great” meeting experiences.  f you are the kind of person who wants to maintain a professional image without paying for expensive office space or meeting clients in coffee shops, roam is the place for you.

  • roam is the only co-working and meeting space that is open to the public.
  • roam serves its patrons as a co-working spot, its members as a private meeting space and corporations as an off site meeting space, and the community with seminars, special interest groups and education.
  • roam members get marketing support as part of their membership.  They promote their events via the roam newsletter, website, social media sites and with flyers and inhouse marketing and through the Georgia Alliance of Private Clubs.
  • roam patrons meet other entrepreneurs in the cafe and at events to network, share experiences and make new connections.

Susan and Gale told us all about a new program roam just launched called the “Get a Room” campaign.  They are offering 2 hours free in a small conference room with free coffee service of their award winning custom blend – Just mention that you heard about it on the show – and stop by roam Atlanta and take advantage of this great free offer to try the place out – and get a room!

roam has also formed a relationship with Steelcase Corporation and is test driving their media:scape collaboration furniture from April 13-May 1.  They also have a new series especially for women call WE @ roam: Women Entrepreneurs, Women of Excellence and Women’s Events – Check out what’s coming up:

  • The One-page Business Plan Workshop is Wed. April 21 from 9-11am
  • Shop the Swap: Clothing & Accessory Swap – Sat April 24, 2-4pm, with dropoff 11:30-1:00pm
  • And I’m speaking there at an after hours mixer on May 6th at 6pm  – so you know that will be awesome : )

find out more about roam atlanta @ www.roamatlanta.com and become friends and followers @ facebook/roamatlanta and twitter.com/roamatlanta

Thanks again to my co-host Laura Scholz of CRAVE Atlanta and Scholz Communications and to Pink Payments the Merchant Services for women providing Commerce with a Conscience.

Thanks to you all for listening.

Until next time

Wishing you all Chic Success,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Kimberly Wilson, Designer, Yogini, & Entrepreneur, Tranquil Space Foundation & Dallas author & CEO Shama Kabani author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing & President of The Marketing Zen Group

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Today on The Chic Perspectives Show I had on Tranquilista, Kimberly Wilson from D.C. and Dallas author Shama Kabani as my guests.   Kimberly Wilson, Designer, Yogini, and Entrepreneur, Tranquil Space Foundation and Shama Kabini is the author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing.

Thanks for today’s show goes to our sponsor – Pink Payments, Merchant Services for Women, by Women and Supporting Women www.pinkpayments.com .

Kimberly Wilson is the author of Tranquilista and Hip Tranquil Chick. She is also the designer of eco-fashion line TranquiliT, and the founder of the Tranquil Space Foundation, which promotes yoga, creativity, and leadership in women and girls. She lives in Washington, DC. Visit her online at http://www.kimberlywilson.com

Kimberly talked about what a Tranquilista is – and why creative women of today want to embrace this philosophy.  A Tranquilista blends mind/body philosophy, creativity, and entrepreneurship to help women live a life full of extravagance grounded in mindfulness. Kimberly Wilson aims to help women realize — and revel in — their unique potential to make a difference through enlightened work and mindful play.

Kimberly explained what enlightened work looks like and feels like and how to use mindful play to make yourself more productive and more joy-filled.

Enlightened work is about forgoing spreadsheets and stodgy office politics to forge ahead with a new way of designing our lives as self-defined entrepreneurs who care about blending balance, bliss, and beauty. Kimberly uses the word entrepreneur, to  refer to today’s woman who wants to leave a legacy through her daily actions, whether working for a nonprofit, launching a vegan cafe, or being a full-time activist.

Mindful play allows the incorporation of art, creativity, style, and dreams into one’s spiritual journey. Kimberly says to think of play as the icing on top of a yummy cupcake – it makes the whole experience more enjoyable and balanced. Mindfulness allows one’s playful spirit to remained focused on the world-at-large and making a difference.

Kimberly focused an entire chapter of her book on style – so you know I was all over that.  We discussed how style ties into work and play.

Looking good and feeling good often goes hand in hand. “When I don a flattering outfit with a dash of the perfect of accessories and hint of make-up plus dab of eau de parfum, I hold my head high and put my best self forward.”  Here here sister!

In addition to fashion, Kimberly’s book also addresses decluttering, communicating clearly, home décor, beauty rest, bathing rituals, nourishment, exercise, and entertaining. Style plays into how you present yourself to the world in fashion, communication, home and office environment, and more. It’s a defining aspect of who you are and how you express your creativity.

Kimberly explained how she finds balance while wearing so many different hats

She says she no longer sees a distinction between my work and play. During down time you’ll find her reading business books, practicing yoga, or thumbing through fashion magazines – all of which are applicable to her career and professional life and fuel her passion. During work she’ll be sipping tea, engaging in social media, and blogging about her latest adventure. Her work and play commingle in a coherent, holistic way. She admits she’s also a sucker for self-care: regular massage, oodles of sleep, yoga, and journal writing.  – What a different world it would be if businesswomen had more pride in self care and a little less in being a workaholic or a Type A personality  – I talked about this very thing at a Panta Rei meeting recently.

Lastly Kimberly and I got into the reasons why she emphasizes spirituality and do-gooding as lifestyle essentials.

Kimberly holds that spirituality and do-gooding are foundational building blocks to launching a career and life mindfully. By taking time to feed your spiritual self through simple acts such as time in nature, meditation, journal writing, and yoga, you’re able to know yourself better and find your center. Similarly, by giving back to others and striving to let your thoughts, words, and actions have a powerful impact on those around you, you are able to make better decisions, be a leader, and, ultimately, leave a legacy.

It was such an awesomely Tranquil experience having you on Kimberly thanks so much for sharing your story and your tips with our listeners.

Find out more and keep in touch with Kimberly

www.KimberlyWilson.com

@Tranqulista; Twitter

and on the Tranqulista Fan Page on Facebook

Next up on the Chic Perspectives Show was Shama Kabani.  Shama is President of The Marketing Zen Group, a full service online marketing firm that serves clients around the world. She has been dubbed a “millennial master of the universe” and “online marketing shaman” by Fast Company magazine. In 2009, Business Week honored her as one of the Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25 in North America.

Shama holds a masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and prides herself on being a constant learner. Her website, http://www.MarketingZen.com, has turned into a high-traffic destination for people looking for advice on how to successfully market businesses online. Companies around the world have hired Shama and her fast-growing digital media agency to guide them through the world of social media marketing. She also hosts a popular web TV show on new media marketing at http://Shama.TV, and is regularly quoted on marketing and technology trends by broadcast, print, and online media.

Shama shared some valuable perspective on social media strategy and how businesses can leverage the tools to build customer relationships.

Shama says to remember that social media marketing comes LAST – after you have a great website, a solid product strategy, and a clear product direction.  Nobody “starts tweeting today” and makes a million.

It was interesting to here her talk about how traditional marketing tools are almost certain to fail in the world of social media – because social media is a consumer-driven environment, not a marketing platform.

Even if you don’t have a social media plan – Shama says social media is already influencing your customers.  It’s the great equalizer, that amplifies every opinion (positive or negative), where a college student in Austin can have as much impact as a magazine reviewer in New York City, depending on their network and their relevance to your target market.

A good rule of thumb – remember your mother’s advice:  treat people with respect, and don’t try to hide who you are.  (There are multiple case studies, and admonitions in the book, about this because one of the most common mistakes newcomers to social media make is to forget basic etiquette, or try to hide their identity to create “false positive” reviews or comments.  Two short examples:  you’d never run up to a stranger at a trade show, shove your business card in their hand, and then run away without saying anything – but people will sometimes do just that by posting their contact info or a product pitch on someone’s blog, Facebook page, or Twitter DM, without realizing that it’s the exact same thing.  Businesses that enter social media through the back door after a negative review on a site like Yelp, often try to “Googlewash” the negative reviews with positive reviews they write themselves under false names.  That ISN’T the way to handle negative consumer postings.)

Shama shared that for most businesses, it isn’t a question of whether or not they are going to make social media a part of their marketing efforts at some point.  It’s a question of when they are going to enter the conversation, and take charge of their online reputation and brand.  So what we do for our clients is show them how to get into the game, and use the Zen-like secret of success:  go with the flow, instead of trying to swim upstream.  By that, we mean using social media as a way to communicate with, educate, entertain, and open a dialog with people who may become customers (now, someday, or never) – instead of always trying to sell.  Yes, we do make money for our clients and our own business through social media marketing – and we do get customers that way.  But it is often an indirect process – someone who reads my blog, or follows me on twitter gives my name to their cousin who is looking for a web design firm, or they put our name into consideration when their company is looking for an agency, or whatever.  It’s not always a direct sales process – but is can be very profitable.

Find out more about Shama’s work, clients, book and solutions @ www.marketingzen.com

Be sure to keep in touch with Shama as well – she really knows what she’s talking about and is one of the leaders in this space.

http://Shama.Tv

twitter: @shama

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shamakabani

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/shamahyder

Thanks Shama for coming on and bringing some much needed zen into the social media world – I love your unique perspective.  It was such a pleasure getting to know you and we look forward to hearing more from the first “live book” on social media.

Thanks again to our sponsor – Pink Payments, Merchant Services for Women, by Women and Supporting Women. www.pinkpayments.com

Like to pitch a guest for The Chic Perspectives Show?  Visit www.chicentrepreneur.com for media contact info.

Thanks for listening.  Until next time… wishing you all Chic Success.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Christine Comaford-Lynch – CEO, Mighty Ventures and Author of Rules for Renegades: How to Make More Money, Rock Your Career, and Revel in Your Individuality

Posted on

Podcast: Download

In this Chic Perspectives episode, I talked to Christine Comaford-Lynch – CEO, Mighty Ventures and Author of Rules for Renegades: How to Make More Money, Rock Your Career, and Revel in Your Individuality

Bill Gates calls her “super high bandwidth.” Bill Clinton has thanked her for fostering American entrepreneurship.” Newsweek says “by reputation, Christine is the person you want to partner with.” Christine has built and sold 5 of her own businesses. She writes a column for BusinessWeek SmallBiz. In this interview New York Times Bestselling Author Christine Comaford-Lynch shares the keys to her entrepreneurial success by explaining how to build a business that you can leverage beyond you.

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Kaira Sturdivant Rouda, President of Real Living, Inc. and author of Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Kaira Sturdivant Rouda, President of Real Living, Inc. and author of Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs

Kaira Sturdivant Rouda, president of Real Living and creator of the Real Living brand, is passionate about entrepreneurism, marketing and the power of women in the workforce and beyond.

A published author, journalist, marketing executive and business owner, she built her career by working in marketing for national brands and large regional advertising agencies.

While maintaining her own writing business, she became the vice president of marketing for an Inc. 100 national franchisor, where she found her passion for franchising as a means to entrepreneurial business ownership.

In 1997, she entered another field filled with entrepreneurs – residential real estate. She launched the nationally award-winning Real Living brand in 2002, now among the fastest-growing franchise companies in the country and making a dramatic impact in an industry in flux.

Kaira was recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Led Companies list. Real Living was also recently named one of the 50 Fastest Growing Companies in central Ohio.

In this Chic Perspective, Kaira talks about putting the Real You in your business, bringing your authentic self and thus your joy to work with you and creating a business through vision, strategy and culture that allows you to achieve your dreams.

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Michelle Briody, author of 16 Weeks to Your Dream Business: A Weekly Planner for Entrepreneurial Women on the Chic Perspectives Show

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Today on the Chic Perspectives Show, I got to chat with Michelle Briody, author of 16 Weeks to Your Dream Business: A Weekly Planner for Entrepreneurial Women.

Along with her co-author Nada Jones, Michelle founded an innovative fashion business in 2001 that showcased emerging women designers and their products in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle markets and gave women outside of NY and LA access to the latest trends.

Having worked with hundreds of emerging women-owned companies, Nada and Michelle decided to write a book to empower other women to go after their dreams and do so in a smart and organized fashion that would lead them to success, while bypassing some of the common mistakes.

In this Chic Perspectives interview, Michelle talks about their 16-week plan for getting started, how women tend to start, build and manage growth differently than men, how this serves as an advantage as well as how it can be a hindrance if they are not careful. Michelle recounts successful strategies of the top performing companies she has observed over the years and gives tips on marketing and public relations.

We also talk about the all important topic of cash flow, how to create, grow and maintain it.

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Desiree Scales, CEO of Bella Web Design

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Today on the Chic Perspectives Show I got to chat with Desiree Scales, CEO of Bella Web Design.

Elizabeth Gordon & Desiree Scales

Elizabeth Gordon & Desiree Scales

Bella Web Design has helped over 200 companies realize their success in Atlanta and more than 35 states nationwide for more than 10 years. Her company provides web design, web hosting, search engine submission and optimization, print design, email marketing, social media coaching, blogging and general web marketing consultation.

Desiree accredits their success to her team’s creative talent, integrity, and friendly service that draws loyal clients.

Desiree’s expertise and experience has evolved into a passion to educate both businesses and organizations on internet technology that ignites their success.

She has been a featured speaker at companies, conferences and seminars across Atlanta and regularly provides classes on blogging, web design, branding, Internet marketing, Web 2.0 strategies and social media.

She additionally offers personal Social Media Coaching to business owners who want to apply the online buzz to their customer relationships and bottom line.

Desiree is an authority on all things web.  Her expert advice:

  • If you don’t think your site is professional enough, it’s not. Hire a pro.
  • Don’t skimp on your social media budget, it’s the most important item in it.
  • Blogging is the best way to start using social media.
  • Find one medium that fits your personality and stick with it.
  • Be flexible and follow others who provide a good example.
  • Helping others is the best way to establish your expertise.
  • Make sure you look at your overall strategy and your goals before starting.


Check out Bella Web Design @ www.bellawebdesign.com

And listen to the Bella Buzz every week, an awesome podcast with all the latest ideas and must do’s when it comes to social media and web strategy.

www.thebellabuzz.com podcast/blog

And don’t forget to Follow, Friend and Link as well…

twitter.com/desireescales

Facebook: companies.to/bellawebdesign

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bellawebdesign

Thanks again for coming on Desiree.  It was so great to see you again.


Elizabeth Gordon interviews Angela Stalcup of Ladies Who Launch Atlanta and The Curvy Life on The Chic Perspectives Show

Posted on

Podcast: Download

This week it was my pleasure to chat with Angela Stalcup, the Atlanta Market Director for Ladies Who Launch and the Chief Curvy Officer for The Curvy Life about how women entrepreneurs are changing the world.

www.ladieswholaunch.com/atlanta www.curvylife.com

Angela talked about the latest trends she is seeing in women entrepreneurs and why the numbers of women starting new businesses continues to grow in the current economy and how women are becoming more sophisticated in their approach.

Angela gave some great examples of how the barriers to entry have gone down and how women can now compete at a global level with large companies without feeling a tremendous disadvantage.  All signs still point to this being an increasing popular path for women.  While lifestyle is usually a factor for women’t entrepreneurial career choice, more and more money has become more of the focus as women are realizing just what they are capable of achieving once they step out of the shadow of a boss and take their economic power into their own hands.

Angela talked about the new feminine power and how it differs from the traditional view of power.  This is such a hot topic in female business leader circles of late, so I would to hear your comments on how women leaders are challenging the norms and bringing forth a new approach based on collaboration instead of control and what the effects of such a perspective shift will be.

She also spoke of the rise of women in the corporate world and how leadership norms are changing, why certain practices are outdated and what it really takes to get ahead in today’s business world.

Angela and I talked about the new girls club, and how the last 10 years have seen a great shift in how women network, connect and help each other.  We discussed why women in the past have felt a need to compete with each other and why cooperation is the new norm in women business relations.

I know you’ll enjoy this insightful conversation about the next wave of feminine power in the workplace and what that means for profits, products and our planet.  Check out more about Angela, Ladies Who Launch Atlanta, and The Curvy Life @  www.ladieswholaunch.com/atlanta www.curvylife.com

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Lorraine Chilvers, CEO of Delaney Consulting LLC on the Chic Perspectives Show

Posted on

Podcast: Download

CIMG3003Today on the Chic Perspectives Show I got to chat with Lorraine Chilvers, CEO of Delaney, a professional services company that provides financial expertise to businesses.

Lorraine has held some high-level executive positions with Fortune 100 companies, she talked about why she moved from that to being an entrepreneur.  She reveals why given the current economic climate, Delany’s services are uniquely suited to meet the needs of growing businesses.

I always like to ask successful businesspeople about mistakes or failures in their past.  Failure can be a powerful teaching tool and often businesspeople’s own past failures helped create the person they are today.  Lorraine shares what failures she’s observed in the past that have led her to this point in her career.

The economy is still down and people are beginning their plans for 2010.  Since Delaney Consulting provides financial advice to companies, Lorraine gave some great advice to small entrepreneurs.

She also talked about what makes a smaller company such as Delaney different from all the other consulting companies out there.  Delaney is also placing significant efforts towards education, with their “Delaney Learning”  program.  Lorraine talked about why the company is focusing on education.  Lorraine also talked about a new program Delaney is also starting for CEO’s, called Delaney Think-Tank.

A large part of Ms. Chilvers outside life is focused on supporting women.  She is on the board of Zonta, which is part of Zonta International.  She talked more about the work she does to support women.

Lorraine also shared some great advice for women who are in the early stages of their career and deciding whether to start up their own company.  And lastly don’t miss the personal side of Lorraine.  We all have our pre-conceived ideas of “accountants”  – Lorraine tells me, what a CFO really does in her time off…

Thanks Lorraine for being a great guest on the Chic Perspectives Show today.  For more on Delaney Consulting, LLC go to: http://www.delaneyllc.com

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Rich Horwath, author of Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action, today on The Chic Perspectives Show

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Rich Horwath

Rich Horwath

Today on the Chic Perspectives Show my guest Rich Horwath talked about business strategy and his new book, Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action.


I love strategy – and you certainly can’t build a flourishing business without a good one – yet so many companies fall down in this area – and it ultimately leads to mediocrity at best and failure at worse.  Want to avoid these unpleasant fates?  Then take your strategy advice from Rich, he’s an expert.  I like simple clean models that help companies make smart and fast decisions and take action – and that’s what I like about Rich’s ideas and advice.

Rich talked about the mistakes big companies often make in the strategic planning process, and his model for defining competitive advantage.

Rich talked about the automakers, and other big business bailouts and whether or not that was really the best thing for our economy, as well as the macro economic implications of such federal stimulus measures such as the cash for clunkers program.

While many CEOs have cited the weak economy as a cause for poor performance in 2009, Rich shares why a business’s performance has little to do with the economy as a whole and much more to do with smart strategy and effective execution.

Bulletproof your business plan, avoid the million dollar mistake, learn the secret to finding a job or getting that next promotion in today’s economy and avoid letting your experience hold your business back – this interview is packed with practical nuggets of wisdom to help you take strategic advantage of the current economy and avoid the certain doom facing many who do not heed Rich’s advice.


Rich and I also got into how to maintain mental agility in the marketplace and the boardroom, innovation and resource allocation, and developing strategic discipline.

Packed with great case studies and insightful ideas to get you laser focused on what you are best at and maximizing the value of that in the marketplace through a killer strategy , definitely check out Rich’s latest book, Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action.

Check out more strategic tips from Rich and his monthly Strategic Thinker publication at www.strategyskills.com. Rich, thanks for taking the time to share your Chic Perspective with us today!