Tag Archives: 100

International Women’s Day

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My celebration of  International Women’s Day began by wearing my favorite red shirt in solidarity with my wife Julie Lovison who has been the owner of a woman owned business for over 25 years. She is the Director of The Lake Shore Music Studio providing piano lessons for all ages in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood.  The celebration continued by attending the Chicago Gay & Gay Friendly Business Referral Network’s “Business Lunch & Learn” coordinated by my friend Cindy Weigel co-owner of Roxy Insurance. Cindy was unfortunately “under the weather” (get well soon) so the meeting was capably hosted by  Shae Lewis co-founder of Mission 2 Organize.

We were asked to say something in support of International Women’s Day. Since this is a Gay & Gay Friendly Group Meetup I must give the quote of the day to one fellow (sorry did not get his name) who said, “I love women – – I just do not LOVE women.”

My wife was surprised when I told her that as part of my comment I proclaimed her to be my “Entrepreneurial Hero.” The reason for this is because she has accomplished what nearly every entrepreneur hopes to do. She has created a successful business that has allows her to make a living doing something she loves to do. Not only that, she has built a lasting relationship with her clients that keeps them as repeat customers, and she is able to fill the majority of her new business requirements through referrals. She has a clear message with a clear value proposition. She does one thing and she does it well. Brava!

The speaker for the lunch an learn was Sue Reddel – Media & Marketing Consulting who shared ideas and tips related to social media marketing. Jim Spangler had his card drawn at the previous meeting which allowed him the opportunity to provide a five minute “shameless self-promotion” of his enterprise which is as an Independent Consultant for Arbonne. Jim did a great job providing an overview of the company and their features as a “green” manufacturer providing safe environmentally friendly personal care products. I also learned in my conversation with Jim that he is an actor who will be appearing soon in the musical “Gypsy.”

My other significant new contact of the day was with Kirsten Ramos, President of Elevate Performance Solutions, Inc. who provides personal communication coaching for leaders looking to be more effective and others who just have issues when it comes to presenting themselves to a group or even in one-on-one situations. Kirsten presented herself very professionally and thematically attired in a bright red sweater. I look forward to learning more about her services.

 

I was happy to see my friend Mark Hurwich who coaches individuals who have become “stuck” and feel as though they are not enjoying the success they should be having, or are just feeling powerless and having trouble getting past a difficult place in their life.  Mark can help you “Reconnect to Your Core Intention” to get unstuck. He has an seminar that you can learn more about at Concentrated Coaching.

Also in attendance was funeral officiant Margurite O’Connor and my buddy, realtor Bernie Small. I thought I would use this opportunity to revive a video clip I took of them a few years ago. Bernie is participating in my challenge to meet 100 new people in 100 days. This meeting is day 48 of the challenge and I’m at about 59 people so still a bit ahead of the average.

 

 

Lincoln Square Business Networking and Happy Hour | Chicago

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business card arrayOver the past few years I have enjoy attending the Lincoln Square Business Networking and Happy Hour hosted by Dr. Katie Ray at the New Day Spa on Lincoln Avenue.  Dr. Katie a chiropractic physician, offers NETWORK SPINAL ANALYSIS™ (often called NSA or simply Network Care) which utilizes, as I understand it, a light touch which is far less aggressive than the chiropractic approach many people usually imagine. She always gives a short, five minute or less, demonstration at every meeting and graciously shares the spotlight with another service provider who gives a one or two minute introduction of themselves. It’s a well-run meeting in a light and cheerful atmosphere with a comfortable vibe. The BYOB policy means there are a few bottles of wine available to wind down the day as well as some antipasto or light nibbles to keep your tummy from grumbling.

As I walked in this past Wednesday I was happy to see Raquel Soto who I had just become acquainted with the day before at our very own Business Card to Business Meetup. Raquel provides coaching services to help improve your business or personal life.  Some other new contacts included Jake Ennis, Project Coordinator at Robert Half, Kara Buffardi, CEO & Founder of Craveity Marketing & Branding, and Daniel Lona strength coach offering personal fitness training in the River North area. Jeremy Cohn can improve your range of motion and provide relief of lower back pain utilizing the Alexander Technique. Ty Parris just moved here from California, offering commercial real estate financing and Edward Sablan of First Financial Credit Union can help you with your personal financial needs – – but ask him about his podcast.

Katie does a great job of mixing business with pleasure at this event. It’s a fun way to connect with some familiar faces and make some business contacts while getting to know a few new people and learn more about them, not just about what they do. This meeting was Day 41 of my 100 Day Challenge to meet 100 new people. With the people I met here I am ahead of the one per day average at about 56. The thing to keep in mind tough is the challenge is about quality not quantity. The goal is to make some kind of meaningful connection, that’s what makes it valuable and fun. Welcome to my network.

Who I met at Life Creative / Thinkubator Chicago Event February 2017

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This week I attended a very interesting and inspiring open house and networking event at Life Creative on Chicago’s near west side. I really had no idea what I had agreed to attend so I was very impressed when I came into the main area which is probably about 20,000 square feet of open space, with a number of interesting gathering environments.  The space is billed as a 70,000 square foot creative campus. Besides being a flexible event space it is a resource center for event planners and creative producers such as photographers and videographers who need access to props, furnishings, backgrounds and other decorative assets via a monthly membership plan. I was delighted to bump into my old friend Bob Shaffer who is the onsite floral designer. I knew Bob when he owned his own floral shop on Armitage Avenue and his kids studied piano with my wife Julie.  Several months ago I ran into him at the new nature center near Western and Peterson. He told me then about this cool creative space where he was working but I had no idea how cool it was until this visit.

If I understand it correctly this particular event was a collaborative venture between Life Creative and Thinkubator. There is a relationship between the two which I do not fully understand at this time but suffice it to say that there is a meaningful synthesis which I hope to learn more about. I am not sure where I learned about the event but I registered online via Eventbrite and was surprised to get a quick follow up welcome email from the Thinkubator host Gerald Haman. Gerald was mention several times over the evening by multiple people as a kind of genius and someone worth knowing. So I’m looking forward to it. We did speak briefly and he was very informative and personable.

After grabbing a glass of wine from the open bar I immediately spotted JD Gershbein, who I have met superficially face-to-face a few times over the years, but have come to “know” much better via LinkedIn where we both gather on a daily basis.  JD is a “Thought Leadership Coach” and LinkedIn guru providing profile writing and other LinkedIn related services.  If anyone wants to know anything about LinkedIn and how to get value from it, JD is the go-to-guy. He was accompanied by his branding designer Debra Kocis of envisionimpact.com who’s work speaks for itself because JD happens to be one of the best branded business people I know – -so if Debra has anything to do with his success I would not hesitate to recommend her.  JD’s brand is largely focused on his distinctive personal persona which includes a shaved head, big smile, distinctive round glasses and crisp shirt and tie.  The glasses are obviously a play on his company name “Owlish Communications.”  J.D. reinforces his brand through artfully done social media memes that share pertinent business information arranged around his face, which is his brand image.  I had a great time hanging out with these two. No surprise to encounter them at an event emphasizing creativity.

I had a brief chat with the CFO of Life Creative who after learning that I produce video, quickly walked me over and introduced me to Laura Kelly, Executive Producer for RevDigital who is apparently the video arm of the Life Creative/Thinkubator alliance. I was intrigued to learn more about their presence on Comcast Channel 392. I understand from Laura that it is a regional channel covering Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin (I believe) on which they are promoting paid placement. In other words you can buy air time. They will be broadcasting coverage of this event on March 1st at 8PM. I will set my DVR for sure.

The inspiration for attending this event was partially part of my quest to increase my sphere of influence and expand my network by meeting more people. I am 25 days into a challenge to meet 100 new people in 100 Days. I am joined by 18 other people who have signed on to share the journey with me, one of whom, John Jones, small business accounting expert was also in attendance.  I also had a chance to visit with  Andrea Nierhoff, anti-aging specialist and hair designer who I know from my buddy Bernie Small’s Logan Square networking group. Andrea introduced me to retired CPD officer Craig Roberts who was on hand to investigate details related to a police/firefighter fundraiser he is involved in putting together.

The passed hors d’oeuvres were delicious and while hanging around one of the food locations I had a nice conversation with “creative thinkologist” (my term not his) James Feldman. His business card/brochure explains “What 3D Thinking Can Do for Your Brain.”  I have to say that just a few minutes with him got me thinking, so I would say he’s on to something.  I also enjoyed speaking with fellow marketeer John Benandi and look forward to continuing our discussion sometime soon at the Nil Tap on west Foster Avenue.

I ended up the evening much where I began, interacting with Debra and JD joined by Bohdan Gernaga of tymedesign who apparently does beautiful interiors and architectural design as evidenced by the few smartphone photos he shared with us.

Maybe it was the two glasses of excellent red wine and excellent tuna sushi, but I had a really good experience and was really inspired by the space and the people I got to spend time with. It takes a bit of doing for each of us to step out of our comfort zone, show up someplace and just start talking with random people. But when I was a kid, some “dime stores” would sell a paper bag with unknown contents for a dime or quarter. You had no idea what you might get, but every now and then it was a small treasure. That’s what makes it fun.