Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Life Is A Game:
Wanna Play page 7
SOCIALLY NETWORKED
AND AUTHENTIC
PROFESSIONALS page 10
New Berlin, WI • Email: cd@sohobiztube.com
owners - publishers, cd vann, steve ball & jim schesling • editor, jim kogutkiewicz
photographer, I Do Photography • layout & design, VanderBloemen Creative
S O H O E XPE R T S
2 Modern Travel: 14 Learning From The One
Staycations, Bucket Lists That Got Away
And Going Green - Part I Mike Carroll
Katie Cianciolo Intelligent Conversations
CruiseOne Phone: 414.727.9813
Phone: 262.347.4776 mike@intelligentconversations.com
MILWAUKEE 2.0
Email: travel@wi.rr.com
And Going Green - Part I benefit to local businesses, which get customers from
the area. It gives you a chance to experience your own
“A business can lose 60% of its
potential customer base by having
a poorly designed website”
Katie Cianciolo “backyard and beyond.”
Fact:
If your website is not visually appealing
What Not To Do - Entrepreneurs may find this or information can not easily be
especially difficult since they tend to work from home and accessed, you may be losing a lot of
turning “off work” isn’t easy. Checking e-mails and voice potential business.
mail messages should be kept to a minimum. Those that are
employed might have bosses or co-workers that think since Knowing these facts, don’t you owe it to your
you are “at home” they can call with questions or ask you business to take another look at your website?
to do some extra work. If you find changes need to be made,
contact us and we will not only put best
practices into place for you, we will also work
What to Do - This is a good time to hire someone to align your company goals, marketing
strategy, and business processes - giving you
to clean the house, mow the yard or complete other chores a true business asset.
that never seem to get done. Go to a day spa. You may
want to spend part of the time on a creative project. But the Visit our Website www.comstar.biz
idea is to take a break and relax – not spend it working at and read about our design process!
something!
Or call us today!
(262) 953-6000
Upside - After months of American staycations,
many hotels, resorts, cruise lines and tour companies are
offering some fantastic deals. Call it the “staycation effect.”
Between now and the holidays is a traditionally low season
for travel, so you may get a steal of a deal. The best places
for bargains are Florida, Las Vegas, Hawaii and especially
Europe. Travel packages are the best deal.
“
a “staycation” instead. entry for staycation defines it as a period rides. It could involve a nearby hotel
It is a well-known fact, however, that
entrepreneurs and employees that
of time in which an individual or family
stays at home and relaxes at home or
stay. Travel agents can simplify your
plans by booking hotels, rental cars
Vacation, all I ever wanted;
vacation had to get away
“
take a vacation from work are more takes day trips from their home to area and some sporting events that you may
productive and healthy. attractions. want to include. - The Go-Go’s
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CHICAGO networking
Get In Their Face: Grow Your business coach
Jim Palzewicz
Network With Face Time We Find Answers
Jason Jacobsohn
We live in a fast-moving world that allows us to interact groups such as charities, industry associations and community
Referrals: Make Them
virtually with almost anyone. Without technology such as
e-mail, social networking and blogs, we would have more
organizations. Taking an active role with an organization is an
excellent way to get to know other people.
The Foundation Of
difficulty connecting with people on a regular basis.
In fact, you should take on a leadership role so you will Your Business.
While technology is great for maintaining relationships, it stand out as a leader and get to know more people within the
doesn’t replace face-to-face communication. In order to organization. If you are not involved with an association, then Every business needs new customers. This requires a
fully connect with people, you need to interact with them in consider making the time and effort because the relationships consistent stream of qualified prospects to fuel the sales
person, as well. you will build will be priceless. engine.
You will not regret getting more involved because you will • Business Organization DELAFIELD While most businesses recognize the need for marketing
Co n n e c t D u r i n g M eals develop better relationships than by just meeting people at • Commercial and Residential Real Estate 400-D Genesee Street to develop this lead stream, a most powerful strategy is
• Contract Preparation & Negotiation
Delafield, WI 53018
events. Of course, it is still important to attend events to TEL 262.646.5812 obtaining referrals from existing customers and strategic
One easy way to connect with people is to get together during • Employee Benefits
FAX 262.646.3340
support the organization and to meet new folks. • Environmental partners. Referral strategies are a way of introducing new
meals. Since you need to eat, why not make it a productive meal? M I LWAU K E E
• Estate & Business Succession Planning
700 North Water Street
customers to your business for a low lead acquisition cost.
• Labor & Employment
Invite people to join you for breakfast, lunch, dinner or Milwaukee, WI 53202 What better way to grow your business than having your
Conne c t D uring Sport s & Ent ert a i nm e nt • Land Use & Zoning TEL 414.276.5800
FAX 414.276.0458 existing customers and partners promote your business
coffee. Be flexible around other people’s schedules so you • Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Another easy way to connect with people is to interact with While you can maintain some of your relationships through However, when our customer refers us to their friend, and
them at events. Relationship building at events is great for online tools such as fantasy leagues or community sites, it is we delight them with our product or service, we make our
meeting new people or reconnecting with existing contacts. still important to have face time. Business Consulting: customer look good for helping their friend find the best
solution for their need. This is exactly why referrals work
Many events exist, so pick the ones that make sense for you Enhancing Strengths so well as a marketing strategy.
and go meet people. Don’t discount the power of face-to-face & Releasing Sabotaging Fear Factors
interaction. So the first rule for gaining referrals is to
make sure that our product or service consistently delivers
In person, you can learn about a person through first Personal/Group Development: on our brand promise. In other words, our customers get
Team empowerment
impressions and non-verbal communication. After you meet what they expect, at a minimum, and hopefully they get
someone, you usually get a good sense of whether it’s worth much more than they expected.
your time to pursue a relationship. Connecting team members to a
This is delivery mastery, and without it, we are doomed
collaborative goal. to the frustrating cycle of gaining new customers who try
While at events, don’t spend your entire time with people you
already know. After all, part of your reason for attending an us once and then switch to a competitor who will actually
event is to meet new people. Stress Management: deliver what they expected.
4 WE
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“Company Bylaws Bypass Later Problems” continued from page 5
soho life coach
When we have achieved delivery mastery in our business, the
Finally, you need to decide what type of
referrals will come naturally. So I have a question for you: How
many referrals do you get now? If your answer is a few or none, customers you want to do business with.
Life Is A Game: Wanna Play?
go back and work on mastering your delivery each and every Define your “ideal customer,” and communicate it to your Jeoffrey R. Hutcherson
time. When your business is successful at creating delighted customers and partners. The last thing you want is to get
customers, you’re ready to implement some formal referral referrals that don’t turn into business, or referrals that only It’s really amazing to see how our society functions. The Olympics just ended, and we saw some
strategies to really grow your business. buy from you once and never do business with you again. Even history-making events. People from far and wide came together to show they were the best at the
worse are referrals that create more headaches than they do games or sports in which they participated.
The truth is that if you’ve been in business sales and never give you the business you’re after.
Who would’ve thought you could get a gold medal for playing table tennis, water polo or beach
at least three years, most of your new Every time you educate one customer about referring new volleyball? We had a magnificent demonstration of human greatness and passion. Most of the players
business should come from referrals. Let’s people to you, you’ve got an advocate for life – with one made those activities look almost effortless, whether they stood alone or were part of a team.
put it this way: If each of your customers referred just one new condition: that you always give them at least the level of
customer to you each year, you would double your business. Of
service you’ve promised, and overdeliver anywhere and
course, you also need to keep your existing customers (which
anytime you can.
I’ll save that for another column).
Besides delivery mastery, you also need to give people a good HOW ARE YOU BUILDING A
reason to refer you. Every time we ask something of someone,
they need a positive answer to that question that will always REFERRAL-BASED BUSINESS?
pop up in their mind: “What’s in it for me?” When creating a Let me know by visiting my blog, “The SOHO Biz Doctor” at
referral strategy, always ask yourself: “Would I refer someone www.sohobiztube.com. Thanks for seeing the Soho Biz Doctor,
for that reason?” the cure to what’s ailing your business!
Record-breaking swimmer and winner to the games we play, the activities being angry at each other, always
of multiple gold medals Michael into which we put our hearts and arguing and fighting. Nope, that game
Phelps said that he could not have souls. Ask yourself: Do I have the was not on the list. Then how is it that
done the things he accomplished right people around me who support most of us end up playing that game
without the support of his team. me in being great? Do I have the now that we’re adults? Well, my guess
commitment, the energy, the passion is someone said, “You can’t play games
“I’m just having fun,” he said.
to move toward success as a winner? all the time, you must be responsible.
And Usain Bolt, the runner from Get a real job.” And people ended up
Like attracts like, and Phelps and Bolt being so serious that they somehow
Jamaica who literally blew away all
obviously surrounded themselves with
of his competition, was celebrating lost the fun. We envy those who enjoy
people who had a winning attitude.
before the race was even over life, who laugh and dance and play.
And that’s how I choose to go about
because he knew he won. You could How about you stop the envy and
living my life. How about you?
just see that he was having fun, even play your game your way? If one can
after he crossed the finish line. The Remember being a little kid and become great, so can you.
At any one moment there are joy bursting from that amazing
a million reasons to meet at sea. people asking you what you wanted
human being was palpable across the Decide right now, this minute, to fit
to be when you grew up? You would
A Carnival cruise is the ideal choice for a corporate meeting, a group event miles and the airwaves. When asked at least five belly laughs into your
or incentive program. Our floating resorts have meeting facilities, audio-visual answer: fireman, policeman, cowboy,
equipment, flexible and spacious accommodations, an international hospitality how he felt, he simply said, “I was life each day. How about 10 hugs?
staff and much more. For the best combination of business suit and bathing suit, doctor, Batman, dancer ... OK,
just having fun.” Put more fun into your day, each
book a “Fun Ship ®” cruise today. maybe the Batman thing was mine
day. Appreciate every little miracle
Do you see the common trait between but I wasn’t the only one. We were
that happens. You’re surrounded by
the two men? They both embraced it – playing games, having fun and living
miracles. In fact, remember that you
carnival.com
the “it” being human excellence. Isn’t life to its fullest.
are a miracle, a magnificent human
it wonderful that they were having fun
Guess what? That’s how it’s supposed being, a gold medal winner. Let that
CruiseOne - Waukesha, WI playing the game?
Katie Cianciolo & Crew to be! I don’t recall my childhood magnificence show.
262-347-4776 / 877-398-2225
www.FunByTheTon.com Life is meant to be fun! Your beliefs group of kids getting together and
© 2007 Carnival Cruise Lines. All rights reserved. Ships’ Registry:The Bahamas and Panama. and attitudes are what make it so. My playing the game of people barely Now where did I put
point here is to really pay attention making any money, struggling at life, that Frisbee?
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web
b design
desig
g n and
ann d IT
Understand Your Online Ranking
Diana Myre
Last month we talked about how details that may interest you. if you need to spend the time – and
tracking online statistics can mean Repeat this process for your top five money – improving your ranking
better results for your business. competitors. with a search engine program. If
Have you been tracking the number after these tests you feel that you
of visitors to your Web site? Do you Take a look at the results that you need to improve your rank, find a
want to increase that number? found. If your competitors have a company that can help.
lower ranking than you, this means
I thought so, and the good news they are getting more traffic to their Many Web site design firms offer a
is, there is a way to do just that. Web site than you. Even if you have variety of programs to fit different
The answer lies in search engine a slightly better position than your budgets and goals. Some even
programs. competition, how do you feel about offer search engine programs that
your overall rank? guarantee a certain number of
Search engine programs will assist visitors will get to your site each
with providing an increased number month. Check out your budget and
of click-throughs and a higher TEST YOUR WEB SITE’S
figure out what your company is
ranking. Let me show you where RANKING willing to invest every month.
to begin and how to decide if a The information on Alexa is said to
program is right for your business. be fairly accurate and a good judge Remember, while a company might
of reality. Besides this test, you be able to guarantee visitors, it is
should go to a few search engines up to your site to convert them to a
TEST YOUR WEB SITE’S and manually test your ranking sale. Make sure that your Web site
POPULARITY by typing in relevant keywords is useful and will get all of those
If you are unsure if your Web to your business. See how you visitors to take action once they
site really needs the help of a rank compared to those same arrive.
search engine program, start by competitors that you tested with
doing some testing. Have you ever Alexa. Remember not to just type Your business needs an online asset,
wondered how popular your Web in your company name to test, but not just an online presence. To be
site is compared to all the other rather think like a customer and an asset, your Web site must be
sites out there? How does it rate type in what they might. If your both useful and used. Make sure
compared to your competitors? Web site does not show up on page your business is not just doing half
Well there is a cool online tool one of the results, it is time to of the equation.
available that you can use to find look into a search engine program.
this information. The best part Remember, 75 percent of search Stay Tuned: Next month we
about the tool is that it is free to use. engine users never scroll past the will tackle what the differences
first page of results! are between the available
To use the tool, go to www.alexa.
com and click on traffic rankings. search engine programs.
Type in your URL and look at TAKING THE NEXT STEP
your overall statistics. Write down Both of these tests will give you
your ranking and any other traffic great information to help determine
MILWAUKEE 2.0
SOCIALLY NETWORKED
AND AUTHENTIC
PROFESSIONALSSEE PAGE 16
3. Decision Makers – Are your sales people However, one of the difficulties with general mental ability is how to test for it in
calling high enough in the organization? There are times prospective leaders. Using a traditional IQ test would likely not be received well by
when you start the dialogue with a mid-level manager, but applicants for leadership positions because it measures the verbal, quantitative, and
spatial reasoning skills needed to succeed in school. Though IQ is predictive of job
in our experience, it’s a lot easier when you sit down with
success, it doesn’t seem to reflect the situations leaders are confronted with that are
the person who can sign your contract. A quick way to ambiguous, complex, and lack an easily identifiable right answer.
check this is to look at the deals you’ve recently won – how
many of those conversations involved the ultimate decision Critical thinking has recently received attention as the best application of intelligence
of business leaders. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s description of job
maker? How many opportunities are in your pipeline right
skills in their O*NET database, critical thinking is the use of “logic and reasoning
now where your sales team is not talking to the person who to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or
can sign your contract? As you look at recently lost deals, approaches to problems.” In the business context, Menkes (2005) indicated that, rather
did your sales people ask questions about how the decision than representing intelligence as the academic skills needed in school, business leaders
process works and how your proposal will get approved? need critical thinking in the following three general areas: tasks, people, and themselves
(see the Menkes article for a complete list of specific skills). The leader that you want in
Understanding your mistakes is the first step to taking your company will use their reasoning skills to gather needed information, evaluate the
situation, and arrive at the best conclusions in each of these areas.
the necessary measures to improve. Once you know
what your sales team is doing wrong, you can help them Your company needs to hire leaders who are experts at using critical thinking skills
improve by asking questions specific to those areas. Why to determine their decisions and actions. While there are off-the-shelf tests available
not take 30 minutes per month to look back at your lost that measure executive intelligence, companies can evaluate critical thinking skills
effectively in their interview, provided they are asking the right questions. This is the
deals and think about what you might have done better?
topic of my next Soho article.
What’s preventing you from doing this prior to your next
sales meeting? Menkes, J. (2005, November). Hiring for smarts. Harvard Business Review, 83(11), 100-109.
Schmidt, F., & Hunter, J. (2004, January). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational attainment and
job performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(1), 162-173.
MILWAUKEE 2.0
JASON KAYZAR| Owner - MC2
Milwaukee | Although I’m not a fan of winter, I love Wisconsin
for the people and Milwaukee is a neighborhood, not a big city.
Wisconsinites are passionate people – they look out for each other.
SOCIALLY NETWORKED
I LOVE doing business with people around Milwaukee. It takes a little
AND AUTHENTIC
longer to build a relationship here, but once you do it’s solid. When you
go to Chicago or New York or Los Angeles, you just don’t develop the
same kind of business relationships.
PROFESSIONALS
brand. Someone “Googled” me the other day and said, “Wow, you’re
really successful!” That was a great validation for all of the time and
effort I’ve put into getting my name out there. The Internet has erased
all of the old social borders. I interact with business contacts all over
the globe now on a daily basis. It has given me access to the world’s
“people” database.
In today’s Milwaukee, more people are coming together to clients founded in great service. Kayzar uses multiple apps to
share ideas, discuss innovation, connect and leverage Web 2.0 connect, network and build his business. Balance | When I launched my company, I jumped in. I used all of my
applications that will drive business growth. There is a buzz spare time outside of work while I was employed to formulate a business
and a shared sense that Milwaukee is changing. Evolving. This Stephanie Kern, founder of Vanderbloemen Creative uses her plan, lease space, secure a line of credit, etc. I quit my job and walked
Milwaukee 2.0 Evolution is moving beyond talk and is creating creative vision to help her clients in the best ways possible and uses into my new (empty) office the next day. It was truly sink or swim.
street-level action. several Web 2.0 and in-person networking groups to drive business.
Social networking and Web 2.0 applications present an Al Krueger, founded Comet Branding to be a progressive
enormous opportunity for businesses and individuals alike —
maybe the most significant on the tech scene since email. And
agency that uses deep storytelling, creative thinking and
strategic planning to help businesses. He uses Twitter and an
STEVE GLYNN| Founder - Spreenkler
in-person meet-ups following online connections enable even Internet radio program to drive business and awareness. Milwaukee | I have a passion for Milwaukee because I was born and raised here and I’ve
greater opportunity for collaboration and business growth. been able to create my place and my future here and it allows me to be happy.
Hillary Fry, founder of Solessence and Milwaukee Fashion
These tools enable powerful connection and the opportunity to Week, works to beautify the world, one life at time and bring I take pride in Milwaukee as a place to live, to work and to raise a family and I want to give
follow conversations in and outside of your industry and engage awareness to Milwaukee’s growing fashion and design scene, in back to the city that has given me so much, to put in place the kind of thinking that will
in them locally or across great distances, instantly. You can also part, through social media. allow my kids and others to enjoy the same in the future.
share your personal voice to show authenticity and realness.
Blake Samic and Ryan Graves, founded ActionsTalk to bring Social Media | Social Media speeds business potential and provides businesses of
Be careful though, because “sharing is great, but don’t lift up attention to Milwaukee Startups. They are entrepreneurial- any size with tools to reach almost any audience quickly, consistently and efficiently. For
your skirt too much,” says Al Krueger, brander and storyteller, minded and use many forms of social media to drive their Spreenkler, social media has helped increase the awareness of Spreenkler and attendance and
when discussing how to infuse your personality and personal mission and move Milwaukee forward. allows me to stay engaged in the conversation all the time.
side into business communications.
These seven people have a fresh approach and engage in Web Whether I’m actually participating in a social community or have established a presence
Steve Glynn, founder of Spreenkler, is one example of a 2.0 to amplify and conduct their business everyday. In this in one, there is a great chance to connect with someone new. The impact of that has been
new breed in Milwaukee who are stepping up and out and group, you won’t hear “what’s your handicap?” Instead, you’ll enormous.
doing what it takes to advance their ideas by leveraging Web hear “what’s your Twitter name?”
2.0 to gain traction and drive growth. So, for the first time, Balance | Fullhouse is completely supportive of what I do with Spreenkler, but I don’t mix
magazineSOHO, profiles seven of what we call – Socially To tap into the minds of these progressive Milwaukee 2.0ers, the two. I’m also fortunate I have a supportive wife who allows me the time to “work” at
Networked and Authentic Professionals. magazineSOHO asked them to share their thoughts on home or engage with the Spreenkler community regularly. But, I have a two-year-old and a
their passion for doing business in Milwaukee, the impact new baby, so I work to minimize time away from the family and to do that, I sacrifice sleep.
Jason Kayzar, founder of MC2 has developed a strong business of social media on business and the ongoing challenges of
Flickr YouTube
crafting strategic mobile communications solutions for business work-life balance.
This city also has a great balance of low cost of living, green space, family
friendliness, short commutes, culture and spirit that are appealing to a creative
type like me. This is where I want to grow my business and raise my family.
Balance | I still remember the days: You just roll with it; there is nothing else you can do, unless you choose
to close shop. It is important to delegate what you can, if you can. The rest is about continuing to make
www.twitter.com/ActionsTalk
connections, planning and prioritizing and having a bit of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” mentality.
www.twitter.com/solessence
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MILWAUKEE 2.0 - SOCIALLY NETWORKED & AUTHENTIC PROFESSIONALS
STEPHANIE KERN
Founder, Creative Director - VanderBloemen Creative
Milwaukee | I grew up in Milwaukee and have always felt most “at
home” here. There are many things to do in Milwaukee, all year-round.
Summer in Milwaukee is amazing – music, festivals and the lakefront.
“
Our art museum inspires me after a drive from Fox Point to the War
Memorial along Lake Drive.
Without the inclusion of social
Social Media | It has opened up a lot of opportunities to meet
people and business owners from all over the United States – even the media in my daily business, I
world. Without the inclusion of social media in my daily business, I would not have the amazing
“
would not have the amazing resources that I cherish. I have learned
more about business and made new friends. resources that I cherish.
I am someone who enjoys Social Media, but believes it is only one of
many steps to building your business and creating awareness of your
brand. Once you are connected virtually, you should make it a point to
meet with the people in your network one to one so that you can get
to know them better. In order to refer someone, I need to know a lot
about him or her. I don’t care how many people you have in your online
network, numbers don’t matter – actual relationships do.
Graphic Color Ad
www.twitter.com/vbctw
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