Women With Know How by SPARK Publications

Determining What is a Fair Salary Robyn Crigger

Go Bananas!

A Truly “Resourceful” Woman 2010 NAWBO Woman Business Owner of the Year

From the publisher

Mimi Zelman

Dear Readers, I hope you are all enjoying our beautiful summer weather! Be careful when you are outside by wearing plenty of sunscreen and drinks lots of water! I finally started a blog and will blog about advertising, branding and other business issues important to me. I will also blog about my clients to let my readers have more knowledge about them as well. Some of them I want to share in my publisher’s letter from time to time, so here goes.

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Word of mouth is always the best referral, but that isn’t enough.

”

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Advertising is Branding I have been in the advertising sales profession for many years. I have seen many businesses come and go. Why do a lot of businesses go out of business? For many different reasons. Location, poor customer service and economic is some. For many businesses it is because they fail to have a marketing plan. How can you clients find you? Word of mouth is always the best referral, but that isn’t enough. When starting a business have a budget in mind. Even if the budget isn’t a lot you can stretch those dollars to have as much visibility as possible. Large ads are great, but, not always smart if you are low on funds. I would rather see smaller ads in more places, than a full page Continued on page 4

COntents

Features

Cover Story Angela Key

Go Bananas Easy ways to grill up something surprisingly good

Professional Spotlight Diane Davis

Entrepreneurship Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all your fault

Departments

Management Robyn Crigger

Communication Janet Anderson

Your Career Mary Cantando

Young Entrepreneur Kim Hughes

Financial Diane M. Willis

6 8 14 16 24

Personal FOrecast Marcie Williams-Browing

Relationships Mary Elizabeth Murphy

Legal Issues Mitzi Kincaid, Attorney at Law

Marketing Karen L. Dortschy

26 32 34 40

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Continued from page 2

ad in one place. Who is your target market? If its women, place your ad in as many women’s magazines as possible. Sometimes you are hitting the same audience this way, which is good, because you are creating top of the mind awareness. Also most magazines, newspapers, etc reach different readers as well that you want to target. Never advertise in one publication less than 6 times or you are throwing your money away. It really does take that many impressions to build your brand. This saying I learned years ago, really says it all. Why does a man wake up in the morning and brush his teeth with an advertised toothbrush and toothpaste, drink advertised coffee, drive to work in an advertised car, but doesn’t advertise his business till it’s time to advertise it “For Sale” ! Don’t be that man, find someone who can help you create a marketing plan and your business will thrive. If you would like to follow my blog go to http://womenwithknowhow.blogspot.com/ Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July! Mimi

Serving Charlotte and Charleston Publisher/President

Mimi L. Zelman mimi@womenwithknowhow.com Creative Director, Graphic Design

SPARK Publications Fabi@SPARKpublications.om

Feature Writer/Copy Editor

Cristina Cassidy

Director of wwkh elite

Margo Lord Margo@womenwithknowhow.com Contributing Writers

Mary Cantando Mary Elizabeth Murphy Marcie Williams- Browning Robyn Crigger Janet Anderson of Anderson PC Training Kim Hughes of 704events.com Charleston

Check out our online store!

www.womenwithknowhow.com Cover photography: by Episode XI Studios, LLC 4 ®

Management

Robyn Crigger, CEO Compass Career Management Solutions–OI Partners Inc.

Determining What is a Fair Salary

Many Factors Decide What Someone Gets Paid on a Job

hen talking with women in a job search, a woman may not know for sure what she wants for her future position, and yet she knows how much she needs or wants to earn. That can be like putting the cart before the horse. A person’s skills and responsibilities greatly impact the rate of a position. In fact, many factors are involved. If a person could understand this, it might help her to O F N I select a more appropriate MORE c. – Compass In t s en ner career path. Obviously, OI Part eer Managem s n Car io t lu So in my business, I like to er.com sscare 0 a p m o 0 www.c 04) 849-25 er.com see a person select a (7 scare compas r@ e g g ri rc career that matches their skills and passion. Doing this will make their work experiences more fulfilling and lead to good retention. 6 ®

Factors that Determine Rate of Pay Here are some commonly known factors that determine the rate of pay your receive for the work you do: • The more responsibility to the job, the higher worth of that employee. • The more experience in that role, the more that person brings to the job. • If the candidate has good references from people of high stature and prominence, that can lead to higher pay; it adds credibility. • Other factors include the size, volume and success of the employing company. • For the most part, if the company is small, they may not be as competitive with salary, though not always.

• Location can impact the salary. Some cities have higher salaries than others due to “cost of living”. Be Realistic About Your Experience A woman needs to be realistic and note that the length of experience can also impact the salary. One way to help herself is to take extra training or classes in her field in order to stand above the others. Of course, with this extra training an employer will also expect better production, results, etc.

until you receive a formal job offer. It is also never wise to accept a job offer “on the spot”. Give yourself time to think through this offer carefully. Take enough time to review the entire offer and possibly have a professional friend, etc. to give their observations. However, don’t put the employer off too long before responding. Be sure to request the offer in writing. Once a company has made a decision on you, be respectful and respond to them relatively soon. Once you have gathered all the facts, it is time to decide if the salary offer is acceptable.

Strong communication skills can also factor into the rate of pay. If a job search candidate is able to “connect” with the decision maker, this relationship can make it easier for the candidate to negotiate a better salary. Other Forms of Compensation Don’t forget that there are other ways to be compensated in a job than the salary. A wise job search candidate examines and researches what benefits other current employees receive. Note if there is anyone receiving some unusual perks or compensation. Country Club fees paid, more travel expense money, more vacation days, a company car, added medical insurance coverage, etc. Do enough research to know how to carefully select items that seem more reasonable verses pushing too hard for everything. Think Through a Job Offer Never bring up any discussion on salary 7 ®

Communication

Janet Anderson, Anderson PC Training

New Sight (Insight) Getting a fresh look at the world or yourself is always liberating

y experience of being a first time contact wearer has given me new sight. Not only is this helping me see better literally, but it is making me aware of my peripheral vision of the world. I went in for my regular check up and for some reason the words “I bet I am not a good candidate for contacts, am I?” came out of my mouth. My ophthalmologist said “Actually you are a great candidate. INFO MOREPC Training Do you want to try on om Anders ining.c a r t c p them?” Within a min6 derson www.an 980.428.206 ute I had contacts in my eyes and was walking around the mall trying them out. A week later, I was given a trial pair to use for a week or so, and voilá, I am now a contact wearer. 8 ®

Why didn’t I do this sooner? Since I hit my 40’s I have worn glasses. The need was really for teaching. I needed to see the screen and students, but be able to look down at my monitor and notes. I wondered why I didn’t change sooner, but the reality is that the contacts weren’t that good then. They couldn’t handle astigmatism and were harder to use and take care of. So, I guess better late than never. I have the mono lenses which means that one eye sees the distance and the other is used for reading. It takes a while for the brain to not notice what the one eye you don’t want to use...sees. I’ve pretty much gotten the hang of it now. The real liberating fact is that I see ALL around me. The peripheral vision is fantastic. When I am with people, I

don’t have to move my head up anddown to get a clear view of everyone. My glass frames don’t get in the way, so my vision is so much improved. Why am I sharing this? Switching to contacts has taught me two things about learning and life. First, I didn’t give up because I was given the right encouragement at the right time. The first week or so, I thought these were not for me, because neither the near vision nor the distance vision was good, but the middle vision was great. When I was ready to go back to glasses, my doctor said that for some reason the four week mark seemed to be the magical time when it just clicks in. So I gave it more time. His encouragement and support along the way made ALL the difference. The tipping point of stopping something or hanging in there is very fragile. He said the right words at the right time. So many times in my classrooms, just a little “ take your time,” or “that was done well,” or “congrats…that was great” can make the difference between a student who is eager to learn and feels successful, and one who is frustrated and never comes to class again. Secondly, my glasses were giving me a narrow view of the world all these years. I was missing people, things, and views that were in my peripheral vision

area and therefore I was missing the WHOLE view. Do I do that with my decisions? Do I do that with life? Do YOU? How many times have we all made a rash decision based on only part of the information? Changing my vision changed the way I see the world…literally. I am trying now to look at a lot of aspects before making decisions. Getting contacts has literally and figuratively changed my view of the world. Are you seeing your world clearly? Happy learning. Don’t give up!

Debbie Winchester Designs earth e le me nts j ewe lr y

www.dwinchesterdesigns.com dwinchester@carolina.rr.com

704-607-0678

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Angela Key: A Truly “Resourceful” Woman 10 ®

by Cristina Cassidy

With Resilience and Determination This Amazing Woman Faced All Odds

t's a hot June day when I walk into the offices of Premier Resources, a top Charlotte recruiting and staffing firm. I'm immediately aware of how comfortable and relaxed I feel as sit in the brightly lit reception area. After a few minutes, an attractively dressed woman with a winning smile walks up to me and extends her hand. I think she is the receptionist or maybe the office manager. It isn't until we sit down together that I realize she is the Woman With Know How I've come to interview - Angela Key, President and Owner of Premier Resources. When I tell her that I wasn't aware I was talking to the company president, she laughs. "I hardly ever let anybody know," says Key, "because I don't know if that should make a big difference. I want our clients to have confidence in who we are, no matter who calls on them." A Real Team Player When I ask Key to tell me about her business, her face lights up. "We're a full service staffing firm," she says enthu-

siastically, "and what that means is we can provide temporary, temp to hire and direct placement staffing options." Premier Resources specializes in professional office/administrative support, finance and accounting, human resources, and sales and marketing support. Key’s greatest joy is working with a team of dedicated employees who want to provide clients and candidates with the best service possible. But she didn’t always have a team. When she first started her business, Key had to go it alone. Starting Small With very little money and in the middle of a divorce, Key started Premier Resources in the spring of 1999. She rented an office in the Ballantyne area. It was small, with only three desks, and Key worked each desk by herself. She'd put in 80-90 hours a week, and get as little as four hours of sleep a night. "But I was driven and motivated," she says, "and I knew I had to do it to succeed.” Key grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. As 11 ®

the daughter of a first generation Greek father, and a stay-at-home mother, she credits her parents for giving her a strong work ethic and sense of values.

Eventually, the couple ended up in Charlotte. It was here that she started working for a staffing firm and knew that this was the kind of work she wanted to do.

As a young girl Key was shy and quiet. She loved to read and still does to this day, though she admits she struggled academically. She remembers her parents staying up sometimes as late as nine at night to help her do her homework.

Divine Intervention Key would have stayed with this firm forever, but the business was sold to a national chain, and she didn't like the new ownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; approach to management. The day her new bosses came to town they insisted that all employees sign a non-compete agreement. Key says it was divine intervention that prompted her to walk into their office and say, "Okay, this is the deal. This is the one thing that I have finally figured out that I can do well and I love it. So we agree that either I can go and start my own business if things don't work or I'm sorry, I can't stay." The new owners thought about the odds of someone like Key starting her own business, and they agreed.

After graduating from high school, Key attended Auburn University for one year, but decided it wasn't for her. Instead, she got engaged and followed her fiancĂŠ back to Birmingham, where she enrolled briefly at a local college, and went to work. One week before the wedding, with over 1,000 people invited, Key called it off. It was a difficult decision, but the right one. She left the local college and went to work in a bank, met someone she worked with, and got married. On-the-Job Training Over the next few years, she had several jobs that included three important ones: working for a start-up company, coordinating schedules for a politician, and working in an electrical engineering firm where she gained invaluable experience in business management and operations. These three jobs, according to Key, are the reason she is a successful businesswoman today.

As her marriage began to deteriorate, Key thought more and more about starting her own company. Finally, she left her job at the staffing firm and started up her own business. Her work became her passion and helped her get through the divorce.

The Business Grows "Probably one of the happiest days early on was when I could hire someone," says Key. She started with one part-time employee. Soon after that, Key hired a second part-timer and moved to another Her husband's job required that they move office. Over time, she hired a few more often, a situation that Key never liked. people and before she knew it, her staff 12 ÂŽ

and she outgrew that office. “If you can look at all the lives that Key decided it was more cost efficient to you’ve touched in a really positive way... buy an office condo rather than rent. In 2002, when she bought the office that is that’s it. That’s what it’s all about.” now Premier Resources, it was an empty cinderblock shell. She got her brother-inness is exactly what she did in the beginlaw to create floor plans, and designed the ning. "Work through your business plan, entire space herself. shoot holes in it a lot, and try to figure out where you're going to fail, or could A Time of Crisis stumble. Look at your long term goals In March 2006, Key’s world was turned and create a path to get there, but also upside down. She was diagnosed with look at things that could be distractions an aggressive form of breast cancer and or take you away from the path you need had to have a mastectomy. She endured to be on." eight cosmetic surgeries and 15 months of chemotherapy. In spite of the hardship, One thing Key wants to work on is getting she continued to run her business from more balance in her life. She recounts her bed. that when her father was dying of leukemia, he pointed to a desk drawer and Dolores Robinson, Premier Resources' said there was something in there that payroll manager for the past eight years, the family might want to look at when remembers accompanying Key to her he was gone. After he died, Key and her chemo sessions every Wednesday. "When sister found letters he had written to them the infusion was over, Angela would wake when they were little. In one of the letters up and say, 'What are we going to do he wrote: "Success is not a logarithmic today?'" They'd end up going shopping for accrual of wealth. It is utilizing your godhours, and Dolores could barely keep up given talents and abilities to contribute to with her boss! the greater good." Key turned her cancer experience into a way of thanking the medical community for all they had done for her during her illness. In 2007, she started a second company, Premier Health Care Resources, dedicated to health care staffing and also joined Carolina Breast Friends. Stay On Your Path Her advice to women just starting a busi-

Tears well up in the eyes of this beautiful, accomplished INFO MOREmier Resources and caring woman as she alth.biz ent Pre Presid la@Premierhe ange says softly, "If you can hcare r Healt Premie Staffing .biz look back and say, 'Okay, I Care ffingresources ta rs ie prem ane angela@ 11220 Elm L 8277 used the talents that I was C2 ,N e tt o Charl 3-9200 704-54 rHealth.biz given’…If you can look at all ie m www.Pre the lives that you've touched in a really positive way...that's it. That's what it's all about." 13 ®

Your Career

Mary Cantando, Growth Expert, The Women’s Advantage

Your Voicemail Tells All! When was the last time you actually listened to your own voicemail recording?

ost of us consider ourselves interesting, creative women, but that’s not how our voicemail sounds. I wonder how many thousands of times I’ve heard that the person I’m calling is “…out of the office or on another line, but your message is important…”

INFO e MORE antag

Boring! Boring! Boring! Make it Upbeat There is no reason for anyone—with the possible exception of a funeral home—to have a mundane voicemail message. Get over it girls! Do us all a favor and create an interesting, upbeat voicemail recording.

Adv man’s .biz The Wo antage ansAdv 401 m o .W www (919) 841-0 Owner.com siness omanBu W @ y r a M

STOP everything and listen to your voicemail recording RIGHT NOW. If it’s 14

as boring as I predict, use these steps to get it right!

1. Write a fun message. Make it

SHORT but interesting. Consider using words like “great day,” “excited,” “just as FAST as I can.”

2. Stand up (important!) Smile while you’re talking (equally important!)

3. Record your message a little faster than you ordinarily speak.

4. Play it back and re-record until you’ve got it right.

STOP everything and listen to your voicemail recording RIGHT NOW.

Meet Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere. Overture introduces you and your colleagues to potential clients using our acclaimed multimedia presentation. Many businesses, especially those in professional services, need more than a website and print collateral. The prospect has to meet you. Establishing personal chemistry is the key to cultivating a relationship, then earning a client’s business. Business Development Opportunity With Every Email. To find out more, call Karen Hund at 704.907.4376 or visit our website — www.cv-vision.com

Life is full of foggy roads. We help you find your way to where you want to go.

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15 ®

Phone: (704) 543-1564

www.CoachU2Lead.com

Email: info@CoachU2Lead.com

Young entrepreneur

Kimberly Hughes

Embrace, Enlighten, Engage Just be you

ld Kim vs New Kim: United One night out recently, I met this woman at a bar. She was coming out of the bathroom while I was walking in and I could tell that she had just finished sobbing and breaking down emotionally. Her head was down; clearly avoiding gazes from onlookers, she was sniffling, and desperately trying to salvage her make-up application by patting her fingers under O F N I her eyes. Though my MOREevents 4 70 bladder was telling me s.com 4event w ww .70 .281.4482 to run to the stall, my 704 vents.com 4e kim@70 heart was telling me not to. I went after her and asked her if she was alright. She had an amazed look on her face and then suddenly let loose a river of tears like I have never seen before. I asked her to go outside to the patio while I went to 16 ®

the bar and got her a water. Long story short, she was on a date with a guy that she met online. After piecing together her scattered thoughts, I gathered that she had molded herself to his ‘liking’ – Desperate to not be alone any longer and clearly thinking it was okay to compromise the person she was, to become another persona that she thought he would want to be with. An hour into the date, he ended their time together – Seemingly, not vindictive or rude, but for the interest of both of their time, he didn’t feel a connection. No harm – No foul. It’s just life. To her, this was the end of time. She felt low, unloved, unattractive, scared, and ruined. After hearing her story and me, being an emotional person myself, I teared

up and cried with her. My heart was breaking for her because the mind frame she had was the mind frame that I have been shaking off for years. I pointedly asked her if she was comfortable with herself – She said she was. I then asked her if she was, why would she try to be like someone she wasn’t to please another person? She began to open her mouth and flow a rehearsed answer and then stopped and looked at me and said, ‘you are right’. Over the next 45 minutes, we continued to connect and talk and found that we had a lot in common – Both with our life experiences and our quest for success and greatness. In that, we brought a secret out in the open that we never shared with anyone before: We admitted to each other that we at times didn’t think that we could fulfill our dreams being the people we were. I cannot speak for her but I can say personally, I felt like the weight of the world I put on myself was lifted within seconds. Fight the Right Fight I, like this girl, battled against myself for years. I battled against everything about myself you can imagine and for a time, I began despising the person I was no matter what people told me the admired or respected about me – Truthfully, I used my life story and the bad and negative experiences of my life as a punishment to the person I am and have become. Almost like

I deserved the negative things that have happened to me. It correlates to confidence but also, comfort in believing that your flaws and strengths combined; make you perfect. After a while of fighting myself, I just gave in. I realized that I could hate the person that I am but in all actuality, I will be spending every second with myself until the second that I die. There was and is no use to battle against myself because it is a battle I will never win.

Let me help you find your dream home

Maggie Redmond is your Real Estate Professional Call Maggie Today! 704.779.2992 cell maggie.redmond@allentate.com Go to www.MaggieRedmond.com to View My Featured Properties 17 ®

Real Talk No matter how much you try to be like someone else, you will fail and the only lesson you can learn from this failure is that you can never be like anyone else and succeed. Sadly, many people fight this journey and lose daily – Day in and day out; time and time again. Why would you want to be like someone else – Ever think that being the authentic you could feel and be 200 times better than what you are trying to be? Or that you are actually holding yourself back from being something better? Even the ‘perfect’ people we envy have insecurities and things they don’t like about themselves – I guarantee it.

Look at Britney Spears – How much did the world love her? Envy her? Respect her? Then, in front of our very eyes, she melted down and we saw the human side of her. Yes, maybe the extreme human side, but it was brought to light that even the people that have ‘everything’ go through issues and setbacks, have problems, and are insecure like everyone else. Be Your OWN SuperWoman! Heroes have their place in our lives as people to motivate us but having a hero, icon, or idol doesn’t mean that we have to mold ourselves to be like them to be successful. We have the tools inside of us to be more of an inspiration than we can imagine. What we have to do is to recognize and develop those tools. Following the advice of Oprah Winfrey or Indra Nooyi will not make us a multimillionaire businesswomen alone; combined with a positive attitude, belief in ourselves, and a strong work-ethic – It will happen. To that special girl out there who has my heart – Stay strong, girl and know that loving yourself and knowing who you are and rockin’ who you are will bring you joy and love that you could never imagine. When ‘THE man’ comes knocking on your door one day (and YES, he will find YOU!) and falls head over heels in love with the person you are; not who you claim to be, your life will change like you can never image.

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Own Up to You Who is Kim? I am sensitive, often too ‘nice’, I am overweight, I have a hard time shutting down from work, I get uncomfortable in new situations, I think too much about what I want to say, I work too much, I make excuses, I am stubborn, I over-react, sometimes have a wicked temper, a control freak, complete Type A personality, I look out for others more than myself – But you know what? That is me and I am working to change what I don’t like about me – End of story. In this second, I am who I am. As for the ‘negative’ qualities I possess, there are triple the amount of good qualities. I just sometimes put more emphasis on the bad rather than the good. My good qualities give me the power and motivation to kick my not so

No matter how much you try to be like SOMEONE ELSE, you will fail and the only lesson you can learn from this failure is that you can never be like anyone else and succeed. good qualities to the curb but in the meantime, I am enjoying all that is…Me. I may not always be the picture perfect example of what a businesswoman, friend, daughter, sister, aunt, etc. should be, but I am at least comfortable with myself and know I can only go up from here. So, I ask you… Who are you?.

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Go Bananas! Easy ways to grill up something surprisingly good

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ananas aren’t just for breakfast or lunch anymore. By grilling this popular fruit, you can add a whole new flavor dimension to a dinnertime recipe and turn a basic dessert into something wow.

Adding bananas to your summer grilling routine is a fun way to eat fruit. You can grill them in their peels while the BBQ coals are still hot or add peeled slices to a tasty kabob — it’s that simple. For more Dole Banana recipes and serving suggestions, go to www.dole.com/bananas. To share banana recipes anytime, go to www.facebook.com/DOLEbananas.

Island Kabobs with Tropical Fruit Salsa Preparation : 10 minutes Grill Time: 10 minutes Makes: 4 servings 2 ripe, firm Dole® Bananas, peeled, each cut into 6 pieces, plus 1 ripe Dole Banana, peeled and diced 12 chunks Dole Tropical Gold Pineapple 16 extra large or jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined • Thread banana pieces, pineapple, 1 green or red bell pepper, cut shrimp and bell pepper pieces equally into 8 pieces onto skewers. 2 tablespoons lime juice • Whisk together lime juice, oil and all 2 tablespoons olive oil spice in small bowl. Brush 2 tablespoons 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice over kabobs. 1 mango, peeled and diced • Combine remaining marinade with diced 1 tablespoon chopped mint banana, mango, mint, green onion and 1 Dole Green Onion, minced jalapeño pepper; place in a serving dish. 2 to 3 teaspoons minced • Grill kabobs over medium high heat 8 jalapeño pepper to 10 minutes, turning once or until the shrimp are opaque. •Arrange the kabobs on top of the salsa. 21 ®

Personal Forecast

Marcie Williams-Browning

July is the Time for Feeling and Caring

ver the coming year I will share with you areas of focus for each month. As you create your plan for success and work that plan, these suggestions will give you a clear focus for the month. Write down your goals, dreams and aspirations and look at them often. Writing them down brings them into the physical FO N I E world and makes them tangible MOR pnosis Center lis Hy m a o s y .c r iz h B C and real. As you consider areas ySpirit 2 indBod www.M 803.493.033 on which to focus your attention this month be sure to look at each area from your mental and emotional state, your physical well-being, your spiritual needs as well as your financial ones. The color for the month of July is red and the theme is “I care.” It is the time to look to the future with positive thoughts and objective eyes. Some of the areas to consider are listed below. The best day 22 ®

in July to write down your desires and wishes is the 11th. This is the day of the new moon which is considered the magical day for wishes to be expressed. Home/Family This is the time to take inventory of your internal frame of reference. July is the perfect time to work on your home or prepare your home for sale. Focus on family and allow yourself time to enjoy your family (this includes close friends). This is the month to “tune into” your gut instincts and honor them. Safety July is all about feeling like you belong. Incorporate a true sense of security and protection. This is a great month for using your gut instinct to protect and secure your financial freedom and build on the work you executed in June on your financial front. Use tenacity to

attract and anchor safety and security in all areas of your life. Growth This is the month to focus on training and practicing your skills and talents. It is an ideal time to become fully aware of your early childhood conditioning and release unwholesome or unwanted patterns. Learn and grow in joy this month as you embrace and allow yourself to express your feelings. Consciously nurture new beginnings and seek to recognize those beginnings as opportunities. Love/Care Reconnect with your caring, nurturing nature. Allow yourself to feel empathy in a healthy, constructive way. Release fear around vulnerability and embrace your individual power and understanding regarding vulnerability. Co-create intimacy in way that is healthy and rewarding. Moods Communicate your feelings in a responsible and appropriate way. Be highly aware and sensitive to your own moods, needs and feelings as well as others. Release the need for over-emotional responses. Remember to incorporate tenderness in your relationships this month.

July affirmation: I am safe to experience and express my emotions. body. Explore mutually satisfying relationships with family while maintaining your true identity. Allow yourself to take care of others or be cared for by others in a healthy, loving way. Release â&#x20AC;&#x153;Excessive Self-Protectionâ&#x20AC;? Recognize and control clinginess, insecurity, possessiveness and overly cautious behaviors this month. This is includes fear of rejection and insecurity. As you create and work your plan this month take a look at yourself with objective eyes and include those areas where you need some work and celebrate the areas where you have done well. Life is a journey and one we are meant to learn and teach from. Every single experience we have we are learning through and teaching from. Learn well and live in joy!.

Nurturing It is important to not only give your support, but also to be open to receive support from others. This is the perfect time to release self-destructive habits around food while you nurture your 23 ÂŽ

Financial

Diane M. Willis

The Lizard and Divorce

ow to Control the Reptile in You The term “lizard” is not commonly used during the divorce process. Many less-than-favorable terms may come up when referring to an ex, but “lizard” is not usually one of them. It is certainly not how we see ourselves. Yet it may actually pertain to how we are operating at certain times.

INFO MOREFinancial e Wilshir m wilfin.co dwillis@ ilfin.com .w w ww

The field of behavioral science has discovered there is a lizard of sorts in all of us that takes over while we’re under stress. Of course we can all agree that divorce is stressful.

There is a part of our brain, known as the reptilian brain, which controls our basic instincts, including our fear and stress response. It is called the amygdale, otherwise known as the “lizard 24 ®

brain.” You may have heard of the fright or flight response. That response is created in this portion of the brain. Hair on the Back of Your Neck It is very useful if we are being stalked by a tiger, or we are walking in a dark alley and sense danger, even if we can’t see or hear it. The amygdale protects us by allowing these basic instincts to kick into gear. It is wise to pay attention if the hair on the back of our neck stands up when we’re in a particular situation.The amygdale, our lizard brain, has picked up on a perceived danger that we may not be consciously aware of. The amygdale is also the area where emotional events are stored. If a sibling put a spider down your shirt when you were 10 years old, and the event was particularly frightening, you probably stored that event in your amygdale. So even as an adult, if you hear the word “spider” you are able to

go right back to the state of fear you experienced when you were ten. This helps us remember danger so that we automatically avoid certain things without having to experience them again and again. We react instantaneously, without having to think about it. Lizard Brain Needs Brain Food The problem is that in order for us to react instantaneously, the lizard brain needs all our brain food and energy focused on it. When that happens, the area of the brain that controls rational thought has no brain food or energy focused on it.

The amygdale is also the area where emotional events are stored. ticularly rational. Is it really the impression we want to give our neighbors? Is it really a good use of our firefighter’s resources when the neighbors call to report the fire? More importantly, is it the message we want to send our children? Although we know it’s the lizard brain

Someone who is emotionally distraught or frightened is not likely to be engaging the rational brain or using rational thought. Again, that’s great in a dark alley, but not as useful when we need our rational brains to help us make crucial financial decisions, for example. Rational Brain to the Rescue Divorce may be one of the most stressful events in our lives, but the financial decisions we make during that time may be the most important financial decisions of our lives as well. We need our rational brains during that time. I’ve seen people so engaged with the lizard that they are incapable of making good decisions and in fact may do things they later regret. It might feel really great to burn our ex’s clothes on the front lawn - at the time - but we must agree that it’s not par25 ®

“Divorce may be one of the most stressful events in our lives, but the financial decisions we make during that time may be the most important ..” in control in those situations, saying, “I didn’t mean to, it was the lizard” probably won’t be much of a defense. Emotions Can Cause Bad Judgment I encounter the consequences of stress and irrational decision-making in my divorce practice every day.

26 ®

Clients are frightened, bitter and angry and usually with good reason. I totally understand that, and have been there myself. Unfortunately I also see how those emotions cause the entire divorce process to bog down. A large part of those emotions are fear-driven because of uncertainty over money, finances, budgets, housing, and what the future may or may not hold. Huge, crucial financial decisions are made at this time and they are not easy to change once an agreement has been reached. Again and again I see women in particular operate out

of fear because of the uncertainty of their finances. While stuck in that fear, at best the divorce process may also get stuck. At worst, irrational decisions may be made or terms agreed to that are not well thought out. Find a Good Therapist I believe everyone going through a divorce needs a good therapist to help that person stay balanced and work through some of the inevitable anger and grief. Mediation and collaborative law can often reduce some of the stress as well by shortening the process and making it less costly than traditional litigation. In addition to those avenues, it is my observation that financial clarity is absolutely crucial to making good decisions. The first place to start that clarity is to have all financial facts and details laid out, then look at all options and the consequences to those options, then make rational decisions. Just going through that process can actually help alleviate the fear. Moving Out of the Lizard Brain A person needs to know where they stand financially, see that their future is ok and they are fine, really fine. Once they see that, they can move out of the lizard brain, they can focus more on their future and less on their painful past. They can broaden their horizons, become less focused on everything their ex says or does, and get out of the way of the divorce process.

Make sure you have the clarity and understanding you need with regards to your finances, and help keep the lizard at bay! The lizard brain can serve a very protective and important purpose. But we need to make sure it’s not taking over at moments when we need to be rational, calm and reasonable. Make sure you have the clarity and understanding you need with regards to your finances, and help keep the lizard at bay!

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Professional Spotlight

Cristina Cassidy

Diane Davis CFP®,CLU®

ou have been working as a financial advisor for over 17 years. What exactly is a financial advisor, and what kinds of services do you provide your clients? A financial advisor is a professional who works with her clients to develop a comprehensive, ongoing approach to one’s financial life. It is important to me to have a long-term relationship with my clients, one that is developed and nurtured through the years as we address the changes that arise in their lives while still keeping an eye on the big picture of what their dreams are and how to reach them. The services I provide include the planning process as well as offering products that may fit particular needs from developing cash reserves to investment management to risk management (insurances) to working with clients and their tax and legal professionals to find the best strategies in their tax and estate areas.

28 ®

As a financial advisor, you focus on working with women clients. What is it about working with women that interests you? As a woman, I am sensitive to knowing that many women have been left out of the financial decision making in their families. This is unfortunate, as many women have been through life events that force them to embrace this as a part of their lives. Suddenly, a woman who hasn’t been involved in the finances finds herself as the breadwinner and sole financial care taker in their families. I also talk to many women who don’t believe they can manage money or know how to invest it. But, from my experience, I would say that most women who have to handle the day to day cash flow for the household have an excellent handle on money management and just need some education on understanding how to make their money work for them.

of 7 children) and with my mother facing open heart surgery for a second time in 1987, I felt one of her children needed to be in business where there was the potential of an increased income in case we had to care for her. I also liked the thought of helping people set financial goals and then working towards them as I am a planner by nature. I have found that my background in education lends itself to helping clients understand the products that are in the marketplace and helping all my clients make decisions that will fit with their risk tolerance and values. I find most of my clients and women I meet are thoughtful and welcoming of financial information so that they can make the most informed decisions for their unique financial needs. It is about identifying your dreams, developing the confidence in managing your finances, and growing the dollars to provide the freedom to have the choices you desire.

When did you come to Charlotte, and how long have you lived here? I came to Charlotte in 1977 after marrying a native Charlottean in 1976.

On your website you have Market News. Do you help educate your women clients about financial markets and how to interpret financial trends, or do they come to you already savvy about how to approach it? I do look at my position as a source of information and educating my clients on the various options and strategies they have to reach their financial goals. I also have clients who have the knowledge but not the time to stay connected to what is available to them in the financial marketplace. I also provide the historical

Were you always interested in finance? What led you to become a financial advisor? Initially, I was as an English teacher for 17 years. I became a financial advisor after realizing that teaching might not provide for my family after teachers’ salaries in NC had been frozen for nine years in the ‘80’s. I come from a family of social workers, teachers, nurses (I am the eldest

29 ®

I believe we each have SOMETHING TO OFFER back to our communities—and doing so is a way of expressing gratitude.

who retire and a couple of years later say, “I wish I had waited.” Many times this is not because of a financial concern but more of a not having developed the interests to keep them occupied for a long retirement period. Remember, boomers, if healthy now, have the potential to be living another 25, 30-even 40 or more years. Sometimes, this is longer than their working years. If you spend a great deal of time planning a two-week vacation, shouldn’t a 25 year retirement period deserve as much consideration?

memory for the details that they may have forgotten when they started their planning and strategies. This has proven to very useful over the past 18 months, as people have been very emotional with their finances and their long-term memory of the markets has been lost. If you could have any dream come true, what would it be? Many “boomers” are approaching From a professional perspective, that retirement age. What kind of advice money management would become a do you have for women who are required course in every school. Too about to retire? many children do not get this guidance at Don’t wait until you are ready to submit home and do not have a respect for the the paperwork giving your company your tool that money is and how it is earned— retirement notice. Whether you have consequently, the low savings rate in our money, or don’t, you should be working country and the high debt rate. From a with a professional financial advisor—an personal perspective, I would like to be objective voice to ask questions and help able to take a month at a time to travel. you make concrete plans. Women, and men, need to take the time to assess What kinds of things do you do for where they are financially, how much enjoyment when you are away from has been saved, and how much will be the office? Hiking, camping, reading, travel, needed to meet retirement needs. I also gathering with friends/family, art gallery caution people to concentrate on what crawls, attending chamber music they will retire to; you know what you are performances, theater, time for spiritual retiring from, but what is the picture you work and pursuits. have for your retirement years? Once the travel is done, how will you spend You are a member of many local your time? Have you started to develop community organizations. Tell us those interests, friends, connections about your community involvement now? Sadly, I have seen some people 30

and why you think it is important to get involved. I believe we each have something to offer back to our communities—and doing so is a way of expressing gratitude. Over the years I have tended to give my energies to women’s organizations and feel I have gotten much more from the experiences than they from my service. Also, as a boomer myself, I am actively seeking out my interests to know where I will want to give my time, energy and money in the future. You were the recipient of the FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Managers Award for 2008 and 2009. What is this award, and why is it significant? I have been informed that 2010 will mark the third year I have been chosen as a member of this list. This is the result of polling done by the publishers of Charlotte Magazine. The list represents less than three percent of the wealth managers in the Charlotte area who have scored highest in client satisfaction. I feel this validates my commitment to an ongoing relationship with my clients—and it is nice to know my clients value that relationship as much as I do.

the early single years before marriage, widow hood later in life, or if one’s spouse becomes disabled. Consequently, I would wish for women to at a minimum make a connection with a financial advisor with whom they are comfortable so they have the support necessary in getting their financial affairs in order and to be prepared for the day they need to manage those dollars. Our families and friends may be well meaning in their desire to advise, but they may be too close to you to give objective, knowledgeable financial advice. And you may not have felt comfortable giving them the “whole picture” and therefore, the advice may be inappropriate. As a Woman with Know How, where do you think you and your business will be in five years? I would like to continue to invite complex women O E INF r R O M into my practice who iso ial Adv Financ erprise m A are committed to ark Rd. 5200 P c 28209 ,N reaching their financial e Charlott 22-6565 704-5 @ampf.com goals, desire a longavis diane.d merprise.com ww.a w term relationship with a financial professional, and are receptive to working with a certified financial planner practitioner.

What is the most important advice you can give women about managing their financial lives? As in anything else, women need to recognize that at some point in their lives they will be the sole person responsible for their financial welfare—it could be 31 ®

Relationships

Mary Elizabeth Murphy, Managing Director of S.T.A.R. Resources

Anger Button

ear Mary Elizabeth, In my field, I often interact with disappointed, disgruntled or even irate customers on a regular basis. Much of my day is spent helping them reset their buttons, attempting to calm them and retain them as clients. After a full workday of this, how do I reset my own buttons? I’m tired of bringing work home with me and letting that anger or frustration bleed over into my personal O F relationships! RE IN

rces . Resou S.T.A.R 1 5.56 0 704.53 sources.biz e rr info@sta

Sincerely, Just Fed Up

ally simple, but the execution’s that is not always easy. You are correct in wanting to RESET Your Buttons before going back into your non-work life. Doing mini-resets throughout the day would also be helpful for your interactions with work partners, supervisors and satisfied customers. Here’s one you can do right now while reading this article – Drink Water. So how do you go about achieving these resets? As you know, there are steps to helping clients RESET their buttons. Every good customer service program has a system to diffuse angry customers. Remember the saying “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander”.

Dear JFU, Thank you for asking this question. Unfortunately this a very common problem today and in all walks of life, not only customer service. As with many problems the solution is usu32 ®

The following are some of the methods and steps we teach when working with clients to improve relationships and diffuse anger: First, it is vital to remember that an-

ger clouds vision and impairs judgment more than any other emotion. The angrier you are, the less able you are to reason, or come to a logical, informed decision. So as soon as you recognize that you have been triggered by anger take a deep breath and drink water. Your body is reacting as well as your emotional mind. All of your organs, including your brain, are strongly dependent on water to function properly. It’s how we are built. If you starve your body of water you will function below your best and you will perpetuate the stress both physically and mentally. Drinking water is an important step to

First, it is vital to remember that anger clouds vision and impairs judgment more than any other emotion. RESET Your Buttons, especially when dealing with anger. Next – ask yourself “what’s the story?” What’s making you so upset? What happened at work today that has triggered this response? Assess the situation. Understand that the emotion of anger is an

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33 ®

Legal issues

Mitzi Kincaid, Attorney at Law

Mum is the Word Using a Non-Disclosure Agreement in your Business

ave you ever had a good idea and could not wait to share it with someone? Have you shared a good idea with someone only to have them use your good idea without your permission? This month I am explaining the Non disclosure Agreement (NDA as many of us know it), also called the Confidentiality Agreement, and how you can use it effectively in your business.

agreements is to create a confidential relationship between one person who has a trade secret and another to whom the secret is disclosed.

Two Types of NDA’s There are two types of NDA’s, unilateral NDA’s and bilateral (mutual) NDA’s. A unilateral NDA is an agreement by one party not to disclose the confidential information of the other party. The promise is a “one way” promise and only NDA’s are used in business protects the disclosing party in the every day when confidential agreement. An example of when to use information is shared a unilateral NDA is where an inventor NFO I E R between people or wants to sell his invention to a major MO LLC ciates, o s s A businesses. Nondisclosure manufacturer. The inventor should and th Floor Kincaid gh Dr. 4262 u o ll u C agreements can protect get the major manufacturer to sign 301 Mcarlotte, NC 28 Ch 1 any type of trade secret his NDA so he is protected should the 35-597 (866)-4 or any information not major manufacturer decide to steal his generally known, providing confidential information. A bilateral a competitive advantage. or mutual NDA is one where both However, the use of NDAs is not an parties are exchanging confidential end in itself. The purpose of these information and both parties receive 34 ®

protection under the agreement. The promise is a “two-way” promise in that each party can be liable to the other for disclosure of confidential information. A good example of when a bilateral NDA is used is when there is a proposed merger of two businesses. Each business is sharing information with the other and needs to be protected should information be disclosed inappropriately. Unilateral and Bilateral NDA Every business owner should have a standard form of both the unilateral and bilateral NDA. These agreements are generally between 2-3 pages and should be signed by all parties involved in information sharing or receiving. You should contact an attorney to draft your standard documents the first time and should consult an attorney any time a party wishes to negotiate or modify these agreements. If a business has employees those employees should also sign a unilateral non-disclosure agreement when they are hired so that they understand they cannot disclose company confidential information such as customer lists, price lists and marketing plans. These employee agreements should be kept in the employee’s personnel file. Signature before Information is Shared Remember, always keep a standard unilateral and bilateral non-disclosure

Always keep a standard unilateral and bilateral non-disclosure agreement in your files. agreement in your files and get anyone whom you’re sharing confidential information with to sign the agreement before you share information with them. It is a pleasure writing this column and I hope the information is useful. If you have a business related legal question, email it to me at mkincaid@ kincaidandassociates.com and I may answer it in an upcoming issue of Women with Know How..

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If you starve your body of water you will function below your best and you will perpetuate the stress both physically and mentally. intense feeling of displeasure. It is the result of feeling mistreated, injured, opposed to, or a feeling of being wronged or taken advantage of. This is where the physical reaction of Flight or Fight is coming from. It’s a natural response where adrenaline is secreted into the body in order to provide you with the energy you need to either “fight” or run away from the threat. Now is a good time to drink more water. If you are able to recount the details of the story, including your perceptions of the way they occurred, you will be able to look at it the way you look at your

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Go through the experience and acknowledge both the perceptions that are accurate and those that are not. Be honest with yourself. As with a customer complaint, use phrases like “I see, “I understand” and connect with the frustration you may be feeling in the moment and say the words either out loud or to yourself – “I am feeling _________”. Look for places where you can agree or align. Ask yourself – if there were 2% truth to this situation what would be true? What about the situation can you agree with? Can you agree that you are angry because you have been inconvenienced? How about agreeing that there is a problem (not necessarily the problem itself), and it needs to be resolved? The last of this 4 step method of diffus-

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customers’ complaints with objectivity and in search of a solution.

The last of this 4 step method of diffusing anger is to apologize.

ing anger is to apologize. Sincerely. Be clear about what you are apologizing for. With another, be it customer, relative or friend, you may say that you are “sorry to hear that”, or you are sorry that they are not satisfied with the service or product. When it comes to self – what can you sincerely apologize for? For the past two weeks I have found myself in extremely frustrating situations that have been pushing on my Anger Button. Today I gave myself a sincere apology that I was too tired to deal with anymore or to push myself to try to do “one more thing”. I took a nap. My sincere apology to myself went something like, “I’m sorry I’m out of energy to deal with anymore right now.” Then I took a big sip of water and lay my head down on the pillow. Remember and reassure yourself that those negative interactions occurred with customers, at work. The more you remember that it was not your coworker or your spouse or your best friend who yelled at you today, the more frequently you apply the system mentioned above, the easier it will be to Reset Your Buttons when dealing with Anger.

Dr. Kandyce Thomas

Chiropractor T: 704.543.5508 F: 704.543.5509 www.thomasfamilychiro.net

10440 Park Road Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28210

37 ®

Entrepreneurship

Fabi Preslar, President of SPARK Publications

It’s All Your Fault!

If It’s Your Business, It’s Your Responsibility

want to share a secret with you that took me over 10 years to really understand: Every single thing that happens or doesn’t happen in your business – it’s all your fault, it’s all your responsibility. And when it comes to accolades and kudos – it’s all due to your staff, alliances and vendors.

I discovered the first part after hitting a truly rocky road in my business about five years ago. My cash was at zero, my staff wasn’t O profitable, I was exhausted INF MOREublications and no new clients were P SPARK .844.6080 .com s n 704 o ti blica coming into the business. PARKpu Fabi@S I was trying to do too many things myself. I hired with a hopeful heart that I could train an entry-level person with good potential to be a top-producer. Being an introvert, I found every excuse not to go and grow my network and meet potential new clients. The truth of the matter was, I just needed 38

to face the fact and reality that every decision I made or didn’t make in my business was a risk that would affect the next outcome. If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you may be pretty clear on what I’m sharing. If not, then who are you blaming? The remedy for a staff that wasn’t profitable was to not have them in my business and to replace them with experienced professionals. That move alone gave me the capacity to bring in new clients, which in turn provided me with more confidence and time to network. Those changes generated new clients and the cash flow issue was then resolved. The major shift was realizing that each glitch, shortcoming or failure was my fault and nobody else’s. Risk If you are not a risk taker, or you crumble when everything around you gets shattered, business ownership will toughen you up or put you under.

Entrepreneurs and business owners are risk takers. That means you attract and create risky opportunities. The only sure thing in a risky opportunity is that it will fail or it will succeed. Choose wisely. Attracting risk is the best part and the worst part of entrepreneurship. I made a small decision – like hiring the wrong employee – and next thing I knew I’d upset clients, blown through my life savings, and had no time and energy to network to bring in any new clients. Another time, I took a risk interrupting a senior level executive at a networking event to ask for his business. Several weeks later I got a signed, two-year contract for a magazine with a major university.

Sharing your successes with acknowledgment of those who helped you get there will strengthen the path for fewer future failures and many more successes. cept defeats as your own). Sharing your successes with acknowledgment of those who helped you get there will strengthen the path for fewer future failures and many more successes. You may choose to accept this philosophy or not. I did. And it generated a great shift of accountability and gratitude within me. Who are you blaming?

Celebrate The second part of the secret is that you should celebrate all of it, regardless. The good parts are exclamation marks, while the bad are simply kicks in the head, gut and butt to help you make better, newer, more innovative solutions and decisions. What I’ve come to realize is that every experience, good or bad, is part of the story that helps mold us into the types of businesswomen we are and the types of businesswomen we wish to become. Chances are, you didn’t create your successes alone, (even while you ac-

Attracting risk is the best part and the worst part of entrepreneurship.

39 ®

Marketing

Karen L. Dortschy, Sandbox Solutions

Customer Service Can Make or Break Your Brand

hen you think of a “brand”, do you focus on the company name, the logo, how the logo looks on signs, or how the product or company is advertised? Most people do.

Actually, one of the most overlooked parts of a company’s brand is Customer Service. That one part can easily create customer loyalty and raving fans… or suddenly end a good relationship. O INF MORESolutions x Think about last time you Sandbo.201.3354 m o .c 704 x o b d walked into CiCi’s Pizza. YourSan www.in What do you hear right away? A booming, friendly “Welcome to CiCi’s!” from the manager or employees. You’re immediately welcomed and have a positive outlook about your experience there. Now consider the last time you walked into __________(fill in blank) fast-food 40 ®

restaurant where the sullen and unfriendly clerk muttered “May I take your order” into the cash register. Not a positive first impression! You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a Good First Impression Customer service definitely starts with a customer’s first impression. Remember the old saying, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression”? It’s even truer today. Do potential customers or clients call your business phone, and then get subjected to a myriad of navigational choices? Press 1-7 for this, press 4-8-3 for that, to return to the main 1st original menu, press 3-9-8-4. This isn’t a great way to create a good first impression. Or, do you have a programmed on-hold message that constantly repeats, or plays annoying music? Or, do you or your employees pick up the phone and bark their name into the

mouthpiece? It’s easy and inexpensive to provide phone etiquette, email etiquette and general communications etiquette training to everyone in your organization. It’s important to have consistency in how phones are answered, how emails are answered, even how the signatures at the bottom of the emails look. Consistent, professional and polite communications go a long way in reinforcing your brand and identity. Business Has Changed In the past, customers didn’t have many options when it came to doing business, and some businesses took advantage of that fact. Gone are the days when a business owner could lose a customer with little worry about repercussions. Today, your options aren’t limited to the corner grocery, phone company or the local television and appliance store anymore. If a business doesn’t live up to your expectations, you can go elsewhere without any problem. A business prospect can check out your competitors with just a few clicks of the mouse, and a dissatisfied customer can take her business to another company just as fast.

business, store or restaurant. A dissatisfied customer told about ten to twelve people about the experience. Even then, those negative stories that people passed on to each other seriously eroded a brand, regardless of how consistently the company logo was used or how much the company spent on advertising or sponsorships. Today, a dissatisfied customer may still tell the “bad customer service” story about a dozen times, but she’s not telling one person over the back fence. Now, she could be telling thousands of people each time she recounts the sto-

Dissatisfied Customers Tell Others In the pre-Internet days, business owners and business experts used some rules of thumb to remind themselves and other businesspeople that dissatisfied customers pose a danger to a business. A satisfied customer told one to three people about a good experience at a 41 ®

ry. Utilities such as Twitter, Facebook, discussion boards, Internet forums and chatrooms make it easy to tell the world about an infuriating experience with a company’s rude or lazy employees.

So when you think of a brand, it’s more than how the logo looks on a sign or brochure. It’s also customer service, from the first impression on. In the interest of protecting their friends and family, recipients of the story pass along the warning, which seriously affects a company’s image and brand almost immediately. Bad experiences go viral within moments. Take a few moments to check out www.My3Cents.com, www.PissedConsumer.com, www.PlanetFeedback.com or www.Yelp.com to see thousands of complaints or to check records of any company, product or restaurant. Customers also find other ways to complain that are just as damaging to a company’s brand. Phillip Van Hooser’s book, Willie’s Way, explains the importance of providing good customer service, and the damage poor customer service can do to businesses. Consider the story he relates about the sign. Someone placed a sign on a very busy stretch of highway to tell the world that he “made a mistake” when he made a $13,000 purchase from a certain auto42 ®

mobile dealer. Van Hooser estimated that the sign gathered about half a million exposures in the approximately six weeks it was there. Then it was replaced by a bigger, better sign. It Takes 200 to Make Up For One It takes about 200 “great service” stories to make up for one “horrible service” story, according to Phillip Van Hooser in his book, Willie’s Way. That means you need to work hard to ensure your product, your company and your brand offer consistently positive experiences for customers from the first impression through every step of your interactions with them. There are more than 200 great service ideas to help you start improving your customer service; here are three: Provide phone communications guidelines to everyone in your organization. Ensure everyone has consistent, professional signatures in their emails, and understands email standards like NOT USING CAPS. Respond to emails and phone calls within 24 hours whenever possible, even if it’s to a sales rep to say “no thanks”. Professionalism and customer service go hand-in-hand in building your brand. So when you think of a brand, it’s more than how the logo looks on a sign or brochure. It’s also customer service, from the first impression on.

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anchor and reporter, first in upstate New York, then in Charlotte at CBS affiliate WBTV. She’s a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. Stacey lives in Davidson, NC with her family. She tries not to set off the smoke detectors too often.

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Kroghie Andresen has enjoyed hunting “Having worked with her on the anchor desk, I always knew Stacey could deliver the and the outdoors since his early teens in news. Now she’s delivered a wonderful book of recipes. This book will not only make eastern North Carolina. His waterfowl yourexperiences stomachbegan happy; it’ll he help hunting when shotyour heart, since all the profits go to help the millions of two lesser scaupjuvenile from a stake blind in the kids with diabetes.” mouth of Bath Creek at the age of fifteen. sinceJeff thenGlor his passion for hunting has The Show National Correspondent, CBS News grown andEarly flourished.

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Bon Appétit!

For founder of real estate firm, priorities are about more than finances

Mooresville’s Artistic Side

offered practical advice, along with their recipes, to help both serious foodies and hopeless home

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Reading, writing and diversity at Trinity Episcopal School

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Self-taught topiary artist’s yard is a cut above

George Winston Welcomes Spring in Davidson

Entertainment Tips from Area Event Planning Professionals

Man on a

VOL. 2 NUMBER

MARCH 2009

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Richard ‘Stick’ Williams, who’ll be the YMCA’s first black chairperson in 2010, makes community involvement his business

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Stacey Simms, co-host of Charlotte’s Morning

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Stacey SimmS

Kroghie worked as a banker for First union National Bank, now Wachovia, for thirty“This threeis years before retiring inI’ve 2004. the first cookbook seen in all my years of reading them like novels (and Though his work had no connection with writing a few myself) that is for everybody, Stacey delivers a delightful, entertaining, hunting, he continued to pursue his hobby and useful recipes during spare timerepertoire away from of work. Whilein the same wonderful manner she gives us ‘news livingwe in can raleigh ineach 1979, morning.” his wife ross, use’ bought him his first decoy to decorate Barbara McKay their new den. This started a collection Media Personality that has grown into over 1,100 North Carolina decoys. An early decision to limit his collection to Back Bay, Virginia, “Stacey has been a long and North Carolina decoys led to time a veryadvocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. specialized Kroghie tried Whencollection. her two year old always son was diagnosed, she immediately went from advocate to fully to document the history and provenance of committed volunteer. She is not willing to accept that her son and millions of others may his decoys. The lack of information on many have to live the rest of their lives with diabetes. Thank you, Stacey for all that you do to North Carolina decoys led him to research manyhelp previously carvers asthe welllives of so many.” find aunidentified cure and improve as those that are well known. This research Patrick and thirty yearsMcFeeley of collecting decoys have JDRF International Board Member culminated with this book. Kroghie received a B.s. degree in Civil Engineering from The Citadel in 1966 and an MBA from East Carolina university in 1971. He and his wife currently reside in Charlotte, N.C. They have two grown children, Clark and Hailey.

Charlotte, NC Winter 2009-10

2010 PRODUCT CATALOG

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