Laura Steward Atchison's Blog, page 11
March 2, 2020
Creating a Successful Non-Profit Starts with 4 Paws
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Email Address I'd like to receive the free email course. Access Now! /* Layout */ .ck_form.ck_naked { /* divider image */ background: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; overflow: hidden; color: #72d51e; font-size: 16px; border: none; -webkit-box-shadow: none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow: none; clear: both; margin: 20px 0px; text-align: center; } .ck_form.ck_naked p { padding: 0px; } .ck_form, .ck_form * { -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; } .ck_form.ck_naked .ck_form_fields { width: 100%; float: left; padding: 5%; } /* Form fields */ .ck_errorArea { display: none; /* temporary */ } #ck_success_msg { padding: 10px 10px 0px; border: solid 1px #ddd; background: #eee; } .ck_form.ck_naked input[type="text"], .ck_form.ck_naked input[type="email"] { font-size: 18px; padding: 10px 8px; width: 34%; border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; /* stroke */ -moz-border-radius: 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 0px; border-radius: 0px; /* border radius */ background-color: #fff; /* layer fill content */ margin-bottom: 5px; height: auto; float: left; margin: 0px; margin-right: 1%; height: 42px; } .ck_form input[type="text"]:focus, .ck_form input[type="email"]:focus { outline: none; border-color: #aaa; } .ck_form.ck_naked .ck_subscribe_button { width: 100%; color: #fff; margin: 0px; padding: 9px 0px; font-size: 18px; background: #000f2d; -moz-border-radius: 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 0px; border-radius: 0px; /* border radius */ cursor: pointer; border: none; text-shadow: none; width: 30%; float: left; height: 42px; } .ck_converted_content { display: none; padding: 5%; background: #fff; } /* max width 500 */ .ck_form.ck_naked.width500 .ck_subscribe_button { width: 100%; float: none; margin-top: 5px; } .ck_form.ck_naked.width500 input[type="text"], .ck_form.ck_naked.width500 input[type="email"] { width: 49%; } .ck_form.ck_naked.width500 input[type="email"] { margin-right: 0px; width: 50%; } /* max width 400 */ .ck_form.ck_naked.width400 .ck_subscribe_button, .ck_form.ck_naked.width400 input[type="text"], .ck_form.ck_naked.width400 input[type="email"] { width: 100%; float: none; margin-top: 5px; } .ck_slide_up, .ck_modal, .ck_slide_up .ck_naked, .ck_modal .ck_naked { min-width: 400px; } .page .ck_form.ck_naked { margin: 50px auto; max-width: 700px; }Ted Pankiewicz created For the Love of Paws in 2014 after a devastating loss. Their mission is to help seniors who can no longer take care of their beloved pets. They provide food, to seniors and their pets, care, foster placement and more. That more is where it gets even more interesting. What started as a singular vision has grown as they realized the needs of their clients has expanded.
There are 1.5 million non-profits in the U.S. According to Forbes 50% will fail or stall within the first few years due to lack of leadership, vision and even funding. So how does Ted Pankiewicz and his family manage to provide over 10,000 pounds of pet food every month. provide supplemental food for home-bound seniors and foster and place pets who have lost their owners?
Take a listen as Ted shares how he created and grows his non-profit, takes care of his beloved community and listen as he shares how you can grow a successful non-profit too.
Ted Pankiewicz was born in New Jersey and served in the military and on police force K9 units. He has had a varied career ever since but is proudest of the creation of For the Love of Paws. For The Love Of Paws was established in June 2014 and received its 501c3 status in February 2015.
Currently providing for 20 Food Pantries including 2 Meals On Wheels routes which was the start of Paws Meals On Wheels Program when it was discovered that many seniors of limited income were feeding their pets before feeding themselves.
Questions: I get most often. How do I manage to obtain 10,000 pounds of pet food monthly to give away.
For The Love Of Paws Senior Pet Sanctuary Inc www.facebook.com/fortheloveofpawsseniorpetsanctuary
February 24, 2020
Culturegraphics vs Demographics
Ashlyn Szilva says that demographics are no more when it comes to selling and marketing to your clients. If you are not thinking about culturegraphics then you are missing out on clients.
If you want to do business in the world today you have to be able to move fast and respond to, and capitalize on, trends on a daily basis. Convenience is key to marketing to more and more people. They want to do business with companies that don’t define them by their traditional demographics of gender, race, income group. They buy based on their likes and current beliefs. Culture, like gender is becoming more fluid.
Watch Twitter and observe the hashtags that are trending and who is using them and you will see that the old ways of doing business just will not survive much longer. A great example is the Oscar win of Parasite over other films thought to be shoe-ins.
Listen to this episode and get a crash course in culturegraphics from Ashlyn Szilva on how and why we should be using culturegraphics versus demographics in more than just our marketing.
Ashlyn Szilva was born and raised in Central New Jersey. There she started her educational career in history while working part time managing social selling campaigns for technology clients. After undergraduate adventures at the University of Maine and Centenary College, Ashlyn accomplished her MA at Drew University in 2015 followed by her Doctorate in 2020. Her specialization was holocaust and genocide studies, photo history, and research methods.
She was a community college professor for two years before formally joining the tech industry as JS Group Director of Research and Digital to apply her unique experience in research methods, analytics and photography to social media and marketing innovation. She manages the social media influence and social selling strategy for over a dozen technology firms big and small and is well known for her ability to create influencers in a digital normal.
Ashlyn often states, “if it isn’t shareable it isn’t real in the digital age”. She resides in Northern New Jersey with her co-worker and partner Vladimir Krause and their loving dog Wrangler and two cats Drogon and Koshka. She loves Game of Thrones, Star Wars, video games, and social media.
February 19, 2020
Changing a business from in person to virtual – Lisa Cummings
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Email Address I'd like to receive the free email course. Access Now! /* Layout */ .ck_form.ck_naked { /* divider image */ background: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; overflow: hidden; color: #72d51e; font-size: 16px; border: none; -webkit-box-shadow: none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow: none; clear: both; margin: 20px 0px; text-align: center; } .ck_form.ck_naked p { padding: 0px; } .ck_form, .ck_form * { -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; } .ck_form.ck_naked .ck_form_fields { width: 100%; float: left; padding: 5%; } /* Form fields */ .ck_errorArea { display: none; /* temporary */ } #ck_success_msg { padding: 10px 10px 0px; border: solid 1px #ddd; background: #eee; } .ck_form.ck_naked input[type="text"], .ck_form.ck_naked input[type="email"] { font-size: 18px; padding: 10px 8px; width: 34%; border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; /* stroke */ -moz-border-radius: 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 0px; border-radius: 0px; /* border radius */ background-color: #fff; /* layer fill content */ margin-bottom: 5px; height: auto; float: left; margin: 0px; margin-right: 1%; height: 42px; } .ck_form input[type="text"]:focus, .ck_form input[type="email"]:focus { outline: none; border-color: #aaa; } .ck_form.ck_naked .ck_subscribe_button { width: 100%; color: #fff; margin: 0px; padding: 9px 0px; font-size: 18px; background: #000f2d; -moz-border-radius: 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 0px; border-radius: 0px; /* border radius */ cursor: pointer; border: none; text-shadow: none; width: 30%; float: left; height: 42px; } .ck_converted_content { display: none; padding: 5%; background: #fff; } /* max width 500 */ .ck_form.ck_naked.width500 .ck_subscribe_button { width: 100%; float: none; margin-top: 5px; } .ck_form.ck_naked.width500 input[type="text"], .ck_form.ck_naked.width500 input[type="email"] { width: 49%; } .ck_form.ck_naked.width500 input[type="email"] { margin-right: 0px; width: 50%; } /* max width 400 */ .ck_form.ck_naked.width400 .ck_subscribe_button, .ck_form.ck_naked.width400 input[type="text"], .ck_form.ck_naked.width400 input[type="email"] { width: 100%; float: none; margin-top: 5px; } .ck_slide_up, .ck_modal, .ck_slide_up .ck_naked, .ck_modal .ck_naked { min-width: 400px; } .page .ck_form.ck_naked { margin: 50px auto; max-width: 700px; }Lisa Cummings has been a road warrior her whole career as the leading consulting firm for helping businesses Lead With Strength using the Strength Finder model. Most of her year was spent travelling to and from clients to run live workshops. One day she asked herself, “Can I do what I do without all the travel?”
Two years after she asked herself that question her business went from 80 percent travel to 20 percent travel with no loss of revenue.
How did she do that? Can you do that too?
Take a listen as Lisa Cummings share how she transformed her business without changing the impact her work has on her clients.
We also take about how you can find and use your strengths to create and transform your business too.
Lisa Cummings has delivered events to over 11,500 people in 14 countries. In her signature program, Notice What Works, she helps leaders improve performance on their teams by tapping into each person’s strengths. You can see her featured in places like Harvard Business Publishing, Training Magazine, and Forbes.
She’s currently the CEO of a company called Lead Through Strengths. If you’ve been trying to turn your Shaquille O’Neal players into horse racing jockeys, it’s time to use their natural talents instead. Although that example sounds obvious, this misfit dynamic exists on most corporate teams today.
With 20 years of experience and an MBA, the most persistent trend she sees is a lopsided focus on hard skills in the workplace. She’ll help you invest in natural talents so that how your team gets things done boosts performance as much as what gets done
February 9, 2020
Attention Management or Time Management?
On this episode Maura Nevel Thomas explains why attention management is more powerful than time management. Time management is over and done with. Forget it. Throw those thoughts away and focus on where you put your attention.
According to Maura, if you spend your time focusing on where you pay attention, then you can maximize your time and minimize your time to achieve your goals. By breaking free of the idea that you can manage time, you become available to focus on what is important. Maura shares questions to ask for figuring out what to pay attention to and what not to pay attention to and much more.
We also discuss how to “manage where your head is”, how to stay on task by not staying on task and Maura also shares the 4 Quadrants of Attention Management from her book, Attention Management: How to Create Success and Gain Productivity Every Day.
Maura Nevel Thomas is an award-winning international speaker and trainer on individual and corporate productivity and work-life balance, and the most widely-cited authority on attention management. Her proprietary Empowered Productivity (TM) System has been embraced by the likes of the U.S. Army, L’Oreal, and Dell. She is a TEDx Speaker, founder of Regain Your Time, author of three books, and was named a Top Leadership Speaker for 2018 in Inc. Magazine.
Maura is frequently cited as an expert in major business outlets including Forbes, Fast Company, and Huffington Post, and she’s also a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, with articles there viewed over a million times. Follow her on Twitter @mnthomas.
Questioning Cybersecurity and You
Did you know that you should never charge your phone at a communal charging station? Did you know you should be careful where that charging cable for your phone or other smart device came from or how you can protect yourself while using public WiFi?
These and other questions are answered by my guest, Alexis Perdereaux-Weekes. He is a cybersecurity professional with over 20 years of extensive experience mitigating risks for his clients when it comes to cyber threats.
If you think you do not need to worry about cybersecurity, this episode will open your eyes to how everything from your health records to your mobile phone are increasingly under threat. And, we talk about how you can easily begin protecting yourself with a few simple steps and a few important questions you need to ask.
Alexis Perdereaux-Weekes is a senior Business Leader with over 20 years of Information Technology and Assurance experience, with extensive experience working on a broad range of corporate IT initiatives where he helps businesses identify, and mitigate risk to their core business assets, while enabling them to address regulatory and Compliance requirements. Planning, and Implementation of Information security and data protection solutions in direct support of business objectives within Healthcare, Finance, Banking, and local and Federal Government sectors.
He is credentialed as a CISM – Certificated Information Security Manager, CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor, CRISC – Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control from ISACA International.
Alexis holds an Master of Science degree in Information Security from Nova Southeastern University and is currently a doctoral candidate in Information Security at St. Thomas University in Miami, with a focus on Data Privacy.
A Data Privacy advocate, Alexis is past president of the ISACA South Florida chapter, where he worked with the executive team to grow the chapter membership to one of the largest in North America, expanding Scholarship and mentoring opportunities to peers and others entering the IT Security profession. In addition to ISACA, Alexis is also a member of NAHSE – National Association of Health Services Executives, South Florida Chapter, where he is a member of the Technology and Innovation Steering Committee.
January 23, 2020
Why Kindness is Good for Business
Be kind. Remember the Golden Rule. Treat others as you want to be treated. Every heard those phrases? Growing up my parents and grandparents always said to me, “be kind, you never know what someone is going through.”
Nathan Caldwell has been studying kindness for a long time now and all his research shows that building a business where kindness is the foundation stone of everything you do wins every time. But how do you hire for kindness? How do you fire with kindness? Can you empower kindness and still make money?
In a world where everyone has a camera and everyone can post a comment on social media, kindness is not always the lead. Yet, the most viral videos tend to be the ones showing one person’s kindness towards a person or an animal. Why is kindness good for your business? Can you build kindness into your staff?
Take a listen as Nathan Caldwell shares how living a life of kindness not only makes you happier but can increase your bottom line if you are authentic in how you live it.
Nathan Caldwell has spent years helping others share messages and stories they are passionate about.
As a keynote director for executives, video marketer, evangelist, and a background as an educator directing theater, Nathan truly believes in the power of sharing your passion, finding your audience and inspiring them to do great things.
Nathan grew up in Canada and now resides in the Tampa Bay area. He is blessed with a wonderful wife and three weirdo kids. He loves theme parks, the Smoky Mountains, Christmas, comic books, and combining as many of those elements as often as possible.
January 20, 2020
10 Publishing Myths – Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed
Terry Whalin has been in publishing for over three decades on both sides of the aisle. He has seen the industry change and has also seen authors change. Over the course of his career what has not changed are the myths around publishing, being an author and money.
Enter his latest book, 10 Publishing Myths – Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed.
How does one succeed as an author? By understanding publishing and what you, as an author, need to do to push your success forward.
During this episode Terry Whalin shares several of the myths and the actions you can take today to begin selling more books, get published, make money as a writer and understand the business of being an author. Because face it, the days of, “if you write it they will come,” are gone. You need to market yourself and your book even before the first word has been written.
Terry Whalin has loved books since his mother read And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (the first Dr. Seuss book). He has worked both sides of the editorial desk—as an editor and a writer. He worked as a magazine editor and his magazine work has appeared in more than 50 publications. A former literary agent, Terry is an Acquisitions Editor at Morgan James Publishing .
He has written more than 60 books through traditional publishers in a wide range of topics from children’s books to biographies to co-authored books. Several of Terry’s books have sold over 100,000 copies. Terry’s book, Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, Insider Secrets to Skyrocket Your Success (Morgan James Publishing) is packed with insight. His most recent book is Billy Graham, A Biography of America’s Greatest Evangelist (Morgan James Publishing). Also Terry has an innovative online training course to help authors effectively connect with literary agents and editors called Write A Book Proposal . Terry is a popular speaker and teacher at numerous writers’ conferences and an active member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors . He lives near Denver, Colorado and has an active following on twitter (@terrywhalin).
January 10, 2020
Want to sell more books? – Literary Agent tells hows
What is the point of writing a book if you cannot get it in the hands of the people who can benefit from your message and wisdom you have learned? All too often writers write a book and, if they manage to publish it, have boxes sitting in their garage or basement with less than 100 books sold.
How do you sell books to more than your family and make a business out of writing?
Michael Ebeling has been a literary agent for over two decades and has been helping authors get published and get sold even years after their books have been out in the marketplace. In a world with over a million books on Amazon alone, that says a lot to me about his skills and he is my agent!
On this episode Michael shares how you can create a real funnel that sells your books and builds your business at the same time. If you are an author, or want to be an author, take a listen to this episode.
Michael Ebeling brings over 20 years of publishing, consulting, book promotion and author business management experience to Ebeling & Associates. Michael’s experience with leading authors and publishing companies and talent for creating innovative opportunities enables him to advise and support clients in realizing their goals.
Most recently, Michael has a NY Times and USA Bestseller with John Wiley & Sons, The Wallet Allocation Rule. In addition, his sale of the revised The Complete Book of Juicing to Clarkson Potter that has sold over 500,000 in total.
Michael just signed a deal with Benbella for Jene Luciani, author of The Bra Book and Jacqueline Laurita, from The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
He is currently consulting George Mateljan on the second edition of The World’s Healthiest Foods. The first edition of The World’s Healthiest Foods was self-published. George hired Ebeling & Associates for all aspects of the book launch, including printing, distribution, platform and business development, as well as book marketing and promotion. The first edition of The World’s Healthiest Foods has achieved the highest sales for a one-book publisher in the history of MidPoint Distribution Company, in excess of $1 million in sales, and over 100,000 books sold.
Michael is responsible for getting his authors on national shows such as Dr Oz, NBC’s TODAY Show, ABC News, The Wendy Williams Show, CNN, Fox News Channel, E! News, The Style Network and Good Day NY and in print, Yoga Journal, Better Nutrition, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Women’s World, First for Women, Spirituality & Health, The NY Post and the NY Times.
Michael enjoys working in promoting authors’ messages and seeing years of hard work pay off in national prominence for his clients. With a unique talent for merging the worlds of business, health and spirituality, Michael enjoys developing long-term client relationships based on a deep sense of caring and integrity. Michael’s brightest talents and greatest pleasures is working “hands-on” with authors – helping them to distill their message, create opportunities, open new markets, identify the steps they need to take to increase their platform and get published, as well as help them develop and execute a comprehensive strategy for achieving their goals.
December 25, 2019
Navigating Grief during the holidays – Dr Joan Rosenberg
Holidays are not just joy and light for those who are dealing with loss of any kind. It can be a nightmare to navigate all the happy, happy, joy, joy that is dished out if you have lost someone you love. Even friends and family don’t really know how to include those who are grieving.
So how do you navigate your grief or the grief of others during the holiday season?
My guest, for the 3rd time this year, is Dr. Joan Rosenberg. On this episode we talk about how to honor your grief while everyone else is having a party, how you can support someone who is grieving today and other days and how you can begin building new traditions by sharing the old ones you had with missing loved ones with those around you.
During the show I share how grieving hit me like a 100 foot wave while baking my grandma’s Christmas butter cookies. Dr Joan and I talk honestly about moving through it to the other side.
If you are grieving, or know someone who is, take a listen and share this post please. Know you are not alone.
Best-selling author, consultant, master clinician and media host, Dr. Joan Rosenberg is a cutting-edge psychologist who is known as an innovative thinker, acclaimed speaker and trainer. As a two-time TEDx speaker and member of the Association of Transformational Leaders, she has been recognized for her thought leadership and influence in personal development.
Dr. Rosenberg has been featured in the documentaries “I Am”, “The Miracle Mindset”, “Pursuing Happiness” and “The Hidden Epidemic”. She’s been seen on CNN’s American Morning, the OWN network, and PBS, as well as appearances and radio interviews in all of the major metropolitan markets.
A California-licensed psychologist, Dr. Rosenberg speaks on how to build confidence, emotional strength, resilience; achieving emotional, conversational and relationship mastery; integrating neuroscience and psychotherapy and suicide prevention. An Air Force veteran, she is a professor of graduate psychology at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, CA.
Her latest book, 90 Seconds to a Life you Love: How to Master Your Difficult Feelings to Cultivate Lasting Confidence, Resilience and Authenticity, comes out February 12th! DrJoanRosenberg.com
December 24, 2019
The Long Game in Direct Response Marketing – Brian Kurtz
Brian Kurtz has been in direct response marketing for close to four decades. He’s learned from the best and is the best when it comes to understanding, and implementing, marketing that gets your prospect to buy, subscribe, share and use the products and services you are are selling.
Direct marketing is not a dirty word and Brian says we all need to embrace our products and services and share them with the right people. We must “Overdeliver” if we want to make a difference for our clients and our prospective clients. Prepare to take lots of notes as you listen as Brian is a wealth of information. I would need several interviews to capture a minute fraction of the knowledge and wisdom he has around getting your marketing to convert to sales. Read his book, Overdeliver, and you will feel like you got your Ph.D in marketing. Just implement one thing you learn from this episode or learn from his book and your business can move forward.
On this episode Brian shares why a list isn’t just a list and how you can turn a compiled list into a response list. He also shares why the long game is more important than the short game and what the Lifetime Value of a client means to your bottom line. Listen to the end and find out how you can win a copy of his latest book, Overdeliver.
Brian Kurtz has been a serial direct marketer for almost 40 years and never met a medium he didn’t like…and while he’s had much success, he also must admit that trying to sell subscriptions and books on the back of ATM receipts and under yogurt lids was only “a good idea at the time…”
Brian left his beloved Boardroom in January of 2015. Over 34 years he was responsible for the mailing of close to 2 billion pieces of direct mail in his career (and he did NOT lick every stamp!); and he was also responsible for the distribution of millions of other impressions and promotions in a wide variety of alternate media, both offline and online, using the most innovative direct marketing techniques while working with the most legendary copywriters and consultants who have ever lived.
Under Brian’s marketing leadership and during his tenure, Boardroom’s revenues went from approximately $5 million (in 1981) to a high of over $150 million (in 2006).
Brian was instrumental in building Boardroom’s print and electronic newsletters, including Bottom Line/Personal, Bottom Line/Health, Bottom Line Secrets and Daily Health News.
And he was also responsible for selling tens of millions of books, mostly in the categories of health and finance, for consumers.
His mission for the next 40 years (as the Founder of “Titans Marketing”), is to be the bridge between the eternal truths of direct response marketing and all that is considered state-of-the-art direct response marketing today. And to make sure everyone he works with understands the complexities and the need to be multi-channel.
Brian writes and speaks regularly; recent content can be found at www.briankurtz.me and www.briankurtz.me/blog. His first book, The Advertising Solution, was released in October of 2017. His second book, Overdeliver: Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing will be released in April of 2019.
But truth be told, Brian is really just a Little League Baseball Umpire and does this direct marketing stuff on the side. His ultimate goal is to umpire in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA while he is still upright…and he hopes it happens soon.


