Advantage Media Group - Spring 2015

Th e M a r k e t i n g M a g a z i n e f o r E n t r e p r e n e u r s , Bu s i n e s s L e a d e r s , a n d I d e a - M a k e r s

Issue #30

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Spring 2015

$4.99

looking forward to monday

Why the most crucial ingredient for growth isn't profit or clients

6

a commitment to growth

How growth opportunities in the workplace can change lives forever

14

publishing from the ground up

Architect Kevin Harris on the importance of the right team

New Releases Noisemakers Winter Photos

5 6 12

4

simple tactics to help your small business avoid the headaches of expansion

Less pain, more plan: get ready, get set, and...

let it

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In this issue...

8 | From Pain to Plan

Company growth can be just as treacherous as it is exciting. But by purposefully planning for business development and expansion, growing pains are minimized and success becomes not only the goal but the expectation. By Christina Wells

4 | Adam’s Advantage

Profits are important, but making a difference is the core principal of business. By Adam Witty

DEPARTMENTS

6 | Publicity Speaks

Being committed to attaining results can dramatically change your life. By Mitch Broderick

14 | Closing Questions

Advantage Arrivals 5 New releases from the first quarter of 2015

Noise Makers 7 A look at recent print, radio, and digital media hits for Advantage clients

Advantage Team 7 Meet Advantage's new Executive Assistant

Kevin Harris knows that successful projects take focus, dedication, and attention to detail—these sort of characteristics define his magnificent architecture (captured in his new book, The Forever Home). He shares his thoughts on the value of teamwork in publishing and what being an author will mean for his business.

Event Calendar 10 Dates of note and client anniversaries in the upcoming months

Advantage People 12 Between authors, awards, and additions, winter gave us plenty of reasons to celebrate

Authors on Books | Dense writing...

“With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog.” — Bill Watterson

Opening Number: No small feat...

65

Percentage of U.S. jobs generated by small businesses since 1996 http://www.getbusymedia.com/vital-small-business-statistics-trends-and-facts-for-2014/

843.414.5600 advantagefamily.com ADVANTAGE MEDIA GROUP

We help busy professionals Create, Publish, and Market a book to Grow Their Business

Follow: f t l

/advantagemediagroup /advantagefamily /company/advantage-media-group

CEO

Director of Publi shi ng

Editori al Di rector

C opy E di t or

Editor & Art Di rector

Marketi ng Edi tor

Team Contributor

A ssi st a nt Desi g ner

Adam Witty George Stevens

Advantage Magazine Issue 30 Spring 2015 © Advantage Media Group. All rights reserved. Trademarks used by permission.

Patti Boysen

Christina Wells

Scott Neville

Mitch Broderick

Nate Best

Katie Biondo

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 3

Adam’sadvantage

Creating a great environment starts at the top.

K a r s o n P h oto g r a ph y

Looking forward to Monday

W

In the first entry of a two-part series, Adam discusses why the most important ingredient in company growth isn't profits or customers; it's engaged Team Members.

hy is it that everyone

that people looked forward to entering starts at

dreams. Here was my big breakthrough. As an

looks forward to Friday

the top. The #1 priority of the leadership team

entrepreneur, I have a dream to create a globally

and Wednesday (because

at Advantage is now Team Member Happiness.

recognized organization that is best in class. I

at least more than half

Not profits. Not customers. If our people are

am fortunate to have 22 Team Members who

of the week is over!)? Why doesn’t anyone say

happy, they will take care of our customers,

have made that dream their own and are du-

“TGIM”—Thank Goodness It’s Monday?

and our customers, will take care of profitable

tifully working alongside me to make it come

growth.

true. However, these 22 people have personal

My second revelation was that happiness is all

and professional dreams of their own. Up until

about perspective. It is easy for the boss to as-

now, I never had the audacity to ask them about

sume it is the employee’s responsibility to be

their dreams. I thought to myself, What if Ad-

happy. It is easy for the employee to assume it

vantage could become a company that actively en-

is the boss’s responsibility to make them happy.

couraged and worked to help our Team Members

Both are wrong—happiness in the workplace

achieve their dreams?

is a two-way street. I also learned that who you

There was only one way to find out.

According to the New York-based nonprofit research group The Conference Board, 52.3 percent of Americans are unhappy at work. As an entrepreneur, CEO, and business leader, this trend worries me greatly. It should worry every other business leader, too.

When I founded Advantage Media Group in 2005, I aimed to make my organization different. I would create an environment that people looked forward to each day. How did I do? I fell flat on my face. Five years in, the people of Advantage grumbled just as much as any other organization. I am certain that Advantage Team Members were no more happy or fulfilled than any other organiza-

hire matters. That may sound obvious, but let us dig deeper. Some people are naturally positive, others, naturally negative—focusing on what they don’t have rather than what they do have. The secret is for a company to go to agonizing lengths to only hire A-players who are naturally positive. This goes a long way. My final revelation was my biggest yet. If an organization

tion. That is when I had an awakening.

wants to be great, it is the responsibility of the

First, I learned that creating a great environment

organization to help its employees achieve their

4 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | A D V A N T A G E F A M I L Y . C O M

Adam D. Witty, Founder & Chief Executive Officer awitty@advantageww.com

In the Summer issue of Advantage Magazine, Adam explains what unprecedented steps Advantage is taking in order to make its Team Members' dreams a reality.

Advantage arrivals New releases from Advantage Authors

featured release

The Forever Home

How to Work with an Architect to Design the Home of your Dreams

K evin H arris

First Quarter, 2015 On The Move

A Marine's Guide to Entrepreneurial Success N ick B aucom 150 pp.; paperback, $14.99

Endless Inheritance

Moving from Feuding to Flourishing in your Affluent Family

182 pp.; hardcover, $24.99 Exclusive interview with the author: p. 14 Rasing Real Money: Real Estate Funds Uncovered

I'm a Freaking Genius, Why Don't I Have More Money?

S alvatore M. B uscemi

M ike C ampion

198 pp.; paperback; $14.99

174 pp.; hardcover; $19.99

Freedom Formula for Physicians

Negotiate Like the Pros

A Foundation Handbook for the Aspiring Real Estate Fund Manager

R ichard D el M onte

A Prescription for First-Class Financial Health for Doctors

174 pp.; hardcover, $19.99

D ave D enniston

Helping Small Business Owners Become Not-So-Small Business Owners

The Essential Guide to Effective Negotiation

J ohn P atrick D olan 160 pp.; paperback; $14.99

218 pp.; paperback; $14.99

Why You Should Build Your Business, Not Your IT Department

A Guide to Selecting the Right Technology Partner to Keep Ahead of the Changes Affecting Your Growing Business

Hire Yourself

Control Your Own Destiny Through Franchise Ownership

P ete G ilfillan 188 pp.; paperback; 14.99

Under Promise Over Deliver

How to Build the Preeminent Law Firm in Your Market

K en H ardison 148 pp.; hardcover; $23.99

D avid E. E isner 160 pp.; Hardcover, $19.99

Retire Ready Plan Well, Live Well

J ames R. H olloway 178 pp.; paperback; $14.24

From Start-Up to Star 20 Secrets to Start-Up Success K en K uang , J oyce Z hang , E ileen H an 162 pp.; paperback; $15.99

Put Your Business on Autopilot Smart Strategies to Optimize Your Business

G eorge M aabadi D aniel M urphy 166 pp.; paperback; $15.99

Frustration: The Breakfast of Champions

Your Surefire Guide to CRM Success

The Second Decision

No More Leaving Money on the Table

R andy H. N elson 346 pp.; hardcover; $23.99

V icki M c M anus

M att M ountain R andy D avis

Turn Powerful Emotions into Career Success 150 pp.; paperback, $14.99

Rich Kids Broke Kids The Failure of Traditional Estate Planning

The Qualified Entrepreneur

146 pp.; paperback; $14.99

Preparing for the Back Nine of Life

J. T ed O akley

A Boomer's Guide to Getting Retirement Ready

72 pp.; paperback; $10.99

E ric P eterson 154 pp.; hardcover; $19.99

The Business Immunity System The Pitfalls & Side Effects of Data Handling, Privacy Issues & Background Checks

R achid Z ahidi 136 pp.; paperback; $14.99

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 5

publicityspeaks | Mitch Broderick Learn and grow

A

Being committed to attaining results can dramatically change your life

little more than one year ago, Advantage Media Group brought me on in a co-op position for the year. I found the position by participating in an alternative education program called Praxis.

Praxis aims to connect talented, entrepreneurially minded young adults with small businesses, to offer them the real world education that no college degree ever could.

Participants agree to work at a given company for ten months in real, value-creating roles, with direction coming from the CEO and/ or Executive Team. Because of my interest in professional speaking and coaching, Advantage stood out as the perfect company to align myself with.

included 18 months of selling real estate and three years of waiting tables. My new position as Business Development Consultant was different than anything I’d ever done before.

In this role, I was responsible for speaking to busy CEOs and entrepreneurs about their businesses and helping them to decide if investing in a book project made sense. This involved actively prospecting for outbound leads, following up with inbound leads, learning effective techniques in communicating our product as well as mastering the behaviors of A-Player sales professionals.

When I joined Advantage, my resume

"Through this

experience, I’ve

In the beginning, I struggled. I was 21; I had never had to perform in this type of work environment, and I found it much more difficult to speak to CEOs than it was to wait on a table. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t much of a realtor when I was in the business. I knew little about pipeline management, follow up processes, marketing, writing copy, lead generation, converting leads to opportunities, or even sales. The deals I made were a result of luck, not generating business.

GROWN significantly ."

6 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | A D V A N T A G E F A M I L Y . C O M

Discovery Calls, leading to more prospects investing in the book project. I had definitely slid into a successful groove.

Two months later, in a meeting with the CEO, Adam Witty, he congratulated me on getting through my rough patch and performing so well. I responded to Adam, “If you were to fire me today, I wouldn’t even be angry. I am 100 times the professional I was when I walked in here on day one. I would thank you for preparing me so well for the ventures that lay ahead of me.”

Well, Adam didn’t fire me. In fact, four months later when my co-op term ended, Advantage offered me a full-time position and a promotion to Vice President of Author Development.

Since then, I’ve been part of an immaculate sales team, contributing my equal part to the best first quarter kickoff the company has ever had.

One year of being committed to attaining results can dramatically change your life.

Through this experience, I’ve grown significantly. I’m now the kind of sales professional who can generate leads, fill a pipeline, convert opportunities, and speak to high-profile clients in an atmosphere of equal business stature.

Advantage changed my life forever.

One of Advantage’s Core Values is to “Learn and Grow,” both professionally and personally.

The company absolutely fosters an environment of encouragement and offers every outlet to facilitate the individual growth of each Team Member. I’m proud to be a part of such a thriving company culture. I can’t wait to see how I grow and what I can accomplish with Advantage next!

After a rough start, about four months in, I began to build momentum. I was booking more Intro Calls, leading to better

Mitch Broderick is a VP of Author Development. He supports our client acquisition team and helps business professionals become authors. Mitch enjoys a challenge, an intriguing book, and profound conversation. During his free time, he can be heard busting out rudiments on his drum set or enjoying the weather. He comes to Advantage from the real estate industry in Michigan.

noisemakers | Advantage Authors in the headlines Dave Denniston

Had an excerpt from his book featured on KevinMD, a blog for physicians.

Jennifer Carroll

Was presented the 2015 Torch Award by the National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation.

Rodger Friedman Had an interview that appeared in the online edition of Financial Advisor Magazine.

Dennis Hursh Featured in a Miami Herald article as an expert in legal services for physicians.

Sebastian Rusk Hosted a book signing event at Books and Books in Coral Gables, FL.

Randy Nelson

Achieved #1 Amazon Best Seller in three categories: Knowledge Capital, Training, and Mentoring & Coaching.

Have you been making noise in local, regional, or national media? Let us know, and we’ll feature you in next issue’s Noise Makers!

E-mail: jash@advantageww.com

advantageteam |

Susan Tuskan Executive Assistant

Advantage Team Member Profile As Executive Assistant, Susan Tuskan works closely with the CEO, COO, and CSO, supporting their efforts to remain focused on strategic goals and implementation. Susan comes to us with a background in healthcare and higher education.

After relocating from Chicago and finding Charleston a great place for empty nesters, Susan and her husband—along with their puppy, Rylee—explore all that Charleston has to offer.

Learn more about the various products and services that our team can suggest for your business. | p. 2 S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 7

New School Growth Tactics: From

L

Pain to

ike most small business

owners and entrepreneurs, you've got plenty on your mind at all times.

You’re juggling strategy, execution, recruiting, hiring, finances, and fulfillment, all while trying to please vendors, clients, and employees. To top it all, your ultimate goal is to continue to grow your business.

The combination of all of these variables can be daunting, not to mention a breeding ground for chaos and imbalance.

Although some organizations experience unplanned growth and become overnight sensations, the majority of us need to put a plan in place to promote and prepare for growth in our companies.

In order to scale your business efficiently, effective8 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | A D V A N T A G E F A M I L Y . C O M

ly, and with as few headaches as possible, follow these essential tips for fueling your growth without sacrificing direction, culture, systems, or success.

1. Be Flexible.

When it comes to focusing on growth, it is easy to develop tunnel vision and become hyper-focused on a singular element. For many companies, the focus is on sales. Makes sense, right? Sales are important but are just one of myriad contributors to growth potential. Without effective and efficient fulfillment of the products or services sold, you won’t retain clients and

will repel new ones. Additionally, without continuous review of customer or client feedback, you could be selling well but creating grief for the end consumer.

Your organization must remain nimble if you expect to experience growth by being adaptable and reimagining constantly. This type of flexibility will equip you for those growing pains and lead you through a journey of constant evolution. A dogmatic approach to growth is never a good one.

2. Fail Fast.

The previous tip encourages you to be flexible, but that is not to say that a level of strictness isn’t required in business. In fact, when it comes to testing new innovations in your business, it is important to track and measure upon launch. If you’re not seeing the results needed or desired within a predetermined timeframe, move on.

One of the best decisions a CEO or entrepreneur can make is discontinuing efforts that aren’t working or aren’t profitable. Allowing unsuccessful ventures to linger can become a cancer in your organization.

By the same token, keen monitoring of a new initiative's progress is critical from the moment it launches.

Having metrics in place to determine an initiative's results is imperative. Planned and predictable progress is key, along with the strength to fail fast and move on when something just isn’t working.

3. Create Flow.

Every organization needs more than a little bit of rhyme and reason. Meeting

Power in numbers:

If the common stresses of leading and building your growing business leave you exasperated, just remember...

schedules, for example, are a critical piece of the puzzle as your organization experiences growth. Creating a consistent rhythm of meetings for executives, departments, and the organization as a whole will create checkpoints for evaluating your successes, identify areas of potential improvement, and address any issues among your team and client base. Just as you would craft a plan for your two, three, and five-year growth, crafting a meeting plan and creating milestone check-ins can ensure actionable progress.

The degree to which your business emphasizes systems, process, and flow should correlate positively with its

Meeting schedules are just one example of flow. Others include the processes that are followed throughout your organization, systems used to breed efficiency and productivity, rules and guidelines for conduct, calendars, and so on.

Ultimately, success requires structure. The degree to which your business emphasizes systems, process, and flow should correlate positively with its growth trends.

growth trends.

4. Have Fun.

You’ve probably heard it said by many successful entrepreneurs that they’ve never really worked a day in their lives.

This outlook is a product of finding joy and fulfillment in business.

More than likely, this resonates with your team members and customers.

Having fun at work is the ultimate reward for employees. Being able to look forward to Mondays and recognizing their impact on the success of the company is motivation in and of itself. With clients, you’re offer-

ing a product or service that solves a problem for them. But by making the process fun and easy, you're cultivating a relationship that will result in client happiness (not to mention retainment and referrals!).

As a small business growing at a rapid pace, we’ve encountered our share of obstacles and growing pains. But we refuse to be impacted negatively by the effects of growth.

By adhering to these four tenets of growth management, we’re primed for success on our terms. Don't let your business get bogged down by growing pains. Purposefully plan for growth, and the results will be astounding.

Christina Wells is Director of Infrastructure at Advantage Media Group, leading the company’s efforts in systems administration, processes, onboarding, and training of team members. If you would like to connect with Christina, you may reach her at cwells@advantageww. com or 843.518.6788.

There are ~28 million

More than

small businesses in the United States of America Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonnazar/2013/09/09/16-surprising-statistics-about-small-businesses/

of America's working population are small business employees

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 9

Event Calendar MON

TUE

WED

THU

Apr. 1

FRI

S AT

2

3

4

April Fool’s Day

5

6

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Easter Sunday

12

Happy Birthday to AMG's

APRIL

SUN

AUTHOR

Susan Tuskan

Tax Day

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Author Success University

26

27

28

3

4

5

EO GLC Conference

EO GLC Conference

29

30

May

EO GLC Conference

6

8

7

9

MAY

Teleseminar—4 PM ET

Cinco de Mayo

10

11

12

18

Happy Birthday to AMG's

Katie Biondo

24

13

NAPFA Spring Conference

14

NAPFA Spring Conference

15

NAPFA Spring Conference

16

Book Marketing Blueprint & Grow Your Business With a Book Day

Mother's Day

17

NAPFA Spring Conference

19

Happy Birthday to AMG's

George Stevens

25

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Author Success University

31

7

1

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Jun. 8

9

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Happy Birthday to AMG's

Claire Watson

14

MDRT Annual Conference

21/28

AMG Team Member Anniversary:

AMG Team Member Anniversary:

2

3

Jenn Ash

15

MDRT Annual Conference

22/29

16

MDRT Annual Conference

23/30

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MDRT Annual Conference

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Author Success University Teleseminar—4 PM ET

Father's Day

1 0 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | A D V A N T A G E F A M I L Y . C O M

Christina Wells

JUNE

Teleseminar—4 PM ET

Memorial Day

ANNIVERSARIES

Rich Webb Del Harris Daniel Yachter Jelynne Jardiniano Karen Phelps Clyde Ishida Greg Hammond / Ron Ware Almon Gunter Jr. David Hislop Nader Bazzi Steve Clark Frances Pepper Ron Seaver Scot Ferrell Robert Guy Patrick Riddle Kevin Harris Tara Kennedy-Kline Tim Wambach Cassandra Joubert Todd Smith Michelle Prior Doris Houck Gary Turner Scott Tucker Scott Weintraib Bryan Crabtree Harold Mills Dave Ramos Vicki McManus Dan Kennedy Greg Wych Clint Stitser Michael Goldberg Sue Caperton Daisy Saunders Isaac Wright Harold Kurstedt Miles Kierson Glen Lerner Kevin Clark Shary Duff Tracee Wells Brady Roberts Almarie Chalmers Steven Cesari Melise Blakeslee Michele Michaels Michael Maddock Ashton Harrison Bill Gough Forrest Beck Bob Walton Tonya Shadoan Robert Deitrick Michael Sprouse Andrew Cass Valerie Porter Matt Garrett Allen Neuenschwander Nancy Banfield Johnson Belinda Johnson-White Elizabeth Vazquez Suzie DeBusk David Smith Stan Levanduski Kaiser Serajuddin Jay Hewitt Eddie Overdyke Lauren Wynn Patrick Renn Doug Ecklund Brad Berger Michael Scherer Dr. Kojo Pobee James Billmaier Tom Antion Herbert Johnson Ghislaine Labelle Tom Jenkins Tim Pelton Thomas Casey Juliana Tu Michael Burgdorf Chuck Price Kenneth Ma Linda Franklin Peter Arthur-Smith Aaron Zwas David Brown Carl Casanova Dr. James Babiuk James Malinchak Chad Madden Carl Gould Jim Serger Jr. Chris & Matt Noon David Moffet Scott East Ivan Aguilar Kelli Boehle Terry Hawkins Jayson Dunbar Ana Richardson Marty Higgins William Brahm

Book Authorship for personal or business promotion is the MOST PROVEN, MOST POWERFUL action a professional can take to create powerful lead generation magnets; to use in advertising, to secure FAVORABLE MEDIA ATTENTION and publicity, to promote a cause or philosophy, or for fun, fame, or fortune!

Start the journey.

Claim your FREE

Grow Your Business With a Book Toolkit

Inside this toolkit, you’ll discover nine exciting, different ways to make money and

ADVANCE YOUR

CAREER, BUSINESS, OR CAUSE

by being the Author of a book.

Your Grow Your Business With a Book Toolkit includes:

Adam Witty, Founder and CEO

ÜÜ Author autographed copy of Book The Business: How to Make Big Money With Your Book Without Even Selling a Single Copy ÜÜ Audio CD “How to Easily Write a Book (In 1 Day or Less), Use it To Grow Your Business, and Make a King’s Ransom” ÜÜ Special Report: “How a Book Will Double, Triple, or Quadruple the Effectiveness of ANY Marketing You are Doing” ÜÜ Special Report: 9 Amazing Reasons Why a Book is the Marketing Tool You Need to Explode Your Business ÜÜ Special Report: How To Get Your Book Written In Less Than 24 Hours Without Ever Writing a Word

Visit advantagefamily.com/toolkit/ to claim your free Grow Your Business With a Book Toolkit

Advantagepeople

1

2

4 SPRINGING FORWARD:

5

1: In Janurary, each department began holding seven minute

daily huddles to discuss important timely metrics [Pictured: Author Development Team]. 2: Advantage Author, Greg Kozera [R] shared a copy of his book, Just the Fracks with US Senator of Alabama, Jeff Sessions. 3: Director of Publishing, Patti Boysen was presented the Rookie of the Year award during the first annual Advantage Kickoff Meeting & Banquet in January. 4: Chief Author Development Officer, Harper Tucker poses with former Clemson football standout, Perry Tuttle during his visit to our office in March. 5: Advantage Team Members enjoyed the annual holiday celebration and cocktail party in late December. 6: Team members welcomed Advantage Impact winners, Thelma Crump and Anthony Foster of the Dr. William P. and Mary Ann Foster Foundation, Inc., to the office in February 7: Senior Graphic Designer, George Stevens was presented the Spark! award for Best Book Cover design for his work on Out of the Question by the American Marketing Assocation of Charleston. 8: Author Marilyn Murphy, visited our Charleston

3 1 2 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | A D V A N T A G E F A M I L Y . C O M

headquarters in December for her Author Immersion Workday. 9: In February, the Author Development team welcomed new Team Member, Kristine Kingsbury.

6 7

8

9

For a full slate of new releases from the first quarter of 2015, turn to page 4.

CLOSING QUESTIONS Kevin Harris knows that a successful project doesn't materialize overnight. It takes focus, dedication, and attention to detail—the sort of characteristics that define his magnificent architecture (captured in his new book, The Forever Home). He spoke with Advantage Magazine on the value of teamwork in publishing and what being an author means to his business.

Photo by Chipper Hatter

As a successful architect, why did you decide to publish a book?

The desire to publish a book had been a simmering dream since my days as a college professor at Louisiana State University. I knew that a book on my process and lessons learned would benefit clients, potential clients, people considering building or renovating (even if they were not my ideal client), my office staff (current and future), as well as my business.

What I didn’t know was how to attract a traditional publisher or how to become an expert in book editing and publishing, especially while running a full-time practice.

1 4 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | A D V A N T A G E F A M I L Y . C O M

The tipping point happened during a conference. A clear message at the event was to take 100% responsibility for anything you want to happen in your business or life and to consider the value a communication piece offers versus its cost. Meeting other professionals who had written their books demonstrated it could be done. Knowing how valuable each new client was to me put publication expenses in perspective.

And then, there was Advantage Media Group as a vendor. They offered a solution where I could write and have published the book I wished my clients and potential clients would have. Additionally, by working with Advantage, I could tap into their experts and resources from writing to editing to production to distribution.

With such a partner for book editing, production and distribution, and knowing the book’s value to my practice, the decision was simple.

How do you foresee The Forever Home benefitting your business?

I foresee The Forever Home benefitting my business in many ways. As a communication piece aimed at potential clients, it allows me to establish the value an ar-

The Forever Home 2015, Advantage Media Group

chitect can bring to a residential project while showcasing my work and process.

It differentiates me and my firm’s services from other architects and from comparison on fee alone. Since it provides guidance on determining the optimal design provider, it helps to pre-qualify clients.

Clients who come to me after reading the book will be educated in the process.

Educated clients make good clients.

The book also provides a way to economically share my hard earned knowledge with those who may not be able to afford the services of an architect. For the price of the book, they obtain access to the advice I share with clients again and again. Goodwill often pays unforeseen future dividends.

For my existing clients, the book will serve as a roadmap of my office’s process. For my current and future staff, the book outlines the design value and sensibilities of our firm. Each can read the book in days and learn our firm’s design culture. Without the book it would take months or years to garner all this “tribal knowledge.”

Talk about the publishing process.

What were the challenges? What was your favorite part?

The largest challenge in the publishing process was setting aside the time to write and produce the actual content. Signing on with Advantage “put skin in the game.” There was an editorial timeline and a cash expenditure—both great motivators. Producing content challenged me in a way I didn’t anticipate. You may think you know your business and how you do what you do, yet I found myself gaining clarity on my process and making realizations that I hadn’t before noticed.

For example, I unconsciously held to a hierarchy of design decisions which I used in my office. Now that I’ve articulated it in writing, it stands to benefit anyone building or renovating a home.

My editor challenged me to be clear in my thoughts and descriptions. Seeing the red lines, strike throughs, and comments was painful, no doubt. While it hurt, it did not harm. The editing process pushed me to be a better communicator than I would have been otherwise.

My favorite part was the book layout and design process. As a designer, this step spoke my language—and as luck would have it so did Advantage’s senior designer, George Stevens.

If you had to offer advice to someone considering publishing, what would it be?

Go for it. If you are not in the publishing field, get a partner. For too long I waited to be discovered by publishing gatekeepers. I waited for “them” to give me permission to the express my thoughts, ideas, and design sensibilities in a book. The value of the book would be measured by the sales it could generate for the publisher.

The truth for me and my practice, however, was that the value of the book was not in book sales but in sharing my knowledge, attracting good clients, elevating the residential architecture profession, and providing a clear message of my design philosophy and current design process.

The Forever Home is just about to be released. So tell us: what does a Louisiana book release party look like?

The release party is still in the works.

However I’m thinking a vibrant fais do do, steeped in cultural references and gracious hospitality. There will likely be a shrimp and/or crawfish dish on the menu. I imagine a krewe of friends, supporters, clients, and colleagues passing a good time. And, plenty of lagniappe!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 | A D VA N TA G E M A G A Z I N E | 1 5

Are you the right person to run your company?

You’re in the driver’s seat of a growing company that an entrepreneur – possibly you – made the First Decision to start.

Now, imagine your Board of Directors asking you question after question about your business knowledge and decision-making process. Pass—you leave the meeting knowing you have the skills to lead your organization for the next three years. Fail—you are put on an improvement plan or you need to find a replacement.

Author Randy Nelson knows that business doesn’t work this way—the majority of entrepreneurial CEOs are not required to be qualified to lead their organizations.

In The Second Decision, Randy has combined his six years of service, 25 years of business experience, and thousands of hours with business leaders to develop The Entrepreneur Qual Card. Chapter by chapter, you will discover whether you are a Leader that will take the company on your shoulders, a Role-Player that takes another position in the company, or a Creator that moves on to the next big idea. Determine your role and make the hard leadership decisions to help your company beat the odds and keep growing for years to come.

Whichever role suits you best, The Second Decision will give you the selfawareness and the step-by-step guide to be—or to train—the Qualified leader that your company needs.

Randy H. Nelson Available now!

Join us for an upcoming

Experience

CHAR

L E S TO N

Grow Your Business With a Book Day GROW

YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BOOK DAY

Offered to prospective Advantage Authors, this day is an opportunity for you to meet the Advantage team in person, tour our facilities, and view our track record of success in helping busy professionals grow their businesses with a book.

Upcoming Days:

Friday May 15 • Friday Jul. 10 • Friday Sep. 11 • Wednesday Nov. 11 Reserve Your Seat at GrowYourBusinessWithABookDay.com

Book Marketing Blueprint Day BOOK

MARKETING BLUEPRINT DAY

Offered to Advantage Authors and a guest at no charge, this is one day to create your step-by-step Book Marketing Blueprint that will guide your book marketing efforts for the next 12 months.

Upcoming Days:

Friday May 15 • Friday Jul. 10 • Friday Sep. 11 • Wednesday Nov. 11 Reserve Your Seat at BookMarketingBlueprintDay.com

2015 Authority Marketing Summit Offered to Advantage Authors and a guest at no charge, this annual two day conference is THE PLACE to learn from other Advantage Authors, share money making ideas, and network and bond with Advantage Authors like you who are sharing their Stories, Passion, and Knowledge to help people Learn & Grow.

Thursday Nov. 12 - Friday Nov. 13, 2015

Questions about any of the upcoming events?

Want to register by phone?

Contact Marketing Associate Katie Biondo 843.518.6505 or kbiondo@advantageww.com