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Chic Perspectives

Chic Perspectives

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Desiree Scales, CEO of Bella Web Design

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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 Michelle Roark – World Cup Champion, Olympian, Entrepreneur, founder of Phi-nomenal

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A while back I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Champion skier Michelle Roark on the Chic Perspectives Show, and I wanted to share part of the interview here.

Michelle is an amazing athlete, a World Champion and Olympian skier – and as if that wasn’t enough, she is also a super savvy chic entrepreneur, the founder and president of Phi-nomenal, a perfume line that no only smells good but also has the added benefit of helping maximize performance and really bring out the best of the person wearing it.  What a Phi-nomenal vision!

Michelle talked about how she got the inspiration for her business idea from a conversation with her coach about the importance of being able to utilize all five senses when visualizing the perfect performance.

You must check out her sites at@

Phi-nomenalwww.Phi-nomenal.com
 www.VoilaSSP.com

She then used her Chemical Engineering background and her mathematical knowledge of Phi to develop a unique and well-balanced product line designed to empower the human spirit.

Phi-nomenal’s Confidence Natural Perfume Oil and Custom Crystal bottle sold out within a week of being introduced at Eve Boutique in Denver.

Michelle talks about how she balances competing on the World Cup circuit while running her growing company, her recent trip to the White House and her company’s goal of being the scent of the first woman President of the United States.

Michelle has been featured in Business Week, Self Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and Forbes.

You can learn so much from her story and I am so excited to have her interview as part of Chic Perspectives Season One.   You listen to her Chic Tip here.

I been getting exciting updates from Michelle this winter as she continues to rock it out on the ski slopes.  You may also catch her on one her many media appearances:

Feb 13 — NBC live coverage of moguls event 7:00 – 10:30 pm MST
Feb 15 — Fox News Small Business 4:30 pm PST
Feb 21 — MSNBC Small Business 7:30 am EST

Here’s some video footage of this Chic lady in action – talk about succeeding with style.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO98A1OBV8k <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO98A1OBV8k>

Thanks again Michelle – love hearing about all of your continued Chic Success!

Elizabeth Gordon and guest co-host Angela Stalcup interview Laura Scholz of CRAVE Atlanta and Scholz Communications

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How do companies navigate the world of social media ?  What’s the cross over between social media and traditional media?  How does social media allow women to play to their strengths?  All this in more …

Listen to Angela Stalcup, the Atlanta Market Director for Ladies Who Launch http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/atlanta and the Chief Empowerment Officer at The Curvy Life http://curvylife.com/

and Laura Scholz ,  President of Scholz Communications and area director for CRAVE Atlanta, http://thecravecompany.com/

http://www.facebook.com/craveatlanta?v=photos

and of course me as we talk about:

what works on social media and what doesn’t (how to make friends and how to avoid making foes),

the types of result the pro’s are getting and how to cross leverage social media and traditional media,

how to use social media to open doors that you never thought you’d be able to open on your own,

how to manage your time on the tools through consistent and scheduled usage,

what a ROI from social media looks like and why more and more small companies are using it to effectively level the playing field and gain market share and develop real relationships with customers.

Thanks so much Laura and Angela for being with me.   Make sure to check them out @:

Ladies Who Launch http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/atlanta and The Curvy Life http://curvylife.com/

and Laura Scholz, President of Scholz Communications and area director for CRAVE Atlanta, http://thecravecompany.com/

http://www.facebook.com/craveatlanta?v=photos

Twitter: @LauraScholz

Much continued Chic Success!

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

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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 Mireille Guiliano, author of Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire on the Chic Perspectives Show

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It was such a pleasure to have Mireille Guiliano on The Chic Perspectives Show today.  Mireille Guiliano is the bestselling author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, and she came by the studio today to talk about her latest book, Women, Work & The Art of Savoir Faire.

Despite my terrible (terribly non-existent) french accent – we had a great time getting to know each other.  Definitely want to listen in to this great interview with Mireille Guilliano  – she is a woman who knows her stuff and has walked her talk, through many successful adventures and stages in life – she says we live in episodes – and as a transformation goddess myself, I really must agree.

Mireille shares her experiences working at a CEO of a french champagne company in the states, as she headed to the US to lead up their new presence in America.  And how she grew market share of the brand from less than 1% to 23% of the luxury champagne market.

Mireille talks about how make career decisions that will allow you to maximize and achieve your potential and also enjoy your life. Personal branding, enlightened self interest, and getting unstuck and manifesting a magnificent turnaround – are all part of the wisdom she shares.

Her unique french -american perspective is indeed a treasure.  Check out her book and her free websites for all the latest on business sense and sensibility for the chic entrepreneur.

I love Mireille’s philosophy and the book is a delight – definitely pick it up …  some of my favorite of her ideas are:

“Communication skills are the key to a successful career, more than intelligence, knowledge or experience”  — or hard work, I would add  — “The latter might get you the job, but the former gets you promoted” – really, yes, that is how it actually works out there.  Wake up and realize that there is a game, it needs to be played – and you can play it like a woman and win.

“The enlightened career move has to balance talent with passion and opportunity. Nature did not give us the bodies to succeed in certain professions or the minds for others.”  — Stop fighting with nature and instead maximize what you have, Mireille tells us to work with what we’ve got and communicate how we are unique, different and special – because we all are.

We also had an interesting chat about how too much talent can be a burden, and how to make important career decisions by taking into account your life as well as your ambition.

Thanks for stopping by Mirielle and sharing your Chic Perspective with our listeners today (she was on Good Day Atlanta this morning), safe travels back to NY and lovely Paris.  I certainly look forward to applying the art of savoir faire to my business and my life and I know our listeners do as well.  Check out Mirielle Guilliano and her latest book Women, Work & the art of Savoir Faire @  www.mireilleguiliano.com and http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/

For more on how to be a Chic Success as a Chic Entrepreneur, get all of Season One of Chic Perspectives on CD on download.  Thanks for listening to the Chic Perspectives Show.  Let me know who else’s you like us to get on the show to share how to “succeed in style” – your own personal style, that is  – creating an authentic flourishing business as a unique reflection of yourself, your joy, your genius and your ambition for yourself, your family and the world.

Thanks for being a Chic Entrepreneur.  Until next time, wishing you all Chic Success.   — Elizabeth

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

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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!

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Stone Payton, Sales and Marketing Troubleshooter and author of Never Fry Bacon in the Nude: And Other Lessons from the Quick and the Dead

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Stone Payton, Sales and Marketing Troubleshooter and author of Never Fry Bacon in the Nude: And Other Lessons from the Quick and the Dead was on the Chic Perspectives Show

Stone Payton, an accomplished speaker, works directly with CEOs, managers and key employees to help them acquire the disciplines necessary for producing tangible results, faster and cheaper.

In this Chic Perspective, Stone shares his unique formula for achieving SPEED which he defines as the ratio of results to time invested).

Many entrepreneurs desire greater results in their business but feel they are already maxed out on the amount of hours they are putting in as well. Stone explains how to crack this formula so that it works for you. He discusses how to produce greater results in less time.

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Bruce Freeman, “The Small Business Professor” Author of Birthing the Elephant: A Woman’s Go-for-it! Guide to Overcoming the Big Challenges of Launching a Business

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Today on the Chic Perspectives Show Bruce Freeman, “The Small Business Professor” Author of Birthing the Elephant: A Woman’s Go-for-it! Guide to Overcoming the Big Challenges of Launching a Business, joined me for a great discussion on how more women entrepreneurs can turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality.

Nationally known as the Small Business Professor, Bruce is a syndicated columnist for Scripps Howard News Service.

http://www.smallbusinessprof.com/

He is the President of ProLine Communications and serves as adjunct professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at Kean and Seton Hall universities.

http://www.prolinepr.com/

Bruce and Elizabeth talk about the first 18 – 24 months of a business, otherwise known as infancy and how to build oneself up to have the psychological strength to succeed.

The book Birthing the Elephant identifies the four stages of birthing a business: starting your start-up; running your own show; achieving breakthrough; and finding your business rhythm

We discussed the difference between how men run companies and how women do, and what women tend to struggle with and why and where they find the power to survive and thrive.  And of course, what women can do to achieve greater chic success.

Some of the keys to Bruce’s philosophy include:

  • The ability to understand and manage emotions
  • Expect (and overcome) self-doubt, performance anxiety
  • Getting into the emotional mind frame to succeed outside the comfort of the traditional workplace
  • Commitment, courage, & persistence

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Kimberly Delcoco, Business/Life Coach & Motivational Speaker

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Today I got to chat with Kimberly Delcoco, Business/Life Coach & Motivational Speaker on the Chic Perspectives Show.  Kimberly left a successful 15 year career in corporate America to pursue her true dream of becoming a coach.

http://kimberlydelcoco.com/

She maneuvered her career path into HR so she could get more experience in developing people and then invested in her self with a top training program.

Kimberly has found that her gift is helping women fill their lives with what is most important to them.

With a ‘think outside the box’ attitude and a genuine belief in herself and in others she embodies a ‘WE can do anything’ approach to life.

http://kimberlydelcoco.com/blog/

Kimberly Delcoco is full of inspiration and enthusiasm and enjoys motivating people to action-oriented outcomes.

http://www.facebook.com/kimberlydelcoco

Elizabeth Gordon interviews Amy Leavell Bransford – Owner of New Moon Skin Care

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Amy Leavell Bransford is a licensed esthetician who owns and operates New Moon Skin Care, an Atlanta-based microdermabrasian, skin care and hair removal business.

http://www.newmoonskincare.com/

Prior to acquiring her license in esthetics, she worked as a publicist in the record industry for bands and artists such as 311, CAKE, Widespread Panic, Galactic, Vic Chesnutt and Precious Bryant.

She also worked for two Atlanta-based record labels, Terminus Records and Capricorn Records. Amy’s passion for music stemmed from her father, keyboardist and environmentalist Chuck Leavell.

In this Chic Perspective, Amy shares how music led her to skin care, and how she then turned an interest into a business reality.

After studying at the Atlanta Institute of Aesthetics and becoming certified in CPR and microdermabrasion, she opened her business, “New Moon Skin Care,” named because healthy skin cells regenerate approximately every 28 days – the same cycle as the moon. She explains how she turned a passing interest into a successful business idea.

This is so interesting to me. Those of you that know me, know how I closely follow the cycles of the moon and I am hearing more and more people tuning in this important  natural timing to make decisions, take action and just get more in the flow of life.

Amy also reveals how she spread the word to market and promote her business by leveraging the media, how she overcame her own limiting beliefs to achieve more of her full potential.

Thank again Amy for coming on today to share with all of us how we can shine from the inside out and get gorgeous glowing skin with natural techniques and products.

If you’ve ever dreamed of opening up your own skin care business, you love hearing Amy’s story and how you made it happen.