Business Innovators with Wendy Hanson

My guest is Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com. He is fiercely committed to informing, educating, and empowering Americans so they can be protected from violence and crime in the physical and virtual worlds. His “tell it like it is” style is sought after by major media outlets, executives in the C-Suite of leading corporations, meeting planners, and community leaders to get the straight talk they need to stay safe in a world in which physical and virtual crime is commonplace. Siciliano is accessible, real, professional, and ready to weigh in and comment at a moment’s notice on breaking news. Over the years, we’ve all let technology into our lives more and more - banking by phone, shopping online, sharing every aspect of our daily lives with our friends via Facebook and Twitter - so much to the point that many of us are completely unaware as to how our daily activities put us at risk for identity theft and worse. We need to protect our personal identity and our businesses. You can not afford  to miss this podcast.

Women make over 80% of family household buying decisions and control the majority of wealth in the United States. Even when they are not the primary decision maker they have veto power that could result in you losing a sale. In this radio interview, Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, wealth psychology expert, author and founder of KBK Wealth Connection will talk about how to tap into the mindset of the affluent consumer, how to market and sell to women and how to avoid common mistakes such as stereotyping your female clients or turning your product pink!

If you're an entrepreneur or business innovator, you'll be interested in hearing Allison Bliss' innovative method for getting strategic solutions to increase revenues and clarify branding and leadership challenges. She’ll discuss successes that have turned companies around - all while using her kinetic experiential “Walks with Bliss.” Allison Bliss is the Director of Allison Bliss Consulting, a multiple award-winning full service marketing & communications agency in the San Francisco Bay Area delivering practical, customized solutions to produce more business. With clients including Apple Computers, Intuit, Chip Conley’s Peak Organizations, ABC-TV and hundreds of small business entrepreneurs and leaders, Bliss has selected top teams of specialists to create a total marketing and communications agency.    Allison managed productions for 10,000+ major Hollywood films, television shows, music concerts, commercials, and live events (with talent including  Robin Williams, Sean Connery, and the Grateful Dead), and she knows that businesses can make vast achievements – the same way Hollywood Directors make great movies -  if they just know how to turn their visions into actions.  After all,  “Knowledge is Bliss.”

Most entrepreneurs think that the secret to six or seven-figure business is to find the magic marketing formula. Nothing could be further from the truth. Join Master Business Coach, Jeanna Gabellini, as she talks with Wendy regarding rock solid, time-tested solutions to generating sweet profits no matter what business you're in ... and having fun doing it! Jeanna is also the co-author of Life Lessons for Mastering the Law of Attraction with Eva Gregory, Mark Victor Hansen & Jack Canfield.  Her coaching & seminars marry vision, divine guidance and proven strategies to help her clients ditch the mental merry-go-rounds and overwhelm and say, “HELL YES to fun, peace and increased profits!   Her website can be found at: http://www.MasterPeaceCoaching.com

Did you know that the human mind is more than the brain in our skulls?  It resides in our entire bodies and also between us in relationship. The more we can understand what is happening in our brains and bodies -- as well as the space between us all -- the more effective we can be in shaping the world for a positive future.   Listen in as Wendy interviews Ann Betz, a certified professional co-active coach who is on the faculty of the Coaches Training Institute, where she also serves as their consultant on the neuroscience of coaching and leadership. Ann's passion and focus is the intersection between human consciousness and neuroscience, and how the tools of coaching help people change and evolve their brains.   Ann is an executive coach with many Fortune 500 companies and non-profits. She has lived and worked internationally for many years and now resides in Minneapolis.

Join Wendy as she interviews Meg Cadoux Hirshberg, contributing editor for Inc. magazine, wife of Stonyfield Yogurt founder Gary Hirshberg and the author of FOR BETTER OR FOR WORK: A Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs and Their Families. In her recent book, Meg offers a compelling and candid account of what life in a startup looks like from the inside and offers insight on how entrepreneurs – and those around them – can best prepare for the inevitable ups and downs of growing a business.   Listen and learn practical strategies for all those coping with the complicated intersection of business and family.  

  Join me as I welcome Andrew Margie, Vice President of Revenue and Business Engagement at Patch. Patch is a hyperlocal platform serving over 850 communities around the country. Learn how Patch is helping small businesses and how it can help you.   About Patch.com   Launched in 2009, Patch more than tripled its UV traffic between December 2010 and December 2011 and currently serves over 10 million users (comScore, April 2012).  With the mission of becoming the most trusted source of local news and information via a platform of hyperlocal sites, Patch is managed by local professional editors and photographers.  Patch is also the premier online destination for residents who want to participate in discussions, post announcements and event information, share their perspectives via Patch's “Local Voices” blogging platform, and get involved in their communities.   In addition, business owners and advertisers benefit from Patch's unique ability to reach new and existing customers. Serving as the eyes and ears for what is happening at the grassroots level across the country, Patch is now in over 850 communities in 23 states plus Washington, D.C.

  Do you want to make more profit? Who doesn’t, right?  Join Wendy as she talks with business pricing expert, Mark Stiving, to gain a clear understanding of what pricing is.   Mark has a Ph.D. in pricing and has written a book called Impact Pricing: Your Blueprint for Driving Profits.  Additionally, Mark writes an entertaining and informative blog called PragmaticPricing. So join us and you’ll discover that once you understand how your customers use price to make their purchase decisions, you can confidently change some prices and make more money.

  Would you like to have a business where you can generate revenue no matter where you are in the world - or maybe even just at home in your jammies? If so, then you'll want to listen to Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC as she explains how you can craft "jammies income" from your knowledge and skills.   Rebecca is a bestselling author of 25 books, an Oprah guest, international media resource, professional speaker, consultant and coach. She runs 3 businesses and a non-profit from wherever she happens to be in the world. So take a listen and learn how you, too, can manifest "jammies income."

  Are you a partner in love and business - or even just thinking about becoming one?  If so, you’ll want to hear how Allison Tabor, owner of Coppia Communications and a Certified Professional Coach and Consultant, has been helping other entrepreneurial couples become more effective, productive and profitable together.    Allison has a very unique niche, as most of her professional clients are “Couples in Business and Bed.”  Join Wendy as she interviews Allison and learn about many of the common challenges that couples in business and love face together, and benefit from some of her tips on how to successfully handle them.

Are you a confident, competent professional…..who seems to fall apart when the stakes are high?  Even accomplished leaders and seasoned executives can struggle to communicate crisply and effectively in front of important audiences.  Join Wendy Hanson as she interviews Elizabeth Freedman, author of Work 101: Learning the Ropes without Hanging Yourself and executive coach and Principal with Bates Communications, a national consulting firm specializing in leadership communication skills and strategy.  Come find out how to prepare for that big meeting or that important phone call – and then not choke when the time comes and the stakes are high.

Join Wendy Hanson as she interviews Dr. Erin Wilkinson, Marketing Professor at Johnson and Wales University about what it is like to teach business planning to women in Africa. Share in the journey as Erin goes back to Tanzania on a Fulbright Scholarship to teach and do research on micro-enterprise development in an effort to create opportunities for small businesses to become sustainable. Photo Credits: Klaus Hartung

If you listened to our last show with Beatrice Stonebanks called "Increase Sales: Get Out Of Your Own Way," then you know that she totally rocked the house on that interview. Over 450 people downloaded that podcast!  That's why we're so excited to have her back for part 2 called "Using Sex to Sell." It's a known fact, sex in advertising increases recall by an average of 70%! Sex is the largest demographic in the world, learn how to use your sex naturally, to close sales and increase ROI. In this interview Beatrice will talk about how to identify what's needed to close a man or a woman, in any instance, for any product. You will learn to isolate what's missing in your sales pitch, and how to use your sex to bring it to the forefront so your prospects sell themselves. Use the largest demographic in the world to your advantage; let sex help increase your sales in 2012.

In today's business, we need more opportunities for women to take a seat at the decison making table. In corporations- we need to develop a business culture that is family-friendly. My terrific guest is Megan Alpert, long tme sales person at MapQuest. We will discuss how Megan has been able to balance her demanding job in sales with her growing family. Megan has a passion for business and we'll talk about ideas for workplace strategies around doing it all.

  Join me in welcoming Andrea Zurek- a real Business Innovator. Andrea has been named one of the to 25 tech angels by Businessweek and one the the 25 Influential Business Women in San Francisco/Silicon Vally You Should Follow on Twitter 2010. She’s an Angel Investor at Plug and Play Tech Center and a Board Member at Sand Hill Angels. Andrea is a Founding Partner at XG Ventures, an angel investment company. We will talk about start-ups, women investors in tech and what are the levers for success.