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Newsletter Archives

Newsletter - June 2010

02-Jul-10 19:09 | anonymous

Consulting Alliance Newsletter - June 2010

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pictures with Personality - Consulting Alliance Discount

Joan Heffler of Creative Expressions Photography -- Pictures With Personality! is offering a one-time 15% discount to all Consulting Alliance members and affiliates on products and services.  Joan is available for photographic consultation on web and media development as well as for on location and studio executive portraiture. Contact Joan at joan@joanheffler.com or 346-4485.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS


Luncheon: Fredric Church's Olana - A Public-Private Partnership
Friday, June 11 at 11: 30 am, Wolferts Roost
Click here to register

This program features Sara J. Griffen, President of The Olana Partnership, who will discuss Olana as a major driver of tourism and economic development and as a significant example of a public-private partnership. She will also discuss the rise of “Friends” groups in response to the State’s economic downturn and the help they will need from consultants in fundraising, marketing, strategic planning and volunteer management.

As President of The Olana Partnership, the not-for-profit support arm of Olana State Historic Site, Sara J. Griffen is responsible for overall management of the organization. Griffen serves as acting chair of the Hudson River Valley Greenway Conservancy and is a member of the steering committee for the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and the NY DEC Estuary Management Committee. She is former chair of the board of The Olana Partnership and the Planning Board of the Village of Kinderhook. Griffen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy and Psychology from Duke University.

Olana is a New York State Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Hudson Valley and upstate New York.


Webinar: So You Want To Write a Book
Tuesday, June 15 at 8 am Online/GoToWebinar.com
Click here to register

During the Webinar, Consulting Alliance member Kimberley Debus of Mélange Press will discuss the criteria for determining if an entrepreneur or consultant has the makings of a successful book; will review various publishing models; and will present an overview of the writing, editing, publishing and marketing process.
 
Debus is the owner and publisher at Mélange Press, an independent publishing firm in the Capital Region. An editor and writer, Debus has worked in technical, business and creative writing environments both in the Capital Region and North Carolina. She is on the Board of Directors of the Malta Business and Professional Association.


Member Breakfast: Strategic Media Relations for Consultants
Friday, June 25 at 7:30 am, Wolferts Roost
Click here to register

Strategic media relations is one of the most powerful, cost-effective tools consultants can use to raise awareness, attract new clients and generate sales. Learn the tools and techniques that shape a successful strategic media relations program, explore ways to work professionally with the media and understand how to harness the power of publicity. 

Pauline Bartel, M.A., is the president and chief creative officer of Bartel Communications, Inc., an award-winning corporate communications firm that builds the images of companies with words through public relations and media relations. Pauline manages strategic media relations for the Consulting Alliance and has generated publicity in The Business Review, Times Union and other media outlets. 

NEW BUSINESSES

Birdson, LLC Formed
A new business entity has been formed, Birdson, LLC.  Two Consulting Alliance members began a collaborative relationship about 8 years ago, a direct result of their membership.  Barbara Bird and Brad Morrison have collaborated since then in developing a sophisticated tool for process improvement in the health care field, have successfully applied this in consulting contracts and have reached the milestone of collaboration to create a business from their joint efforts.  The business will be in addition to their consulting practices, Bird Consulting Group, Inc . and Cost Control.  The target group for this new business is ambulatory health care centers.

There is the possibility that this is a first for the Consulting Alliance: a membership relationship (where we became aware of each other’s interests and skills) to a collaboration to a business.  It speaks to the value of membership in the Consulting Alliance.  Along the way we have been able to use the services and skills of other members, particularly BJ Johnson and U-Start, Cindy Herrmann and Susanna Opper.  Others have offered guiding words, support, suggestions and, yes, even referrals.

MEMBER NEWS

New Performance Space for Mop & Bucket Company
Kat Koppett is delighted to report that her improvisational theatre company, The Mop & Bucket Company, has successfully opened its ongoing run in Proctor's newest performance space. If you are looking for fun on a Friday night, check out Mopco Underground, performing completely improvised theatre, based on audience suggestions every week at 8pm. For more information, go to http://www.proctors.org/events/5705.

Congratulations to Program Graduates
Bill Polk congratulates the recent graduates of the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program at the Albany - Colonie Chamber of Commerce.  Along with several Consulting Alliance members who also served as instructors, Bill was an instructor in Business Plan Financial components; was a panel member for the Business Plan Competition and was a speaker at the graduation ceremony.

Nancy Schultz Consulting in New Location
Nancy Schultz has moved to her new home/office. Her new contact information is:
Nancy Schultz
Nancy Schultz Consulting
141 Golf Course Road
Craryville, NY 12521
518-755-1940

Careers in Transition LLC In the News
Careers In Transition LLC – Dr. Thomas Denham, Career Counselor, was featured on two episodes of WMHT’s Help Wanted on the topics, “The Art of Networking” and “Dealing with Downsizing.”  He appeared on Colonie Public Television and discussed “Evaluating Job Offers.”  He also was the featured speaker at the Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless on “Goal Setting.”  He was recently heard on WAMC Northeast Public Radio for “Networking Beats NOTworking.”  He also critiqued resumes on a pro bono basis at the MLK Job Fair.” 

Steven Jeffes Launches Social Media and CRM Blog
Steven Jeffes has launched his new blog, with two new blog entries, titled "Social Media Campaigns That Drive Bottom Line Results!" and "Effective SRM Programs: Leveraging the Power of Social Media to Boost Customer Loyalty and Build Customer Relationships." Below are excerpts:

Social Media Campaigns That Drive Bottom Line Results!: Many activities will help you establish a basic presence within social media, but few activities drive real leads and closed business like successful social media campaigns. This post provides you with insights into several examples of successful social media campaigns that I have developed and executed as well as the results that these campaign have netted. This post also includes samples of industry leading tools from the social media best practice methodology I developed called SMARTE (the Social Media Adaptive/Responsive/Transcendent Enterprise) that you can use to structure your own successful social media campaigns.

Effective SRM Programs: Leveraging the Power of Social Media to Boost Customer Loyalty and Build Customer Relationships. How to build an effective enterprise-level social media program that builds positive brand sentiment, enables brand advocacy and increases brand & customer loyalty.

Some comments received thus far: "Great blog!", "Very informative", "Very helpful", "Well written", "You really know the social media space for enterprise-level companies", "I really enjoyed this article. It is well thought out, and completely covers the subject. Thanks for taking the time to put it out there."


Bartel Communications Releases Book
Bartel Communications introduced its latest tool to help companies make the most of their business anniversaries. The book SELL-abrate Your Business Anniversaries!  Ideas for Harnessing the Promotional Power of Your First 25 Years contains:
  • “The Bartel Years™,” the award-winning roster of symbols developed just for business anniversaries
  • A theme for each of “The Bartel Years™” business anniversaries from 1 through 25
  • Theme-based ideas for 25 years of promotional campaigns directed to customers and prospects, recognition campaigns for employees, community service projects, publicity campaigns, business gifts and gift baskets
  • Worksheets for customizing “The Bartel Years™” business anniversary themes from 1 through 25 for specific fields or industries; developing a strategic marketing plan for each business anniversary and creating monthly action plans to make the business anniversary celebration last all year.
The $24.95 spiral-bound book is available exclusively from Bartel Communications.

UPCOMING MEMBER PRESENTATIONS

Conflict: The Manager as Mediator
Alan Stern will be presenting an open-enrollment seminar,  Conflict: The Manager As Mediator at the Albany-Colonie Chamber on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. The program helps leaders, managers, supervisors and HR professionals understand the true costs of conflict in the workplace and teaches the tools of mediation that can be applied to manage conflict before it escalates to the grievance or litigation level.  Consulting Alliance members will receive a 10% discount and/or a 10% of registration finders fee for participants they refer.  Registration online at mediationstageright.eventbrite.com, or contact Alan directly.

No Excuses! Writing and Selling Your Book
Pauline Bartel will teach the continuing-education course "No Excuses! Writing and Selling Your Book" on Wednesdays, June 9, 16 and 23, 2010 from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. at Hudson Valley Community College. The $55 registration fee includes a coursebook. To register, telephone (518) 629-7339. 

In the course, Pauline will discuss the step-by-step process of transforming an idea into a commercially published book, including creating a book proposal, finding agents and publishers and guiding a book to publishing success.

An award-winning writer, Pauline is the author of seven published books, including The Complete GONE WITH THE WIND Trivia Book. She has also ghost written books for business experts. Pauline is a member of the prestigious American Society of Journalists and Authors.

COMMITTEE NEWS

The Newsletter
Kimberley Debus of Melange Press has assumed the role of newsletter editor for the Consulting Alliance. In the coming months, she will be seeking input about the newsletter content - specifically whether we want to expand our newsletter content to include tips, guidelines, or other information helpful to our membership.

SUBMIT YOUR NEWS FOR THE AUGUST NEWSLETTER

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: July 23rd
SUBMIT VIA EMAIL TO: Nancy Reilly
  • Works in Progress - consulting assignments, especially collabrations with other Consulting Alliance members
  • Committee Updates - from committee chairs
  • Member News - awards, designations, trainings, professional and personal accomplishments
  • Shared Resources - information, reviews, resources, workshops, or specials offered by members to other members
  • Member Publication - announcements of books, articles, or other publication credits
  • Member Presentations - news about upcoming presentations and workshops by members

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